Chapter 104: Mystical Physician at Midnight
Comments:
Erica: Welcome Jing Hui aboard – gratitude for helping
out with translation and editing
This chapter is sponsored by Andrew T., Weera S., Christiine G., and Carrieann W.
Notes:
[1]1 - 3am
Zhou Tian Shou
stiffened, he could not shake off a sense of unease and alarm. He had already
thought of the idea at all angles, polishing it like how a lapidarist polished
a gem with careful precision and mastery. The best idea was to offer a beauty
to the Emperor to warm his bed. The lady had to have ethereal looks akin to a
fairy being sent from the heavens in order to be able to capture the Emperor’s
heart. In the end, it boiled down to how the emperor had seen too many beauties
that were like ethereal fairies. After all, if he wasn’t the emperor, how could
he have such a marvelous predestined fate to meet these beauties?
Zhou Tian Shou
muttered, “The beauty of this woman is sufficient to pass off as an ethereal
fairy.”
Li Min De laughed in
exaltation, asking, “Really?”
Li Min De smirked.
This lady was painstakingly found after searching high and low-she was
specially sent to learn etiquette, singing and dancing from the female scholars
released from the palace and even learnt bedroom techniques meant to please a
husband.
Not only could she
act gently, she could act coquettishly as well. Just a glance from her limpid
eyes could hook any men’s’ heart. She was so gorgeous, it seemed like she is
carved from jade. So pure, so virginal, unlike a seductress. Such a beauty sent
to the emperor would naturally be pampered and spoiled by the emperor, gaining
his favor. One could liken her image to a reincarnation of a fairy- an
innocent whose virtue was as clean as jade, an incorruptible and virtuous
ethereal being. When you placed a muslin veil on her, it merely added to her
image of an ethereal fairy.
Zhou Tian Shou
abruptly broke out of his reverie of the goddess and asked, “But what exactly
do you need me to do, my prince?”
The youth only
smiled, “I have no need of you now. Until I need your esteemed help, I shall
call you. Be on standby for now.”
Zhou Tian Shou
saluted, “I will fulfill my orders with utmost care sir”
When Li Min De
walked out of the outer courtyard, the heavy snow had already stopped falling.
He softly commanded
the ethereal beauty, “Do you understand what you have to do when you enter the
palace?
“Nu bi understands”
The ethereal beauty softly replied
Upon hearing this,
Li Min De smiled gently and stepped into the carriage. In order to gain the
emperor’s favor, he had to fight with the seventh prince to snatch Zhou Tian
Shou over. Naturally he had to send over this beauty as a gift to the emperor.
Ruminating over the
difficulty over finding this beauty, Li Min De sighed. In order to find the beauty,
he had to spend two full months searching. If one wanted to know how difficult
it was to search, Li Min De would describe it as combing through the heavens
and the sky.
This beauty was
called lotus She too hated the Jiang household with vengeance. To find someone
who hated the Jiang household as much as he did was a bonus. If such a lady
entered the palace, it would cause the Jiang household a whirlwind of trouble,
causing them to exert themselves to sort out the trouble. Thinking of it made
Li Min De smirk.
It was close to
Midnight. All of a sudden, Tan Shi suddenly rushed into Li Wei Yang’s room. Her
flustered expressions gave the staff a shock. Before Li Wei Yang could get out
of bed and speak, Tan shi urgently grabbed onto her arm, ”Wei Yang, Min
Zhi...Min Zhi….he…”
Tears continued to
seep down her face before she could finish her sentence. Wei Yang clasped her
mother’s hand and asked, “Whatever is the matter?”
Tan Shi continued
weeping so hard she could barely utter a single word.
Seeing Tan Shi in
such a state, Bai Zhi hurriedly stepped in and said, “At midnight, 4th master
started to have a fever...he even vomited out the milk he drank.”
Wei Yang immediately
started getting dressed, and asked, “Has the senior physician been called?”
