A transparent panel immediately appeared before Ji Kongqing’s eyes. Without time to be surprised, she saw the x next to the panel and immediately pressed it with her mind.
She sensed that the atmosphere in the hall was abnormal and realized that her previous behavior had overstepped her bounds. Sensibly, Ji Kongqing knelt toward the emperor: “This child lost her propriety just now; please forgive me, Imperial Father.”
Jiang Shirong gave Ji Kongqing a solemn look, then turned his gaze to the white-haired imperial physician at the side: “Weiqian, is the little prince alright?”
Zhuo Weiqian had already finished taking Jiang Minyu’s pulse and knelt down: “He is completely out of danger.”
Jiang Shirong continued to ask him: “Given the situation just now, what percentage of success would your method have in saving him?”
Zhuo Weiqian wore a troubled expression: “Based on past experience, less than thirty percent.”
Jiang Shirong’s expression turned somewhat ugly as he turned to Ji Kongqing: “Consort, do you understand medicine?”
Ji Kongqing pondered for a moment. Thinking that the heavens were high and the emperor far away, and the original owner already had a very low presence in the Thousand Birds Kingdom, she had just activated some kind of hospital system and would probably not be able to avoid displaying medical skills in the future. She simply decided to admit it.
She nodded: “This child once learned from an itinerant doctor in her youth and understands a thing or two.”
“The method you used just now was learned from that itinerant doctor?”
“Exactly,” Ji Kongqing nodded.
“Using your method, if you encounter this situation again, what percentage of success do you have in saving them?”
“As long as the rescue is timely, there is a ten percent chance of saving them.” Ji Kongqing did not mind popularizing the Heimlich maneuver. In this world, even the common people could not eat enough, so the level of medical skill was presumably quite poor.
“How timely is timely?”
“Uh, about half a cup of tea’s time. It must be fast. If it is not timely, even if the object is eventually vomited out, he might remain unconscious.” Ji Kongqing briefly explained.
Hearing this, Princess Shao felt lingering fear as she hugged the little prince into her arms; she had almost lost her only child just now.
Prince Shao also hugged Princess Shao, patting her back soothingly. He and the princess had been married for many years, only having this child as they approached middle age; if they had lost him due to this, he truly wouldn’t have known how to face it.
Jiang Shirong nodded: “Very well. Since that is the case, Consort, you will impart this method to the imperial physicians of the Imperial Medical Bureau. Weiqian.”
“This subject is here,” Zhuo Weiqian bowed his back.
“I limit you to one month to bring all the imperial physicians to master this method. Are there any difficulties?”
“There are no difficulties. I also ask the consort to bestow much guidance.” Zhuo Weiqian gave Ji Kongqing a bow.
“Consort, do you have any difficulties?” The emperor asked Ji Kongqing again.
“None,” Ji Kongqing shook her head.
“Good,” Jiang Shirong nodded. “If this method can be promoted, no one else will die from this. The consort has made a contribution; what reward do you want? I can grant it to you.”
Hearing this, Ji Kongqing’s eyes lit up. She currently had nothing, and no one needed a reward more than she did.
After pondering for a moment, Ji Kongqing replied: “Imperial Father, this child hasn’t thought of it yet. Can I wait until I finish teaching the imperial physicians before bringing it up?”
“Very well, both of you rise.” Finding Ji Kongqing rather interesting, Jiang Shirong flashed a trace of a smile in the depths of his eyes and agreed.
Ji Kongqing immediately got up from the ground and strode back to Jiang Sui’s side, continuing to eat with relaxed composure as if nothing had happened.
Jiang Sui did not expect that Ji Kongqing would bring her such a huge surprise at this banquet, and she subconsciously glanced at her a few more times, her heart filled with doubt.
As for her younger sister, Jiang Jiang, seeing that Jiang Shirong was in a good mood, she seized the opportunity to speak: “Imperial Father, there is simply too much food, and this child has a small appetite and cannot finish it all. Can I use a food box to pack up the remaining food and take it back to the palace to eat tomorrow?”
“Very well,” Jiang Shirong nodded. “As long as there is no extravagance or waste.”
Jiang Jiang curved her lips into a smile and bowed: “Thank you, Imperial Father.”
The others who had been eating with all their might saw that this was allowed and stopped, successively begging Jiang Shirong for permission as well.
