Chapter 248 Something's happened!
However, beneath this great reputation, a crisis was quietly brewing.
Although the free clinic tents have been expanded, there is a severe shortage of available imperial physicians, resulting in increasingly longer waiting times.
The cold winter weather, the anxiety of waiting for a long time, and the torment of illness brought people's emotions to a boiling point.
Friction and arguments frequently occurred, keeping the innkeepers busy trying to maintain order.
However, thanks to Pei Jichuan and Ana's efforts in treating the patients, although the people occasionally expressed dissatisfaction, the area in front of the Dengdi Inn was still filled with hope and praise for their benevolent medical skills, as well as their agreement with the Emperor and the Imperial Concubine's consideration for ordinary people.
Meanwhile, the Imperial Medical Academy within the palace was unusually peaceful and serene.
Lu Zhengqing's old eyes gleamed with shrewdness. He sat in his duty room, listening to his subordinate imperial physicians report on the free medical clinics outside the palace and the Imperial Noble Consort's rising popularity.
His wrinkled face was expressionless, but the hand holding the teacup was gripped a little tighter.
"Academician Lu, now that the Emperor has explicitly commended and encouraged imperial physicians to go out into the countryside, should we... also send some people to provide support? After all, this is also an opportunity to enhance the reputation of our Imperial Medical Academy..."
A more upright deputy envoy cautiously made the suggestion.
Lu Zhengqing didn't even lift his eyelids, slowly sipped his tea, and spoke in a hoarse voice typical of the elderly.
"His Majesty is benevolent and compassionate towards the people, which is undoubtedly wise. However, the very foundation of our Imperial Medical Academy lies in serving the palace and ensuring the health and well-being of the Emperor. Diseases among the people are complex and multifaceted, and foul air breeds. If the imperial physicians frequently enter and leave the palace, bringing the disease back to the palace and disturbing His Majesty, the other masters, and especially the young princes and princesses, who will bear this responsibility?"
He put down his teacup, his gaze sweeping over the several senior imperial physicians in the duty room, his words seemingly offering advice.
"Pei Jichuan is young and impetuous, eager to make a name for himself, which I can understand. But that sorceress from the Southern Frontier is of unknown origin and uses strange methods; she is not of orthodox medical lineage. You must all remember your duties and not follow the crowd or get involved in trouble. As for providing support..."
He snorted coldly, "Our Imperial Hospital is already short-staffed. The health and well-being of all the palace masters is of paramount importance. How can we sacrifice the greater good for the sake of trivial matters?"
Lu Zhengqing did not issue an explicit order to prohibit it, but his subtle warnings made many imperial physicians who originally intended to go, especially those who were less experienced and dared not disobey the court judge's wishes, back down.
The Lu family had deep roots in the Imperial Medical Academy, which was a place where seniority was strictly observed, and young imperial physicians were subordinate to senior physicians.
The key is not the doctor's ability, but who the teacher is and how deep the roots are.
Lu Zhengqing's disciples took the opportunity to spread rumors within the Imperial Hospital: "Going to such a filthy place, if you get sick, your future will be ruined!"
"Pei Jichuan merely relies on the favor of the Imperial Noble Consort to be unconventional; how could he know the dangers of epidemics among the common people?"
"Serving the noble people in the palace well is the proper thing to do."
In the dead of night, only Lu Zhengqing and his students remained in the Imperial Medical Academy's duty room.
One of the students whispered, "Your Excellency, I heard that Pei Jichuan is extremely busy, consuming a huge amount of medicinal herbs, and the people queuing up are starting to complain. I'm afraid... he's about to collapse."
Lu Zhengqing stroked his sparse beard, and in the flickering candlelight, his expression appeared even more unfathomable, even carrying a hint of coldness.
“Young man, you are ignorant and arrogant, relying only on your passion. You don’t know that things in this world cannot be accomplished simply by having the will.” He said slowly and deliberately, as if he were commenting on something that had nothing to do with him.
"Medicinal herbs, manpower, public grievances... mishandling any one of these could lead to utter disaster."
A barely perceptible sneer curled at the corner of his lips. "Besides, the taller the tree, the more the wind will blow. Pei Jichuan, and the Imperial Noble Consort behind him, are being held so high now, that their fall will be even more painful."
The student felt a chill run down his spine and tentatively asked, "Does the Dean mean... we should just wait and see?"
Lu Zhengqing glanced at him, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
"Wait and see? Of course we should wait and see. However, where this 'change' comes from, and when it comes, may not be entirely unintentional."
He spoke meaningfully, yet his words contained no loopholes. The student, upon hearing this, seemed to have a guess and was secretly alarmed.
The student dared not ask any more questions and bowed as he withdrew.
Lu Zhengqing sat alone under the lamp, watching the flickering flames, his eyes filled with a cold calculation.
His Lu family had been in charge of the Imperial Medical Academy for generations, and their influence was deep and powerful. How could they allow Pei Jichuan, who rose to power through women, and a concubine who attempted to use her popularity among the common people to undermine the authority that he had built up over his entire life?
