The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Zhu Xiurong got the opportunity to study and live outside the palace.

Zhu Youtang let her leave the palace with confidence. He arranged for the Jinyiwei to protect her, and sent a number of palace maids to take care of her. He also let her complete a series of studies outside the palace, probably to allow his daughter to become familiar with the Ming society earlier.

This was mainly due to Zhu Youtang's trust in Zhang Zhou. It was precisely because everything about Zhu Xiurong was arranged by Zhang Zhou that he felt at ease letting his daughter come into contact with many things that were different from what previous royal daughters had been exposed to.

"Are these automatic? Are they moved by this? How do they turn?"

"That thing is so tall, can I go over and take a look?"

"If all these are used together, will it cause a disorder? Like a collapse or something? I want to go over there."

Outside the palace, in addition to her daily studies, Zhu Xiurong also saw many technologies that were different from that of this era.

Especially when she first walked out of the capital and arrived at the Western Hills and saw rows of tall siege engines, she was very happy and kept asking questions.

Unfortunately, many of her questions could not be answered by the people present.

Zhang Zhou did not accompany her to Xishan. This time she was only going to stay in Xishan for a short time, only one night, and would return to the capital the next day.

It was her study tour, and the person who served as her tour guide and commentator was Ning Tong, who was arranged by Zhang Zhou because she had nothing to do after returning to Beijing.

"Your Highness, it's very dangerous here, and we don't quite understand the principles behind many things." Ning Tong respected Zhu Xiurong very much.

She was originally very afraid of coming into contact with people from the royal family.

It was Zhang Zhou who insisted that she have more contact with Zhu Xiurong, probably also wanting her to gradually get out of the shadow of being harmed by Empress Zhang.

But it was also very obvious that the people in the Imperial Medical Service were taking advantage of Empress Zhang, and the Imperial Medical Service was currently being reorganized. However, Zhang Zhou did not explain the details to Zhu Xiurong in detail.

The reason why Zhang Zhou has only started to target the people in the Imperial Medical Bureau now is more to avoid being accused of taking revenge... It is time for a cleanup. Others may not know what the level of the imperial doctors of the past three generations of the Ming Dynasty is, but Zhang Zhou knows it best.

As the 18th year of Hongzhi was approaching, in order to avoid repeating the same mistakes, Zhang Zhou could only make some changes as a historical figure.

Zhu Xiurong said, "All of these were made by Mr. Zhang, right? He is very capable. If it were someone else, it would take decades to complete. But he was able to do all of this in just a few years... It's not easy."

Ning Tong said: "I don't know what Her Royal Highness the Princess means."

"That's not right. It's only been about four years since he came to Beijing, but he must have made countless efforts to prepare for the exam. Mr. Ning, do you know Mr. Zhang's past?"

Zhu Xiurong began to ask Ning Tong about Zhang Zhou's past.

Ning Tong couldn't help but smile bitterly.

This little girl is really clever. She seems to know everything and yet she seems to know nothing.

When you see something new, you have the innocence of a child, but you speak like a little adult. Now you ask her about Zhang Zhou?
Did she see something?

Ning Tong said seriously: "I am not very clear about Duke Cai's affairs."

"Isn't Mr. Ning from the residence of Duke Cai?" Zhu Xiurong's subsequent words made Ning Tong feel very embarrassed.

How come this little girl knows everything?

"Mr. Ning, please don't misunderstand. It wasn't Mr. Zhang who told me this. I just found out by accident... well, how should I put it... oh!"

Speaking of this, Zhu Xiurong felt a little embarrassed.

It's like accidentally revealing someone else's privacy, and I feel a little guilty.

Ning Tong said, "Duke Cai indeed ordered me to come and accompany Her Royal Highness the Princess. Fortunately, Duke Cai helped me with some things that happened before."

"I know, it was the people from the Imperial Hospital who framed you for using medicine to harm people, and they also said it was bad for my mother." Zhu Xiurong said as if to show goodwill, "I know it was the people from the Imperial Hospital who framed you, they can't stand you doing well. Mr. Ning used to treat people in the palace, how could he have bad intentions?"

Ning Tong was a little embarrassed and said, "Your Highness, do you still remember?"

Zhu Xiurong smiled and said, "How could I not remember? On the contrary, the people in the Imperial Hospital seemed like quacks based on the prescriptions they wrote. I don't trust them. Just like when I had smallpox before, it was Mr. Zhang who saved my life with medicine. Mr. Zhang saved my life."

"Yeah." Ning Tong didn't know what to say.

