poison doctor

Lu Qian held the medicine box in one hand, clenched his fist in the other hand, and walked away from Dongli Palace with heavy steps.

He and Du Heng entered the imperial hospital in 18 years of Qingyuan. He was born in a Xuanhu family. He studied medicine diligently since he was a child.

And because of his age and temperament, he was the easiest to get close to, and he became the only friend Du Heng could talk to in the imperial hospital, although this "friend" was just Du Heng's own opinion.

But because of this "friend", these days are like walking on a single-plank bridge covered with thorns for him.

Du Heng entrusted Lu Qian with the important task of treating the sixth prince, but begged not to tell about his injury.Lu Qian has been diligent and diligent for many years, but his rank is still low. He always only diagnoses pulses and prescribes prescriptions for talented people and other harem ladies. The prince is simply an unattainable existence.

This is really a great opportunity and temptation. If you can be trusted by the sixth prince who is favored by the Holy One, you will be able to reach the sky in one step.The colleagues in the entire Tai Hospital were jealous, and it was the first time that Lu Qian felt the benefits of being friendly with Du Heng.But he never expected that the moment he arrived at Dongli Palace to declare his name, he would be slapped down by Ma Wei——

The legendary sixth prince with both talent and beauty was lying on the bed, with the veil hanging down so that he could not see each other. The eunuch Xiao An handed a string to him.

"Your Highness Sixth, what is this?" Lu Qian asked tremblingly.

"Doctor Lu, I don't like seeing strangers. This rope is tied to my wrist. Please use it to diagnose the pulse."

The hoarse voice came through the veil, making Lu Qian's whole body chill.

joke!Such a long distance, and only through such a thin cotton rope, how to feel the pulse?Even the concubines in the harem had to stick out their hands when they were taking their pulse. These six princes clearly intended to make things difficult!The so-called seeing, hearing, and asking, you can't see you face to face, and you can't get your pulse number. How should you treat the disease?

"Your Highness Sixth, this humble minister...is not used to this method of pulse diagnosis, please stretch out your hand if you dare..."

Chonglin's voice was full of contempt. "If you call me Your Highness, you know my identity. Imperial Physician Du can diagnose the pulse like this, but Imperial Physician Lu doesn't understand? This makes you do whatever you want, but it's okay for mediocre people like you not to do it."

What a shame!Then Du Heng can really listen to the pulse like this?Genius is really difficult for mortals...

Lu Qian put his hands on the string with trembling hands, held his breath, and for a long time could only feel the beating rhythm of his heart.

It was like this for many days, the sixth prince didn't show his face and didn't stretch out his hand, Lu Qian could only cry to a thin rope without tears.How dare he tell the truth, this shame of incompetence is really unbearable, so he can only make nonsense in front of Du Heng based on the diagnosis he heard at the beginning, why the Sixth Highness still has a little cold and fever, a little stagnation of liver fire, cough and asthma symptoms Relieved...every sentence is like rolling on the tip of a knife.

Du Heng was very happy when he heard this, and he only said that if His Royal Highness got better, it would be due to him, and he was full of gratitude.

Lu Qian only hoped that the sixth prince would really recover as soon as possible, otherwise, he would be doomed forever.

Ever since he was injured by the third prince that day, Du Heng never showed up at Dongli Palace.It's not that I don't want to, but that I can't.

How embarrassing it would be if Chonglin saw his half-bruised face and hanging arms.The bone in his right arm was cracked, and it would take a month to heal. The wound on his face had turned from blue to purple, and it was really eye-catching against the fair skin.What's more, when he was beaten at that time, he was really angry and panicked because of Chonglin, so he lost his sense of proportion, how could he know this?

Although he was injured and couldn't go to Dongli Palace, Du Heng was worried. He went to Taiyuan Hospital every day, and went to the Pharmacy Supervision Department to watch Si Yao cook the decoction that Chonglin was going to take. It takes several times more time than usual to make honey cakes because I am not used to it.But even so, he is unwilling to pretend to others.

Instead, Du Heng found Lu Qian, an imperial physician who was familiar with him, similar in age and reliable in medical skills, to diagnose and treat Chonglin.In this way, he can learn about his condition as soon as possible and respond accordingly.

In the past few days, everyone in the Tai Hospital is happy.Du Heng, the prodigal son of Tiansha, finally received his retribution, and he came out to show off with Zhang Qingzi's face on his face, which made me laugh so hard.But where and by whom he was beaten is still a mystery, and it immediately became the hottest topic in the palace.

