Chapter 35 Imperial Physician
Zhuang Dongqing was completely unaware of the turmoil outside.
After a long and tiring journey, the first thing I did upon returning to the Prince's Mansion was, of course, to take a hot bath.
With more servants, Liu Fu no longer needed to be busy running around like a spinning top. He only needed to prepare a bath tub, a change of clothes, and a towel for Zhuang Dongqing to bathe in.
The bathroom was steaming, and the moment Zhuang Dongqing was immersed in hot water, she felt like she had come back to life.
Great! He's finally back at the Prince's mansion. He'd rather be corrupted by extravagance every day. He's willing to do it!
Letting out a long breath, Zhuang Dongqing leaned over the edge of the bathtub.
That feels good.
Having been away for many days with limited conditions and two unfamiliar guards with him, Zhuang Dongqing felt like she was going to war even when she took a bath every other day, afraid of causing trouble for everyone. But once she returned to the Prince's Mansion and felt free, she felt that she needed to wash herself thoroughly everywhere.
The bath took a long time, and Liu Fu even went in to add a bucket of hot water for Zhuang Dongqing.
When Zhuang Dongqing came out after getting dressed, her whole body was flushed red from the water, and she looked to be in good health.
Lying on the soft couch, Zhuang Dongqing waited for Liu Fu to wring out her hair. Halfway through, her breathing became even.
After a day of riding in a horse-drawn carriage, I was exhausted.
Liu Fu quickly finished cleaning up Zhuang Dongqing's wounds. He didn't call for anyone after he was done. Instead, he draped a blanket over him and said to the servants around him, "Someone come and keep watch. Be careful that the young master doesn't fall down if he rolls over. The rest of you can leave."
With some time to spare before dinner, Liu Fu took the opportunity to go downstairs and get ready.
When I was woken up again, it was already mealtime.
Liu Fu helped Zhuang Dongqing sit up, waking her up.
After drinking two glasses of water, Zhuang Dongqing sniffed and belatedly realized, "I'm hungry."
Liu Fu: "The food is ready. Young master, please sit for a while longer and eat when you are fully awake."
Zhuang Dongqing nodded.
Dinner was finally no longer just simple chicken and duck. Zhuang Dongqing ate with her eyes squinted, feeling that even her tongue tasted delicious.
This is delicious, that is delicious, everything is so delicious.
Zhuang Dongqing ate three bowls and was stuffed.
Logically, one should digest their food after dinner, but Zhuang Dongqing really didn't want to move. So the servants moved a reclining chair to the courtyard so he could sit and drink some tea to aid digestion and get some fresh air.
The east wing is a picture of tranquility and peace.
Meanwhile, after Cen Yan returned to his residence, he was so busy that he never had a moment to rest.
With limited resources available outside, once back at the Prince's residence, Master Zhao would thoroughly examine Cen Yan's wounds, take his pulse, and prescribe remedies for his recovery.
The two holes from the snake bite on my calf are still there, and the area around them is black. They are not venomous, but the wounds have not fully healed.
"Zhuang Dongqing always complained that things were getting better too slowly, but it seems that it's just right now."
Cen Yan said.
Master Zhao examined it carefully again and confirmed that there was nothing wrong.
Then they removed the gauze from Cen Yan.
The two or three knife wounds on his chest had already scabbed over and were just waiting to fall off.
The key issue was the arrow wound on his shoulder; once it was removed, it was indeed reopened.
but……
Master Zhao asked curiously, "To recover to this extent is quite fast. Were any medicinal herbs applied externally during the process?"
Cen Yan was actually reluctant to tell Master Zhao, but Master Zhao kept asking, so he finally said, "When the scab hasn't formed, Zhuang Dongqing changes the gauze every other day. After removing the old one, he washes it with strong liquor and then puts on a new one."
Master Zhao hissed.
"The young master seems to have some knowledge of medicine."
Cen Yan: "It's limited to treating wounds and caring for patients; no medication will be administered."
Master Zhao nodded, thinking that he would have to ask Zhuang Dongqing about it himself another day.
The shoulder was re-bandaged, and it was said that it had been rinsed with strong liquor in between. This time, Master Zhao followed suit and cleaned it with strong liquor before bandaging Cen Yan again.
