Tong Aning accompanied Xue Ruyun to the front hall.
Upon seeing Xue Ruyun approach, Eunuch Wang quickly stood up and went to greet her.
Xue Ruyun had anticipated this, and she asked directly, "Is the Empress unwell?"
Eunuch Wang nodded hurriedly, "That's right, that's why His Majesty sent me to invite Doctor Xue."
Seeing his anxious expression, Xue Ruyun frowned and asked, "Is it serious?"
"It's not too serious..."
That stammering manner of his clearly indicates that he has something to hide.
Xue Ruyun took the medicine box from Yingtao's hands. Eunuch Wang waved his hand, and the little eunuch beside him immediately stepped forward to take the job of carrying the medicine box.
Xue Ruyun said, " Aning, please continue. I will check when I return."
Tong Aning: "..."
"Understood, Master, you may go now."
Tong Aning reached out and nudged Xue Ruyun, Xue Ruyun chuckled and followed Eunuch Wang away.
As soon as the people left, Tong Aning approached Su Zhouyue, her eyes crinkling with a smile.
Su Zhouyue glanced at her and continued drinking her tea, "Your master said he'll check when we get back."
"Okay, I understand."
Tong Aning sat down next to Su Zhouyue.
Su Zhouyue sighed helplessly, "You're going to squash your mother!"
Tong Aning pinched Su Zhouyue's shoulder and smiled ingratiatingly, "Mother, was Master a royal physician before?"
Su Zhouyue: "It's a princess."
Tong Aning was so startled she almost jumped up. "Ah?"
Su Zhouyue scolded her, "You really can't hold your temper."
Su Zhouyue took her hand and this time didn't let Tong Aning squeeze into the same seat with her, but instead let Tong Aning sit down next to her.
Tong Aning rested her chin on her hand, staring intently at Su Zhouyue, clearly extremely curious about the matter.
Su Zhouyue took a look and exclaimed, "Wow, it's the same orange cat that often comes to our yard! It does the same thing when it wants food!"
Su Zhouyue smiled and said, "Your master is the only daughter of Consort Rong, the late emperor's most beloved Consort Rong."
The system had told Tong Aning many palace secrets, and Tong Aning remembered this Consort Rong because she was extremely favored.
Tong Aning tilted her head and asked in confusion, "Then why did Master leave the palace to open a pharmacy?"
[Moreover, aside from the surname, I always thought my master was just an ordinary doctor.]
Su Zhouyue said, "At that time, the late emperor did not establish a crown prince, and the princes fought each other to the death. Your master was used to the bloodshed in the palace and was traumatized, so he decided to leave the palace."
[Ah, so that's why His Majesty established a crown prince from the very beginning—to avoid such a power struggle.]
[But where can conflict be avoided?]
[However, His Majesty doesn't have many children, so the infighting shouldn't be that fierce.]
Su Zhouyue couldn't help but chuckle as she watched Tong Aning lower her head, twisting her belt as she pondered intently.
Such a small thing, yet it has so many things to worry about.
Tong Aning suddenly looked up, her eyes sparkling, and asked, "What about Consort Rong?"
"After the late emperor passed away, she went to a Buddhist temple outside the city to cultivate herself. Your master often went to visit her."
Tong Aning muttered, "Why didn't Master take me to see Master's wife? Am I not her only direct disciple?"
Su Zhouyue: "..."
She stood up, raised her hand, and poked Tong Aning's head. "Dream on, go get your acupuncture done."
Tong Aning obediently left.
She figured out the location of Xue, but Xue Ruyun didn't return until dark. Tong Aning asked Yingtao to inquire, and Yingtao came back and said that Xue Ruyun had stayed in the palace.
Tong Aning got up and put those things away.
*
The next morning, Tong Aning and Tong Fengye went to the Imperial Academy together.
Before they even reached the gates of the Imperial Academy, the carriage suddenly stopped.
Tong Fengye lifted the carriage curtain and asked, " A Shu, what's wrong?"
A Shu raised his whip and pointed forward. The street in front of the Imperial College was packed with carriages. It was the time for students to go to school, and the street in front of the Imperial Academy was completely blocked.
Tong Fengye and Tong Aning got off the carriage and decided to walk. On the way, they encountered Feng Chu and Lou Yingyu.
Lou Yingyu complained as she walked, "How dare they make me walk! I'll never find out who owns that carriage at the front!"
Feng Chu: "Save your energy for walking properly."
Lou Yingyu glared at him.
Feng Chu wasn't afraid of Lou Yingyu and glared back.
We've finally arrived at the source of everything.
Lou Yingyu glared menacingly at the first carriage, and her eyes met those of Azhu, who stepped out from behind the curtain.
Lou Yingyu: "."
Azhu: "...?"
Tong Aning asked in surprise, "You're here so early?"
Azhu scratched his head sheepishly. "I'm not smart, so I have to get up early."
Lou Yingyu leaned against Tong Aning with a mournful expression, "Someone actually got up early to go to school."
Azhu continued to laugh.
Tong Fengye asked, "What's going on up ahead?"
Azhu: "It was like this when I arrived."
The group looked toward the gate of the Imperial Academy and saw a couple cursing angrily, as well as a corpse covered with a white sheet.
