Rebirth of Poisoned Empress, by 颜若优雅

Chapter 34

During early spring, light thunderstorms permeated the days. This year, the rainy season appeared to be especially long, and some cities even faced the potential threat of floods in the middle and lower reaches. Disaster relief measures kept the court and ministers occupied with a heavy mind. Shen Liang wasn't sure whether it was because he died by smashing his own head in the concrete in his previous life, but he woke up with a pounding headache again the day it started to rain again. His original plan of teaching Qi Yue poison was cast aside to make room and time for him to understand herbal medicine and the basic foundations and properties of medicine first.

There was no delay in Qi Xuan's plan in learning martial arts though. The boy was very enthusiastic and went to find Wang Qingfeng with Shen Liang's note the next day. Lei Zhen received Qi Xuan personally and the master he arranged for Qi Xuan was an actual master in the field who was more than qualified to pass on his trade and arts to Qi Xuan. From that day on, morning exercises became a daily habit for Qi Xuan. The master would come to teach Qi Xuan every day at around the time of Chen (7-9am) and would only leave around noon. 

Undercurrents and turbulent affairs permeated the marquis Donglin Manor for the past few days as the dispute over control of the manor affairs heightened in tension. Suddenly, rumors of what happened with the bandits ran rampant in the Imperial City amongst noble families. People from the Ministry of punishment paid a visit for several days straight and as Liu Shuhan suffered attacks from enemies from both within and without the manor, an invitation sent by the Elder Princess soon arrived shortly afterwards as well. The invite clearly wrote that the Elder Princess was inviting the Madame of the Marquis as well as the eldest heir and daughter to pay a visit to the palace. It didn't take much to know the Princess wasn't utilizing the opportunity to garner more information on the truth.

As bad news came one after another, Liu Shuhan was cloaked in a bad mood and smashed many priceless treasures within her courtyard to vent her anger. But it didn't stop there. As though she had been cursed, the day after she received the invite from the Elder Princess, Zhao Lan, from the second family finally managed to root out the servant Shen Qiang had attempted to send away with bribes. She was finally able to connect the crime to Shen Qiang and along with the old madame's pre-existing bias, all necessary evidence was present and Liu Shuhan's control and authority was firmly and finally abolished. Shen Ruiting was nowhere to be found as he was occupied with the disaster relief planning and all rights and authorities fell into the second family's hand just like that. 

"Liangliang, did you hear about the banquet held at the Princess's Palace to call for donations for disaster relief?"

In the blink of an eye, several days had passed. Despite all the commotion outside, besides Qi Xuan, neither Shen Liang nor Qi Yue had left their courtyard for the past few days. Because of Shen Liang's headaches, he had been protected and kept indoors like an animal on the brink of extinction. All he had done for the past few days was lie on his bed and read. The master-servant pair each had a book on pharmacology in their hands all day long and with each other's accompaniment, their days were quite leisurely and peaceful. 

"En, I have heard," Shen Liang, who was leaning against the bedrest, placed his medical scripture down and looked up at him. Although he has never left the courtyard, the master Lei Zheng had arranged to teach Qi Xuan martial arts would deliver him message on affairs of the Imperial City every day. Such news included information on the Elder Princess's banquet as well as how the Blood Jade Linglong was stolen from the Grand Master's Mansion three days ago. 

"Then Liangliang, will you go? It's the Elder Princess. Her quarters will undoubtedly be more luxurious than our Marquis Mansion," Qi Xuan, who had just returned rushed to the window to peer in with a longing expression. He was after all only in his mid-teens, right at the age where it was only natural to be curious and lively.