Travels of a Female Physician in the Ming Dynasty

Ever since I came out of the Imperial Study, my head has been filled with a tangled mess of clues that I can't make sense of.

The emperor's "heart disease", the empress dowager's coma, the concubine's weakness, and the inexplicable fire in the palace, everything seemed like an invisible net that was gradually tightening, and I was trapped in it.

But no matter how complicated things are, the most important thing I should do now is to save my life.

The storm in the palace is getting closer and closer. Whether you can avoid it depends on your luck.

The next morning, Zhu Yuan jumped in front of me again, looking excited, as if he had caught some "big news".

"President Yang! Guess what? The Emperor summoned several ministers to the Imperial Court last night and reprimanded quite a few of them!"

I frowned. "The Emperor is very busy with government affairs, so it's not uncommon for him to scold his subjects. Your news is a little underwhelming."

Zhu Yuan approached me mysteriously, "No, no, this time is different! Do you know who the emperor scolded? It was the eunuch Li who is in charge of the harem affairs!"

"Eunuch Li?" I was stunned. This was the chief steward of the harem, in charge of the life and death of many palace maids and eunuchs. No one dared to offend him easily.

"Yes! I heard that it was because of the recent chaos in the palace, especially the successive illnesses of the Empress Dowager and Concubine Shu. The Emperor suspected that Eunuch Li's failure to discipline them was the reason some people took advantage of the opportunity." Zhu Yuan said excitedly, as if he was the detective who solved the case.

Alarm bells immediately went off in my heart.

The emperor suspected that someone was causing trouble in the palace, which was no small matter.

If someone really uses the harem to cause trouble, then this storm may be more complicated than I imagined.

"Zhu Yuan, please don't say anything about this." I warned him seriously, "If this gets out, our Imperial Hospital will be implicated."

Zhu Yuan nodded quickly. "Don't worry, I'm keeping my mouth shut! But speaking of which, Court Judge Yang, do you think there's really a traitor behind these events in the palace?"

I was silent for a while, but I already had the answer in my heart.

But as an imperial physician, all I can do is cure diseases and save lives. It’s best for me to stay out of other things.

"It's hard to say now, but we at the Imperial Hospital should focus more on our own work and not get involved." I sighed and patted Zhu Yuan on the shoulder.

In the next few days, I continued to treat the Emperor, the Empress Dowager and the Concubine Shu, and the atmosphere in the palace remained tense.

The Queen Mother's health has improved, but she is still weak.

Shufei's condition fluctuated, sometimes getting better and sometimes getting worse.

Although the emperor seemed to have recovered some of his spirits on the surface, I knew that his "heart illness" had not really healed.

That day, I had just come out of the emperor's bedroom and was about to return to the Imperial Hospital when I suddenly heard hurried footsteps behind me.

"Yang Yuanpan!" A young eunuch ran up to me breathlessly. "The Empress has summoned you. Please come over immediately."

My heart sank. Was the Queen looking for me again? Ever since she dreamed of the fire, she seemed to be paying more and more attention to these "dreams." Every time I visited her chambers, I felt like a dream interpreter.

"Okay, I'll go right away." I sighed, turned around and followed the eunuch to the queen's bedroom.

When they arrived at the bedroom, the queen looked even more haggard than last time.

She sat by the window, her eyes dull and her brows furrowed, as if something was weighing on her mind.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you." I hurried forward to pay my respects, but I couldn't help but wonder: What did she dream about this time? Could she really be dreaming about a palace on fire?

The Queen waved her hand, indicating that I didn't need to be so polite.

She looked up at me, a trace of fatigue in her eyes. "President Yang, I've been feeling restless lately and have nightmares all the time. Has something serious happened in this palace?"

I quickly shook my head. "Your Majesty, you're worrying too much. Everything in the palace is normal. You're just uneasy, which is why you have so many dreams. Plus, there have been so many trivial matters lately. I suggest you get more rest and stay calm."

But the queen did not relax because of what I said.

She sighed and said in a low voice, "I dreamt of that fire again last night. The flames were raging, and the entire palace was engulfed. Even...even the emperor..."

She didn't say anything more, but I understood her meaning.

The queen was obviously frightened by the dream and even began to suspect that the dream was a sign of some kind of ominous omen.

"Your Majesty, dreams are usually what you think about during the day. The emperor is in good health, you don't have to worry too much." I tried to make my tone sound calm, although I felt a little uneasy.

