Chapter 671 - 671. The Empress Bestows Medicine
“Qing ‘ er, Ziqi is going to be the Crown Prince. He is destined to be different from the other children. He has the entire country on his shoulders. Nothing can happen to him.”
Xiao Zeyu’s expression turned serious. This was the first time he had spoken to
Su Qing in such a severe tone.
“He’s only two years old. It’s not fair to him.”
Su Qing suddenly stood up. If she had to sacrifice her child’s childhood to prepare as the Emperor, she would rather Ziqi be an ordinary person.
“We shoulder the burden of the people. If we want him to be a good emperor, we must sacrifice a lot.”
Xiao Zeyu nodded his head. He knew this was too harsh on his son, but he had no choice. Little Tree had to be repaired from a young age, or it would not grow straight.
“Change the Crown Prince’s Grand Tutor to Zhang Jinglin. I don’t want Ziqi to be like an old man at such a young age. Even if he’s the Emperor, he has to be flexible. He won’t be a good Emperor if he’s only one-track-minded.”
Su Qing refused to give in. Zhang Jinglin had a forthright personality. He was outstanding in both literature and martial arts. He did not have any of the pretentiousness of an old pedant. He was quick-witted and good at thinking. Only when such a person became the Crown Prince’s tutor would he not tum the child silly.
“Alright, we’ll do as Qing ‘ er says.”
Xiao Zeyu also felt that Zhang Jinglin was not bad. He knew how to advance and retreat, knew the limits, was proficient in heavenly literature, and was knowledgeable in geography. He was very knowledgeable and qualified to be
Ziqi’s tutor.
Ziqi’s current Grand Tutor was indeed a little too old. He studied the eight-legged essay and was very scholarly.
However, he requested the child to follow the Confucian ideology completely.
It was also to curb the child’s nature. To put it bluntly, it meant that the child did not have his thoughts. It was terrifying to be an emperor without your thoughts.
Su Qing was in a much better mood now that she had helped her son get a good tutor. Xiao Zeyu massaged her shoulders.
“Qing’ er, you’ve had a long day. Go take a hot bath and rest early!
“What about you?” Hearing Xiao Zeyu’s words, did Su Qing not intend to sleep?
“I want to finish approving the delayed memorials during the day.”
Xiao Zeyu smiled. Qing’ er was concerned about him.
He had gone to the manor during the day to help Qing1 er collect the accumulated memorials. He was an emperor who couldn’t sleep well until he finished approving the memorials on the same day. He had to approve all the memorials overnight.
“Alright, rest early.”
Su Qing was tired. She went to the inner room for a hot bath and slept early.
She would continue fighting the next day.
In the middle of the night, Su Qing felt the bed move in a daze. Someone lay down beside her. A familiar scent assailed her nose. A robust and long arm wrapped around her slender waist, and a low and hoarse voice sounded in her ear,
“It’s me. Go to sleep.”
Su Qing leaned into his arms and closed her eyes to continue sleeping.
Xiao Zeyu had already gone to the morning court when she woke up. The three children came to greet her. The little guys looked exhausted yesterday but were full of energy after a night’s sleep. Their big eyes were bright and spirited.
“Yun ‘er pays her respects to mother.”
Yun’ er’s delicate voice rang out happily. She was always the first to greet her mother.
“Ziqi pays her respects to mother.”
Ziqi bowed deeply. His eyes were furious. He had angered his mother yesterday. He wondered if his mother was still angry.
“Rui ‘er pays her respects to the Empress’ YiNiang.
Zhang Qirui kneeled on the ground and kowtowed to Su Qing. This was what his father, Zhang Jinglin, had taught him. After entering the palace, he had to kneel and kowtow to the Emperor. This was the rule.
“No need. Wash your hands and get ready to eat.”
Su Qing was pleased to see the three children standing before her again. None of them were deserters.
Looking at the palace maids and eunuchs, each of them had a nervous look in their eyes. They feared the Empress would choose them to work in the manor.
After sleeping the night before, they woke up and felt sore. They felt their legs trembling when they walked, and the calluses on their hands were so painful that they hurt their hearts.
“Take this ointment and apply it on your hands.
Su Qing saw their nervous expressions and remembered that she had only applied medicine to the children yesterday, not to the palace maids and eunuchs. She removed the ointment from the system and threw it to the chief eunuch, asking him to apply it to their wounds.
When the Empress gave them medicine, these palace maids and eunuchs were overjoyed. They all knew that the Empress’s medicine was a divine medicine that could cure even broken arms and legs, let alone minor wounds.
After dinner, Su Qing got the children into the carriage. She didn’t take all the palace maids and eunuchs with her today. She only brought her personal palace maids and eunuchs, as well as the golden saber guards, from the palace. They had all left the palace, so it was useless for the golden saber guards to stay in the palace. They might as well go to the manor to exercise.
The procession set off outside the city in a grand manner. In order not to be ostentatious, everyone wore the clothes of ordinary people. There was no royal identity symbol on the carriage, so few people noticed it when walking on the street.
“Bring her back.” Just as Su Qing’s carriage reached the entrance of Mao’ er Alley, she suddenly heard a woman’s sharp voice. It sounded like she was catching someone.
“Mother, please let me go to the women’s clinic. I really can’t give birth anymore.”
A woman begged weakly. Su Qing didn’t pay attention at first, but when she heard the woman mention the Imperial clinic, she ordered the carriage to stop. “No, they will cut open your stomach and dig out your heart. What if they kill my little grandson?”
“It won’t happen, Mother. Many of those who can’t give birth have already given birth at the women’s clinic. Both mother and child are safe.” “Don’t believe it. It’s all witchcraft. It’ll steal your soul away. Nothing can happen to my golden grandson. My son is already dead. You have to give birth to my grandson safely.”
“Go and see what’s going on.”
Su Qing’s face darkened when she heard someone slandering her women’s clinic.
The reason why she set up this clinic was to save those women who had difficult labor. In ancient times, giving birth was like the gates of hell. She almost died from difficult labor, so she set up this women’s clinic.
She had trained a few smart women to be doctors and taught them to perform caesareans, blood tests, and transfusions. This clinic was free of charge for those with poor families. Su Qing used it to do good deeds.
Uncle’s Master said that she had killed too many people and had to do more good deeds. Otherwise, she would live a short life.
Su Qing did not care about life and death in her previous life, but in this life, she was afraid of death. She did not want to leave Shuisheng, her children, and her friends.
Once a person had something to worry about, they would be afraid. Su Qing wanted to train more female doctors and assign them to various cities and counties to open women’s hospitals to save more women.
Now that someone was slandering her clinic, Su Qing couldn’t tolerate it. “Send the pregnant woman to the hospital.
“Let her mother-in-law go with her and watch. Don’t let her blink,” Su Qing ordered the guard.
She wanted to let this mother-in-law, who did not care about her daughter-in-law’s life, see with her own eyes if a person who had a caesarian section could still live.
“What are you guys doing? Ah, there’s a knife. Please don’t kill me, don’t kill me. I’ll go with you…”
The guard escorted her forward. The elderly woman attempted to intervene, but the mere presence of the guard’s saber deterred her. Silently, he guided her out of the alley, his authority and the weapon in his hand ensuring no one dared to protest.
Su Qing, upon lifting the curtain, witnessed a concerning scene. Four guards were carefully carrying the pregnant woman, their expressions grave. Trailing behind them, her mother-in-law walked, her body shaking from fear or
concern..