Their hearts skipped a beat.
Feng Chu: "Someone died?"
Tong Fengye pulled Tong Aning behind him.
"He's out, the chief priest is out."
The couple rushed to the chief priest, the woman weeping bitterly, "Chief priest, you must do justice for my daughter!"
The chief priest glanced at the corpses below. "Let's go inside first. We'll handle things properly."
"We won't go in, we won't go in," the man pulled the woman to his side, his words fierce. "You're all in cahoots, you'll kill us if we go in."
Feng Yinsong, who was standing next to the chief priest, smiled with relief.
He put his hands behind his back and said, "Under the emperor's nose, who would dare to do such a thing?"
The man's attitude was firm. "Right here in the capital, my daughter is dead. She was our only daughter."
The people were talking about it.
"That's so pitiful."
"Even the Imperial Academy shouldn't treat human life so lightly."
"What does this have to do with the Imperial Academy...?"
"Alas, what can we do when the Imperial Academy produces a student who drives a respectable young woman to her death?"
The chief priest frowned and said, "Then what do you want? I've already sent people to find the person who caused your daughter's death, and they'll be brought to the authorities shortly."
Man: "That's all as it should be, but..."
He exchanged a glance with the woman, who said, "We've put so much effort into raising this daughter; you have to compensate us."
The chief priest nodded. "That's natural."
He looked at Feng Yinsong, "Go and fetch one hundred taels of silver..."
The man exclaimed, "One hundred taels isn't enough! This is a human life! Is it really only worth one hundred taels?"
Feng Yinsong asked directly, "How many do you want?"
The woman stammered, "We're not doing this for the money; we're here to seek justice for our daughter."
Feng Yinsong scoffed lightly, repeating his previous question, "How much do you want?"
The woman stammered, while the man raised his head and said, "One thousand taels."
Feng Yinsong went to see the chief priest, and the chief priest agreed.
Are they really here to seek justice? It seems like they're here to ask for money.
[Host, they already caused trouble at Earl of Chende's place before coming to the Imperial Academy, and got a thousand taels of silver, which is why they dare to ask for such an exorbitant amount now.]
[Two thousand taels? What do they need so much money for? Don't they only have one daughter...? Good heavens, they also have two sons.]
The couple were happily preparing to count their money when the man glanced at the white cloth, thinking it might still be somewhat useful.
[Moreover, their daughter only bumped into Earl of Chende's son by accident, and after exchanging a few words, the daughter went to drown herself. They then blamed the incident on Earl of Chende's son.]
Why did she jump into the river?
[She was the eldest daughter, and from the age of five, she did most of the housework. After her two younger brothers were born, she devoted herself entirely to them. Now that her brothers are of school age, they don't have the tuition fees, so her parents are thinking of selling her to an old man as a concubine...]
Lou Yingyu walked over, cursing and pointing at the two of them angrily, "You two still have the nerve to cry here?"
The couple paused, and the man asked, "Who are you?"
Who I am is none of your business.
Lou Yingyu climbed another step, looking down at the couple. They were both quite ordinary-looking, not at all villainous.
But this is the same person who drove his own daughter to her death, and now that his daughter is dead, he still wants to use her to extort money.
Lou Yingyu was pampered since childhood; her parents treated her like a precious jewel, and she couldn't understand the couple's actions.
Lou Yingyu clapped her hands and said, "Where is your conscience?"
The woman seemed timid, while the man remained menacing, saying, "We raised her, how can you have no conscience?"
"I really am..."
Lou Yingyu's hands were itching to beat him up.
"His Majesty has arrived."
Even His Majesty knows? Lou Yingyu quickly came down the steps and returned to Tong Aning's side.
Even before His Majesty's imperial carriage arrived, the people were already shouting "Long live the Emperor!"
The emperor glanced at the Imperial Academy and asked, "Why is it so lively today?"
Xue Lin and the Crown Prince were both by the Emperor's side. Xue Lin explained the whole story to His Majesty, and then said, "Uncle, I will handle this matter."
"Oh?"
Xue Lin clapped his hands.
The two boys threw themselves into the couple's arms, calling out "Father!" and "Mother!"
Another servant from Earl of Chende's household and a commoner who happened to have witnessed the day's passing arrived.
The truth has come out.
The emperor's face darkened. "All people under heaven are my subjects. Girls are also allowed to attend school. In literature, we have last year's top scholar; in martial arts, we have Su Zhouyue and Wei Mingning. What do you want by treating your daughters like this?"
The two men were so frightened that their legs went weak, and they hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed, begging His Majesty for forgiveness.
"You should kneel not before me, but before her."
The emperor pointed forward.
The two looked over and saw their dead daughter. The white cloth had just been lifted by the wind, and they were startled by her pale face.
The emperor said, "If she forgives you, then I have forgiven you."
The two kowtowed repeatedly until their heads bled, but they would never receive a response.
The emperor said in a deep voice, " Alin, have someone take those two away."
"Yes."
The two boys were taken away, and their bodies would be buried. The two boys felt ashamed and didn't even chase after them; they just stomped their feet and left.
Students entered the Imperial Academy one after another.
Looking at the bright yellow figure ahead, Tong Aning asked, " Xixi, what do you think His Majesty is here for?"