Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1699: A Generous Reward for Saving the Person!
Ye Mingsheng himself was a gourmand, and he often studied food in the palace. So when he heard his son's detailed description of Rao'an donkey meat sandwiches, he was somewhat tempted and became interested. However, this did not prevent him from reprimanding Jingren with a stern face:
“We’re going to Rao’an this time for an inspection, not for eating, drinking, and having fun. Jingren, you need to put your mind to the right thing!”

Faced with his father's reprimand, Jingren's expectant face immediately fell. Ye Mingsheng ignored him and instead urged the team to speed up their journey and try to reach the Luqiao Town post station before dark.

Urged on by Ye Mingsheng, the group sped up their journey. Half an hour later, the group of several thousand people arrived at Lüqiao Town. Because they had been notified in advance, Prefect Zhang Dafu of Rao'an had arrived in Lüqiao Town early to wait for them.

Upon seeing Ye Mingsheng, Zhang Dafu also knelt down and bowed, saying:
Your humble servant, Zhang Dafu, Prefect of Rao'an, pays respects to Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty!

Ye Mingsheng was quite tired after traveling all day, and it was getting dark. He had no intention of paying attention to Zhang Dafu, so he spoke up.
"Get up! Lead the way!"

Zhang Dafu, who had originally planned to make a good impression on Ye Mingsheng, felt somewhat helpless when Ye Mingsheng ignored him after only a few words.

But since Ye Mingsheng had already given the order, he had no choice but to carry it out.

As Zhang Dafu led the way, Ye Mingsheng rode on horseback, thinking that he would take a good bath later to wash away the sand and dust of the past two days. He hadn't had a proper rest since leaving Zhuoxian!
Back when Ye Mingsheng was a soldier, it was common for him to go without a bath for more than ten days, or even twenty days, and he never thought there was anything wrong with it!
However, after making a name for himself, Ye Mingsheng also began to demand a higher quality of life. In the winter in Yijing, Ye Mingsheng would take a good bath every two or three days, and in the summer he would take a bath every day.

Besides taking a bath, Ye Mingsheng also needed to have a proper meal. Since leaving Zhuoxian, Ye Mingsheng had basically been eating dry rations and dried meat. Although there was meat to eat, the conditions were still too harsh for Ye Mingsheng, who had gradually become accustomed to a life of luxury.

Just as Ye Mingsheng was contemplating what he would do next, Zhang Hu hurriedly came to his side and whispered in his ear:
"Your Majesty, something has happened! His Highness the Crown Prince has been bitten by a snake!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng, who had been somewhat tired, immediately perked up and asked:
"What happened? How did I get bitten by a snake out of nowhere?"

"Just as we were about to reach Lüqiao Town, His Highness the Crown Prince was bitten by a snake while relieving himself in the bushes!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng immediately pressed for an answer:
"How is the bite? Was the snake venomous? Where is Jingren now?"

Faced with the three questions posed by Ye Mingsheng, Zhang Hu answered them one by one:
"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince is currently fine. We don't know yet whether the snake was venomous or not, but when the Crown Prince's bodyguard Wang Beishan discovered the situation, he immediately treated it as a venomous snake and sucked out the venom from the Crown Prince's mouth. His Highness is currently behind him!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng immediately walked towards the back of the group, but after taking only two steps, he seemed to remember something and stopped, saying to those ahead:

"That Prefect Rao An!"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng call his name, Zhang Dafu, who had been somewhat dejected, immediately perked up and turned around, saying:
"Your humble servant Zhang Dafu is here!"

"Do you have any doctors here who specialize in treating snake bites? Find them for me immediately!"

Although somewhat puzzled as to why His Majesty had suddenly made this request, seeing His Majesty's serious expression, Zhang Dafu, though unsure if there were any doctors in Lüqiao Town skilled in treating snake bites, instinctively agreed, nodding repeatedly and saying:
'Your Majesty has it! Yes, Your Majesty has it!'

"Find it to me immediately!"

"Yes!"

After giving instructions to Zhang Dafu, Ye Mingsheng followed Zhang Hu to Jingren's side. Jingren was sitting in the carriage with a bandage wrapped around his right ankle. He looked weak and lacked the energy he had when he was talking about eating donkey meat sandwiches.

Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng quickly asked:
"How is Jingren? Is anything bothering him?"

