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

Chapter 24, Crown Prince Han is critically ill, everyone has their own ulterior motives.
The eunuch Han was still telling Xu Qing about what had happened to Crown Prince Han.

Last night, when Crown Prince Han was returning to his residence, the bridge collapsed as he passed by, and his carriage fell into the river.

Fortunately, his entourage managed to pull Prince Han from the river in time and rushed him back to the Prince's residence for treatment. The physician at the Prince's residence said he was alright, but Prince Han remained unconscious.
Starting this morning, Crown Prince Han developed a persistent high fever. The physicians of the Crown Prince's residence were at a loss, so they sent physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy to treat him.

At the time, Xu Qing was examining the pulse in the Tide Maiden's Palace, so the Imperial Medical Academy did not notify Xu Qing. Despite the treatment by everyone in the Imperial Medical Academy and even the Imperial Physician, Crown Prince Han's condition did not improve, and the physicians all believed that Crown Prince Han was beyond saving.

Xu Qing listened and nodded. In the original story, Prince Han was also poisoned and thrown into the river by Tianze and his group, and now he has fallen into the water again.

For a moment, Xu Qingzhen was unsure whether Han Wang An had been cuckolded, or if the Crown Prince Han actually had the surname Zhu.

"Everyone else was at a loss, so His Majesty thought of you. Back then, when Consort Hu suffered from anorexia, no one else could do anything about it, but you cured her."

After Han finished speaking, he looked around and then whispered...

"After you cured Consort Hu last time, rumors spread that you could communicate with ghosts and gods and use their power to bring the dead back to life. That's why His Majesty sent you to treat the Crown Prince."

"Me!? Those are just rumors." Xu Qing quickly waved his hand in refusal.

He knows his own abilities. Even the Imperial Physician Wang, the chief physician, was helpless, let alone him.

"Imperial Physician Xu, this is no longer a matter of rumors. The King, the General, the Prime Minister, the Fourth Prince, and others are all waiting for you at the Crown Prince's residence," said Eunuch Han.

Xu Qing's face stiffened, and he asked in a low voice.
"Eunuch Han, what if His Highness the Crown Prince is ultimately powerless to reverse the situation?"

“I don’t know what the King is like, but the General probably won’t let you and the Imperial Hospital off the hook,” said Han, the eunuch, with a meaningful look.

Xu Qing's expression was unpredictable; how could he have forgotten Ji Wuye?

Crown Prince Han is a puppet supported by Ji Wuye. If Crown Prince Han were to die from his illness, Ji Wuye would surely take his anger out on the imperial physicians.

Just as Xu Qing was hesitating, the ball of light in his mind lit up again, and four sticks flew out from it.

[The central palace is out of balance, chaos is about to begin; a white rainbow pierces the sun, undercurrents surge, life and death hang in the balance.]

[A medium-to-low fortune: You will travel to the Crown Prince's residence to treat Crown Prince Han. Exercise caution, as you may incur jealousy and hidden disasters, potentially endangering your life. There is a fourth-rank opportunity, but it is ominous. Entangled in karmic entanglements, the future requires careful consideration.]

[A poorly conceded fortune: You will go to the Crown Prince's residence, only to witness his death. Like fish caught in a fire at the city gate, you may be caught in the crossfire and face imminent danger. This is an ominous sign. Life and death are preordained, wealth and honor are determined by fate.]

[A very bad omen. Go to the Crown Prince's residence to buy time, escape Xinzheng in the chaos, but be pursued and killed. Your fate is in the hands of fate. Extremely unlucky.]

[This is the worst possible outcome. Refusing to treat Crown Prince Han will implicate many others, leading to certain death. It is an extremely unlucky omen.]

Looking at the four sticks, Xu Qing was shocked. This was the first time he had ever encountered four sticks that were all considered unlucky or extremely unlucky.

Before Xu Qing could think it through, the eunuch Han reached out and pulled him along.

"Doctor Xu, don't hesitate any longer. Let me go quickly. Every minute we delay will increase the danger to His Highness the Crown Prince."

Xu Qing snapped out of his reverie and said to Eunuch Han...

"Eunuch Han, please wait a moment. I have a few more words to instruct them."

"Please hurry, I'll wait outside."

Han, the eunuch, left again with several attendants. Xu Qing gave a few instructions to the people in the medicine storehouse.

"You must be careful when you put the medicinal flowers back together, and you absolutely cannot make a mistake. These medicinal flowers may seem harmless, but if mixed together, they can cause considerable harm to people. If you can't tell the difference, just wait for me to come back and put them back together," Xu Qing instructed before leaving.

"Don't worry, Physician Xu, we will be careful," everyone said in unison.

Xu Qing picked up his medicine chest and left the medicine storehouse. He followed Eunuch Han into the carriage and headed towards the Crown Prince's residence, but in his heart he was thinking about the fortune-telling.

The people in the medicine storehouse got busy again. Old Song continued to calculate the number of medicinal flowers in the storehouse, while the other eunuchs continued to move the medicine bags.

Two young eunuchs carrying medicine bags walked toward the medicine shelf. They bumped into each other without noticing, and the medicine bags on their shoulders fell to the ground, spilling out of the bags and mixing with the medicine.

The young eunuch stood there, stunned, his face filled with terror. After realizing that no one was around, he noticed that the two bags of medicinal flowers were almost identical and could not be distinguished from each other when mixed together.

"What should we do?" The two looked at each other and saw the fear in each other's eyes.

These medicinal flowers were all requested by Lady Mingzhu. Last time, someone carelessly contaminated the medicinal flowers and was immediately executed by Lady Mingzhu.

