Chapter 2646 - 2579: A True Genius

Imperial Doctor Tan sat in the medical lodge discussing treatment plans with Zhou Man.

Wei Zhi’s illness requires nurturing, but clearly, allowing him complete rest is impossible, so compromise must be made.

Regarding gentle ways to nurse the body, Imperial Doctor Tan is extremely experienced, having keeping Yin Huo’s life hanging by a thread single-handedly.

Manbao learned a lot from him, just a small discussion is worth three years of study.

Manbao left with many notes, taking three prescriptions from Imperial Doctor Tan: one decoction, one honey pill, and a medicinal diet recipe.

Imperial Doctor Tan stroked his beard and said, "However, in my view, these methods are secondary. No prescription compares to Lord Wei getting a stable two hours of sleep."

He remarked, "Don’t underestimate sleep; when the mind and spirit are wounded, it generally relies on sleep for recovery. Lord Wei’s mental energy is greatly depleted, but he cannot sleep peacefully, alas..."

Manbao began pondering sleep-inducing remedies, but this cannot involve medication to avoid conflicting with current nurturing medicines, instead using fragrances or herbal packages...

Manbao started thinking.

Seeing Zhou Man immersed in her thoughts, Imperial Doctor Tan smiled gently, and supporting himself on the table, rose and turned to leave.

Director Xiao hurriedly followed behind.

It wasn’t his first time at the Yongzhou palace, having accompanied the late emperor and the current one here in the past.

He walked out of the courtyard with hands behind his back, standing under the tree and glancing at the palace beneath the mountain with a gentle smile: "In the past, our medical office could only be built below, just above the imperial army. These palace residences above were not accessible to our Imperial Hospital, the Three Provinces, Six Ministries, Nine Temples, and Three Monitors each occupied a courtyard yet felt it wasn’t enough. We had to climb from below every day to offer diagnoses first to His Majesty and the Empress, then to other nobles."

Director Xiao smiled gently and said, "Teacher, the Imperial Hospital is now different; His Majesty has greater trust in us."

"It’s not just that," Imperial Doctor Tan said, "You did well pulling the Imperial Medical Bureau out from the Imperial Ministry of Rites, making it peer to the Nine Temples, something predecessors could not achieve."

Receiving his mentor’s acknowledgment, Director Xiao was very excited.

Imperial Doctor Tan asked, "How many students are permanently housed in the Imperial Medical Bureau now?"

Director Xiao replied, "Currently, it’s around six hundred. Every year, graduates are sent to local medical bureaus, but they are still few; most students must remain in the Imperial Bureau to continue their studies."

"Take it slow, no rush." Imperial Doctor Tan glanced back, seeing Zhou Man still sitting at the table, writing something in frustration with a pen.

He smiled slightly and said, "Truly, new waves of the Long River drive old waves forward."

Director Xiao lowered his head and said, "The students failed to diagnose Lord Wei’s illness, causing the teacher needless trouble."

Imperial Doctor Tan shook his hand and said, "Had I not come here, I wouldn’t have known Zhou Man’s talent was so extraordinary, vastly different from our first meeting. And it’s only been five or six years."

Imperial Doctor Tan pondered forcefully, "Was it five years or six?"

Director Xiao said, "Teacher, seems it’s almost seven years."

Imperial Doctor Tan ignored him, continuing, "You all are far behind in comparison."

Director Xiao bowed his head; he certainly knew Zhou Man learned quickly considering her age, how much study time do they have against hers?

The past few years, was he too lenient towards Zhou Man, giving her more time for research and study, thus she seldom handled the Imperial Hospital’s mundane affairs.

Imperial Doctor Tan praised him, "You’ve done well. Those adults, hmph, often look down on us physicians. You read less of Confucianism’s books, sometimes can’t win arguments against them, so in everyday life, read more books."

"It’s a shame you’re all older now, already too late, but the next generation still has a chance. In future, don’t let the family children only read medical texts, let them read other books too."

Director Xiao hesitantly replied, "Teacher, each field has its experts, if not focused on medicine, fearingly there’s little advancement."

He said, "How many can pass the imperial examinations? Thus, how many physicians are like Zhou Man in this world?"

Imperial Doctor Tan thought for a moment and sighed, "I was naive."

Director Xiao couldn’t resist asking, "Teacher, you conversed with Zhou Man for a long time just now, her medical skills..."

"Surpass yours," Imperial Doctor Tan couldn’t help but stroke his beard again and smile, "When I first met her, though she could offer better treatments for Yin Huo than I could, it was mostly due to her adeptness in acupuncture and because of her youth."

Director Xiao: "...What does this have to do with age?"

"Naturally, it does," Imperial Doctor Tan affirmed, "Speaking as an old man, patients listen with one ear and let it out the other, let alone accept the prescriptions I offer... Ah, forget it, never mind."

He gave Yin Huo prescriptions to replenish and gain strength, then using strong medicine to provoke vitality, allowing about half a year to a year to leave descendants.

Because that’s what the family requested.

Zhou Man, however, directly collaborated with the patient to secretly stop his medication and switched to another prescription she had thoroughly studied at the time.

If simply following Zhou Man’s decoction, Yin Huo would certainly be doomed. Though the decoction is gentle, its efficacy is hard to reach the necessary effect on his body.

But she employs acupuncture.

Acupuncture stimulated the efficacy, even guided it throughout the body, thus allowing Yin Huo to survive on those gentle prescriptions, reducing drug toxicity, making him both physically and mentally better.

Nevertheless, Imperial Doctor Tan always believed the most crucial aspect was Zhou Man breaking Yin Huo’s mental barrier, which maintained Yin Huo’s vitality.

In this regard, as an old man, he was naturally outmatched by Zhou Man.

Hence, back then he was only impressed by Zhou Man’s acupuncture, given her diagnosis and dispensing skills a still immature rating.

But just a few years later, her diagnosis and dispensing skills leave Imperial Doctor Tan equally amazed.

Imperial Doctor Tan regretted extensively. Such a person apprenticed under a Confucian scholar, truly she should have apprenticed under him.

"Lord Wei’s illness is internal rather than external. Superficial symptoms are easy to diagnose; manifested illnesses are easy to diagnose. Yet those like Lord Wei, without expressed symptoms, but internally already full of holes, only experienced master physicians can perceive." Imperial Doctor Tan stated, "Of all the physicians I know, including myself, fewer than five in the world can diagnose this illness. Now, Zhou Man is the sixth."

Director Xiao was astonished.

Imperial Doctor Tan meaningfully patted his shoulder, "A physician like her, at her age, staying continuously in the capital is a waste."

Director Xiao was startled, "Teacher..."

"I recall before you were promoted to fifth grade physician, you took leave for two years and followed the Wei River down to Lingnan, correct?" Imperial Doctor Tan mentioned, "She needs exposure to more illnesses."

Director Xiao smiled bitterly, "But she is a woman, already married, her husband is a secretary of the Secretariat."

How could she find the time to travel?

Imperial Doctor Tan meaningfully replied, "You’ve underestimated her, just like I underestimated her years ago."

Back then, he acknowledged her impressive abilities, yet never envisioned she could be this remarkable.