Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 223 Wisdom
To the east of Daming Gate and west of Huitong Hall is the Imperial Medical Service. Nearby are the Ministry of Rites, Ministry of Revenue and other six ministries, as well as the Imperial Observatory, Hanlin Academy and other government offices.

At this time, a serious internal meeting was being held in the Imperial Medical Office.

Today, all the imperial doctors, both regular and temporary, came to the Imperial Medical Bureau. They sat down as a group to discuss a very important matter, which was about the condition of Emperor Zhu Jianshen.

It is generally agreed within the Imperial Medical Service that the current emperor is seriously ill and will not recover.

The room was full of people.

Nominally, the Imperial Medical Bureau was composed of one director, two judges, and ten imperial physicians, but in reality, the Imperial Medical Bureau was seriously overstaffed in every dynasty.

Not to mention that the Imperial Medical Service would widely select talents from hereditary doctors across the country. Every three years, there would be an examination similar to the Confucian imperial examination. Those who were successfully selected would automatically become medical staff. After systematic training and learning, they would pass the examination, be recruited after passing the examination, and then take the examination every time they were promoted until they became imperial physicians.

In addition, the Imperial Medical Service would find ways to recruit doctors with outstanding reputations among the people and appoint them to official positions, so the official positions in the Imperial Medical Service were often overcrowded, even far exceeding the quota.

Currently, the high-ranking officials in the Imperial Medical Service include Director Zhang Yuan, Judges Shi Qin, Zheng Wengui, Huang Shou, Sun Tai, and Qian Dun. The following imperial doctors are divided into medical officers and medical assistants.

At today's meeting, the medical officers present were Qian Zongfu, Wu Shou, Wang Pan, Fang Shuhe, Zhang Xu, Liu Wentai and six other people, and the medical assistants were Jiang Zongru, He Fengchun, Zhu Zuo, Yang Ruhe and Zhong Lan.

In addition, four or five semi-retired old Chinese medicine practitioners who were on temporary assignment but in a semi-rest state also attended the meeting. According to convention, they would also come forward if a noble in the palace had a difficult and complicated illness. What's more, what they are discussing now is the emperor's condition. Of course, most of the time they just go through the motions and don't speak rashly.

Of course, in addition to those attending the meeting, there are also clerks, younger generations of family who organize medicinal materials and desks, and doctors who have been recruited from all over the country to serve as apprentices in the Imperial Hospital. Now there are more than a hundred people on the staff of the Imperial Hospital in Beijing alone, and this does not include the staff of the Nanjing Imperial Hospital. It can be said that it is quite bloated.

All the imperial doctors on duty and on semi-retirement from the Imperial Medical Service sat together and studied Zhu Jianshen's medical records from the past six months for a long time. In the end, they came to a very bad conclusion... The emperor also had liver disease, and it seemed to be getting worse.

"Your Majesty, who has been responsible for your daily percussion since last autumn?"

Zhang Yuan asked casually.

At this time, everyone wanted to shirk responsibility, hoping that the emperor's illness had nothing to do with them. Whoever was responsible for the diagnosis and treatment would have an unshirkable responsibility for the delay in the emperor's illness.

Zhong Lan said helplessly: "It's me."

Several people looked at Zhong Lan together.

Zhong Lan felt aggrieved. Originally, his position in the Imperial Medical Bureau was rising rapidly, and within just a few years, he had shown signs of becoming the chief physician. However, when Concubine Wan died, he, the chief physician, was implicated and was directly demoted to a medical assistant.

Zhong Lan could still see the situation clearly at this time. He thought to himself, you guys are really going too far. Even after I was demoted to a medical officer, you still won't let me go?
Zhang Yuan continued: "Then tell me, what are the specific symptoms of your majesty's illness?"

Zhong Lan took the medical records handed over by the doctor standing beside her, examined which parts were his own, and then picked out the parts that were relevant to him and said:
"Your Majesty had night sweats and was physically weak. Later, your Yang Qi became stronger, causing your spleen to become weak and your body to become jaundiced. You also had yellow urine and yellow eyes. Although this condition has eased, it has recurred."

