The Return of An Lingrong in Legend of Zhen Huan

An Lingrong knew that although she had Bao Yu, who was skilled in medicine, by her side, it would still be best to have a familiar imperial physician in the harem.

Just like Shen Meizhuang and Zhen Huan have Wen Shichu, the Queen has Doctor Zhang, and Concubine Hua has Jiang Cheng and Jiang Shen. Although these two doctors of Concubine Hua are quite loyal except for not telling her the truth about her infertility.

An Lingrong calculated in her mind that she could not afford to bribe those in high positions, and she had no idea about the background of those in middle positions. The only ones who could be bribed were those who had just entered the Imperial Medical Bureau. However, since he was able to enter the Imperial Medical Bureau, it meant that his medical skills were top-notch among the doctors outside the palace, otherwise he would not have been able to get in.

This naturally made An Lingrong think of the imperial physician whom Zhen Huan trusted most in her later years—Wei Lin, the apprentice of Wen Shichu.

As soon as An Lingrong entered the palace, she asked Baoyu to inquire, and the answer she got was that Wei Lin had not yet entered the Imperial Hospital. After finally finding out that Wei Lin had come to the Imperial Hospital, An Lingrong decided to leave him alone for two days. It would be best to let him know the dangers of the Imperial Hospital first so that she could use him better.

Sure enough, half a month later, when Baoyu brought back the news that Wei Lin began to please Wen Shichu from time to time, An Lingrong knew that the matter was settled. So she asked Baoyu to go to the Imperial Hospital to call Wei Lin, saying that he felt unwell and wanted to ask an imperial physician to check his pulse.

When Wei Lin arrived, he hadn't even reacted yet. A young lady came to check his pulse! A young lady actually asked him to check his pulse!

During the time Wei Lin had been at the Imperial Hospital, he had come to some realization. If he wanted to climb up, there were only three ways: first, to rely on his own ability and medical skills; second, to hook up with a rich woman, no, a concubine. As long as the concubine was pregnant with an heir to the throne, and the child was born safely under his care, promotion and wealth would be just around the corner; third, to have connections, either his father or grandfather had relatives in the Imperial Hospital, or had relatives who were concubines; and finally, to have a good master.

The first one was too time-consuming, the second one was unrealistic, after all, the master would only look for someone who had just joined the Imperial Hospital. As for the third one, he had no relatives in the Imperial Hospital or the harem, so he could only find a master. Originally, he had his eyes on Wen Shichu, who was no ordinary man. Not only did his family have been in the Imperial Hospital for generations, but he also had a young mistress by his side.

I was planning to please Wen Shichu, but today a little palace maid suddenly came and said that An Changzai asked him to take her pulse. This is not a pulse, this is a chance to rise to prominence. Hiss, I hope he won't hurt anyone.

Wei Lin thought about it all the way but couldn't figure it out. After arriving at the Yanxi Palace, An Lingrong sat on a stool and said, "Imperial Doctor Wei is here. Sorry to bother you. I haven't been feeling well these days. Please help me take my pulse."

Wei Lin placed a silk handkerchief on An Lingrong's wrist, and after a while he said, "My lady, you are in good health, but you should not overwork yourself recently. Regular exercise is good, but too much exercise can be counterproductive. I will prescribe a prescription for you. You will be fine after drinking it for two days, but remember to go out for an hour every day."

Yes, she was busy with socializing during this period. She often got up early, greeted everyone, and didn't come back until the cards were turned over. At most, she would come back for dinner. If the other party invited her to have dinner, she could even stay out the whole day.

"Thank you, Imperial Physician Wei." An Lingrong then gave a wink, and Bao Yu on the side wisely put a bag of silver into Wei Lin's hand.

"I don't have many people I trust in this palace. Doctor Wei?"

"Thank you very much, Miss An, for your appreciation. If you don't mind, I will do my best to take care of you." Wei Lin kowtowed to show his loyalty.

He is still young, An Lingrong thought. The reason why Wei Lin agreed so quickly was purely because he needed to rely on others in order to get ahead in the Imperial Hospital. But seeing Wei Lin's attitude towards Zhen Huan in the later period, she felt relieved. After all, she, An Lingrong, would definitely not be inferior to Zhen Huan in this life.

After Wei Lin wrote the prescription, An Lingrong gave him some reward money and asked Bao He to send Doctor Wei off, and then he could go directly to boil the medicine.

After the two left, An Lingrong came into the room and took out several beauty ointments that she had made some time ago. These things were all found by An Lingrong from ancient books. With the addition of what she knew in her previous life and what she found in this life, An Lingrong more or less mixed seven or eight of them.

Looking at these bottles and jars, An Lingrong couldn't help but sigh. If it weren't for the reward the Queen Mother had given her before, and the two hundred taels of silver the Xia family had given her every month since they had saved Xia Dongchun, she would have been heavily in debt just from making these things.

For example, this facial cream uses 30 grams each of Duheng, Duruo, Fangfeng, Ligusticum chuanxiong, Asarum, Baifuzi, Magnolia bark, Angelica, Atractylodes, Duhuo, Poria, Polygonatum, Angelica dahurica, Tianxiong, and Yuxie (about 90 grams in the Qing Dynasty, about 60 grams of liang, about 15 qian), 2000 grams each of Hanfangji, Shanglu, Gardenia, Tangerine seed, Winter melon seed, and Miwu (about qian), grams each of Patchouli, Clove, Cuscuta, Lingling, Nardostachys grandiflora, and Aucklandia, grams (about qian), and grams each of white goose fat, sheep marrow, white dog fat, and ox marrow ( liang). It has the effect of beautifying the face.

As for this whitening recipe, it uses 2 pig pancreases, 1 pig trotter, 4000g bean flour (15 liang), 30g winter melon kernel (about 60 qian), 90g each of asarum, atractylodes, and root of wild melon, 5g each of siler, white mulberry, and angelica root (about liang and qian), g of smilax china (about liang and qian), and soapberries (five long strips). It has the effect of dispelling wind and heat, and whitening the skin.

There is also this Wenjing Decoction, which is made with 12 herbs including Evodia rutaecarpa, Ophiopogon japonicus, Angelica sinensis, Paeonia lactiflora, Chuanxiong, Ginseng, Cinnamon twig, Ejiao, Peony bark, Ginger, Licorice, and Pinellia ternata. This is the first prescription for regulating menstruation in ancient times. It can not only regulate menstruation, but also make the skin delicate and moisturized, and glow from the inside out.

Each of these medicines is not cheap, especially the ginseng and donkey-hide gelatin in the Wenjing Decoction. Just for these things, An Lingrong must keep Xia Dongchun and her wallet.