Chapter 150

Baili Jinze’s eyes lit up, and he couldn’t help but grit his teeth to suppress the excitement between his eyebrows. He went through everything several times in his heart, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that his guess was correct.

In the eyes of others, Shen Ninghua might have only offered a little help and the prescription was the credit of the Imperial Institute of Health. However, as a prince, he knew much more inside information than ordinary people. If Shen Ninghua did not have any unique ability, it would be impossible for her to offer prescriptions in such a timely manner for several times.

Thinking about it, he waved his hand for the eunuch to retreat and called his trusted aides over. “You guys secretly check the Prefectural Princess Mansion to see if Shen Xuanlin has recovered. Also, check Shen Ninghua’s study to see if there are any unique medical books or anything like that. Take care not to alarm anyone.”

“Yes, Master.”

Baili Jinze picked up the teacup on the table and drank it up in one gulp. The light in his eyes became even hotter. The Forest Villa had been destroyed. If he wanted to continue to make weapons, he would need to replan. He didn’t know how much time it would take. If he could obtain the medical book and learn some methods that were beyond the reach of ordinary people, he could use them to control some ministers. By then, he would be like a fish in water in the court. If he could directly control Baili Qingcang, then wouldn’t the throne be readily accessible to him?

Inside the Prefectural Princess Mansion, Shen Ninghua checked Shen Xuanlin’s pulse. Finally, a relaxed smile appeared on her face. “Alright, you have completely recovered.”

Shen Xuanlin jumped out of bed and cheered excitedly. “Haha, I can finally go and play. Thank you, Eldest Sister. Thank you for taking care of me these days.”

“You’re getting more and more skilled at speaking after getting sick.”

“I’m telling the truth. Aren’t you happy to hear that?” Shen Xuanlin moved his head closer to Shen Ninghua and let Shen Ninghua poke him on the forehead before he jumped out of bed with a smile. He put on his shoes and ran outside to look for Yun Chuan.

Yun Chuan recovered a bit faster than him and had followed Liu Yun to practice his martial arts two days ago. When Shen Xuanlin heard this, he was so anxious that he almost ran out barefoot. He and Yun Chuan were on par with each other. What if Yun Chuan became stronger than him after practicing alone these days? If he lagged behind, Eldest Sister would be disappointed in him.

Shen Ninghua came to stop him from acting recklessly. Now that he finally recovered, how could he not be eager?

Shen Ninghua turned her head to look at the excited imperial doctors, and her lips carried a gentle smile. “You have all checked his pulse. You can report to His Majesty now, right?”

After she handed over the prescription, Baili Qingcang secretly ordered the imperial doctors to carefully observe Shen Xuanlin and Yun Chuan. The imperial doctors’ eyes were about to shine with green light these days when they looked at the two of them.

Looking at the two youngsters getting better and better every day, they kept wondering. This was chickenpox, not a cold. How could they recover so quickly? As members of the Imperial Institute of Health, these people’s curiosity and desire to learn new things were extremely strong. If it wasn’t for the fact that this was the Prefectural Princess Mansion, they almost wanted to stay here 24 hours every day.

“Yes, Your Highness. I saw the prescription you wrote. There is still a medicinal ingredient that I don’t understand. What’s the use of adding the Posuo Flower that can expel wind and heat?”

“I saw this from an ancient book. I’m not very sure about its effect either.”

“Where is this book now?”

“I lost it in the previous incident.”

“What a pity.”

Shen Ninghua waited for the imperial doctors to finish sighing before smiling brightly. “This prescription has already proved to be useful. Can we now deliver medicine to those who have chickenpox? After all, this disease cannot be delayed. The longer it drags on, the more dangerous it will be.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Shen Ninghua smiled and said, “Bai Ruo, help me see the guests off.”

“Yes, Miss.”

The imperial doctors were all having something on their mind. Upon hearing Shen Ninghua’s words, all of them hurriedly walked out of the Prefectural Princess Mansion.

When they all left, Qing Que carefully scanned the surroundings of the room to make sure that there was no one else. “Miss, the person who just came to spy on us has already left.”

Shen Ninghua nodded and a smile appeared in her eyes. “Alright, half of the news has been sent out. Someone will probably come to inspect my study tonight. Make sure everything is carefully prepared so that they won’t find any flaw.”

“Yes, Miss. Don’t worry.”

Shen Ninghua walked to the martial arts arena and saw Shen Xuanlin squatting while practicing martial arts with Liu Yun. A trace of satisfaction flashed in her eyes.

“Make some herbal dishes for them to nourish their bodies. Don’t let the martial arts practice damage their body.”

After hearing the order, Bi Zhu immediately went and gave detailed instructions to Shen Xuanlin’s servants. After Nurse Gui’s incident, Shen Ninghua cleaned up all the servants in the courtyard and fired those with even slight faults or misconducts. Although not all the remaining servants of the Prefectural Princess Mansion were absolutely loyal, no one dared to try sending news out anymore.

Night quickly descended, and a dark figure once again appeared in the shadow of the Prefectural Princess Mansion.

At this time, Shen Ninghua was sitting behind the desk in the study, writing something carefully with a brush. Two maids stood guard not far from the door.

After Shen Ninghua was busy writing for about an hour, a maid suddenly reported something to her. Shen Ninghua ordered the other maids to retreat and put the book she copied into the secret compartment of the study before following the maid to the backyard.