The Queen was silent for a moment, her face still pale. "But this dream is so real. I have a feeling that a great disaster is approaching in the palace..."

I felt a chill in my heart. Although the Queen's words sounded like she was worrying too much, considering what had happened in the palace recently, I had to admit that her intuition might not be unfounded.

"Your Majesty, I will prescribe some tranquilizing medicine for you. You just need to rest and recuperate, and you will definitely get better." I tried to remain calm, and at the same time I was thinking in my mind that maybe I should start from other places and investigate the recent strange things in this palace.

After leaving the Queen's bedroom, I walked along the palace path with my mind in a mess.

The fire that the Queen dreamt of, the Empress Dowager's coma, the Concubine Shu's weakness, and the Emperor's worry, all of these seem to be unrelated, but I have a vague feeling that there is some bigger conspiracy behind this.

"President Yang!" Just as I was thinking, Zhu Yuan jumped out again, scaring me so much that I almost jumped up.

"Can you please not show up so suddenly every time!" I glared at him helplessly, wondering how this guy always chooses the most inappropriate time to scare people.

Zhu Yuan chuckled and lowered his voice, "President Yang, I just heard some great news! I'm sure you'll be interested!"

I rolled my eyes. "You hear so much 'big news' all the time, but which one is true?"

Zhu Yuan said seriously, "This time it's absolutely true! I heard from the people in the imperial kitchen that the Empress Dowager's meals recently have something called 'deer antler'."

I was stunned for a moment. "Deer antler? It's not some rare tonic. The Empress Dowager is old, so it's normal for her to eat some deer antler to replenish qi and blood."

Zhu Yuan shook his head: "But the problem is, deer antlers are also added to Concubine Shu's meals!"

"What?!" I stopped suddenly. Something was wrong.

The physiques of the Empress Dowager and the Concubine Shu are completely different. The Empress Dowager is old, so it is understandable for her to eat some deer antlers to replenish qi, but the Concubine Shu is young and vigorous, so deer antlers, a warming and nourishing herb, may not be suitable for her. Instead, it may cause blood stasis.

"Are you sure you heard it right?" I asked nervously, already beginning to suspect that someone had deliberately tampered with the food.

Zhu Yuan nodded confidently, "That's absolutely right! I asked a few people, and they all said that deer antlers have been added to Concubine Shu's meals these past few days!"

My heart suddenly went cold. So, perhaps Concubine Shu's Qi and blood depletion wasn't due to physical weakness, but rather someone deliberately exacerbating her condition by administering warming tonics. And the fact that both the Empress Dowager and Concubine Shu's diets were tampered with simultaneously was definitely no coincidence.

"Zhu Yuan, you must not tell anyone about this." I whispered to him, already having some guesses in my mind.

Zhu Yuan nodded, a look of uneasiness in his eyes. "President Yang, do you think... is there someone behind this?"

I was silent for a moment before I slowly said, "It's very likely. The Empress Dowager and Consort Shu have both been ill recently, and coupled with the Emperor's concerns, there must be a mole in the palace."

"Then what should we do?" Zhu Yuan asked nervously, obviously frightened by these series of events.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. "We can't act rashly right now. We need to find more evidence. Keep an eye on the Imperial Kitchen and see if you can find any more clues."

Zhu Yuan nodded, but his expression still showed some worry.

In the next few days, I kept secretly observing the movements in the palace, especially the situation in the imperial kitchen.

I found that although the Empress Dowager and Concubine Shu’s meals seemed normal, the combination of medicinal ingredients in them was a bit strange.

Especially Concubine Shu, in addition to deer antlers, a lot of warming and tonic herbs were added to her diet for several days, which was obviously not suitable for her physique.

This made me even more certain that someone in the palace was secretly plotting something, perhaps to control the harem, or perhaps even involved in a bigger conspiracy.

However, there are still limits to what I can do. As the Chief Judge of the Imperial Hospital, I have no authority to question the Imperial Kitchen, let alone directly investigate the mastermind behind this.

That evening, when I was about to go back to my room to rest, I suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside.

"President Yang, hurry! The Emperor has suddenly fainted!"

My heart sank suddenly, and I quickly grabbed the medicine box and followed the eunuch to the emperor's bedroom.

Along the way, my mood became heavier and heavier.

The Emperor fainted? This was definitely not a simple relapse of his illness. The situation in the palace was probably on the verge of a storm.