Emperor Kangxi's headache flared up again, just the day after the Crown Prince and the Thirteenth Prince had arrived. The old emperor was in excruciating pain, his head throbbing, and his eyesight was severely impaired. His physician repeatedly advised him to stop working so hard, but the old emperor simply couldn't stop. He wouldn't feel at ease until he had read through all the memorials; he was truly working tirelessly and meticulously.
When Emperor Kangxi fell ill, he did not want to see anyone, but the Crown Prince would run to Kangxi's tent. This was actually a way for him to express his concern, but unfortunately, he misinterpreted it.
That day, Kangxi still hadn't recovered, leaving only the renowned physician and a few imperial doctors in the tent. Liang Jiugong served him nearby, watching the imperial doctors whisper amongst themselves while the renowned physician performed acupuncture on Kangxi. Several silver needles were inserted into Kangxi's temples, making it look quite frightening.
"Liang Jiugong, convey my imperial decree: have one hundred guards surround the yellow tent. No one is to enter without my permission," Kangxi suddenly said, his eyes closed. He had only brought three thousand guards with him this time, but the Crown Prince had brought five thousand to greet him, which greatly displeased Kangxi. Originally, the Crown Prince had issued his own decree to bring his men, but he hadn't specified how many or who the Crown Prince should bring. Therefore, the Crown Prince naturally brought more men, and those who were always close to him. This aroused Kangxi's suspicion.
In fact, the Crown Prince simply forgot to do one thing: request an imperial decree before setting off to inquire about the size and scale of the welcoming party, thus showing some respect to Emperor Kangxi, who was, after all, the emperor. However, the Crown Prince did not do this, which made Emperor Kangxi increasingly dissatisfied with him.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince and the Thirteenth Prince were playing Go in their own tent. This was also Kangxi's decree, ordering the Thirteenth Prince to stay with the Crown Prince day and night, not to leave his side even for a moment, which was tantamount to semi-imprisonment.
"What's wrong with Father Emperor? Does he not trust me at all?" the Crown Prince muttered. He felt wronged; he had come to greet him by imperial decree, yet now he felt like a prisoner, being watched by his own brother and suspected by his own father. He didn't even know where he had gone wrong.
“Brother Crown Prince, Father has made his own decisions. Why don’t you just relax and play chess? I’ll keep you company.” Thirteen had never quite understood why his mother had remembered him and asked him to accompany the Crown Prince to greet the Emperor. Now, he finally understood—it was to keep an eye on the Crown Prince. Thinking of this, Thirteen was actually quite annoyed; he didn’t like being here with the Crown Prince listening to his complaints.
The Crown Prince and the Thirteenth Prince played chess in silence. Although they could hear the commotion outside, neither dared to get up and look. Emperor Kangxi had issued an edict forbidding the Crown Prince and the Thirteenth Prince from leaving their tent. Therefore, the Crown Prince and the Thirteenth Prince were practically under house arrest.
After discussing it for a long time, the imperial physicians came to the same conclusion: Emperor Kangxi was too overworked and needed more rest, otherwise his condition would only worsen.
The renowned physician had already told Emperor Kangxi this, but he did not heed it, so the physician had no choice but to use silver needles to clear his meridians time and time again.
According to modern medicine, Lao Kang has cervical spondylosis. His years of hunching over his desk reviewing memorials, reading, and writing certainly took a toll on his spine. The internal nerves are compressing his eyesight, and he even suffers from headaches.
Kangxi listened to what they were saying, which was no different from before, and angrily waved his hand at the head of the Imperial Hospital, saying, "All of you, leave. The Imperial Physician, stay."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and quietly withdrew. Kangxi's temper was becoming increasingly unpredictable; he had already had several eunuchs beaten to death for not serving him properly. This was the truth of serving a ruler like walking on thin ice. One might flaunt one's power and influence in front of others, boasting of serving the emperor, but when one makes a mistake and is dragged out and beaten to death, does one ever regret it?
After Liang Jiugong arranged the guards, he came in and saw Kangxi leaning back in his chair with silver needles inserted in his head.
"Your Majesty, everything is arranged. The Thirteenth Prince is accompanying the Crown Prince," Liang Jiugong said, flicking his whisk.
"Hmm. Divine healer, tell me the truth, is there any chance my headache can be cured? Why are the attacks becoming more and more frequent?" Kangxi's voice carried a hint of disappointment and sternness. He was blaming the divine healer for not being able to cure him.
"Your Majesty," the physician said, "what I told you last time is the truth. Your long hours spent hunched over your desk reading and writing have caused slight deformation of the nerves in your spine, which has led to a repositioning of the nerves in your head, affecting your vision and even causing pain. If you could reduce the time spent reading memorials by half, I could use acupuncture and medicine to maintain your current condition. If you continue like this, it will only get worse and more frequent until one day you are completely blind." His medical skills were indeed superior to those of the head of the Imperial Hospital. If it weren't for this physician, Emperor Kangxi would likely have already gone blind.
Clang!
A cup smashed on the ground, shattering into several pieces. Emperor Kangxi then threw the famille rose "Four Talents of Spring Outing" cup, which he was holding, to the ground.
"Your Majesty's temper and irritability will only worsen your condition, so Your Majesty must remain calm," the physician added.
"How dare you! How dare you! Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?" Kangxi roared in anger. He couldn't accept the reality of his impending blindness. He hadn't had enough of being emperor yet; how could he be aging so quickly?
Liang Jiugong looked at the skilled doctor without any urgency, because such conversations had played out many times between him and Kangxi. Every time the skilled doctor spoke vehemently, Kangxi would threaten him, but still still use him.
“If Your Majesty kills me, Your Majesty’s eyesight will deteriorate even faster, because I have no apprentices, and no one in the world today knows my acupuncture techniques,” the master acupuncturist said.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Kangxi immediately stopped being angry. Whenever he had a splitting headache, the skilled physician would simply prick him a few times with those silver needles, and the pain would immediately subside.
"Liang Jiugong, go and serve the meal. I'm hungry." Kangxi was about to end his conversation with the imperial physician.
After the expert physician took his leave, Kangxi said through gritted teeth, "I will definitely kill this person in the future!"
Liang Jiugong listened intently, like a wooden stake, but made no response. He was Kangxi's most trusted confidant eunuch, and no one would hide anything from him, except for matters concerning the crown prince.
"How has the Crown Prince been behaving these past few days?" Kangxi changed the subject.
“Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has been playing chess with the Thirteenth Prince inside the tent and has not come out. The men he brought are resting at the camp designated by Your Majesty,” Liang Jiugong reported.
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