People in the Qin Dynasty sought good fortune and avoided misfortune.

Chapter 17, Medicine Storehouse

The soldiers were still waving their wooden sticks, but Chen Yi, who was lying on the ground, was no longer moving.

Chen Yi's back was already a blurry mess from being beaten, blood staining the ground red, and the stench of blood spread, filling the nostrils of everyone present.

The medical officers looked on in horror at the scene. Some turned their heads away, unable to bear to look any longer, while others shrank back like frightened quails.

A soldier stepped forward to check Chen Yi's breathing, then shook his head at the eunuch Han.

With a wave of his hand, Han, the eunuch, sent two armored soldiers to drag the already dead Chen Yi out of the Imperial Hospital, leaving a long trail of blood on the ground.

Judging from the appearance of the physicians in the hospital, Han, the eunuch, had completed his task.

"By imperial decree, Imperial Physician Chen Yi, who has received the king's favor for generations, has failed to make progress and has instead plotted to harm the concubines and poisoned Lady Nanming and her children," the eunuch Han read aloud as the physicians proclaimed King Han An's edict.
"Chen Yi was beaten to death, all men within both clans were beheaded and their heads displayed to the public, women were confiscated and placed in the lowest social class, and servants were exiled to the frontier to guard the border."

The physicians were terrified upon hearing this. They had expected Chen Yi to suffer a terrible fate, at most implicating his own family members, but they never imagined that his entire clan within two generations would be implicated.

The beheading of men from both clans meant the extinction of all direct descendants of Chen Yi, severing the ancestral bloodline. The enslavement of women into the lowest social class meant that all women from Chen Yi's clans would become slaves or playthings for others.

Everyone present understood that King Han was making an example of them to warn them.

"I hope you will all keep Chen Yi's matter in mind today, and serve the King and the concubines in the harem dutifully. Do not make a mistake!" After saying this, Eunuch Han nodded to Xu Qing and left with his men.

After Han, the eunuch, and his entourage of armored soldiers left, the physicians all breathed a sigh of relief, some even collapsing to the ground in fright.

"Imperial Physician, what should we do now?" someone asked in fear.

"From now on, just stay true to your duty and do what you are supposed to do. Do not meddle in other matters," said Physician Wang. "You may all leave now and go back to take care of your own affairs."

Everyone turned their attention to Xu Qing, and each of them wore a fawning smile.

Xu Qing, who has the backing of Hu Meiren and connections with Madam Mingzhu, is the real powerhouse, and they must curry favor with him.

"Xiao Xu, come with me. Today is the day I'll be handing over the medicine storehouse to you," the Imperial Physician said.

Xu Qing's eyes lit up. There was no hope for the Hidden Dragon Hall for the time being, but he could try his luck in the medicine storehouse.

Why did my first thought go to Qianlong Hall to buy medicine? I'm in charge of the medicine storehouse, it seems my moral bottom line still needs to be lowered, Xu Qing thought to himself.

"promise."

Xu Qing ignored the physicians and followed the Imperial Physician toward the medicine storehouse.

As the medical officers watched Xu Qing's retreating figure, the smiles that had just appeared vanished, replaced by worried expressions as they pondered how to cultivate a good relationship with him.

On the other side, Xu Qing followed Physician Wang out of the Imperial Hospital, and the two chatted as they walked.

"Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger; this is the fate of our school of physicians," said Physician Wang with a sigh.

"If anyone's to blame, it's Chen Yi for being too greedy. The palace is fraught with danger. He should have been prepared for this when he chose to become the imperial physician," Xu Qing said calmly.

"Yes, and I'm not afraid to admit it, but when I was young, my biggest wish was to practice the principles of my medical school, like our sect leader, Master Nian Duan, traveling the world and practicing medicine to help people. Alas, it's just a pity," Doctor Wang said with a sigh.

Although Physician Wang did not state the reason, Xu Qing could guess it. It was nothing more than his greed for power and wealth, which led him to choose to become a physician. This is also the dividing line between the two major factions of physicians today.

Compared to the other schools of thought that were divided into different factions based on their philosophies and doctrines, the medical school was much simpler. One faction advocated practicing medicine to help the world, traveling the world, and saving lives. The other faction, on the other hand, chose to serve the powerful and wealthy, reside in the homes of the rich and powerful, and enjoy wealth and honor.

Initially, physicians advocated saving lives through medicine. Those in the countryside practiced medicine to help the world, while those in the court promoted the medical philosophy and assisted the monarch in seeking a good way to change the chaotic world.

Unfortunately, the latter gradually forgot the essence of the medical school and began to pursue power and wealth, and their use of medicine began to prioritize avoiding mistakes over achieving results.
As the two were talking, they arrived at the Imperial Medical Academy's medicine storehouse.

"Imperial Physician." The guard bowed to Imperial Physician Wang.

"Yes, this is Physician Xu from the Imperial Hospital. From now on, the medicine storehouse will be under his management," Physician Wang said to the guard.

Several eunuchs guarding the medicine storehouse looked up at Xu Qing. Seeing Xu Qing's youthful face, their eyes flashed with surprise. They had naturally heard of Physician Xu, who had cured Consort Hu's anorexia.

They just didn't expect that Physician Wang would assign the medicine storehouse to Xu Qing.

The group dared not be careless and quickly bowed to Xu Qing.
"I have met you, Physician Xu."

"I hope you will all help me in the future," Xu Qing said, returning the greeting.

"No, no, Physician Xu, please tell us what you need. We will certainly not refuse," the men said fearfully.

They were merely low-ranking eunuchs in the Han royal palace, and they dared not show the slightest contempt or disrespect to Xu Qing, their superior, simply because of his age.