Various versions of rumors and gossip emerged one after another.Mostly it was the brothel where he was fighting with a court official to snatch the beauty, but with his handsome face, the beauty's heart fluttered, and the other party was offended, and he ordered the servant to beat him up, and he lost his wife and broke the army; Well, it was that he had an affair with a maid in a certain palace, and his old friend found out, and found someone to cover him with a sack and beat him violently... There are countless rumors like this.

Du Heng turned a deaf ear to it, but Xiaodi couldn't swallow it.It was obvious that the third prince was bullying others, so why should he be blamed for being injured.Not to mention that rumors are flying all over the sky now. How can people bear it?

The Left Court of the Supreme Hospital sentenced Du Tingxiu to treat his son as if he had not seen each other for many years, and everyone in the palace knew it.Three years ago, after Du Heng lived out in a brothel, the two severed their relationship, and Mr. Du even denounced their parents and children as filth.At this time, don't talk about refuting him in front of others, just avoid him at all.

Xiaodi protected the Lord, tried to tell the truth several times, but Du Heng gave a gag order, and even asked him to warn Xiaoan not to mention this matter to anyone, especially his master Chonglin, Xiaodi could only sigh in his stomach , I can't tell others about my grievances.

On this day, the decoction that Chonglin was going to take at noon was ready, Du Heng took a sip from the medicine bowl, nodded and said, "It's not thick or light, it's just right, take it."

Xiaodi took the medicine bowl and put it in the drawer, picked it up, and muttered softly. "I think you can go back to Linlang Pavilion honestly and take care of it. If you continue like this, you will even have a son."

"What son?" Du Heng was confused.

Putting down the medicine drawer, Xiaodi leaned down and put his ears on his ears, imitating the chattering crows in the palace, and said vividly in a high-pitched voice: "It turns out that Grand Doctor Du and the palace maid Chuntao Chunhua or Chunlan gave birth to a baby in private. Child! In the end, a certain concubine who was acquainted with me found out, and asked someone to beat him into such a virtue!"

"Ahaha, I didn't expect you to be quite talented in acting. Haha..." Du Heng was amused by him.

But Xiao Di frowned and said seriously: "I'm serious, there are all sorts of nasty words now, but they didn't fall into your ears."

Rubbing his head, Du Heng smiled calmly. "Worry too much and you won't grow taller, Master Di. Let whoever talks, let him talk, and I won't lose a piece of meat."

"Really...what kind of temper are you?" Xiaodi slapped his hand away, complaining half-truthfully.Just as he was about to go to Dongli Palace to deliver medicine, he saw Eunuch Liu rushing over.

"Dr. Du, His Majesty, the Crown Prince, please. The sedan chair is waiting outside." In the cold weather, he turned around two places to find someone. Eunuch Liu was already very old, and he was panting badly after running around.

Are you here again?Xiao Di frowned, is His Royal Highness annoying?These days, they come to look for people every few days.The master seemed to be avoiding him on purpose, and he replied that he was unwell, but the other party is the prince after all, so it's not good not to be afraid.

Du Heng looked troubled. "Eunuch Liu, I don't want to lose my job as a medical officer, how can I neglect my duties."

"You are considerate of the difficulty of being a slave. I have come to invite you four times. At least I will give you a small meal... Besides, His Highness seems to want to discuss something with you. These days, you are making trouble..." Eunuch Liu always loves to say , suddenly realized that he had talked too much, so he kept his mouth shut and waited for a reply.

Du Heng sighed.The incident of Wangxiantai caused a lot of uproar in the city, he must have heard about it, and if he wanted to talk about methods and strategies, it was not for nothing.But everyone has their own stance. Although he seems to be in a turmoil, he is just a person who seeks perfection in the cracks of power and is cautious in every step for fear of making mistakes. How can he help him in political affairs?

The matter of Wangxiantai is absurd, and the rebellion of the southern counties is also the cause planted by the court itself. Let the proud crown prince taste the bitter fruit and learn a lesson. There are only benefits and no harm.

Thinking of this, Du Heng became playful, raised his eyebrows, put his hand on his forehead and pretended to say: "Eunuch Liu, please tell me that Du Heng was too tired because he took Hehuansan by mistake last night, so now he has a headache and brain fever, and his whole body is weak." One place is comfortable, it needs to be taken care of in the imperial hospital, so it is inconvenient to go there." After saying that, he hummed a few times.

Xiao Di couldn't hold back anymore, he laughed so hard that he was shaking into balls.