Zhang Yuan nodded and continued to ask: "How long has this illness lasted?"

Zhong Lan put down the medical records in his hand and asked, "How is your Majesty's condition? Do you really want me to describe it again? Everyone, I am not the only one who has diagnosed your Majesty's pulse in the past six months, right?"

Everyone present fell silent immediately.

Someone in the palace just died of liver disease, and now the emperor is like this again. Even if his condition seems stable for the time being and is far from developing into an acute phase, it is a foregone conclusion that he will not recover in a short time.

If the emperor was not feeling well, the Imperial Hospital would send someone to treat him. But who could be sure of a stubborn disease like liver disease? Therefore, everyone hated that they had a low status in the Imperial Hospital and were not qualified to ask about this matter.

It is human nature to seek good fortune and avoid misfortune, but since the matter is too serious, people would rather stay away from it!

"Bring us the prescriptions that His Majesty has used, especially those that have been used recently." Zhang Yuan saw that everyone present had evasive expressions on their faces, and his own mentality was the same as this group of people, so he could only change the subject helplessly.

A doctor quickly handed the prepared prescription to Zhang Yuan.

"They are all good prescriptions for treating liver disease. Your Majesty, they can cure jaundice, and your condition will not develop in the same way as Empress Wan. These medicines should be effective."

Zhang Yuan said thoughtfully after reading it.

Liu Wentai said, "Why didn't these medicines work on Lady Wan?"

All the imperial doctors present fell silent again.

Zhang Yuan was speechless.

All of his colleagues were concerned about how to distance themselves from the incident. No one was willing to be the emperor's attending physician, and instead they all hid away when something happened.

It’s hard to lead a team!

Zhang Yuan excused himself, "The use of medicine varies from person to person. Lady Wan is a woman after all, and she is old, so it is reasonable that the effects of the medicine may vary."

Zheng Wengui said impatiently: "It is futile to talk about this now. We might as well discuss how to use medicine for Your Majesty next."

Zhang Yuan nodded, looked around at the imperial doctors, and said, "At present, it seems that these medicines may not be effective at all times, and your Majesty's condition seems to be showing signs of recurrence. What do you think?"

Still no one spoke.

At this time Zhong Lan had to take the lead again. After all, he knew that if something happened to the emperor, this group of people would definitely put the blame on him.

Zhong Lan said: "The medicines that the Imperial Hospital currently uses for Your Majesty are all too mild. Some of the strong medicines have never been tried before."

"Ah? Your Majesty is in such a state of illness, yet you still dare to use strong medicine? What are you thinking?"

Zheng Wengui glared at him.

Zhong Lan seemed very persistent at this time, and said: "If the current prescription is not changed in time, I am afraid that Your Majesty's condition will be at risk of further deterioration."

As soon as these words were spoken, all the imperial doctors present began to whisper to each other and discuss the matter.

It seems that everyone thinks Zhonglan is too "audacious" to dare to take drastic measures on the emperor's body?
Isn't this fear of death?
There were also people who agreed with Zhong Lan's point of view, and Shi Qin stepped forward and said, "I think Wei Xin's words make sense. It's time to change the strategy of using medicine, or... we can seek help from others."

"What do you mean by that?"

Liu Wentai was about to jump up and down, and he was furious, "It's fine that we can't decide the diagnosis and treatment plan for our Imperial Hospital, but we have to ask for help from outsiders? If this gets out, who knows how people will laugh at us! We can't afford to lose face!"

Zhang Yuan's eyes lit up, and he looked at Zhong Lan kindly, and asked softly, "Since Wei Xin thinks that the medication should be changed, why not... listen to your opinion? After all, you have been responsible for treating His Majesty for many years and are familiar with His Majesty's physical condition. Why don't you draw up a prescription first and let everyone present discuss it carefully."