"Let's wait for Physician Xu to return and make a diagnosis."

"Are you courting death? We don't even know when Physician Xu will be back. If someone finds out we've defiled the medicinal flowers and reports it to Madam Mingzhu, do you think we can keep our lives?"

"These two medicinal flowers look the same, so they must be the same species."

The young eunuch looked around and, finding no one nearby, quickly knelt down and put the medicinal flowers back into the bag. Seeing this, the remaining young eunuchs hesitated for a moment, then also quickly knelt down and put the medicinal flowers back into their medicine bags.

After packing the medicinal flowers, the two acted as if nothing had happened and placed them in the designated spot. Meanwhile, thanks to the coachman's swift action, Xu Qing arrived at the Crown Prince's residence in the shortest possible time.

Led by Han, the palace attendant, Xu Qing went straight to the palace where the Crown Prince was located.

At this moment, there were quite a few people standing in the room.

King Han sat beside the Crown Prince's bed, looking at him with concern. Ji Wuye, Zhang Kaidi, and Han Yu stood to the side, their expressions varied, each lost in their own thoughts.

The imperial physician and a dozen other medical officials gathered together in fear and unease, discussing the Crown Prince's condition in hushed tones. From their expressions, it was clear that the Crown Prince was beyond saving.

"Your Majesty, Physician Xu has arrived," said Han, the palace attendant.

Everyone in the room looked at Xu Qing at the door. Han Wang'an sat up from the bed and shouted loudly.

"Quickly, let Physician Xu in."

Xu Qing glanced at Physician Wang, who shook his head slightly, indicating that he was powerless to help.

Upon seeing this, Xu Qing felt a pang of anxiety and turned to walk into the inner room.

"Your subject Xu Qing greets Your Majesty, and pays respects to Prime Minister Zhang, the General, and the Fourth Prince," Xu Qing said, bowing to the four.

"No need for formalities, come quickly and see the Crown Prince. You must save him," King Han An said anxiously.

Crown Prince Han was the son of King Han's late Queen and his first child. He was of great importance to both him and the state of Han.

The other physicians were powerless to help the Crown Prince Han. Even though Xu Qing's abilities were only rumored and had not yet been tested, King Han An could only place all his hopes on Xu Qing.

"Yes."

Xu Qing walked to Prince Han's side and began to examine him.

Just as the eunuch Han had said, Crown Prince Han was burning hot and unconscious.

While Xu Qing was examining Crown Prince Han, Ji Wuye, Zhang Kaidi, and Han Yu were all anxiously waiting for Xu Qing's results.

Ji Wuye's face was ashen, his eyes filled with coldness, and he glanced at Han Yu out of the corner of his eye from time to time.

He was absolutely certain that Han Yu was the mastermind behind the assassination attempt on Crown Prince Han, but he had no evidence whatsoever.

Now that Crown Prince Han is likely dead, he couldn't help but feel anxious. With Crown Prince Han dead, all his support over the past ten years would have been in vain.

Han Yu will also take the opportunity to launch an attack on him. He can only hope that Xu Qing can cure Prince Han. Otherwise, he will have no choice but to break ties with Han Yu and fight to the death, so that Zhang Kaidi can reap the benefits in the end.

Han Yu's expression remained normal, but his hands, clasped tightly behind his back, were clearly very nervous.

It was indeed his doing that the Crown Prince fell into the water. In order to assassinate Crown Prince Han, he deliberately sent out a group of trusted assassins half a month ago to lure out the Hundred Birds Assassins. At the same time, he arranged for people to monitor Crown Prince Han and look for an opportunity.

Last night he finally found an opportunity, thinking he could kill Crown Prince Han in one fell swoop.

As a result, Crown Prince Han survived the fall into the water, and Ji Wuye removed all the spies he had planted in the Imperial Hospital, leaving him no chance to make another move.

Fortunately, after being treated by the imperial physicians, Crown Prince Han's condition did not improve, which meant that there was no hope of recovery.

However, he dared not be careless, after all, the rumors about Xu Qing were too exaggerated. Even though he knew that most of them were false, Hu Meiren and Chao Nu Yao both regarded him as their trusted imperial physician, which made him believe that Xu Qing was really capable.

If Xu Qing actually cures the Crown Prince, all his previous efforts will be in vain.

Zhang Kaidi stood between the two, stroking his beard, his eyes filled with worry.

He also did not want the Crown Prince of Han to die, because if the Crown Prince of Han died, the balance of power in the Han court would certainly be broken.

Now, the Qin state is eyeing the Han state covetously. The Han state is embroiled in internal strife over the position of crown prince and can only become fish on Qin's chopping block, at Qin's mercy.

As everyone anxiously awaited Xu Qing's results, Xu Qing slowly withdrew her hand from taking the pulse.

"How is His Highness the Crown Prince?" Ji Wuye asked anxiously.

Xu Qing stood up, glanced around at Han Wang'an and the other three beside him, and shook his head slightly.
"I need to discuss this with the imperial physicians before I can make a decision."

Xu Qing's words were ambiguous, but to Han Wang'an and the others, it sounded like the Crown Prince Han still had hope.

A glint of light flashed in the eyes of Ji Wuye, Han Wang'an, and Zhang Kaidi, and Han Yu unconsciously tightened his grip on his hands behind his back.

"That means His Highness the Crown Prince can still be saved! Quickly, summon all the physicians outside and let them discuss how to treat the Crown Prince!" Ji Wuye shouted impatiently.

"I will go and discuss this with the Imperial Physician."

(End of this chapter)