Chapter 443: Unimpeded

"His Majesty, you want me to go over?"

Chen Yan was a bit surprised.

Li Shimin knew full well that the unflagged cavalry were to set out tomorrow, so why would he suddenly summon me to the palace at this time?

He sensed something was off and asked, "Who sent the message?"

"It's Commander Li," Xiao Shunzi replied, "He is now waiting for you in the main hall."

Li Junxian......

Chen Yan stroked his chin in thought, waved his hand toward the people inside, and said, "I have something to attend to suddenly, so let's stop here for today. As for the question I raised earlier, you can go back, think it over, browse some books, and answer it in the next class."

Li Tai and the others were surprised, but as soon as Chen Yan finished speaking and left, they lingered in confusion for a moment and then each went their separate ways.

Chen Yan went to the main hall, found Li Junxian, and asked directly, "Commander Li, is something wrong in the palace?"

He strongly suspected that Empress Changsun had fallen ill; otherwise Li Shimin wouldn't have asked me to return at such a critical moment.

Li Junxian kept his mouth shut on the matter, but made a beckoning gesture: "The specifics I cannot disclose; please have the Duke of Wei bring the medicine box and accompany me into the palace, and you'll understand."

Chen Yan gave him a deep look and nodded.

His intuition told him it was certainly not a good sign.

At this moment, the Eastern Palace was so oppressive that it took one's breath away.

Occasionally, a few suppressed sobs came from the inner hall, adding to the heaviness.

Li Shimin sat expressionlessly in the outer hall; outwardly he seemed calm, but his unusually heaving chest revealed that he was on the brink of a raging fury.

Those who knew him understood that this was a foreboding sign of an approaching storm.

Empress Changsun's mood was equally heavy.

Because her eldest son, Li Chengqian, lay on the couch, his complexion very pale, his brows tightly knit, occasionally twitching as if enduring some pain.

"Wan'er, don't worry, His Majesty has already sent someone to fetch Zi An; with his medical skill, I'm confident he can cure Chengqian."

"Mother Empress..." the Crown Princess choked, nodding, but when she saw her husband unconscious on the bed, tears kept streaming down.

She didn't understand why a minor ailment (rheumatism) would gradually turn into a wind disease, and why he suddenly fell ill last night and still hadn't awakened.

A group of imperial physicians examined him for half a day but still couldn't determine the cause.

How could the Crown Princess not be worried?

Her child was only a few months old!

Empress Changsun took a deep breath, gently comforted her daughter-in-law, then approached Li Shimin, hesitated, and lowered her voice: "Er Lang, do you think someone might have harmed Chengqian?"

Li Shimin's gaze instantly hardened, his complexion turning obscure, and after a pause he said, "I'm not sure, but that possibility is rather small. The only explanation for Chengqian's current state is poisoning, yet the Eastern Palace's scrutiny is not weak; attempting to poison Chengqian would be as hard as scaling a mountain."

"Perhaps Chengqian simply has another ailment; when Zi An arrives, he should be able to cure him."

Empress Changsun fell silent.

She knew in her heart that Li Shimin's words were likely meant to comfort himself, just as she was comforting the Crown Princess.

She knew in her heart that Li Shimin's words were likely meant to comfort himself, just as she had comforted the Crown Princess.

Neither of them spoke again, and the Crown Princess also stopped crying.

Time passed slowly, and just as the three of them grew increasingly anxious, Li Junxian finally arrived with Chen Yan.

"Zi An!" Li Shimin could no longer sit still; without giving Chen Yan a chance to speak, he grabbed him and rushed to Li Chengqian's side: "Quick, quickly save Chengqian."

"Duke of Wei, please save my husband..." the Crown Princess seemed to clutch at a lifeline, her eyes full of pleading.

"Don't panic, don't panic." Chen Yan understood the gravity of the situation and dared not waste a moment; while replying, he set down the medicine box and began examining Li Chengqian.

However, after only a brief glance, his eyes darkened slightly.

