People in the Qin Dynasty sought good fortune and avoided misfortune.

Chapter 10, The Struggle Within the Imperial Medical Academy (Please read on! Please vote!)

The next day, as dawn broke, Xu Qing got up and began to prepare himself to go to the Imperial Hospital for his roll call.

Xu Qing read medical books until late last night, getting less than two hours of sleep. However, thanks to the benefits of the Evergreen Technique, he felt not tired at all, but rather full of energy. Even his sore calves from yesterday were not as bad as they had been.

In response, Xu Qing could only say that the Evergreen Skill truly lived up to its reputation as a top-tier martial art; it was indeed incredibly powerful.

After eating some leftovers from last night, Xu Qing headed towards the Han King's Palace with his medicine box.

Xu Qing walked while thinking about what she needed to do today.

"I can't be late today, lest others say I'm being arrogant. First, I'll go to the Imperial Hospital to report for duty, and then go to examine Consort Hu's pulse when it's time. After that, I'll officially take over the task from the deceased Imperial Physician Wen, and be responsible for managing the medicine storehouse and the daily purchase of medicinal materials."

"After finishing official business, go to the Imperial Physician's room to get two scrolls of bamboo slips to read, and while you're at it, ask Physician Wang about the parts of the book he didn't understand last night. If you have some free time, practice the Evergreen Kung Fu in your room."

As Xu Qing was planning his tasks for the day, he realized that he had never studied so hard in his previous life. He never expected that being reborn would make him experience all the hardships he had never faced before.

But for the sake of my own life, I must persevere no matter how hard or tiring studying and practicing martial arts, because time waits for no one!

After being checked outside the Han King's Palace, Xu Qing entered the palace and, after passing through several corridors, arrived at the Imperial Hospital.

As soon as Xu Qing entered the Imperial Medical Academy, several medical officers bowed to him.

"Doctor Xu."

"Hello everyone."

Xu Qing nodded in return, paying no attention to the group continuing towards their post.

After entering, the several medical officers inside greeted Xu Qing and bowed to him, and Xu Qing smiled and greeted them in return.

Amidst the harmonious scene of colleagues, an untimely snort rang out.

The physician who greeted Xu Qing smiled awkwardly and made an excuse to leave. The affairs of the imperial physicians were not something they, as physicians, could get involved in.

Xu Qing looked toward the source of the cold snort. At the door, a middle-aged, long-bearded imperial physician was staring at him with an unfriendly expression, his eyes flashing with cold light and anger.

"Doctor Chen, did you not get a good rest last night?" Xu Qing greeted him with a smile.

Xu Qing recognized this person; he was Chen Yi, one of the five imperial physicians of the Imperial Medical Academy.

"It doesn't matter whether I get enough rest or not, but Physician Xu, you must get some rest. You have the important responsibility of treating Consort Hu and managing the medicine storehouse."

"Such an important task has been entrusted to you; you have a bright future ahead of you."

Chen Yi snorted coldly and left.

Xu Qing looked at Chen Yi's departing figure with a puzzled expression. He had never offended the other party before.

The other physicians simply shook their heads slightly and remained silent.

Xu Qing's smile also disappeared. Of all the people he asked to treat Hu Meiren's illness yesterday, Chen Yi was the most enthusiastic.

Before I could even settle the score with him afterward, he gave me a taste of his own medicine. It seems my low profile yesterday only made him seem weak and easily bullied.

But since they're all colleagues, even if it's just a show of force, there's no need to be so ruthless, right? He needs to figure out exactly what happened in the Imperial Hospital before he can respond effectively.

After calmly checking in, Xu Qing went straight to his office.

He was already an imperial physician, so naturally he had his own office, and this room belonged to the deceased Imperial Physician Wen.

As soon as Xu Qing opened the door, she saw that her desk was piled high with gifts.

"What is this?" Xu Qing asked as he walked to the table.

"It's just some congratulatory gifts among colleagues. You cured Consort Hu, which not only saved the Imperial Hospital from disaster but also brought them a lot of glory. It's normal to give some gifts."

The voice of Physician Wang came from behind Xu Qing.

Xu Qing turned around and saw Physician Wang walking in with a smile on his face.

"Imperial Physician Wang," Xu Qing bowed.

"No need to be so polite, these are all the kind gestures of my colleagues," said Physician Wang.

Xu Qing looked at the gifts, all of which were valuable items, including five gold coins.

I weighed them in my hands; each one was about a pound. Clearly, this was more than the kind of gift one would give for a colleague's promotion, and it naturally carried an element of apology and goodwill.

"Thank you all for your congratulatory gifts. I'll treat you all to drinks later," Xu Qing said with a smile.

Seeing that Xu Qing accepted the gift, Physician Wang breathed a sigh of relief. This meant that Xu Qing had completely let go of the past and that he could spend his final days in the Imperial Hospital peacefully.

Looking at the list of congratulatory gifts on the table, Chen Yi was the only one in the entire Imperial Medical Academy who had not sent a gift.

"Physician Wang, I ran into Physician Chen when I was on duty today. He seemed to have some misunderstanding about me," Xu Qing asked Physician Wang. "Sigh," Physician Wang sighed.

