WBSGVS Chapter 186 V2

Meanwhile, Qingli had once again eaten to the point of being stuffed. She knew it wasn’t good for her stomach, but she had to get her body back in shape quickly. If she stayed weak like this—a ten-year-old girl with no strength—she’d always be easy prey for someone like Xiling.

And once that old nanny recovered, she’d be another problem entirely.

As for the imperial physician who came, Qingli didn’t hold out much hope of making a breakthrough through him. It was better to rely on herself.

After breakfast, Baizhu went to deal with last night’s snake. The sun was out again today, and the pile of laundry from yesterday needed to be washed. She had a lot to do, and so did Qingli. Even with a maid in the house, when two half-grown kids were living together, there was still plenty that Baizhu had to worry about. So, the place they lived in was quite messy.

Qingli did a quick tidy-up and then noticed little Sima Yan sitting on the bed, clutching his blanket, watching her. His eyes were red and watery from the fever. As soon as she looked his way, his eyes lit up a bit.

“What’s wrong?” Qingli asked.

With a hoarse voice, Sima Yan asked anxiously, “Did Mother come back?”

When their mother died, the original host was just over five, and Sima Yan was already four. He had vivid memories of her. When she passed, he cried day and night. The original host cried with him. Eventually, he stopped, and the matter was quietly buried.

Qingli wasn’t sure if he fully understood the concept of death, so she thought for a moment, then nodded. “Mm-hmm, she came back for a bit.”

Sima Yan’s voice turned aggrieved. “But I didn’t see her!”

Qingli smiled and said gently, “That’s because you were sick and fast asleep, so you didn’t know. And even though you couldn’t see her, she could see you. She’ll always be with us.”

Sima Yan had been without his mother for over half a year. He was already used to it. Though a little disappointed, he still nodded. “Okay.”

Qingli said, “Alright now, lie back down. Don’t catch a chill.”

Sima Yan obediently lay down and pulled up the blanket, but he kept his eyes on her.

Qingli smiled at him and went back to tidying. In one corner, she unexpectedly found one of the original host’s mother’s earrings—a silver one. Qingli was pleasantly surprised. It wouldn’t be worth much in the palace, but it felt like finding a hidden treasure.

She wondered if there might be more elsewhere?

Then suddenly, she froze—she remembered that the original host’s mother had buried something behind the rear hall. That was back when the original host was just over five and shortly after her mother had been banished to the Cold Palace.

Though she’d once been a consort, the original host’s mother had brought some assets with her. But life in the Cold Palace was hard; everywhere required bribes just to survive. Over time, she’d used almost everything she had left.

Still, that item—whatever it was—had never been taken out again, at least not in the original host’s memory.

Qingli suddenly felt curious to see what it was. Even though seeing the physician didn’t cost money, everyone adjusted their effort based on their “rank.” Plus, she needed some herbs.

After hesitating a moment, Qingli respectfully apologized in front of her mother’s memorial tablet, then grabbed a stick and went to the rear courtyard behind the hall.

No one usually went there.

The Cold Palace was so desolate that stepping a little outside made it feel like you were in the wilderness. It was deeply unsettling.

There were no tools in the Cold Palace, so she had to make do with a piece of wood.

Luckily, her mother had been pregnant at the time, so she probably hadn’t buried it very deep. Qingli dug for half an hour before seeing the corner of a box. After another ten minutes, using both hands, she finally got it out!

The box was locked, so she grabbed a stone and started smashing it.

Bang, bang, bang— She struck it over and over. After a while, she’d take a break. She didn’t have much strength yet and was also worried that Xiling might come back and catch her in the act.

Xiling might be acting obedient for now, but she wasn’t truly afraid yet. If she saw something valuable, she might get greedy. Then all this would be for nothing.

Still… why hadn’t Xiling returned yet?

Qingli frowned, then kept hammering. Finally, with a crack, the rusted iron lock broke off.

When she opened the box, a musty smell hit her.

Qingli stared in silence at the neatly folded books inside.

Especially the top one—Dao De Jing.

But wasn’t her mother banished for practicing witchcraft? And yet she managed to hold onto this?

Qingli picked up the Dao De Jing and flipped through it. She’d read it before and remembered the content. This one was the same—not much to see there. She moved on to the rest.

Titles like Hexagram Techniques, Physiognomy… Each sounded more mystical than the last. Qingli was thoroughly confused. She had studied medicine, not metaphysics. Not that she didn’t believe in the supernatural—after all, hadn’t she been summoned by a soul in pain? That was already a kind of spiritual force.

She’d just never encountered it before.

And now, it was here, in this world?

Was it real?

Qingli didn’t know, but a quick skim showed that it all made some sense. It was quite fascinating. For example, the sections on facial features were very similar to Traditional Chinese Medicine, but with their internal logic.

There was also fortune-telling based on birth dates—just a glance was enough to pique her interest…

She was still reading when Baizhu’s delighted voice rang out from the front hall: “Sister Xiling, you brought the imperial physician!”

Xiling said smugly, “Of course I did!”

Then a gentle, scholarly voice spoke modestly, “I haven’t officially been appointed as an imperial physician, so I don’t deserve the title. It’s just that the ones on duty today were all occupied, so I came instead.”

Qingli froze in the middle of putting the books away.

So… the royal authority in this country isn’t all that absolute? A prince is gravely ill, and they send someone not even officially on the medical staff to see him?