Tang Dynasty: Saving Lives and Helping Others, Li Lizhi Falls for Him

After leaving Zuixianlou, Shen Chang'an did not delay and returned directly to his small courtyard outside Chang'an City.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, the water lilies in the courtyard were in full bloom, and several koi carp swam leisurely in the water.

He had no interest in appreciating it, and went straight into the pharmacy, placed the medicine box on the table, sat cross-legged on the futon, and fell into deep thought.

He was thinking about one thing—how to speed up Li Chengqian's recovery.

According to the system's task settings, he has sixty days to recuperate the crown prince's physique. Upon completion of the task, he will receive five hundred merit points and one Qi-cultivating pill.

Five hundred merit points.

Say no more, say less.

Adding his existing 352 points, he only has 852 points, which is still 148 points short of the 1,000 points required for Foundation Establishment Pills.

However, if he can complete the task ahead of time and receive the reward earlier, he can exchange for the Foundation Establishment Pill sooner, break through the Qi Refining stage, and enter the Foundation Establishment realm sooner.

After all, he could make up the remaining 148 merit points in a month.

With the help of the Qi-Nourishing Pill, his cultivation advanced further, and he refined the Foundation Establishment Pill.

At that time, both the time flow in the spiritual plant space and its own strength will experience a qualitative leap.

More importantly, treating Li Chengqian's illness was not just for the sake of those five hundred merit points.

This is a stepping stone.

Li Chengqian was the crown prince and had the opportunity to become the future emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

Curing him would be tantamount to opening the door to the royal family; Empress Zhangsun, Princess Jinyang, and even Li Shimin himself could become his patients.

Those are all "people who have had a profound impact on history," and the merit points gained from saving them far exceed those of ordinary people.

Therefore, Li Chengqian, this patient, not only needs to be cured, but also cured quickly and beautifully.

Shen Chang'an opened the system panel to check his inventory.

……

List of items already redeemed

[Formation: Four Symbols Returning to Origin Formation] (Already deployed)

[Formulas: Nourishing Vitality Formula, Rejuvenating Formula, Detoxifying Formula]

[Spiritual Plants: 100-year-old Polygonum multiflorum, Ginseng seeds, and Ganoderma lucidum spores]

【Ritual implement: Green wooden needle box】(Contains nine silver needles)

[Miscellaneous items: Basic alchemy furnace, talisman paper, and cinnabar (amount as needed)]

……

Shen Chang'an's gaze lingered on the "Neiyuan Danfang" for a moment.

Peiyuan Dan is effective in replenishing vital energy and strengthening muscles and bones. It is a suitable remedy for Li Chengqian's symptoms of deficiency in both the spleen and kidneys.

But he currently faces two problems.

First, the Peiyuan Pill requires several rare medicinal herbs. Although he exchanged for ginseng seeds and purple Ganoderma spores from the system, the ginseng and Ganoderma cultivated in the spiritual plant space are still young and lack medicinal power. It will take at least half a month to reach the standard for medicinal use.

Secondly, the refining of Peiyuan Pill requires a certain level of alchemy skill.

Although he had mastered the formula, he lacked practical experience, and his success rate was questionable if he attempted to refine it rashly.

"It seems we can't rush things."

Shen Chang'an muttered to himself, "Let's put the Peiyuan Pill aside for now and focus on doing what we can do right now."

After thinking about it, he decided to start from three aspects.

First, acupuncture.

Today at Zuixianlou, he only applied two acupuncture needles—Zusanli and Guanyuan—and Li Chengqian immediately felt the changes in his body.

During the next follow-up visit, several acupoints can be added, such as Qihai, Shenshu, and Pishu, to form a complete acupuncture program. Acupuncture can be performed twice a week to continuously nourish the spleen and kidney qi of the prince.

Second, medication.

Although Peiyuan Dan cannot be refined for the time being, he can use the available medicinal materials to prepare some decoctions and powders.

He redeemed a century-old He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum) in the system. This herb nourishes the liver and kidneys and strengthens muscles and bones, which is exactly what Li Chengqian was symptomatic.

Combined with ingredients such as Codonopsis pilosula, Atractylodes macrocephala, and Poria cocos, which can be purchased at ordinary pharmacies, a prescription for strengthening the spleen and tonifying the kidneys can be prepared.

Third, guidance.

The Six-Character Mantra may seem simple, but it is actually a superior Taoist health cultivation method.

As long as Li Chengqian persists in practicing, combined with acupuncture and herbal medicine, his physical condition will improve much faster than simply taking medicine.

"According to this plan, we should see noticeable results in as little as one month or as long as forty days."

Shen Chang'an thought to himself, "When the system determines that the task is completed, I will get 500 merit points. If I save them up a bit more, I'll have hope of getting the Foundation Establishment Pill."

