Chapter 773: Bloodline (7)

Since the Imperial Physician was going to visit, it would be better if you stayed lying on the bed all morning.

That was the quiet hint Head Court Lady Jo slipped her.

Of course, Head Court Lady Jo’s hint was basically the Empress’s hint.

Qing was, understandably, a little worried.

Hmm. If he’s an actual physician, will a fake illness even work?

After all, if he was a physician of the Forbidden City, he was probably a pretty famous master doctor.

That Brush-and-Whatever Eunuch from before wasn’t a professional medical man anyway, just a martial artist, and she’d managed to fool him by cramming her dantian full of yin-cold qi.

But would that really pass with a proper physician—someone who took pulses in the Forbidden City for a living?

With that faint anxiety still simmering, the Imperial Physician entered the main bedchamber of Hambok Palace.

Qing had thought the long gauze hanging down from the canopy was just a mosquito net (it was a mosquito net), but apparently it was also to keep a noble lady from casually laying eyes on some random outside man.

Even for the pulse-taking, she merely stuck her arm out through the gauze, while the physician stayed on the other side where he couldn’t see her.

“Mmm.”

“How is it?”

“Very healthy... however...”

Sure enough, that was the Imperial Physician’s verdict.

Her heart was pounding along nicely, her breathing was strong with no little tremors, and aside from her unusually cold hands there was nothing particularly wrong with her.

He was an uncannily skilled physician.

“Hands are, from the start, connected to all the body’s meridians and reach even the five viscera and six bowels, so aren’t they the best indicators of one’s health? My dantian is packed full of cold qi right now and I can barely keep it suppressed, so of course my hands are cold.”

Qing quietly tried pushing that line.

The medical texts said that since the hands were connected to the entire body, if you massaged and stimulated them the whole body would become healthy.

Qing had read that in a medical text and memorized it, but it had never made the slightest sense to her.

Whenever they wanted to hype clapping or hand massage, they’d insist that the hands were the grand gathering of the full-body meridians and a cure-all for every disease, then when they wanted to hype walking or foot massage, suddenly the feet were the grand gathering of the full-body meridians and a cure-all for every disease.

Besides, obviously the hands had to be connected to the whole body’s meridians.

If they weren’t connected, that was just a severed hand.

Aside from fingernails and hair, every body part was connected so that blood could reach it.

But now wasn’t the time to clear up her questions about medicine.

She was trying to insist that her hands being this cold was not normal, that her dantian was freezing over and she was dying because of the Minor Water Witch’s Minor Water Cold Poison, and that was why they were so cold.

“Mmm. May I perhaps feel your meridians as well?”

“Oh—yes.”

Oh, so he knows how to handle meridians too.

Qing drew the extreme yin qi of Ice-Jade Divine Art and used it to plug up the region around her dantian.

At the same time, she gently loosened the yang qi of Sun-Nourishing Careful-Heart Classic so that, with her dantian at the center, it would look like extreme cold was raging there while the minor meridians were full of yang qi—as if that were the state of things.

The medical lessons and practica she’d taken under Langjung Elder hadn’t included any modules on treating martial artists, so she couldn’t be sure how convincing it would be. But it was, at least, the best she could cobble together.

And the result—

“Oh. Your meridian flow is tremendously robust. In my sixty years of practice, I’ve never once felt meridians this healthy. Mmm, though it does seem there’s a large liver fluke near the gallbladder, so later you should blow some tobacco smoke up there.”

Liver flukes were parasites, and that prescription of blowing tobacco smoke in through the anus was one of the ancient Central Plains’ primitive, barbaric parasite treatments.

For the record, Bottle-Newt, who had bored through the cyst, eaten everything, and even handled the cleanup, didn’t show the slightest change.

Qing could only make out its rough shape by feeling it with internal energy.

Bottle-Newt was a parasitic salamander with two striped lines running along its torso, so even if it became three stripes, there was no way for her to know what color they were.

Anyway, Qing was half impressed, half rattled.

Wow, he took my pulse and still managed to catch Bottle-Newt.

Maybe this old man had won the top Imperial Physician’s spot in the Forbidden City by betting his internal energy; he was a master doctor the likes of which you truly didn’t see twice in a lifetime.

So you really can’t fool a professional, huh.

