Travels of a Female Physician in the Ming Dynasty

Ever since I found out that the imperial concubine was making some big moves behind the scenes, I feel like I'm walking on a knife edge every day, and I'm nervous about everything I do.

I never imagined that being a doctor in ancient times required the skills of a detective or secret agent! My life is even more stressful than my time in the emergency room today!

However, despite all the complaints, the prince's condition has indeed stabilized a lot.

He has recovered quickly in the past few days and his complexion has become much rosier.

But I know that this is just the calm on the surface and the storm is still brewing.

One day, I was giving acupuncture to the Crown Prince in the East Palace when His Royal Highness the Crown Prince suddenly spoke up, "Imperial Physician Yang, I heard that you are an expert in medicine. Not only did you cure me of my cold, but you've also saved many seriously ill people in the community."

I was just about to insert the needle into the acupuncture point, but when I heard that, my hand shook and I almost missed the target.

Why is this prince suddenly interested in me?

I quickly calmed myself down and said with a smile, "Your Highness is too kind. I only know a little bit about medicine and am not considered a great doctor."

The prince chuckled, clearly unimpressed by my modesty. "I heard you once saved people in the marketplace, and even managed to easily cure illnesses that the imperial physicians were helpless to treat."

My heart skipped a beat. What did the prince mean by this?

Are you doubting me?

I quickly explained, "Your Highness, I was just lucky, and with a little modern... uh, folk magic, I was able to cure a few difficult and complicated illnesses."

"Oh?" The prince raised his eyebrows, looking very interested. "Have you ever heard of 'Xinggu San'?"

Bone-awakening powder? What the hell is this?

My mind raced, wondering if this was some kind of ancient poison.

The name doesn't sound like a serious medicine.

"Your Highness, 'Xinggu San' is..." I asked cautiously, afraid of saying something wrong.

The prince glanced at me, his expression carrying a hint of meaning. "It's said this medicine can cure the world's most dangerous poisons, especially cold poisons. If the cold poison I've contracted is truly as dangerous as the rumors say, it might be difficult to suppress with ordinary herbs alone. But if we have 'Xinggu San', perhaps it can be cured completely."

My mind raced instantly.

Cold poison, miraculous medicine, complete cure... Isn't this the legendary "secret medicine" routine?

Wait, I’ve never heard of “Xinggu San” before. Is there something fishy about this prescription that suddenly appeared?

"Your Highness, although I have never heard of this medicine, there are many strange medicines in the world, and it may be effective. However, if you want to use this kind of medicine, you still need to be cautious." I tried my best to use ambiguous language to make people laugh, but in my heart I was wondering if there was any conspiracy behind this "Xinggu San".

The prince smiled, seemingly unsurprised by my answer. "No problem, I was just asking casually. Imperial Physician Yang, please continue with your acupuncture."

I nodded quickly, but in my heart I had already begun to wonder whether this "Xinggu Powder" was a smokescreen deliberately released by some force in order to lure me and the prince into the trap.

After the acupuncture, I was about to leave when the prince suddenly called me back: "Imperial Physician Yang, there will be a distinguished guest visiting the palace tomorrow. I hope you can be there."

I was stunned for a moment: "Distinguished guest?"

The prince nodded, his expression somewhat mysterious. "It's a caravan from the Western Regions. They've reportedly brought many rare medicinal herbs and secret recipes. I'd like you to help identify some."

A caravan from the Western Regions? Rare medicinal herbs? That sounds quite interesting.

An idea came to my mind. Since I had nothing else to do in the East Palace every day, I might as well take this opportunity to broaden my horizons and see how magical these ancient medicinal herbs are.

"Your Highness has given an order, and I shall obey it." I bowed respectfully, but in my mind I had already started to think about how to get more information on this "journey to the Western Regions."

The next morning, I rushed to the East Palace early.

Sure enough, the Western Region caravan had arrived. Leading the group was a tall, bearded Western Region merchant. Behind him were several followers in gorgeous clothes, holding several exquisite boxes in their hands.

When the prince saw me, he immediately waved me over and said, "Imperial Physician Yang, come and take a look at these medicinal herbs." As he spoke, he gestured to the merchant to open the box.