Jingren hesitated for a moment and said:
"I was fine just now, but now I feel a little dizzy and nauseous!"

After speaking, Jingren hesitated for a moment, then said somewhat fearfully:

"Father, am I going to die?"

Ye Mingsheng hadn't initially considered this possibility, but upon hearing his words and seeing Jingren's condition, Ye Mingsheng felt a pang of sympathy and said:
"Silly child, why are you saying such discouraging things? It's just a bite, nothing serious. You'll be alright, Daddy won't let you die..."

Hearing his father's words, Jingren seemed much more at ease, but his eyes became somewhat unfocused, as if he were about to fall asleep. Seeing him like this, Ye Mingsheng was truly frightened and immediately shook Jingren's body, saying:
"Jingren! Don't sleep! You can't sleep now. You must stay awake. When we get to Rao'an, Dad will buy you donkey meat sandwiches. Didn't you want to eat braised meat dumplings?"

"Dad will buy it all for you, you can eat as much as you want!"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's words, Jing Ren nodded, but his eyes were still somewhat unfocused.

Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng also lost his composure and roared:
"The doctor is over there! Why hasn't the doctor come yet!"

As soon as Ye Mingsheng finished speaking, everyone around him fell silent, not daring to provoke him at this crucial moment. However, at this critical juncture, a voice rang out:

"The doctor is here! Your Majesty, the doctor is here!"

As they were talking, Zhang Dafu, who had just been there, walked over with an old man with a white beard carrying a medicine box.

Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng quickly stepped aside and then made a promise to the old man:
"If you heal him, I will reward you handsomely!"

The white-bearded old man ignored Ye Mingsheng's promise and carefully unwrapped the bandage on Jingren's right ankle, where the snake bite wound was already red and swollen.

Upon seeing the condition of the wound, Ye Mingsheng's heart tightened again. However, after examining the wound, the white-bearded old man's previously serious expression relaxed, and he said to Zhang Dafu beside him:

"Your Excellency, please rest assured, this was a bite from a pheasant's neck. Pheasant neck venom is relatively mild, and I believe someone immediately sucked out the venom, so a significant amount was drawn out, leaving only a small amount of toxin in the body..."

After saying this, the white-bearded old man asked Jingren:

'Child, do you remember the snake that bit you? Did it have red stripes on its neck?'

Jingren nodded and said:
"It seems to have red stripes. When I was peeing, it suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I was a little scared, so I threw a stone at it, and then it tried to bite me!"

"That makes sense! There are generally only two types of venomous snakes around our town: the pheasant neck snake and the short-tailed snake. Kid, you're incredibly lucky!"

"The pheasant's neck venom is less potent and usually won't kill you. Plus, it's relatively docile among snakes and doesn't usually bite unless provoked. The short-tailed snake, on the other hand, is very venomous, and unless you're incredibly lucky, it's very difficult to save someone!"

Hearing the white-bearded old man speak so professionally, Ye Mingsheng felt relieved and immediately asked:
"If that's the case, how should it be treated?"

Because Ye Mingsheng was dressed in plain clothes, the white-bearded old man didn't know who Ye Mingsheng was. However, seeing that even the prefect Zhang Dafu showed Ye Mingsheng great respect, he thought for a moment and then said:
"First rinse with clean water for about fifteen minutes!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng immediately gave the following instructions:
"Prepare some clean water!" Zhang Dafu immediately obeyed the order.
'Yes! '

Seeing the dignified prefect so obsequiously before this middle-aged man, the white-bearded old man realized that Ye Mingsheng was a high-ranking official, and his tone became even more respectful as he spoke.
"Pound Lobelia chinensis, Hedyotis diffusa, and Paris polyphylla together and apply the mixture to the wound!"

"Decoct Bidens pilosa, Houttuynia cordata, and Angelica sinensis and drink the decoction!"

Where can I find these medicinal herbs?

"I have one at home! My home is right in town!"

"I'm going to your house now!"

At Ye Mingsheng's command, the surrounding guards were about to move when the white-bearded old man immediately stopped them:
"Wait a minute! Don't rush! First, rinse the wound with clean water. Don't move the child. Bring the child over after you've rinsed the wound!"

As soon as the white-bearded old man finished speaking, the guards all looked at Ye Mingsheng. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng replied without hesitation:
"I'll follow the doctor's instructions!"

