Travels of a Female Physician in the Ming Dynasty

"Finally, there's a turning point!"

As soon as I walked out of the Queen Mother's bedroom, I breathed a sigh of relief.

The Empress Dowager's willingness to step forward is undoubtedly the most crucial step in saving the Third Prince.

If the Empress Dowager succeeds in persuading the Emperor, then no matter how sinister Concubine De is, she will have to stay out of the spotlight for the time being.

Zhu Yuan, standing next to me, seemed even more excited than I was, his smile etched on his face as if he had won the jackpot. "Yang Yuanpan, we've really escaped death this time! With the Empress Dowager's move, even the arrogance of Consort De will have to be restrained!"

I glanced at him and said unhappily, "It's too early for you to be happy. The Virtuous Consort is not that easy to deal with."

Zhu Yuan was stunned for a moment, scratching his head. "Then... the Empress Dowager has already come forward, what else can Concubine De come up with?"

I sighed, my tone serious. "Do you think everything will be fine if the Queen Mother intervenes? Consort De is quite capable. Her rumor-mongering trick has already caused the Third Prince to lose a lot of support within the court. If she pulls off something else, I'm afraid we'll have a headache."

Zhu Yuan's face immediately fell when he heard this: "Then what should we do? We can't just sit there in fear waiting for her to harm us, right?"

I patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. What we need to do now is to stabilize the Third Prince's condition and at the same time try not to let Concubine De get hold of anything. As long as the Third Prince can get better, the rumors will naturally fall apart."

Zhu Yuan nodded vigorously: "Alright, then I'll listen to you! Let's fight Concubine De to the end!"

Having said that, I know in my heart that Concubine De's methods are probably far more than these, and we may face an even greater crisis next.

I returned to the Imperial Hospital and immediately began to prepare a new prescription, making sure that the Third Prince's condition would steadily improve.

Just as I sat down to get the medicine, I suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside the door.

The footsteps were getting closer and closer, and my heart suddenly tightened: Could something have happened again?

Sure enough, before I could look up, Yuanbao rushed in panting, his face full of panic.

"President Yang, something terrible has happened!"

When I heard this, my heart skipped a beat: It really is not a good thing!

"What's wrong again?" I asked helplessly.

Yuan Bao gasped, his face filled with anxiety. "Empress Defei spread the word that the Third Prince is possessed by some 'evil spirit,' which is why he's been ill for so long! Now many people in the palace are saying that the Third Prince has contracted an ominous disease that even the gods can't save him!"

"Evil?!" I almost laughed out loud.

This Concubine De has such a wild imagination that she even brings up feudal superstitions?

Zhu Yuan was stunned when he heard this: "Is this even possible? People in the palace actually believe this?"

Yuan Bao said with a bitter face: "That's right! There are already many people in the palace who believe in these things. Now that Concubine De has said this, everyone thinks that the Third Prince's illness is caused by evil spirits."

I slapped my forehead and thought: Empress Defei has completely given up. She doesn't even care about science and is directly involved in metaphysics!

"President Yang, what should we do? If these rumors continue to spread, even if the Third Prince recovers from his illness, everyone will think he is not clean!" Zhu Yuan was extremely anxious.

I frowned, my mind racing.

Defei's move was indeed vicious. She took advantage of feudal superstition and directly gave the third prince an ominous label.

But then again, since she dares to do this, I might as well try some "fight fire with fire" tactics.

Thinking of this, my eyes suddenly lit up and a wicked smile appeared on the corner of my mouth.

"Hehe, since Concubine De likes to study metaphysics, let's play with her."

Zhu Yuan was stunned: "You mean..."

"We can also use 'divine power'!" I said proudly.

Zhu Yuan was completely confused. "Divine power? Where are the gods here?"

I smiled mysteriously: "There are no gods, but we can pretend to be gods."

Yuanbao's eyes lit up, and he immediately understood what I meant. "Yang Yuanpan, are you saying... that we should also perform some rituals to fight against the evil spirits?"

I nodded. "That's right! Since Consort De says the Third Prince is possessed by an evil spirit, let's ask an expert to show her who is truly possessed!"

Zhu Yuan scratched his head: "But...but where can I find this expert?"

