Chapter 595
Studying Medicine
Chaos reigned within the Imperial Medical Academy.
Chen Ji stood quietly outside the threshold, listening to the sounds of chairs falling over, exclamations, and footsteps mingling in the courtyard, as if Jing Chao had already stormed into the capital.
An angry voice could be faintly heard from the backyard: "Why did you provoke him!"
Chen Ji pretended not to hear.
After an unknown amount of time, the abbot did not appear. Only the judge of the abbot's official robes carefully walked out, glancing at Chen Ji as he went, and finally stopped inside the threshold.
Chen Ji wore a smile, as if in a gentle spring breeze.
Looking at Chen Ji's harmless expression, the Imperial Physician asked with suspicion, "May I ask what brings Viscount Wu Xiang to our Imperial Medical Academy? If you are here for medical treatment, you could simply send a servant to inform the Imperial Medical Academy and we would come to your door."
Chen Ji pointed to the gatekeeper: "I just told the gatekeeper that I came to borrow medical books."
The judge was even more puzzled: "What do you need medical books for?"
Chen Ji replied sincerely, "Naturally, I want to study medicine. When I was in Luoyang, I studied under Physician Yao and was an apprentice for two years."
The court judge asked with skepticism, "Imperial Physician Yao?"
The gatekeeper whispered behind him, "It seems there is such a thing. I heard about him being an apprentice at the teahouse. At that time, Physician Yao had just been transferred to Luoyang. It seems he really was Physician Yao's apprentice."
Chen Ji smiled and said, "Back then, I followed my master in setting a goal to help the world and save lives. Unfortunately, I've been entangled in worldly affairs this year, and I've forgotten almost everything I learned. So, I wanted to borrow medical books to pick up my medical skills again."
The court judge's gaze swept back and forth over Chen Ji, noticing two flaws in his statement: "You... save lives? Physician Yao... save lives?"
The gatekeeper muttered in a voice only he could hear, "Saving lives...why don't you just kill fewer people? The Imperial Hospital saves more people than you kill in a year."
At this moment, the judge stood inside the threshold, pondering for a long time, before finally stepping aside to make way: "Borrowing books is no big deal, Viscount Wu Xiang, please."
Chen Ji stepped over the high threshold, and the judge followed cautiously behind him, afraid that he would find some fault with him.
The Imperial Medical Academy has a square layout with blue brick floors.
Directly opposite the main gate is a three-bay main hall with upturned eaves and a gray tile roof. Under the eaves hangs a plaque with gold characters on a black background that reads "Shaoyan Hall".
The characters are in semi-cursive script, with distinct strokes and structure.
Several vermilion pillars stood under the main hall's corridor, with a wooden couplet hanging on them, also with gold characters on a black background. The first line read, "You can cure the disease, but you can't cure fate," and the second line read, "It's better to be confused than confused."
Chen Ji stopped in front of the couplet, his expression turning strange.
He looked at it a few more times, and felt that the handwriting was somewhat familiar: "Did my master write this?"
The court judge responded from behind him, "It was indeed written by Physician Yao."
Chen Ji asked curiously, "My master is only a seventh-rank imperial physician, so why did he write this couplet and plaque?"
The chief physician carefully explained, "Imperial Physician Yao holds a very high position in the Imperial Medical Academy. High-ranking officials and nobles would call him for any difficult or complicated illnesses that they couldn't cure. Even Emperor Xianzong and Emperor Xiaozong had him by their side before their deaths."
Chen Ji thought to himself, "As expected, my master has already seen off the two emperors of the Ning Dynasty..."
Now he is stuck at the peak of the Innate Realm, just one step away from the goal, and he can't find a way to enter the Seeking Dao Realm. Could it be that the Mountain Lord Sect really has to risk the life of an emperor to enter the Seeking Dao Realm?
He wasn't sure.
With Old Man Yao overseeing the Imperial Hospital and seeing off so many officials, nobles, and imperial relatives, what kind of official level must he have reached?
