Composite processing
"Try it?" Lin Shaoyin said in surprise, "The poison of Tripterygium wilfordii cannot be neutralized by processing. I have tried many methods before, such as roasting with licorice, roasting with honey, processing with black beans, steaming, roasting, processing with vinegar, and processing with wine. None of them can eliminate its toxicity. How can you use it on Consort Liang, who is seriously ill and on the verge of death?"
“Although it cannot eliminate the poison, it can reduce the poison.” Fang Lingshan said, “If one processing is not enough, then three or five times, with licorice, vinegar, fumigation, and covering processing, it may be feasible.”
Lin Shaoyin said decisively, "No way!"
"Do you know that the steaming process alone takes several days? Consort Liang simply can't wait!" Lin Shaoyin said. "You've searched all the pharmacists, but no one dares to process the Heartbreak Grass for you. Give up on this idea!"
Xiao Fu nodded repeatedly, "Shao Yin is right. Our elders say you're really reckless. No one in the Medicine Bureau would dare to do this."
“Xiao Fu, Shao Yin,” Shen Gongfeng said, “if no one in the processing department dares to make it, we will take the medicine and process it ourselves. Time is running out, we need to discuss what to do, not how it can’t be done. People have to walk the road, and only by walking it can it be made passable.”
“Use Angelica sinensis to nourish blood, tonify yin, and reduce dryness, and use Poria cocos to strengthen the spleen and protect the stomach,” Bai Zhu thought for a moment and said, “Try a small amount first. If Consort Liang can tolerate it, then increase the amount. If it doesn’t seem to work, Sister Fang, don’t force her.”
Fang Lingshan nodded: "I will be careful."
Lin Shaoyin shook her head, saying they were courting death.
“Processing medicine is also a skill. The Imperial Medical Bureau separates medicine from medical practice. Although you understand it, how many times have you actually done it? How can you just start doing it rashly? Especially with a dangerous medicine like Tripterygium wilfordii,” Lin Shaoyin said helplessly. “Tomorrow I will go and ask my superiors for permission to make medicine for you.”
Fang Lingshan said, "Thank you."
"Knowing there are tigers in the mountains, I still venture into the tiger's den." Lin Shaoyin said, "I... will do my best."
During this time, someone from the Duke of Huai's mansion came to see Bai Shu, bringing her a letter from Su You and Lang Dianxian sent from beyond the Great Wall. In the letter, Su You said that the Quan Di people lived by following the water and grass, and the army had been chasing them on the grasslands for half a year, but they still couldn't find Aguda's stronghold, so they had to temporarily retreat back to the Guanshan camp. Su You said that this war would probably not be over for two or three years, and she and Lang Dianxian wouldn't be able to return for a while, telling Bai Shu and Xiao Fu not to miss her too much.
Lang Dianxian sent Bai Shu a set of boxing techniques.
Lang Dianxian's ancestors were military generals, and they possessed family-inherited martial arts skills. Upon joining the army, he trained daily, quickly igniting the martial spirit inherent in his military lineage. After a round of punches and kicks, Lang Dianxian felt refreshed and invigorated. Military training was for battle, and Lang Dianxian felt it was also beneficial for physical fitness, so he combined it with meridian breathing techniques to create a new set of fist techniques that could strengthen the body and also serve as a form of self-defense. He had Bai Shu and the others try practicing it.
Lang Dianxian's drawing skills were mediocre. She claimed it was a drawing of martial arts techniques, but it was just a few strokes outlining a small figure, with annotations taking up most of the space. Bai Shu flipped through the pages, wondering if the fact that Senior Sister Lang had sent this set of self-defense and fitness martial arts techniques was related to Xiao Shu.
Bai Shu put the letter away.
A few days later, Lin Shaoyin prepared the first dose of Tripterygium wilfordii. Consort Liang's illness had become very serious. She was completely delirious, talking nonsense, her body was so swollen that it looked like her skin was about to burst, and her urine was thick and bloody.
Just after the medicine was fed to her, Consort Liang suddenly became short of breath and gasped for air. Before Bai Gongfeng and the others could arrive at Consort Liang's palace, she had already stopped breathing.
The young prince is gone, and Consort Liang is dead too.
The emperor was furious and ordered the inner palace to conduct a thorough investigation.
