Chapter 521 Jiang Nuanzhi: Taking a Gamble (Long Chapter)
Jiang Nuanzhi had watched a few episodes of palace dramas and had years of experience reading novels. Although she had never been an official, she knew that what the emperor was saying was just a polite formality, so she immediately followed suit and clasped her hands in response: "Your humble servant will do his utmost."
To find myself one day serving as an official in the palace... the world truly is a giant makeshift operation.
Despite his complicated thoughts, he once again grasped the Emperor's pulse.
Strangely, the Emperor's pulse was slightly better today than yesterday. Was my medicine really that effective?
Jiang Nuanzhi couldn't help but look up at him. Although his body was still in a state of utter exhaustion, his complexion was slightly better than yesterday. Since he had improved, it meant that yesterday's medicine had been effective, and the prescription could be continued for another day. It just needed to be slightly adjusted.
Jiang Nuanzhi wrote out the prescription in one go, and Doctor Que leaned forward to take a look: "Is it still yesterday's medicine?"
Jiang Nuanzhi nodded. Then she picked up the notebook from the night's records and looked at it. Just like yesterday, she administered acupuncture again and cleaned his wounds once more.
After working non-stop for half an hour, Jiang Nuanzhi finally wiped the sweat from her forehead.
The Emperor's face paled again. The wound that had been cleaned yesterday had festered again due to the lingering toxins, requiring further cleaning. Even with Jiang Nuanzhi's painkillers, his forehead was still covered in sweat. Yet, he had managed to persevere today without falling asleep.
The divine physician exclaimed again, "This acupuncture technique is something only Physician Jiang could use. Even if I, with my old bones, watched closely, I couldn't see how Jiang Nuanzhi moved the needles."
It was so fast, so fast that there were almost afterimages of the hands.
Only the Divine Physician Que knew just how perilous her situation was. If she had been even a fraction slower, the poison would have reached his heart, and the Emperor might have perished.
At this moment, the Emperor was helped to lean against the dragon bed and gasped for breath, while Jiang Nuanzhi also slowly exhaled.
The divine physician took the emperor's pulse again, then his eyes lit up: "Physician Jiang is truly talented! The Emperor's health seems to have genuinely improved. If this continues, he should be able to hold on for ten days."
He blurted it out in a daze, and the next second when he saw the emperor with his eyes lowered, he choked up.
Jiang Nuanzhi glanced at the divine physician, then at Xuan Ting, whose eyes were already red, and gently patted Xuan Ting's shoulder to comfort him.
"The current method only temporarily suppresses the symptoms, treating the symptoms but not the root cause. We still need to find a medicine to stop the Emperor's wound from festering. I am already preparing it, but the harm that medicine can cause to the body is no less than that of poison. If used improperly, it could be life-threatening. I am not confident at the moment, but Your Majesty, please do not be impatient and wait. There is still plenty of time."
As Jiang Nuanzhi spoke, while tending to the silver needles in her hands, she said, "Your Majesty, I really don't know much about Gu poison. Could you please allow me to go to the library to look at the books? Also, I'd like to consult the medical books in the Imperial Medical Academy. Perhaps I can find another way."
The Emperor was leaning back on his dragon bed, his eyes gazing indifferently at Jiang Nuanzhi cleaning the silver needles. Upon hearing this, he merely glanced up at her before looking away and saying, "Li Quan, give the token to Physician Jiang."
As she spoke, she pointed to the pair of cards and smiled at Jiang Nuanzhi, saying, "With this pair of cards, no one will stop you from going anywhere."
Jiang Nuanzhi was slightly taken aback and couldn't help but look up at the emperor. He was pale, but had a faint smile on his face, appearing gentle and refined.
If you didn't know this man was an emperor, you might believe he was just a scholar.
But this emperor, who has been bedridden for many years and hampered by the regent, was able to order the confiscation of his childhood friend's house. Is he really as harmless as he appears on the surface?
Jiang Nuanzhi respectfully accepted the token and kowtowed in gratitude.
He then glanced at Physician Que before finally fixing his gaze on Sanqi and said, "Your Majesty, I have another request. Could you please allow Lord Sanqi to accompany me? We can discuss this."
Sanqi was relieved to see Jiang Nuanzhi about to leave, but the next second the other person's eyes were fixed on her.
He pointed to his nose and said tentatively, "Me? I'm not qualified. How about letting Lord Liu come along? At least the Imperial Hospital has plenty of doctors."
Jiang Nuanzhi smiled and said, "I am most familiar with Lord Sanqi. Moreover, his medical skills are superb, and I have heard that he also knows a lot about Gu poison. I think he can help me."
Sanqi's eyes widened, and before she could speak, the emperor at the head of the table nodded and said, "As Physician Jiang says."
Jiang Nuanzhi thanked him again, gave Xuan Ting a reassuring smile, and then left with Sanqi and Linchun.
