The loss of the Imperial Advisor must have had some impact on the Emperor. For example, his concubines have only given birth to their sixth prince so far, which is four years later than in the timeline.
This emperor was unlucky in having many children. Not to mention the princesses, just the five princes before the sixth prince, two of them died shortly after birth.
The sixth prince was only a hundred days old, but he was already sickly and looked like he would die young. He couldn't live without medicine every day, which made the Imperial Hospital and the doctors very anxious. In their anxiety, someone thought of the popular folk doctor Hu.
As luck would have it, this "miracle doctor" Hu walked right into the trap, prompting the group of believers, both genuine and fake, to exclaim that this was a divine intervention.
The sixth prince lived with his mother, Consort Zhao, in Yonghe Palace. Guards were not allowed to enter the inner palace, so Emperor Xiu carried his own medicine basket and was led there by a eunuch who called himself Pang Yuan.
Upon entering Yonghe Palace, even with Di Xiu's keen hearing, it wasn't until he was almost at the entrance of the prince's residence that he heard the cat-like crying. The voices of the palace maids and nannies who were trying to soothe him were louder than his own.
Before they even got close, a palace maid suddenly tiptoed out of the door, glanced at the newcomers hastily, and without thinking twice, lifted her skirt and ran off, disappearing from Yonghe Palace in a flash.
Judging from the commotion inside, they must have gone to fetch the imperial physician.
Pang Yuan heard that things seemed quite chaotic inside, so he spoke to the eunuch at the door. The eunuch glanced at Di Xiu and immediately went inside.
Consort Zhao was also inside. Upon hearing that the emperor had summoned the renowned Physician Hu, who had risen to fame in recent years and was said to be able to snatch people from the clutches of the King of Hell, hope was rekindled in her increasingly despairing heart.
She was helped out by her nanny and walked quickly. When she saw a person wearing a mask, she was suddenly startled and whispered "Imperial Preceptor". She was only able to react after being lightly pinched by the nanny next to her.
Upon closer inspection, this person was more slender and taller, and the mask was not white but silver-gray. The clothes were also ordinary dark blue robes, rather than the brocade robes reminiscent of ink paintings.
Pang Yuan bowed to Consort Zhao and said, "Your Majesty, this is Physician Hu. His Majesty is concerned about the Sixth Prince and specially ordered me to bring the physician here to examine him."
Consort Zhao immediately summoned Emperor Xiu inside.
The little prince was foaming at the mouth, his face was bluish-purple, and he was crying with his eyes closed. He looked pitiful, and the group of nannies and palace maids were at a loss and panicked.
Emperor Xiu frowned slightly, put down the medicine basket, went over and took the little prince into his arms, and asked the large group of people to leave. Consort Zhao immediately agreed, but still left a wet nurse behind.
Inside, the doors and windows were mostly closed to keep warm. Di Xiu then asked someone to open the windows a little to ventilate the room. He asked for a clean handkerchief to wipe the white foam from the little prince's mouth, checked for any foreign objects in his mouth and nose, and pressed several points on his body with his fingers.
When Emperor Xiu put the little prince back on the bed, Consort Zhao wondered if it was just her imagination, but her son's complexion seemed to have improved.
Di Xiu reached out to 001, who immediately took out an acupuncture kit from his bag and handed it over. When opened, the silver needles were smooth and bright, so dazzling that they hurt one's eyes.
001 then went and brought over a candlestick, placing it by the bedside, and actively teased the little prince to attract his attention.
Emperor Xiu sterilized the silver needles and went around to the other side of the small bed. Consort Zhao felt his hand tremble a few times, and five silver needles appeared on the little prince's body. The needles trembled slightly, as if following some kind of rhythm, which was very magical.
Even with needles sticking into her body, she acted as if she didn't feel anything, and instead nibbled on the child's hand.
The three imperial physicians who had been treating the sixth prince since his birth rushed all the way here, only to find that it seemed to have already ended.
They knew that Doctor Hu had arrived, and they were the ones who had pushed for this matter and brought it up.
If they failed to cure the sixth prince, not only would they themselves be implicated, but their entire family lineage would also be affected. Seeing that the sixth prince was getting worse day by day, they desperately needed a scapegoat, which is why they suggested finding a famous doctor from the common people.
Of course, if it's cured, then everyone will be happy.
Di Xiu glanced at them, wrote out a prescription, and told them to send someone to get the medicine.
They pushed the younger one out and gathered around the small bed, watching the little prince's face. Seeing that he still had silver needles stuck in his body, they dared not move and even breathed softly, for fear of accidentally blowing the needles off course.
Consort Zhao asked incredulously, "My A-Liu is all better now?"
She didn't ask how the baby should take the medicine. The imperial physician had previously prescribed medicine, which was given to the wet nurse to drink and then passed to the baby through breast milk.
Di Xiu shook his head: "It's only been suppressed temporarily."
"Then, then A-Liu might grow up healthy."
Emperor Xiu couldn't guarantee that; he was only responsible for treating the illness. So he said, "The young prince will recover his health."
Consort Zhao's eyes dimmed as she thought about how this child was born into the royal family. Even if she got through this hurdle, she didn't know how many more hurdles awaited her in the future.
After waiting for a while, Di Xiu handed the written instructions for the medicine to the nanny beside Consort Zhao, got up to remove the needles from the little prince, disinfected the medicine again, and put it away.
001 withdrew her fingers, which were aching from being sucked, pinched the little prince's cheek, smiled smugly at the remaining two imperial physicians, and bid farewell to Consort Zhao together with Emperor Xiu.
The two imperial physicians wanted to talk to him about the sixth prince's medical case, but since the sixth prince was more important, they stayed to observe the young prince's condition.
Consort Zhao had thought her son would follow in the footsteps of the First Prince and the Fourth Prince, but now that she found out her son could be cured, she looked at these imperial physicians and immediately felt that the word "quack" was written all over their faces. Without any politeness, she ordered them to be driven out.
She then instructed the nanny to prepare a thank-you gift, but the nanny felt that they should wait and see, and send it after the little prince had really improved. She also said that since Doctor Hu was new to the area, he might not have a place to stay, so it would be better to ask the Zhao family to do them a favor and invite him to stay at the mansion.
Emperor Xiu didn't want much contact with these powerful figures, so he refused all attempts to curry favor, including from the Zhao family. He stayed in an inn and didn't practice medicine during the day. Instead, he visited some of the more famous alchemists in the city, but most of them declined to see him.
As everyone knows, this Dr. Hu is treating the Sixth Prince. Although it seems to be having some effect, if he ultimately fails to cure him, the Emperor might not be able to punish his entire clan, but instead take revenge on those who are close by.
Don't be fooled by the fact that the emperor is now practicing immortality; he is actually more tyrannical than before.
As for the Zhao family and the like, the emperor would not touch these prominent families unless he had completely lost his mind.
After wandering around for two or three days without any success—either he couldn't find the person or they weren't capable enough—Di Xiu had no choice but to give up temporarily and continue going from street to street treating patients.
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