Chapter 18 Promoting Female Doctors
After this incident, Wang Zhen learned what it meant to "keep a low profile" and never dared to interfere in state affairs again. He often advised Zhu Qizhen to concentrate on his studies and state affairs, and even asked Zhu Qizhen to review the appointments and dismissals of personnel in the Imperial Household Department, acting like a virtuous official.
Zhu Qizhen didn't take these little things to heart at first, but he finally listened to Zhu Yuhuan's words. In addition, the purpose of practicing horse riding and archery with Zhu Qiuyu had been achieved, and he handled state affairs more seriously, which made Empress Dowager Zhang very pleased, and even her headache seemed to have improved a little.
Seeing that she was happy, Zhu Yuhuan took the opportunity to suggest that Xu Wangzhi enter the palace to take Empress Dowager Zhang's pulse.
Previously, Empress Dowager Zhang had something on her mind and was unwilling to have her pulse checked because she was afraid that her body would not be able to hold on, which would cause unrest among the people inside and outside the palace. Now that the matter has been successfully resolved and the emperor can concentrate on studying and state affairs, Empress Dowager Zhang is naturally not as nervous as before.
Xu Wangzhi hadn't accompanied Zhu Yuhuan into the palace for a long time, and he showed a bit of nervousness, which was rare. He whispered to Zhu Yuhuan, "How is the Empress Dowager feeling recently? The incident at the Imperial Household Department caused such a big stir..."
Zhu Yuhuan knew she was worried about being implicated, so he comforted her, "Don't worry, Grandma isn't the type to vent her anger on others. Besides, you're the female doctor at the clinic appointed by Grandma herself. What's there to be afraid of?"
Xu Wangzhi was comforted by her and immediately gained confidence. He said, "That is..."
As they were talking, they saw two female officials leading a group of girls dressed as palace maids. The oldest was about ten years old, and the youngest was only five or six. Although these young palace maids were young, their words and actions already had a certain dignity, which was somewhat different from the palace maids Xu Wangzhi had seen before.
Xu Wangzhi was a little curious and couldn't help asking, "These palace servants are so young, who can they serve? Why haven't I seen such young children in the palace before..."
Zhu Yuhuan shook his head. "They are not just maids who serve others. Now they are learning etiquette and reading from the ladies-in-waiting."
Xu Wangzhi was a little confused, and Han Guilan explained, "These maids were summoned into the palace by Old Lady Sun to serve her. They said they were there to serve the old lady, but in the future, they were probably selecting outstanding maids and assigning them to serve His Majesty."
Xu Wangzhi blinked his eyes at first, then finally understood and opened his mouth wide.
She only knew that the current emperor was only ten years old. According to folk customs, it would take at least seven or eight years before he could officially marry. Even if the royal family did it earlier, it would still be too early...
Zhu Yuhuan extended his index finger and lifted Xu Wangzhi's chin, then said, "Okay, don't worry about this, let's go see grandma first."
Otherwise, she was afraid that Xu Wangzhi would not be able to help but question her. She couldn't say that the Sun family was using these little girls for venture capital.
Xu Wangzhi responded sullenly and shook his head, obviously trying to put these things out of his mind.
When the two arrived at Renshou Palace, Xu Wangzhi performed his usual inspection, but he saw that Empress Dowager Zhang looked much older than she did in the past. Her eyes, which used to be bright and lively, had become somewhat cloudy, which made him feel sad.
Empress Dowager Zhang was well maintained and had no body pain except for headache. Xu Wangzhi first explained her physical condition to Empress Dowager Zhang and prescribed some medicine to relieve her headache. Then he advised Empress Dowager Zhang to rest more, not to overwork, and to pay attention to her diet, etc.
Seeing that she was much calmer than before, Empress Dowager Zhang smiled and said, "I remember that you are already over 20 years old. Why haven't you married yet?"
This was obviously not the first time Xu Wangzhi had been asked this question. He replied awkwardly, "Wangzhi has not yet fulfilled my grandmother's last wish..."
Empress Dowager Zhang gave a helpless smile and said, "They say one should start a family and a career first. Why not start a family first and then a career?"
Xu Wangzhi couldn't brag anymore, so he had to tell the truth: "The clinic has to see all kinds of patients every day, and it's inseparable from staff. Wangzhi wanted to find a husband who would come to the clinic, but doctors have to see all kinds of patients, and those who are willing to come to the clinic are all ugly..."
Empress Dowager Zhang frowned upon hearing this, but she rarely spoke, "Why don't I find a marriage for you..."
Since Old Lady Lu had examined her before, Empress Dowager Zhang would naturally not sit idly by and watch her granddaughter's plight.
Xu Wangzhi was so frightened that he waved his hands and said, "How dare I..."
Seeing that she was frightened and about to talk nonsense, Zhu Yuhuan half-jokingly comforted her, saying: "Grandma, you only said it casually. My tenth uncle is looking for a marriage partner. Grandma and my mother have put a lot of thought into it, and have people collect information about girls in Beijing. It seems that you are addicted to matchmaking."
Empress Dowager Zhang smiled and said, "You know a lot."
Xu Wangzhi finally breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "The family's incense is continued by Wangzhi's eldest brother. Wangzhi's mother has long been accustomed to it. Every time a matchmaker comes to the house, she says, 'Let her go'..."
Seeing her mimicking her mother so perfectly, Empress Dowager Zhang couldn't help but smile and said, "If you didn't have any children, what would you do with all your medical skills? Wouldn't that be a waste?"
Xu Wangzhi immediately replied seriously, "I only wish to inherit and continue my grandmother's medical skills and treat more patients, so as to live up to the knowledge she left behind."
Seeing the admiration on Empress Dowager Zhang's face, Zhu Yuhuan took the opportunity to speak, "In recent years, the Imperial Household Department hasn't selected any reliable female doctors. They can only do the work of boiling and decocting medicines, but they are not very proficient in medical skills. Why don't you take the initiative and find a few daughters to study medicine with Wang Zhi? That way, there will be reliable female doctors in the palace in the future. What do you think?"
The so-called medical women, together with the medicine women and midwives, were called the "three women". Compared with the imperial physicians, they were more responsible for taking care of concubines. Naturally, their medical skills pale in comparison with Xu Wangzhi's.
Empress Dowager Zhang was moved by this and added, "How many girls outside the palace are willing to enter the palace? Why not let these palace maids learn from me... But the most important thing for medical practice is to see many cases. If you only learn pharmacology, it would be fine, but if you don't see many cases in the future, wouldn't you be no different from those doctors in the Imperial Hospital?"
She had been in good health in the past few years and had no illness, so she didn't care about these things. Recently, her headache had recurred, and even with Xu Wangzhi's care, she couldn't stay in the palace forever. Now, after hearing Zhu Yuhuan's proposal, Empress Dowager Zhang had some ideas.
Zhu Yuhuan naturally understood this problem and said, "With grandma in charge, Wang Zhi will definitely be able to recruit disciples from the common people smoothly. If there are palace maids who are willing, they can also follow him to learn."
Xu Wangzhi thought it was okay and said, "Pharmacology is a bit simpler. I can do random checks every few days. But if you want to see patients, I'm afraid I'll have to leave the palace to learn."
Empress Dowager Zhang thought too much and felt a headache, so she said: "After all, palace maids serve in the palace. It would be inappropriate to leave the palace. You should also ask your mother's opinion."
Zhu Yuhuan responded and winked at Xu Wangzhi, who then said he wanted to go to the Imperial Hospital to inquire about the Empress Dowager's recent prescriptions and discuss some matters with her. The two then withdrew together.
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