Perhaps it was predestination otherwise why would it be so coincidental that it was when she needed the Tranquil Lotus most, it was found together with the music score for the Green Stringed Instrument?
She carefully put the phoenix hairpin into an innermost secret compartment in the jewelry box.
She had a feeling that the golden hairpin was not just an ordinary item.
Since it was kept with the music score for the Green Strings Instrument, it ought to be something her mother treasured and looked highly upon, so she had to preserve it properly.
Moreover, given her status, it would not against the rules for her to keep the phoenix hairpin in her collection.
Once she kept the hairpin, she placed the Tranquil Lotus back into the cloth pouch. She smiled a smile of relief at the thought that she would surely be giving the Crown Prince and the queen a surprise attack.
Back in the small room which had been temporarily converted into a laboratory, Qiu Yu was still working hard on the experiment all by himself.
Perhaps it was because Lin Mengya was not around so he did not have anyone discuss the work, the once scholarly and elegant young man had begun to look like a homeless, unshaven man.
His hair was tangled and his clothes were not badly stained.
His wide-opened eyes were blood-shot by now and the stubbles on his chin looked green. The only place on his body that was still clean was his pair of hands.
It ought to be because he was afraid he might contaminate the prescription, thus affecting the efficacy of the medicine, therefore he had kept his hands clean at all times.
He was indeed a fanatic.
Tapping on the table with his slender fingers, Lin Mengya tried to not make any loud noise or distracting movements, lest this man staring at the herbs should leap up and bite her from fright.
“Who’s that?!”
Qiu Yu turned to look at her fiercely. He paused for a moment before he remembered that this lady right before him was his working partner.
“I’m sorry; I wasn’t aware that you’ve returned.”
Seeing that Qiu Yu’s eyes were as red as that of rabbits, Lin Mengya shook her head. If not for Qiu Yu’s presence, she would not have been able to drop everything so easily and go back to her mother’s house.
“I can’t. I still can’t! There’s no way I could mix the Tranquil Lotus with the other herbs! Perhaps someone from my family would know how to do it, but that will be too late!”
His failure time and again had caused Qiu Yu to sink into deep distress.
The situation in the palace was getting worse by the day. From having unlimited access to the emperor’s bedside to attend to him, now he could only visit the emperor once in the morning and once in the evening.
Even so, the Crown Prince and the queen would have men watching him and following him closely all the time.
No matter what he had set out to do, it seemed that there was no chance of carrying it out.
Moreover, he heard words from the people in the Imperial Hospital that they were contemplating replacing him since the emperor’s condition did not seem to improve until now.
If he could not come out with an effective medicine to treat the emperor, they might lose their last chance.
“Look at what I’ve brought for you.”
Lin Mengya carefully took out the herb from the cloth pouch as if she was presenting some treasure and placed it before Qiu Yu.
Suddenly, Qiu Yu’s eyes went into a daze as he stared intently at what was in Lin Mengya’s hands.
“I’ve tested this herb and both its age and quality are just right for our use, so don’t worry anymore. Soon, we’ll be able to extract the essence of the herb by boiling.”
Qiu Yu took over the herb from Lin Mengya’s hands cautiously as if he were holding on to a delicate newborn.
There was a look of obsession in his eyes when he stared at the stalk of the herb.
“This, this is truly a miracle! How could this be preserved in perfection? Where did you find it, Your Highness, the princess?”
Lin Mengya pondered for a moment and replied saying that it was found among the items left behind by her mother.
She had the feeling that the music score for the Green Stringed Instrument and that golden hairpin were not common items. It would be wise not to let Qiu Yu know about it.
“What a coincidence! It was like the Heavens had arranged this. In this case, what are we waiting for? Let’s work on the prescription immediately, and then bring it to the emperor.”
Qiu Yu was obviously overly excited. There was an unusual urgency in his tone.
Lin Mengya shook her head and her lovely eyebrows knitted helplessly.
“This could be the first step to success. I’m sure you’re aware of the situation in the court of the commons without me telling you. This isn’t much time for the emperor to recover slowly. Even if the emperor is purged of the poison in him, he will still need to remain in bed for at least three to five months, or even as long as three to five years. If there were to be any unseen circumstances, our hard work would go down the drain.”
Qiu Yu calmed down after hearing Lin Mengya’s words.
Looking at the Tranquil Lotus in his hands, Qiu Yu let out a bitter laugh.
The subjects in the courts were now diametrically opposed. The Crown Prince and the other princes were either in overt contention or covert struggle. Now Prince Yu was being sent away by the Crown Prince to petrol the country during the spring plowing period.
In case of any incidents, he would not be able to return in time to help.
“How about I use some thousand-year-old ginseng and top-grade Lucid Ganoderma to nurture the emperor’s body?”
Qiu Yu had come up with such a foolish idea obviously because he ran out of other solutions.
At this juncture, Lin Mengya knew as much that this method was as good as killing the goose that laid the golden eggs.
“You know better than me that the emperor’s body at this moment is so weak that it would not be able to absorb much nourishment. Ginseng and Lucid Ganoderma, in this case, would act as a poison to his body. Even if he gets well, his life would be shortchanged. In three to five years’ time, it would be the end of him.”