The whereabouts of the remains are uncertain.
But the chief physician continued, "In the twenty-sixth year of the Jia Ning era, the Imperial Medical Academy was renovated, and the abbot asked Physician Yao to inscribe some words. He wrote the plaque for the Shaoyan Hall and this couplet. Physician Yao said that if a physician wants to live a long life, he should look at this plaque and this couplet more often. If he can't understand them, he shouldn't go to the palace to treat nobles; he should first treat his own brain..."
Chen Ji's lips curled up slightly.
He continued walking inside, and the imperial physicians who had been peeking out from the backyard all hid inside their houses.
The backyard has two rows of side rooms on either side, each containing rows of medicine cabinets. The drawers are labeled with densely packed names of medicinal herbs: Angelica sinensis, Astragalus membranaceus, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Ligusticum chuanxiong, Rehmannia glutinosa, Atractylodes macrocephala...
Chen Ji's gaze swept over the medicine cabinets and the medicinal herbs drying under the eaves.
Finally, it landed on a half-open door, above which hung a plaque that read "Shut up and read," also in Old Yao's handwriting.
The court judge stood aside, trying to awaken Chen Ji's conscience with Physician Yao: "This is the library where the Imperial Medical Academy stores medical books. When Physician Yao inscribed the words, he said that books are more effective than Bodhisattvas. Reciting scriptures and praying to Bodhisattvas is ineffective if you are not sincere. Books are different. The books are right there. You can open them and read them. If you understand them, they can save lives... We usually respect Physician Yao very much, and Physician Yao also takes good care of us."
Old Yao treated the imperial physicians with great care.
Chen Ji ignored the judge's words. Before coming to the Imperial Hospital, he hadn't expected to see traces of Old Man Yao everywhere.
For a moment, even the judge seemed a bit more approachable.
……
……
Chen Ji pushed open the half-closed door and stepped inside. Sunlight streamed in through the window, falling into the gaps between the bookshelves and illuminating wisps of floating dust. He ran his fingers lightly along the spines of a row of books, pulled out a copy of "The Formulas of Herbal Soup," opened it, read a couple of pages, then closed it and put it back in its place.
He then pulled out a copy of "Compendium of Materia Medica," flipped through a few pages, and put it back.
The judge, standing at the door, couldn't help but ask, "What book is Viscount Wu Xiang looking for?"
Chen Ji didn't turn his head: "General Principles of Medicine. To my shame, when I was at the Taiping Medical Clinic in Luocheng, I didn't even have time to finish reading a single book on general principles of medicine."
The judge walked inside and pulled a thick blue book from the bookshelf: "Here it is."
Chen Ji smiled and took the book from his hand, then looked down and flipped through it: "Thank you for your trouble. I'll just read it here. You can go about your business... Oh, and have someone bring me a chair."
Seeing that he intended to stay, the court judge finally couldn't help but ask, "May I ask, Viscount Wu Xiang, even if you want to read medical books, you don't need to come to my Imperial Hospital, do you? There are plenty of medical books in Liulichang."
Chen Ji raised his head and said frankly, "I also went to Liulichang to look for books yesterday, but a medical book costs more than ten taels of silver, which is really too much for me."
The judge was stunned for a long time. He never expected that Chen Ji came to the Imperial Hospital to save money.
Before long, the imperial physicians not only brought over chairs, but also kindly brewed tea for Chen Ji and served him fruits, providing him with delicious food and drinks.
Chen Ji didn't refuse, thanked him, and sat down to open the book.
The library fell silent.
Inside the main hall, the chief judge and the vice-chief were hiding, peeking into the library through the crack in the door.
The library window was open, and through it, the two could see Chen Ji's bright red robe embroidered with a qilin pattern, which shimmered slightly with gold in the light, the qilin design on his chest rising and falling gently with his breath.
Chen Ji just sat there, head down, reading a book, oblivious to everyone around him.