A while after she left, a black figure quietly entered the study. Following the steps he saw earlier, he opened the secret compartment and took out the book. A trace of joy flashed in his eyes. Hearing someone walking over, he quickly put the book back, jumped out of the window and disappeared into the night.

Shen Ninghua returned to the study and looked in the direction of the secret compartment. A smile flashed in her eyes.

Chu Junyi jumped down from the beam of the room and patted the dust off his hands. “I didn’t expect Baili Jinze to really send someone over. That saved our effort.”

“Baili Jinze looks gentle on the surface, but in reality, he is the most suspicious. He has quite a few subordinates, but there are not many that he can trust. Since he has doubts in his heart, he will definitely send people to investigate. Even if the person who came to investigate confirms that I do have a unique medical book here, he may not really believe it. Therefore, we need to encourage him a little more tomorrow.”

Chu Junyi’s heart skipped a beat. Why did Ninghua understand Baili Jinze so well? However, he wisely kept the question in his heart. “Encourage him? What do you plan to do?”

“I remember that the Ninth Prince seems to be in poor health. Furthermore, a few days ago, he also had chickenpox. How about I offering him a prescription for curing his innate deficiency?”

“What?” After hearing this, Chu Junyi was shocked. Numerous princes of the royal family had died because of innate deficiencies. The existence of such a prescription would be practically considered too good to be true. “Ninghua, you have to think carefully. Taking out such a prescription would cause unexpected trouble for you.”

“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”

“Alright.” Chu Junyi decided in his heart to quickly take control of the Xiao family. Otherwise, if Ninghua really encountered danger, he was afraid that he could not protect her. Take this case as an example. Once the prescription for curing innate deficiency was released, it would definitely cause countless bloodshed in the harem.

Shen Ninghua guessed correctly. After receiving the report, Baili Jinze did not completely believe it. He still remained somewhat skeptical in his heart. But the second day, he learned from his spy in the Palace that Shen Ninghua once again offered a prescription for curing innate deficiency! As soon as this news spread out, his suspicion completely disappeared and he began to work on his plan overnight.

With the prescription to cure chickenpox, the sick people recovered very quickly. It would probably take less than half a month for them all to recover.

Baili Qingcang seemed too eager to wait for the chickenpox patients to recover. The next day, he issued a decree to hold a celebration banquet in the Palace.

Besides the invitation card exclusive to the Palace, he also sent Shen Ninghua a set of gorgeous dresses, various rewards, boxes of jewelry, silk and porcelain, which almost filled up Ruixi Courtyard’s main hall.

Xia Jingqiu and Yang Yingxue rushed over after hearing the news. Looking at the boxes of precious rewards, they felt that they had been so ignorant in the past, especially Yang Yingxue. When she was in Jiangnan, she had thought that she was already the most respected one among the young ladies from families of officials. She had even felt that the princesses in the Palace might not be nobler than her. Now that she saw the food, clothing, and basic necessities of life enjoyed by Shen Ninghua, she felt that she had been an ignorant frog in the well. All she knew was only the sky as big as a pot above her head.

Shen Ninghua accepted the reward and thanked the eunuchs and guards who came to declare the decree. Then she directly took out a bolt of green silk and a bolt of cloud-pattern crimson brocade. She handed them to Xia Jingqiu, who was standing beside her. “Auntie, you and cousin have helped me a lot these days. I have nothing to give you. These two bolts of cloth are for you and cousin to make clothes.”

Looking at the beautiful silk in front of her, Xia Jingqiu’s eyes were almost stuck to it. However, she was wiser than that. “Ninghua, we are a family. There’s no need to say thank. Besides, the silk is rewarded by His Majesty. You can’t give it away at will.”

Shen Ninghua smiled and said, “Auntie, don’t worry. His Majesty has already said that it is not easy for me to manage the mansion all by myself. Therefore, I can use whatever rewards I got from the Palace.” As she spoke, she gestured for Bi Zhu to take the two bolts of cloth and directly asked servants to send them to the Cuizhu Pavilion where Xia Jingqiu lived.

The smile on Xia Jingqiu’s face became increasingly brighter. She pulled Yang Yingxue’s hand and stood in front of Shen Ninghua. “Ninghua, I know that you are exceptionally intelligent, so I will just be blunt. Your cousin has already reached the age of marriage…”

Shen Ninghua glanced at Yang Yingxue who was blushing. She interrupted Xia Jingqiu with a smile, “Auntie, I understand what you mean. Actually, I have planned to ask you about it. You and cousin have been in the capital for quite some time now, does cousin have someone to her liking?”

Yang Yingxue blushed and lowered her head without saying anything. Xia Jingqiu smiled at her and said hesitantly, “Back then, Yingxue and the Second Prince… She used to be worried about the existence of the Second Princess, so she suppressed her thoughts. Now I wonder…”

The smile on Shen Ninghua’s face faded, “Aunt, you should know that even if the Second Prince intends to have another wife, cousin’s status is too low to be his wife.”

“As long as he has feelings for her, it doesn’t matter if she can be his wife or not.” Xia Jingqiu explained.

So she was willing to be a concubine?

“If you say so, I can give it a try.”

“Alright, alright.” Xia Jingqiu said. “Is it convenient for Yingxue to follow you into the Palace tomorrow?”

“Alright.” She didn’t know what would happen at the banquet tomorrow. Since Yang Yingxue wanted to go, she didn’t mind bringing her. It would be good for her to widen her experience.