Xiao Xuanting wanted to go along, but he couldn't bear to leave his father, so he simply let Eunuch Liu go with Jiang Nuanzhi to help out.
"Grandmaster! Please, Your Majesty! Don't make me follow Physician Jiang anymore. I never want to remember the days I spent with her again!" Sanqi was on the verge of tears. When she went out, she secretly glanced at Jiang Nuanzhi and realized she wasn't there. She then grabbed Physician Que's clothes tightly.
The magpie doctor looked at him suspiciously: "What nonsense are you talking about, kid!"
He slapped Sanqi on the forehead and rolled his eyes, saying, "Your master wants to follow me but hasn't had the chance yet! Don't be so ungrateful! Let me tell you, today you're following Doctor Jiang, so you must see clearly how she uses the medicine, what she's doing, and what books she's reading. When you come back tonight, make a detailed list of everything she did today."
Then she gave Sanqi a resentful look: "You've made a profit again, kid."
Sanqi: "..."
Grandmaster, are you serious?
In fact, his grandmaster didn't pay any attention to him at all. At this moment, the magpie doctor waved to Jiang Nuanzhi with a smile: "Doctor Jiang, come back soon. If you have any questions, you can talk to me. Sanqi, just ask me. If you don't have enough people, I will give you a few more of my disciples."
Jiang Nuanzhi nodded from afar: "Thank you for your trouble."
Then Sanqi watched in despair as his grandmaster went into the house without looking back.
"Please hurry, Lord Sanqi."
After walking for a while, Eunuch Liu realized that Sanqi hadn't followed, so he turned around and urged her on.
Sanqi was so angry that she was grinding her teeth, but when she turned around and saw Jiang Nuanzhi looking over, she immediately forced a bright smile and ran after her.
As they walked toward the library, they ran into the Imperial Medical Academy staff.
They brushed past Lord Li of the Imperial Hospital and his group.
The members of the Imperial Medical Academy bowed to Sanqi, and Jiang Nuanzhi also bowed slightly to the head of the academy. The two groups exchanged glances and then stepped aside.
Jiang Nuanzhi vaguely sensed that the way these people were looking at her was a little strange, but she didn't pay much attention to it. At that moment, she just wanted to hurry to the library.
The most important thing for His Majesty's current illness is to reduce inflammation, with medications like penicillin.
In ancient times, she had not actually extracted penicillin.
Some mold had grown on the rotten oranges that had been stored in the cellar, but it wasn't growing very well. She only kept a tiny bit and still didn't dare to use it on people. Besides, the Emperor's health was far too weak at the moment.
Last night, she placed fresh orange peels in a dark, damp box, figuring that if she was lucky, she should be able to cultivate some in three to five days. She was trying to extract the extract; if successful, it might extend her life a little longer.
However, regardless of success or failure, we have to take this gamble.
Of course, she entered the library not only because of the emperor's illness, but also because of the poison that A Rong and the old man were suffering from. She was completely baffled by this as well.
And then there's Xiao Yuanshan. She knows very little about him. There should be some information about Xiao Yuanshan in the library, right?
She spent the entire morning in the library.
At first, I flipped through a few records about Gu poison, but even in the Emperor's library, there were very few records of that stuff.
After flipping through some more books, she learned today that Xiao Yuanshan's current title was not actually his.
The Great Jing Dynasty was founded by three people: the current royal family, the Xiao family, and the Jing family.
After the three conquered the land, the one who ascended the throne was Xuan Wuzhang, the founding emperor of the Great Jing Dynasty. The Jing clan is now the lineage of the Imperial Preceptor. The Xiao clan, on the other hand, has since declined.
Xiao Yuanshan was actually the emperor's uncle, surnamed Xuan. He had been demoted to a commoner by the late emperor because of a marriage dispute.
Later, the Xiao family was punished for offending the emperor. However, the founding emperor granted the Xiao family a reprieve, allowing them to inherit the title of Prince. The previous emperor executed all the male members of the Xiao family and then issued an edict to adopt Xuan Yuanshan into the Xiao family. Thus, Xuan Yuanshan inherited the title of Prince from the Xiao family and became the current Regent, Xiao Yuanshan.
Historical records briefly state that Xiao Yuanshan studied medicine in Lido during his childhood and also spent some time at a temple, apprenticing under the Divine Physician Valley. Does this mean he and the Magpie Divine Physician are of the same lineage?
So, he learned his Gu techniques at Lido?
However, all of this is too vague. History records only some of his achievements, with very little of his past.
After searching for a while without finding anything related to Gu poison, Jiang Nuanzhi unexpectedly came across a record about the Imperial Preceptor. Curious, she flipped through it, but before she could examine it closely, a large face suddenly appeared beside her.