Holding back her
sobs, Tan shi eked out, “It was so late at night, I didn’t dare to disturb the
senior physician or Lao Ye. I could only go to the normal physician who treats
the Li family. But right now, Min Zhi is getting more and more serious. He
can’t even respond when I call his name!”
In the midst of Tan
Shi’s explanation, Li Wei Yang had gotten dressed. She ordered, “Zhao Yue,
quickly go to Auspicious Courtyard to inform Father. Pay no heed to those who
try to block your path. Even if you have to use brute force, you need to see
him and tell him that 4th Brother is seriously ill! Bai Zhi, you and I must go
to Li Xiang Courtyard”
Among themselves,
the servants knew that this sort of situation was quite typical, but no one
dared to utter a word. They could only hurriedly assist Wei yang in putting on
her cloak. Upon walking out of the door Wei Yang abruptly stopped in her
footsteps.
She turned her head,
looking at Tan Shen who was crying so much, she couldn't even lift her head.
“Niang, please pull yourself together and go back to take care of 4th brother.
I’ll come back quickly!”
Once Lao Fu Ren
heard that Li Min Zhi was critically ill, she immediately climbed out of bed.
Before she could even get dressed, she hollered, “Quickly! Go and call the
imperial physician!”
Luo Mama hesitantly
asked, “Lao Fu Ren, I think it’s very hard to call an imperial physician at
this time of the night!”
Lao Fu Ren gazed
out. It was just before chou shi1. At this time, the imperial
hospital still had imperial physicians on night duty. Unfortunately, this
service was reserved exclusively for the royal family. The only hope was to go
to the imperial physician’s own house to ask for people.
She said,” Get the
head housekeeper to personally take our family card and go to Imperial Wang’s
family house immediately!” Luo Mama immediately acquiesced and rushed off to
relay her orders.
If one were a
passerby, one would be curious over the happenings that happened from 1-3AM
that night. The Li family’s door had burst open and one would have witnessed
the head housekeeper hastily getting on a horse. Likewise, the attendants
followed suit and galloped into the inky blackness of the night, leaving only
the trace of the sound of the horse’s hooves behind.
Unfortunately, the
housekeeper was met by a dismal sight upon reaching the Imperial Physician’s
house. The door of the imperial physician was shut tight. Only with great
difficulty could the housekeeper cajole the guards on duty to pry the large
door open.
He was faced with
the devastating news that the Empress dowager was suddenly afflicted by an illness
and had recruited the entire team of imperial physicians for consultation and
diagnostics. Naturally Wang physician, being an imperial physician, had to go
as well. The Li housekeeper pressed on anxiously and asked if the attendants
knew when the Wang master would be back. The attendants could only look at each
other mutedly, shaking their heads; after all who would know the inner
happenings of the imperial palace!
The Li housekeeper
could only rush back to the Li household to report the circumstances. Upon
hearing the news Li Xiao Ran was naturally extremely anxious.
He suddenly stood up
and said, “I will go to the palace personally to wait!”
As the prime
minister, a single weakness on his part would allow his enemies to pounce on
him. He could not tell the emperor words such as ,”my son had suddenly fallen
ill, could you ask your imperial wife to give me one of her physicians when she
herself was ill”
Hence Li Xiao Ran
could only wait and hope the treatment to the imperial dowager would end
faster.
In actual fact, such
calling a physician for a concubine’s son could be left to the Li Housekeeper,
for a concubine’s son was of no significance. To actually call an imperial
physician was overstretching it, a mere doctor would suffice for a concubine son’s
treatment. But Li Xiao Ran was so agitated and anxious as he prized having a
son. Given that Li Xiao Ran was one of the most senior ministers, the imperial
physicians did not dare to make him wait!
While Li Xiao Ran
entered the palace, Lao Fu Ren anxiously waited for the news from Li Xiao Ran.
Jiang Yue Lan
gravely said, “Lao Fu Ren don’t worry. Min Zhi will pull through”
Her face revealed
traces of sincere worries. Even though she had only taken care of this child
for a few days, she wasn’t a block of wood and would have formed an attachment
to the child. Moreover, unlike the Li Chang Le who was inwardly taking delight
in the misfortunes of Li Wei Yang, she had no particular grievances towards Wei
Yang and her mother.