This little devil is so clever that it's hard to have a conversation with her.

After all, her status is there, and I myself am not qualified to be on equal footing with the princess.

Zhu Xiurong then turned his attention to the little Jang Geum who was following behind Ning Tong, and asked with a smile: "Come here, Jang Geum, your last name is Xu, right? Can you treat illnesses? You must have studied with Mr. Ning for a long time, right? Did Mr. Zhang ask you to study with Mr. Ning? Did Mr. Zhang teach you personally?"

Jang Geum felt a little awkward facing a princess from the Ming Dynasty.

This girl was almost the same age as her, why did she seem to know much more than her?
I am just a little singer from North Korea. I used to sing for people to make money for my boss. Later, I served my boss. Now I am an apprentice and I am preparing to treat people in the future... Now a princess comes and asks me all kinds of questions...

Zhu Xiurong said: "Don't be nervous, I have no ill intentions. If you have learned it, you can teach me. If I can't learn it, how about you treat me in the future? I think your medical skills must be very good, because you have a talent in this area..."

"..." Jang Geum looked embarrassed, but could only stare at her master, Ning Tong.

Ning Tong said, "Your Highness, Jang Geum is from North Korea. She is not good at speaking."

Zhu Xiurong sighed, "You can make friends now, and talk to me more in the future, isn't it better? When you are friends, why do you have to be so reserved? You can sing, right? I heard Mr. Zhang say so."

Ning Tong asked curiously, "Did Duke Cai also tell the princess about this?"

"Yes." Zhu Xiurong nodded confidently, "I've heard it, but I haven't heard it. After dinner today, can you sing it to me? I want to listen to your Korean folk songs. I won't let you sing it for nothing. I can sing it to you, too."

"No...no." Although Jang Geum didn't know why it was not allowed, she still felt that it was ridiculous.

Actually letting the princess of the Ming Dynasty sing for a little singer from a vassal state?
This is not just disrespectful, it's simply torturing yourself, or even making fun of yourself.

Zhu Xiurong asked curiously, "Why not? I also like singing. I heard that Mr. Zhang's theater can make a lot of money a year. He will definitely run it well. In fact, I also want to go, but every time I ask, my father won't agree. I can only hope that Mr. Zhang will give me a chance and let me go once before I return to the palace."

Ning Tong said: "Your Highness, that is not the place you should go."

"Nothing, actually I want to go up and sing. Is my voice not good? Uh... I'm not singing now. I'll sing for you in the evening after I clear my throat. Take me over there to have a look. I want to see some more good things."

After Zhu Xiurong finished speaking, he jumped up and down and headed for the next attraction. Ning Tong felt a little embarrassed.

But then he found a small hand reaching out and grabbing his collar tightly.

It was obvious that little Jang Geum was more afraid of the lively little princess in front of her.

But Jang Geum was afraid of the same thing as her, she was afraid of the princess's identity and status...

Ning Tong was thinking, this little princess is approachable and not so complicated, she must be kind-hearted, right? Maybe when she gets to know her better, she will know what she really thinks.

……

……

into the night.

Inside the theater, the stage was very lively.

Zhang Zhou met Yang Peng in the private room. It had been nearly a month since Yang Peng appeared in front of Zhang Zhou again after he claimed to be ill. Now Yang Peng knew that he was not on the list of those going out to sea, so he dared to come out without any worries.

"Master, this time we investigated the Imperial Hospital and found that the accounts of the past twenty years have been very messy. The three generations of imperial doctors of the Ming Dynasty did not sort out the prescriptions of the Imperial Hospital. There were even serious cases of embezzlement and deduction... We have found that more than a dozen former and current imperial doctors... have committed acts of corruption and abuse of power. In serious cases, the embezzlement amounted to more than one thousand taels of silver..."

As Yang Peng spoke, he handed the results of his investigation of the Imperial Medical Bureau to Zhang Zhou.

Many people have been imprisoned, and everything was revealed after interrogation. The emperor did not take action against the Imperial Medical Bureau before, as he wanted to give these people who served the royal family a chance.

But later even Zhu Youtang himself discovered that if he did not rely on Zhang Zhou, his illness would never be cured, and as a result even the emperor lost his patience.

Yang Peng said, "Your Majesty has clearly issued an order to let you examine the people in the Imperial Hospital. Those who are capable can stay, and those who are incapable will be dealt with accordingly. The meeting will also select capable people from the public to enter the palace... Your Majesty also said that there will be no restrictions on the selection this time, whether they are from a medical family, or their past background. As long as they are capable and can be recommended by you, they can be selected."