Jiang Nuanzhi was startled and nearly dropped the book on the other person's face. Sanqi immediately covered her face, shrank her neck, carefully removed her hand from her face, and grinned, "Um, Doctor Jiang, do you think it's time for us to eat something first and then look at it carefully when we get back?"
Sanqi couldn't understand it. She was clearly looking for a way to cure the Emperor, and he could understand her looking at medical books, but wasn't it a bit much to look at history books? Wasn't this blatantly telling the Emperor that she wasn't paying attention? Was she really not afraid, or did she not know that there were Emperor's spies everywhere in the palace?
As Sanqi spoke, she gave Jiang Nuanzhi a wink, signaling her to look at the official standing to the side.
Jiang Nuanzhi glanced at it, then looked at the sky; the sun was indeed high in the sky.
In fact, Jiang Nuanzhi's belly was already showing signs of pregnancy. Let's put the book down for now:
"Okay, let's eat first."
Upon exiting the library, Jiang Nuanzhi saw the food laid out.
Jiang Nuanzhi only learned today that the Imperial Hospital also had a so-called public kitchen to provide meals for the imperial physicians, and that the meals were provided according to their rank.
Sanqi's table was laden with seven dishes, including meat, vegetables, and fruit, making it quite a feast; while in front of me were only five dishes, which was acceptable, but there was less meat, no mutton like Sanqi had, no wine, and naturally no fruit.
Sanqi noticed Jiang Nuanzhi looking in his direction and abruptly stopped in his tracks, noticing he was about to eat. The next second, he immediately moved the table over to Jiang Nuanzhi, handed her the chopsticks, and smiled brightly: "Dr. Jiang, please eat."
Jiang Nuanzhi chuckled as she accepted it: "Why are you being so polite? Anyone who didn't know better would think I'm terrifying."
"Look at what you're saying. I only respect you, and everything comes from the bottom of my heart." Sanqi continued with a smile, without even bothering to write a draft.
He was indeed acting on his own conscience; after all, he had seen her scald a bandit on the road with a bowl of sticky rice, causing his intestines to rupture.
In an instant, upon seeing Jiang Nuanzhi's extremely beautiful face, his smile became even more sincere.
Jiang Nuanzhi ignored his strange behavior and simply looked at his food: "Your treatment as a fifth-rank official is quite good."
Sanqi patted his chest and said, "Of course! For a fifth-rank official like me, the standard meal in the palace includes two liters of rice, two liters of mixed noodles, one and a half liters of wine, three portions of mutton, two melons, five plates of vegetables, and plenty of oil, salt, and all sorts of seasonings. If I can't finish it, I can just tell the people below me and take it home."
"For someone of your rank, Doctor Jiang, at the seventh grade, your meal consists of two liters of white rice, one liter and one he (a unit of dry measure) of noodles, and five dishes. The seventh grade is the dividing line; ordinary officials, like those of the eighth grade, are lucky to get three dishes and a soup. There are no extra meals provided, but if you don't want to eat it, you can take it with you."
Jiang Nuanzhi nodded in agreement: "Hmm, that's quite humane."
"Humanized?" Sanqi asked, confused. "What do you mean?"
Jiang Nuanzhi raised an eyebrow: "If the palace provides such a standard of hospitality for all the ministers, then the people you bring can also eat together, right? The set meals for the two of us, plus Lin Chun and Eunuch Liu, should be just right."
"What are you thinking? How can an ordinary person bring a servant into the palace?" Sanqi said, glancing at Linchun beside Jiang Nuanzhi, the meaning of which was self-evident. Clearly, this Physician Jiang was an exception.
However, for a woman to hold an official position was already an exceptional case, so compared to other cases, it wasn't so unusual.
As he spoke, he got up, picked up a piece of mutton, and was about to put it to his mouth.
However, before he could even take a bite, the meat on his chopsticks was suddenly knocked off.
Sanqi was taken aback, looking over with deep resentment: "Dr. Jiang, you let me come out with you, but you won't even let me eat?"
Jiang Nuanzhi frowned: "It's poisonous."
Lin Chun instantly pulled the hairpin from her hair and dipped it into the food. Then she shook her head: "There isn't one here."
I tested several dishes with Panax notoginseng, and there were no problems.
However, when the silver hairpin pierced the plate of chicken in front of Jiang Nuanzhi, it instantly turned completely black.
Everyone's expression changed simultaneously.
Lin Chun, her face deathly pale, tested the rice in front of Jiang Nuanzhi again. The silver hairpin hadn't changed, but the rice seemed to wriggle slightly the next second.
Jiang Nuanzhi's pupils contracted: "Quick! Get out of the way!"
As he spoke, he tugged at Eunuch Liu beside him, and everyone hurriedly stepped back. Suddenly, a wriggling insect egg in the rice burst open, and the splattered rice instantly corroded the surrounding tabletop.
(End of this chapter)
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