When Eunuch Liu heard this, he became very angry.What a carnival!This ancestor is a doctor himself, and he is also extremely smart, can he be misunderstood?And...and... Hehuansan is eaten when doing that thing, this Du Heng has no intention of making fun of him!

Eunuch Liu walked away, but this time he wanted to pass on the original words to the crown prince, to see if Du Heng would not lose face.Of course, when this word actually spread, whoever was ashamed, Eunuch Liu couldn't take care of it when he was furious.

On the other hand, Chonglin's illness these days not only didn't get better, but got worse.The body was already weak, and the cold and fever had not subsided to forcefully review the files and nuclear policy orders, and hadn't slept much for several nights.Dongli Palace was full of people coming and going all day long, and the desks were piled up with notebooks, files and reports.

The matter of Wangxiantai was very involved, because Chonglin was ill at an untimely time, so he was not able to sit in the household department to plan strategies, and he made mistakes in fundraising, money, food, and labor recruitment, which almost reached the point of irreparable.

Different from the absolute authority of the Crown Prince and the Third Prince in the six departments, although Chonglin governs the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Rites, it is only a supervisor, and the real power is in the hands of Chongjia.On weekdays, if he was sick and had something to do, the two ministers made the decision, and then reported to Chongjia, stamped and stamped for approval.Because Chongjia knew nothing about taxes and ceremonies, he asked Chonglin to assist him. After a long time, he was in charge of daily operations.

Most of the high-ranking officials in the household department are under the shadow of Min Dazai, and they form cliques.The two counties of Julu County and Bashu were severely drought-stricken, and Kuaiji County had frequent floods. It was a difficult time, but the amount of money raised was several times higher than that of Lin County; while the three counties of Guilin, Nanhai, and Xiang County had abundant grain and rich people, but only needed The amount of silver that is based on its population must have gone through the back door.

Not to mention the matter of recruiting workers, the two counties of Bashu and Sichuan are in the busy season when the fields are dry and people are needed. It is absurd to order an adult man from each family to do hard labor!Putting these aside, there must have been a big mistake in the order from the top to the bottom, which led to public resentment and riots in many counties.

The more Chonglin thought about it these days, the more annoyed he became, and he kept cursing in his stomach that the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs was really blind, who was chosen by all the executive officers in these places!

Yuli bounced around in the golden silk cage, waking up Chonglin who fell asleep at his desk.He rubbed his eyes that were so sore that he could hardly open them, but when he moved, he pulled the burn on the back of his left hand, and couldn't help crying out in pain.Looking at the hideous wound, I realized that it had been eight days since I fainted that day, and I was so busy that I didn't know the time.

During these eight days, he never came.

Although Xiaodi would send soup and honey cakes twice a day, Du Heng never came.Instead, came the imperial physician Lu Qian.Since Xiaodi is in the palace, he must be there too—is he enjoying the joy of the cloud and rain with the prince in Jielan Palace, or is he helping him to check the loss of the Ministry of Industry and plan the next arrangement?

He knew that the situation on the side of the prince must be as difficult as his own.Du Heng is so smart, if he helps, he can rest at ease.

Of course Chonglin knows how bad his health is these days, but he can only force himself to keep doing things, otherwise he will be driven crazy by random thoughts.

Knowing that he was not welcome in the past, Du Heng came to step on the threshold every day, even if the purpose was just to watch him take the poisonous decoction, and to tease him for fun... But this time he is so sick and busy with business, he He didn't even hear about it.

Originally made up his mind, when Du Heng came, no matter what he said, he would ignore him indifferently and humiliate him with indifference.Unexpectedly, he would not come again.

The person who said that he wanted to be his chief physician, but even this became a lie.The one who is stupid and can't see it is always only himself, knowing that the medicine is poisonous, as long as it is handed out by him, no matter how painful it is, he will drink it.Even with such conflicts and struggles, love and hate entanglement, in the end, I still want to see him.

It's just that when it's time to give up, Du Heng never hesitates.

This man is so cold, just like he gave up his fame and the relationship between them, he is just playing in the world.Once you get it and get tired of playing, you throw it away mercilessly.He designed a game of gambling with ease, calculated everything, and waited for the prey to fall into his snare as he wished, struggling until he died of despair.

Are those destined to be eliminated worthless by now?If he knew that he coughed and vomited blood twice last night, if he died here right now... would he be shaken and feel guilty?Will you take a look at his cold body?

