Travels of a Female Physician in the Ming Dynasty

Zhu Yuan's "Palace Badminton" plan quickly set off a craze in the palace.

Every day in the Imperial Garden, one could see the Empress and palace maids chasing badminton with bamboo rackets, with laughter and shouts echoing.

The originally quiet palace seemed to become lively overnight.

Early that morning, as soon as I walked into the Imperial Garden, I saw Zhu Yuan "teaching" people badminton skills.

He held a bamboo racket in one hand and pointed at the palace maids across from him with the other, saying with a beaming expression, "Watch carefully! The most important thing in playing badminton is posture! Like me, I lower my body, stare at the ball, and then—bang!"

He swung the racket violently, but unfortunately the badminton didn't hit the other side at all, and flew diagonally into the grass next to him.

The palace maids couldn't help laughing.

"Mr. Zhu, your 'posture' is quite nice, but it seems you missed the target." One of the palace maids said mischievously.

Zhu Yuan coughed awkwardly and quickly waved his hand: "Uh, that was just a 'fake move' to show you how to confuse your opponent. The real trick is still to come!"

I stood aside, laughing so hard that my stomach hurt, thinking: This guy is so shameless.

However, surprisingly, badminton is actually very popular among people.

Even though Zhu Yuan's "teaching" was completely unreliable, the palace maids and concubines still had a lot of fun.

They waved bamboo clapboards and laughed constantly, as if they had forgotten the dullness of palace life and the constraints of rules.

Especially Concubine Zhang, she actually became the most active "badminton player".

In every training session, she always rushed to the front and even volunteered to have a one-on-one duel with other ladies.

"Miss Yang, how do you think I fought?" Concubine Zhang panted while proudly showing off her "battle record".

I smiled and nodded: "My lady, you fight very well. It seems that you are really talented."

Concubine Zhang proudly waved the bamboo paddle in her hand: "Of course! I am not comparable to ordinary people!"

Zhu Yuan came over with a grin on his face, "Empress Zhang is truly amazing! When you swing your paddle, you look like a general on the battlefield, so majestic!"

Hearing this, Concubine Zhang was even more proud and nodded repeatedly, "Master Zhu is right. I really like this kind of exercise. It not only exercises my body, but also shows off my aura!"

I was watching this funny scene from the side, feeling a little emotional: Although Concubine Zhang was usually competitive in the palace, she also showed a rare smile in this relaxing activity, as if she had temporarily escaped the oppression of palace life.

However, the good times did not last long, as a new mission suddenly came from the palace.

On this day, Zhu Yuan was in the Imperial Garden "teaching" the palace maids how to "serve the ball accurately", and I was watching him show off.

Just when everyone was laughing happily, a eunuch suddenly rushed in with a serious face.

"Mr. Zhu, Miss Yang, the Queen has an urgent matter to address. Please proceed immediately."

Zhu Yuan and I looked at each other and immediately realized that this might not be a trivial matter.

When we arrived at the Queen's bedroom, the Queen looked extremely solemn.

"Doctor Yang, Master Zhu, I summoned you here this time because there is a difficult matter in the palace." The queen said softly, with a hint of anxiety in her tone.

My heart tightened, and I quickly asked, "My Lady, what happened?"

The Queen sighed and said, "Recently, a foreign envoy who came from afar suddenly fell ill. The imperial doctors were helpless. I heard that Doctor Yang is an excellent doctor. I hope you can go and see him."

I frowned slightly. "Foreign envoys? This is no small matter."

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will do my best." I said solemnly.

The Empress nodded, then turned to Zhu Yuan. "As for Master Zhu, I have a mission for you as well. That envoy is very particular about etiquette and manners, and his entourage is quite confused about the etiquette of our Ming Dynasty. The Emperor hopes you can explain it to him."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuan was stunned for a moment, then quickly regained his usual smile: "Ah, don't worry, Your Majesty. As for etiquette, I'm the best at talking! It's a piece of cake!"

I couldn't help but feel a little worried: Can Zhu Yuan really handle this? Don't let him fool the foreign envoy's entourage...

