As a top student in the domestic medical field in the 21st century, how could Yi Shangyun not know what this centrifugally distributed red rash in front of him was?
Smallpox rashes are most prevalent on the face, head, and proximal extremities, with fewer on the trunk, exhibiting a centrifugal distribution; while chickenpox rashes begin on the trunk and gradually spread to the limbs, showing a centripetal distribution, as clearly seen in the current situation...
Yi Shangyun pondered for a moment, then frowned deeply and turned to Zhang Zhiyuan, the chief physician of the Imperial Medical Academy, saying urgently, "Chief Physician Zhang, please come over here and see His Highness the Crown Prince."
Zhang Zhiyuan, who had been standing silently to the side, not daring to breathe loudly, hurried over upon hearing Yi Shangyun's soft call. Yi Shangyun then lifted the sleeves and upper garment of the Crown Prince's arms one by one. Following her direction, Zhang Zhiyuan stared intently, his eyes immediately widening in surprise as he looked into Yi Shangyun's eyes. Yi Shangyun, in turn, looked at him and nodded in confirmation.
Zhang Zhiyuan felt as if he had been struck by lightning. It was truly one crisis after another. But the matter was of great importance, so he could only report the truth.
He quickly turned and walked towards Emperor Jing, then immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, this old minister deserves to die. His Highness the Crown Prince... the Crown Prince has contracted smallpox."
"What?" Upon hearing this, Emperor Jing, the Empress Dowager, and the Empress all stood up in unison and exclaimed.
The Empress Dowager staggered and almost fainted, and the Empress quickly reached out her hands to support her.
"How could this be? What should we do?" The Empress is the mother of the nation, a model of virtue for all. She should be calm and composed in the face of adversity, but now that it is her beloved son who is ill, she is naturally unable to remain calm.
"Why did the Crown Prince's condition suddenly change? Didn't you just say it was chickenpox?" Emperor Jing's words were full of doubt, and his imposing aura pressed directly at Zhang Zhiyuan.
Zhang Zhiyuan, sweating profusely, reported, "Your Majesty, both chickenpox and smallpox have rapid initial symptoms, accompanied by fever, headache, fatigue, and rashes, making them easily confused. Furthermore, Your Highness has just returned to the palace, and the Imperial Hospital does not have anyone specifically assigned to take your pulse and keep records daily. However, based on the current development of Your Highness's symptoms, this old minister is certain it is smallpox, and Your Highness must be isolated immediately."
Watching Zhang Zhiyuan try his best to excuse himself, Yi Shangyun thought to himself, "It was clearly his own mistake in diagnosis that caused this. How could a dignified head of the Imperial Medical Academy be so careless as to misdiagnose chickenpox and smallpox? Alas, it's just a pity that this child will suffer so much." As he spoke, he looked at Xuan Yuanhao on the sickbed with a pained expression.
"Isolation! I must personally take care of my poor son!" Upon hearing this, the Empress looked at the Crown Prince on his sickbed and said, sobbing uncontrollably.
Zhang Zhiyuan hurriedly stopped her, saying, "Your Majesty, you mustn't! Anyone who hasn't had smallpox, regardless of age or gender, can be infected by its highly contagious nature, and the consequences would be unimaginable."
"What should we do? What should we do? Who can take care of my son wholeheartedly?" the Empress cried out in panic. The Empress Dowager beside her was also tearful and at a loss. Emperor Jing sat slumped on the couch, speechless, with a helpless expression.
At this moment, all the palace maids and eunuchs present in the Donghua Palace bedchamber lowered their heads and remained silent, filled with worry and fear, wishing they could have wings to fly away and escape this terrifying hall.
However, just as everyone remained silent in fear, Yi Shangyun looked at the child in extreme pain on the bed before her, slowly rose, took a deep breath, and said in an extremely firm tone, "Let this servant take care of His Highness the Crown Prince."
"you?"
"she?"
"Is she out of her mind? That's smallpox!"
Smallpox has always been incurable.
"If you get infected, you're definitely going to die. Even if you recover completely and survive by sheer luck, you'll almost certainly have a face full of pockmarks and be completely disfigured."
"At this critical juncture, what's she trying to prove?"
......
As soon as Yi Shangyun uttered those words, a flurry of discussion erupted in the hall, with all sorts of opinions being expressed.
Dingxiang quietly moved to stand next to Yishangyun. "Yun'er, this is smallpox, are you crazy?" Yishangyun heard this, looked at her, and just smiled slightly.
"It's you again! Fine, since you like to show off so much, I'll grant your wish today. However, if anything happens to the Crown Prince, you can expect the lives of your entire Yi family clan to be taken with him," Emperor Jing stared at her for a long time before finally speaking harshly.
No sooner had he finished speaking than Emperor Jing ordered, "Immediately seal off and isolate Donghua Palace. Except for Zhang Zhiyuan, Yi Shangyun, and all the servants serving in Donghua Palace, no one else is allowed to enter without authorization. Anyone who disobeys will be executed without exception."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone present hurriedly followed Emperor Jing out. Only the Empress was reluctant to leave, turning back every few steps to look at Crown Prince Xuanyuan Hao on his sickbed.
Dingxiang kept turning back to look at Yishangyun with a worried expression as she walked away, while Yishangyun just kept smiling at her, implying that she could leave in peace.
Everyone left, and the room was silent.
In an instant, only Yi Shangyun and Zhang Yuanpan remained in the vast bedroom, along with the pitiful child on the sickbed, tormented by illness.
