With everything in place, Li Ying packed two jars each of mulberry paste and rose vinegar drink and sent them to the mansion of the Princess Royal.
A few days later, an old-looking nanny came. She politely greeted Li Ying and said that the Princess Royal invited her.
Li Ying guessed that the princess might have something important to discuss. Not daring to be negligent, she quickly got up and went. Sure enough, she saw the Princess Royal reclining on a concubine's couch. As soon as the princess saw her, her eyes lit up.
"I was just about to send someone to look for you. You've come at just the right time!"
She got off the couch and was about to take Li Ying's hand.
Li Ying knew well that in the royal family, there were numerous etiquettes and rules. Even though the Princess Royal thought highly of her and treated her favorably, she didn't dare to act rashly. She still bowed respectfully and then softly asked, "Your Highness the Princess Royal, may I ask what this is about? This commoner will do her best to share your worries!"
The Princess Royal dismissed the attendants around her, leaving only two personal nannies. Then she asked in a low voice, "I'm sure you've already heard that the queen has given birth to a legitimate son?"
Li Ying nodded, secretly calculating in her heart.
It seemed that the Princess Royal must have come for the matter of the royal heir today.
Sure enough, the Princess Royal lowered her voice, sized her up from head to toe, and finally asked, "Boss Li, you have very unique insights into skin care. I wonder if you have any methods for a woman's postnatal recovery?"
Li Ying didn't expect the Princess Royal to be so straightforward. She was slightly stunned.
"Postnatal recovery? I wonder what's wrong with Her Majesty the Queen?"
After carefully inquiring, she learned that since the queen gave birth, her body had never been in good condition. The imperial physicians were inconvenient to diagnose and treat, and the midwives in the palace were all at their wits' end.
The queen was anxious. Seeing that the Princess Royal had been looking radiant these days, after questioning, she found out about Li Ying, this strange person.
She was grasping at straws. In addition, she had also experienced some of the effects of the nine-roasted bamboo salt presented by the Lu family. Immediately, she eagerly begged the Princess Royal to bring Li Ying in for a try.
Li Ying frowned secretly.
Accompanying the king was like accompanying a tiger. She really didn't want to get too involved with these noble princes and nobles. She just wanted to guard her own shop and live a careful life.
But the queen's imperial edict was hard to disobey. Moreover, the Princess Royal swore on the side that she would guarantee her safety and that she would never be in any life-threatening danger. Li Ying had no choice but to nod in agreement and reluctantly enter the palace with the Princess Royal.
The little prince had already been carried away by the wet nurse to sleep. In the queen's bedroom, there were only a few maids and nannies serving.
The gauze curtain was hanging low. Li Ying couldn't see the face of the woman behind the curtain clearly. She only heard a tired voice say weakly, "Rise."
She kept her eyes on her nose and her nose on her heart, got up obediently, and stood waiting on one side with her hands folded.
After a long time, a fair hand slowly stretched out from the curtain.
"Are you the Li woman who is very good at skin conditioning?"
She dismissed the attendants around her and then turned her gaze to the Princess Royal. After a long time, as if making some kind of determination, she slowly sat up.
Li Ying saw that although the queen was thin, her complexion was still quite rosy. The room was filled with a strong smell of medicine. It seemed that she had drunk a lot of nourishing decoctions.
In this case, the queen's hidden reason for summoning her into the palace no matter what was probably only one possibility.
Li Ying bowed respectfully three times and kowtowed nine times. Then she summoned up her courage and softly asked, "Your Majesty the Queen, this commoner dares to ask. Is it because you had red marks on your body during pregnancy that you are so troubled?"
The Princess Royal was immediately shocked when she heard this.
The queen was also stunned.
This matter concerned the dignity of the royal family. Although the Princess Royal had recommended Li Ying to enter the palace, she never mentioned a single word about what was wrong with the queen's body.
Although Li Ying was just a commoner, she had seen through the queen's problem so incisively without even diagnosing her pulse once?
The queen's dull eyes lit up slightly imperceptibly.
Her pregnancy was originally a joyous event celebrated by the whole world. But she really didn't expect that when she was more than five months pregnant, her originally smooth and soft abdomen was unexpectedly covered with horrible red marks at some point.
The imperial physicians and midwives were all at their wits' end. She still had a glimmer of hope in her heart, thinking that maybe after giving birth to the prince, given some time, she would slowly recover as before.
But now, several days after giving birth, the red marks not only showed no sign of fading, but the wrinkles had become even more obvious. Touching them, they were uneven, looking like a mottled watermelon. Just taking a look at them made one feel extremely unappetizing.
Looking at Li Ying like this, could it be that she really had a way?
Some hope arose in the queen's heart, so she simply stopped covering up. She slowly untied the bottom of her inner clothes and showed all the red marks that had been bothering her day and night to Li Ying.
"Yes, if you have a way to get rid of these marks, I will reward you handsomely!"
Li Ying sighed slightly.
In her two lifetimes, although she had never really given birth to a child, she could recognize that these were just ordinary stretch marks.
During the ten months of pregnancy, the slender waist would expand several times within just a few months. The subcutaneous fat and tissues would inevitably rupture, and then there would be a series of winding stretch marks across the mother's waist.
Whether stretch marks would appear was really a very difficult thing to control. In the final analysis, it still depended on each person's different constitution.
Even advanced modern medicine had no solution to this problem. Moreover, she was just an ordinary person who had traveled through time. She only knew a little about perfumery and dietary therapy. Where did she have the good skills to reshape a person's appearance and bring the dying back to life?
Seeing that Li Ying pondered for a long time but didn't say a word, the glimmer of light in the queen's eyes finally gradually dimmed.
What was she still expecting?
If even the several chief imperial physicians in the imperial hospital were unable to save the situation, what method could Li Ying, a mere peasant girl, come up with!
"Forget it. You may leave!"
"Sister, it seems that this is my fate. I'm old and my looks are fading. When looks fade, love wanes. I just hope that the prince won't lose the emperor's favor because of me."
The queen waved her hand listlessly, obviously tired and not wanting to say more.
Li Ying bowed respectfully again and was about to leave as ordered, but the Princess Royal was obviously quite unwilling and eagerly grabbed her.
"Your Majesty, what are you saying!"
"The little prince is the legitimate son of the middle palace. If you are so discouraged and let Concubine Li keep charming the emperor with her fox-like ways, and even the orthodox bloodline of the country is contaminated by the blood of the barbarians from the Hu land, what will happen!"
"Li Ying, are you really at your wits' end? Didn't you say repeatedly that there are still many essential oils in the world that can repair the skin? Isn't there one that can solve Her Majesty the Queen's urgent problem?"
She pressed her questions rather aggressively. Li Ying subconsciously took a step back.
Words like "legitimate son of the middle palace", "barbarian blood", and "Concubine Li" clearly indicated a drama of intrigue and jealousy in the palace.
She was just a nobody, a small shrimp. She definitely didn't want to be involved in it!
If she was a little careless, she would die without even leaving a bone!
Li Ying steadied herself and was about to decline politely when suddenly she heard a nanny kneeling outside the bedroom in a panic and reporting, "Your Majesty the Queen, something's wrong. The little prince has been crying non-stop for some unknown reason!"