kvmb Chapter 156 I guess it means you don’t need to pursue the matter
Chapter 156 I guess it means you don’t need to pursue the matter
His Majesty spread out the white paper and glanced at the inkstone in front of the desk. Tang Ling understood and ground the ink for His Majesty. It seemed that His Majesty was not going to let him go for a while.
"I heard that Tang Qing has a good relationship with the King of Chu?"
First it was the Fifteenth Princess, and now Qi Xiao was mentioned again, which made Tang Ling secretly relieved. There was still room for the marriage.
"The King of Chu saved my life."
"Before Concubine Lin moved into the West Palace, the King of Chu also borrowed the doctor by your side?"
"It is true. Although Qinglan is not as skilled as the doctors in the Imperial Hospital, his unexpected ideas sometimes have unexpected therapeutic effects."
"Did you know that the Imperial Household Department reported that Concubine Lin's condition worsened due to your doctor's reckless use of medication?"
Tang Ling was startled for a moment, then raised her eyes. She took two steps back, knelt down straight, and bowed her head. "Qinglan did take Concubine Lin's pulse, but the medications she used were all decided after consultation with Imperial Physician Fang. From getting the medicine, decocting it, to taking care of her daily diet, Qinglan was not involved. I hope Your Majesty will understand."
His Majesty glanced down at Tang Ling condescendingly. Although he was kneeling, he did not seem panicked and did not seem afraid. Was he expecting and preparing for this, or was he just stupid?
Tang Ling was certainly not stupid. But he certainly had no idea the Imperial Household Department was accusing him of such slander. He should have thought of this. Blaming Qinglan for Concubine Lin's death would be a mistake. Even if Qinglan were killed, or even him, His Majesty would gain nothing. Murdering a concubine was a serious crime. If it were pursued, Qinglan would have been dragged into the Imperial Household Department and tortured.
If Concubine Lin was murdered, Doctor Fang would be implicated. He couldn't have said to His Majesty that Qinglan's prescription was flawed, and he used it to kill Concubine Lin. The Ministry of Internal Affairs' sudden move couldn't be an attempt to frame Doctor Fang or Qinglan; they weren't qualified, and framing Tang Ling was too far-fetched. Someone, desperate, could only be trying to push Qinglan out to exonerate themselves.
Having figured this out, Tang Ling naturally had nothing to fear. Now she could only adapt to the situation and see what His Majesty wanted from her.
"I've seen Doctor Fang's notes. Did he use the gallbladder of a venomous snake?"
"Yes."
"Doctor Fang said that the prescription is a bit aggressive and not a commonly used prescription."
"Your Majesty is wise. Tang Ling doesn't understand medicine, so she wouldn't dare to speak nonsense. Qing Lan may not be very skilled in medicine at a young age, but Doctor Fang has been working at the Imperial Hospital for decades. If there's anything wrong with the prescription, Doctor Fang wouldn't use it anyway, right?"
His Majesty smiled, and after a long while, he said, "Although Concubine Lin has been ill for a long time and is weak, she is not in such a state. Since Mr. Tang has strongly proved the innocence of the doctor named Qinglan, I also believe that Mr. Tang will not betray the trust of the King of Chu."
"Your Majesty is aware of this."
"It's getting late, Tang Qing, go back."
"My minister retire."
Tang Ling knelt for a long time, standing up slowly and retreating slowly. Zhang Suian was waiting at the entrance of Chengming Palace. When he saw Tang Ling coming out, he gave him a light support and said, "This old servant will escort Master Tang."
After leaving the palace, Tang Ling stopped, raised her head slightly, sighed, and rubbed the sweat from her palms.
***
Tang Ling came out of the palace and went directly to Yangxizhai. Qi Xiao had been standing in the corridor for a long time, waiting for him to come back.
Qi Xiao saw Tang Ling walking into the courtyard from afar and hurried to greet her: "Why are you back so late?"
Tang Ling smiled: "Long time? About the same as usual, right?" Normally, when playing chess with His Majesty, Tang Ling would stay in Chengming Hall for about an hour. Although she talked a lot with His Majesty today, the game was only half played, so the time should be about the same.