Under Ye Mingsheng's orders, the white-bearded old man began to arrange for people to fetch water in earthenware pots and continuously use the clean water to wash the wound on Jingren's right ankle.

Ye Mingsheng was also nervously observing his son's condition. Seeing Jingren's appearance just now had really frightened Ye Mingsheng. Ye Mingsheng never expected that he would encounter such a thing while on an inspection tour.

Under Ye Mingsheng's watchful gaze, Jingren, whose wounds had been rinsed with water, seemed to be in better spirits, and his eyes were no longer as unfocused as before. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng felt more at ease.

After rinsing Jingren with clean water for fifteen minutes, the white-bearded old man saw that Jingren's condition was almost better, so he had someone carry Jingren to his house on a stretcher.

The white-bearded old man's house was a rather unique and quiet little courtyard. Some medicinal herbs were planted in front of the courtyard. Because Pei Zhixiu also liked to grow medicinal herbs, Ye Mingsheng could recognize several of them, including Panax notoginseng, ephedra, and mugwort.

Upon seeing the white-bearded old man return, a very cute little girl also came out of the house and ran to the old man's side.

"Grandpa, you're back..."

After she finished speaking, the little girl noticed Ye Mingsheng and his group and looked at them with some curiosity.

The white-bearded old man patted the little girl's head and said:

"Xiaohua, they are distinguished guests invited by Grandpa!"

After finishing speaking, the white-bearded old man was about to introduce Ye Mingsheng, but he suddenly realized that he did not know Ye Mingsheng's identity, and his voice immediately stopped.

Upon seeing this, Ye Mingsheng also said:
"My name is Ye Kui!"

Upon hearing Ye Mingsheng say his surname was Ye, a strange glint flashed in the white-bearded old man's eyes, while the little girl blinked her beautiful eyes and politely replied:

"Hello, Uncle Ye Kui!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly, then looked at the white-bearded old man again.

The white-bearded old man understood Ye Mingsheng's intentions and then said to his granddaughter:

"Xiaohua, go back to your room and stay there. Grandpa has to go treat patients and save lives!"

The little girl, called Xiaohua, nodded sensibly, waved goodbye to Ye Mingsheng, and then returned to her room.

After getting through this little incident, the old man with the white beard began preparing various medicines, while Ye Mingsheng observed Jingren's condition from the side.

Although Jingren's condition had improved somewhat compared to the beginning, he still looked rather sickly, so Ye Mingsheng was still feeling quite upset.

The white-bearded old man fussed around for almost the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, finally preparing some crushed herbs, which he then applied to Jingren's injured right ankle...
Jingren yawned at this moment, and seeing this, the white-bearded old man said:

"Child, if you're tired, take a nap! It'll take me a while to brew the medicine. It's not a big deal for you; a few doses of medicine, both internal and external, will do the trick! Okay, if you're sleepy, take a nap!"

Upon hearing this, Jingren looked at his father, Ye Mingsheng, who simply nodded slightly and said:
"Take a nap if you're sleepy!"

Hearing his father say this, Jingren closed his eyes, and the white-bearded old man went to brew the medicine.

Perhaps he was too tired, Jingren fell asleep within seconds of closing his eyes and began to snore softly.

Listening to Jingren's snoring, Ye Mingsheng felt much more at ease for some reason. It was at this moment that Ye Mingsheng suddenly realized that he still didn't know what the white-bearded old man's name was.

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng looked at Zhang Dafu standing to the side, and then waved to the Prefect of Rao'an.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Dafu immediately walked over and said:
"Your Majesty, do you have any orders?"

Do you know what this doctor's name is?

Zhang Dafu thought for a moment and said:
"The doctor's surname seems to be Lin, and his name seems to be Lin Yongkang!"

Seeing his hesitation, Ye Mingsheng gave the order directly:

"I'll give you half an hour to find out the details about this Doctor Lin's family!"

"Yes! Promise to complete the mission!"

After saying that, Zhang Dafu hurriedly left the room to complete the task assigned by Ye Mingsheng.

After he left, Ye Mingsheng looked at the sleeping Jingren and then surveyed the furnishings of the room.

He had just promised a hefty reward for rescuing Jingren, and he certainly wouldn't go back on his word. However, before that, it was still necessary to understand the situation...