Travels of a Female Physician in the Ming Dynasty

The door of the Third Prince's Mansion slowly closed behind me. In the darkness of the night, the doubts in my heart grew heavier.

Zhu Yuan, panting, hurried over to me, his face brimming with excitement. "Counselor Yang, there's news from Yuanbao! He says he's found the 'Awakening Herb' that can cure Doctor Li's poison!"

I felt relieved that something was finally going well.

"This guy is quite efficient." I smiled and patted Zhu Yuan on the shoulder. "Let's go find Yuanbao."

Zhu Yuan chuckled: "I knew you would be happy. After all, this is a life-saving herb!"

In the backyard of the imperial kitchen, moonlight shone through the shadows of the trees onto the ground.

When we arrived, Yuanbao was already waiting there, holding a small cloth bag in his hand and smiling from ear to ear.

"Yang Yuanpan, you're finally here!" Yuanbao came up to us as soon as he saw us. He opened his cloth bag mysteriously and took out a handful of emerald green herbs. "Look, this is the 'awakening herb' you wanted."

I took the herb and identified it carefully. It was indeed the Refreshing Herb, and I felt a lot more at ease.

"Yuanbao, this time it's all thanks to you." I said with a smile, "This herb is life-saving."

Yuan Bao smiled so hard that his eyes narrowed into slits: "Yang Yuanpan, you are too polite. You saved people and did good deeds. I was just running errands. How dare I take credit for it!"

I nodded, put the bag away, and was about to leave when Yuanbao suddenly lowered his voice, looking a little nervous: "By the way, Judge Yang, I have something else to tell you."

"Oh? What's the matter?" I raised my eyebrows, feeling that this matter was not simple.

Yuan Bao looked around to make sure no one was around before moving closer. "A few days ago, I heard that Concubine De's personal maid secretly went to a medicine dealer in the outer palace and bought some strange herbs."

When I heard this, my heart suddenly tightened.

The personal maid of Consort De? She was even buying medicine?

This is not a good sign.

"What medicinal herbs?" I asked in a low voice.

Yuan Bao shook his head. "I don't know about that, but I heard from the drug dealer that those herbs are extremely rare and are usually only used in the preparation of certain poisons."

My heart sank. Could it be that... Concubine De was really planning something in secret?

She was so cruel that she could even poison her own son, so it was no surprise that she attacked Doctor Li and me.

"Can you find the specific medicinal ingredients?" I thought to myself that if I could figure out the ingredients of the medicinal ingredients, maybe I could follow the clues and get more clues.

Yuan Bao scratched his head, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "This... I can't guarantee it. But I know a few drug dealers. I'll try to get more information from them later."

"Okay." I nodded. "Be careful about this and don't let anyone notice."

Yuanbao smiled and patted his chest: "Don't worry, I, Yuanbao, will do things very reliably!"

After returning to the Imperial Hospital, I boiled the Awakening Herb into a medicinal soup and carefully fed it to Doctor Li.

He lay in bed, still unconscious, occasionally uttering a few unclear mumblings: "I can't say... She will kill me... I can't say..."

I looked at his painful expression and felt a pang of sadness in my heart.

Doctor Li was originally a loyal and good man, but now he has ended up in such a situation. The cruelty of the court struggle is far beyond my imagination.

"President Yang, when will Doctor Li wake up?" Zhu Yuan stood by, his face full of worry.

"It'll take some time for the Awakening Grass to take effect. I guess it won't be until tomorrow." I sighed, "But as long as the medicine cures his illness, he should be able to regain consciousness."

Zhu Yuan nodded, clearly relieved. "That's good... I was really worried that Doctor Li would never wake up again."

I patted his shoulder and comforted him, "Don't worry, the Awakening Grass is the best antidote. The rest depends on whether his body can hold up."

The next day, the early morning sun shone into the room through the window, coating everything with a warm glow.

I rubbed my sore neck. I almost didn't sleep last night. In order to prevent Doctor Li's condition from getting worse, I stayed by his bedside.

At this moment, I heard a slight movement coming from the bed, and I immediately perked up.

Doctor Li's eyelids trembled slightly, and then he slowly opened his eyes. Although his eyes were a little confused, his mind was obviously much clearer than before.

"Doctor Li, you're awake!" Zhu Yuan was so excited that he almost jumped up.

I quickly stepped forward and gently patted Doctor Li's hand: "Doctor Li, how are you feeling now?"

