Travels of a Female Physician in the Ming Dynasty

Outside the palace, the wind was howling and dark clouds were gathering.

I stood at the door of the Imperial Hospital, feeling terrified.

The sound of the guards' horses' hooves faded into the distance, and the accumulated water on the ground was splashed everywhere.

Tonight's summons came too suddenly and the atmosphere was extremely tense.

"President Yang, are we...are we really going in?" Zhu Yuan stood behind me, curled up into a ball, his face as pale as paper.

"Nonsense! If you don't go tonight, you can just prepare a coffin for me tomorrow morning." I glanced at him helplessly. Although I was nervous, I still pretended to be calm.

Zhu Yuan nodded tremblingly: "Yes, yes, if the emperor blames us, then we're doomed."

"Let's go and stop talking nonsense." I sighed silently, put on my cloak, and walked quickly towards the palace.

The imperial study was brightly lit.

The emperor stood in front of the table with his back to me, and Eunuch Fu, who was standing beside him, had a serious expression on his face.

There seemed to be a sense of tension in the air.

"Your Highness, your Majesty..."

The Emperor didn't turn around immediately, but simply said, "President Yang, do you know that something big is happening in the palace tonight?"

I was shocked and quickly replied, "I don't know."

The emperor finally turned around, with a hint of a smile in his eyes, but that smile made people feel cold behind their backs: "Tonight, Lord Zhao has already taken action."

Lord Zhao has taken action?

The strings in my heart immediately tightened, and I felt like a bucket of cold water was poured over me.

This means that the palace coup has begun and I am getting closer and closer to the moment of life and death.

"Your Majesty, how should Lord Zhao act? Can I serve you?" I asked with a stiff upper lip, wondering in my mind what the emperor intended for me to do.

The Emperor smiled faintly. "President Yang, you've helped me a lot this time. The clues you found about the medicinal herbs have allowed me to catch Lord Zhao on his tail. Tonight, I want you to go to the secret passage of the cold palace and lead your men to intercept their shipment."

My heart was shocked and I groaned inwardly.

What? You want me to go to the secret passage of the cold palace?

Isn’t this like asking me to pull out a tooth from the tiger’s mouth?

Lord Zhao must have set up a tight net by now. As a mere judge of the Imperial Hospital, am I supposed to rush in alone?

But the emperor obviously didn't give me a chance to refuse. He stared at me coldly and said, "This operation is of vital importance. I can only trust you."

Can you only trust me?

The emperor’s words warmed my heart, but at the same time, I felt even more stressed.

There are so many capable people in the palace, but they chose to trust a small doctor like me. I am really flattered by this kind of "kindness"... but I am also scared to the point of my legs going weak.

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty obeys." I agreed reluctantly, thinking to myself: I'm afraid I'll have to rely on my brain to save my life tonight.

After leaving the imperial study, I immediately found Zhu Yuan.

As soon as Zhu Yuan saw my expression, he knew the situation was not good and quickly came over to me: "Yang Yuanpan, what does the emperor want us to do?"

I took a deep breath and said in a calm tone, "The Emperor ordered us to go to the secret passage of the cold palace and intercept Mr. Zhao's transport."

Zhu Yuan was stunned for two seconds, then suddenly jumped up like a cat whose tail was stepped on. "What? Going to the cold palace! Isn't that just committing suicide? Lord Zhao's place must have been filled with ambushes! Can we get out alive if we go in?"

I patted his shoulder helplessly. "Do you think I want to go? But we're in a difficult situation right now. The Emperor has personally issued an order, so how dare I not go?"

Zhu Yuan's face turned pale, and his lips trembled: "Then...what should we do? We are not good at fighting and killing. We can't even hold a sword steadily..."

I sighed. "When the enemy comes, we'll fight them with our troops. When the water comes, we'll block it with earth. Let's go to the secret passage and see what's going on. We'll act accordingly. If that doesn't work... we'll just use our brains!"

Half an hour later, outside the secret passage of the cold palace, the silence was eerily quiet.

Zhu Yuan and I crouched down and hid behind a tree.

There were two guards standing at the entrance of the secret passage, obviously sent by Lord Zhao to guard it.

Judging from their appearance, they were not very vigilant and seemed to have not expected that the emperor would send anyone.

"President Yang, look..." Zhu Yuan whispered in my ear, a hint of timidity in his voice.

"Don't be impatient, let's wait and see." I carefully observed the movements at the entrance of the secret passage, thinking about how to respond.

At this moment, another black shadow walked out of the secret passage silently. It was Sun Laoliu.

He was carrying a heavy bag and looked around as if he was waiting for someone.

The opportunity is coming!

"Zhu Yuan, we have to catch Sun Laoliu. He must know Lord Zhao's plan." I whispered, already having a plan in mind.

