Travels of a Female Physician in the Ming Dynasty

"Yang Yuanpan, the Third Prince's current situation is entirely thanks to you."

The Empress Dowager's praise echoed in my ears. I stood up straight, but I felt a little uneasy.

Why does this sound like a good thing is going to turn into a bad thing?

Based on my experience of survival in the palace during this period, whenever I hear words like this, the following plot is never going to be simple.

"Thank you for the praise, Your Majesty. I'm just doing my duty." I said modestly, but my heart was tense with vigilance.

The Queen Mother smiled and nodded, then changed her tone and said, "However, Judge Yang, I have something I would like to ask for your help."

Here I come! As expected! The palace's tricks really won't let me off easily.

The Empress Dowager seems kind and gentle, but in fact, her word "help" often means that she is going to involve me in some complicated situation again.

"What does the Empress want?" I asked with a stiff upper lip, praying in my heart: I hope it's not something related to Empress Defei again. I just escaped from her conspiracy!

The Queen Mother sighed softly, "I haven't been feeling as strong lately as I used to. Sometimes I have trouble sleeping at night, and my head always aches. The experienced doctors at the Imperial Hospital are at a loss as to what to do. Since you are such a skilled doctor, could you please take my pulse and prescribe a prescription?"

I felt relieved, so that's what it was!

Headache and insomnia? This is a piece of cake!

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will take your pulse right now and guarantee that you will sleep peacefully within three days." I was full of confidence and was about to stretch out my hand to take the Empress Dowager's pulse when suddenly a light bulb went off in my head and I suddenly realized: That's not right. The Empress Dowager asked me to treat an illness. Could it be just a headache?

"Impossible, there has never been such a simple thing in the palace." I glanced at the Queen Mother warily, and sure enough, there was a subtle meaning hidden in the Queen Mother's smile.

I carefully took the Empress Dowager's pulse and found that her pulse was stable and there was no major problem at all.

The headache and insomnia symptoms are probably caused by too many trivial matters in the palace and excessive worry - after all, being a queen mother is not easy, having to watch so many daughters-in-law fighting with each other.

"Your Majesty's pulse is fine, but you must pay more attention to rest in your daily life. I will prescribe a prescription to regulate your mind. It will definitely be effective after taking it for a few days." As I said this, I hurriedly wrote down the prescription, thinking in my heart that I should end this "calm storm" as soon as possible.

The Queen Mother took the prescription and smiled faintly, "Yang Yuanpan is indeed a miracle doctor. By the way, I have another favor to ask of you. We have recently added several new maids to the palace. I have heard that you are an excellent doctor, so I would like you to check on them and see if they are all healthy."

"Palace maids? Help them treat illnesses?"

I was stunned, and something immediately felt off. Wasn't the palace maids' health usually the doctor's responsibility? Why was she suddenly assigning this responsibility to me?

"This..." I hesitated for a moment, instinctively feeling that this matter was not simple, but the Empress Dowager's eyes were gentle and firm, and it was obvious that this was not a request that could be easily rejected.

"Since Her Majesty has given the order, I will do my best." I could only agree reluctantly, secretly praying that these palace maids would not cause any trouble.

Sure enough, there are never simple trivial matters in the palace.

The next day, I was led to a side hall to take the pulse of several "newly added" palace maids of the Empress Dowager.

"President Yang, please come in." The palace maid led me into the side hall.

As soon as I entered the room, I saw five young palace maids. They were all standing aside with their heads down. At first glance, there was nothing special about them, but when I took a closer look, I immediately found the problem - their clothes were much more exquisite than those of ordinary palace maids, and there was a sense of confidence and elegance between their brows. They did not look like ordinary palace maids who had just entered the palace.

"These people... don't look like palace maids." I was secretly puzzled, and my hand unconsciously reached for the medicine box in my sleeve, ready to respond at any time.

"President Yang, thank you for your hard work." The palace maid standing in the front suddenly spoke. Her voice was crisp and soft, with a hint of politeness in her tone, but also revealed a hint of unusual aura.

My heart tightened. This palace maid is no ordinary person!

Her tone and demeanor clearly sounded more like that of a noble master.

While I was checking their pulses, I was observing them secretly. Sure enough, these "palace maids" seemed docile, but their behavior and speech were full of rules and upbringing, which was definitely not the quality of ordinary palace maids.

"President Yang, how do you think we are doing?" The palace maid who spoke smiled slightly, with a barely perceptible tentativeness in her tone.

I was startled and said with a smile, "The girls are all in good health. They just need to rest more every day."

After saying that, I quickly packed up my medicine box and said goodbye. I always felt that there were some secrets hidden behind these "palace maids" that I didn't know.

When I returned to the bedroom, before I had time to think about the strange situation, Yuanbao ran in quickly.

"President Yang! Something terrible has happened! I heard..." Yuanbao was running while panting, with a mysterious expression on his face.

I rolled my eyes and thought: This kid comes in nine times out of ten and says something is "bad," but every time it's just some weird gossip.

"What's wrong? What's this 'big news'?" I looked at him helplessly, mentally prepared for some gossip.

Yuanbao approached me mysteriously and lowered his voice, saying, "Yang Yuanpan, did you check the pulses of the Empress Dowager's 'new palace maids' today? Hehe, actually, they're not palace maids at all!"

My heart trembled, and I had a question: "Who are they?"

Yuan Bao said proudly, "Those are all daughters of wealthy families sent to the palace by foreign ministers! They were recently arranged to serve the Queen Mother, but in fact, they want to... uh... break into the palace and strive for a better future."

I was almost shocked to death by Yuanbao's "gossip".

What kind of operation is this? Sending a rich young lady to the palace to serve the Queen Mother?

Isn’t this a disguised talent show?

"So, the Queen Mother asked me to take their pulses to see if they are healthy and whether they can..." Before I finished speaking, I instantly understood the Queen Mother's intention.

Yuanbao winked and nodded: "Yeah, tell me, is this a big deal?"

I sighed deeply and thought to myself: There is really no simple matter in the palace. Even taking the pulse of a palace maid can involve such complicated things.

A few days later, I was summoned to the Queen Mother's palace again. The Queen Mother was sitting at the table with a meaningful smile on her face.

"Yang Yuanpan, how did you feel when you took the pulse of those palace maids a few days ago?" The empress dowager asked calmly, her tone neither hurried nor slow, but I knew that this was definitely not a casual question.

I smiled and replied, "My Lady, they are all in good health. They only need to be cared for daily and there will be no worries."

The Queen Mother nodded in satisfaction and sighed softly, "I know you are a smart person, and you can see clearly what is going on in the palace. Now that these girls from foreign families have entered the palace, I have no choice but to do so. I only hope that they can find a good place to go."

When I heard this, my heart skipped a beat.

The Empress Dowager is laying out the chess pieces for future palace struggles!

I'm afraid that these girls from foreign ministers' families are not just here to serve in the palace.

"Yang Yuanpan, I know you are meticulous. I will have to rely on you more when it comes to matters in the harem." The empress dowager looked at me meaningfully.

I quickly bowed and said, "I will do my best to assist Your Majesty."

I felt a little complicated when I left the Empress Dowager's bedroom.

The situation in the palace is becoming more and more complicated. Not only is there the open and secret struggles within Concubine De, but now there are also the daughters of these foreign ministers' families.

"President Yang, what should we do next?" Yuanbao asked cautiously.

I sighed, "What else can I do? I'll just have to deal with it as it happens. Things in the palace never stop."