In the past two years, Fan Beiran has spent most of his time in the capital, serving as the chief flag bearer in the Banner Guard, which is a fairly respectable and leisurely job.
But he had been to the battlefield several times before, and had been with the army thousands of miles away for training. In the war, he had seen his fellow soldiers lose their lives on the battlefield, and he had also seen his fellow soldiers fall into a coma due to serious injuries, deep wounds and festering, high fevers that would not go away. Some people survived and woke up, even if they were disabled, but more people died in a coma with high fever...
Fan Beiran turned the wine glass in his hand, raised his eyes to look at Gu Yuan, and said in a clear voice with a little hoarseness: "I remember... when Xu Daqian was wounded by an arrow, he also had a high fever?"
Speaking of old friends, Gu Yuan pursed his thin lips into a straight line, nodded, and a trace of sadness slowly emerged in his eyes.
That was two years ago.
He was only fifteen years old at the time, and he and Fan Beiran followed the 10,000 imperial guards from the Xishan Camp to the northwest to suppress the horse bandits.
Xu Daqian was six years older than Gu Yuan. He was twenty-one years old at the time. Seeing that Gu Yuan and Fan Beiran were young, he took good care of them in the camp.
On that occasion, Xu Daqian was shot in the shoulder blade by an arrow from a horse bandit. The feather arrow had a barb, so in order to pull out the arrow, he had to cut his flesh.
Originally, people thought that the arrow was non-toxic and Xu Daqian was fine, but he developed a high fever that night and fell into a coma. In just three days, a young man in his prime died.
Thinking of their old friend, both of them felt a little depressed and drank two cups of Bamboo Leaf Green in silence.
Fan Mushuang wanted to comfort his second brother, so he picked up the pot of Bamboo Leaf Green and added more wine to Fan Beiran.
My sister is so well behaved, and she is so kind to me, her brother! Fan Beiran was very pleased and asked casually, "Why are you asking this? Are you planning to study medicine again?"
He curled his lips jokingly, as if to say, don't let the passion last only three days again.
Fan Mushuang almost glared at his second brother, but managed to keep his face straight and said obediently, "I just thought of Marquis Ji'an."
"Marquis Ji'an?" Fan Beiran raised his eyebrows in confusion.
What does this have to do with Marquis Ji’an?
Fan Mushuang said, "Yesterday, when I was taking a nap in my mother's green gauze cupboard, I vaguely heard my father telling my mother that Marquis Jian stabbed himself and was almost burned to death."
She dipped her index finger in some wine and was about to continue practicing the disease-eliminating talisman when she heard Gu Yanfei suddenly ask, "Why did Marquis Jian stab himself?"
Fan Mushuang perked up and stopped drawing the talisman. He began to describe it vividly: "It happened a few days ago."
"Marquis Ji'an went to the Duke of Wei's mansion to apologize and asked to take Marquis Ji'an's wife and her daughter back home. He said he would definitely deal with the mistress and only asked Marquis Ji'an's wife to forgive him and let bygones be bygones and reconcile."
"However, the gate of the Duke of Wei's mansion has been closed, and the wife of Marquis Ji'an ignored him."
Gu Yanfei poured himself a glass of Bamboo Leaf Green, raised the glass to his lips, the unique aroma of the wine with the fragrance of bamboo leaves permeated his nose, and the corners of his lips curled up almost invisibly.
Wei Wan's matter involved the private affairs of the Duke of Wei's Mansion, so Gu Yanfei did not even tell Gu Yuan in detail.
Outsiders thought that Marquis Ji'an had colluded with the bandits and took the beauty given by the bandits as his concubine. Marquis Ji'an's wife was furious at his disloyalty and demanded to break up with her husband.
Later, Chu Yi told her that ever since the Duke of Weiguo left the capital to suppress the bandits, the Marquis of Ji'an had gone from being fearless in the beginning to gradually becoming anxious and uneasy. He was rejected by the emperor every time he went to the palace to meet him.
In just a few days, Marquis Ji'an's attitude has completely changed, and he is like two different people.
This ginger is still spicy with age, the Duke of Wei is really an old ginger! Gu Yanfei sighed in his heart.
Fan Mushuang continued, "Marquis Ji'an knelt at the gate of the Duke of Wei's mansion for a long time, then stabbed himself in the abdomen with a dagger, saying that he wanted to cut open his abdomen to prove himself. The people watching nearby were frightened and helped him knock on the door of the Duke's mansion, but the Duke's mansion still did not open the door."
