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

Chapter 11, A Deadly Situation (Please read on! Please vote!)
Xu Qing was consulting with Physician Wang about medical techniques. After Physician Wang's explanation, the parts that had seemed obscure and difficult to understand suddenly became clear.

Medical skills cannot be improved in a short period of time without a good teacher. No matter how talented you are, you can't improve them quickly.

Xu Qing was very glad that she made the choice yesterday, otherwise where could she find someone who could patiently teach her medical skills?
Just as Xu Qing was about to continue questioning, the door was pushed open, and a palace maid walked into the room under their gazes.

"Greetings, Imperial Physician Xu," the palace maid said, bowing.

"You are a maidservant of Lady Nanming. What brings you here? Is it because Lady Nanming is unwell and you have come to ask someone to examine her pulse?" Physician Wang inquired.

Xu Qing naturally knew about the Lady of the Southern Ming Dynasty.

As the second most favored person in the Han King's palace after Consort Hu and Lady Mingzhu, Lady Nanming was not only beautiful but also pregnant.

This made her incredibly popular in the Han royal palace for a time, even surpassing Consort Hu in some ways.

"Madam suddenly feels unwell today and wishes to have Physician Xu examine her pulse," the maid said.

"Huh? Me?" Xu Qing pointed to herself, somewhat surprised.

“That’s right. Now the entire palace knows that Physician Xu is highly skilled and has miraculous healing abilities, so my lady specially invited you to examine him,” the maid said.

At this moment, several physicians had gathered at the entrance, and Chen Yi was among them. Upon hearing the maid's words, the assembled physicians all cautiously looked at Chen Yi.

Chen Yi's face was gloomy. He was the one who had diagnosed Madam Nanming's pregnancy.

According to regulations, it is now his responsibility to see Lady Nanming if she is unwell in the future.

Now, Madam Nanming's maid came to invite Xu Qing. Feeling the gazes of others, Chen Yi's face turned ashen, and anger burned within him.

Just as Xu Qing was surprised, the ball of light in his mind flashed brightly again, and three signatures flew out from it. Xu Qing was shocked and looked at the three signatures that appeared in his mind.

Lady Nanming fell ill and sought medical help. Many admired her and were eager to try. However, misfortune may be a blessing in disguise, and a calamity may be brewing within a blessing; a shocking turn of events was imminent.

[A moderately favorable outcome. Find a reason to refuse the consultation, send someone else instead, and calmly go to see Hu Meiren. There will be a minor commotion, but nothing serious will happen. Obtain a sixth-grade opportunity. Act discreetly and without worry. Peaceful outcome.]

[A less than ideal outcome. A firm refusal to see a doctor angers Lady Nanming, leading to retaliation and further misfortune. Fortunately, a benefactor intervenes. A minor misfortune.]

[This is a very bad omen. Accepting the invitation to a medical consultation will undoubtedly lead to death; it is an extremely unlucky sign.]

Xu Qing was greatly alarmed. Although he had drawn lots three times in total, none of them had been as dangerous as this one.

At least there was good fortune before, but this time the best outcome is still peace after encountering turbulence.

This instantly dispelled Xu Qing's smugness stemming from the opportunity he had gained the previous day, reminding him of the dangers of the Han Palace and the need to be careful in everything he did, lest a single misstep lead to utter ruin.

"Physician Xu, Physician Xu, the Madam is still waiting for you. Please come with me," the maid called softly.

Xu Qing snapped out of her daze and looked at the somewhat anxious maid, then suddenly realized that Physician Chen, who was standing in the crowd outside the door with an unfriendly look in his eyes.

Suddenly, an idea popped into my head.

Under the watchful eyes of Physician Wang and the others, Xu Qing spoke.

“This is probably not a good idea. Usually, it was Physician Chen who diagnosed Madam’s pregnancy. If I were to go instead, I would not know what Madam’s pulse was like before, and I might make a blind guess.”

After Xu Qing finished speaking, she specifically looked at Chen Yi in the crowd.

The other medical officers all looked on with amusement, eager to see who would emerge victorious in this fierce battle between Xu Qing and Chen Yi.

Feeling the gazes of everyone and Xu Qing's slightly provocative look, Chen Yi could no longer contain his anger. His face turned ashen, and he stepped forward and said...
“Miss Yingchun, yesterday the King ordered Physician Xu to focus on treating Consort Hu’s illness.”

"Now that it's time for the consultation, I'm afraid Physician Xu will be too busy to take Madam Nanming's pulse with all his heart. Since I'm the one who usually takes Madam's pulse, it would be better if I went first and then we could ask Physician Xu to take her pulse later."

When Chen Yi stepped forward, Yingchun looked troubled. She knew the rules of the Imperial Medical Academy: one master should not employ two doctors.