People from the inner palace came to the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Inside the Imperial Medical Bureau, Attendant Shen said to Fang Lingshan, "I am in charge of Consort Liang's illness. You only mentioned Tripterygium wilfordii, and I decided on the medication. I will take full responsibility for it. It has nothing to do with you."
That's not the case!
Fang Lingshan chased after him, but Shen Gongfeng's stern gaze cut off her unspoken words: "Lingshan, you did nothing wrong. The future belongs to you young people. Go back."
After saying this, Shen Gongfeng summoned Bai Shu and said, "This matter is one that none of you can bear except me. Keep a close eye on Ling Shan and make sure nothing happens to him."
After Shen Gongfeng left, he never returned to the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Bai Shu inquired with Tai Shi Yi, who told Bai Shu that Shen Gong Feng had taken all the blame, from the formulation of the prescription to the preparation of the food. Shen Gong Feng said that it was all her idea.
Shen Gongfeng was dismissed from his post and expelled from the palace; his family and descendants were also forbidden from practicing medicine.
Tai Shiyi said that the original sentence was exile, but Shen Gongfeng was a descendant of the Shen family, who had followed Empress Jingyu out of Songyuan as part of the Ice Guard and the Ma Cabinet. The Empress Dowager remembered their past relationship, and Ruan Yeting also pleaded for Shen Gongfeng, saying, "We should not disturb the Empress Dowager."
Therefore, only deportation was ordered.
On the day that Shen Gongfeng left, it snowed again in the capital.
Year after year, white snow covers the red walls.
That year, Su You and Lang Dianxian did not return.
On the winter solstice of that year, there was no lively banquet or gathering in the back room of the Imperial Physician's Garden.
The following spring, Xiao Fu and Lin Shaoyin also submitted their resignations to the apothecary.
Xiao Fu was in trouble because her family's business had been struggling for the past two years. Many of the Jin family's businesses had encountered difficulties, and the main family was planning to move south to Yuanzhou. However, there were too many things to handle, so Xiao Fu's mother sent a letter asking her to come home and take care of the pharmacy business.
Lin Shaoyin was ostracized by the medicine magistrate. After she started preparing Tripterygium wilfordii for Fang Lingshan, her colleagues often made sarcastic remarks about her, saying that she was "highly skilled and daring" and that "she was making a deadly drug."
Seeing this, Xiao Fu simply pulled Lin Shaoyin aside and said, "Why don't you just resign from your official post with me? Stop putting up with this crap. My family wants me to go back and manage the pharmacy. You're very skilled, so come and help me as the master pharmacist. I guarantee you won't be shortchanged."
So the two of them resigned from their official posts and headed south.
In June, Xu Qingyan also submitted her resignation.
Before Xu Qingyan entered the palace, she had a marriage arranged since childhood. Her fiancé had just passed the imperial examination, and her family sent a letter urging her to return home to get married.
Xu Qingyan and her fiancé were childhood sweethearts and had always had a good relationship. Marriage was a big event, and Bai Shu was extremely reluctant to let her go, but he still wished her well, saying, "When you become a noblewoman, don't forget your colleagues."
Xu Qingyan blushed as Bai Shu teased her. Bai Shu escorted her to the Xuande Gate.
It's that time of year again when osmanthus blossoms and the moon is full and clear, but in the back room of the Imperial Physician's Garden, most of the female physicians are gone.
According to tradition, everyone wanted to have a feast and admire the moon, but there weren't enough people to fill a proper banquet. So, at the stone table in the courtyard, Pan Cheng, Fang Lingshan, Bai Shu, and Chang Zhifang, along with a pot of clear wine and four kinds of fruit—
There were exactly four people, no more and no less.
Bai Zhu raises a cup to the moon—
Respectfully, Huai Shu: May your spirit remain in heaven, and may you be free from worries and anxieties from now on.
To Su You and Lang Dianxian, who are serving in the army beyond the Great Wall: May you heal the wounded and return in triumph soon;
To Sister Qiu and Venerable Shen, whose whereabouts are unknown: From now on, may the sky be high and the sea wide, and may your heart be free of worries;
To Xiao Fu and Shao Yin, who have gone south to do business: May your future be bright, and may your path be smooth sailing.
Bai Zhu brought over a zither and played a little tune, which was taught to her by Lady Liu from the Jiaofangsi (a type of music and dance troupe).
The music ended, and the party was over.
...
When the grass and trees withered, the Censorate impeached the Assistant Director of the Imperial Medical Bureau for accepting bribes and neglecting his private morals. The Sili Temple sent officials from the Imperial Medical Bureau to arrest him.