Knowing that he had once again become the subject of Master Zhao's medical skills test, Cen Yan simply closed his eyes and remained silent.
Once everything was done, Cen Yan also needed to take a shower.
He was still injured and didn't need servants to take care of him. Only Liu Qi could pass him things, but they were separated by a curtain.
By the time we finished cleaning up, it was completely dark.
After dinner, he talked with Hao San, Xu Si, and Liu Qi in the study. It was already late at night.
Cen Yan only had a little free time at that moment, and asked about Zhuang Dongqing.
Liu Qi recounted in great detail: "After returning home, I took a bath, slept for a while, ate dinner, sat in the courtyard for a bit, had half a bowl of food for supper, and then went to bed early."
Looking at the sky, Liu Qi said, "They should be fast asleep by now."
Cen Yan: "Why did you only use half a bowl for your midnight snack?"
Liu Qi: "Perhaps I've had a tough time outside, because I ate three bowls of rice for dinner and I'm a little full."
Cen Yan chuckled: "I misunderstood."
Seeing the smile on Cen Yan's lips, Liu Qi's heart stirred. Recalling Cen Yan's interactions with Zhuang Dongqing along the way, she tentatively asked, "By the way, Master, when Young Master Zhuang first arrived, he said he would stay in the east wing temporarily, but now..."
Before she could finish speaking, Cen Yan's penetrating gaze swept over her, and Liu Qi lowered her head and shut up.
Knowing exactly what Liu Qi wanted to ask, Cen Yan would never have answered before, but now…
After a moment of silence, Cen Yan solemnly said, "I have decided to keep the child."
Liu Qi looked up, her face filled with undisguised surprise.
Cen Yan: "The west wing is busy with people coming and going, and there are many things to do. In addition, Zhuang Dongqing's health is weak. Let's settle him in the east wing. It's quieter there, and he'll be happy to be free."
“It was all arranged according to my sister’s preferences before. Now that he wants to live here, you can ask him for his opinion on the changes and then get started on them.”
"You should start preparing things for the child too."
"As for the rest, we'll talk about it later."
For example, one's identity requires a formal letter of appointment, which takes a lot of effort. In the end, it still needs to be reviewed and approved by the higher-ups before it counts. For now... let's get through this hurdle first.
Liu Qi nodded, which made sense.
Thinking of something, and observing Cen Yan's expression, she whispered, "What about the Dowager Consort..."
Cen Yan simply said, "There's no need to report to Mother. Everything is as usual. We'll talk about it after the baby is born safely."
"yes."
Upon closer examination, both Cen Yan and Liu Qi spent their childhood within the palace walls. It was one thing for the concubines to become pregnant, but whether they could give birth smoothly was another matter entirely. Subconsciously, both of them felt that the child was fragile, and the fewer people who knew about it before the birth, the safer it would be.
In particular, the Prince of Dingxi's mansion has made countless enemies in the capital in recent years.
Things cannot be accomplished without secrecy.
It's always better if fewer people know.
After a moment's thought, Cen Yan added, "The two guards who accompanied Zhuang Dongqing this time were quite good. Let them stay with Zhuang Dongqing. In the future, you won't need to assign anyone else when they go out."
These two guards were top talents drawn from Hao San and Xu Si's ranks. Since Cen Yan had given the order, Liu Qi was naturally happy to see it happen and nodded repeatedly.
After the matter was settled, the master and servant talked about other things, and then Cen Yan got up and made his arrangements.
*
The next day, Zhuang Dongqing slept until he woke up naturally.
After breakfast, I remembered Liu Fu's indenture. Since I had decided to take it back, I sent someone to ask Liu Qi.
Unexpectedly, Liu Qi came in person, not only agreeing to let him go out, but also bringing the two guards who had protected him during the escape, saying that they would follow him and protect him from now on.
Zhuang Dongqing had witnessed the abilities of these two people and naturally had no objections.
Afterwards, Liu Qi asked Zhuang Dongqing about the layout of the east wing. After staying there for a while, he asked if there was anything he was dissatisfied with. There were all sorts of questions, and Zhuang Dongqing answered whatever he asked without thinking about anything else.