The Imperial Physician lowered his voice and asked, "Have you found out what this person's purpose is in coming to our Imperial Medical Academy?"
The judge hesitated and said, "He said he couldn't afford to buy medical books, so he came to my Imperial Hospital to borrow them to save some money."
The Imperial Physician scoffed, "I don't believe his nonsense. Would someone who spends over 500,000 taels of silver at the Music Bureau come to my Imperial Medical Academy to save money? Did anyone say they were going to the Music Bureau before?"
The judge's expression changed: "Your Excellency, please don't talk nonsense. Our humble office is barely able to protect itself. How could we dare to flaunt our position at the brothel? Absolutely not."
The Imperial Physician pondered for a moment: "So, the eunuch faction has its eye on my Imperial Medical Academy? When you entered the palace to treat patients, did you overstep any bounds?"
The court judge's face fell again: "Who would dare to overstep the bounds? It's already a miracle that no imperial physicians were buried with the Empress this time."
The abbot observed silently for a moment: "Could it be that they really came to borrow medical books?"
The chief physician hesitated, "Impossible! He's a viscount, and a henchman of the eunuch faction. Why would he have the leisure to come to my Imperial Medical Academy to read books? What's the point of reading medical books? Does he plan to become an imperial physician? What future can an imperial physician have!"
The Imperial Physician stroked his beard: "You keep watch here. If he asks, just say I went to Changping to buy medicinal herbs... Try to get rid of him. Let him take the book home to read, or better yet, don't let him stay in my Imperial Hospital. I feel uneasy with him sitting here."
……
……
Chen Ji sat in the Imperial Hospital for an entire day, not moving until the gong sounded at Shenshi (3-5 PM). The general principles of medicine, which he had found dry and boring at the Taiping Medical Clinic, he could now actually understand.
He hasn't had a moment of peace in a long time.
Or perhaps, without the infighting between the Secret Service and the Military Intelligence Bureau, and without the backstabbing and scheming in the court, he was finally able to choose not to do anything.
Since crossing over into the Ning Dynasty, Chen Ji had never felt so relaxed.
But since he didn't leave, the imperial physicians didn't dare to leave their posts either, so they stayed there.
As darkness fell, the Imperial Physician could no longer wait. He finally mustered his courage and entered the library, bowing and saying, "Viscount Wu Xiang, you can actually take my books back to read. You just need to return them in perfect condition... We can come and retrieve them, or you can choose not to return them."
Chen Ji looked up at him, his eyes lighting up: "Your arrival is just in time, Your Excellency. The book says that ephedra can induce sweating, while the root can stop sweating. Why do the medicinal properties of the same plant, the stem and the root, have such opposite effects?"
The judge pondered, “Ephedra is hollow, and its qi is light and rising, so it is good at reaching the surface and inducing sweating; its root goes deep into the soil, and its nature is to astringe, so it can stop sweating. The nature of plants is to be compared with each other. The root is mainly sinking, while the stem and leaves are mostly rising. This is the common sense.”
Chen Ji nodded and then asked, "What about Pinellia ternata? It's poisonous when used raw, but not when processed with ginger. What is the poison in this?"
The judge replied, "The poison of Pinellia ternata lies in its viscous sap, which causes swelling in the throat and can lead to loss of voice. Ginger is warm and dispersing, which can detoxify it and also counteract its harshness. The folk saying 'Ginger counteracts Pinellia ternata, like the cooperation of a monarch and his minister' means this."
Chen Ji smiled and said, "Thank you for your explanation, Your Excellency. The Imperial Medical Academy is truly a good place to study medicine. Where else can I find someone to answer my questions? Moreover, these books are extremely precious. If they were lost or damaged, I wouldn't be able to afford to pay for them now. I'll just read them at the Imperial Medical Academy."
The judge thought to himself, "This is bad."
Before he could speak, Chen Ji waved his hand: "Your Excellency, go ahead and get busy. If you have any further questions, just let me know."
The judge's expression shifted several times before he reluctantly left the library. (End of Chapter)