Seeking Truth with a Sword

Chang'an City, Taiji Palace, Ziwei Hall.

The sound of silk and bamboo was soft, and the music and dance were refined, but Princess Le'an of Zhao Mansion, Li Nanlei, had no mood to appreciate it.

She picked up her wine cup for a sip, and her peripheral vision subtly swept across the hall to a row opposite, where a handsome young man with a calm smile remained seated in a corner—Li Shan, the Ninth Prince of the Emperor of Yu.

Today was the annual feast day for the Imperial Family, which coincided with the final exams at the Academic Palace.

According to custom, the Emperor and Empress met with the Imperial Family in the afternoon at Ziwei Hall and hosted a banquet for this year's Academic Palace Disciples who passed the final exams at Liangyi Hall in the evening.

At this moment, the Emperor and Empress were seated at the head, chatting with the elder members of the Imperial Family to their left, while to their right stood Crown Prince Li Si and the Fourth Prince, Li Hui.

Li Si was tall and handsome, loyal and sincere. Li Hui was talented and extremely intelligent, greatly favored by the Emperor. It was said that sons are precious because of their mothers. Empress Xue, deeply loved by the Emperor Li Shun, had given birth to both, and their status in the palace far surpassed the other princes.

Especially... Li Shan.

From her angle, Li Nanlei could clearly see the unnoticed loneliness in Li Shan's eyes.

His position was below that of the other princes, and none of the Imperial Family cousins wished to engage in idle chatter with him—only because his mother was a concubine of the Wu surname.

The Wu of the "Holy Empress."

Even though the Holy Empress had been deposed fifty years ago, and the former emperor who had initiated the coup d'etat and forced the Holy Empress to step down had already passed away over twenty years ago, the memory of the Holy Empress's reign fifty years ago, during which she aggressively slaughtered relatives of the Li Family to consolidate power, was still painfully vivid.

Li Shan's mother was the great-niece of that Holy Empress, and Li Shan carried the blood of the Wu family.

This identity was too awkward, making no members of the Imperial Family or ministers willing to have much contact with him.

As the Crown Prince's Palace was gradually established, the Fourth Prince Li Hui gathered scholars and Guests, and other Princes also looked for talents to enrich their own mansions, the front of Li Shan's mansion was still deserted.

He was like an invisible person.

Li Nanlei's father was Prince Zhao; her maternal grandfather was the Right Martial Guard General, Wangzhou Governor, and Duke of the Yu Country Cai Zong. Her mother, using the assets of the Prince Mansion and her own dowry, managed over a dozen businesses spanning textiles, dyeing, sugar making, inns, transportation, banks, and taverns, among others, including many Hu Shang in the East and West Markets as agents.

As the legitimate eldest daughter of Prince Zhao Mansion, Li Nanlei could, just like her mother, preemptively draw on her own fabulous dowry to manage and make money, and even help improve Li Shan's situation.

Matters involving money are too easily traceable; I must be very careful, Li Nanlei silently thought. By comparison, finding talent might be a bit easier. Yong Hongzhong will surely pass the Academic Palace exams, and Chou Jinghuan might have a chance too. I've also instructed my people to secretly invest in and win over those disciples from poor families who performed excellently in the preliminary and secondary exams and are most likely to enter the Academic Palace, using double or even triple connections. In time, they could become Brother Shan's support...

TAP, TAP, TAP.

The deliberately light footsteps passing behind interrupted Li Nanlei's thoughts.

A yellow-robed eunuch, bowing slightly, made his way along the wall of Ziwei Hall to the head of the hall to say something to the Emperor and Empress.

Empress Xue covered her mouth in shock. The Emperor also raised his eyebrows and stood up, walking with the Empress and the yellow-robed eunuch to the back courtyard of the hall.

Three people were already waiting in the courtyard: Minister of Revenue Zhang Jingtian, Minister of the Ministry of Rites Quan Han, and Academic Palace Patrol Cheng Juxiu.

The Emperor waved his hand to cut short their bows and looked towards the Minister of Revenue, "Where are the things?"

"Right here." Minister of Revenue Zhang Jingtian took a long wooden box from Cheng Juxiu and opened it, revealing three newly forged silver obstetric forceps, blueprints, and instructions within. "Your Majesty, these are the obstetric forceps invented by a student from Yizhou State School.