Qi Xiao pulled Tang Ling back to the house quickly. As soon as the door was closed, he hugged him and kissed him.
Perhaps because of Concubine Lin, Qi Xiao felt uneasy. He didn't want Tang Ling to leave his sight, and he didn't want Tang Ling to enter the palace to see His Majesty.
Tang Ling was almost out of breath from Qi Xiao's kiss, but instead of pushing Qi Xiao away, he hooked his arms around Qi Xiao's neck tightly and held on tightly. The more suffocated she felt and the faster her heartbeat became, the more satisfied he felt.
Qi Xiao finally loosened his grip a little, holding Tang Ling's cheeks, wiping the blush off his face, and looking at the affection in his eyes. He was so beautiful that Qi Xiao wanted to hide him and not allow anyone to see him.
"Has His Majesty given you any trouble?"
"How do you know?"
"Did he give you a hard time?!"
Tang Ling smiled softly and kissed Qi Xiao: "It's not difficult."
Tang Ling told Qi Xiao everything he and His Majesty had said in Chengming Palace. The more Qi Xiao listened, the deeper his frown deepened.
Tang Ling rubbed Qi Xiao's brow and said, "Don't worry, isn't this a good thing?"
"The Ministry of Internal Affairs will not investigate the fact that my mother did not die of illness unless someone reports it to His Majesty." This person can only be Chi Yue. Doctor Fang would not dare to do such a thing that would bring trouble to himself, and Twelve and Liu Shuang are even less likely to do so.
"Why don't you ask Chi Yue yourself and everything will become clear to you? He should have his reasons."
Qi Xiao raised his eyebrows slightly: "You actually spoke for him?"
"Didn't he help me sneak into the West Palace? It's not too much to give him a chance to explain."
Qi Xiao was a little surprised. In just a few days, the people around him seemed to have changed a lot.
"Your Majesty only asked questions and didn't punish anyone in the end. What's the meaning of that?"
Tang Ling looked at Qi Xiao, his eyes suddenly filled with heartache and depression. He couldn't help but stretch out his arms to hug Qi Xiao and said, "I guess it means you don't want to pursue this matter."
Qi Xiao froze.
"If this matter is really investigated, many people will be implicated, and no one knows what will be found. Even if the investigation leads to Concubine Zhao, with your current power, you can't touch Concubine Zhao and Gongsun."
Qi Xiao understood that if he continued to investigate, it would only force the Ministry of Internal Affairs to confirm Qinglan's "evidence of guilt", putting Qinglan and Tang Ling in danger.
Tang Ling held Qi Xiao's tightly clenched hands. "Qi Xiao, His Majesty was testing you and me. He said those words to me alone. Perhaps he thought I would be afraid. He wanted to see how much weight I hold in your heart and whether I could persuade you. Perhaps he also wanted to see how much I care about you and whether I would take the opportunity to instigate you to become enemies with the Qin and Gongsun families. Perhaps he thought you would get too obsessed with it and kill Qinglan to make a big deal out of it, embarrassing the Great Zhou at the same time."
No matter what His Majesty's intention is, what matters is how Tang Ling and Qi Xiao respond.
Qi Xiao was extremely annoyed. He had rarely seen the emperor since he was a child, and the number of times he had seen him in the whole year was less than that in the past two months. He did not understand his father at all, and it was even more impossible for him to figure out the mind of an emperor. This made him anxious.
Tang Ling pulled Qi Xiao to sit down and poured him a cup of tea. When Qi Xiao refused to take it, Tang Ling brought the cup to his lips.
Qi Xiao was stunned for a moment and looked at Tang Ling. Tang Ling was actually smiling.
Qi Xiao reached out and snatched the teacup away, then asked gloomily, "How can you laugh? Aren't you afraid that His Majesty will take Qinglan's life?"
"He won't. Killing Qinglan won't benefit him at all. He won't waste the effort."
When it comes to the ability to understand people's thoughts, Qi Xiao is no match for Tang Ling.
"You just said this is a good thing? What's good about it?"
"Fortunately, His Majesty mentioned you in person."
"what?"