"This lady said she was inviting Physician Xu," Yingchun said, sounding troubled.

The other medical officers then looked at Xu Qing, wanting to see how he would retaliate.

Xu Qing remained calm, as if she were detached from the situation, with a faint smile on her face.

"This concerns the unborn child in Madam's womb. If we rashly let Physician Xu take over, I'm afraid he won't be able to make an accurate diagnosis. If we are not careful and it affects the fetus, we will all be held responsible."

Yingchun's expression changed upon hearing this. Her and her mistress's fortunes depended entirely on the unborn child; if anything happened to the fetus, not only would their wealth and status be at risk, but even their lives would be in danger. "Very well, in that case, please have Physician Chen come with me to examine Madam's pulse," Yingchun said.

“Alright, please wait a moment, young lady,” Chen Yi said.

Yingchun nodded and walked outside, while Chen Yi looked at Xu Qing.

"I'm so sorry, Physician Xu. Consort Hu can't do without you, so I'll go and treat Madam Nanming first. If there are any problems, then I'll ask you to come over, okay?" Chen Yi said with a smug look on his face.

"Hehe, Physician Chen's medical skills are superb, he can naturally serve Madam Nanming well. There is no need for me to come. I just hope Physician Chen has a smooth journey." Xu Qing said with a cold smile.

Seeing this, all the medical officers took a step back. The two had completely abandoned all pretense of civility, and what followed was a life-or-death struggle.

Physician Wang's eyes darted back and forth between Xu Qing and Chen Yi, his thoughts a mystery.

"Of course, there's no need for Physician Xu to trouble himself." Chen Yi turned and walked towards the door, then stopped at the entrance and said.
"Some people, because of a few words of praise from outsiders, become arrogant and think that they have superb medical skills and can solve any problem."

After Chen Yi finished speaking, he left directly. The physicians outside the door glanced at Xu Qing and then dispersed, not daring to linger any longer.

That's really stupid.

Xu Qing thought to himself, since the other party was so willing to help him fill the hole, he was naturally more than happy to do so.

Physician Wang looked at Xu Qing, whose expression remained unchanged, and said in a low voice...
“Xiao Xu, although Consort Hu is a favored concubine, she has no children. In the long run, she is not as good as Lady Nanming. How can you give up this job so easily? It’s just taking pulses. Consort Hu won’t say anything.”

"Thank you for your guidance, Physician Wang. His Majesty has instructed me to focus on serving Consort Hu, and I am truly unable to attend to Lady Nanming's affairs as well," Xu Qing said with a smile.

The fortune slip clearly stated that going to see a doctor would inevitably lead to death. If Chen Yi wanted to go, then he could go; why would he try to steal it?

He's not some old man who'd drink poison; he's not tired of living.

He didn't have the guts to treat Madam Nanming, but he certainly did have the guts to use this opportunity to frame Chen Yi, and a great deal of them.

Seeing this, Physician Wang said nothing more. In any case, he was just a decrepit old man about to retire, and the affairs of the Imperial Hospital were not of much concern to him. Whether Xu Qing or Chen Yi won or lost was none of his business.

"Imperial Physician Wang, I should go and examine Consort Hu. I'll return later to take over the medicine storehouse," Xu Qing said.

"Go."

Xu Qing bowed and took his leave, picking up his medicine box and departing.

After leaving the Imperial Hospital, Xu Qing headed alone toward Consort Hu's palace.

Xu Qing walked silently the whole way, but when she came to a corridor, she encountered Chen Yi and Yingchun, the maid of Madam Nanming.

Yingchun didn't say anything, but Chen Yi raised his eyebrows at Xu Qing provocatively, his eyes full of smugness.

"Keep your smugness going. When the big event is about to happen, that will be the time of your death." Xu Qing coldly watched Chen Yi leave, then turned and walked into another corridor.

Before long, Xu Qing arrived at Hu Meiren's palace. After announcing his name, Ruo Tao came out to greet him.

"Physician Xu, you've worked hard. Please come with me." Ruotao smiled and bowed to Xu Qing.

"Miss Ruotao, it is my duty to treat the beauty; there is no hardship involved," Xu Qing said with a smile. "I wonder if the beauty experienced any adverse reactions after eating yesterday?"

"Yesterday, the beauty ate a bowl of congee, and then took the medicine that Han, the eunuch, brought. In the evening, she ate some more congee."

"Overall, the beauty has no adverse reactions and is no longer sickly; she has regained some energy."

Ruotao led Xu Qing toward the palace.

"That's good. Today, my beauty should continue to eat light meals, but she can eat a little something to replenish her qi," Xu Qing said. This was the result of his reading medical books yesterday and consulting with Physician Wang today.

Without absolute certainty, Xu Qing dared not prescribe medicine or offer advice to Hu Meiren lightly.

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(End of this chapter)