Zhong Lan knew that Zhang Yuan wanted to put all the blame on him. He stood up slowly, his face full of sorrow, and said, "I'm sorry. My mother passed away the day before yesterday. When I heard the news, I was still grieving for not being able to show filial piety to her in time. I'm afraid there's nothing I can do about this matter."

"what!?"

No one present had expected that something unexpected would happen in Zhong Lan's family at this moment.

When an old mother passes away, in the Ming Dynasty, it is necessary to observe mourning.

In other words, according to the rules, Zhonglan should resign immediately and return home to mourn for his elderly mother, and he could only return to the court to serve after twenty-seven months.

This was not good news for the many imperial doctors present.

We finally have Zhong Lan as a scapegoat, but now he just quits because his old mother passed away. The next responsibility of diagnosing the emperor will fall on them... It's chilling to think about it!

"Condolences."

As someone who had previously supported Zhonglan's treatment plan, Shi Qin was the first to express his sympathy.

Zhong Lan smiled bitterly and said, "Please understand that my mother passed away and I am extremely sad. My brain is almost a mess now, and it is difficult for me to prescribe medicine for Your Majesty."

Everyone present looked at each other in bewilderment.

If you don't prescribe a prescription, then the responsibility of prescribing the prescription will fall on us.

"Then... let's maintain the status quo first and try the medicine for a few more days. If there is no improvement, we can make changes." Zhang Yuan saw that the situation was a bit awkward, so he had to use this method of neither advancing nor retreating to temporarily deal with the matter at hand.

……

……

The Imperial Hospital meeting ended.

Zhang Yuan, Shi Qin and Zheng Wengui stayed for the time being.

Shi Qin said bluntly: "Your Majesty's illness cannot be delayed. We all know that liver disease is getting more and more dangerous as it progresses. In fact, we have already discovered that Madam Wan's illness is not right, but we have not been perfect in the use of medicine... In addition, Madam Wan has always insisted that she is in good health, which led to the misfortune later..."

"Don't take it too seriously."

Zheng Wengui persuaded him.

Zhang Yuan also said: "Birth, aging, illness and death are the normal conditions of human nature."

Shi Qin said with a bitter face: "But your majesty's dragon body... we must not take it lightly. We have already missed it once before. If we fail again this time..."

"You are wrong. Who is at fault? Can we start over again when we are trying to save lives? We are only trying to cure Lady Wan. How could we have any selfish motives?"

Zheng Wengui immediately spoke out against Shi Qin's statement.

This reflects the complexity of the interpersonal relationships within the Imperial Medical Service.

Some people want to be enterprising and act relatively radically, while more people prefer to remain moderate and do neither good nor bad.

However, when it comes to curing diseases and saving lives, especially when the emperor and nobles in the palace are seriously ill, conservative treatments that follow the old ways are completely ineffective.

But no one is willing to be the first to try something new.

Shi Qin sighed, "That's what I think. I have an old friend, and I'm sure you've heard of him. He's a descendant of the Wang family, a famous doctor in Huizhou Prefecture. His name is Wang Ji. He's currently prescribing medicine for people in the capital. I just heard these two days that when he was treating a liver disease patient in the city, he once saved a patient with a very serious condition."

Zhang Yuan heard this and asked with wide eyes, "You mean... let him try to prescribe a prescription?"

Zheng Wengui shook his head: "Isn't this against the rules?"

"Just ask first, and learn from each other's strengths to make up for each other's weaknesses, that should be ok, right?"

Shi Qin said, "The famous local doctors who stay in the capital to treat patients, including dignitaries, care most about our Imperial Hospital's impression of them. We don't need to tell him too much in detail. We just need to show him the obscure parts of your majesty's medical records and listen to his opinions. What's wrong with that?"

Zhang Yuan said with a bitter face: "If your majesty's illness is leaked, I'm afraid we will be ridiculed by the world."

