Travels of a Female Physician in the Ming Dynasty

To be honest, after Concubine De mysteriously returned, her words "I've seen enough of the scenery" gave me goosebumps.

This lady didn't say much, but every word she said was full of mystery, as if she had seen through everything, and I was just a chess piece that had to participate in this game.

What's worse, the Emperor's patience with me is clearly wearing thin.

The secret passage in the cold palace, several corpses, the mysterious disappearance and return of Concubine De, this series of mysteries has made the atmosphere in the palace hotter than the fire used to decoct medicine.

The atmosphere in the imperial study was more solemn than usual.

The emperor sat on the dragon throne, his eyes sharp as torches, staring at a map in the middle of the imperial study.

Eunuch Fu stood aside with his head lowered, holding a thick file in his hand, as if he was ready to reveal all his secrets to the emperor at any time.

And I stood there trembling, praying silently in my heart: Don't look for me, don't let me speak.

As expected, the Emperor raised his head and locked eyes with me. "Counselor Yang, I want you to immediately investigate the Imperial Hospital's medicinal preparations, especially the recent snow lotus herb. I suspect someone is abusing the herbs."

My heart sank. Snow lotus? This isn't a common medicinal herb used in the palace.

Thinking of Zhu Yuan's previous discovery, I had to bite the bullet and answer, "Your Majesty, I did find that the Imperial Hospital had recently transferred some snow lotus. The source is unknown, and I am preparing to investigate further."

The emperor nodded, his expression slightly softened. "Very good. I demand the results as soon as possible. This matter is of great importance, and no clues can be overlooked."

I secretly groaned in my heart, is it a big deal?

Yes, if you are not careful, you might lose your head.

But I can't show too much nervousness, and I have to put on an appearance of "I will definitely perform my duties loyally".

"I will get to the bottom of this matter as soon as possible, Your Majesty. Please rest assured." I answered respectfully, but I was silently planning my next move in my heart.

After returning to the Imperial Hospital, Zhu Yuan was already sweating profusely from waiting.

"President Yang, you're back! I just checked the records about Xuelian again, and the situation is not good!" He came closer with a nervous look on his face, and his voice was very low, as if he was afraid that there were eavesdroppers on the other side of the wall.

I frowned. "What happened? Is there something wrong with the herbs?"

Zhu Yuan nodded and quickly handed me an account book. "Look, this batch of snow lotus was sent from the border. Logically, we don't need to transfer the herbs from such a long distance. Moreover, the time of allocation of these herbs coincided with the deterioration of Concubine De's health."

"That's strange." I flipped through the account book, feeling more and more uneasy. "Although snow lotus is a rare medicinal herb, it's not essential for Concubine De's condition. Why did they specially transfer it from the border? Is there some other purpose behind this?"

Zhu Yuan scratched his head, looking even more confused than I was. "I can't figure it out either. Could it be that someone deliberately tampered with the herbs?"

"It's possible." I pondered for a moment, and suddenly an idea flashed in my mind. "Wait, there's nothing wrong with the snow lotus itself, but the transportation of this herb and the channels behind it are the key. It's very likely that someone is taking advantage of the convenience of allocating herbs to secretly transport other things!"

Zhu Yuan's eyes lit up: "You mean... the secret passage is related to the transfer of medicinal materials?"

"It's very likely!" I already had some guesses in my mind. "The secret passage leads outside the palace, and the medicinal herbs come from the border. If someone secretly transports something else through this channel, then it makes sense!"

Zhu Yuan patted his thigh. "President Yang, you are truly brilliant! So what should we do next?"

I sighed. "Don't rush to praise me. The truth is still unclear. We need to continue investigating the origins of this batch of herbs and see if someone has tampered with them."

Just as we were about to investigate further, an uninvited guest suddenly broke in.

"President Yang! Concubine Shu sent someone to ask you to come, saying that the third prince is not feeling well again!" Xiao Xing ran in hurriedly, her face full of anxiety.

"The Third Prince is sick again?" My heart tightened. I had just prescribed a prescription for him, how could something go wrong so soon?

"Hurry, take the medicine box and let's go take a look." I quickly called Zhu Yuan to go with me, but I had a feeling in my heart that this matter might not be simple.

When I arrived at Concubine Shu's bedroom, I saw Concubine Shu standing by the Third Prince's bedside with an anxious look on her face.

The third prince was pale and lying weakly on the bed, sweating all over.

