Travels of a Female Physician in the Ming Dynasty

I thought I had gotten through the worst of it.

The doctors' skills in decocting medicine gradually improved, and they no longer made mistakes. The operation of the Imperial Medical Service gradually returned to order.

Looking at everyone busy and organized, I felt secretly proud in my heart: Well, it seems that the "training" has been done properly, and I can finally take a breath.

But before they could completely relax, something unexpected happened in the palace again.

That afternoon, a young eunuch hurried into the Imperial Hospital with a panic-stricken expression on his face.

"Yang Yuanpan, this is bad! The nobles in the palace are saying that there's something wrong with the medicinal herbs they've been using recently, and they're feeling unwell after taking them!"

My scalp tingled when I heard this. If this situation wasn't handled properly, not only would the reputation of our Imperial Hospital be ruined, but my very head would be ruined as well.

I quickly asked the eunuch to explain in detail: "What do you mean by 'discomfort'? What are the specific symptoms?"

The young eunuch panted and said, "The nobles said that after taking the medicine, they felt dizzy and some even had nausea and vomiting..."

"Dizziness? Vomiting?" I frowned. These symptoms didn't sound like a simple problem with the efficacy of the medicine, but rather like the wrong herbs were used.

But recently I have been personally supervising the process and strictly controlling the combination of various medicinal materials and the decoction time. This kind of mistake should not have happened!

I immediately took Zhu Yuan with me and called all the doctors and nurses present to check the medicine warehouse together.

As soon as I entered the warehouse, my heart sank.

The medicinal materials warehouse looked no different than usual, but after careful observation, I found that the color of some medicinal materials was not right.

Several commonly used herbs, in particular, looked much lighter in color than usual and even smelled a little off.

"Zhu Yuan, come and take a look at these medicinal herbs. Is there any problem?" I called Zhu Yuan over.

Zhu Yuan leaned forward, took a sniff, and frowned. "Yang Yuanpan, look, these herbs seem a little damp. Is it because of the recent humid weather that the warehouse hasn't been properly maintained?"

I shook my head. "Not really. We've always maintained strict warehouse management, and there hasn't been any particularly humid weather lately. These herbs don't seem to have spoiled naturally; it seems more like someone has tampered with them..."

As soon as the words fell, the expressions of several female doctors and medical assistants standing by suddenly changed.

"President Yang, you...you mean someone deliberately tampered with the medicinal materials?" An elderly doctor's voice trembled.

I don't dare to jump to conclusions, but the abnormality of the medicinal materials does not seem to be caused by natural factors.

Just as I was pondering how to handle this, a young female doctor suddenly stepped forward, looking somewhat panicked. "President Yang, I...a few days ago, when I went to the storehouse to get some herbs, I thought I saw a strange eunuch sneaking around here."

"A strange eunuch?" I immediately became nervous. "Did you see clearly?"

The doctor nodded, but hesitated and said, "I didn't think much of it at the time. I thought it was just a young eunuch who came to do business, so I didn't pay attention. I didn't expect that there would be problems with the medicinal materials..."

I cursed myself for being careless. I have been so busy improving my medical skills recently that I have neglected safety issues.

It now seems that there is a high possibility that the medicinal materials have been tampered with, and the person who did it is likely from other forces in the palace.

I immediately decided to take action.

"Zhu Yuan, immediately check who has been in and out of the warehouse these past few days, especially those young eunuchs who are not often seen. Also, contact the eunuch in charge of the warehouse to see if there are any unusual things recently."

"Yes, Judge Yang!" Zhu Yuan ran out immediately.

I turned to the doctors and their wives, "Everyone, we must rigorously inspect every batch of medicinal materials, especially those destined for the nobles, to ensure there are no issues. All herbs must be re-screened, and the decoction process must be supervised at all times."

Everyone nodded with serious expressions.

After all, if the medicinal material problem this time is not handled properly, it will not only implicate the Imperial Hospital, but may also affect the nerves of the entire harem.

In the next few days, we conducted a comprehensive investigation of the medicinal materials.

Sure enough, it was discovered that many batches of medicinal materials had been tampered with.