Seeing his reaction, Liu Qi vaguely understood something, but did not point it out. His master always had his own plans for his affairs and did not need him to overstep his bounds.
And after all these years, this is the only one who catches my eye. Liu Qi just needs to do her job well.
After saying that, Zhuang Dongqing led his men out the door and headed straight for Li Yang's general store.
Li Yang had already given instructions regarding the indenture. Once Zhuang Dongqing explained his purpose, the shopkeeper returned the envelope containing the Six Blessings Indenture. After opening and verifying it, Zhuang Dongqing thanked him.
I asked about Li Yang's recent situation, and unexpectedly received some surprising news.
Li Yang was unharmed, but his birth mother, Consort Shu, passed away.
Zhuang Dongqing was surprised and asked again, but the shopkeeper only said that he had died of illness and didn't know anything more.
After leaving the grocery store, Zhuang Dongqing remained in a daze for a long time.
So that's how the story was connected?
The death of Consort Shu marks the beginning of the story and the prelude to the protagonist Li Yang's growth.
but……
Zhuang Dongqing looked at Liu Fu and lowered her voice, saying, "When we were at the imperial palace, I didn't hear that Consort Shu was ill?"
Liu Fu shook his head; he hadn't heard of it either.
"Young Master, perhaps it's not an illness after all."
One of the guards spoke up.
The two guards, one named Na Yuan and the other Wang Zhuangshi, were the ones who spoke at this moment.
Zhuang Dongqing was puzzled.
Na Yuan looked around, took half a step closer, and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "When the incident happened that day, the imperial palace was the first to be taken into custody. Consort Shu was in the imperial palace that day."
Zhuang Dongqing's pupils contracted. "You mean..."
Consort Shu did not die of illness; she was killed by the deposed crown prince's henchmen.
Na Yuan: "It's not impossible. It's said that His Majesty fell ill after returning to the capital. There's been a lot of noise in the court about what to do with the deposed crown prince, and there's still no conclusion. Perhaps it's to cover up the scandal, who knows?"
If you want to spare the life of the deposed crown prince, then Consort Shu must not have been forced to her death by him.
However, whether it was to leave a way out for the deposed crown prince was not that important, because no matter what, it was unpleasant for a son to kill his father's favorite concubine, and it needed to be covered up.
Zhuang Dongqing was bewildered.
After considering all the possibilities, a chill suddenly ran through my body.
There's no other reason than that, in either case, it's better to die from illness!
They remained silent for the rest of the journey. Zhuang Dongqing's mind was in turmoil, and he stopped at a teahouse to rest.
Unexpectedly, sitting down only made me feel more bored.
Instead of choosing a private room, we sat down in the main hall of the teahouse, by the window.
There weren't many people around, but there were some.
So during his time in the capital, Zhuang Dongqing heard all the rumors about the Prince's Mansion and the two rumors that came up after Cen Yan arrived in the capital yesterday.
Zhuang Dongqing: "..."
He wanted to get up and argue, but he held back.
He was afraid that if he acted recklessly, it would worsen the already negative public opinion surrounding the Prince's Mansion.
"Liu Fu, check please!"
Zhuang Dongqing said irritably.
After drinking one cup of tea, Zhuang Dongqing stormed out of the teahouse, her face contorted with anger.
What kind of nonsense is this? It was clearly the old emperor himself who refused Cen Yan's command of the Imperial Guards. Oh right, he refused two or three times in a row!
Upon returning to the capital, a few words were exchanged and the story became that Cen Yan didn't want to protect the emperor and was colluding with the deposed crown prince?!
If they really colluded...
Zhuang Dongqing shook her head, stopping herself from overthinking, and just stood there sulking.
The two guards exchanged a glance, and Wang Zhuangshi stepped forward to comfort them, saying, "Young Master, there's no need to worry. Rumors have always been unreliable... As long as you know what's going on, that's all that matters."
Zhuang Dongqing said angrily, "I know, I just... feel it's not worth it!"
If they had run away on the second or third day, none of this would have happened!