People in the Imperial Medical Bureau care too much about their reputation.

We are the best doctors in the world. Now the emperor is ill and we have no way to treat him. But we have to ask a private doctor for advice and even ask him to prescribe a prescription for us. How can we do this? Shi Qin suggested: "Since it is not convenient for us to come forward, why don't we find someone to go and consult on our behalf?"

"who?"

Zhang Yuan asked.

Shi Qin said: "I have a Huizhou drug dealer that I am familiar with. They have business dealings with the Imperial Hospital in purchasing medicinal materials. I can give them the medical records and ask them to come to your home for consultation."

Zheng Wengui hesitated and said, "If the patient doesn't come to the hospital, and I take a case, won't Wang Ji be suspicious?"

"Otherwise, I will have to go there myself."

Shi Qin was speechless.

You guys just don't want to listen to my opinion!
Zhang Yuan finally lost his patience and asked, "Is this your first time treating liver disease? Have you never treated patients with liver disease before? Isn't it because there were times when the disease was cured with medicine? Otherwise, how did you get into the Imperial Hospital? Why are you getting more and more timid now? You don't even have the courage to prescribe medicine for His Majesty, and you even ask for advice from local doctors?"

Shi Qin and Zheng Wengui looked at Zhang Yuan at the same time.

It seems to be saying, if you can do it, go ahead.

You don't even prescribe a prescription yourself, and let us take the risk, while we don't know if you want to get out of it?

But the problem is, everyone can take it off except you. Who made you the head of the Imperial Medical Bureau now?

If something happens to the emperor, you will be the first to suffer.

Zhang Yuan finally said helplessly: "Since you are worried, then go and ask, but the method must be appropriate. It can neither damage the reputation of the Imperial Hospital nor... well, you can decide for yourselves."

Shi Qin and Zheng Wengui looked at each other when they heard this, but they had no intention of mocking Zhang Yuan. In the end, they left with heavy hearts.

……

……

Zhang Mansion.

Someone came from the Heavenly Palace. Tan Ji, representing the Eastern Palace, came to get the daily necessities of the Crown Princess. He brought a lot of people with him, making for a very grand occasion.

Zhang Luan was a little surprised at first about Qin Ji's visit.

Because his son told him clearly that Qin Ji now needs to be careful to guard against revenge from Liang Fang, and whoever gets close to Qin Ji will be in danger, but he never thought that Qin Ji would take the initiative to visit him.

Wait until Tan Ji is invited to the main hall.

Qin Ji faced the Zhang family father and son and said apologetically, "It was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who sent me here. It was not my intention to break the previous agreement."

Zhang Yanling smiled and consoled him: "Eunuch Tan came to collect my sister's expenses. He came for official business. It's an aboveboard act. How can it be considered a breach of contract?"

What it means is that if you come secretly and are discovered, others will become suspicious.

And now you come here openly with the purpose of helping the Crown Princess retrieve her daily necessities. Others will basically not suspect that the previous incident is related to my Zhang family.

Afterwards, Zhang Luan arranged for maids and old women to pack boxes for Zhang Yu. In addition to what had been packed before, some things would be added. As a result, the large boxes prepared at home would not be enough, so he had to send someone out to purchase things temporarily.

In the hall, Qin Ji and Zhang Luan sat side by side, while Zhang Yanling sat beside them.

In front of Qin Ji, the Zhang father and son had nothing to pretend.

Qin Ji seemed to be discussing something with Zhang Luan, but his eyes kept looking at Zhang Yanling. Especially when Zhang Yanling expressed his opinions, Qin Ji listened attentively.

With Qin Ji's maturity and prudence, he could naturally tell who the resourceful person in the Zhang family was.

"…It's like this. The lecturers in the Eastern Palace have changed a lot in the past two years. Since last year, Scholar Jiao was demoted due to his involvement in the Yin Shangshu case. At the beginning of the year, Scholar Li returned to his hometown to observe mourning. Now, Scholar Yang has not come to the Eastern Palace for a long time for some reason. There are rumors that he has been imprisoned, or he was implicated in the previous tribute case and was related to the case of Zheng Shi, the left councilor of Shandong, and was framed..."

