Chapter Twenty: Visiting the Door

  The hair of the eldest princess was already half white, but her face still retained a hint of youthful beauty, only her complexion was too pale, and her body's cheeks were extremely thin, looking like she had been ill for a long time, without any spirit or energy.

  "But then the Grand Princess Chang laughed bitterly and said, 'Foolish child, if your heart was truly sincere, the Buddha would have bestowed blessings, how could the horse carriage still be startled? Alas! Now it's unclear whether this is good fortune or bad.'"

  Shen Qianshan smiled and said, "At first, I was worried in my heart, but now that I think about it, if the horse hadn't been startled and run wildly, how would Grandma have met such a good doctor? Moreover, the horse ran for several miles, but Grandma didn't even get hurt, just a little frightened. Isn't this also an unexpected joy? It can be seen that the Buddha is protecting Grandma." After finishing speaking, he stuck his head out and said, "Has the horse been replaced? If it has, let's return to the mansion."

  "A guard reported: 'Yes, it's already been changed, but what about those two hunters? Please instruct us, young master.'"

  Shen Qianshan's expression immediately turned gloomy, and he coldly said: "They startled the imperial princess's carriage, not being skinned alive is already a lenient punishment, what more need be asked about how to deal with them?"

  The eunuch was about to take orders and leave, but heard the Empress Dowager say sternly: "Wait." After she finished speaking, she turned to her grandson and said softly: "Qian Shan is worried for his grandmother, so he is furious in his heart. This grandmother knows that. However, you should investigate carefully. If it's really an accident, there's no need to take the lives of two innocent people. You just said that your grandmother is sincere in her Buddhist devotion and has obtained a good doctor. Buddhism is most merciful, sweeping the floor with fear of hurting ants' lives, lovingly covering lamp shades to protect moths. Ants and moths are treated this way, yet you want to make your grandmother guilty of taking lives?"

  Shen Qianshan's eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and after a long while, he reluctantly said: "Alright, since Grandmother has pleaded for them, I won't take their lives. However, they can't escape punishment. Jiang Yuan, those two hunters shouldn't have been hunting at the foot of the mountain, no matter what. Today, they only accidentally injured the horses, but what if they harm human life in the future? Each of them will receive 40 lashes, let them remember this lesson and not be so reckless again."

  "Yes." Jiang Yuan led the way and left. The Empress Dowager shook her head and sighed, "Although they are in their prime, these forty boards will take half of their lives away." As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Qianshan said calmly, "I have already shown mercy to my grandson, if people like them don't learn a lesson, how can they become better?"

  The Empress Dowager also knew that her grandson was right, this child had been clever and quick-witted since childhood, both literary and martial arts were praised by his teacher, so at a young age, he was already very influential in the mansion, even his parents couldn't control him, and sometimes they would ask their son for advice, it was really laughable and pitiful.

  Let's not mention the joy of Princess Chang and Shen Qianshan returning to the mansion, but rather talk about Ning Fenbi and Ning Derong. The two sat in a horse-drawn carriage waiting on the side, since Princess Chang's carriage had not yet departed, they had no reason to leave first. Because Ning Fenbi thought about future events, she sighed and said: "Third Master, why must you do this? The imperial family is the most difficult to serve, my granddaughter knows that Grandfather doesn't care about those prestigious names and fame, so why take on this matter?"

  If it weren't for this incident, if Ning De Rong hadn't cured the Empress Dowager's congenital poison, there wouldn't have been the subsequent rewards and honors, let alone the later catastrophic mistakes. Having spent several years with Ning De Rong, Ning Fenbi had long regarded him as her own grandfather. She didn't want him to have those ups and downs at all.

  Unfortunately, fate couldn't be decided by her. Ning De Rong sighed and said: "Foolish girl, didn't Third Master teach you? A doctor's heart is like a parent's. If Third Master wasn't capable, then so be it. But since he has the ability, how could he bear to keep it private? In Third Master's eyes, all lives are equal; even the Crown Princess is no different from those ordinary patients I've treated. Do you understand?"

  Ning Xianbi knew that she couldn't change Ning Derong's mind, and she couldn't help but secretly sigh, thinking to herself: But in reality, that was the Eldest Princess, she was different from ordinary patients. Alas! Never mind, at least in her previous life, although Third Grandfather had caused a great disaster, thanks to the Eldest Princess' protection, he had managed to keep his life, and this life probably wouldn't be any different either. She just needed to plan carefully and find a place to take care of him when Third Grandfather was in trouble, so that he could spend his later years in peace.

  Just as she was thinking, Haitang said in a low voice: The carriage of the eldest princess has passed. As soon as the words fell, Ning Fengbi felt that the carriage she was sitting in had also moved, rumbling along behind the carriage of the eldest princess, also heading towards the capital.

  In the next few days, Ning Fengbi and Ning Derong were busy dealing with those medicinal materials. Some needed to be soaked, some needed to be cooked, and others had to be washed clean and dried in the sun. Some had to be cut into sections or ground into powder, etc. After all these treatments were completed, what was left was to prepare the medicine. According to the existing herbal medicine and prescription, they were divided into a small paper bag, which was the dose of one medicine.

  After the medicinal herbs were divided, Ning De Rong was about to make pills. Ning Xian Bi had been looking forward to this day for a long time, so she repeatedly said that it would be better to wait until tomorrow when she came over to decoct them. Otherwise, she would have to pull out all of Third Grandfather's whiskers.

  It just so happened that on this day, early in the morning, Ning Fengbi followed Yu Shi to Jiang Lao Taijun's Ning Xin Yuan. After everyone had paid their respects, they heard someone come to report: The prince of Rui Wangfu personally came to invite the three old masters to go and diagnose the illness of the eldest princess, and specially came to pay his respects to the old lady.

  Many people in the mansion did not know about this matter, and upon hearing it, they were all shocked. However, they couldn't let the young master of the Wang estate wait outside, so they didn't have time to ask questions. Old Lady Jiang hastily ordered someone to invite Shen Qianshan in.

  Before long, the sound of footsteps came from behind the screen, and then a spirited and vigorous little boy walked in with his head held high, making a bow to Old Lady Jiang on the ground.

  Mrs. Jiang invited Shen Qianshan to take the seat of honor, as he was not yet the crown prince, but only the sole son of the second house of the Wang family, so others did not need to pay their respects. Then they heard Shen Qianshan say with a solemn expression: "I shouldn't have declined the old lady's offer to sit down, but my grandmother is seriously ill and her coughing fits are getting worse by the minute. I've already asked the three elderly gentlemen of your esteemed family to come, so now I'd like to return to the Wang residence immediately with him. I hope the old lady will excuse me."

  Mrs. Jiang hastily said, "Young master's filial piety is commendable, since that's the case, I won't delay you all." After finishing her words, she saw Shen Qianshan stand up and scan his eyes over several girls in the hall, finally falling on Ning Fenbi beside Yu Shi, where his gaze couldn't help but light up, smiling: "Sixth young lady isn't following Third Elder Master this time? I heard from Elder Master that you've always been by his side, understanding some medical knowledge, perhaps there's still somewhere to trouble you."