Zhu Yuan's eyes widened. "Catch him? How are we going to catch him? What if he calls for help?"

I patted his shoulder and encouraged him: "Don't be afraid, we are not going to catch him by force, we are going to outsmart him!"

Zhu Yuan's mouth twitched, and he obviously had no confidence in my "clever trick".

I quietly went around to the other side of the secret passage and saw Sun Laoliu with his head down, seemingly checking the contents of his bag.

I pretended to be calm as I walked out of the darkness and said to Sun Laoliu with a smile, "Hey, isn't this Eunuch Sun? Why are you still busy in the middle of the night?"

Sun Laoliu suddenly looked up and saw that it was me. His face suddenly changed: "President Yang?! Why are you here?"

My smile widened. "I happened to be passing by and saw you busy here, so I thought I'd come over and help you. After all, we are all colleagues in the palace, so it's only natural to help each other, right?"

Sun Laoliu was clearly flustered, his eyes flickering. "President Yang, this...this matter, you'd better not get involved. Go back quickly."

Looking at his nervous expression, I was even more certain that what he held was not simple, and my smile did not diminish. "Oh, Eunuch Sun, you are being too polite. I, Yang Qing, am a warm-hearted person. Besides, we are all in the palace. If you have any difficulties, just tell me, I can still help you with some advice."

Sun Laoliu was already sweating profusely, clearly not wanting me to continue pestering him. "President Yang, this is truly my personal matter. You should..."

My eyes suddenly turned cold, and I took a step forward and whispered, "Eunuch Sun, stop pretending. Are you transporting something for Lord Zhao? Don't blame me for not warning you, the emperor already knows about the secret passage here and has sent people to investigate. If you don't tell the truth now, it will be a big deal if you get caught."

When Sun Laoliu heard this, his face turned pale instantly.

He obviously didn't expect me to point it out directly, and he felt like he was struck by lightning.

Zhu Yuan also emerged from behind the tree at this time, just in time to help me add fuel to the fire.

"Right, right, right, Eunuch Sun, don't be so stubborn. The Emperor is determined to investigate this matter! If you confess now, you still have a chance to survive. But when the Emperor's men arrive, no one can save you!"

Sun Laoliu's legs went limp, and he nearly fell to his knees. He glanced around, making sure no one was around, and finally broke down. "Yang Yuanpan, please spare me! I... I'm acting on orders from Lord Zhao. He's asked me to deliver some medicinal herbs to the palace, claiming they're supplements for the Third Prince's illness..."

I sneered, "Tonics? Do you think I'm a three-year-old? These herbs aren't for the Third Prince's treatment. They're poisons that Lord Zhao uses to control the situation in the palace, right?"

Sun Laoliu was so frightened that his face turned pale. He nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes! Yang Yuanpan, I am just a small figure. I will do whatever Lord Zhao tells me to do. There is really no other way!"

I looked at his pitiful appearance and felt secretly relieved.

Sure enough, outsmarting is the way to go!

I asked Zhu Yuan to guard the entrance to the secret passage, and I took Sun Laoliu and quickly returned to the main hall of the palace.

The Emperor was indeed already waiting for me. When he saw me returning with Sun Laoliu, he smiled faintly and said, "President Yang, you have lived up to my expectations."

I quickly knelt down and said, "I dare not take credit for it. It is Sun Laoliu who knows his mistakes and is willing to confess."

The emperor nodded, his gaze fixed on Sun Laoliu coldly. "Sun Laoliu, I'll give you one chance. As long as you're willing to tell me everything about Lord Zhao's plan, I can spare your life."

Sun Laoliu was already terrified. He plopped to his knees and kowtowed profusely, "Your Majesty, spare my life! I'll tell you everything! Lord Zhao...he wants to poison the Third Prince's medicine, control his condition, and then use this opportunity to coerce Consort Shu into supporting Lord Zhao's rebellion!"

Hearing this, I felt a surge of anger.

This Lord Zhao is so cruel that he even doesn't want to spare the life of the third prince!

The emperor frowned, a cold light flashed in his eyes: "He is indeed an ungrateful wolf who can never be tamed."

The night wind howled past, and the storm in the palace began to fully unfold.

I stood beside the emperor and watched Sun Laoliu being dragged away. The stone in my heart finally fell to the ground.

Lord Zhao's plan has been exposed. Next, the emperor will definitely launch a thundering attack to wipe out these rebellious forces in one fell swoop.

"President Yang, you have performed a great service tonight." The emperor suddenly spoke with a hint of appreciation in his tone.

I quickly knelt down: "I am just doing what I should do."

The emperor smiled and patted my shoulder. "You've done well. Next, I need your continued assistance to completely eliminate the hidden dangers in the palace."

My heart tightened and my smile became a little stiff - this matter is not over at all!