“Oh, that? The Sun-Reviving Pill? Its medicinal power circulated and that’s why it turned out this way—yes, that must be it. My dantian area is completely wrecked, and I’d love for you to take a close look and prescribe something for it, but even I can barely manage to hold it down.”

“Admittedly the cold qi is so dense that it makes it hard to read the dantian and the life-meridian pulses, but... mmm, it doesn’t seem to be any particularly harmful energy...”

Then what?

What do you mean, ‘what’? You just keep insisting.

“I know my own body better than anyone. You may not know just how frightening the Minor Water Witch’s Minor Water Cold Poison is, but that poison is, by nature, a terrifying infiltration path that rages savagely through the body, freezes all of one’s meridians, then shatters them, and even attacks the primordial essence. They say it’s every martial artist’s worst nightmare.”

I know my own body best!

And what do you know, you’re just a doctor!

In all things, the owner knew more than outsiders; it was the natural order of the world. So wasn’t the patient the one who knew the patient’s condition best?

Besides, what did he know about the martial world or martial arts?

“Ahem. I don’t know much about the martial world, that is true, my lady. But the cold isn’t raging or surging savagely, is it?”

“If you borrow the power of a miracle medicine to neutralize it, of course the outer layers of the cold will grow docile.”

“Mmm. That doesn’t quite make sense. It shouldn’t, and yet...”

The Imperial Physician trailed off.

Qing added one more line.

“And... I’m embarrassed to say this in front of a physician, but I’ve learned a tiny bit of medicine myself. It might be that my prognosis is good because I know how to take care of my body.”

A furrow appeared between the Imperial Physician’s brows.

Wasn’t she supposed to be that famous master who had risen while still very young?

If someone like that was saying she’d taken time, on top of martial arts, to study medicine, it was only natural for him to feel a little offended.

Physicians were sensitive about this sort of thing by nature.

Quacks killed people.

Those half-baked “doctor claimants” who’d never properly studied were exactly the ones who killed people and dragged physicians’ reputations through the mud.

“You say you have studied medicine? Might I ask which medical texts you have read?”

What exactly did you read to claim you studied medicine?

If Qing had seen his expression, she would have thought, Oh, he’s actually pretty annoyed.

But all she had of the physician was an outline behind two layers—the gauze and the mosquito net—so she answered honestly.

“Well, there’s the Yeon family edited edition of the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic, and the True-Source Manuscript of the Classic on the Hand and Foot Pulses, I memorized the pharmacology sections from the Complete Nature of Internal Medicines, and—oh, and the Correct Mirror of Cases, and then...”

She rattled off the medical texts Langjung Elder had forced her to memorize.

Originally, when she’d claimed she’d read some medical texts after just a few days, that impudent girl had made him test her thoroughly to see if she’d actually read them, and when he saw she really had memorized them, he’d simply kept stuffing more and more books into her.

Imperial Physician Kang Yung was impressed by that list.

He’d thought she was just talking big about reading a few lines of some medical text, but if any physician heard that list, it was clearly a set of books carefully selected and curated by a proper master.

Listening to it, he found himself more and more impressed.

If you wanted to quickly train up a batch of medical apprentices you could actually use, you could just make them read along that list.

“Oh. Do you have a teacher?”

“He’s not exactly my teacher. I just helped out Langjung Elder for a little while. He did say I at least counted as a passable medical woman.”

“Oh, oh! You studied under Langjung Elder? As expected. I did wonder how you could be so healthy even with such a serious illness, but of course—the fundamental cause of all disease is one’s daily habits, and those who truly learn medicine always live long.”

For people of the Central Plains, connections were a family heirloom blade.

That phrase—“family-heirloom treasured sword”—meant a famous sword to be handed down through the generations; in practice it meant a universal solution and an all-powerful authority you could use anywhere.

In other words, there was no remedy that worked as well, for Central Plains people, as a good connection.

And who was Langjung Elder?

He was one of the most respected physicians alive.

Despite his outstanding medical skill, he called himself “Langjung (quack)” in humility, and he roamed only dangerous, remote places, treating needy patients. He even refused to take a pulse fee, saying that since he was a quack he had no right to be paid.

And this woman had been acknowledged by Langjung Elder?

Whatever her actual skill might be, it meant that at least in spirit she was a medical woman who had devoted herself wholeheartedly to caring for poor, unfortunate patients.

And would such a medical woman really fake an illness?

All at once, his trust in her skyrocketed.

If she herself was saying she had only a little time left to live, her situation must be truly dire.