After hearing all these words, Zhang Luan was confused.

Who is Shangshu Yin, and who is Academician Li, Academician Yang, and Academician Jiao? He has no idea who Qin Ji is talking about.

However, he did understand one thing clearly, that is, the tribute case did not end there, but continued to ferment. It now involved a lecturer named Yang in the Eastern Palace, who might have been imprisoned by the Imperial Guard.

Zhang Luan suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

However, Zhang Yanling knew very well who the people Qin Ji was talking about were.

One is Jiao Fang. In the 22nd year of Chenghua, he was involved in the case of the retirement of Yin Min, the Minister of Personnel. He was demoted directly from a lecturer to the co-magistrate of Guiyang, Huguang.

Jiao Fang has a bad reputation in history, and later he became a key figure in Liu Jin's eunuch party. It is not worth regretting, but at least for now he is still a staunch member of the prince's party.

Li Dongyang returned to his hometown to observe the mourning period and was not involved in the disputes during the period from Chenghua to the change of reign title Hongzhi.

As for the person who had just been imprisoned as mentioned by Tan Ji, it was the Imperial Lecturer Yang Shouchen.

Yang Shouchen was a Jinshi in the second year of Jingtai, and served as Hanlin editor, imperial lecturer, imperial lecturer and other positions. He was promoted to Shao Zhanshi a few years ago because of his success in compiling "Wenhua Daxun". Yang Shouchen himself would not offend Liang Fang, but the composition of the Yang family was too complicated, and they were all a group of "greenhorns". If they were involved with each other, they would all be doomed, and it could be said that if one suffered, all would suffer.

Zhang Yanling said, "The Yang family has many outstanding people. Scholar Yang should be dragged down by his family members, right?"

"Ah."

Tan Ji nodded.

But I was thinking in my heart, although the young master didn’t explain in detail, at least I understood the reason behind it. And this future father-in-law of the emperor... why doesn’t he look so smart?

Zhang Yanling turned to explain to Zhang Luan: "There are several people from the Zhejiang Yang family who are now serving as officials in the court. The main one is Yang Shouchen, the lecturer of the Hanlin Academy. His cousins ​​are Yang Shouzhi, Yang Shousui, and Yang Shouyu. His son is Yang Maoyuan. They are all Jinshi graduates and are well-known for their integrity in the court."

There is one person that Zhang Yanling did not mention, and that is Yang Shouchen's other son, Yang Maoren, who passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi in the 23rd year of Chenghua.

The Yang family has a characteristic, that is, they like to impeach the treacherous officials in the court whenever they have nothing to do, and the biggest feud between them is with Li Zisheng.

The one from the Yang family who led the charge was not Yang Shouchen, who was already sixty-one years old and known for his maturity and steadiness, but his cousin Yang Shousui.

Yang Shousui was a Jinshi in the second year of Chenghua. Historically, when Li Zisheng was promoted to the position of Taichang Temple Secretary, Yang Shousui secretly noted that he should be transferred to Shanglin Supervisor as deputy supervisor. Li Zisheng had always held a grudge against him. In the twenty-third year of Chenghua, Li Zisheng finally found the opportunity and demoted Yang Shousui to Nanning as prefect.

Zhang Luan looked righteous and said in a loud voice: "This scholar Yang has a great reputation and should not suffer such an injustice."

This was said purely to show off Zhang Luan's magnanimity. In fact, he didn't even know what Yang Shouchen did.

Tan Ji looked very sad: "The Crown Prince doesn't know about this yet. If he finds out, he will definitely submit a petition to Your Majesty to plead for the injustice done to the Yang family. But this will lead us into the trap of the treacherous villains. Whenever I think of this, I feel uneasy."

