Physician Zhang shuddered, his legs went weak, and he stumbled back several steps.
The other imperial physicians behind him supported him, preventing him from falling to the ground.
His eyes were filled with fear as he looked at the emperor on the high throne, but he saw disgust and disappointment in the emperor's eyes.
"Your Majesty... no, what Liu Kang said may not be entirely true. It's possible that the prescription he found was not as effective as the one we found..."
"If Your Majesty were to conclude that our term has expired based on such a trivial matter, we would be so wronged!"
After saying this, Physician Zhang immediately knelt down.
The imperial physicians behind him followed suit, burying their heads deep in the ground.
Seeing him like this, the emperor's irritation intensified.
Before he could even speak, Gu Jiangli chuckled and spoke first.
"Doctor Zhang, what's the point of deceiving yourself now?"
"Your initial idea was simply that the medicinal herbs you prescribed were expensive, and that people would buy cheaper medicines instead of yours."
"Since not many people buy your medicine, naturally not many people know that your medicine is ineffective."
"But now His Majesty knows the truth of the matter. You just want to use this method to save face for yourselves and prevent the Imperial Medical Academy from losing to Doctor Liu."
"If His Majesty wants to verify whether your expensive prescriptions are effective or not, isn't it simple?"
"Among the common people, there are many who have not yet been able to buy medicine. With His Majesty's word, expensive medicines can be delivered to the homes of those who have contracted the plague. Can others not tell whether they will recover after taking the medicine?"
Physician Zhang shook his head frantically, his mouth opening and closing as if he wanted to say something but didn't know where to begin.
“Besides…” Gu Jiangli tilted his head, and the palace maids beside him knelt on the ground, trembling. “These palace maids still have mouths, don’t they know how to tell the truth?”
Physician Zhang suddenly turned his head and stared wide-eyed at the palace maids.
But the women all kept their heads down, not daring to look at him at all.
Gu Jiangli bent down again and asked them:
"Sisters, the situation is now very clear. If you know the truth, you should tell the facts. Confessing may reduce your punishment."
"After all, deceiving the monarch is a crime punishable by beheading."
"Doctor Zhang is treacherous. He deserves to die, but if he harms you, it will be a great loss."
Upon hearing this, the palace maids turned pale.
Without much hesitation, they immediately confessed their crimes.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me! I did not mean to deceive you. It was...it was...Physician Zhang approached me and said he could give me some money if I behaved myself and pretended that nothing had happened. If anyone asked, I should say that I had contracted the plague and then drank his medicine and recovered completely."
"The imperial physician said the reason he sought me out was because I hadn't contracted the plague, so I could pretend to be fully recovered. I didn't want to do this at all..."
“But once this year is over, I will reach the age to leave the palace. With this money, I can still live a good life outside the palace... I was blinded by greed! Please forgive me, Your Majesty!”
His head slammed heavily onto the ground.
After this palace maid started it, one person after another confessed voluntarily.
"Yes, yes, it was Physician Li from the Imperial Hospital who made me do this. He also gave me a sum of money, saying that because I haven't contracted the plague, it would be easier for me to pretend to have recovered. I didn't do this for the money; it's just that my grandmother is seriously ill and there's no one to take care of her. Without money, no one would be willing to take care of her. I had no other choice but to do this. Please, Your Majesty, spare my life!"
"This servant is a palace maid serving the Imperial Concubine. The Imperial Concubine has always disliked me and frequently beats and scolds me. I was truly worried I wouldn't be able to leave the palace alive, so I thought… if I said I had contracted the plague, perhaps the Imperial Concubine would be lenient and not let me serve her anymore. Later, Physician Xu from the Imperial Hospital found me. He said he knew I wasn't sick, but he could ask the Imperial Concubine for me to be his 'medicine mannequin.' All I had to do was pretend to drink his medicine every day and then act as if I had recovered. After that, he would plead with the Imperial Concubine to transfer me to the Imperial Hospital as a sweeping maid. I believed him and agreed to do it. Your Majesty, I know my crimes are heinous; I beg Your Majesty to spare my life…"
“I was brought here by Physician Meng. Although I did not contract the plague, I did catch a cold. Physician Meng said that as long as I listened to him, he could cure my illness. I had no other choice but to do so.”
...
Several palace maids burst into tears, begging for their lives as they cried.
The emperor listened silently without speaking, letting the weeping of the palace maids echo throughout every corner of the hall.
They sobbed as they awaited the emperor's judgment.
Physician Zhang and his entourage suddenly went limp and collapsed to the ground, their eyes vacant.
All the evidence and testimonies pointed to the Imperial Medical Academy for committing the crime of deceiving the emperor, and there was no way to reverse the situation.
Imperial Physician Zhang stared blankly at the emperor, "Your Majesty... Your subject..."
At this moment, the emperor slowly rose, his eyes looking in the direction of Liu Kang. Then, his gaze shifted and he saw Xie Shiyan and Gu Jiangli, who were playing music together in harmony.
The emperor's shoulders slumped, and he looked extremely tired.
After thinking for a moment, he finally spoke:
"These palace maids committed the crime of deceiving the emperor, which is truly unforgivable. However... considering that they were misled by others, did not do it by their own will, and did not cause great damage to Northern Qi, let them be expelled from the palace and sent back to their hometowns."
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