Travels of a Female Physician in the Ming Dynasty

I stared at those words, feeling a chill in my heart: "This game is not over yet, wait and see what happens next."

This is not a simple threat, but a blatant provocation.

Defei had been under house arrest, but she was still able to leave a letter so calmly, which shows that she not only had a way out, but also her influence was far deeper than we imagined.

"President Yang, what...what does this mean?" Zhu Yuan suddenly came over to take a look, and his face turned pale in an instant.

I sighed and put the letter back where it belonged. "The meaning is simple. Concubine De is telling us that she doesn't intend to let this go. She has a backup plan, and we'll see her next move soon."

Zhu Yuan immediately hugged his head after hearing this: "Oh my God! There's no peace in this palace! We just cured the Third Prince of his high fever, and now Concubine De has disappeared... Yuanpan Yang, can we still be a proper imperial physician?"

I patted his shoulder, my tone tinged with sympathy. "I also want to be a good doctor, but the palace clearly doesn't intend to let us live in peace. Speaking of which, we're not too deeply involved right now. We were originally just bystanders in Concubine De's affairs, but now it seems we've been dragged into this game."

Zhu Yuan looked desperate. "President Yang, are we imperial physicians or pawns?"

"Chess piece," I said with a wry smile, "and the kind that could be eaten at any moment."

Just as we were discussing the meaning of the letter, hurried footsteps were heard outside the palace.

The young eunuch ran in breathlessly, saying in a panic, "President Yang, the Emperor has ordered you to go to the Imperial Study immediately! The disappearance of Concubine De has alarmed the Emperor, and he wants to see you!"

My heart tightened, and I immediately said to Zhu Yuan, "You stay here and continue searching to see if you can find more useful clues. I'll go see the emperor and see if he has any instructions."

Zhu Yuan nodded repeatedly: "Counselor Yang, please take it easy and don't show off too much. The life of our imperial physician is getting harder and harder."

I smiled and said, "Don't worry, I will try to keep a low profile." After that, I followed the eunuch and hurried to the imperial study.

When they arrived at the imperial study, the emperor's face was terribly gloomy.

"President Yang, have you heard about Concubine De's disappearance?" The emperor's tone was cold, and he was obviously extremely dissatisfied with this sudden change.

I knelt and saluted, then replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, I am aware of this matter. I have just searched the chambers of Consort De and found no trace of her. However... I found a letter."

"Letter?" The emperor frowned. "Bring it up."

I immediately presented the letter to the emperor that said "This game is not over yet, please wait for the follow-up."

After reading the letter, the emperor's expression became even uglier, and even a hint of anger was revealed.

"What a virtuous concubine!" The emperor sneered. "I just issued an order to confine her, and she dared to be so presumptuous. It seems that I have been too indulgent!"

I lowered my head and didn't dare to say a word. After all, the emperor's anger could not be easily appeased.

The Emperor was silent for a moment, then finally spoke, "Yang Yuanpan, Concubine De is currently missing. I suspect she's colluding with forces outside the palace. Go to the Imperial Hospital and check to see if any suspicious medicinal materials or individuals have entered or left the palace, especially in the last few days. This matter is of vital importance and must be thoroughly investigated!"

"I obey your command!" I immediately obeyed, but in my heart I began to wonder: Was Concubine De's disappearance really just her plan? Or was there another force behind it?

After coming out of the imperial study, I immediately rushed back to the Imperial Hospital.

When Zhu Yuan saw me coming back, he hurried over to me and asked nervously, "President Yang, what did the emperor say?"

"The Emperor wants us to thoroughly investigate the recent flow of medicinal materials and personnel into and out of the Imperial Hospital to see if there's anything unusual." I explained briefly, then frowned at Zhu Yuan. "How's your investigation going? Have you found any clues?"

Zhu Yuan scratched his head. "I just searched through Concubine De's bedroom, and apart from that letter, I didn't find anything special. However... I did hear the palace maids whispering that Concubine De seems to have been secretly taking a 'tonic' lately."

"Tonic?" I raised my eyebrows. "What tonic?"

"They said that Concubine De got it from outside, and that it was a secret recipe that could strengthen the body and prolong life. However, the palace maids didn't know what the specific medicine was. They only knew that Concubine De had been taking it recently." Zhu Yuan said with a confused look on his face.