I have reviewed the documents submitted by the Academic Palace regarding the use of forceps during childbirth,

and have consulted with over a dozen elderly midwives in Chang'an,

confirming that this tool indeed assists in difficult labor and serves a function in childbirth."

The Emperor spoke solemnly, "What does the Imperial Medical Bureau say?"

The Imperial Medical Bureau, which oversaw all medical administration for the Yu Country, was subordinate to the Ministry of Rites. The Minister of the Ministry of Rites said, "The Doctors at the Imperial Medical Bureau also believe, after observation, that the forceps are logically designed, simple to use, highly effective, and easy to promote."

"Your Majesty, this is indeed a fortunate omen." Empress Xue said softly, "Countless pitiable women and infants across the world have died from the tribulations of childbirth; even wealthy households are not immune to such misfortune."

It wasn't just wealthy households with relatively better birthing conditions; even powerful noble families who could manage to invite Telekinesis Masters to condescend to assist in childbirth were not exempt from fatalities caused by complicated deliveries.

"A fortunate omen..." Having sat on the throne for twenty years, the Emperor inhaled deeply, his eyes intense. "In Chang'an and Wannian counties, how many newborns are expected this year?"

"Chang'an and Wannian County together have a population of 1.93 million. Including non-residents, it totals 3.11 million." The Minister of Revenue, seemingly aware of what the Emperor was about to inquire, responded without hesitation, "Of these, 1.7 million are male and 1.4 million are female. There are 420,000 women of childbearing age, with the number of newborns estimated to be about 100,000."

"100,000." The Emperor murmured. 100,000 newborns were just a figure on paper. The mortality rate of mothers during and after childbirth was as high as 1.5 percent, and the infant mortality rate sometimes reached 20 percent.

Every childbirth was like lingering at the Ghost Gate.

If the forceps truly were effective, who knew how many lives could be saved. To call it a miraculous item that benefits tens of thousands of families was indeed no mistake.

"Where is the Yizhou student who invented this? Have him come see me immediately." The Emperor quickly realized that the forceps could not only resolve difficulties in childbirth, save mothers and newborns, and increase the population of Yu Country in the long run, but could also be gifted to other countries in the short term for tangible benefits and political gains.

"This..." The Minister of Revenue and the Minister of the Ministry of Rites looked towards Cheng Juxiu, who smiled wryly and bowed. "Your Majesty, the Yizhou student who invented this is my junior, surnamed Li, given name Ang. At this moment... he should be participating in the final examination at the Academic Palace."

"Oh?" The Emperor raised an eyebrow slightly in surprise. "Not yet an Academic Palace Disciple? Surname Li, given name Ang, from Yizhou... Does his family have a tradition of medicine?"

"Your Majesty, I seem to have heard this name." The Minister of the Ministry of Rites hesitated. "Duke Yan has long suffered from a chronic heat toxin ailment, which remained incurable despite treatment from various renowned Doctors, but it saw significant improvement lately. It seems a Li student from Yizhou cured him; I wonder if it's the same person."

"Yan Yundang?!" Both the Emperor and Empress exclaimed in shock. Duke Yan Yundang was the National Guardian General and a Martial Arts Grandmaster, and furthermore, a key elder statesman who aided in the overthrow of the Holy Empress during the Divine Dragon Coup and preserved the Li Imperial Family.

"Your Majesty," Empress Xue suggested, "as the Mountain Master mentioned last time, this year's final examination at the Academic Palace is extraordinarily difficult. Why not have an eunuch wait outside Honglu Temple? As soon as the examination ends, let us invite that student here."

Just as the Emperor was about to nod in agreement, a yellow-robed eunuch hurried over and spoke softly, "Your Majesty, the Mountain Master and Master Tantai Leshan request an audience."

"Mountain Master?" The Emperor frowned slightly. The Mountain Master, though having the right to enter and exit the Imperial City at will, seldom wished to come to Taiji Palace, let alone request an audience, and now he had brought along the Doctor of Engineering, Tantai Leshan.

The Emperor asked in a deep voice, "Did they mention what it was about?"

The eunuch replied, "It seems to be about malaria."