Dingbei Hou's doctor brother

In the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Shengzhi was wearing a ochre-yellow round-necked dragon robe, sitting in front of the imperial desk, drinking an iced drink.

"Alright, Your Majesty, although sour plum soup is delicious, it is also cold."

Beside him stood a fair-skinned and beautiful woman, wearing a golden crown inlaid with kingfisher feathers and holding a round fan in her hand, gently fanning Emperor Shengzhi.

"Your Majesty has a weak stomach, and I saw it was really hot and stuffy, so I brought some to you to cool you down. Please drink less."

Emperor Shengzhi placed the bowl on the imperial table, raised his eyebrows, breathed a sigh of relief, and said with a smile: "Shulan knows my heart very well. It really makes me feel much calmer."

Wan Shulan was a natural beauty and was especially favored by Emperor Shengzhi. She was specially appointed as the Imperial Noble Consort of the Daning Dynasty.

She put the bowl into the food box and wiped the sweat from Emperor Shengzhi's forehead with a silk handkerchief. At this time, Gao Jian came in from outside the hall.

"Your Majesty, this is an urgent report from His Royal Highness Prince Zhao on his inspection tour in Shu."

"Oh? Bring it up quickly."

Emperor Shengzhi took the report presented by Gao Jian, looked through it, and nodded silently. Wan Shulan saw his expression from the side and waited for an opportunity to praise him.

"This time, Chen Qi has done his best to inspect Shuzhong for the emperor."

Emperor Shengzhi flipped through the post and said, "Hmm," "Life is tough in Shu, Chen Qi did a good job on this mission."

Wan Shulan smiled and said, "He can share the emperor's worries, which is also the responsibility of a son. I am very pleased."

Emperor Shengzhi closed the post and said, "There will be a generous reward for him when he returns."

A moment later, Gao Jian announced again, "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is here to see you."

"Let him in."

"Your Majesty has some political affairs to discuss, so I will take my leave now."

Wan Shulan picked up the food box and bowed to take her leave. When she left the hall, she met Chen Jing. She looked haggard and listless.

Chen Jing's face was as gloomy as water, and resentment was boiling in his heart. He saluted Wan Shulan, said hello, stepped into the hall, and kowtowed to Emperor Shengzhi.

"What's the matter, Prince?"

"Your Majesty, I just received a secret report last night regarding corruption among officials involved in the Meizhou flood." Chen Jing presented the letter. "Here is the report and the account books. Please review them, Your Majesty."

Emperor Shengzhi frowned, took the memorial and looked through it, then checked the account book. He suddenly became angry and slammed the table.

"Investigate thoroughly, including the local officials and officials in Beijing. I want to find out who is really acting as this shade tree."

There were several piles of pulse case documents on a desk in the duty room of the Imperial Hospital.

There was a thin layer of sweat on Li Li's forehead. He stared at the booklet, the brush in his hand kept shaking, and his face looked irritable.

He wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeve and looked towards the door from time to time.

Several imperial doctors walked in from outside the door, and Li Limu put down his brush and looked at them.

"Have you gentlemen seen Lu Ziqing?"

"No, I don't think I saw him at roll call. I don't know what he's up to."

"Don't you see that he now has the support of Marquis Dingbei? What's the big deal about the Imperial Hospital?" Lu Quan walked in and took over.

"Who knows, he might become very successful someday. By then, you and I, the old officials in the court, will have to bow to him."

Doctor Wang said, "I previously thought the Marquis of Dingbei was simply promoting his subordinates, but I didn't expect him to come to the Imperial Hospital in person to put pressure on them. You and I have served in the court for many years, but has anyone ever seen him come to the Imperial Hospital?"

Doctor Sun: "I really don't know what tricks this kid used to curry favor with the powerful."

Doctor Shen: "So, Li Limu, you should take your time to sort out these documents. My current status is not ordinary."

Li Limu snorted, suppressed his anger and started to tidy up.

"Is Doctor Lu here?"

When they heard the sound, everyone turned their heads to look at the door. It was Eunuch Yang, and Lu Quan immediately went to greet him.

"Wait a moment, Eunuch Yang. I'll go get the medicine box."

Just as Lu Quan was about to turn around, Eunuch Yang stopped him, "Doctor Lu, you misunderstood. We are looking for Doctor Lu Ziqing."

Lu Quan was confused and embarrassed.

"I have always been the Crown Prince's doctor. I am currently preparing the medicine for lunch. Could you please tell me what's going on?"

Eunuch Yang said, "How can a servant like me know who His Royal Highness wants to see? Hurry up and call Lu Ziqing out. His Royal Highness is waiting."

"Why is the eunuch here?"

Eunuch Yang turned around and saw Lu Ziqing passing by the door carrying a medicine box.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has returned. I've sent you to take a look. Let's go."

The voices of the two gradually faded away, leaving the room full of old doctors looking at each other in confusion.

Imperial Physician Sun was the first to speak. "What was I saying just now? This kid is really good at currying favor with the powerful. A while ago, the Marquis of Dingbei came, and now he's secretly currying favor with the Crown Prince."

Doctor Wang looked at Lu Quan and sighed, "Old Lu, hurry up and think of a solution. His Royal Highness would rather trust a greenhorn quack than you, a traditional Chinese physician with decades of experience."

If this were to get out, people would laugh at the fact that an eighth-rank imperial physician was squeezed out by a folk doctor.

Lu Quan was so angry that he slammed the table.

After Chen Jing took two doses of medicine, his irritable mood improved a little, but he didn't know if it was a psychological effect.

He lay on the Arhat couch in the compartment and shouted outside the hall, "Is Eunuch Yang back?"