After taking his pulse, he thought for a moment, then gently pressed Li Chengqian's abdomen; the latter reacted unusually strongly, his brows furrowing even deeper and his body twitching.

After taking the pulse, Chen Yan pondered for a moment, then reached out and lightly pressed Li Chengqian's abdomen; the latter reacted surprisingly strongly, not only furrowing his brows deeper, his body also twitched.

Chen Yan murmured, increasing the pressure of his hand.

Chen Yan murmured a sentence, and the pressure of his hand increased somewhat.

"Ah..."

Li Chengqian inhaled a cold gasp, emitting a suppressed cry of pain.

Li Chengqian sucked in a breath of cold air, letting out a stifled cry of pain.

"Chengqian!"

Seeing this, the Crown Princess and Empress Changsun could not stay seated and hurried over.

Seeing that Li Chengqian's condition showed no improvement, Empress Changsun hurriedly asked, "Zi An, what's really wrong with Chengqian? Have you figured out what illness he has?"

Seeing that Li Chengqian's condition showed no improvement, Empress Changsun hurriedly asked: "Zi An, what exactly is wrong with Cheng Qian? Can you find out what illness he has?"

Li Chengqian at that moment understood his situation and forced a smile at his friend.

"Again... I'm troubling you."

Chen Yan smiled lightly, "It's nothing; this is just a minor issue, your body is a bit weak, haven't you been restraining yourself?"

Chen Yan smiled lightly and said: "It's nothing, this is just a minor issue, your body is a bit weak; you haven't been exercising restraint lately, have you?"

Li Chengqian was stunned instantly; after regaining his senses, he glanced at his Father Emperor and Mother Empress whose gazes had become strange, his face instantly flushed red.

Li Chengqian was momentarily stunned; after reacting, he glanced at his Father Emperor and Mother Empress, whose gazes had already turned strange, and his face instantly flushed.

"You're full of shit! You......"

"... Divine doctor, save me!"

Everyone: "......"

"Then you might have to endure some hardship," Chen Yan raised an eyebrow, opened his medicine box, and took out the prized item he kept at the bottom of his box.

"You're probably going to have to endure some hardship." Chen Yan raised his eyebrows, opened his medicine box, and took out his prized possession kept at the bottom.

This is a medicine I'm proud of; I spent a lot of effort to make it back then, and today I'm letting you have it cheaply.

Li Chengqian felt refreshed for a moment, then became weak again.

Looking at the porcelain bottle in Chen Yan's hand, he asked, 'How should I take it?'

Just prepare a cup of warm water.

'Come here!' Li Shimin shouted immediately.

Not long after, a bowl of warm water was brought over; the Crown Princess hastily dumped all the medicine from the porcelain bottle into the bowl, then carefully fed it to Li Chengqian.

She didn't notice, but Chen Yan's expression grew increasingly strange as he watched her actions.

Empress Changsun noticed and asked doubtfully, 'Zi An, what exactly is this medicine you keep hidden? Can it cure Cheng Qian?'

Chen Yan grinned and said, 'It's called Unobstructed Passage; it guarantees the user will have a free flow, a thousand miles of diarrhea!'

???

After that sentence, not only Empress Changsun was dumbfounded, but Li Shimin was too.

And Li Chengqian was utterly stunned!

You... you just said what's the name of this medicine?

'Unobstructed Passage,' Chen Yan said with a smile. 'It also has a common name: laxative.'

What do you think of this name, Brother Cheng Qian?

Li Chengqian's face turned green.

Who cares what you call it?

You damn it, are you trying to harm me on purpose?

I'm already like this, and you're still feeding me laxative?

I...

Gurgle~

I have to say, Unobstructed Passage lives up to being Chen Yan's secret treasure; it works remarkably fast.

Of course, it could also be because Li Chengqian hasn't eaten in a while, and the Crown Princess gave him too much.

"Wan'er! Quick! Help me..." Li Chengqian, too busy to curse, clutched his stomach, sweating profusely.

"..."