CHAPTER 1628: CHAPTER 1603: EXTERNAL CONSULTATION

Yi Ziyang and the others came over gradually from a distance. Before they got closer, they saw five people lined up in front of the palace wall. As they dismounted or got out of their carriages, they couldn’t help but curiously ask, "Are you being punished?"

Bai Shan directly tossed him a bottle of whitening cream and said, "No, we’re waiting for you guys and planning to go in together. Here, this is the whitening cream you asked about last time. Two taels of silver, no need to thank me."

Yi Ziyang didn’t mind and, while feeling for money, looked at them back and forth and asked, "Why did you come so early?"

Including Feng Zongping, the four of them sighed in unison. Lijun, standing aside, said nothing, silently taking Yi Ziyang’s money and putting it into her purse.

She thought her Little Uncle was selling things so quickly, much faster than she had imagined.

Oh well, this sigh meant a lot, and Yi Ziyang immediately understood. He also sighed, then quietly took his luggage to have it checked by the guards, not rushing to enter the palace and standing together with Manbao and the others.

Guards: ...

Suddenly feeling a bit angry, what do you guys plan to do, enter or not?

The guards angrily finished checking then put the basket inside, arranging it with the other four pieces of luggage.

More people gradually arrived, and this time, it was apparent that everyone arrived a little earlier than usual. Bai Shan didn’t throw a bottle of ointment to just anyone he met, only to those he thought would want it.

Sure enough, everyone who received the ointment paid without asking any questions. A fellow student who wasn’t very familiar with them asked, "Why not give me a bottle?"

Bai Shan glanced at him and asked, "Haven’t you already married and had children?"

Feng Zongping and the others holding the whitening cream felt offended.

The fellow student laughed and said, "Do you not care about appearance just because you’re married with children? Come on, give me a bottle."

Zhou Lijun skillfully offered a bottle, and before everyone even arrived, the box of twelve bottles of whitening cream she brought was all sold out.

From start to finish, she hadn’t spoken more than five sentences, which was beyond her expectations.

She took out the heavy money bag, put it in the box, then looked up at her Little Aunt and Bai Shan, and said seriously, "Little Aunt, you guys should quickly enter the palace. I’ll go ahead and wait for Grandpa and Fifth Uncle."

We’ll still have to go and collect the salary rice later.

That was her embarrassing moment to face, Manbao sighed and said, "Go then."

So they no longer waited for the remaining people and directly turned around to enter the palace.

They took their luggage and headed to the Eastern Palace, but halfway there, Zhao Liulang caught up with them, hastily carrying his basket, and shouted, "Wait..."

The group stopped and turned to look at him. Zhao Liulang caught up and asked, "Where’s the whitening cream, isn’t there one for me?"

Bai Shan blinked and said, "It’s sold out. I’ll bring one for you next time."

Zhao Liulang couldn’t help but complain, "I was the one who asked, yet you didn’t save one for me."

Bai Erlang found him noisy, and said, "What’s the big deal, I’ll share half of mine with you later."

Zhao Liulang, surprised, said, "Didn’t you refuse to share before?"

Bai Erlang said, "I’m not as tan now, so I’m willing."

Zhao Liulang, heart constricted, glanced at Bai Erlang’s face and said, "Actually, it’s not much whiter."

"As long as I’m whiter than you guys, I’m satisfied."

The group ignored the two of them. Instead, it was Manbao, already a bit ahead, who remembered to ask, "How is State Duke Zhao’s injury?"

Zhao Liulang waved and said, "It’s nothing, the lump on his head has subsided, and these days he’s laughing at the Wang Family’s joke."

Everyone laughed and joked as they headed to the Chongwen Pavilion, not feeling this matter had much to do with them anymore. The situation had developed into a contest of interests among the adults, and all they needed to do was obediently study at the Chongwen Pavilion as instructed by their elders.

As the Crown Prince’s companions, they were already like this, let alone Manbao. She had already been punished, so this matter was considered to be settled.

Who knew that just a day later, the Crown Prince would say to her, "There’s an external consultation. Do you want to go?"

Manbao looked surprised, "I can still do external consultations?"

After being surprised, she remembered to ask, "What kind of consultation?"

The Crown Prince smiled and said, "Wang Family’s, you know Wang Ji’s nephew, right?"

Manbao almost instinctively recalled, "That nephew from the Wang Family who trampled the fresh seedlings with a horse?"

The Crown Prince nodded, "Wang Ji beat him badly, and he’s not doing well now. Do you want to go check on him?"

As a doctor, saving lives is her duty, so of course, Manbao could go. But what puzzled her was, why would the Crown Prince ask her to go?

Seeing Zhou Man’s look of confusion, the Crown Prince smiled and said, "If you want to go, go. Didn’t the Buddhist teachings say saving one life is better than building a seven-story pagoda? After all, it’s a human life."

Manbao stood up and said, "Alright, I’ll go."

The Crown Prince nodded and had Eunuch Wu escort her out of the palace, and he also brought her some top-quality medicine from the storeroom.

Manbao, baffled, followed Eunuch Wu outside the palace and asked, "Eunuch Wu, are you coming with me?"

Eunuch Wu laughed, "I can only escort you, Lord Zhou Junior, to the Eastern Palace gates. Rong Si will drive for you. Wang Family’s illegitimate son is waiting outside the palace. You can follow him."

Manbao still felt it was strange, "Why did His Highness think of asking me? Wouldn’t other imperial physicians in the palace be more convenient?"

Eunuch Wu chuckled, "This is a private matter for His Highness, not suitable for other imperial physicians. Besides, the Wang Family mother and son trust Lord Zhou Junior’s medical skills more."

Manbao softly asked, "Has the Crown Prince reconciled with Lord Wang?"

Eunuch Wu lowered his voice and joked, "You’re kidding. The Crown Prince is ruler, Lord Wang is a minister. How could there be conflicts between ruler and minister? It’s merely a difference in political views."

So, they haven’t reconciled.

Manbao felt even more puzzled. She carried her medical kit and said, "I’m a doctor, only here to save people."

Even with Eunuch Wu’s vast experience, he couldn’t help but be momentarily stunned. He glanced at Zhou Man, both amused and exasperated, and said, "Oh my dear Lord Zhou Junior, where are you going with this? His Highness sent you out, naturally to save a life."

He paused, still giving Zhou Man a bit of inside information, "Wang Family’s illegitimate son came to plead. His Highness couldn’t refuse. After all, it’s a human life, so His Highness agreed."

Manbao then relaxed and assured Eunuch Wu, "I will do my best."

It’s merely a case of a beating; it’s likely bruising or perhaps a muscle injury? But with plenty of flesh on the buttocks, it shouldn’t be a big deal.

Thinking this, Manbao arrived outside the Eastern Palace gates, where Rong Si was already waiting. After taking her medical kit, he drove the carriage out of the palace and conducted another check at the palace gates.

With the Crown Prince’s token, Manbao was allowed to leave the palace. Once outside, a person hiding in a corner immediately ran up.

Manbao lifted the curtain to see he was only a few years older than them, then asked, "Do you want to ride with us?"

The Wang Family’s illegitimate son glanced at Zhou Man, slightly relaxed, and immediately said, "Thank you, Lord Zhou Junior. My family has a carriage, we can go now."