No one answered. Chen Jing stood up and saw a piece of green clothing appearing beside the red pillar, followed by Lu Ziqing's face, sweating profusely, behind the gauze curtain.

"Your Highness has been waiting for a long time. I forgot to ask Eunuch Yang this morning if Your Highness slept well last night."

Chen Jing's brows relaxed when he saw him. "Last night was the most sound sleep I've had since I got sick, though I woke up very early."

Lu Ziqing put the medicine box on the table and squatted down to take Chen Jing's pulse.

"Maybe it's because I haven't had a good night's sleep in a long time. I slept a little longer last night, so I felt more energetic and woke up early."

After taking the pulse, he took out the medicine bowl and handed it to Chen Jing. Before he got close, a bitter herbal smell came out.

Chen Jing sighed secretly as he looked at the bowl of medicine. He had been taking medicine every day for over a month. Now he felt like vomiting when he smelled the medicine. He couldn't help but think of the appearance of the person who murdered him.

If we were to say who in the palace was most hostile to Chen Jing, it would definitely be Prince Zhao and his mother.

Emperor Shengzhi had few children, only four princes, among whom the sixth prince Chen Jing and the third prince Chen Qi were the most favored by the emperor.

Although both of them were born out of wedlock, according to the order of seniority, the third prince Chen Qi should be made the crown prince.

At worst, there are still the second and fourth brothers, but it will never be the turn of the sixth brother Chen Jing.

The difference is that the queen's eldest son died young, so she ended up raising the deceased concubine's child by her side, who was Chen Jing.

Therefore, he successfully became the crown prince of Daning, and also became a thorn in the eyes of the third prince Zhao and his mother.

Chen Jing's eyes were filled with gloom again, and his hand holding the bowl clenched unconsciously, shaking the medicine to the point that it was about to spill.

Suddenly, I felt someone take the medicine bowl from my hand and heard someone say.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince's hands are not convenient, let me feed you."

His thoughts finally came back to him and he drank the medicine in one gulp, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.

"How long will it take for me to recover from my illness?"

Lu Ziqing put the medicine bowl back and replied, "Your Highness, this is a case of chronic poisoning. To fully recover, it will take several courses of treatment to remove the poison. It also depends on the recovery process. It could take as little as a month or as long as several months."

"Now that I can sleep peacefully at night, it means the medicine is working. Your Highness needs to wait for a while."

Chen Jing nodded, his eyes fell on Lu Ziqing's face, and said softly.

"Thanks to the imperial physician, if you hadn't discovered it in time, I might have gone insane and died, unaware that someone was deliberately murdering me."

Royal affairs were complex and involved a wide range of issues, so Lu Ziqing did not dare to comment on them casually.

"It is the duty of the imperial physician to diagnose His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. It is the doctor's duty. Your Highness is too polite."

Chen Jing looked at him and remembered how he held him down yesterday.

In a desperate situation, everyone was afraid of offending their superiors and being punished, but he was the only one who dared to step forward. Putting aside his identity, his reaction to the situation is still worthy of praise.

Chen Jing stood up and moved closer, asking, "Who were you treating before? I've never seen you in the Imperial Hospital."

Lu Ziqing said, "I'm new here, so naturally Your Highness has never seen me before."

"newcomer?"

Chen Jing lowered his eyes, and suddenly remembered that when he sent someone to summon Xiao Yan last night, he did not ask for a doctor, but that person came with a doctor.

"You and Xiao Yan know each other?"

"I know him." Lu Ziqing said, "After returning to the capital from the Northern Expedition, it was Lord Xiao who recommended me to the Imperial Hospital."

"Oh? Are you the one he recommended?"

Xiao Yan is a naturally cold-tempered person who doesn't like to meddle in other people's affairs, and everyone who knows him knows it.

Chen Jing thought to himself, "No one in my own army would recommend anyone, yet now they're meddling in the Imperial Hospital from afar? How surprising."

He laughed and said, "Xiao Yan never recommends others. You are the first one."

Lu Ziqing was slightly stunned and said, "It is thanks to the Marquis's esteem that I have the honor to be admitted to the Imperial Hospital."

As he was speaking, he accidentally saw a piece of white jade hanging around Chen Jing's waist, and his heart moved.

Ever since he entered the palace, he has been particularly sensitive to white ornaments.

Lu Ziqing set his eyes on the white jade, but it was just a piece of mutton-fat jade with carved dragon patterns, not the white jade he was looking for, and he felt sad.

"what happened?"

"Nothing." Lu Ziqing picked up the medicine box. "If Your Highness has nothing else to say, I will take my leave."

"Wait a minute." Chen Jing looked at him and said, "I am grateful to the imperial physician for treating my illness, and you have also helped the people of Meizhou. This is a great achievement and you deserve a reward. If you have any requests, please tell me."

Require?

An idea flashed through Lu Ziqing's mind, and he said, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. I am very interested in jade carving. Can I come into the Imperial Household Department to take a look?"

Not knowing what was wrong with what he said, Chen Jing was stunned and looked at him for a long time before speaking.

"That's it?"

Lu Ziqing nodded and said "hmm".

When it comes to rewards, we have always heard of gold, silver, official titles or beautiful women. This is the first time I have heard of it as long as I have visited the yamen.

Chen Jing smiled and said, "That's not difficult."

The scorching sun shines on the yellow tiles of the palace complex, dazzling the eyes with its golden color.

Lu Ziqing followed Eunuch Yang to the Imperial Household Department. Seeing the guards and palace maids patrolling on the road, he couldn't help but feel excited.

The prince made the right move, but he didn't expect it to be so easy.

His heart, which had been silent for many years, finally relaxed for a moment at this moment.