The princess was ordained by Heaven.

Chapter 241 I Can’t Guarantee

"Have you decided?"

"It's decided."

"Alright, you may stay."

Wu Zongyu was indeed short of manpower, but he did not force any of his officials to stay.

But the feeling of having someone step forward to fight alongside him is ultimately different.

At that moment, he felt as if everything he did was worthwhile.

Wu Zongyu did not assign them any tasks, but only had them follow him to do some miscellaneous work and give them some guidance.

In the evening, a doctor came to the door with a reward notice posted for seeking medical help.

The doctor identified himself as surnamed Yuan.

Wu Zongyu was filled with suspicion.

News of an impending earthquake in Tingzhou should have spread long ago, and even those who didn't believe it wouldn't have gone to Tingzhou out of caution.

But Dr. Yuan insisted on doing the opposite.

Doctor Yuan didn't explain, but simply took out a token.

Seeing the royal insignia and the words "benevolent doctor" on the token slightly lessened his doubts.

But he remained calm and ordered his trusted men to guard him—no, to protect him—as he went to chase after Zheng Xun.

At this time, there were still more than twenty days until the day of the earthquake predicted by Zheng Xun.

Wu Zongyu didn't have time to think about Zheng Xun's situation because he had encountered a problem.

His letter to Treasurer Zhong went unanswered for a long time.

He worried that something had happened on the way, so he sent several more letters, but to no avail.

Having spent so many years naively naively climbing the ladder of officialdom, he wouldn't be so foolish as to harbor any illusions.

He did have some connections in Qizhou, but he had absolutely no connection with Treasurer Zhong.

He faced two paths: one was to investigate the reason for Zhong Siku's abnormality, and the other was to first submit a memorial to the court requesting the emperor to open the granary directly.

He quickly decided to take a two-pronged approach.

He wrote the memorial and sent it to the capital by fast horse.

However, two days after he sent out the memorial, he received news from the capital.

It turned out that the princess had long anticipated that the granaries in Qizhou would be unable to supply grain, so she had already sought help from the capital.

Wu Zongyu marveled at the princess's uncanny foresight.

Now that his worries were gone, he breathed a sigh of relief and settled down to focus on his business.

……

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

Doctor Yuan traveled day and night, and caught up with Zheng Xun and his group in just two days.

However, the person accompanying Zheng Xun this time was Lü Mengying, whom he had never met before.

"Doctor Benevolence?"

"Yes, this token was obtained for me by the princess."

At this point, Dr. Yuan's expression softened.

Lu Mengying stroked the hidden patterns on the token, a unique mark of the royal family. Touching it from different directions revealed different coded messages.

The token was engraved with Dr. Yuan's name; it couldn't be more authentic.

"Oh? That's quite a coincidence. Dr. Yuan happens to be nearby?"

"How could that be? At that time, it was in the town farthest from Qizhou in Dingzhou. The princess is my benefactor. When I heard that the princess needed medical treatment, I came looking for her."

Because he was worried about Zheng Xun's health, he didn't dare to delay for a moment on the way, and his face still showed clear signs of fatigue.

Lu Mengying lowered her eyes, clasped her hands in a gesture of respect, and said, "Thank you for your help, Doctor Yuan."

In truth, she still didn't have much trust in Doctor Yuan, but the princess's health couldn't be delayed any longer.

The doctor who examined me said that the condition could be stabilized for seven days, but his statement was clearly somewhat conservative.

Before leaving Tingzhou Prefecture, the princess was in very stable condition.

However, shortly after they set off, the princess's condition began to deteriorate rapidly.

Not only was her breathing becoming weaker, but she also started to develop a low-grade fever.

They had reached a desolate wilderness, far from any village or shop. Doctor Qi had not followed them in their retreat, and there were no other doctors in the group. So she could only wait until they reached the next place to try and find a skilled doctor.

The appearance of Dr. Yuan can be said to have solved her immediate problem.

After the initial probing, her tone became more intimate: "Dr. Yuan, please come with me."

Upon entering Zheng Xun's carriage, Doctor Yuan immediately knelt down beside Zheng Xun.

He first looked at Zheng Xun's complexion, then checked the temperature of her forehead, before solemnly taking her pulse.

Dr. Yuan's brows furrowed and relaxed at times.

As Lü Mengying waited quietly, her emotions fluctuated.

The first thing Dr. Yuan said after withdrawing his hand was very serious: "The situation is not very optimistic."

Lü Mengying swayed, gripping her sword tightly: "Princess...can you wake up?"

Dr. Yuan sighed softly, "I can't guarantee that."

"No!" Lu Mengying's voice was so sharp it was almost unrecognizable. Yuan Da was startled and stared at her blankly, wondering why she had spoken.

Lu Mengying composed herself: "No, the princess is very lucky, she won't be in that much trouble!"

Because of the taboo, she didn't even dare to say the word "death," but she firmly repeated, "She will definitely wake up."

"My lord, please don't be anxious..."

Upon hearing this, Lü Mengying became even more anxious: "Does Dr. Yuan have a solution?"

Doctor Yuan nodded cautiously, then shook his head: "The princess's condition is too special. She didn't fall into a coma because of illness, but because of overexertion. So no amount of medicine will be very effective. Has any doctor treated the princess before, sir?"

Lü Mengying quickly replied, "That's true."

"Since it is not an illness, it cannot be treated with ordinary methods."

"The princess is in such a state that she can only be 'replenished'."

"It sounds simple, but it is very difficult to do in practice. First of all, her body is too fragile. If the medicine used is too stimulating or strong, it will burst her body. But if the medicine is too mild or insufficient, it will not be able to stabilize the princess's condition. It is very difficult to control the degree."

"Secondly... what the princess needs to replenish is not something we mortals can provide. All we can do is help the princess strengthen her foundation and take good care of her body, which is equivalent to building a solid foundation and outer shell, relieving her of any worries."

Lu Mengying said restrainedly, "So, we can't help the princess much. Whether she can regain her senses depends entirely on herself."

"That's right."

"That doctor was quite skilled. He was able to maintain a delicate balance in the princess's body before her condition worsened. However, he was not careful enough in prescribing the medication. Now the princess should be allowed to rest. He didn't know how much to 'rest,' so the fever occurred because he relaxed his guard."

Doctor Yuan straightened his expression: "I know that Lord Lü does not trust my identity, but I need to give the princess acupuncture and explain these things. I also hope that Lord Lü can help me."

He said he was just going to be her assistant, but in reality, he was letting her openly monitor him.

Although the two were not familiar with each other, they shared the same desire for Zheng Xun to recover.

Lu Mengying bowed to Doctor Yuan: "I'd like to trouble you, Doctor Yuan. Please teach me what I need to do!"

Although he was open and honest, the princess's safety was of utmost importance, so she had to resort to petty tricks.

"No rush, let me write a prescription first. You can go get the medicine according to the prescription, and we'll start tonight."