"Open the medicine cabinet."

"promise."

Physician Wang handed the key to the medicine storehouse to the eunuch in charge, who then opened the door. Xu Qing followed Physician Wang into the storehouse, where the aroma of various medicinal herbs mingled together.

"The entire medicine storehouse is divided into four categories: herbs and plants, animals, etc.," Doctor Wang explained to Xu Qing as they walked.

Xu Qing listened and nodded repeatedly, scanning the shelves of medicinal herbs, trying to see if there were any precious herbs she wanted.

After walking through half of the medicine storehouse, Xu Qing's excitement dissipated. The medicinal herbs in the storehouse were mostly common ones, and none of them were the rare and precious herbs he had imagined.

"Managing the medicine warehouse is not an easy task, but it's not too difficult either. Every day, we need to tally the types and quantities of medicinal herbs consumed and then hand them over to the guards outside the warehouse to check the quantities. If there are insufficient medicinal herbs, they need to be reported to me," Physician Wang explained his tasks to Xu Qing.

"Yes, Your Excellency has noted it down."

As they were talking, Xu Qing followed Physician Wang to a different shelf.

"Besides that, there is one more important thing: to tidy up the medicinal herbs on this shelf," said Physician Wang, patting the medicine shelf beside him.

Xu Qing looked at the shelf in front of her. Unlike the previous medicine shelves, this one did not contain medicinal herbs, but rather various medicinal flowers used for perfumery.

"Are the items on this medicine shelf intended for Madam Mingzhu?" Xu Qing asked疑惑地.

"In the entire Han royal palace, besides Lady Mingzhu, who else enjoys perfumery?" asked the royal physician.

"Shouldn't Lady Mingzhu's needs be handled by the Imperial Household Department? Why are these incense-making materials placed in our Imperial Medical Academy's pharmacy?" Xu Qing casually opened a medicine box, and a delicate fragrance wafted out.

"This was arranged by Madam Mingzhu. As for why, no one knows, and no one dares to ask," said Physician Wang helplessly.

"Of course, you don't need to be nervous. These items are specially supplied to Lady Mingzhu and do not need to be purchased by our Imperial Hospital. The Imperial Household Department will send people to deliver them every once in a while. You just need to check the quantity with them and organize them properly."

"We must sort them carefully. These medicinal flowers are fine to use individually, but when combined, they will inevitably have some other effects."

"Lady Mingzhu is more favored than Consort Hu and manages the entire harem. She must not be offended under any circumstances."

Xu Qing nodded silently. His trip to Mingzhu Palace today had given him a taste of how terrifying the Tide Demoness was. If he could, he would never want to have any contact with her, but he had no choice but to confront her now.

As they spoke, the two arrived at the last medicine shelf. Looking at the neatly arranged boxes on the shelf, Xu Qing's eyes gleamed.

He finally got what he wanted.

"Xiao Xu, you must remember, no matter what, even if all the herbs in the front of the medicine storehouse are destroyed, we cannot allow this last shelf to be damaged," Physician Wang said solemnly.

"The items above were not ordinary, but the herbs on this last shelf were all precious."

"Ginseng ranging from a hundred to a thousand years old, rare and precious Ganoderma lucidum, and snow lotus from the Tianshan Mountains in the Western Regions."

As Physician Wang rattled off the names of the medicinal herbs with such familiarity, Xu Qing's eyes lit up.

"Don't worry, Physician Wang. Even if something happens to me, I will make sure these rare and precious medicines don't suffer any harm."

Xu Qing licked his lips, his expression unusually resolute, but in his heart he was thinking about what reason he could use to empty the coffers of the precious medicinal herbs that Korea had accumulated over generations.

Looking at Xu Qing, who seemed ready to die, the imperial physician nodded in satisfaction.

“Xiao Xu, I dare not say anything else, but I have always believed that you are an upright, honest, incorruptible, and steadfast person, regardless of poverty or wealth. I am at ease entrusting this medicine storehouse to you from now on.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Physician Wang handed Xu Qing a key and a small seal.

"Imperial Physician, please rest assured, I will handle the pharmacy affairs diligently and without any disclosure," Xu Qing said earnestly, silently adding in his mind, "Before I empty the pharmacy."

"Alright, is there anything else you want to ask? I'll answer it for you," said Physician Wang.

"it is good."

Xu Qing followed Physician Wang through the procedures for handling affairs at the pharmacy and inquired about some precautions before the two concluded their visit to the pharmacy.

Physician Wang left with a message: "Come with me to purchase medicinal herbs the day after tomorrow." He then left, leaving Xu Qing behind to continue managing the medicine storehouse.

After Physician Wang left, Xu Qing, with the help of several eunuchs, personally handled the daily affairs of the medicine storehouse. Having finished everything, he also familiarized himself with the storehouse's rules. He bid farewell to the guards and then departed.

Walking back to the Imperial Medical Academy, Xu Qing's face was full of worry. Although the medicine storehouse contained all kinds of rare and precious herbs that he needed, it was also strictly guarded, making it impossible to easily take these things away.

"It seems I need to make some careful plans," Xu Qing thought to himself.

Before long, Xu Qing returned to the Imperial Hospital. After lunch, he went to examine Consort Hu's pulse again.

Because of the romantic atmosphere between them that morning, they were both somewhat awkward when they saw each other again, so they didn't talk much. Xu Qing took the pulse properly and then left.

After returning to the Imperial Medical Academy, Xu Qing locked himself in his room to study medical books. Just before leaving get off work, he went to see Physician Wang to resolve his doubts. That evening, back home, Xu Qing continued practicing the Evergreen Technique.

(End of this chapter)