Chapter 21

「Princess truly has extraordinary talent, Pinger is convinced, the former dynasty's grand general indeed seized thirteen cities, not fourteen, how exactly did you remember that? 」

Next, a rather lively girl's voice replied:

「What's so hard about that? Books you've read are like houses you've built; if you can't recall, just open the house in your mind and you'll know. You lost, tomorrow take me out to play. 」

「Hiss...... Princess, the Prince doesn't allow us to take you out; otherwise we'll accompany you to the amusement park. 」

「Sigh, boring, Meier, go check again if there are any new books; has Sister Shen not arrived yet? 」

One could hear that several people in the study seemed to be guessing the book.

It seems this Princess Ning Le is actually quite optimistic; after losing her sight, she may have found a new world in books.

This memory ability should be a memory palace; whatever one sees can be remembered.

I've encountered such a monster classmate before; they never review, still bring me to slack off, yet they themselves can still score full marks.

And whatever website, seed, or number, a glance is enough to remember......

Just then, a maid stepped forward to the east study and offered her respects:

「Princess, the manager of Cang Medical Hall, Shen, has arrived, and he brought a physician. 」

Upon hearing this, however, the study doors swung open, and a woman dressed in a flowing cloud-brocade skirt walked out; she was tall and slender, appearing to be about eighteen or nineteen.

Her black hair was styled in a cloud-top bun; her handsome face bore a bright smile, and her deep brown almond eyes were lovely, though her pupils lacked luster and focus—at a glance one could see her eyes had a problem.

In her hand she held a green bamboo staff, its lower end wrapped in cloth, making no sound when struck on the ground, while the upper end was fitted with a white jade handle.

The bamboo staff was habitually held in her hand; she walked with extraordinary lightness, without using it to strike the ground.

Even without the support of the maids beside her, the woman walked easily and naturally from the study to the main hall; it appeared her blindness hardly affected her daily life.

Jiang Yunzhou followed Shen Qingu in paying his respects:

「Greetings, Princess. 」

Zhao Zhinan laughed and stepped forward, saying:

「There are no outsiders, Sister Shen, no need to be formal; I heard you brought a physician? 」

One could tell that Shen Qingu and this Princess Ning Le had a very good relationship; such royal nobles usually only address women of other royal kin as sisters.

Shen Qingu took her seat and said:

「Yunzhou is my distant relative; he practices at Cang Medical Hall, his medical studies are profound, so I brought him to examine the Princess's eyes. 」

Zhao Zhinan sat in the seat of honor, picked up his teacup from its fixed place, took a sip, and said:

「Thank you, Sister Shen; actually, over these many years I've already accepted reality, knowing that hope of regaining my sight is slim. 」

While Zhao Zhinan was speaking, however, a faint gasp came from a maid behind him.

It turned out that several people saw Jiang Yunzhou standing behind Shen Qingu, and it was the first time they had seen such a handsome physician.

Just as Zhao Zhinan wondered what was happening, he heard a pleasant male voice reply:

「I am Jiang Yunzhou; if the Princess doesn't mind, let me take a look—perhaps there is still a way. 」

Upon hearing Jiang Yunzhou's voice, Zhao Zhinan blinked slightly in that direction.

Previously, the physicians the Prince of Rong invited to treat Princess Ning Le's eyes were mostly elders, after all, it takes over ten years, even decades, of accumulation in the medical arts to become a renowned doctor.

Having just heard Shen Qingu say he was a family relative, I assumed he was an elder of the Shen family named Yunzhou, but I never expected that from his voice he turned out to be a young man.

The state of Liang didn't yet have the term 'voice control,' but the blind Princess Ning Le was indeed sensitive to sound, and this voice also sparked a bit of curiosity.

「Doctor Jiang sounds quite young. 」

「Princess has excellent hearing; I am only twenty years old. 」

Those young maidens behind her could exclaim in surprise; they must not only be young, but also quite handsome.

No, many visiting nobles and princes have come before, yet they never elicited such a reaction; it must be that his appearance is remarkably outstanding.

However, Zhao Zhinan, being the Princess of the Prince's manor, naturally raised his hand and said:

「Then let's try; what do you need me to do? 」

「The Princess only needs to sit forward a bit, tilt her head back, and open her eyes. 」

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhinan rose and walked a few steps forward; the personal maid Pinger lifted the chair and followed, placing it in the center of the hall. The Princess sat down, tilted her head, rested her jade neck on the chair, and widened her vacant almond eyes.

Jiang Yunzhou approached respectfully to examine; following the physician's principle of no taboo, he paid no heed to gender avoidance and gently pressed his fingers on Zhao Zhinan's eyes.

Cases of deaf-mutism or blindness caused by fever are not uncommon; when the eyeball suffers no external damage, blindness is usually due to optic neuritis or retinal artery occlusion.

However, Jiang Yunzhou found that Zhao Zhinan's eye condition seemed somewhat more severe.

「Hiss~」

Hearing Jiang Yunzhou's doubtful intake of breath, Zhao Zhinan thought there was still no hope, but instead lifted the corner of his mouth and comforted:

「Doctor Jiang need not worry; more than one renowned physician has treated me, and this blindness ailment is indeed difficult to cure. 」

Jiang Yunzhou, however, shook his head and said:

「Princess, you misunderstand; my doubt is not because it cannot be treated, but because I find the symptoms of your blindness seem much more severe than before. 」

「That might be because the blindness has been long-standing...... Wait, what did you say? Not incurable?! 」

Although Zhao Zhinan's words were quite optimistic, they were actually just self‑comfort; if there is even a sliver of hope, who wouldn't wish for their eyes to regain sight?

Thus, upon hearing Jiang Yunzhou say it could be treated, her emotions grew slightly excited, and she inadvertently grabbed his hand.

Meanwhile, Shen Qingu naturally had examined the Princess's eyes long before; they did not match any symptom she had seen, and she knew she could do nothing.

At this moment, hearing Jiang Yunzhou say it was not incurable, she immediately exclaimed in delight:

「Yunzhou, is there really a way? 」

Feeling the force with which Zhao Zhinan gripped his hand, Jiang Yunzhou could sense, even through those closed windows, the Princess's longing to regain light.

「I think there's no problem; it's just that the situation is a bit special. I can find the cause of the Princess's blindness, but I must first determine why her eye condition is worse than normal. May I ask about her diet? Has she taken any medicines? 」

Upon hearing there was hope, Zhao Zhinan swept away his previous playful attitude, sat properly like a child, and pondered seriously:

「Her daily diet is normal; as for medicines...... she has been taking the eye‑nourishing tonic provided by Huashou Pavilion. 」

"May I take a look at the prescription?"

The maid who served as his personal attendant, standing behind him, directly took out a prescription from her sleeve and handed it over.

Jiang Yunzhou looked at the prescription, nodded, and said:

"The problem has been found; the Commandery Princess's eye ailment cannot be cured largely because of this Splendid Longevity Pavilion's Eye-Brightening Nourishing Soup."

Just as his words fell, before anyone could ask, an angry rebuke came from outside the door:

"Where did this quack doctor come from! Dare to slander the reputation of my Splendid Longevity Pavilion!"