Chapter 80: The Success (First Update)

 Chapter 80: The Success (First Update)

"Hold down his limbs," ordered Chu Qianchen as she placed a piece of gauze between Gu Yuanjia’s upper and lower teeth to prevent him from biting his tongue.

Imperial Physician Lian and the wet nurse worked together to hold down Gu Yuanjia’s limbs.

As soon as Old Physician Liu brought over the fire and the three-edged needle, Chu Qianchen immediately began treating Gu Yuanjia.

She first heated the golden needle with fire, then swiftly and steadily applied it to eight key acupoints: Renzhong, Hegu, Neiguan, Taichong, Yongquan, Baihui, Yintang, and others.

Old Physician Liu stood by to assist her.

Next, Chu Qianchen used the three-edged needle to target the Quichi, Dazhui, and Shixuan acupoints to draw blood, especially the blood from the Shixuan acupoints at the fingertips, which appeared pitch black.

Imperial Physician Lian watched closely as Chu Qianchen administered the needles.

His medical skills were superior to those of Old Physician Liu, and his discerning eye could tell that Chu Qianchen was using Lin-style techniques.

Could this little physician be a disciple of the Lin family?

Soon, Imperial Physician Lian noticed that Gu Yuanjia’s condition was improving. His limbs stopped twitching, and the pulse showed signs of stabilizing.

He signaled for the wet nurse to release Gu Yuanjia’s feet, and then personally checked his pulse. Although it was still irregular, the pulse showed signs of recovery.

He then removed the gauze from Gu Yuanjia’s mouth.

Chu Qianchen didn’t stop. After drawing the blood, she continued to massage the acupoints, pushing the Three Passes, clearing the Six Bowels, and performing the Tianhe water cleansing, also pinching the earlobes and pressing on the Quichi and Jianjing points.

Her actions were methodical, exuding confidence and composure.

The entire medical hall was silent. Everyone watched her with varied expressions: some filled with confidence, some waiting anxiously, others uncertain, and some deeply worried.

Old Physician Liu was drenched in sweat, his heart heavy with anxiety. He wondered if this young physician could really cure a condition that even Imperial Physician Lian couldn’t resolve.

After an undetermined period, Gu Yuanjia’s limbs moved slightly, and his eyelids fluttered.

The wet nurse, thinking Gu Yuanjia was about to convulse again, quickly tried to hold his feet down. But before she could touch his socks, the three-year-old on the bed let out a soft moan and opened his eyes, his gaze dazed and confused.

The wet nurse blinked in disbelief and stammered, "His... His Highness has woken up."

The crown prince's son had been unconscious for a day and night. He had been fed the Zixue Dan diluted in water, but now, he had woken up!

Old Physician Liu’s heart lifted, and he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

“Jia’er.” Gu Nanjin quickly stepped forward, his eyes filled with surprise as he looked at his son on the bed. His confidence in the little physician grew.

“Father...” Gu Yuanjia weakly looked at his father and tried to sit up, but Chu Qianchen pressed him back down.

“Don’t move,” she instructed, then proceeded to remove the golden needles from Gu Yuanjia.

Only after that did she allow the wet nurse to help Gu Yuanjia sit up. She took two Zixue Dan from a small porcelain bottle and handed them to him. “Take the medicine.”

Gu Yuanjia, still in a daze, looked at Chu Qianchen, confused. He obediently swallowed the pills with warm water and then lay back down under the wet nurse’s assistance.

Gu Nanjin asked anxiously, "Physician, how is my son?"

Imperial Physician Lian could have answered this himself. The crown prince’s previous symptoms—fever, convulsions, and irregular pulse—had already been alleviated, and now that he had woken up and taken the Zixue Dan, his condition would improve further. The heat would dissipate soon.

He estimated that, with the usual Zixue Dan Powder, the crown prince’s fever would subside within an hour.

"A stick of incense," Chu Qianchen replied calmly. "Within a stick of incense, the fever will subside."

Her words were light, but they carried a sense of self-assured confidence in her medical skills.

After seeing her work, no one in the room, including Nie Gonggong, doubted her words.