"My mother said that the Marquis of Ji'an just wanted to use a torture strategy and he had no good intentions." Fan Mushuang wrinkled his face again, his cheeks puffed up like glutinous rice dumplings.
Speaking of Marquis Ji'an, she thought of the man surnamed Xue again. Marquis Ji'an colluded with bandits and kept a mistress. This kind of man is the same kind of man as the man surnamed Xue. If she couldn't get rid of the love poison, her end would probably be extremely miserable.
Thinking about this, Fan Mushuang also poured himself a cup of Bamboo Leaf Green and drank half a cup to calm himself down. Then he continued, "Anyway, after he was carried back to the Marquis' Mansion by his servants and the coachman that day, he soon developed a fever, and it got worse and worse."
"The Marquis of Ji'an's mansion invited many doctors to come. They all said that the Marquis of Ji'an was poisoned because of his injuries, and that they could only do their best and leave it to fate. The Marquis of Ji'an's wife was so anxious that she even personally invited Doctor Liang to the mansion, but he was helpless."
"The family was about to prepare for his death, but he took the medicine from the clinic and his fever went down."
"Dad said that the Marquis of Ji'an Mansion could not hold a funeral, so Mom didn't need to prepare the funeral ceremony."
After saying that, Fan Mushuang looked at Gu Yanfei with a smile, and those eyes that could speak seemed to say clearly: What else do you want to know? Come and ask me.
Is this medicine so miraculous? Gu Yanfei stroked the wine glass in his hand and asked with interest, "Which clinic?"
Fan Mu's eyes were sharp and his hands were quick. He poured more wine for Gu Yanfei again. After putting down the wine pot, he pushed open a window facing the street and pointed to the front right of the street and said, "It's the thatched cottage in front."
"Wancaotang." Fan Beiran added, signaling his sister to add more wine for him.
Fan Mushuang ignored his second brother's request and agreed with a smile: "Yes, it is Wancaotang."
"This Wancaotang seems to be newly opened. I remember it was a rouge shop last time I went there. My mother and I even bought rouge and powder there."
At this point, Fan Mushuang's smile froze slightly.
Later, she was infected with the unfortunate love poison and didn't even know when the rouge shop became a family clinic.
Fan Beiran immediately said: "It was opened after the Lantern Festival, and it has only been open for half a month. It is said that it is good for external injuries.
Because Fan Mushuang was "possessed" before, Mrs. Fan inquired about almost all the medical clinics in the capital, including the newly opened Wancaotang.
How could Gu Yuan not see that Gu Yanfei was quite interested in Wancaotang.
“Pah!”
Gu Yuan made a prompt decision and clapped his hands twice.
Wutong, the servant guarding the entrance to the private room, walked in quickly, and heard Gu Yuan indifferently order: "Go to the Wancaotang in front to buy the medicine for treating external injuries and fever."
Wutong took the order and went in a hurry. As soon as the door of the private room opened, the voices from the lobby downstairs came up again. The drinkers were still talking excitedly about the gossip that a certain scholar was in love with himself. One moment they said that the scholar carried a mirror wherever he went, and the next moment they said that he wanted everyone to praise his handsomeness, otherwise he would not let anyone go.
They had all heard the story from hearsay, and the more they spoke, the more bizarre it became. Even Fan Mushuang became interested.
Just when someone was talking about Xue Shusheng committing suicide for love, Wutong came back with a small porcelain jar the size of a fist in his hand.
"Master, Miss, I bought the medicine." Wutong held the porcelain jar carefully and sighed in disbelief, "Such a small jar costs ten taels of silver, a full ten taels of silver!"
Two taels of silver could support an ordinary family of three for a year.
Fan Mushuang was not very interested in the medicine. Her soul was attracted by the scene described by an eloquent old man below. He sighed and said, "I heard that when the scholar was struggling in the water, he was still shouting, I want to be with myself forever, don't save me..."
Wutong turned a deaf ear to the noisy sounds below. He only felt that the small porcelain jar in his hand was heavy. He was afraid that it would be accidentally broken, so he carefully presented it to Gu Yanfei.
Wutong sighed and said, "This medicine was put up for sale half a month ago. No one would buy it at this price. But two days ago, Marquis Ji'an used it and a man who was about to die was brought back from the brink of death. After the news spread, the people from Longmen Escort Agency also bought it with the idea of giving it a try. The seriously injured and unconscious Escort Head Sun was also brought back to life by this medicine."