I patted his shoulder. "Isn't this easy? Don't we have a few idle old men in the Imperial Hospital? Find one who looks like an immortal, have him pretend to be a fortune teller, and then perform some mysterious rituals. I guarantee we can scare those people in the palace!"

Zhu Yuan's eyes lit up, and he rubbed his hands excitedly: "Brilliant! Court Judge Yang, your trick is absolutely amazing! Let's go find an old man right now!"

Early the next morning, a new piece of news began to spread in the palace: the Imperial Hospital invited a mysterious "expert" to exorcise evil spirits for the third prince!

This "expert" is said to be a Taoist who lives in seclusion in the mountains. He does not care about worldly affairs and concentrates on practicing.

This time, upon learning that the third prince was possessed by an evil spirit, he went down the mountain to pray for him.

As soon as the news came out, the palace was in an uproar.

The palace maids and eunuchs who had originally believed in the "evil spirit" story immediately became interested after hearing it and ran to watch the fun.

In the backyard of the Imperial Hospital, a "exorcism drama" is being performed in full swing.

I invited the oldest pharmacist in the Imperial Hospital - an old man with a white beard and a ruddy complexion. I dressed him in a Taoist robe that looked like an immortal, and also found a worn peach wood sword and handed it to him.

"Old Li, you have to act well for me this time!" I said with a smile.

Old Li, leaning on his cane, said with a smile, "Don't worry, Judge Yang. When I was young, I was a village 'immortal'. I'm the best at playing tricks!"

I nodded with satisfaction: "That's good. Remember, you will do as I say later and scare those people in the palace!"

Old Li made repeated assurances, patting his chest to say that he would not let anyone see any flaws.

The "exorcism ceremony" officially begins.

Old Li stood in front of the Third Prince's bed, holding a peach wood sword in his hand, muttering something, and waving it from time to time, pretending to drive away the "evil spirit".

His serious expression and his sage-like appearance really gave him the air of a "master".

I stood aside, holding back my laughter, and secretly glanced at the palace maids and eunuchs who were watching.

Sure enough, they were all stunned, and the expressions on their faces were full of admiration.

"This is a master who has lived in seclusion for many years!"

"Looking at his appearance, he must be an immortal descending to earth!"

"With this expert, the Third Prince will definitely get better!"

Hearing these discussions, I felt secretly proud: It seems that this trick is really effective. The superstitious beliefs of Concubine De are now countered by an "expert" like me, and the wind direction in the palace has begun to change.

After the ceremony, Old Li said to me solemnly, "President Yang, I have already determined that the Third Prince is indeed possessed by an evil spirit, but I have cast a spell to dispel it. His condition will gradually improve."

I immediately nodded in agreement. "Thank you, Master! It must be a blessing from heaven that the Third Prince has your help!"

The palace maids and eunuchs who were watching nodded one after another, believing in Old Li's "magic".

As soon as the "exorcism drama" was over, I immediately asked someone to spread the news.

As expected, as soon as the news came out, the palace was in an uproar.

Those who were originally bewitched by Concubine De now began to believe in the magic of this "expert". Some people even ran to the Imperial Hospital to ask Old Li to "treat them", making Old Li almost collapse from exhaustion.

Zhu Yuan was so excited that he came close to me and whispered, "Yang Yuanpan, your trick is really amazing! Now everyone in the palace believes us 'experts'. No one believes Concubine De's evil theories anymore!"

I smiled and said, "This is just the first step. Next, we have to continue to stabilize the Third Prince's condition. As long as he can get better, Concubine De will be completely helpless."

Zhu Yuan nodded repeatedly: "Okay, let's keep working hard!"

However, just when we thought the situation was starting to improve, something unexpected happened again.

One evening, Yuanbao came running over in a panic, looking extremely nervous.

"Yang Yuanpan, this is bad! Empress Defei is causing trouble again!"

My heart tightened, and I quickly asked, "What is she doing?"

Yuan Bao gasped and said, "She said she wanted to invite the great master of Qixia Temple to pray for the Third Prince and perform a ritual in front of the Emperor to completely 'exorcise' him!"

I almost jumped up in anger: This Concubine De is really lingering around, she actually wants to drag the Emperor into the water!