——Du Heng, even this last bit of dignity, you are too stingy to give me.

Thinking of seeing Du Heng's mocking smile from a distance in front of the Zhaode Palace that day, Chong Lin clenched his left hand tightly, and felt a heart-rending pain from the wound on the back of his hand, and beads of sweat oozed from his forehead.Heart, but gradually calmed down.

The person he loved and missed was gone on that autumn night eight years ago, and he will never see him again.

Xiaodi carried the medicine box all the way to Dongli Palace carefully, when he saw two men dressed as heralds rushing towards him holding a large stack of folders and scrolls, almost knocking him over.

Xiao An frowned while sweeping snow in the yard, the two big dark circles under her eyes were truly amazing.

"What's going on, those people?"

"It hasn't been like this for the past few days." Xiao An said angrily, "I think if the master continues to endure like this, let alone a weak body, no matter how strong a person is, he will die."

Not only Chonglin, but Xiaoan who has been serving her personally is also so tired that she could fall asleep standing up.

Speaking of which, this Dongli Palace can be regarded as one of the strangest places in the imperial palace. It is obviously the place where the prince lives, and the place is also large. Of the three servants, Xiao An was the only person who served him personally. Even the eunuch in charge was concurrently in charge. He couldn't find anyone for three days. How could he be treated like the extremely noble and favored prince?

The eunuch who came to deliver the meals said that Dongli Palace had always been like this, and that the Sixth Prince personally asked for permission from the Holy One, saying that too many noisy people would affect his recuperation from illness.The eunuchs and maidservants who served her personally before were all selected and sent by Concubine Zhao. Four years ago, Chonglin found some excuses and kicked them all out. Within two days, she found Xiaoan, until now.

It's fine if I'm alone. Although the master usually smiles less, he is not picky and easy to serve.But after all, Xiaoan is not made of iron, this meeting is really unbearable, and his temper is getting big.

Xiao Di hurriedly pulled Xiao An aside, and said in a low voice, "Speak carefully, there are outsiders here." After a long while, he asked again: "When will those people leave, this soup should be drunk while it's hot."

"Hurry up." Xiao An yawned, and said flatly, "By the way, there is no need to send honey cakes here."

"Ah?" Xiao Di was dumbfounded by the simple sentence.

"It means that you don't need to give it away. It's strange to say that the master used to eat the honey cake as a meal even if his appetite was so poor that he couldn't swallow a grain of rice. But in the past few days, he seems to have changed his temper. I'll throw it away." Xiao An said lightly, but Xiao Di's expression changed drastically.

Throw, throw away?What the Lord did so hard is for... After he hurt his hand, he saw with his own eyes how hard it was for Du Heng to make the honey cake. He tossed and tossed for most of the night, but he persisted every day.Xiao Di persuaded him that it would be more labor-saving to cook two or three days at a time, but Du Heng said that fresh ones taste better.

Ever since he knew that the honey cake was added with medicine for the treatment and detoxification of the sixth prince, Xiaodi has repeatedly lamented his father's good intentions, and also understood why he has been making cakes for people to eat by himself for many years.I have to let my father know about this matter, how can he be sad?This Sixth Highness is too ignorant of good and bad, he deserves to die of illness!

Qi returns to Qi, medicine still has to be delivered.After the two heralds left, Xiaodi brought the soup to Chonglin with a cold face. "Your Highness Sixth, this is a decoction for reducing fever and dispelling wind, please use it."

Chonglin was adjusting the amount of the reported tax order, and said without raising his head, "Just let it go."

"Please take it while it's hot, the master is still waiting, I'll wait until you drink the medicine before I can reply." Xiao Dimao worked hard.If it weren't for his medicine twice a day, how could the master come to the palace with a blue face and arms hanging to be a talking point.

Hearing this, Chonglin put down his pen, a smile appeared on his face, he reached out to take the medicine bowl, got up and walked into the bedroom, closing the door.

Xiaodi wasn't surprised, Chonglin hid in the house when it was time to drink medicine these days.Xiao Di only said that he is a dignified prince with a thin skin, he doesn't want to be supervised by his servants, and always let him drink by himself.

After a while, the door creaked open, and Chonglin came out and handed back the empty bowl to Xiaodi, then sat back at the table and continued to process the files.

Taking the empty bowl from Chonglin, Xiaodi subconsciously looked up at the face that was close at hand, but was shocked in his heart.In just a few days, a good person has turned into this appearance—the usual jade-like face is ashen ashes, with sunken eye sockets, bloodless lips, and extremely thin cheeks.Coupled with a moon-white fox fur, the whole person is lifeless, as if he is going to float away.