Nie Gonggong quickly left the medical hall to report to the Emperor in the first carriage.

The curtain of the carriage was lifted slightly, and the Emperor’s shocked voice came through. “He woke up?”

The Emperor’s face appeared, his eyes wide in surprise.

Nie Gonggong quickly glanced at the Emperor before lowering his head and truthfully reported, “The physician said the crown prince’s fever will subside within a stick of incense.”

If he hadn’t witnessed it himself, Nie Gonggong wouldn’t have believed that a young girl, not even of marriageable age, could cure a condition that had baffled the Imperial Medical Department.

The Emperor responded with silence.

Nie Gonggong was about to return to the medical hall to gather more news when the carriage door opened. The Emperor, wearing a royal blue brocade robe, stepped down from the carriage. His face was stern, and no emotion could be read from it.

The Emperor strode toward the medical hall, and a young girl’s voice rang out from inside: “The medicinal pills have toxic side effects. How could such a young child be given pills so casually?”

“Especially since he is already sick, with a fiery and overwhelming heat inside him. Taking the pills will only worsen the heat toxicity, leading to the pill’s poison attacking his heart.”

“Had it been any later, his life would have been lost!”

“It’s not the Zixui Dan that’s problematic, but all medicinal pills.”

The girl’s voice was cold, like the bright moonlight—calm and detached.

Though the girl wasn’t speaking directly to him, the Emperor felt as though the words were aimed squarely at him, as though each phrase slapped him across the face.

He had personally given the crown prince the medicine, and now this so-called miracle physician was openly implying that he had harmed his own grandson?

A surge of heat rushed to the Emperor’s face, and he felt embarrassed and angry. His expression darkened immediately, and a gloomy aura radiated from him.

“Presumptuous!” The Emperor flicked his robe and, crossing the high threshold of the medical hall, immediately scolded in a cold, imposing voice, with the might of a monarch. His presence was commanding and regal.

Imperial Physician Lian, who was attending to Gu Yuanjia, lowered his head quietly and dared not look at the Emperor. He checked Gu Yuanjia’s pulse again. After taking the Zixue Dan, Gu Yuanjia’s pulse had become more stable, and his fever was slowly subsiding.

This was enough evidence that Gu Yuanjia’s prior critical condition had not been caused by the Zixue Dan.

Imperial Physician Lian, along with the other physicians present, could conclude that the problem was with the pills, not the Zixue Dan itself.

Chu Qianchen, hearing the commotion, slowly turned her gaze toward the Emperor. Her phoenix eyes were as dark as ink, with a faint, mysterious glimmer deep within them.

She expressed no joy, sorrow, pain, or pleasure.

Like an act in a play, Chu Qianchen had already suspected the Emperor’s presence in the carriage outside, due to Nie Gonggong’s arrival. However, since the Emperor had not revealed himself, she chose to remain unaware.

She only glanced at the Emperor once before retracting her gaze and continued speaking to Gu Nanjin: “Your son has been saved.”

The seven words, spoken in the same detached and cool tone as before, carried a sense of confident pride when directed toward the esteemed Crown Prince.

At thirteen, the girl seemed like a jasmine flower by the lakeside, pure and fragrant in the moonlight, soft as snow.

A breeze fluttered a corner of her veil.

The plain medical hall had suddenly brightened with her presence.

“Will Your Highness keep your promise?” Chu Qianchen asked, her gaze fixed on Gu Nanjin’s eyes, her voice serene but carrying an underlying strength.

Gu Nanjin’s lips tightened, his posture stiffening, his emotions too complex to express in words.

Gu Yuanjia was his eldest son and only child. He would have given anything to save him. But with the Emperor present, this decision was clearly not his to make... Even though it was the Emperor who had allowed Nie Gonggong to agree to the physician’s terms.

It is said that a monarch’s word is absolute, but if the Emperor truly intended to go back on his word, could Gu Nanjin challenge him in front of everyone?

Gu Nanjin’s gaze flickered toward the Emperor’s expression.

In Great Qi, there was likely only one person who could make the Crown Prince feel this hesitant.

Old Physician Liu and Physician Liu, though they did not recognize the Emperor in disguise, could see the truth of the situation, and their legs felt weak.