At this, Qiu Yu sank into deep thoughts. It was a chance so hard to come by for them to find this Tranquil Lotus which could be used directly, but now they were back to square one.
On the surface, Lin Mengya appeared to be in deep thoughts, but in reality, she was searching through the section of the music score for the Green Stringed Instrument on herbs.
The section on the herbs was about the only content of the book she could understand. Some of the herbs appeared to be common but in reality, their uses were extremely important.
Partway through the search, she found a prescription, that when added to the emperor’s diet, it would only take around half a month’s time to purge out the remaining poison in his body and to nourish it. More amazingly, if it were taken with ginseng, it was able to alleviate the aggressive effect of ginseng.
In addition, it could also have a gentle yet long-term nourishing effect on the body. If this were the case, not only would the emperor be healed of his illness, he would be nursed back to health.
“Prancing Dragon Herb!”
Both of their eyes sparkled with excitement as they exclaimed in unison.
Thereafter, Qiu Yu turned to look at Lin Mengya with a look of shock. How did she know about this herb?
“Do you also know about the Prancing Dragon Herb? Has anyone in Dajin ever sold this herb?”
Puzzled, Qiu Yu inquired. This Prancing Dragon Herb was supposed to be so precious that it was a national treasure of the Nation of Lintian and not many people would know about its amazing uses.
Could it be…
There a flash of excitement in Qiu Yu’s eyes, but he hid it so well that even Lin Mengya missed it.
“I… of course I read about it in my mother’s medical book. Although this kind of herb is very precious, it doesn’t mean that it has not been used by people at all, so it would surely be in the records. Otherwise, how would the people who come after know about its amazing uses?”
Lin Mengya quickly found an excuse for herself. While both of them were finding excuses to cover up their secrets, they had completely missed how strange each was acting.
“You’re right. In this case, I will have to make a trip. After all, not everyone is able to lay hold of the Prancing Dragon Herb.”
The worry on Qiu Yu’s face finally dissipated. He immediately made up his mind to set out to look for the Prancing Dragon Herb and bring it back.
Lin Mengya made a wry smile and reached out to hold on to him, saying, “The Prancing Dragon Herb is a national treasure of the Nation of Lintian. I’m sure you’ll get chased out if you went alone as an imperial physician.”
“From my mother’s medical books, I read that the Prancing Dragon Herb initially consisted of the male and female stalks. Every year when the shoot sprouts, there would only be two stalks. Therefore the royal family of the Nation of Lintian treated it as a totem. Up till today, there were only a few hundreds of stalks of them. I think it will be better for me to go there personally. I am after all a princess of Dajin. If the prince were to personally write a letter as proof of my identity, they would perhaps spare me a stalk or two. You’ve been working so hard lately, it will be better for you to take a rest in the palace. By the time I return with the Prancing Dragon Herb, we will be very busy working on it.”
Lin Mengya was more thoughtful. The Nation of Lintian might be Dajin’s neighbor, the Prancing Dragon Herb coincidentally grew within the boundaries of the capital of Lintian.
Moreover, her mother had even sung praises about the capital city of Lintian being the home to hundreds of medicinal herbs. The climate there a gift endowed by nature in that numerous medicinal herbs that were difficult to cultivate were found there.
Therefore, she would check out some of the medicinal herbs she had been searching for a long time on this trip.
At the very least, she needed to be someone of official status to be able to make a request for medicinal herbs as precious as a national treasure from a foreign country.
In fact, it would be best if Long Tianyu were to go in person to make the request. Unfortunately, he was even overwhelmed with what was on his hands now, Lin Mengya had to brace herself to come out with this solution.
“They will definitely give it to you. Precious as the Prancing Dragon Herb was, the most valuable part of the herb was the main stalk consisting of the male and female sub-stalks. As long as they could lay hold of one main stalk, they could cultivate as many sub-stalks as they needed from there.”
Qiu Yu was wearing a confident expression on his face as if this matter was not a big deal to him.
“I think I would have to discuss with the prince regards to this matter. Oh yes, I’ve brought the Tranquil Lotus here and I have already finished preparing the prescription. I feel that it would be best if you go to the palace as soon as possible so the emperor can start taking the medication. In this way, the poison in the emperor’s body will at least be half neutralized by the time I return. Then, I can continue by administering the Prancing Dragon Herb to provide him with nourishment.”
What Lin Mengya said made a lot of sense.
Taking the prescription with him, Qiu Yu hurried back to the palace.
Seeing that the room was in a mess with the different valuable medicinal herbs scattered all over, Lin Mengya began to tidy up the place quietly.
She did not intend for this room to be taken away from her.
From the time she transcended time and space to arrive at this place, she realized that her knowledge and skill in medicine always ended useful in unexpected areas. Coupled with her discovery of the music score for the Green Stringed Instrument, maybe she would eventually become a great Chinese Physician.
At this thought, Lin Mengya instantly felt good about herself. By the time she finished packing up the things in the medicine room, the sky outside was dark out.