Travels of a Female Physician in the Ming Dynasty

The general's condition gradually stabilized, and the atmosphere in the Imperial Hospital finally returned to calm.

Zhu Yuan, who had just come out of the general's ward, walked in the yard with his head held high, as if he had won a battle, humming a little tune.

"Miss Yang, what do you think of my performance? This is another great feat achieved by our joint efforts!" He showed off proudly and sat down on the stone bench in the Imperial Hospital, putting on an attitude of "now you can praise me".

I couldn't help but smile. "Yes, you did run pretty fast this time. I'll give you the 'Most Diligent Errand Runner Award' later."

Zhu Yuan immediately became unhappy and shouted at the top of his voice: "Hey, hey, hey! What do you mean by running errands! I made great contributions in the investigation of the disease, right? Without me, how could we have found the 'Fire Lizard Fruit'!"

I smiled and shook my head. "Okay, okay, you're the real hero. Okay, don't get complacent. We still have a lot of cases to sort through."

Zhu Yuan curled his lips and muttered, "It's so annoying to deal with cases all day long," but he still followed me back to the clinic and prepared to continue dealing with daily affairs.

However, before we could sit down, news of another strange incident came from the palace.

This time it was not a patient, but the Empress Dowager - she sent someone to deliver an urgent oral order, asking me to enter the palace immediately.

She said that although her health has been fine recently, she has some "strange dreams" every night. There are always some scenes in her dreams that make her upset, making her unable to sleep every night.

"Dream?" Zhu Yuan scratched his head. "Why does this sound so mysterious? Miss Yang, this is the Imperial Hospital, not a fortune-telling parlor."

I was also a little confused, but after all, it was the Queen's call, so I couldn't neglect it.

So Zhu Yuan and I hurriedly packed up our medicine box and went back into the palace.

When we arrived at the Queen's bedroom, the atmosphere was more solemn than last time.

The queen sat beside the bed, looking tired. Although there was still a gentle smile on her face, the shadows under her eyes were very obvious.

"Miss Yang, although my health has improved a lot these days,... every night I always have disturbing dreams." The Queen sighed softly. "In my dreams, the palace seems to be shrouded in a layer of fog. There are blurry shadows everywhere. Many familiar figures are moving through the fog, but I can't see their faces clearly."

"These dreams come every day, making me uneasy. When I wake up, I always feel a sense of oppression in my chest. The royal doctors say it's a rising heart fire, but I always feel... that things are not that simple."

I listened carefully and couldn't help but think to myself.

Frequent strange dreams, accompanied by chest tightness and uneasiness, do not sound like a simple rise in heart fire. It may be related to psychological pressure or even some secret events in the palace.

Zhu Yuan couldn't help but interrupt: "My Lady, are those shadows in the dream particularly blurry, like ghosts?"

I immediately glared at him, "Zhu Yuan! How can you describe the Queen's dream so casually?"

Zhu Yuan knew he had spoken out of turn, so he quickly shrank his neck and smiled awkwardly: "I was just joking, haha."

I turned my head and whispered, "Your Majesty, dreams are usually a reflection of what we're thinking. Perhaps you've been worried about something lately? Or perhaps something happened in the palace that's making you uneasy?"

The Queen frowned slightly, as if she was thinking, but after a moment, she shook her head: "There hasn't been anything special happening in the palace recently, but... I always feel that these dreams are related to some rumors in the palace."

"Rumors?" I asked curiously.

The Queen spoke slowly, "Recently, there have been rumors of 'strange happenings' in the palace, especially near some remote palaces and cold quarters. The maids say they often hear strange noises when passing by at night, like someone crying or the sound of wind. I initially thought these were just nonsense and paid no attention to them. But ever since these dreams began, I've felt... that these things don't seem completely groundless."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuan's eyes suddenly lit up, and he came over excitedly: "Miss Yang, this sounds like a good opportunity for adventure! Let's go investigate these 'strange things' in the palace, maybe we can find the source of the Queen's dream!"

I glared at him fiercely. "Are you trying to be some kind of 'palace explorer'? This is the Empress's bedroom, not a place for you to mess around!"

Zhu Yuan shrugged and lowered his voice, "But don't you think this is a bit suspicious? The vague shadows in the dream and the strange noises in the palace, maybe there really is something strange. Let's go explore the way first. If there really is a problem, won't we be able to help the queen solve it?"

