Upon entering, Li Su whispered an explanation, "Your Highness, please don't mind. Dali Temple has always prioritized rules above all else.
Even if our Emperor himself were to visit, unless his full regalia and imperial carriage were present, the guards would still require to see His Majesty's token before granting entry.
It is precisely for this reason that Dali Temple, whether in court or in the hearts of the common folk, is an absolutely trustworthy institution of justice."
Since she was posing as Lin Sa, Lu Qingwan found it inconvenient to walk ahead of Li Su.
Keeping her head down, she adopted a demeanor as awkward as Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden. Hearing the explanation, she didn't look up and softly replied, "I understand.
If anyone could easily enter and exit such a dignified institution as Dali Temple, I would indeed question their competence in handling affairs.
Just proceed according to the rules; I'm not one to quibble over such trivial matters."
As they spoke, an officer in the distance approached, "Guard Li Su, why are you escorting them?
Is this witness so important?"
Noticing the officer seemed to know Li Su, Lu Qingwan stood meekly behind Li Su without a word.
Li Su, with practiced efficiency, clasped his fist in a salute to the approaching man, "Doctor Lin has saved the lives of His Majesty and Marquis Lu. Even my own Prince was fortunate enough to receive care from the divine doctor Lin, which barely kept him alive.
When I heard the Minister of Dali Temple intended to summon Doctor Lin as a witness, I volunteered to be his escort.
Doctor Lin is a person of great importance. The Minister of Dali Temple is merely summoning him as a witness; we mustn't frighten him!"
The officer, upon hearing this, repeatedly shook his head, "What are you saying, Guard Li Su?
My superior has always adhered to regulations. As long as Doctor Lin himself is not problematic, my superior will absolutely not make things difficult for him.
Please come this way. My superior and Minister Qu of the Ministry of Justice, along with Censor Li, are already waiting. They are only waiting for Doctor Lin."
These few polite words were already showing great respect to Li Su, an old acquaintance.
Li Su, thinking that with him present, nothing would go wrong, nodded.
Unexpectedly, the officer named Chen led them around and arrived before a row of dark, low-ceilinged rooms.
Li Su's face darkened as he recognized the place, "Chen, is this what you call handling matters according to the rules?"
The rows of low, dark rooms before them were clearly the prison cells of Dali Temple. In the darkest and dampest corner was the interrogation room.
If she wasn't mistaken, Jiang Dingkun should be in the interrogation room right now.
Li Su also knew that various yamen, to intimidate prisoners, would sometimes choose to interrogate them in rooms filled with torture instruments.
They would use the special environment of the interrogation room to pressure the prisoners, thus finding a breakthrough more quickly.
She had done such things herself often enough, but the problem was, her Prince's Consort was not her!
The noble young lady of the Marquis's mansion, the exalted Consort of the Regent, brought by her into the interrogation room of Dali Temple.
If anything were to happen to her, she could already imagine being punished by her Prince, thrown into the dark hall.
The guard named Chen looked at Li Su's expression as if he had seen a ghost.
His suspicious gaze swept back and forth between Li Su and Lu Qingwan, and he asked with doubt, "I say, Guard Li Su, you're from the Divine Strategy Battalion too. You're not afraid of this, are you?
He's a grown man, does the Minister of Dali Temple need to serve him tea and water, pampering him?"
It was a perfectly ordinary procedure, but Li Su's exclamation caused a cascade of imaginative scenarios about Lu Qingwan to flash through the guard Chen's mind like a movie in his unnervingly large eyes.
Lu Qingwan was extremely exasperated, "It's alright, Guard Li Su. I practice medicine to heal the sick and have seen many scenes of bloodshed. The things in here won't scare me."
If they didn't go in soon, Guard Chen would start imagining an epic romance between her and Li Su, spanning three lifetimes.
Li Su, who was initially just concerned for Lu Qingwan, heard her say she wasn't afraid and thus said, "If that's the case, let's go."
Guard Chen blinked hard, banishing the movie from his large eyes.
He led them, looking back repeatedly, towards the interrogation room in the corner.
As they approached, they saw three middle-aged men in official robes waiting outside an iron door.
Lu Qingwan was most familiar with the Minister of Justice among them, having only met the other two a few times.
However, she had met them as the Regent's Consort; now, as Lin Sa, she recognized none of them.
Listening to Guard Chen introduce them to the tall, slender man beside the Minister of Justice, "My Lord, the witness Lin Sa has been brought."
Li Su also introduced them to her, "Divine Doctor Lin, these three are Minister Gu of Dali Temple, Minister Qu of the Ministry of Justice, and Censor Li."
After Lu Qingwan patiently listened to Li Su's introductions, she bowed to the three officials with neither humility nor arrogance, "Your humble servant Lin Sa pays his respects to the three lords."
The tall and thin Minister Gu of Dali Temple raised his chin with a hint of reserve, "I have long heard of Divine Doctor Lin's great name. I never imagined the renowned Divine Doctor Lin of the capital would be so young. Indeed, heroes emerge from youth!"
Lu Qingwan, believing her medical skills deserved the compliment of "heroes emerging from youth," did not feign modesty.
She merely cupped her hands and said, "Minister Gu flatters me!"
The Minister of Dali Temple clearly had no intention of engaging in pleasantries. Upon hearing her response, he said, "Doctor Lin, do you know why I summoned you here?"
Lu Qingwan put on a helpless expression and replied, "Your humble servant wishes he could say he doesn't know, but the person inside probably won't give your humble servant the chance to say so, will they?"
He had summoned her himself, and yet he was asking such an obvious question.
Lu Qingwan truly couldn't quite comprehend the habits of these high officials. Although she knew that Lin Sa's status meant it wasn't appropriate to speak so directly to court officials, she couldn't resist a sharp retort.
Minister Gu's face showed surprise, but he didn't seem angry. Instead, he looked at her with composure and then said, "Since Divine Doctor Lin knows, I won't beat around the bush.
May I ask Divine Doctor Lin, you stated in front of His Majesty that Prince Jing was difficult to conceive due to medication. Do you have any proof?"
Li Su's anger flared upon hearing this. How could traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis have proof?
As she was about to speak for Lu Qingwan, the latter took a small step forward, blocking her, "Whether there is proof or not, I believe Prince Jing himself can speak more persuasively than your humble servant's empty words.
The difference between before and after taking the medicine is something no one knows better than Prince Jing.
Instead of questioning your humble servant, Minister Gu might as well question Prince Jing more.
At worst, finding a few more doctors to examine Prince Jing would suffice to know."
"Cough!"
The Minister of Justice, who rarely saw a witness so calm in front of three court officials, chimed in to help his colleague, who seemed momentarily speechless, "Minister Gu will naturally do these things; there's no need for Doctor Lin to remind him.
Can Doctor Lin present the medicine you previously administered to Prince Jing?"
Lu Qingwan looked back at Li Su, who, with perfect understanding, replied, "The first time Prince Jing was given medicine was in the palace.
Doctor Shen, the accompanying imperial physician to the Regent, meticulously recorded the entire process of administering the medicine and acupuncture, including residual medication. All of that is here.
The last time was at Bai Xing Lin. The medical records are here; however, the residual medication was not preserved. Please examine these, esteemed lords."