Although there are no particularly toxic ingredients, some medicinal materials are indeed mixed with herbs that should not be there, causing patients to feel uncomfortable after taking them.

In order to prevent the situation from getting worse, I immediately reported the situation and summoned all the doctors and nurses in the Imperial Hospital for emergency training.

"Everyone listen up! From now on, every batch of medicinal materials must be carefully checked before entering the warehouse. There must not be any negligence. Everyone who takes the medicinal materials must register. Once a problem is found, it must be reported immediately and must not be handled on your own." I said seriously.

The doctors nodded one after another, but a few of the older doctors were clearly overwhelmed, their expressions showing a hint of fatigue.

"President Yang, we are old and our eyesight is not good. I am afraid we can't see these subtle differences." A female doctor said in a low voice.

I was moved. Indeed, the older doctors were not able to handle such delicate work, and that was the problem.

"How about this," I thought for a moment and continued, "From today on, I will select a few young women doctors to be responsible for checking the medicinal materials. The older women doctors can focus on preparing and decocting the medicines, reducing the workload of some of the detailed work."

After hearing this, the older doctors showed gratitude on their faces and expressed their support.

After this adjustment, the work of the Imperial Medical Service gradually got back on track.

But I still feel a little uneasy.

Although the issue of tampering with medicinal materials has been temporarily resolved, the mastermind behind the incident has not yet surfaced.

I know that the struggle in the palace is far from over, and the Imperial Hospital cannot stay out of it forever.

However, the most important thing at the moment is to improve the overall medical level of the Imperial Medical Service, especially the skills of the female doctors and medical professionals.

After all, the Imperial Hospital is my "base" in the palace. Only by making it stronger can I gain a firm foothold in this deep palace.

A few days later, Zhu Yuan brought back the news.

"Yang Yuanpan, we've checked the warehouse. There are indeed a few young eunuchs who are not often seen entering and leaving the warehouse recently. One of them, Xiao Anzi, in particular, looks very suspicious."

"Xiao Anzi?" I frowned. "Where is he from?"

"I heard that he is a newcomer who was recently transferred to the palace. He doesn't have much background. However, there are rumors in the palace that he seems to have a concubine backing him up." Zhu Yuan said in a low voice.

I nodded, with some guesses in my mind.

It seems that this medicinal material controversy is most likely caused by some concubines in the harem trying to take advantage of this opportunity to muddy the waters.

Although the Imperial Medical Service was just a "medical institution", it was inevitably used as a tool by some people in the complex power struggle within the palace.

However, I will put these speculations aside for now, after all, there is no conclusive evidence at this moment.

At the same time, I began to strengthen training within the Imperial Hospital.

This medicinal material incident made me realize that it is not enough to just let female doctors and medical professionals master basic medical skills.

They not only need to know how to decoct and prepare medicines, but also need to have a certain ability to identify medicinal materials, especially when the medicinal materials have been tampered with, so that they can discover problems in time.

So, I began to personally explain the characteristics of various medicinal herbs to the female doctors and their wives, and taught them how to identify the quality of medicinal herbs through details such as color, smell, and shape.

"Look everyone, this astragalus is genuine. Its color should be light yellow and feel a little rough. If you see that the color is whitish, or it feels very smooth, then there is a problem." I explained while demonstrating.

The female doctors opened their eyes wide and listened attentively.

Even the older doctors began to seriously learn new knowledge.

Gradually, the female doctors and nurses in the Imperial Medical Bureau not only became more and more professional in decocting and dispensing medicines, but their ability to identify medicinal materials also greatly improved.

Once, a young female doctor discovered that the color of a batch of medicinal materials was wrong when she was preparing medicine. She reported it immediately, and it turned out that the batch of medicinal materials had indeed been tampered with.

Fortunately, she discovered it in time and avoided bigger problems.

Seeing their progress, I finally felt relieved.

At least, the overall level of the Imperial Medical Service has improved a lot now, and everyone has the ability to deal with any emergency.

However, as the Imperial Hospital grows in strength, new troubles are quietly approaching...