"Now the news is spreading all over the capital that this is a miracle drug, so more people are buying it, but ordinary people can't afford it at all."
"When I went to Wancaotang just now, I happened to meet Mr. He from the Ministry of War who came over and bought ten cans to take away."
As soon as Master He arrived, more people gathered around Wancaotang. After today, the reputation of Wancaotang will probably become even greater.
Gu Yuan and Fan Beiran looked at each other and thought of the same thing.
The Ministry of War bought this medicine naturally for use in the army.
"Do you know the name of the doctor at Wancaotang? Where is he from?" Gu Yuan asked thoughtfully.
Wutong had specifically asked the people at Wancaotang about this, so he answered without hesitation: "His surname is Wan, his name is Wan Pengcheng, and he is from the capital."
In military families like theirs, children learn martial arts from a young age, and practicing martial arts means getting hurt.
They had heard of most of the doctors in the Dajing Dynasty who were good at treating external injuries, but they had never heard of any family with the surname Wan.
Wutong was smart and said immediately, "Master, I have inquired about this. Doctor Wan is only a doctor hired by the owner of Wancaotang. This medicine for external injuries was made by their owner himself. It is a unique secret recipe."
"The guys at Wancaotang kept saying that even if someone bought it, they couldn't copy it."
Wutong also realized at that time that some of the people outside Wancaotang should be from other medical clinics and pharmacies. They might want to take Wancaotang's secret medicine back to study the medicinal ingredients carefully.
While they were talking, Gu Yanfei had already opened the small porcelain jar and saw a snow-white powder inside. At first glance, it looked like flour.
Without waiting for Gu Yanfei to ask, Wutong took the initiative to say: "Wancaotang said that this powder should be applied externally and is useless when taken internally."
Gu Yanfei leaned over and sniffed the small porcelain jar. She had a very sensitive nose. Although the private room was filled with the aroma of wine, she was still sure that the powder had no odor and did not smell like herbal medicine.
She dipped some powder directly into her lips with her little finger and tasted it...
Her movements were so fast that Gu Yuan had no time to stop her and shouted nervously, "Sister!"
Gu Yuan was so frightened that his elbow accidentally hit the wine jug next to him, and the jug almost fell over. Fortunately, Fan Beiran was quick-witted and quickly held up the jug.
I almost ruined such a good bottle of wine! Fan Beiran thought to himself, and gave Gu Yuan a look that said, "Don't be nervous."
Gu Yuan is a guy who is too concerned. Since our sister is such a powerful person and dares to taste the medicine herself, she must know what's going on.
Fan Mushuang ignored the people who were gossiping below and stared at Gu Yanfei without blinking. Her little face was tense and round. She almost wanted to imitate Gu Yanfei and try the medicine.
Gu Yanfei savored the taste on her tongue carefully. Apart from a salty and bitter taste, she couldn't taste anything else.
No wonder the people at Wancaotang were so confident in saying that no one could imitate this medicine.
interesting.
Gu Yanfei casually put the small porcelain jar into his sleeve pocket, and looked outside the window in the direction that Fan Mushuang had pointed.
Wutong said hurriedly, "Second Miss, the shop at the end of the street surrounded by many people is Wancaotang."
"Go buy another can." Gu Yanfei instructed Wutong, then turned to Gu Yuan and said, "Brother, take this can to the eldest prince."
Gu Yuan naturally listened to Gu Yanfei and nodded.
So, at noon that day, Chu Yi, who was in the Yangxin Palace, had an identical small green porcelain jar in his hand.
The emperor was also in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and at that moment he was admiring a painting he had just finished at a desk by the window. The peach blossoms in the painting were in full bloom, and the sky was full of clouds and mist.
Chu Yi's eyebrows curved almost imperceptibly, the corners of his eyes slightly raised, and his pupils sparkled like the beautiful spring light.
He stretched out his fingers and gently stroked the porcelain jar twice, with a sweet feeling in his heart.
The emperor raised his head from the painting, stroked his beard, and glanced at Chu Yi with a smile. It was obvious that his son was in a very good mood.
The emperor couldn't help but glance at a wooden box on the desk, and a smile flashed in his eyes.