In the next few days, Zhu Yuan and I started to get busy.

The foreign envoy's condition was indeed rather troublesome. He had a high fever and a disordered pulse. He must have contracted a foreign disease.

Although the imperial doctors had tried all common prescriptions, they had little effect.

I had to look for similar symptoms in some ancient books. After several days of observation and treatment, I finally found an effective prescription.

The situation on Zhu Yuan's side is said to be quite "dramatic".

That day, I was examining an envoy when I suddenly heard a commotion outside.

I was startled and hurried out of the room, only to see Zhu Yuan standing in the yard, sweating profusely, surrounded by several foreign followers, all of whom looked confused and seemed to be arguing with him about something.

"Mr. Zhu, what's going on?" I walked forward and couldn't help but ask.

As soon as Zhu Yuan saw me, he immediately showed a look of help: "Miss Yang, you're here! They...they don't understand the etiquette of our Ming Dynasty. They said 'the etiquette is too complicated'. As a result, as soon as I demonstrated it to them, they started to question whether I was 'dancing'..."

I almost laughed out loud. "Dancing? What on earth did you show them?"

Zhu Yuan looked innocent: "I just bowed according to the rules, but I didn't expect them to think my movements were too exaggerated..."

I couldn't help but shake my head, thinking: This guy must have added a lot of his own 'fancy moves'.

Just as I was about to help him explain, a foreign attendant suddenly stepped forward, pointed at Zhu Yuan, and said in stiff Chinese: "Mr. Zhu... is the most flexible person we have ever met."

I was stunned for a moment, and then I couldn't help laughing: It turned out that they were not questioning, but thought that Zhu Yuan's movements were too "flexible", like he was dancing!

Zhu Yuan scratched his head awkwardly. "Oh, this is all a misunderstanding. I was trying to help them understand...but I didn't expect it to go too far."

After several explanations and coordination, the entourage of the foreign envoys finally came to understand the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty.

On my side, after several days of diagnosis and treatment, the foreign envoy's condition finally improved.

After the Queen Mother learned the news, she specially summoned us and expressed her appreciation for the performance of Zhu Yuan and me.

Although Zhu Yuan's "etiquette teaching" caused a lot of jokes, at least no big trouble occurred.

"Doctor Yang, Master Zhu, this time it is all thanks to you. The envoy's condition has improved, and the etiquette has been successfully resolved. The emperor is very satisfied with your performance."

The Queen said gently, with a hint of gratitude in her eyes.

I quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, you are too kind. This is our duty."

Zhu Yuanze said with a smile: "Don't worry, Madam, we are an 'elite team', just leave it to us if you have any problems!"

I couldn't help but complain in my heart: This guy is so shameless. He just made so many jokes and he still dares to brag.

After returning to my residence, I was about to rest when Zhu Yuan suddenly came over mysteriously.

"Miss Yang, I have a big plan to tell you!" He looked excited, as if he wanted to do something weird again.

I looked at him warily: "What's your plan?"

Zhu Yuan smiled slyly. "Think about it, we helped solve the envoy's illness and etiquette problems this time. The palace will definitely look upon us with new eyes. Next, we can strike while the iron is hot and hold a 'Palace Sports Festival' to get everyone involved!"

"Palace sports event?" I almost choked on his words. "Are you serious? Are you really planning to turn the palace into a sports arena?"

Zhu Yuan nodded seriously. "Of course! Think about it, the Imperial Garden is full of people running, kicking shuttlecocks, and playing badminton. Wouldn't it be great to hold a grand event and let everyone exercise together?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "That's a very bold idea of ​​yours, but do you think the Emperor would agree?"

Zhu Yuan raised his lips slightly, a sly look flashing in his eyes. "Who said we have to report it formally? We can start small and gradually expand it. Once everyone likes it, wouldn't it be natural for the Emperor to agree?"

I looked at him with a mixture of laughter and tears, thinking to myself: This guy really has one idea after another.

However, seeing how energetic he was, I couldn't help but be infected by him, and I felt in my heart that maybe this "palace sports event" was really interesting.