Travels of a Female Physician in the Ming Dynasty

The next morning, just as I was about to have a sip of tea, the mysterious man in black from last night came again.

He still looked sneaky, standing at the door of the clinic, as if afraid of being discovered.

"Imperial Physician Yang, can you see patients today?" he asked in a low voice.

I glanced at him and couldn't help but mutter in my heart, this guy really has a gangster vibe, why does he act like he's going to do something sneaky?

But I don’t have to worry about it. After all, I promised them, so I have to fulfill my promise.

"Let's go, lead the way." I carried the medicine box and followed him out of the clinic.

Along the way, we walked very fast, made many turns, and finally we got out of the Yingtianfu city gate.

I thought to myself, is this going to take me to a cave?

Finally, we arrived at a bamboo forest on the outskirts of the city.

There was silence all around, with only the rustling of bamboo leaves in the wind.

The man in black walked up to a big bamboo and knocked gently. Then, a small door suddenly opened on the cliff next to the bamboo with a "creak"!

My jaw dropped. Is this an ancient secret passage? This doesn't make sense. Who would have a secret passage like this in a bamboo forest?

The man in black motioned for me to follow him in.

I gritted my teeth and thought that since I was already here, I might as well see what this "strange thing" was.

We walked along the secret passage for more than ten minutes and finally arrived at a hidden house.

The house is not big, but it is decorated quite elegantly, with swaying bamboo shadows all around, which gives it a unique charm.

The man in black led me inside, walked through several corridors, and finally arrived at the door of a quiet room.

He whispered, "Doctor Yang, the patient is inside."

I nodded, but felt a little nervous.

Who is this patient? Why is he so mysterious? Could he be some important official in the imperial court?

But I didn't think much about it and pushed the door open.

The man who came into view was a man in brocade clothes. He was about thirty years old, with a slightly pale face. He was leaning against the bed, looking a little tired, but there was a hint of majesty between his brows.

My heart skipped a beat. This person was none other than... Zhu Biao, the crown prince of Zhu Yuanzhang!

Zhu Biao saw me come in, smiled slightly, and said in a gentle voice: "Imperial Physician Yang, you have worked hard today."

I quickly bowed, my heart pounding with anxiety. Zhu Biao! This is the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty! Why would he be so secretive, even inviting me in this way?

"Your Highness, where...are you feeling unwell?" I tried to calm myself down and began to ask questions step by step.

Zhu Biao coughed lightly and said slowly, "I've been feeling chest tightness and shortness of breath lately, tossing and turning at night, and often having nightmares. Although the imperial physicians have prescribed many prescriptions for me, they have had little effect."

Why is there chest tightness, shortness of breath and insomnia again... These are a bit similar to the symptoms of the Queen.

I wondered to myself, could this be a "family disease"?

But I quickly put aside my wild thoughts and carefully felt Zhu Biao's pulse. His pulse was a little weak, as if caused by long-term fatigue, but he was not seriously ill.

I breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the prince's condition was not serious. It was probably due to overwork and mental stress.

"Your Highness, you are fine. It may be due to overwork and restlessness in recent days. I will prescribe some tranquilizers. You should go back and have a good rest for a few days. You should feel better." I tried to speak in a relaxed tone.

Zhu Biao nodded, a trace of fatigue flashing in his eyes. "What Imperial Physician Yang said makes sense. I have been very busy lately and it has been difficult for me to calm down."

I thought to myself, this future emperor is really a model worker. It seems that his life as the "crown prince" is not easy either. He is under so much pressure that he is almost suffering from insomnia.

I wrote the prescription and was about to leave when Zhu Biao suddenly called me: "Yang, Imperial Physician, there have been rumors circulating in the palace lately about some 'immortality formula'. Have you heard of it?"

Another 'immortality recipe'! My heart tightened. It turned out that this matter was not only a rumor in the martial arts world, but even the prince knew about it.

"Your Highness is truly brilliant." I tried to calm myself. "This 'immortality formula' is nothing but nonsense from quacks. Modern medicine...er, I mean, there's no such thing as immortality in medical theory."

Zhu Biao frowned slightly: "Do you really think that there is no prescription in this world that can prolong one's life?"

My heart skipped a beat.

If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince believes in this evil way, it will be very disastrous.

I simply said, "Your Highness, a doctor's duty is to heal illnesses and save lives, not to pursue the illusory 'immortality'. If you cling to such things, you will only go astray."

Zhu Biao was silent for a moment, then sighed softly, "Imperial Physician Yang is absolutely right, and I don't want to dwell on this. However, there are rumors spreading throughout the palace, and my father seems quite interested in this, so I have to pay more attention to it as well."

My heart tightened. Did Zhu Yuanzhang really start to believe this? This was not a good sign.

However, the prince seems to be relatively sober and should not believe these rumors easily.

I felt a little relieved and thought to myself, it’s okay, at least the future emperor was not fooled.

After leaving the house, the man in black took me back to the clinic.

Along the way, the matter of "elixir of life" was still circling in my mind.

Rumors spread in the palace, and even the prince began to worry.

This is not a simple matter. If Zhu Yuanzhang is really obsessed with this, I might be involved too.

At this moment, there was a sudden noise from the front.

I looked up and saw a large group of people gathered in the middle of the street, seemingly watching the excitement.

I didn't want to join in the fun, but suddenly a familiar voice came to my ears: "Imperial Physician Yang! Come and save him!"

I was stunned for a moment, and looked in the direction of the voice, and it was Zhu Yuan!

He was standing in the crowd, waving at me with his hands dancing.

Why is this guy here again? Is he the "buzz radar" of my life?

Helpless, I had to walk towards him.

After squeezing into the crowd, he found an old man in ragged clothes lying on the ground, seemingly fainted. Zhu Yuan was squatting beside him, frantically fanning the old man's face and shouting, "Doctor Yang, come and take a look, is he suffering from heatstroke?"

I rolled my eyes. It's autumn now, why is there a heat stroke?

But as a professional doctor, I still squatted down and took the old man's pulse.

Sure enough, he did not suffer from heatstroke, but rather from collapse caused by hypoglycemia, a typical case of "fainting from not eating."

"He's fine, he just fainted from hunger." As I said this, I took out some candy from the medicine box and stuffed it into the old man's mouth.

After a while, the old man slowly woke up. When he opened his eyes, he saw Zhu Yuan's anxious face. He screamed "Ah!" and shrank back in fright.

I couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Mr. Zhu, you don't look that scary, do you?"

Zhu Yuan looked innocent: "I just care about him, why does he look like he saw a ghost when he woke up?"

The old man came to his senses and wailed, clutching his stomach: "I... I haven't eaten in three days. I'm so hungry..."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuan suddenly became generous: "Don't worry, with me, Zhu Yuan, here, you won't starve! Come on, go buy some food!"

This guy is really kind-hearted. Although he is a little silly, he still has a kind heart.

After the old man had eaten and drunk his fill, he regained his spirits.

He thanked Zhu Yuan and me profusely with tears of gratitude. Zhu Yuan patted me with pride and said, "Imperial Physician Yang, you are truly a miracle doctor. You can even save people who fainted from hunger!"

I couldn't help but laugh: "How can this be called a miracle doctor? It was the steamed buns you paid for that saved him."

Zhu Yuan scratched his head: "Ah, at least with you here, I feel at ease!"

I shook my head helplessly. This guy is really a heartless rich kid.

However, in this ancient time full of etiquette and legal constraints, it is a lucky thing to meet someone like Zhu Yuan who is simple-minded and not too scheming.