The Western Regions merchant said in a slightly stiff Chinese voice, "These are rare medicinal herbs we brought from the Western Regions. They are all rare treasures from the edge of the desert. Especially this 'Fire Ganoderma Lucidum', it is said to be able to revive the dead."

He carefully took out a red Ganoderma lucidum-like medicinal herb from the box.

Fire Ganoderma? That sounds a bit scary, but...living dead flesh and bones? That's too much, isn't it?

I took a closer look and saw that it was indeed quite strange-looking, with bright colors that didn't look like ordinary Ganoderma. But as a modern person, I still remained highly skeptical.

"I have never seen this 'Fire Ganoderma' before. I wonder what its effect is?" I asked deliberately politely.

The Western Regions merchant smiled, clearly accustomed to such questions. "This item is extremely precious, and can only be found near volcanoes deep in the desert. It's said to be a great ton of vitality, especially suitable for patients like His Royal Highness who have just recovered."

The Crown Prince seemed moved when he heard this and turned to ask me, "Imperial Physician Yang, what do you think?"

I suddenly felt nervous. How should I answer this?

Modern medicine has not studied this kind of "fire Ganoderma"!

But I can’t just say, “Your Highness, this thing is useless, don’t eat it.” What if it really works?

"Your Highness, I believe that all medicines are partially toxic, especially this kind of strange medicine that I have never seen before. It still needs to be carefully identified before it can be used." I decided to be cautious. After all, this is in the palace, and any mistake is no joke.

The prince nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer. "Imperial Physician Yang's words make sense. Let's put this aside for now and wait for the other imperial physicians to analyze it further."

I breathed a sigh of relief, feeling fortunate that I wasn't fooled by the "legendary effects" of the Fire Ganoderma.

It seems that the ancient world of medicinal materials is indeed very mysterious.

A busy day finally ended, and I returned to the clinic. Just as I sat down and was about to take a break, there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Imperial Physician Xiao Yang! Something bad has happened in the palace!"

My heart skipped a beat and I quickly opened the door.

The person who came was Xiao Lizi, a young eunuch from the East Palace. He rushed in with a panicked look on his face: "The Crown Princess suddenly fainted, and the imperial doctors are helpless! Quick, go and take a look!"

What? The Crown Princess fainted?

Without wasting a second, I grabbed the medicine box and rushed out the door.

When they arrived at the Crown Princess's bedroom, it was already in chaos.

The imperial doctors gathered around the bed, all of them with solemn expressions. I squeezed through the crowd and saw the Crown Princess lying on the bed, her face as pale as paper, her breathing weak, and she looked like she would die at any moment.

I hurried forward to take his pulse, which was weak and his qi and blood were disordered.

This symptom doesn't seem like ordinary fainting. Could it be poisoning?

I immediately asked someone to bring silver needles, and quickly used acupuncture to stabilize the Crown Princess's meridians.

At the same time, I was quickly analyzing the Crown Princess's symptoms in my mind.

After a few injections, the Crown Princess's breathing became somewhat more stable, but she was still not fully awake. I frowned, feeling anxious.

What exactly is going on?

The Crown Prince also arrived at this time, looking anxious: "Imperial Physician Yang, how is the Crown Princess?"

"Your Highness, the Crown Princess's pulse is disordered, and her Qi and blood are depleted. I'm afraid she's been poisoned by some kind of chronic poison," I replied in a deep voice, feeling extremely uneasy. The Crown Princess's condition was far from simple. Was that Imperial Concubine involved again?

The prince's expression changed drastically: "Poisoned? Then what kind of poison was she poisoned with?!"

I shook my head. "I can't confirm it at the moment, but... to completely detoxify it, I'm afraid further diagnosis is needed. Please rest assured, Your Highness."

After seeing off the anxious prince, I didn't feel relieved at all.

The Crown Princess was poisoned, and there must be a palace conspiracy behind it.

But the most important thing now is to find the source of the poison and rescue the Crown Princess.

This time, I must go all out, not only for the Crown Princess' life, but also for my own safety in this struggle.

I originally thought that I was just an ordinary time traveler, relying on some modern medical knowledge to make a living in ancient times. However, I didn't expect that the conspiracy of the palace would involve me step by step.

The poisoning of the Crown Princess has made me realize that this palace fight is far more complicated than I imagined.

But no matter what, since I am already standing in the center of this storm, I can only bite the bullet and move forward.