Zhang Yanling frowned and said, "As the eunuch of the Imperial Horse Administration, Liang Fang should not have any say in the affairs of the Imperial Guard. Why did the tribute case develop like this? Is there someone secretly fanning the flames?"

Qin Ji first glanced at Zhang Luan, then looked around, as if he was afraid that someone around might hear him.

Then he realized that this was not the East Palace, and there would be no possibility of walls having ears. He then leaned his head forward slightly and whispered:

"It is said that it is related to Zhang Jin, the new governor of the Northern Pacification Division of the Jinyiwei... This person got this high position with the help of Liang Fang. Moreover, the Jinyiwei is now dominated by treacherous people. No one is willing to protect the upright officials in the court. Instead... Alas!"

"You are actually helping the tyrant, right?" Zhang Luan asked.

"Ah."

Tan Ji nodded.

Zhang Yanling also nodded: "Eunuch Tan told us all this, I wonder what he wants us to do?"

"Uh……"

Tan Ji was speechless for a moment.

Zhang Luan rolled his eyes at his son and shouted, "Eunuch Tan treats us as his own and wants to ask us for advice. How come you, kid, have learned to choke people?"

Tan Ji couldn't help but shook his head and smiled bitterly.

I thought to myself, I see that you, Zhang Laizhan, are pretending to be ignorant even though you know the truth. You are the one who is telling me that it is you, right?
Are you and your son performing a double act?
Zhang Yanling said, "Eunuch Tan has great trust in my father and me, and is willing to tell us such a confidential matter. We are not ungrateful. But some things... involve too many people, and we are really unable to do anything about it."

"Ugh!"

Qin Ji nodded helplessly, "I am desperate and trying all kinds of methods, mainly because I have no one to tell my troubles to. Now even the lecturers in the Eastern Palace are helpless. Some of them wanted to submit a petition to inquire about the situation, but were stopped by their colleagues. After all, the case has not been handled by the Three Judicial Departments. If others rashly ask about it at this time, they may be criticized. After all, the people who mistakenly collected tribute before were far more than just Scholar Yang."

Zhang Luan quickly looked at his son again, meaning, "Please explain to me quickly, what does this mean?"
Zhang Yanling nodded and said, "This shows how smart Liang Fang was in his previous actions. He sent the tribute to people related to the Eastern Palace. Now that the case has been exposed, all those involved in the case dare not intervene without authorization, fearing that they will be implicated."

Tan Ji said: "Fortunately, it was discovered in time, otherwise Yang Xueshi would not be the only one in the imperial prison now."

Zhang Yanling asked, "Then...what crime do the Jinyiwei plan to frame Yang Xueshi with? Say that he is in collusion with Zheng Shi? Or fabricate some other crime?"

Qin Ji shook his head and sighed softly: "This... I don't know. But I guess the Jinyiwei are cruel, maybe..."

"understood."

Zhang Yanling nodded and said, "So for the time being, we should keep the secret from the Crown Prince and not let him know the situation, lest he become confused."

"It's natural."

Qin Ji was relieved to hear this.

It seemed that the Zhang father and son did not offer any constructive suggestions, but for some reason, he felt a lot more relaxed after he told them the secret in his heart.

Because he vaguely felt that the two people in front of him were not mediocre people. In a tribute case, everything was under the control of Liang Fang, but now Liang Fang was struggling in desperation, all thanks to the father and son who liked to play a double act.

Sometimes he couldn't tell whether Zhang Luan was really stupid or just pretending to be stupid. Anyway, the father and son could get things done, so who cares who is smarter between the two!
Zhang Yanling said, "Eunuch Qin, you must be careful recently. The one-month deadline agreed by His Majesty is approaching. If Liang Fang cannot build a telescope, he may attack you."

"This...thank you for the reminder, young master."

Qin Ji nodded and replied with a smile, "Don't worry, I will pay attention and will never let the evildoers succeed!"

(End of this chapter)