Oh right, that Third Prince must have known something, otherwise how could it be such a coincidence that he broke his leg on the first day and got away from the eye of the storm? If he really didn't want to deal with it, Cen Yan had plenty of ways to get down the mountain.
Thinking about this, Zhuang Dongqing realized that she seemed to have been a little blindly confident in Cen Yan.
But then he thought about Cen Yan's arrangements during the mutiny and realized that this was the impression Cen Yan had given him.
After all, he hadn't even given any warnings, yet Cen Yan had already arranged everything...
Before him, Na Yuan and Wang Zhuangshi lowered their heads, both showing forced smiles.
Realizing something, Zhuang Dongqing said, "Am I just talking without understanding the situation?"
After all, he wasn't the one who actually went to the battlefield and contributed the most along the way. If anyone should be angry, it's probably Yuan and Wang Zhuangshi who have more right to be.
Zhuang Dongqing apologized: "I just..."
Na Yuan: "How could that be? We all know that the young master is devoted to the Prince's Mansion. It's just that there are too many people here and too much gossip..."
"Oh, oh, oh."
Zhuang Dongqing then realized what was happening and looked around as well.
Once Liu Fu came out, all Zhuang Dongqing's mind was elsewhere; she just wanted to get back to the mansion as soon as possible.
As they approached the gate of the Prince's Mansion, they could see a group of people in the distance.
The arrangement was neat and orderly, and it looked quite impressive.
Zhuang Dongqing, being nearsighted, didn't notice, but the guard clearly recognized it: "It's someone from the palace."
Zhuang Dongqing couldn't help but think of the rumor that Cen Yan had been poisoned and was unconscious.
As they approached, they saw a eunuch holding a whisk in front of them, followed by several imperial physicians carrying medicine boxes, talking with Liu Qi.
I didn't hear the opening remarks, but I caught Liu Qi's reply: "It's really great that you can come, Eunuch. As for the Prince's condition... please ask the imperial physicians to go in and take a look first."
By the end, her voice was trembling with tears, leaving Zhuang Dongqing completely bewildered.
ah?
What does that mean?
Zhuang Dongqing didn't understand; he was completely out of the loop.
The eunuch comforted him, saying, "His Highness risked his life to protect the Emperor, showing his loyalty to the country. His Majesty was also very anxious when he heard that His Highness was unwell. This morning, he specially dispatched the head of the Imperial Medical Academy and two imperial physicians to come and take His Highness's pulse."
"The Imperial Physician and the Imperial Attendant are all highly skilled in medicine, so Manager Liu, please don't panic."
Liu Qi covered her face, deeply moved: "Your Majesty's grace is boundless. On behalf of my lord, I would like to express my gratitude to Your Majesty for your kindness."
Feng Gonggong, the chief eunuch in front of Emperor Shengwu, flicked his whisk and said, "Then I'll trouble Manager Liu to lead the way."
Liu Qi nodded, expressed his gratitude a few more times, and led Eunuch Feng inside.
As he turned around, he caught a glimpse of Zhuang Dongqing and gave Hao San a wink.
After the palace entourage entered the Prince's residence, Zhuang Dongqing was still confused about the situation. Hao San came over, and Zhuang Dongqing said, "I, you..."
For a moment, I didn't know what to say.
With so many people around and so many opinions, how much can actually be said?
Hao San understood, "Young Master, don't panic. The palace often sends people to the Prince's Mansion. You'll get used to it."
They attributed Zhuang Dongqing's reaction to being nervous upon seeing someone from the palace.
Zhuang Dongqing understood; this wasn't the time to speak, but...
"His Highness..."
After getting started, Zhuang Dongqing got stuck again. There were many questions she wanted to ask, but it seemed like she couldn't say a single one.
We can't let him ask, "Cen Yan is clearly fine, but Liu Qi is acting so sad. What if the imperial physician finds out when he takes her pulse?"
Hao San: "If young master is worried about the prince, would you like to come with me to the west wing to take a look?"
Realizing something, Zhuang Dongqing asked nervously, "Can I go?"
"Of course."
"Young master, you can come with me."
Zhuang Dongqing scratched her hands, a little scared but even more worried, and finally nodded, "Okay."
Hao San entered the Prince's Mansion.
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