My mind raced: Since Concubine De was under house arrest, how could she possibly have access to medicine from outside the palace? There must be something fishy going on!

"We need to quickly find out the source of this medicine," I said in a deep voice. "Let's start by checking the Imperial Hospital's inventory to see if any medicinal materials have recently entered Concubine De's palace."

Zhu Yuan nodded: "Okay, I'll go check the medicinal material records now!"

In the following days, we have been conducting intensive investigations.

After going through the Imperial Medical Bureau's medicinal records, he indeed found several suspicious points.

It turned out that several batches of medicinal herbs had indeed been transferred from outside to Defei's palace recently, among which one called "Century-old Ginseng" was particularly eye-catching.

This medicinal ingredient is extremely rare and is generally not used easily in the palace. It is only prepared in special circumstances.

"Century-old ginseng?" Zhu Yuan scratched his head. "Isn't this kind of medicine supposed to treat serious illnesses? Concubine De looks healthy, why would she use this?"

I stroked my chin, feeling something was amiss. "She's not treating an illness, she's probably... conditioning her body."

Zhu Yuan was confused. "Treatment? She doesn't have any serious health problems, so why use such expensive herbs?"

I smiled slightly, already having some guesses in my mind: "Some people are fine physically, but they have 'problems' in their hearts."

Zhu Yuan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: "You mean, Concubine De is... faking an illness?!"

I nodded. "That's right. I suspect Concubine De is likely creating an illusion of weakness, perhaps even misleading the Emperor and the people in the palace into thinking she's seriously ill. This way, she can gain more attention and sympathy, perhaps even paving the way for a future comeback."

Zhu Yuan was so shocked that his mouth opened wide: "She is so cruel! She even uses her own body to make trouble!"

"This is the power struggle in the harem." I sighed. "Some people are willing to gamble everything to survive."

Just as we continued our investigation, another piece of news came, completely disrupting our plans.

"Yang Yuanpan, the palace guards have discovered Concubine De's whereabouts! She's actually... actually near the cold palace!"

The cold palace? My heart suddenly tightened.

Why did Concubine De end up near the cold palace?

She should have been confined to her own bedroom, so why did she appear in that place?

"Let's go! Let's go to the cold palace!" I grabbed the medicine box without hesitation and took Zhu Yuan straight to the cold palace.

The atmosphere outside the cold palace was cold and depressing, and the surroundings were extremely desolate.

When we arrived, we saw several guards guarding the door of the cold palace, and Concubine De was leaning weakly against the wall of the cold palace, her face pale and looking extremely haggard.

"Empress Defei!" I hurried forward, my heart filled with confusion. "Why are you here? Aren't you confined to your bedroom?"

Defei raised her head and looked at me, with a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.

The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, revealing a weak but meaningful smile: "Yang Yuanpan... I... I just wanted to come out for some fresh air, but I didn't expect to... take the wrong road..."

I frowned, and suddenly felt that things were not simple at all.

Although Concubine De looked unwell, her demeanor seemed exceptionally calm, as if everything was under her control.

"Your Majesty, you are in poor health and should not stay outside for long. You should return to your bedroom and rest." I said tentatively.

Concubine De nodded gently and stood up obediently, but that mysterious smile was still in her eyes. "I will listen to Court Judge Yang and go back to recuperate well... But, Court Judge Yang, if you find out the truth one day, don't be too surprised."

My heart trembled, and I felt that her words contained a hidden meaning.

Before I could ask her in detail, she had already turned around and walked away step by step with the support of the palace maid.

Zhu Yuan and I looked at each other and felt uneasy.

"President Yang, what does Empress Defei mean by this?" Zhu Yuan asked in a low voice.

I shook my head. "She's hinting at a bigger conspiracy. Concubine De is clearly not acting alone; there are powerful forces behind her supporting her. The situation in the palace is probably more complicated than we anticipated."

Zhu Yuan took a deep breath, his face pale. "Then what should we do? This situation is getting more and more chaotic. I can't understand it anymore."

I sighed and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll have to wait and see. Since Concubine De is willing to show up, it means the people behind her have already started to take action. What we need to do next is to remain calm and wait and see."

However, the controversy surrounding Concubine De’s “disappearance” did not end there.

The next day, a shocking piece of news began to spread throughout the palace: a mysterious secret passage was discovered in the cold palace.

And that secret passage leads out of the palace.