Chapter 215 2/3

“Yes,” Concubine Liu replied.

Li Qingzhi then said to her, “It’s too cold outside to properly examine the child. Madam, please follow me to my children’s room. There’s a heated bed there, and it’s warmer.” It wasn’t appropriate for him to take Concubine Liu to his own room, but taking her to the children’s room was fine.

“Alright,” Concubine Liu agreed again. It was indeed very cold outside!

In the past, she would never have exposed An An to the cold wind.

Li Qingzhi led Concubine Liu to the room where Li Damao, Li Ermao, and Zhao Xiaodou stayed.

The room was indeed warmed by a heated bed. On it, Li Damao, Li Ermao, and Zhao Xiaodou were playing.

Li Qingzhi said, “Xiaodou, take Damao and Ermao outside to play, or go to your room to play. We have a guest who will be staying here for a while.”

Sensing that Li Qingzhi was serious, the three children obediently left.

Once they were gone, Li Qingzhi suggested Concubine Liu warm herself and the child on the heated bed while he fetched some medicine.

In truth, he didn’t have any special medicine. He prepared a saline and sugar solution to give the child for some energy.

He poured the solution into a porcelain bottle and gathered some clean white gauze and silver needles he had prepared earlier.

With everything ready, Li Qingzhi returned to the room.

Concubine Liu was already sitting on the bed, with Qi An laid down beside her.

Li Qingzhi noticed Qi An was still weakly whimpering.

He carefully examined Qi An’s injuries and then said to Concubine Liu, “Madam, I don’t have the right ointment here. The ointment already on the child is good. Do you have more of it? This ointment needs to be applied regularly. As for other treatments, your child’s pulse is very weak. I need to administer acupuncture four times a day to ensure his survival. So, it’s best for him to stay here.”

As he spoke, Li Qingzhi took out a silver needle and heated it over a nearby candle flame.

Li Qingzhi appeared genuinely confident and unmalicious, giving the impression that he could indeed save Qi An.

Could this man really be deceiving her? Li Qingzhi had become Concubine Liu’s only hope, and she quickly agreed to his terms: “Then the child will stay with you, doctor. I’ll have someone fetch the ointment right away!”

“You go ahead. It’s better if it’s quiet when I administer the acupuncture,” Li Qingzhi said, also giving Concubine Liu a chance to communicate with her subordinates.

Moreover, if Concubine Liu stayed, he would have to put on a show of acupuncture. If she left, he wouldn’t have to actually perform it, sparing the child some pain.

Concubine Liu took one last look at Qi An before biting her lip and leaving.

She had many things to arrange, like notifying Lu Qingxi and ensuring no one knew she and Qi An were here.

She needed to retrieve the ointment prescribed by the royal physicians and investigate Li Qingzhi.

Outside, Concubine Liu quickly summoned her trusted aide.

Her aide had already gathered some information about Li Qingzhi, learning that he was the top scholar of Jiang’an Province. However, whether Li Qingzhi had medical skills was still unknown.

Jiang’an Province was far from the capital!

“He’s the top scholar of Jiang’an Province. He’s unlikely to be a fraud… I’ll stay here for the next few days. Go back to the palace and fetch the medicines prescribed for the young master. Also, lock up my palace and tell everyone I’m not seeing anyone, as I’m dedicating myself to caring for the young master. I’ll write a letter to Lu Qingxi for you to deliver,” Concubine Liu calmly instructed.

As long as she had a glimmer of hope, she could regain her composure!

For safety, Concubine Liu couldn’t let anyone know she was here, so she decided to seal off her palace.

If she didn’t allow anyone into her palace, except for Qi Jun, no one could enter!

Qi Jun was ill and wouldn’t visit her. Even if he did, given his nature, he wouldn’t force his way in if she refused entry!

But she needed to communicate openly with Lu Qingxi about the situation.

After arranging everything, Concubine Liu had a guard and a maid accompany her back, along with another maid who was already with her, making three people in total.

Back at the Li residence, Concubine Liu didn’t disturb Li Qingzhi and waited outside the room.

At that moment, Li Qingzhi had just fed the child some saline solution and came out.

“Madam, I’ve administered the acupuncture. You can watch over him now… If you plan to stay, I can have a room prepared for you?”

“We will stay. Mr. Li, just tell me which room is available, and I’ll have my people prepare it,” Concubine Liu said.

“The east wing has empty rooms,” Li Qingzhi replied. The east wing had four rooms, two occupied by Mrs. Qian and two maids, leaving two vacant.

Concubine Liu immediately had her people prepare the rooms and sent a guard to buy some firewood and charcoal. She also handed Li Qingzhi a hundred taels of silver, ensuring everything was well-arranged.

Li Qingzhi accepted the money and gave some instructions for looking after the child before leaving to get some rest.

Earlier, he couldn’t find peace, but now he finally could. He also had time to consider the future.

The child’s injuries were severe. Even if he gave his all, it would take one to two months to heal him and restore his appearance.

But he couldn’t do it all at once!

After ensuring the child’s life was out of danger, he had to treat him gradually to avoid revealing his unique abilities.

But if the emperor were to die, a child with a disfigured face couldn’t ascend to the throne!

What to do next?

Li Qingzhi sighed inwardly. Meanwhile, Concubine Liu, noticing Qi An’s improved breathing, wept tears of joy.

This top scholar from Jiang’an Province might indeed be able to save Qi An!

Even if Qi An survived as a blind person, she had enough power and wealth to ensure he lived comfortably!

But wait, if Prince Jin or Prince Yan ascended to the throne, would she still have power and wealth? Could she still support Qi An?

Would those people kill Qi An?

They surely would. Qi Jun was kind and didn’t believe in eliminating threats, but others weren’t like him!

They wouldn’t let Qi An live, and even she and Lu Qingxi might not survive.

That was unacceptable!

An An had already suffered so much; she couldn’t let him suffer more in the future!

But how could she ensure An An lived well?

Concubine Liu actually knew the answer – to prevent Prince Yan and Prince Jin from ascending the throne.

This meant finding another candidate for the throne.

Choosing another child wouldn’t work; it might harm the child, and the ministers wouldn’t agree.

Choosing an older relative wouldn’t work either; they were distant and lacked capability.

Why didn’t Qi Jun have a son? If only he had a biological son…

Qi Jun’s biological son?

A brilliant idea suddenly struck Concubine Liu.

Qi Jun hadn’t always been infertile. The eldest princess and second princess were his biological children!

Even she had once been pregnant.

Everyone knew her daughter had died, but what if her child hadn’t been a daughter?

What if she had actually given birth to a son?

Afraid someone would harm her child, she sent him away. After an accident, the child was lost but now had finally been found…