When Concubine Shu saw me come in, she immediately stood up, her eyes full of pleading, "Yang Yuanpan, please take a look at the Third Prince. What's wrong? He just got better, how could he suddenly fall ill again?"

I hurried forward to feel the Third Prince's pulse, my brow furrowed.

The pulse is weak, which doesn't seem like a normal recurrence of the disease. Instead, it seems a bit like... man-made?

"Madam Shufei, the Third Prince's condition is a bit strange." I put down the Third Prince's hand and turned to Shufei. "This doesn't seem like a common cold. It's more like the body is being suppressed in some way, causing poor blood circulation."

"Suppress?" Consort Shu was visibly stunned. "You mean... someone is harming him?"

I dare not jump to conclusions, but this condition is indeed strange. "I dare not speak rashly, but the recurrence of the Third Prince's condition is indeed unusual. I will prescribe a new prescription to stabilize his condition first, while I carefully investigate the cause."

Concubine Shu hurriedly nodded: "Okay! Please save my child!"

Looking at Concubine Shu's anxious face, I couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable.

Although Concubine Shu is a member of the harem, her love for the Third Prince comes from the heart, which is indeed different from those concubines who only care about status.

I sighed softly: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will do my best."

After dealing with the third prince's illness, Zhu Yuan and I returned to the Imperial Hospital, but we still couldn't calm down.

"President Yang, do you think the third prince's illness is related to the conspiracy in the palace?" Zhu Yuan asked cautiously while sorting the medicinal herbs.

I nodded. "Very likely. The recurrence of the Third Prince's illness is extremely strange, especially at this critical juncture. The palace is in turmoil, and the Third Prince's sudden illness is definitely not a coincidence."

Zhu Yuan's face turned pale. "Then... then what should we do? This palace is becoming more and more dangerous!"

"Don't panic." I patted his shoulder. Although I was unsure, I still had to pretend to be calm on the surface. "The most important thing for us now is to find out the origin of the medicinal materials and find out who is behind this. As long as we have evidence, we can get to the bottom of this matter."

Zhu Yuan nodded: "Then I will go check the transportation records of that batch of snow lotus and see if I can find any clues."

"Okay, go quickly." I waved my hand, but my mind was thinking quickly about the next countermeasures.

Just as I was still thinking, an unexpected person appeared quietly.

"President Yang." A familiar voice came from the door.

It’s Eunuch Fu.

My heart skipped a beat. Eunuch Fu’s arrival was definitely not a good thing.

He is a favorite of the emperor and rarely shows up in public, especially not to the Imperial Hospital.

"Eunuch Fu, what can I do for you?" I quickly stood up and saluted, my heart already beating fast.

Eunuch Fu smiled slightly, his eyes cold. "President Yang, the Emperor has ordered you to continue investigating the conditions of Consort De and the Third Prince. Especially regarding the medicinal herbs... the Emperor wishes you to investigate secretly and not let anyone else know."

I became nervous again. The emperor clearly wanted to thoroughly investigate the origins of the medicinal materials.

But this matter involves too many people, and if you are not careful, you may offend a lot of people.

"I obey your command." I bowed my head and saluted, but my mind was thinking quickly.

Eunuch Fu nodded slightly, turned and left, leaving me alone there, feeling cold sweat on my back.

As the sky grew darker, the Imperial Hospital became silent.

I sat at the table, looking through the records of medicinal materials, but my heart was in a mess.

The mysterious return of Concubine De, the recurrence of the Third Prince's illness, and the abnormal transfer of medicinal herbs all point to the same problem - the undercurrent in the palace is far more complicated than I imagined.

"President Yang!" Zhu Yuan suddenly rushed in, his face full of excitement, "I found out! That batch of snow lotus... was transferred in through the line of the cold palace!"

When I heard this, I stood up in shock. "Cold Palace? So, the secret passage and the medicinal herbs are indeed connected?"

Zhu Yuan nodded. "That's right! This batch of snow lotus was transported from the border to the vicinity of the cold palace, and then brought into the palace through a secret passage. Moreover, the person in charge of allocating this batch of medicinal herbs... is a eunuch serving in the outer palace!"

Eunuchs serving in the outer palace? My heart sank.

As expected, external forces were involved behind the scenes. It seemed that the storm in the palace had reached the most critical moment.

"Let's go, we have to report this matter to the emperor!" I stood up immediately, having made up my mind.

This matter must not be delayed any longer, the truth must be revealed as soon as possible, otherwise, what awaits us next will probably be a bigger storm.