Rather, she had a
vague inkling that the current situation in the city was bad. In fact, the Dong
He household ad recently lost their 4 sons prematurely and Jiang Yue was afraid
Min Zhi would follow suit.
As Bai Zhi observed
Wei Yang she noticed that while Wei Yang’s facial expressions were serene and
peaceful, only her trembling fingertips betrayed her inner turmoil. In the end,
Wei Yang had pinched herself and tightly clenched her fist to stop her
trembling.
Si Yi Niang surveyed
the gloomy atmosphere and gently advised, “Yes Lao Fu Ren, Mistress has advised
you righty, Si shao ye will definitely recover.” As she finished, she caught a
glance of Wei Yang giving her a glare. She immediately clammed up. Even though
what she said sounded caring, she inwardly rejoiced and could not wait
for Li Min Zhi to die prematurely. Si Yi Niang’s gloating over someone else’s
misfortunes were in part because she had not been able to give birth to a boy
and had taken a lot of effort just to conceive a girl. All this was thanks to
the meddling of the now deceased Da Fu Ren. Naturally she hated that Da Fu Ren
who she had suffered under, but right now with Da Fu Ren dead, she transferred
her hate over to Qi Yi Niang. Originally Qi Yi Niang’s status could not compare
to anyone in the Li Household and she was at the lowest rungs of the Li
Household. Yet she had even managed to conceive a precious son and was now
bestowed a title and. Even if Qi Yi Niang never won back the favor of Li Xiao
Ran, the birth of a son would ensure that Qi Yi Niang would live her days
comfortably without worries. With such developments, Si Yi Niang naturally
hoped Li Min Zhi would die prematurely so Qi Yi Niang would fall out of favor.
Who knew that her darkest thoughts were
discovered by just one sharp pierce of Li Wei Yang’s glare. Si Yi Niang was
deeply flustered. To be discovered by Li Wei Yang of all people, no good thing
could come out of it!
Li Chang Le laughed,
her laughter carrying like silver bells, “It’s a pity that Si Di has to suffer
so much at such a young age. It must be due to him bearing the karma of his
mother’s evil sins.”
Upon hearing her,
Loa Fu Ren snorted coldly and drew a long-drawn sigh. Li Wei Yang suddenly
stood up, her abruptness gave Li Chang le a start as she watchfully monitored
Wei Yang’s reaction.
Contrary to
expectation, Li Wei Yang did not get angry and yet calmly said, “This room is
getting too stuffy, I’m going out for a breath of fresh air”
As Wei Yang walked
out of the door, she was greeted by Li Min De rushing towards her. His back was
drenched with dew as if he had just come back home. Upon seeing Li Wei Yang, he
said, “I’ve already prepared a carriage, let’s go!”)
Puzzled, Li Wei Yang
asked, “Where to?”
“To just stand here
and dazedly do nothing is not helping! I’ve heard people saying that there is a
Master physician in Da Li. As long as the person has not drawn his last breath,
he is able to save them from the brink of death! The only flaw is that his
personality is rather quirky and he refuses to enter the palace to be an
imperial physician”
Is such a person
even real?” Startled, Li Wei Yang searched her recesses of her memory.
“Are you talking
about Lu Xiao?!”
Wei Yang had been
too frazzled and had even forgotten about Lu Xiao’s existence.
Lu Xiao, or as the
public called him Lu Gong(“Gong” is ancient China was a title reserved for
people of highest honors, for example, a duke) was indeed a gifted surgeon. His
skills were not restricted to just the art of healing. He could accurately pin
point the root cause to the patient's illness. In fact, if he told you that he
could treat the illness, it was as good as any other doctor meaning you could
be cured from your illness permanently.