"It's not a misunderstanding. When they were in charge of the Imperial Hospital, Physician Chen and Physician Wen fought over the management of the medicine storehouse. You know the result."

"After Physician Wen died yesterday, he came to visit me hoping that I would hand over the medicine storehouse to him, but I did not agree. This morning, after I announced that the medicine storehouse would be under your management, he became dissatisfied."

Xu Qing suddenly realized that the other party had also set their sights on the lucrative medicine warehouse, but hadn't expected that he would get there first, so they were holding a grudge.

As expected, self-interest can move people's hearts; they actually turned against him for the sake of the medicine storehouse.

This shows that the pharmacy was extremely lucrative, enough to make him willing to offend someone who had already become involved with Hu Meiren.

"Little Xu, this Physician Chen..." Physician Wang looked at Xu Qing and wanted to defend him.

"Physician Wang, last night I looked at the bamboo slips you gave me, and there were a few parts that were difficult to understand. I wonder if you could enlighten me?" Xu Qing interrupted Physician Wang directly.

Seeing this, Imperial Physician Wang could only sigh helplessly. Although Xu Qing had become an imperial physician and had Consort Hu as his backer, he was still young. If he wanted to gain a foothold in the Imperial Hospital, he had to establish his authority.

Now that Chen Yi has come to him of his own accord, Xu Qing is naturally not going to let him go.

"Where? I happen to have some time now," said Physician Wang.

Xu Qing took out the bamboo slip from the medicine box and began to ask questions, seemingly not taking Chen Yi's matter to heart.

Meanwhile, in another room of the Imperial Medical Academy.

Chen Yi angrily threw the bamboo slip in his hand to the ground, and the physician next to him trembled at the sight.

"That damned thing! He's not even old enough to be a doctor, and his medical skills are so poor that he doesn't even meet the standards of a physician. He managed to cure Lady Hu by using some trickery, and after a few words of praise from outsiders, he really thinks he's a miracle worker?"

"That old bastard Wang Zhihe, he actually gave in to a nobody and even handed over the management of the medicine warehouse to him. Does he deserve it?"

Chen Yi's face was contorted with rage, his eyes filled with fury. He grabbed the bamboo slips from the table and, as if treating Xu Qing, slammed them to the ground.

Managing the pharmacy and purchasing medicinal herbs were the only two ways to make money in the otherwise leisurely Imperial Medical Academy.

He had put a lot of effort into managing the medicine storehouse. He had previously competed with Imperial Physician Wen, but his medical skills were inferior to Wen's, so he hadn't managed to get his hands on it.

Now that Imperial Physician Wen is dead, the entire Imperial Medical Academy knows that he was determined to take over the management of the pharmacy.

Now, Physician Wang has handed him over to Xu Qing. Isn't this just telling everyone that Chen Yi is inferior to this kid Xu Qing? This is simply an insult to him.

Feeling humiliated and having lost the opportunity to make some extra money, Chen Yi immediately harbored a grudge against Xu Qing.

"After all, Physician Xu has cured Consort Hu," a trusted physician said cautiously.

"Shut up!" Chen Yi glared at the physician with murderous eyes.

"He's just latched onto Hu Meiren's coattails. What ability does he have? As long as I find a powerful patron, what is Xu Qing anyway?"

The physician immediately shut his mouth, but in his mind he couldn't help but make up stories: You want to hug me? Do you even have the chance?

Chen Yi paced back and forth in the house, his face ashen, his mind racing with thoughts of how to curry favor with Xu Qing in the harem and compete with her.

Just as Chen Yi was pondering, a strange noise came from outside.

"What's going on outside? Who's making such a racket?" Chen Yi said irritably.

The physician standing nearby immediately ran out of the house to investigate and then quickly returned.

"It's Lady Nanming's personal maidservant who's come to request the imperial physician to examine Lady Nanming's pulse," the physician said.

Chen Yi was taken aback, then his face lit up with joy. He knew his chance had come, so he quickly straightened his clothes and walked outside.

Seeing Madam Nanming's personal maid in the courtyard, Chen Yi was about to call out to her when he saw her walking towards Xu Qing's room. The anger he had just suppressed instantly reignited in his heart.

"Damn it." Chen Yi cursed under his breath, quickly adjusted his mindset, and followed Xu Qing's house.

If he could, he would never want to step into this house in his entire life.

But his chance to snatch the medicine storehouse back from Xu Qing was right in front of him, and he had to seize it.

Xu Qing managed to curry favor with Consort Hu, but Lady Nanming was not only a favorite concubine of the Prince of Han, but also pregnant.

No matter how beautiful Consort Hu was, she couldn't compare to Lady Nanming, who was pregnant with a child. After all, it was an indisputable fact that Prince Han An lacked offspring.

As long as he latched onto Madam Nanming's coattails, Chen Yi believed he could definitely suppress Xu Qing and fiercely retaliate against the humiliation he had suffered.

Thank you to the Molotov Cocktail Master for the 500 Qidian Coins reward.

Thank you for the two monthly tickets.

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(End of this chapter)