The imperial court ordered a thorough investigation, starting with the Imperial Medical Bureau, then extending to the Imperial Household Department and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. The investigation uncovered a whole host of other cases, and the officials of the Provincial Military Command arrested many people.
Wan Gongfeng was highly respected and was recommended to be the chief physician.
The little old man, with his hunched back, had become even more stooped, and the wrinkles on his forehead had deepened.
In early 706, during the reign of Emperor Ningxi, Wan Gongfeng also submitted his resignation to the Imperial Physician, requesting to retire to his hometown.
"An ancient saying goes: those who lack a comprehensive understanding of the past and present, whose knowledge of heaven and man is not profound, whose talent is not close to that of immortals, and whose hearts are not close to that of Buddhas, should rather till the fields and weave cloth for food and clothing, and never practice medicine to mislead the world! Medicine is a sacred profession, not a means for those who have not yet completed their studies or made a living to choose a profession. It requires innate wisdom, dedicated study, a thorough understanding of the principles of heaven and man, and meticulous thought and effort in ancient and modern books before one can speak of medicine." Wan Gongfeng said, "I am but an old man from a village in the mountains, whose talent is not close to that of immortals, and whose heart is not that of Buddhas. I have abandoned the path of medicine for sixty years, content to fill my stomach with grains. I am a country bumpkin, without talent or virtue, unfit for this position, and fearing that I may disgrace my master's school, I earnestly request to resign and retire."
Despite repeated attempts by the Imperial Medical Bureau official to retain him, Wan Gongfeng resolutely resigned from his post.
Following Wan Gongfeng, Pan Cheng also submitted her resignation, wanting to return to her hometown with him to serve him. Bai Shu was not surprised by this; Pan Cheng had lost her father at a young age and became his apprentice at the age of six. Wan Gongfeng was both her teacher and father. Wan Gongfeng had never married and had no children, so Pan Cheng was his daughter.
On the day Wan Gongfeng and Pan Cheng left, Bai Shu went to see them off.
Before leaving, Bai Shu told herself "don't cry" more than a dozen times, but when the moment of parting came, she couldn't help herself and hugged Pan Cheng, sobbing, "Senior sister, I don't want to leave you, sob sob. Senior sister Su hasn't come back yet, and you're leaving too, sob sob."
Pan Cheng felt like her bones were about to fall apart from being shaken, but she didn't push her away in the end.
Bai Shu hugged Pan Cheng and cried for a long time. She didn't forget her master and cried a few more times to Wan Gongfeng.
Wan Gongfeng comforted her, saying, "All good things must come to an end." He then earnestly instructed her, "Girl, I am old and retired, but you must protect our Imperial Medical Bureau and Xiaofangmai."
The three senior doctors in the obstetrics and gynecology department—Yang, Shen, and Wan—all passed away one after another.
Bai Shu nodded, her voice choked with emotion. "Don't worry, Master," she said. "I will stay here and wait for Senior Sister Su and Senior Sister Lang to return. I'm here, waiting for you all, waiting for my fellow practitioners."
Pan Cheng took a box off the carriage and said to Bai Shu, "Master is going to pass this on to you. You might find it useful in the book you're compiling."
The box was heavy, full of classic texts, notes, prescriptions, and medical records.
Most of them were offered by Wan Gong, and some were from Pan Cheng.
Bai Zhu accepted it.
Wan Gongfeng patted Bai Shu, nodded with satisfaction, and said, "The first time I saw you, I knew you had a good face. Your future achievements will surely be no less than mine. I am never wrong in judging people. Go, girl, the future belongs to you young people."
Bai Zhu choked back tears and nodded emphatically, "Yes!"
Pan Cheng helped Wan Gong onto the carriage and waved goodbye to Bai Shu. Bai Shu also waved, watching the carriage travel away and disappear into the bustling traffic of Xuande Street.
As the sun sets in the west, Bai Shu gazes at the afterglow, looking westward. Beneath the brilliant golden light, verdant mountains rise—
Nestled amidst the green hills lies the Shanglin Garden.
Behind Shanglin Garden is Ganquan Palace.
The Empress Dowager, who reigns over the current dynasty, resides in Ganquan Palace year-round.
Yun Qi, the 27th generation descendant of the Yun clan, was the Empress Dowager Jinxiu.
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