Chapter 128: Where is Head Disciple Qingdai now?

Lin Jiaojiao sat in the Song Mansion for the entire morning, but she did not spend a single moment of it idle.

First, she took the pulses of Song Fu, Song Mu, and Jiang Mianmian, diagnosed them, and wrote prescriptions. Then, she proceeded to take the pulses of everyone in the Song Mansion, from the old nannies and the steward down to the servants.

The entire household was moved to tears, and even the kitchen maid who tended the fires knelt and hailed her as the "Female Bian Que" of the current dynasty.

Li Ren, the mansion's physician, even dragged his son over to apprentice under her.

"My own medical skills have improved greatly since receiving guidance from Imperial Physician Lin. Hurry and pay your respects!" Li Ren urged his son, Li Ji, as he served her tea. "Now that you have apprenticed, you must study medicine diligently under Imperial Physician Lin!"

"Yes, Father! Master, please accept this bow from your disciple, Li Ji!"

Lin Jiaojiao tasted the tea Li Ji had served and accepted him as her disciple.

She already had countless disciples following her in Yun Province, so one more made no difference. Lin Jiaojiao smiled faintly and drank the apprenticeship tea. "For the time being, you shall study under your Head Disciple, Qingdai. Once you can pass her examination, I will teach you myself."

"Yes, Master!" Li Ji knelt respectfully. "May I ask where Head Disciple Qingdai is currently?"

"Her?" Lin Jiaojiao smiled. "She is likely at the Anshou Palace right now."

At that very moment, Qingdai, dressed in a medical practitioner's linen robe, was in the Anshou Palace, taking the pulse of the seventy-year-old Empress Dowager. Maidong, who had been serving there for years, had already been promoted to a head maid of the Anshou Palace.

Seeing each other again after seventeen years, Xiao Taihou's hair was now entirely white, but her mind remained sharp. "Now that you have returned to the Capital, why didn't Lin Zhiyue come? Does she still resent me for failing to protect her back then?"

Qingdai rose and bowed to the Empress Dowager. She hurriedly replied, "How could Physician Lin resent you, Empress Dowager? If it weren't for you secretly giving the Hundred Herb Detoxification Pill to Maidong and having her pass it to Physician Lin, neither she nor I would have survived to this day."

"If Physician Lin were to enter the palace, it would only invite dissatisfaction from the court officials and cause unnecessary trouble for the Emperor and yourself."

"It wouldn't cause me trouble. I suspect she is simply avoiding the Emperor," Xiao Taihou chuckled, the wrinkles on her face smoothing out; she did not seem inclined to hold a grudge.

"Physician Lin has long since let go of the past. Moreover, she and General Lu are deeply devoted to one another, so avoiding the Emperor is out of the question," Qingdai smiled lightly. "It is simply that the harem is filled with many consorts, and Physician Lin does not wish to enter the palace again, invite gossip, or cause distress to the Empress."

"I have come into the palace on Physician Lin's behalf to take your pulse and prescribe medicine, and also to deliver the Yun Mountain medicinal herbs she transported from Yun Province for your use, as well as for the Emperor and the current Imperial Noble Consort."

Xiao Taihou teased, "Sending these precious Yun Mountain herbs for me, the Emperor, and the Imperial Noble Consort, but excluding the Empress—if that isn't holding a grudge, what is?"

"Forget it. It is not as if I cannot understand the suffering she endured from being poisoned back then." Xiao Taihou glanced at Maidong, who stepped forward to gently massage her temples.

Qingdai knew how to read the room. She bowed again to take her leave. "Please rest well, Empress Dowager. I must head to the Imperial Pharmacy to deliver the prescription for your treatment."

With that, Qingdai slowly rose and retreated from the Anshou Palace, walking alone toward the Imperial Pharmacy.

As she turned a corner in the palace corridor, someone called out to her from behind, "Please stay, Physician Qing!"

She looked back and saw a young palace maid calling to her. Behind the maid was the procession of the Imperial Noble Consort. The woman sitting on the palanquin had high brows, deep-set eyes, and a prominent nose bridge. She wore the bright yellow robes of an Imperial Noble Consort and possessed the beauty of an exotic land.

Even if she didn't recognize the maid, she knew the woman on the palanquin was the current Imperial Noble Consort!

Seeing this "old acquaintance," the Imperial Noble Consort could barely suppress the smile on her face. But where was the other old acquaintance?

"Commoner Physician Qingdai greets the Imperial Noble Consort. May you be blessed with peace and longevity," Qingdai said, neither humble nor pushy. "May I ask why you have stopped me?"

The Imperial Noble Consort looked behind her, her eyes darting about. "Where is Lin Jiaojiao? Did she enter the palace today? I heard from the Emperor's attendant, Xiaofangzi, that she has returned to the Capital. Since you have entered the palace, is she still taking pulses at the Empress Dowager's, or has she been summoned by the Empress?"

At the mention of the Empress, worry clouded her brow, though her tone remained firm. "If she has been summoned by the Empress, I shall go there right now and bring her away!"

"Imperial Noble Consort," Qingdai interrupted with a suppressed smile, "Physician Lin has not entered the palace."

"She has returned to the Capital, yet she refuses to come and have a chat with me?" The Imperial Noble Consort sounded reproachful. "She has kept me waiting for seventeen years! My daughter, Princess Liuli, and my son, the Third Prince, are still waiting for her to take their pulses!"

"Imperial Noble Consort, there are plenty of Imperial Physicians in the palace. Princess Liuli and the Third Prince are already being well-cared for by them—"

Before Qingdai could finish, a flash of youthful mischief crossed the Imperial Noble Consort's eyes. "Since you are here, you shall take their pulses and treat them instead!"

Qingdai was left between laughter and tears. "Imperial Noble Consort, I still need to go to the Imperial Pharmacy to fetch medicine for the Empress Dowager."

The Imperial Noble Consort remained firm. "Then I shall accompany you to the Imperial Pharmacy! I want to hear how you have been living all these years by Lin Jiaojiao's side!"

Qingdai had no choice but to accompany the Imperial Noble Consort toward the Imperial Pharmacy.

Meanwhile, at the morning court, the young general Lin Tiezhu had just been bestowed the title "Pillar of the Nation" by the Emperor. Many officials wanted to curry favor with him, but Lin Tiezhu ignored them all, walking straight to Song Shijie and bowing respectfully. "Uncle."

"Good nephew, come back to the mansion with me for lunch," Song Shijie nodded. "I imagine your mother has already taken the pulses of everyone in the Song Mansion in just this half-day!"

Lin Tiezhu laughed at these words. "Uncle, you know Mother's temperament. She cannot sit idle for a moment. If she were idle, she would surely find trouble for me."

Pei Aosong watched their departing figures from the Taihe Hall, his eyes filled with longing.

"Aosong, if you do not go and acknowledge your father-son relationship with General Lin, your future career will have no backing," Prime Minister Su patted Pei Aosong's shoulder heavily and sighed. "If your mother hadn't done what she did back then, the one receiving the title today would be surnamed Pei, not Lin!"