I was actually a little confused. The Queen’s dream might be related to her mental state, but the rumors in the palace made things complicated.

Could these dreams actually be a sign of some underlying problem?

After a moment's thought, I said to the Queen, "Your Majesty, your dreams may be related to the environment and atmosphere in the palace. How about this? I will prescribe a tranquilizing medicine to help you sleep peacefully. Meanwhile, Mr. Zhu and I will monitor the rumors in the palace and try to find the source of these dreams."

The Queen nodded and chuckled, "Miss Yang is indeed attentive. I'll be thankful for your help."

That night, Zhu Yuan and I decided to explore the legendary "weird" areas in the palace.

"Miss Yang, do you think we will really encounter ghosts?" Zhu Yuan couldn't help asking as he followed me on the dim path, with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Don't talk nonsense. There are no ghosts in the palace." I glanced at him. "However, there are indeed many secrets in the palace. Many things seem calm on the surface, but there may be secrets hidden behind them that we don't know."

Zhu Yuan blinked. "Do you think we'll discover some shocking secrets? For example, what treasures are hidden in the palace?"

I couldn't help but laugh: "Your imagination is really too wild. If there was a treasure, it would have been discovered long ago."

We walked along the palace wall towards the cold palace.

The cold palace has always been the place with the most rumors, and many people would rather take a detour than pass by here.

Tonight, the moonlight is thin and everything is quiet. Occasionally, a breeze blows, bringing a hint of chill.

"Miss Yang, don't you think it's eerie here?" Zhu Yuan rubbed his arms, obviously a little nervous.

I nodded. "Something is indeed wrong. There seems to be a strange smell in the air."

Suddenly, a low sound came faintly from the front, like someone whispering softly, or like the wind passing through the narrow corridor.

Zhu Yuan's eyes widened immediately, and he asked in horror, "Did you...did you hear that sound? That sound!"

I frowned and listened carefully, and indeed heard a strange sound.

But I soon realized that the voice was not human, but more like some kind of...mechanical sound.

"Let's go and take a look." I whispered.

Zhu Yuan said reluctantly, "Miss Yang, are we really going there? This place is a bit spooky..."

"Are you scared?" I raised my eyebrows deliberately.

Zhu Yuan straightened his back immediately: "Afraid? How could I be afraid! Come on, let's go over and take a look!"

We cautiously approached the source of the sound and found that it came from behind an abandoned palace gate.

I gently pushed open the half-open door and saw a small abandoned workshop inside, filled with all kinds of old wood and sundries.

"This is..." Zhu Yuan looked confused, "Why is there a workshop here?"

I walked in, took a closer look, and soon found an old mechanical device, which seemed to be some kind of ancient pneumatic device.

When the wind blows, the machine emits a low hum similar to a human voice.

"So that's it." I breathed a sigh of relief. "This is an abandoned ventilation device. It makes noises when the wind blows through it. No wonder the palace maids thought there were strange noises here."

Zhu Yuan relaxed suddenly and patted his chest: "It turned out to be this broken thing. I was scared to death! I thought there really was a ghost!"

I smiled and said, "It's just a coincidence. It has nothing to do with the Queen's dream. However, abandoned places like the palace do tend to cause psychological stress, which may be part of the reason for the Queen's dream."

After returning to the Imperial Hospital, I reported the situation to the Queen.

After hearing this, she relaxed a little: "I see, it seems these dreams are indeed caused by my anxiety."

"Yes, Your Majesty, dreams are merely a reflection of your inner thoughts. You've been so busy lately, and your mind is so exhausted, it's inevitable that you'll be affected by external rumors." I said gently, "I suggest you take a break and relax. Your dreams will naturally improve."

The Queen nodded: "Miss Yang is indeed thoughtful. Thank you very much."

On the way back to the Imperial Hospital, Zhu Yuan couldn't help but sigh, "Miss Yang, although we didn't find any treasure on this expedition, at least we solved a 'palace mystery.' Do you think we could switch careers and become detectives in the future?"

I shook my head in amusement. "If you really want to be a detective expert, go back and copy the case again and practice."

Zhu Yuan immediately made a bitter face: "Oh, Miss Yang, please don't, can we change to a lighter task, such as... eating chicken soup?"

"Stop talking and go back to copy it." I pushed him with a smile.