If it weren’t for their trembling lips, Old Physician Liu would have wanted to say that they didn’t need this state-run medical hall.

The Emperor’s face was as cold as water, and his eyes shot a sharp, murderous glare at the young girl standing just a few steps away.

He had deliberately accompanied the Crown Prince and the Crown Prince’s son outside the palace today, intending to shut down the “Jishi Hall,” take down this so-called “miracle physician,” and slap Gu Jue in the face.

However...

The Emperor’s eyes shifted to Gu Yuanjia on the bed. Though the young prince was still weak, anyone could tell that his complexion was much better than when he had appeared pale and near death.

Gu Yuanjia was the Emperor’s beloved eldest grandson. Naturally, the Emperor was pleased that he had survived, but that did not mean he could ignore the insolence of Chu Qianchen’s words.

This quack physician had the nerve to say that the medicinal pills had harmed the prince? That was utter nonsense!

These pills were taken by Gu Yuanjia every day, and after using them, his complexion had improved significantly, his vitality had been restored, and his energy was now as if he were in his twenties. The Emperor knew this better than anyone—there was no mistaking it!

It was clear that this so-called miracle physician, desiring fame and profit, had simply rebranded the common Zixue Dan San into a pill, calling it the Zixue Dan, just to make money.

This Zixue Dan did not have the miraculous effects she claimed. Gu Yuanjia had likely fallen ill because of the pill, but luckily, it was the pill that had pulled him back from the brink of death.

Yet now, the others seemed to think that this quack physician had cured Gu Yuanjia.

The Emperor pressed his lips into a straight line, his fingers absentmindedly turning the jade ring on his thumb, struggling to contain his anger.

People like this—those who seek to attract attention and gain fame—should be punished as a warning to others!

Sensing the Emperor’s hostility, Xue Fengyan stepped forward, positioning himself in front of Chu Qianchen.

The Emperor recognized Xue Fengyan; he was a captain in the Northern Army and one of Gu Jue’s trusted subordinates. Had Gu Jue sent him with this so-called miracle physician to show him up?

With this thought, the Emperor’s anger grew. His eyes turned savage, and his gaze slashed across Xue Fengyan’s face like a blade.

Cold sweat beaded at the back of Gu Nanjin’s neck.

He didn’t want the Emperor to take action against his son’s savior, nor did he want Gu Jue to clash with the Emperor. He attempted to smooth things over, saying, “Father, Gu Yuanjia’s fever has subsided.”

He hoped to remind the Emperor that the little miracle physician had saved Gu Yuanjia.

Chu Qianchen stood still, her posture straight and unyielding.

She was certain that the Emperor, who was known for his indecision and love of reputation, would not dare harm her.

Inside the hall, there was an air of silence, the tension palpable, as if sparks could ignite at any moment.

Frankly speaking, Xue Fengyan was starting to admire Chu Qianchen. He had the backing of the prince, but she, a young girl and the unappreciated daughter of the Yongding Marquis’s household, was facing the mighty Emperor without flinching. Her composure, even in the face of such a powerful figure, was truly remarkable.

Suddenly, the crowd outside the medical hall parted, and a series of hushed whispers followed.

The Emperor instinctively looked toward the entrance.

A tall, slender monk in white stepped gracefully through the crowd. His wide sleeves and robes flowed like water, giving him an ethereal presence.

The young monk’s features were delicate and refined, his expression clear and graceful, resembling the pure snow of a mountain stream, a pristine lotus in a quiet world, with the floating clouds and the bright moon reflecting his serene aura.

His noble and otherworldly demeanor stood in stark contrast to the mundane townsfolk around him, making everything around him seem dull in comparison.

Behind him were two men with distinct auras: one tall and burly with a bushy beard, and the other a slender young man in green.

The onlookers stared at the white-clad monk, some with wide eyes, some admiring his elegance, others speculating about the origins of this mysterious monk.

To most of the crowd, he was just an exceptional-looking monk.

However, to Lu Siji, the commander of the Imperial Guard, this monk’s appearance caused him to stiffen in shock.

(End of this chapter)