"Li Chengqian suffered from kidney deficiency at such a young age; it seems the historical records describing him are accurate!"

As Shen Chang'an pondered this, he stood up, walked to the medicine cabinet, and began searching for the medicinal herbs he needed.

The century-old He Shou Wu was stored in a celadon jar, the mouth of which was sealed tightly with wax.

He opened the jar, and a rich medicinal aroma wafted out. The skin of the Polygonum multiflorum was dark brown, and the cut surface resembled brocade with clear patterns, indicating that it was of excellent quality.

He took out a small piece, weighed it with a steelyard, and then crushed it in a mortar and pestle.

Next are Codonopsis pilosula, Atractylodes macrocephala, Poria cocos, and Glycyrrhiza uralensis—these four herbs, along with Polygonum multiflorum, form the basic formula for the "Spleen-Strengthening and Kidney-Nourishing Decoction" that he prepared for Li Chengqian.

He weighed and sorted the medicinal herbs one by one, wrapped them in oil paper, and put them into the medicine box.

By the time we finished all that, it was already getting dark.

Shen Chang'an ate a simple dinner, then went into the meditation room, sat cross-legged on the futon, and began his cultivation for the evening.

The Four Symbols Returning to Origin Formation slowly began to operate, and spiritual energy gathered from all directions, surging into his dantian.

He closed his eyes, and the Green Wood True Qi flowed slowly within his body, gradually entering a state of complete absorption in the universe.

I'm one step closer to the seventh level of Qi Refining.

……

Meanwhile, inside the imperial palace in Chang'an.

After leaving Zuixianlou, Cuizhu practically ran across Zhuque Street, entered the palace through a side gate of the imperial city, and headed straight for the palace where Princess Changle resided.

Li Lizhi lived in Lizhengzheng Hall.

This hall is located on the east side of the inner palace. It was the sleeping quarters of the eldest princess of the Tang Dynasty, and its scale was second only to the Lizheng Hall, where the empress resided.

The palace is magnificent, with upturned eaves, red walls and green tiles. Two crabapple trees are planted in front of the palace, and when they bloom in spring, they are as bright as rosy clouds.

But at this moment, Li Lizhi had no heart to appreciate the scenery outside the window.

From the moment Cuizhu left the palace, she became restless in the hall, flipping through the scrolls one moment and putting them down the next, her eyes always unconsciously glancing towards the hall door.

Over the years, her mother would occasionally suffer from illness. Her father not only summoned all the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau to treat her, but also sought out renowned doctors from the martial arts world.

However, these imperial physicians or doctors always had a hesitant expression after taking the pulse, and they changed their prescriptions again and again, but there was never any fundamental improvement.

Not only did her father not believe in those imperial physicians, but she had long since stopped believing in them.

Therefore, Shen Chang'an was her last hope to change her marital fate. If Shen Chang'an couldn't even cure her brother, then she would have no choice but to accept her fate.

"Princess! Princess!"

Just then, Cuizhu's voice came from outside the hall, filled with obvious excitement.

Li Lizhi suddenly stood up and rushed forward to meet him.

Cuizhu was covered in sweat and her cheeks were flushed. She leaned against the door frame and was panting as soon as she entered the room, clearly having rushed back.

"Don't rush, take a break first!"

Li Lizhi suppressed her anxiety and personally poured a bowl of warm water and handed it to her.

"Thank you, Princess!"

Cuizhu didn't stand on ceremony. After taking the bowl, she gulped down a few mouthfuls, wiped the sweat from the corner of her mouth with her sleeve, and only then did she recover.

"Cuizhu, tell me quickly, what's the situation?"

Seeing that Cuizhu had almost recovered, Li Lizhi urged her to hurry.

Cuizhu nodded vigorously, her voice brimming with undisguised excitement: "Princess, it's done! That Doctor Shen is truly a miracle doctor!"

Upon hearing this, Li Lizhi's heart leaped into her throat. "Explain in detail!"

Cuizhu cleared her throat and recounted everything that had happened at Zuixianlou.

The more Li Lizhi listened, the more excited she became. When she heard that Doctor Shen's acupuncture had had a great effect on her brother, she knew that her decision yesterday was correct.

Although her brother's illness didn't seem serious, the imperial physicians couldn't cure it, and it kept recurring. It wasn't until she heard Cuizhu mention the bone disease that she realized how dangerous it was.

Fortunately, Dr. Shen's medical skills were effective.

In this way, she can carry out the plan she designed yesterday.

After all, curing an illness is not something that can be done overnight, especially for chronic and stubborn diseases, which require long-term treatment.

Moreover, the longer her marriage is delayed, the more troublesome it will become. If she lets Doctor Shen treat her mother's illness sooner, she can whisper in her mother's ear and perhaps change her mother's mind.