“My lady, since you say the Sun-Reviving Pill was helpful, I will prescribe along those lines.”

Qing’s eyes rounded.

So, you fake an illness and you get miracle medicine in return?

And on top of that, suddenly the invisible line somewhere between goodwill, favor, and “it’s okay to push a little” felt like it had opened up as wide as the sea.

In that case—

A smile touched Qing’s lips.

“Um... would a medicine like that come from the palace’s own stores? I would never want to selfishly deplete the imperial treasury just for my own body...”

“Your concern for the nation’s granary does you great credit, my lady. But are you not the very young hero whom His Majesty has personally chosen to praise? And besides, your body is soon to become an even more precious jade body. Please, do not say such things. Simply devote yourself to restoring your health.”

Qing’s eyes flashed.

Mmm, miracle medicine is good. I really do need it, too.

Originally, Qing hadn’t been particularly greedy for miracle medicines.

Her internal energy was overflowing as it was.

But would that always be true?

Given the current nature of her dantian, she might well end up short on internal energy later, even as a martial artist of Manifestation Realm. And who was she? Heavenly Flower Sword, transcendent of Flower Realm.

Even after she reached Manifestation Realm, her internal energy absolutely had to surpass it; she could not bear the humiliation of standing shoulder to shoulder with some ordinary Manifestation Realm.

Therefore—

“I already took one Sun-Reviving Pill, but that only barely pressed the poison down enough to let me rest. If I’m to show any real improvement, I’ll need something with even stronger medicinal power all at once. So perhaps... three more?”

“Indeed. If you take the same miracle medicine again, your body will adjust and its effects will diminish, so you would need at least that many to see any change. If there is any extremely potent elixir that can substitute for the Sun-Reviving Pill, I shall prescribe that as well and have it sent.”

On top of being a martial arts thief, she had now become a miracle-medicine thief.

And she was stealing from none other than the Forbidden City itself.

If Cheon Yuhak had known, his grinning face would surely have appeared, huge and looming, up in the high heavens from sheer delight.

How many thieves under heaven ever robbed the Forbidden City itself?

This was a divine thief, a divine thief indeed!

He’d have said he’d finally seen a proper lady thief.

And in addition to the miracle medicines—

“Also, we’ll need to send up some decoctions to nourish your body. Since this is my first time seeing a detailed case of Minor Water Cold Poison, what medicinal ingredients would be helpful?”

Mmm, I don’t actually need decoctions...

Decoctions were disgusting, and it wasn’t as if drinking them would make her any healthier than she already was.

Mmm. I’ll send the decoctions to the Empress.

She’d collapsed; her health had to have taken a serious hit.

Let’s see, what decoction was good for congestion again...?

*****

The young hero Ximen Qing’s health is in critical condition!

It’s the sequelae of the injuries she suffered in that battle with the Minor Water Witch!

And this is the pulse verdict given by the Imperial Physician himself!

The Imperial Physician, that Second-Best Physician Under Heaven, the second most skilled physician in the world!

The Imperial Physician was someone who stayed entirely out of politics in the Forbidden City, so he had no reason to conceal his diagnostic results.

And more than anything, weren’t the women who boiled the decoctions all palace maids—experts both at spreading and collecting rumors?

“They’re putting all the really rare ingredients in there. Just how long is she planning to live, brewing it this strong? Ha, so she really is going to be Crown Princess. Guess that jade body’s something else.”

“Hey, you don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Shh. I’m only telling you this, but Heavenly Flower Sword might not live very long. The Imperial Physician said so. That’s why they’re brewing such an incredibly precious decoction. Just—keep it a secret that I told you, okay? (Just keep it a secret that I was the one who told you.)”

“Of course. Do you know how tight my lips are? (Don’t worry, I’ll only hide the fact that you said it.)”

And so, through this process of information trickling out, the decoction they brewed—with all manner of good medicinal ingredients thrown in—turned from an ordinary decoction into an extremely rare, precious tonic.

The Empress, who received that decoction, was very pleased.

“Oh, this is wonderful. The Crown Prince has grown up, but he still never once thinks to look after his own mother, and yet my daughter... how can she be so sweet.”

“Heh heh...”

Qing laughed awkwardly.

This was just killing two birds with one stone, but if you’re that happy...

Ugh, I really need to tell you, ‘I’m not your daughter, and I never will be’...

