After some commotion, all was well.
Aunt Wang informed Grand Tutor Su of the situation, allowing the Empress to rest peacefully.
As the Empress was still weak after childbirth, Gu Qianying stayed behind to care for her.
"Thank you."
As Gu Qianying was preparing the medicine, the Empress's voice came from behind the bed curtains.
The harrowing experience of childbirth was still fresh in her mind. Looking at her healthy daughter, the Empress thanked Gu Qianying.
"Your Majesty is too kind. As a physician, this is what I should do."
Saving lives was the physician's duty. She dedicated herself to every patient and did not expect gratitude.
Speaking of which, the Empress suddenly remembered something.
"Right, you successfully delivered my child, which means you won the physician's competition. I will grant you whatever you wish for, and the position of physician is yours."
Had the day's events not occurred, Gu Qianying would have truly desired those two things.
However, she now knew too much. Even if the Empress agreed to let her stay, Su Ye might not allow her to remain in the palace peacefully.
The childbirth had been sudden. Su Ye had left and had not returned. Fortunately, he had not yet informed the Empress of what he had said in the Grand Tutor's study.
Otherwise, instead of thanks, she might have received an order for her execution.
Just thinking about it sent a shiver down Gu Qianying's spine. She quickly replied to the Empress.
"Your Majesty, if you could give me Su Cheng, that would be enough. As for staying in the palace, it is not my pursuit."
The Empress was surprised by her sudden refusal.
"Why? Did you not voluntarily accept the imperial decree and participate in the physician's competition? If you're not staying, what are your intentions?"
Gu Qianying quickly explained.
"Actually, my ambition does not lie here. The reason I agreed to participate in the competition was to save Su Cheng and to prove my medical skills. Now that I understand my capabilities, I no longer wish to stay in the palace."
So that was her thinking.
The Empress sighed and shook her head.
"What a pity. Your medical skills could lead you to a very high position in the palace. If only..."
Before she could finish, Aunt Wang's voice was heard from outside.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Grand Tutor Su requests Miss Gu's presence."
Gu Qianying had never wished more for Su Ye to call her away.
She quickly rose and bowed. "This humble one will go immediately. Here is the medicinal soup. I trouble Aunt Wang to feed Your Majesty later."
Since Grand Tutor Su wished to see Gu Qianying, the Empress naturally did not stop her.
She waved her hand, agreeing for her to go with the guards.
Grand Tutor Su was now in the Empress's imperial study.
When Gu Qianying entered, he was still poring over thick memorial reports.
"You're here. Everyone, leave."
Glancing at the person entering, Grand Tutor Su dismissed everyone in the room.
Now that they were alone, Su Ye asked Gu Qianying to sit to the side, while he himself suddenly stood and bowed.
"Thank you for your help in this matter. Without your medical skills and judgment, Her Majesty the Empress would not have been able to give birth to her daughter so smoothly."
Both of them were naturally very grateful to Gu Qianying for this matter.
"As a physician, this is what I should do. Grand Tutor, you need not be so polite. However, due to the strain of difficult labor, the noble lady will likely need a longer period of rest. This will be left to you, Grand Tutor."
Gu Qianying informed Su Ye of the Empress's condition and advised him to pay close attention to the Empress's mood.
"Pregnant women are prone to depression, and the Empress had a difficult labor. She already showed signs of emotional distress before the child's birth. Therefore, those caring for her need to be extra attentive."
Hearing her advice, Su Ye suddenly felt that he had indeed judged a gentleman with the heart of a villain. He then told Gu Qianying about Duan Xifeng and Xiao Yihhao's situations.
"Rest assured, your two disciples are fine. It's just that Aunt Wang visited your young apprentice a while ago. He is now living in the male servants' quarters, which are dark and damp with poor conditions. Aunt Wang wanted to bring him out, but Su Jie and Su Ming are protecting him, which makes things difficult."
It turned out that after that day, Aunt Wang had not given up on finding Xiao Yihhao. However, after searching all the residences and questioning Su Xiu'er, she still couldn't find the boy.
When Her Majesty the Empress was found to have a difficult labor requiring a C-section, Grand Tutor Su, to ensure everything went smoothly, had ordered a search of the palace.
In fact, he had already apprehended Su Jie, Su Ming, and Xiao Yihhao together. However, he could not say so to Gu Qianying today.
"The two of them are good friends with Xiao Yihhao. Perhaps they were worried that he wouldn't take care of himself alone, so they stayed by his side to look after him."
Gu Qianying was still being followed wherever she went. Although these words made her suspicious, she could only comply with Grand Tutor Su's wishes until she regained her freedom.
"It's good that you are reassured."
Seeing that Gu Qianying did not suspect anything further, Su Ye breathed a sigh of relief.
Now that they were alone in the study, and Gu Qianying knew his identity, Su Ye was not wearing women's clothing. Instead, for the first time, he ventured out in the palace dressed as a man.
The guards stationed outside were not from the Grand Tutor's mansion but from the palace.
As the two were talking, someone secretly peeked into the room.
At this moment, Su Ye, dressed as a man, sat opposite Gu Qianying.
Perhaps due to the peeker's angle, only Gu Qianying's face was visible through the gap in the door, but the man's face was hidden.
However, one thing was very clear: the two were sitting very close to each other, and if they were in danger, they would surely protect each other.
"The master said that even if they couldn't take her life, they had to capture conclusive evidence. We've been waiting here for so long, and we've finally caught her."
There were two people peeking, but because this was the imperial study, they could not act directly and could only resort to malicious intentions.
Another person glanced at the situation inside through the gap.
"Strange. For the past while, the Empress has been unwell and recuperating in the inner palace, and the Grand Tutor has been managing state affairs. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed into the imperial study. How can there be a man inside?"
Although he was acting on the master's orders, his duty was still as a palace guard.
"Who cares? Since the two of them can be here for such a leisurely private meeting, it must have been arranged by someone in the palace. Perhaps it was the Grand Tutor?"
Their thoughts were bold, but they stopped there.
"I'll trouble you to take good care of the noble lady during this period. This Grand Tutor still has some political matters to attend to, so I won't keep you here."
The two inside did not notice the sounds from outside. After all, it was a man and a woman alone, and Gu Qianying felt somewhat uneasy. Finally able to leave, she hurriedly rose, bowed, and walked out of the study.