Jiang Yu, who was already stuffed to the limit, could not help letting out a hiccup. Looking at Ji Kongqing, who was still eating opposite him, he couldn’t help rolling his eyes at her: “Is she a pig? She can actually still eat.”
Ji Kongqing could naturally eat. In order to taste the so-called imperial banquet, she hadn’t eaten breakfast, and the previous commotion had helped her digest a lot. Unlike the others who needed to toast and socialize with each other, she naturally ate more than them.
While eating, Ji Kongqing silently shouted system in her heart.
The system page popped up again, and the interface was very concise.
[Number of people treated: 1]
[Pharmacy: Opened]
[System space: Can be opened after opening the beginner’s gift package]
[Mission: Teach the Heimlich maneuver]
[This is an unlocked area]
[Account balance: 0 (Exchange standard: 1 copper coin = 1 system coin)]
Ji Kongqing blinked and found that the text for the locked system space was dimmed, and the mission was the one just issued by the emperor. She immediately recited opening the gift package in her heart.
That mechanical sound rang out: “Beginner’s gift package opened. System space opened. Rewards: a set of suture instruments, a stethoscope, a tetanus vaccine including syringe, 100 system coins. The system coins have been automatically deposited into the account, and the system-produced items have been stored in the space, accessible at any time.”
The words system space on the page also lit up, and the account balance became 100.
Ji Kongqing clicked on the system space, the page jumped, and the items she was rewarded with were already stored in the space.
The displayed interface looked like a game interface, with each item being a 1×1 picture, and the corresponding quantity below the picture. The number was now 1.
Clicking on them allowed access at any time, and there was a line of scrolling small red text at the bottom of the page: [System space can only store system items, and time stands still within the space.]
Ji Kongqing felt a sense of wonder. She clicked on the system mall again and found that three pictures were unlocked, corresponding to three types of medicine, with names and prices below the pictures.
They corresponded respectively to: Amoxicillin 5 coins, Ibuprofen 8 coins, and Ganmao Ling granules 3 coins.
Clicking on the pictures of the first two allowed switching the medicine types, with capsules, tablets, granules, suspensions, etc. After switching, the pictures would also change, but the prices remained the same.
The medicine pictures were all packaging Ji Kongqing had seen in modern times, and she felt the prices were ridiculously cheap.
After looking, Ji Kongqing closed the interface, pretending nothing had happened.
Prince Shao and Princess Shao opposite her also calmed down and continued eating, though they paid closer attention to Jiang Minyu’s movements, terrified that he might choke again.
After the banquet ended, the emperor and others left their seats first, and those who hadn’t finished eating all took food boxes to pack things up. Jiang Jiang did the same, and her leftover portion couldn’t even fit in one box.
As members of the royal family, packing up unfinished food never happened among them, and everyone looked flustered.
Ji Kongqing had almost nothing left on her side; she was very full, and whatever she couldn’t eat later, Jiang Sui had eaten a bit of, so it was all taken care of.
“Princess Wuyang,” Ji Kongqing stared at the food box in Jiang Jiang’s personal maid’s hand. “Can Her Highness let me take some back since she can’t finish it?”
Jiang Jiang looked at Jiang Sui with a complex expression, walked up to her, and lowered her voice to ask: “Imperial Elder Sister, does she not get enough to eat in your estate?”
Jiang Sui glared at her, looking somewhat speechless.
Accustomed to Jiang Sui’s silence, Jiang Jiang spoke to Ji Kongqing: “If the consort likes it, this palace will have the maid deliver the food box to Imperial Elder Sister’s carriage.”
“Thank you, Your Highness,” Ji Kongqing smiled and bowed to Jiang Jiang.
Prince Shao and Princess Shao heard Ji Kongqing asking Jiang Jiang for food and walked over, unable to hold back their amusement.
Princess Shao smiled and asked her: “Does the consort like this lunch?”
“I like it,” Ji Kongqing’s amber eyes carried a clear smile. “The imperial palace’s head chef is truly extraordinary; the food really is well-made.”
Prince Shao hooked the corners of his lips and glanced at Jiang Sui: “This king remembers that when Fenghua’s estate was built, she took away Head Chef Wei from the imperial kitchen. Head Chef Wei knows how to make all the dishes at today’s banquet.”
