Chapter 120 Debate in the Golden Palace

The Golden Palace.

Lu Yao, dressed in court attire, stood in the hall.

The memorial impeaching Ji Nian'an had already been delivered to the old emperor.

"This Ji Nian'an is actually a woman."

The old emperor's withered fingertips traced the memorial, and he suddenly chuckled softly, a laugh carrying the unpredictable quality unique to those who had long held a high position.

Lu Yao said, "Your Majesty, a physician's duty is to save lives. He should only ask whether the needles can save a person. Why should he care whether the hand holding the needle is male or female?"

The Imperial Censor immediately stepped forward and said sternly, "Absurd! The Imperial Preceptor is mistaken! Women should not show their faces in public. Women mingling in the military camp is already immoral, let alone women disguising themselves as men and mingling in the military camp, which is deceiving the Emperor! If this precedent is set, I fear..."

"What's there to be afraid of? The only thing to be afraid of is saving too many people?" Lu Yao sneered.

"In matters of medicine, men are enough; women should remain in their boudoirs!" The Imperial Censor, his face flushed, turned toward the dragon throne. "Your Majesty, you are wise. The medical tradition has been passed down for thousands of years. Zhang Zhongjing wrote 'Treatise on Febrile Diseases,' Bian Que created the four diagnostic methods of observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation, and Hua Tuo administered Mafeisan. Were they not all men of great stature?"

Lu Yao suddenly shook a scroll of bamboo slips from her sleeve. The scroll unfolded with a rustling sound, revealing a dense list of women's names.

"Do you recognize these names, sir? Yi Shuo of the Western Han Dynasty, a female physician personally appointed by Emperor Wu. Bao Gu of the Jin Dynasty, the ancestor of moxibustion. Zhang Xiao Niangzi of the Song Dynasty, a master surgeon. It's a pity that you have burned all these names cleanly with the words 'immoral and corrupt'."

Ji Nian'an, the person involved, also looked up abruptly and mustered his courage to ask, "Since the Imperial Censor mentioned Zhang Zhongjing... do you know who Zhang Zhongjing's teacher was?"

The Imperial Censor paused upon hearing this. Although he was well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics, he knew very little about the medical traditions.

An awkward silence fell over the hall.

The old emperor coughed and said, "I remember, it was Lord Changsang?"

"Your Majesty is wise." Ji Nian'an bowed. "Chang Sangjun had a female disciple named Wen Zhi, who was the one who passed on the art of diagnosing diseases by observing complexion and pulse to Bian Que. It is a pity that later generations only remember the male disciple and have forgotten the female successor."

The expressions of the civil and military officials changed.

Lu Yao turned to Ma Wenbo, "Ma Wenbo is a man, but he embezzles military medicine, resells life-saving herbs, and runs away as soon as he receives a death warrant. What right does he have to talk about medical inheritance? You should all ask yourselves, if the plague were to enter your bodies right now, would you want Ji Nian'an to treat you, or Ma Wenbo?"

The entire court was completely silent.

The old general even spat out a "Pah!" and his eyes showed disdain.

Ma Wenbo's face changed drastically, and he hurriedly knelt down: "Your Majesty, please see the truth! This humble subject is innocent!"

He suddenly looked up, a sinister glint in his eyes. "Moreover, there are witnesses to prove that Ji Nian'an has defiled the military camp and had affairs with wounded soldiers!"

"A witness?" Lu Yao raised an eyebrow. "Then please come up here so I can hear it too."

Ma Wenbo gritted his teeth and waved.

Soon, several wounded soldiers were brought into the hall, all with their heads bowed, not daring to meet Ji Nian'an's gaze.

"Wang Tiezhu, tell me, has Ji Nian'an ever had any intimate relations with you?" Ma Wenbo asked sinisterly.

The boy named Wang Tiezhu trembled all over and stammered, "Yes, yes..."

Lu Yao snorted coldly, "Please tell the truth, everyone!"

With a flick of her finger, golden light, like a shooting star, entered the brows of several witnesses, and the mantra talisman flashed and disappeared between their foreheads.

Wang Tiezhu suddenly looked up, his eyes suddenly clearing: "Your Majesty! I was forced! Physician Ma said that if I don't give false testimony, he will cut off my mother's medicine!"

Another wounded soldier knelt down immediately: "Ma Wenbo threatened us with military pay, forcing us to slander Miss Ji!"

Lu Yao glanced at him coldly, "Doctor Ma, do you have anything to say now?"

Ji Nian'an slowly closed her eyes. She thought she had seen through people's hearts, but she still felt deeply disappointed at this moment.

Human nature is ultimately selfish.

These were all wounded soldiers she had personally saved. Silver needles could heal physical wounds, but they couldn't cure the festering wounds in people's hearts.

The entire court was silent.

"presumptuous!"

With a flick of his dragon sleeve, the old emperor shattered the teacup on the table.

"When did my Imperial Hospital become a den of vipers? Doctors are supposed to have a benevolent heart, Ma Wenbo, where is your benevolence?"

Enraged, Ma Wenbo was utterly terrified. His face turned ashen, and he collapsed to the ground.

Lu Yao seized the opportunity to whisper, "Your Majesty, medicine is a benevolent art, and it does not discriminate between men and women. Just like..."

She took out a snow lotus from her bosom. "Would this snow mountain herb lose its efficacy just because the herb gatherer is a woman?"

This snow lotus was something she obtained at the summit of Kunlun during her travels.

The old emperor's cloudy eyes suddenly contracted.

He recognized the treasure: a century-old snow lotus retrieved by the Imperial Preceptor from Kunlun Mountain, which could prolong life if consumed.

He offered three cities in exchange, but Lu Yao refused to budge.

This time, they took it out on their own initiative.

The emperor and his minister locked eyes, and the hall fell silent for a moment.

"Good!" The old emperor suddenly clapped his hands and laughed, "A physician should be benevolent and only ask about medical skills, not gender. Ji Nian'an shall be appointed as the Imperial Physician from this day forward."

The emperor and his ministers looked at each other and smiled, each finding their place.

The guards stepped forward and dragged Ma Wenbo out.

As Ji Nian'an looked at Ma Wenbo, who was limp as a rag doll, she suddenly noticed a strange black hair creeping out from his temple.

This is precisely the sign that the "Death warrant" has just been issued.

A slight smile played on her lips as she recalled how this man had once mocked her, saying, "A woman practicing medicine is a laughingstock."

Let's see if this man, who keeps talking about hen crowing at dawn, is willing to let a woman save his life.

Ma Wenbo's condition deteriorated very rapidly.

In less than a day, the black hair at his temples had spread to his entire face, and the veins under his skin had turned an eerie purplish-black.

When the "Death warrant" took effect, he was in excruciating pain all over his body, and a beast-like roar came from his throat, causing even his family to avoid him.

Finally, on a night of torrential rain, Ma Wenbo dragged his festering body to the door of Ji Nian'an's clinic.

"Physician Ji... Physician Ji..." His voice was hoarse, his fingernails digging into the door, leaving streaks of blood. "Save... save me..."

When Ji Nian'an pushed open the door, rainwater mixed with blood flowed down Ma Wenbo's body, pooling on the ground in a filthy mess.

He looked up at her, his eyes filled with fear and pleading, where was his former arrogance?