Gu Yuan, who had just arrived, didn't know, but the emperor knew that there was an identical small green porcelain jar hidden in this wooden box, which was the one Chu Yi had someone buy from Wancaotang before.
The little girl from the Gu family should have some thoughts about her own son.
A good omen! The emperor was in a good mood, like a sunny spring day. The more he looked at his own painting of peach blossoms, the more he liked it. He thought about framing it well.
Soon, Gu Yuan reported the general situation of how the secret medicine of Wancaotang cured the Marquis of Jian and the head of a certain escort agency, and finally said: "My sister said that she didn't know what kind of herbs this powder was made of."
Chu Yi casually opened the small green porcelain jar, looked at the white powder inside and asked, "Do you know what this powder is called?"
Xiao Shi at the side suppressed the urge to reply and could only purse his lips and silently glanced at Gu Yuan. He felt that this guy came at a really bad time. Gu Yuan came right after he arrived, leaving him no time to report his gains from this trip to Wancaotang.
"The name of the medicine is very strange, it's called Penicillium Powder." Since Gu Yuan was going to present this medicine to Chu Yi, he naturally knew everything about it. He had already asked Wutong to ask Wancaotang in advance, and he answered immediately.
"Penicillin." The next moment, a gentle and deep male voice sounded at the end of Gu Yuan's words.
Gu Yuan subconsciously looked at the emperor. His first reaction was to think that the emperor had misheard, but when he saw the emperor's expression clearly, he was stunned.
The emperor was sitting by the window with his back to the light, his elegant features were slightly blurred, his eyes were extremely deep, his right hand was tightly grasping the armrest of the chair, and the lines on the back of his hand were as tight as iron.
Gu Yuan was a smart man and he understood one thing immediately: the emperor was not wrong.
There was silence in the East Warm Pavilion for a moment.
Chu Yi lowered her long eyelashes and stared at the medicinal powder in the porcelain jar with deep eyes.
After a moment of silence, Chu Yi looked up at the emperor by the window and said four words in a firm tone: "Taizu Handwritten Notes."
Chu Yi was not yet born when Emperor Taizu passed away, and he had never seen his wise and brave great-grandfather.
Chu Yi knew some of the things about Emperor Taizu from Taizu's Diary, some from what he heard from the late emperor, Duke Weiguo and others, and most of them from what his father told him as gossip and anecdotes when he was a child.
"It's Taizu's Handwritten Notes." The emperor nodded with a hint of understanding.
Time flies, and before we knew it, it has been twenty years since Emperor Taizu passed away.
Emperor Taizu is the grandfather of the current emperor. The late emperor did not like the current emperor. When the emperor was young, he spent more time with Taizu than with the late emperor. Naturally, he has a special feeling for this grandfather.
In the three years before Taizu's death, his health deteriorated, and the emperor often stayed by Taizu's side to take care of him. Occasionally, Taizu would mutter some inexplicable words, saying that he still had a lot of things to do and that he had written several notebooks.
"Click."
The emperor suddenly stood up from his chair, turned his back, looked at the flowers and trees swaying in the spring breeze outside the house, and said, "One year before Taizu passed away, I was attending to him and accidentally spilled some medicine on a notebook. When I went to wipe it, I only turned a few pages..."
"Penicillin is mentioned in the notes. It can treat high fever caused by traumatic inflammation, tuberculosis, purulent ears, etc."
"What a pity, I only took a quick glance at it at that time..." The notebook was then taken back by Taizu.
Having said this, the emperor's voice stopped abruptly.
The golden sunlight filtered through the layers of branches and leaves, casting mottled shadows on the emperor's face. The light and shadows swayed gently, making his expression even more complicated.
There are memories, sadness, helplessness, and sighs for the ruthless passage of time.
The year before Emperor Taizu passed away, he was already old and frail, and his condition was deteriorating.
During that period, the relationship between Taizu and the late emperor was very tense. The late emperor begged Taizu for the letters and wanted Taizu to leave the generators and steam engines to him, but Taizu said that the things in the letters could not be taken out yet.
The father and son argued about this several times.
Once, after another argument between the father and son, Taizu impatiently sent the late emperor away. Afterwards, he said to the emperor with a tired look on his face: "Your father is a fool. If I leave all this to him, I'm afraid he won't be able to keep it."
"If you click the wrong technology tree, you can't start over..."
"Not enough time, really not enough time. If you can give me more time, I can also establish your aunt..."
Two chapters combined into one~ (End of this chapter)
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