Chapter 1329: Chapter 1329: Seeing a Doctor

Very soon, they were summoned into the Empress Dowager’s palace. Stripping away their false facades, the Nanzhao Emperor dismissed the palace attendants with a wave of his hand before speaking the truth to them.

“I apologize for any inconvenience caused to avoid unnecessary trouble.”

What else could be said?

After all, it was their own impatience that led to this. Gu Youyou smiled faintly and replied, “A healer’s duty is to save lives. There is no talk of inconvenience. Your Majesty is too kind.”

Searcy’s disdain for Gu Youyou grew yet again, feeling that she was becoming increasingly hypocritical.

Clearly, she cared a lot, yet she spoke as if she were above it all.

“And who is this?” The Nanzhao Emperor looked at Searcy in surprise.

Gu Youyou replied, “She is also a doctor, my assistant.”

The Nanzhao Emperor: “…” Do doctors now require assistants too?

“Crown Prince, please wait outside for a moment. The two doctors may come in to treat the Empress Dowager.”

Jin Zijin nodded without saying much.

Gu Youyou and Searcy were invited into the Empress Dowager’s bedchamber, where the elderly woman had already fallen asleep.

The Nanzhao Emperor moved as if to wake her, but Gu Youyou raised a finger to her lips, signaling him to remain quiet.

“Hold on, let me check first before waking her.”

The Empress Dowager of Nanzhao Country appeared to be a woman in her sixties, her hair meticulously combed by the palace attendants, equally split between black and white.

Currently, she was sound asleep. Her complexion appeared sallow, and she looked utterly exhausted.

Gu Youyou sighed softly, “The Empress Dowager looks terribly fatigued.”

The Nanzhao Emperor responded, “Indeed. My mother was tormented by those witch doctors all day long. She has eaten barely anything and only just managed to fall asleep.”

Searcy sneered from the side, “How can a patient hope to recover if they can’t even get proper rest?”

Gu Youyou quickly turned and shot her a sharp glare, forcing Searcy to reluctantly bite her tongue.

This made the Nanzhao Emperor feel rather awkward, but Gu Youyou smiled gently and said, “Your Majesty, please forgive her. She is a descendant of the Ghost Doctor family. The Ghost Doctor family members are known for their extraordinary skills and daring temperament, along with certain eccentricities. Please do not take it to heart.”

The Nanzhao Emperor had never heard of this so-called Ghost Doctor family, but from Gu Youyou’s implication, it seemed this doctor was highly skilled, albeit with a peculiar demeanor.

Thinking about the exceptional talents within Nanzhao Country who often disregarded imperial authority, he felt more at ease.

As long as the Empress Dowager could be cured, he could hardly be bothered to argue with a mere young woman.

“Doctor Gu, please proceed.”

Gu Youyou nodded lightly and took a seat on the stool beside the Empress Dowager’s bed.

First, she checked her pulse before asking, “What are the Empress Dowager’s symptoms?”

“Symptoms?”

“What kind of discomfort has she been experiencing?”

The Nanzhao Emperor sighed, “My mother began coughing over a month ago. Initially, we thought it was just a common cold. She took some pills provided by the witch doctors, but there was no improvement at all.

Now it has worsened. Sometimes her coughing becomes uncontrollable, and the sound of it can be truly unsettling. She just fell asleep, but it’s possible she could be woken up by her cough at any moment.”

“Coughing?” There are many causes for a cough; ideally, Gu Youyou would like to examine the Empress Dowager’s throat. However, given how late it was, the era’s limited lighting made it impossible for her to properly inspect the throat.

She stood up, retrieved some ointments and pills from her medicine chest, and said to the Nanzhao Emperor, “If the Empress Dowager wakes up coughing, have her take these pills. As for this ointment, apply it now. It will help suppress the cough during the night.”

The Nanzhao Emperor ordered someone to take the medicine from Gu Youyou and asked, “Is this all that is required?”