When Bai Shan escorted Manbao back, he asked on the road, "What happened to the Emperor?"
"Alternating hot and cold, tonsils... his throat is inflad."
Bai Shan didn’t pause and directly asked, "Can an inflad throat make soone seriously ill?"
Manbao replied, "Don’t underestimate throat inflammation; severe cases can lead to otitis dia, pneumonia, continuous high fever, and the fever itself can be fatal."
Ordinary people often think that a sore throat is no big deal, but doctors know that many illnesses start with this minor symptom.
There are many adults and children who die from high fevers, especially children. Why do people say that raising a child until they reach the age of eight is when they beco stable?
It’s because young children often have fevers, and each fever could potentially be lethal.
So doctors never dare to underestimate any inflammation, especially throat inflammation.
Since it was just Bai Shan, Manbao explained the Emperor’s condition to him in detail and said, "In two more days, His Majesty’s illness should be completely cured."
Even if not completely cured, he can attend the court in two days.
But the Emperor attended the court a day earlier than Manbao expected, not because he was particularly diligent, but to reassure the people.
So after applying the dicinal patch for another day and feeling that his throat was no longer obviously uncomfortable, he went to court.
Of course, the Emperor, not daring to avoid necessary treatnt, still applied the dicinal patch, so all the court officials saw the patch on his neck and silently looked away.
After the court session, the Emperor dragged the Crown Prince to the study to help with paperwork, then swung his sleeves and returned to the sleeping quarters, saying sowhat unhappily to the Empress, "This dicinal patch is fine in every way, except it’s unsightly. I don’t know how many people were staring at my neck today."
The Empress smiled and said, "Your Majesty, please endure it for two more days. Didn’t Director Xiao say that it could be removed after two more days? Otherwise, taking too much dicine isn’t good either."
The Emperor said, "The dicinal decoction may be difficult to drink, but once it’s done, no one notices. This patch..."
The Empress directly broke his fantasy, "Why not wrap a scarf around your neck, Your Majesty?"
Forget it, since he is unwell, there can only be one ice basin in the hall. If he wraps his neck in a scarf, isn’t he asking to be overheated?
The Emperor said no more, and the Empress said, "The Empress Dowager is still worried. Now that Your Majesty feels much better, shall we go visit her?"
The Emperor thought for a mont and nodded, "The other day, Mingda and the others were also quite frightened, weren’t they? How about we invite them to have a al with the Empress Dowager?"
The Empress glanced at the Emperor and nodded slightly.
So during lunch, the Crown Prince not only saw Mingda, Changyu, and the Fifth Prince in the Empress Dowager’s hall, but also the Third Prince who was confined.
The Crown Prince glanced at the Third Prince and looked away, while his younger brothers and sisters stepped forward to salute him.
The Crown Prince returned their salute and went to see the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager was holding the Emperor’s hand, scolding him, "After this, you mustn’t hide illnesses from doctors again. Since the doctors prescribed dication, how can you not take it? Your grandson is already running around everywhere, yet you do childish things like this. How are they supposed to learn properly in the future?"
The Emperor lowered his head to listen, and when he saw the Crown Prince approaching, he said to him, "Dalang, co and talk to your grandmother."
The Crown Prince stepped forward, and the Empress Dowager asked him, "Where is your wife?"
The Crown Prince replied, "The sun is scorching outside, and she is suffering from the sumr heat. Since we can’t place too much ice in the hall, I didn’t have her co over."
The Empress Dowager nodded and sighed, "The weather is quite hot this year, even here in the Daming Palace. It would be even hotter if you were in the Eastern Palace."
She said, "Her belly is big now, so if she doesn’t need to co out, she shouldn’t. You should be more understanding of her recently, don’t upset her, and make sure she gives birth to a healthy and lively royal grandchild."
The Crown Prince agreed.
The Empress Dowager, seeing everyone obedient, began to slowly smile. She looked around at everyone, seeing that the Emperor no longer had the sickly appearance from a few days ago, and although his neck still had a dicinal patch, he wasn’t feverish, and his eyes weren’t red;
The always frail Empress and Mingda seed much healthier, not to ntion the Crown Prince, who looked full of energy and whose first child would be born in four months.
Even though it was not known if this child would be a boy or a girl, once the first child was born, more would surely follow.
The Empress Dowager’s heart slowly settled, and she couldn’t help but sigh, "Zhou Man may be young and impulsive, but her dical skills are indeed excellent."
The Emperor and the Crown Prince couldn’t help but nod together.
The Empress and Mingda glanced at them, feeling puzzled. In what way is Zhou Man impulsive?
Then the Empress Dowager expressed her dissatisfaction with Director Xiao and the other imperial doctors in the Imperial Hospital, "Zhou Man is younger than them, but she diligently studies dicine. I heard she reads dical books in the Chongwen Pavilion until it closes. I’ve never seen Director Xiao and the others work so hard."
This ti, even the Emperor needed Zhou Man to save him, leaving the Empress Dowager with complex feelings.
The Emperor had heard Zhou Man and Director Xiao discuss prescriptions together, so he knew the inside story. He laughed, "Mother, Zhou Man is still young. The dicinal patch recipe she presented this ti is good, but the decoctions were prescribed by Director Xiao and the others. She still has a lot to learn. Director Xiao and the others have read many dical books and have a lot to do, so they don’t need to be in the library all the ti."
But the Empress Dowager was very stubborn, and the older people get, the more stubborn they beco. She insisted, "Then why couldn’t Director Xiao and the others think of using a dicinal patch this ti? And Zhou Man was the one who perford the acupuncture."
The Empress Dowager hadn’t seen Director Xiao prescribe any dication, and previously, the Emperor had taken decoctions, which apparently weren’t very effective, so she stubbornly believed that it was Zhou Man who cured the Emperor’s illness.
At this ti, the Empress Dowager’s feelings towards Zhou Man were complicated, so complicated that she was unwilling to engage with the Emperor who didn’t take care of his health, and thus skipped over him to talk to the Crown Prince.
The Emperor: ...
Mingda sat obediently to the side and, taking the opportunity, quietly complained, "Grandmother, Zhou Man even cried yesterday."
The Empress Dowager was only interested in Zhou Man’s dical skills, not her as a person, so she didn’t respond.
Changyu, not knowing about this, curiously asked, "Why did she cry?"
Mingda then recounted her dispute with Imperial Doctor Lu and said, "I heard the dical books and prescriptions she brought out are excellent, and the patches Father used are just one of them."
The Empress Dowager beca thoughtful, asking, "Are Zhou Man’s two apprentices from the Zheng Family of Jishi Hall?"
Mingda nodded and softly replied, "I heard her say, one used to be her dicine boy at Jishi Hall, and the other is the son of Jishi Hall’s shopkeeper."
The Empress Dowager said, "The Jishi Hall is quite business-savvy."
This remark left everyone unable to tell whether she was praising or mocking, so no one said a word.
After so contemplation, the Empress Dowager said, "Imperial Doctor Zheng is quite good at diagnosing illnesses, and the Imperial Hospital is the Emperor’s hospital, not dictated by anyone alone. Does it even matter what the surna of the people brought in is?"
User Comments
0 comments from readers