But for the Empress, the rarity of the tonic wasn’t what mattered.

Even when she had collapsed, even when Qing had been struggling to hoodwink the Imperial Physician to protect herself, Qing had still gone out of her way to think of her mother’s health. That thoughtfulness was so precious and sweet.

And so the bitter decoction went down her throat like sweet nectar; she gulped it eagerly.

And thanks to that, even darker rumors tore through the palace.

The Empress is stealing Heavenly Flower Sword’s decoction!

As if it weren’t enough to call in a terminally ill woman night after night and beat her with the switch, now she won’t even let the girl drink her medicine—she snatches it away and slurps it all down herself!

“Please, Empress, keep some decorum. What is this bizarre situation supposed to be? They’re not even married and the whole palace is already whispering that you’ve got the face of a vicious mother-in-law out to kill her daughter-in-law.”

The Son of Heaven’s tone was practically pleading.

The Empress just snorted.

“Daughter-in-law? Daughter-in-law? Your Majesty, please speak properly. There is no future in which that marriage takes place, so how can you put those words in your mouth?”

“Please. I understand, of course, how deeply you worry for the Crown Prince. But listen, Empress. I swear to Heaven and Earth, I will never allow the Crown Prince to so much as lay a finger on that martial delinquent. Not a finger— I’ll lock her up somewhere out of the way where not even his gaze can reach her, so there’s no need for you to fret so much over him!”

The Empress’s ears perked up.

It was, admittedly, a tempting offer.

Lock her up in some remote palace of the Forbidden City for life?

Then she could hold her in her arms until the day she died.

A princess was destined, someday, to marry off to some faraway land; that was her duty and the very reason she existed.

But if she didn’t send her away and kept her close, if there was no monstrosity between brother and sister, if she could feed her good palace food and clothe her in fine robes and cradle her in her arms for the rest of her life—

Sensing the Empress’s interest, the Son of Heaven went on to explain his deeper intentions.

The title of Lady would be in name only. The real purpose was to seize the newly risen dragon of the martial world and lock her away.

Even that lawless Martial Celestial had only reached peak realm at that age, but did she know what realm that shameless girl was at now? Flower Realm. Those martial world ruffians’ talk about her being the future Number One Under Heaven was true.

Flower Realm was such a lofty realm that Spear Guard Chang had nearly given himself away just from the shock.

“What? You’re going to bring such a dangerous woman into the palace? And as Crown Princess, no less? Your Majesty! What on earth are you saying!?”

The Empress screamed.

Her daughter, her beloved daughter, lost and found again.

She would love nothing more than to hold her for life, but how could that possibly be for her daughter’s sake? That was nothing but a mother’s selfishness; she could not allow herself to do that.

“Empress. Please.”

The Son of Heaven pounded his own chest in frustration.

The Empress was his first consort and, politically, his greatest ally.

Up until now, in everything he had sought to do, she had either backed him or at least not opposed him. She had never once taken such a hardline stance.

“Your Majesty. I will not sit by and watch you pair that woman with the Crown Prince—not even if they bury my eyes in dirt first. Keep that in mind.”

With that, the Empress turned on her heel and swept away.

The Son of Heaven kneaded his forehead with his fingers.

And then, from the wall, a human shape suddenly formed and stepped out.

It was the Son of Heaven’s secret bodyguard, Spear Guard Chang, whose official title was Captain of Water-Receiving Guard.

“Your Majesty, with the Empress opposing this so fiercely, perhaps it would be wise to consider another method. If you wish to remove a future source of trouble, just give the word and your servant will do it.”

The Son of Heaven bared his white teeth.

“No. No, that won’t do. In fact, this works out better. Instead of dragging Heavenly Flower Sword here and locking her up quietly, letting the martial world hear that she’s living a life of humiliation and disgrace will make them understand their place. No matter how loudly they brag about some new dragon, they’ll know that if they incur our displeasure, they end up in this pitiful state. Yes. With the Empress so utterly horrified, I should say this is for the best.”

The Son of Heaven ground his teeth. His eyes flashed wild to match.

“Go tell Grand Eunuch Jeong Sabon to gather the officials. Because of appearances I wasn’t able to convey my true intentions before, but now that things have come to this, I need to explain matters properly and ask their understanding. Once they know I do not intend to make Heavenly Flower Sword into a faction of the Heavenly Dynasty, they will understand.”