Doctor Li was stunned for a moment, and a weak sound came out from his throat: "Where...where am I?"

"You're in the Imperial Hospital, you're safe now," I whispered. "You were poisoned and have just recovered."

Doctor Li's eyes gradually became clear, and then he suddenly sat up, his face changing suddenly, obviously remembering something terrible.

His lips trembled and his voice was hoarse: "De Fei... De Fei... she..."

"Doctor Li, don't be anxious." I quickly supported him, "Please speak slowly."

Doctor Li's face was pale, as if he was trying hard to recall something. He whispered, "That night... Concubine De summoned me, saying that the Third Prince's condition had worsened... I didn't think much of it at the time, so I went... I didn't expect... she actually... actually..."

Zhu Yuan and I held our breath, waiting patiently for him to continue.

"She actually... asked me to poison the Third Prince's medicine!" Doctor Li's voice trembled, his eyes full of fear.

Zhu Yuan and I exchanged glances, our hearts awash with fear. As expected, Consort De was trying to poison her own son!

"I didn't dare... I didn't dare disobey her orders, but I couldn't stand by and watch the Third Prince be poisoned to death." Doctor Li clutched his forehead in agony. "So I tampered with the medicine to reduce its toxicity, but I didn't expect... Concubine De would still find out!"

Zhu Yuan was stunned listening to this and couldn't help but interrupt: "So she didn't kill you directly?"

Doctor Li shook his head and smiled bitterly, "She knew I held too many secrets and couldn't kill me easily, so she secretly drugged me with an Ecstasy drug, causing me to become insane and completely lose my mind."

My heart suddenly tightened. Doctor Li’s experience was more complicated than I had imagined.

Empress Defei's methods are really hard to guard against, and she even doesn't spare her own confidants.

"Doctor Li, don't worry, we will protect you from now on and prevent Concubine De from succeeding." I said in a deep voice.

Doctor Li nodded, a hint of gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you, Judge Yang... If it weren't for you, I would have died long ago."

After returning to the study, I fell into deep thought.

The conspiracy of Concubine De has gradually surfaced. She is obviously not satisfied with the current situation of the Third Prince and even has the intention to kill him.

Doctor Li's testimony is undoubtedly the key. As long as we can send this evidence to the emperor, perhaps we can expose her conspiracy.

But the problem is that Concubine De's power is deeply rooted, and it may not be easy to send this evidence out.

What's more, she must be secretly monitoring us now. If we are not careful, we will be killed.

Just as I was racking my brains for a solution, Zhu Yuan suddenly pushed open the door and walked in, looking a little nervous. "President Yang, someone sent a message saying something happened at the Third Prince's mansion again."

"Something happened again?" I stood up suddenly, my heart sinking.

"Yes." Zhu Yuan scratched his head and said in a low voice, "I heard that the Third Prince suddenly fell into a coma again, and the imperial doctors in the palace were helpless."

I suddenly became alert.

The third prince had just started taking the antidote, how could he suddenly fall into a coma again?

Is someone doing something behind the scenes?

"Let's go and take a look at the Third Prince's Mansion." I made a prompt decision, picked up the medicine box and walked out.

The atmosphere in the Third Prince's Mansion was more solemn than last time.

As soon as I entered the room, I saw several imperial doctors gathered around the Third Prince's bed, all with worried expressions.

The third prince was lying on the bed, his face pale and his breathing weak. It was obvious that his condition was not good.

"Yang Yuanpan, you're finally here!" The housekeeper rushed over to me as if he had grabbed a lifeline. "The Third Prince has suddenly fainted again. The imperial doctors are helpless. Please come and take a look!"

I quickly walked to the bedside, reached out to feel the Third Prince's pulse, and my heart sank: the pulse was weaker than before, obviously the poison had taken effect again.

"What's going on?" I asked, frowning. "Has he taken any other medications recently?"

The housekeeper shook his head: "No, except for the antidote you prescribed, no other medicine has been used."

My heart skipped a beat. Could there be something wrong with the antidote?

But I clearly checked the medicine over and over again when I was decocting it, so there was no way I could have made a mistake.

Just when I was puzzled, I suddenly heard a slight sound coming from the bed.

I looked down and saw that the Third Prince's fingers moved slightly, as if he wanted to grab something.

I quickly approached and asked softly, "Third Prince, can you hear me?"

The Third Prince's eyelids trembled slightly, his lips moved slightly, and he uttered a very weak voice: "She...she...wants to kill me..."