Seeing Xiaodi leave with a strange expression while holding the medicine box, Xiaoan shook his head, he didn't say all the words.Not only did the master not eat the honey cake, he probably never took a sip of the medicine at all.

He also discovered by accident——

The day before yesterday it was rare for Chonglin to lie down on the bed to rest, there was a strong wind blowing outside, Xiao An walked around to the back of the palace bedroom, trying to check from the outside whether the windows were closed tightly, for fear that the master would catch the cold.It doesn't matter if you look at it, but you find that the falling snow under the window at the back of the house has been blackened and melted a lot, and it still exudes the bitter taste of the soup. No wonder the master didn't ask him to spit the medicine in a spittoon recently, so he didn't drink it at all.

Xiao An hesitated for a long time, and finally decided to keep silent.It's better not to drink in the first place than to let him drink it and throw up again.Self-confident that she understands Chonglin's temperament, and has thoughtful plans for her master, Xiao An usually never takes the initiative to speak about Du Heng's affairs, why bother to provoke him when she knows that her master doesn't like it?

That day when Du Heng was beaten by the third prince, Xiao An was only secretly happy for a while, and then forgot about it.Even if Xiaodi didn't come to warn him, he wouldn't tell Chonglin about it.It's just... Can the master's body really hold on?Thinking of the black blood-stained veil under the pillow this morning, Xiao An felt a chill.

Just as he was thinking about it, someone suddenly ran in.

"Your Highness Sixth, I beg you to see Your Highness Sixth!"

The person who came was Wailang He Zhiyuan from the Ministry of Fifth Grade Rituals. He ran in such a hurry that his robes were crooked, and he shouted in a hurry, "Save me, Your Highness, save me..."

"Master, let's go back." Xiao An supported the crumbling Chong Lin, his face was full of worry.

The sky was dark and the wind and snow were rising.In front of Jielan Palace, Chonglin was wearing two thick fox furs, his lips were still blue from the cold, his body was trembling, but he just shook his head.

"We've been standing for half an hour, the prince won't see us anymore."

"Go to Fanrentong again...cough cough..." Before he finished speaking, Chong Lin coughed non-stop due to the cold wind he inhaled.

"Your Highness Sixth!" Eunuch Liu, who went in to report, came quickly. "My master is discussing matters with the Minister of Industry and the Minister of Officials, and I have ordered my servant to tell you that the case of Lu Qishan, Lord Lu, was sentenced by the Ministry of Criminal Justice the day before yesterday, please forgive me for being powerless."

Chonglin heard that there was nothing under his feet, and the blood on his face became paler. "The supervisory censor brought back the messenger pigeon from Bashu. The pigeon sent the letter more than [-] miles away. If the sentence is passed within two days, there is still room for redemption. This is a big matter. Please tell the prince and listen to me. .”

"Oh." Eunuch Liu couldn't help feeling a little distressed when he saw Chonglin's appearance of collapsing in the wind. The crown prince had no opinion of him at all, and it would be a waste of effort to inform him. "Your Highness Sixth, I think you'd better go back, old slave. The master is indeed not free, and you are not in good health. Why bother... At least come in and have a cup of hot tea, don't insist on waiting outside."

"No, if the crown prince doesn't see me, I'll be here..." Chonglin suddenly bent over and coughed fiercely, folded his arms and fell to his knees, with scarlet overflowing from the corner of his mouth, dyed with pure white fox fur, it was so bright and chilling.

Xiao An and Eunuch Liu were in chaos.

"Prince doctor! Old, old slave, go call doctor Du!" Eunuch Liu tried to run away but was held back by Chonglin.

"No, don't be a doctor, don't tell... sue... Du Heng!"

With a hoarse, gasping voice, the desperately clenched hands refused to let go no matter what.It wasn't until Eunuch Liu pretended to agree that Chonglin let him go.

"Master, don't hold back. No matter how much you hate Doctor Du, you have to see a doctor. What's wrong with you, master?" Xiao An hugged Chong Lin and cried like the sky was falling. All the worries and fears she had been worrying for many days turned into teardrops. Roll down.

Chonglin panted with difficulty, shook his head, and closed his eyes in extreme exhaustion.

Don't tell Du Heng, absolutely don't tell him... I have been abandoned, he will not come when he knows it, and he will only leave him alone.He never wanted to feel that way again.

So, don't tell him until...