There was a famous
case that Lu Gong had treated. The patient had complained he suffered from a
headache. After feeling his pulse, Lu Gong could accurately determine that the
illness was too severe and could not be saved. He had told the patient’s brother,
“Your brother has contracted a particular illness that will start showing its
effect in his digestive system. In 5 days’ time, his stomach would bloat and in
8 days’ time, he will vomit out pus and die.”
There was another
occasion where he used TCM to treat a noble’s son. The son was only 17 years
old and once Lu Gong saw him, he diagnosed and said, “Your inner organs are
weak. You need to diligently take the medicine I prescribe to you for a year,
or else your whole body’s hair will shed and drop off. The youth was rather
skeptical and did not diligently take the medicine. Indeed, by the age of 25,
his hair, his eyebrows had dropped off.
The most famous
example was the Lu Gong and the Imperial Family. The Late Emperor’s cherished
Concubine Liu concubine fell ill. Using every possible way, the late Emperor
searched for Lu Gong to render his expertise.
With one look, Lu
Gong diagnosed and said, “Your sickness has already taken root, we need to cut
open your abdomen to heal. However, it is the heaven’s fate that you can only
live for two more years. Even if you do the surgery, it is pre-ordained that
you can only live for those 2 years.” At the Emperor’s command, he commanded
that Lu Gong was to try every possible means to cure her anyway. But during those
two years, Liu Fei died.
Lu Gong’s accurate predictions was picked up
speedily by the locals and became sensational news. Due to Lu Gong’s stellar
skills and his frank nature, he became Da Li’s star doctor with his name
travelling far and wide. However, the late Emperor continued to suspect Lu Gong
was not skilled enough to safe Concubine Liu. He thought Lu Gong had concocted
the two-year death as a story and hence treated him as a wanted criminal and
continuously hunted Lu Gong down. Lu Gong gradually turned against the royal
throne and decided to wander about, disappearing without a trace.
How exactly did Li
Min De manage to find this elusive and mysterious doctor?
Before Wei Yang
could ask, Min De rapidly said this as he instructed Bai Zhi to saddle Li Wei
Yang up., “Because your body was weak the last time, I had already expended all
my efforts to procure this Master Physician Lu Gong. I found out he was
residing in Kyoto Japan but I didn’t know the specific address. Half a month
ago, I finally managed to find his residence. However, no matter how many times
I visited his residence, he was not around. Right now, we are at our wits
end-If Min Zhi is meant to survive this, then by the grace of the heavens, we
will be able to find him this time!”
Once Li Wei Yang had
heard that Li Min De had previously searched for Lu Gong far and wide for her
sake, she was stunned momentarily. However, the situation at hand was pressing
and she did not want to tarry further. Her questions would have to wait. Wei Yang
rapidly climbed up the horse saying, “Let’s hope we’re not going on a wild
goose chase.”
Li Min De nodded, his fine porcelain face
revealed a trace of determination.
The carriage
trundled on continuously for no less than 12 hours. Finally, it stopped at a
house.
Li Wei Yang had not
uttered a single word during the ride. She grabbed tightly to the handrail with
sweaty palms. Li Min De could perceive that she was nervous and panicky.
Wordlessly, he placed his palm on hers and patted it, wanting to give her
reassurance and comfort. Only then did Li Wei Yang regain her resolute
calmness.
The house had a very
elegant exterior. Unfortunately, the gatekeeper arrogantly called out “I’ve already told
you that my master isn’t in. Yet you’re coming back again at midnight.
Are you crazy?”
Min De called out,
“But this time, someone is very sick and needs help!”
The gatekeeper
coldly said “ I don’t care what sort of illness he has. He’s not in!”
Li Min De lost his
composure and commanded, “Zhao Nan!”
Before the guard
could even react, a sharp blade was pressed at the gatekeeper’s throat. The
gatekeeper was scared out of his wits.
Li Wei Yang hurriedly intervened, “You know
that even if we’re patient, the blade is never patient with its victims. I’ll bet
you before your master can come back home, you would have been dead and even Lu
Gong would not be able to revive you!”
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Translator: Jing Hui
Editor: Jing Hui
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