As the Imperial Noble Consort's fame spread, people who had previously dared not come to the free clinic outside the Dengdi Inn now flocked there in droves.
The queue is getting longer and longer.
It was the dead of winter, and the people who had been waiting for several hours had long lost their patience. The cries of children, the groans of the sick, and the anxious complaints could be heard all around.
The few imperial physicians were surrounded by layers of people, and even getting up to use the restroom became a luxury.
Pei Jichuan had just finished administering acupuncture to a child suffering from a high fever and convulsions. His forehead was covered in a fine layer of sweat, and he was about to write down a prescription when a young innkeeper scrambled in, his face filled with panic: "Pei... Physician Pei! Something terrible has happened! There's... there's a fight outside!"
His voice was hoarse. "Someone cut in line, and the two sides were arguing and it looked like they were about to fight! There were too many people, and we couldn't stop them!"
Pei Jichuan's heart tightened. He immediately stood up, quickly gave a few instructions to the apprentice beside him, and was about to rush out to deal with the situation.
However, misfortunes never come singly.
He had only taken two steps when another apprentice in charge of managing the medicinal herbs rushed over in a panic.
"Imperial Physician Pei! Something terrible has happened! The most crucial medicinal herbs for treating the epidemic... Coptis chinensis, Scutellaria baicalensis, and Forsythia suspensa... our entire stock is gone! Manager Zhou sent people to every pharmacy, big and small, in the capital, and they all said... they all said they were out of stock! Either they were hoarding them and refusing to sell, or they were raising prices tenfold! What... what are we going to do?!"
Medicinal herbs are out of supply!
Pei Jichuan felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head!
Without these crucial medicinal herbs, all previous efforts might have been in vain, and those patients whose conditions had just stabilized might relapse, or even... He dared not think further.
Beset by internal and external troubles, Pei Jichuan was stuck in place. On one side was a chaotic crowd on the verge of spiraling out of control, and on the other side was a crisis involving medicinal herbs that threatened the lives of countless people. The veins on his forehead throbbed as he made a decision in an instant: he had to stabilize the situation outside first!
He quickly instructed the apprentice who brought the news: "Go and find out immediately! Who is hoarding medicinal herbs! Find a way, no matter the cost, to buy some for emergency use! I'm going outside to check!"
He wasted the time it takes for an incense stick to burn dealing with the internal crisis, unaware that the situation outside had already taken a sharp turn for the worse.
Outside the free clinic tent, the waiting crowd was already seething with resentment.
Several seemingly honest-looking men mingling in the crowd exchanged glances, remembering the nobleman's instructions, and seized the opportunity to stir up trouble.
"What's going on? We've been waiting so long and still haven't seen a doctor?"
"Are you deliberately delaying because you think we're poor?"
"What kind of imperial physician is this! He's so slow and indecisive, he clearly looks down on us poor people!"
"That's right! These officials don't really care whether we live or die!"
...
The provocative remarks were like sparks that instantly ignited pent-up anger.
The crowd began to stir, pushing and shoving forward, a cacophony of curses, cries, and shoving.
The staff and guards maintaining order were swept away by the crowd and were about to completely lose control!
"Don't push! Everyone, please don't push! Please proceed in order!"
Zhou Yan tried her best to coordinate, and her voice was almost hoarse from shouting, but with little effect.
Just then, a shocking change occurred!
A toddler, about three or four years old, was pushed to the ground by the chaotic crowd, crying loudly in fear, but his voice was drowned out by the clamor of the people. A burly man was suddenly shoved from behind, unable to stop himself, and staggered forward, a large foot in a tattered straw sandal about to crush the toddler's fragile body!
"Watch out for the children!"
Zhou Yan's reaction was almost instinctive.
He was the closest and didn't have time to think. He lunged forward, using his entire back to face the chaotic crowd, while tightly shielding the terrified child with his arms!
"Crack!"
A muffled thud that made your teeth ache was followed by a suppressed groan from Zhou Yan.
In the chaos, countless feet trampled and bumped against him, especially his right arm, which he had stretched out to protect the child, and was trampled on repeatedly and violently!
A piercing pain instantly swept over him, and he could clearly feel the strange sound coming from his arm bone!
Pain spread.
Even if someone found Zhou Yan lying down, the crowd was like a tide, rising and falling uncontrollably.
Many people lost their balance; some fell, and others couldn't keep their balance and watched helplessly as they stepped on Zhou Yan.
The child was unharmed under his protection, but cried even louder in fear.
Zhou Yan's face turned deathly pale instantly from the excruciating pain, and cold sweat poured down his face. His right arm had already fallen limply to his side, and his sleeve was quickly soaked with blood, turning a horrifying dark red color, with even the blurry flesh visible!
"Manager Zhou!"
"Brother Zhou!"
...
The surrounding staff and the crowd, who had just realized what was happening, gasped in surprise...
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