Yang Peng said this with a hint of envy in his eyes.

Now the emperor completely trusted Zhang Zhou in the matter of curing illnesses and saving lives.

This means that in the future, any matter in the Ming Dynasty can only be advanced after being approved by Zhang Zhou, otherwise it will be in a dead end.

"Master, Liu Wentai has the biggest problem in the Imperial Hospital right now, but Wang Yu is also to blame. As for Zhonglan, he has retired and returned to his hometown. We have recently sent someone back to check on him... But there are rumors that he has died of illness..."

"Besides these, there are a few more people. What do you think we should do..."

Yang Peng was just waiting for Zhang Zhou to deal with this group of people.

Zhang Zhou said: "We can't let the palace be without doctors, and I don't have to do everything myself, right?"

"That's right." Yang Peng smiled, "If it's just a minor illness, it's still okay to rely on them, because they use ready-made prescriptions, but now I'm afraid... if there's any difficult and complicated disease, relying on them is a bit... In the past two years, even the dignitaries in the capital are reluctant to seek help from the imperial physician when they get sick."

Zhang Zhou laughed and said, "Why, have the people from the Imperial Hospital lost the trust of others?"

"You are asking even though you already know the answer. Everyone wants you to come back and treat their illnesses, but not everyone has this opportunity... but they don't have any better solutions right now. There are still some prescriptions that are said to be yours circulating around the capital, and many people are using them. However, according to the investigation by the East Factory, many of them are far-fetched. They are all a group of scoundrels who are using your name to cheat people."

Yang Peng couldn't help but sighed when he said this, "Perhaps only if you come out in person and sort out the affairs of Xinglin, can everything be restored. But I'm afraid you are too busy, so why don't you consider asking...someone capable around you to come out?"

Yang Peng's words were clearly a hint at Ning Tong.

Because the person who previously represented Zhang Zhou to diagnose illnesses for the palace was Ning Tong.

It was just because Ning Tong took such big steps. On the one hand, her medicine was effective, which made people in the palace gradually trust her. For example, when Empress Dowager Zhou and others were sick, they would go to Ning Tong. Later, Ning Tong wanted to expand her business among the people and even opened her own medicine shop to treat the female relatives of the dignitaries in the capital...

This led to the joint attack by people from the Imperial Hospital.

"Who are the people in the Imperial Medical Bureau who are in prison now?" Zhang Zhou asked.

"Wang Yu, Liu Wentai." Yang Peng said, "According to our investigation, these two were the ones who framed Madam Ling... in the first place."

"Oh, I'm not targeting them just because they framed someone else, you should understand that, right?" Zhang Zhou said.

"Of course. They are the most unscrupulous among the Imperial Hospital. They even squeezed money from the Chinese medicine merchants in the capital, monopolized the sale of medicinal materials, and sold inferior products as good ones. They even suppressed the doctors near the capital, forcing them to leave the capital... Some medical families have been harmed by them..."

Yang Peng was even a little angry when he said this. "It's too numerous to mention. This is not the first time they have used this method. It was my fault. In this matter, it is you, the Lord, who has upheld justice."

……

……

Yang Peng left.

The list was left with Zhang Zhou, and it seemed that he would not have to take any part in the subsequent interrogation and punishment.

He was just throwing out a clue. The emperor would care more about this matter than him. It concerns the Imperial Medical Bureau and the interests of the royal family. After all, the royal family still relies on this group of people to treat illnesses... But this group of people does not have much actual diagnostic experience. After all, there are still few people in the royal family.

Although they are said to have superb medical skills, in practical matters, they may not be as good as a folk barefoot doctor.

Most of them are trained in medicine and are considered the people who set the rules in the Ming Dynasty's medical industry, but they cannot be called the people with the most superb medical skills.

"Master, I've brought you some water to wash your feet."

Zhang Lushui appeared at the door, holding a basin of water.

After Little Jang Geum followed Ning Tong, Zhang Lushui seemed even more lonely in the theater and no longer had the same imposing manner as before.

Because many of the musicians from North Korea were assigned to different theaters, Zhang Lushui could no longer show off her power.

Zhang Zhou said: "Put it down, you can go now."

Zhang Lushui glanced at Wang Mingshan who was standing beside her, with jealousy in her eyes.

But she had no choice but to leave in disgrace, as this was the Ming Dynasty, not Korea. She had no way of competing with Zhang Zhou's legitimate wife. (End of this chapter)