Ji Kongqing didn’t say she lacked the qualifications to order Head Chef Wei around, but instead smiled and replied: “Although the princess’s estate is not short of money, we shouldn’t be wasteful either. Since there is ready-made food in the palace, we won’t trouble Head Chef Wei.”
Looking at Ji Kongqing’s innocent and clear eyes, Prince Shao laughed out loud: “Fenghua has truly found an exquisite person; she is diligent and frugal in managing the household.”
Jiang Sui felt her ears burn slightly from Prince Shao’s teasing. She glanced at Ji Kongqing and said helplessly, “Imperial Uncle, please stop making fun of me.”
“Hahaha,” Prince Shao laughed heartily, turning to instruct the servants of his own estate: “You too, send the packed food boxes to the Eldest Princess’s carriage. Since the consort likes them, you should make another trip to the imperial kitchen and have them make more pastries for the consort to take back.”
“Thank you, Imperial Uncle,” Ji Kongqing bowed.
Prince Shao waved his hand: “Today, it should be me and the princess thanking you instead. Thank you for saving my son.”
“It was just a small effort, but the situation was urgent at the time and I might have lost my propriety. I hope Imperial Uncle will not blame me,” Ji Kongqing replied politely.
“Never mind,” Prince Shao shook his head, looking toward Jiang Sui. “Next time Fenghua comes to the estate, you can bring the consort along. Your consort’s personality is very endearing, and this king likes him a lot.”
“Fenghua understands.” Jiang Sui slightly nodded, accepting the invitation in her surprise.
She hadn’t expected that upon their very first meeting, Ji Kongqing would win Prince Shao’s favor. Knowing her imperial younger sisters and brothers had long worn out the threshold of Prince Shao’s estate trying to win his support.
Her imperial uncle had even taken the initiative to invite her and Ji Kongqing together. Thinking about it this way, she was basking in Ji Kongqing’s light.
Meanwhile, in the emperor’s sleeping quarters, the Mingrong Palace:
“This consort is quite different from what we imagined,” after dismissing the maids and eunuchs, Empress Zhao Yunwei couldn’t help speaking out.
Jiang Shirong nodded in agreement: “Indeed. Much more quick-witted than the investigation described. Those words clearly weren’t taught to her by Sui’er. To be able to think of such a coping method in a short time, it seems she is not the good-for-nothing the Thousand Birds Kingdom claimed.”
“Could it be that she has been hiding her clumsiness all this time in the Thousand Birds Kingdom?” Zhao Yunwei asked in return.
“Highly likely,” Jiang Shirong nodded. “The Thousand Birds Kingdom’s monarch has numerous heirs, and the royal palace is like a dragon’s pool and tiger’s den. For a daughter born to a mere palace maid, hiding her clumsiness was the wisest course of action to survive.”
“She isn’t as useless as we thought,” Zhao Yunwei frowned. “Then can Sui’er’s safety be guaranteed? After all, she is an imperial princess of an enemy country. Will she harm Sui’er? She even understands medicine, and now she is Sui’er’s pillow-companion. It is truly worrying.”
“She won’t,” Jiang Shirong shook his head. “She is revealing her edge now precisely to let us see her value. She probably wants to live in Jiaming for a long time, and for the sake of that, she won’t harm Sui’er.”
“I investigated: after she arrived at the post station, she was even poisoned by the Thousand Birds Kingdom’s envoys. This was clearly the instigation of the Thousand Birds Kingdom’s monarch; otherwise, how would an ordinary envoy dare to poison an imperial princess?”
“It’s just that the Thousand Birds Kingdom’s monarch is destined to be disappointed; she didn’t die and escaped a calamity. Thinking about it now, it was probably not luck, but rather that she is proficient in medical principles and made precautions in advance. With such a cruel father, I don’t believe she still wants to go back.”
“True,” Zhao Yunwei’s mind eased slightly.
Jiang Shirong touched Zhao Yunwei’s head: “Wei’er, don’t worry. Don’t forget that our Sui’er is not someone to be trifled with either. Even if she harbors ulterior motives, Sui’er will certainly be able to detect it. You must trust her; she is no longer a child hiding under our wings.”
“Mm, Your Majesty is right,” Zhao Yunwei held Jiang Shirong’s hand and nodded.
“Your Majesty, the Eldest Princess and the consort have arrived.”
As the two were talking, the eunuch guarding outside the door suddenly knocked.