"Yi Yao Nu, I never expected you to be so kind and compassionate at such a young age. I admire you greatly. However, His Highness the Crown Prince is suffering from smallpox, which is highly contagious. You should be especially careful, Yi Yao Nu," Zhang Zhiyuan said to Yi Shangyun with great respect.
However, Yi Shangyun's expression instantly turned cold as he looked into Zhang Zhiyuan's eyes and said, "Zhang Zhiyuan, as the chief physician of the Imperial Medical Academy, you almost mistook the Crown Prince's smallpox for chickenpox today. Such carelessness and negligence, have you considered the consequences?"
“Why do you say such things, Yi Yao Nu? I have already explained to His Majesty about smallpox and chickenpox…” Zhang Zhiyuan was startled by Yi Shangyun’s unexpected rebuke halfway through his sentence.
"Absurd! His Majesty is not skilled in medicine and was thus manipulated by you, but that cannot be an excuse for you, Imperial Physician Zhang, to absolve yourself of your guilt. Look, the child lying on this sickbed is just an innocent child not even 10 years old. The consequences of misdiagnosis could cost him his life, Your Excellency Imperial Physician, do you know that?"
Yi Shangyun pointed at Xuan Yuanhao, who was lying on the bed with a pained expression, with sadness and anger.
"Since you've come to this point, I might as well be frank with you. Smallpox has always been an incurable disease. Even if you're lucky enough to survive, your appearance will be ruined, and your life will be worse than death. Ordinary people avoid it like the plague. I only spoke kindly to you because I admire your courage. Don't get carried away. You're just a lowly pharmacist in the Imperial Pharmacy. You dare to lecture me? Good luck to you!" Zhang Zhiyuan said these words to her in a fit of anger and contempt before hurriedly fleeing.
Yi Shangyun was furious to see such an irresponsible doctor, but she tried her best to suppress it. She closed her eyes tightly, took a deep breath, and after a moment, exhaled the turbid air. Then she opened her eyes and looked at Crown Prince Xuanyuan Hao on the sickbed again.
Unexpectedly, Xuan Yuanhao had already woken up from his dazed state and overheard Zhang Zhiyuan's last complete sentence before leaving. At this moment, with a haggard and sickly expression, he softly asked, "Why aren't you leaving?"
"Your Highness is awake!" Yi Shangyun exclaimed joyfully upon hearing his voice.
Xuanyuan Hao tried to sit up, but Yi Shangyun quickly came forward to help him, saying, "Your Highness, please be careful."
"I, the Crown Prince, have contracted smallpox, and everyone is avoiding me like the plague. Why are you still here alone?" Xuan Yuanhao asked the unfamiliar woman in front of him, his words tinged with frustration, dejection, and curiosity.
“Because I am a pharmacist in the Imperial Hospital,” Yi Shangyun replied.
"Hmph, a medicine girl? What rank is a medicine girl in the palace?" Xuan Yuanhao finally sat up with the help of Yi Shangyun, but he snorted coldly.
Yi Shangyun, of course, knew perfectly well that the medicine girl had neither rank nor grade; she was merely a lowly servant. Yet, she still smiled and replied to Xuanyuan Hao, "Your Highness, a physician's heart is benevolent. As a physician, regardless of the strength or weakness of their medical skills, or the high or low of their position, they should do their utmost to help and cure patients. This is a physician's sacred and inescapable duty."
"Hmph, what a benevolent doctor, it's his duty, but curing smallpox..." Xuan Yuanhao snorted coldly, but hesitated to speak.
Yi Shangyun suddenly felt a pang of self-mockery. She was actually discussing such a sacred topic of medical ethics with a child who was nearly twenty years older than her 21st-century self, and speaking with such conviction. She thought that she must have been here for too long, and had actually started to think of herself as the 17-year-old original owner of this body.
She then changed the subject and said to Xuanyuan Hao, "Your Highness, may I tell you a story?"
Xuanyuan Hao was still just a child, and he couldn't resist the temptation of storytelling.
Seeing that he had calmed down, Yi Shangyun sat down to the side and patiently told him a story about an emperor who had contracted smallpox.
"There was a man named Yizhu. His birth mother was merely the daughter of a second-rank imperial guard. Her family was poor from a young age, but she was intelligent and beautiful. After entering the palace, she quickly gained the emperor's favor and eventually became a concubine, giving birth to Yizhu. When Yizhu was three years old, his mother was made empress. However, fate was cruel; Yizhu, like the prince, contracted smallpox as a prince, leaving his face pockmarked. Later, while hunting in the Southern Garden, he fell from his horse and injured his thigh, leaving him disabled and unable to move freely for life. Misfortune struck again when, at the same age as the prince (both only ten years old), his mother also passed away. Yizhu was then raised by another concubine in the palace. He was diligent, kind, and benevolent, and was chosen by the emperor as crown prince. After ascending the throne, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to his duties, implementing reforms, rectifying officialdom, severely punishing corrupt officials, suppressing internal rebellions, and resisting foreign powers, ultimately becoming a great emperor."
After telling the story, Yi Shangyun said to him, "Compared to Yizhu, His Highness the Crown Prince is already incredibly fortunate, isn't he?"
Xuanyuan Hao remained silent for a long time, his face grave...
Seeing this, Yi Shangyun seemed to be getting impatient. So she got up, wanting to go outside the hall to breathe and adjust her state, to relieve her extremely heavy and frustrated mood.
Just as she reached the entrance to the bedchamber and was about to step over the threshold, she suddenly heard Xuan Yuanhao...
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