The struggle for the throne during the Jiajing reign

Zhu Zaizhen had just come from Princess Chang'an, Zhu Shouying's place. She had been ill for over a month, and despite being given bowls of medicine, it was as if it had been poured onto a stone, showing no improvement whatsoever.

Seeing his face grow paler and paler each day, and his breath grow weaker and weaker, anyone could tell that he was about to die.

She wasn't Zhu Zaizhen's older sister, but they were only a year apart. Before they were eight, they played together and had a deep bond. Although Chang'an was only a little older than him, she always took care of him and gave way to him, never showing any dislike for him because of his mischievousness.

After the two turned eight, they saw each other less often due to etiquette, but that didn't mean Zhu Zaizhen didn't care at all. Some time ago, when he heard that the princess was sick, he sent someone to see her, but at that time he only thought she had a slight cold.

But upon hearing the news today that the princess was critically ill, Zhu Zaizhen abandoned his studies and rushed over.

"Why isn't it getting any better?"

Zhu Zaizhen stood in front of the palace gate, his voice low and his tone extremely flat, but what was hidden in that flatness sent chills down the spine of Liu Wenjie, the newly appointed Right Vice President of the Imperial Medical Academy, who was kneeling in front.

The palace maids behind them didn't dare to breathe loudly, their heads almost buried in the cracks between the blue bricks, while the female official stood aside with a cold face.

Prince Jing has been running rampant in the palace for more than a year or two, especially now that the only two people who could restrain him, the Crown Prince, have passed away, and Consort Wang no longer cares about anything.

There were also rumors circulating in the palace that Prince Jing might be going to become the crown prince, so no one dared to offend him.

Liu Wenjie pressed his forehead against the cold brick surface, his voice strained: "Your Highness, please calm down. The princess was born with a weak constitution, congenitally deficient, with a weak spleen and stomach, and a deficiency of both qi and blood. We have been examining her day and night, daring not to slacken in the slightest, but..."

"Just what?" Zhu Zaizhen showed him no mercy. "Just that you dared not use strong medicine, so you used mild tonics to prolong the illness day after day, until the princess was beyond saving. You won't be guilty then, Physician Liu, am I right?"

"Your humble servant is guilty!"

These imperial physicians, whose ancestors were mostly imperial physicians, were guided by the principle of avoiding mistakes rather than seeking merit, and that it was better to be slow than wrong and better to be safe than risky.

Zhu Zaizhen thought to himself, "It's absolutely not good to not have a trustworthy doctor by my side. If I fall into the hands of these imperial physicians, even a minor illness will turn into a major one, and I'll die unjustly."

We need to send someone to find Wan Mizhai. In fact, Zhu Zaizhen had forgotten whether this person was named Mizhai, or whether it was his courtesy name or pseudonym. He only remembered that he had briefly read about this person's general deeds in the Complete Works of Famous Doctors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

He was rigorous in his scholarship and had high medical ethics. He practiced medicine for more than 50 years and was renowned for his pediatrics, gynecology and smallpox treatment. He was unique in his theory and practice of health preservation and was famous in Hubei, Henan, Anhui and Jiangxi provinces. He was famous during the Longqing and Wanli periods of the Ming Dynasty and was known as the Sage of Medicine.

By then, his medical skills had become highly accomplished, and the areas where he had gained fame were all not far from Nanjing. So, a message was sent to his maternal grandfather's family to search for him and invite him to the palace.

"I don't care what method you use, stabilize the princess's condition immediately. If you continue to delay and something unbearable happens, I will definitely send you to the imperial prison to be punished for plotting to harm the princess!"

Liu Wenjie's expression changed drastically. He knelt on the ground, his lips moving several times, trying to argue his case. The princess's illness was a congenital weakness, and even a celestial being might not be able to guarantee a cure. Why should he be imprisoned?

But when he looked up and met King Jing's eyes, he suddenly couldn't utter a single word. There was no anger or intimidation in those eyes, but rather certainty.

He was so certain that he understood the prince wasn't trying to scare him, but was telling him a fact.

Now that I have spoken, I have no intention of reasoning with you. If anything happens to the princess, I will send him to the imperial prison no matter the cost.

Liu Wenjie swallowed his words, and several prescriptions instantly flooded his mind.

The strong medicine that we dared not use before, we have to use now. If we don't use it now, we may never have the chance to use it again.

He immediately kowtowed and rose to enter the palace again to take the princess's pulse. However, he was stopped by someone as soon as he took a step.

"No." The voice was perfectly steady.

"I just took her pulse. The princess has already rested. Moreover, the other two imperial physicians went to prepare the medicine. Only the chief physician entered, which is not in accordance with proper etiquette."

The person who stopped him was the head housekeeper in the princess's palace, commonly known as a housekeeper. She was usually an old palace maid who had taken care of the princess as she grew up. Even after the princess got married, she still had great power and could even control the lives of the princess and her husband.

He appeared to be in his fifties, slightly overweight and hunched over, yet his back was stiff and rigid, exuding the arrogant and ruthless air unique to elderly people in the palace.

Her round face was loose and sagging, with deep lines on her cheeks, and her complexion was a dull, sallow yellow, a result of years of living deep within the palace.

She turned to Zhu Zaizhen, slightly curtsied, and spoke in a softer tone than when she had stopped Liu Wenjie, but still with a hint of nonchalance: "Your Highness Prince Jing, I can look after the princess here. You have a lot of studies to attend to, so please go back first."

The imperial physician looked at Prince Jing. Zhu Zaizhen stopped thinking and glanced at the housekeeper in surprise. He hadn't even had a chance to investigate the details of the princess's palace, but she had already jumped out.

This foolish old woman, does she think I'm her prince consort?

"Take him away, slap him fifty times, and take him to the Imperial Household Department for interrogation. If he is suspected of plotting against the princess, send him to the Eastern Depot. If not, it is still a case of negligence and he will be expelled from the palace."

Everyone around shuddered. This young master was not old, but he was really ruthless. He was either in the Imperial Guard's prison or the Eastern Depot of the Inner Court, places they wouldn't even dare to dream of.

As soon as she finished speaking, no one dared to move. After all, this was the princess's residence, and the housekeeper had amassed her power here for many years.

Ma Dezhao frowned: "Damn it! They all want to go with her?"

This immediately startled them. Two eunuchs rushed forward and restrained the head housekeeper. The head housekeeper then came to her senses, her face turning deathly pale. She struggled and cried out, "Your Highness! I am the princess's head housekeeper! I have served the princess for many years, and even if I have not performed meritorious service, I have certainly worked hard. You are not the mistress of the harem, and you have no right to punish me!"

Zhu Zaizhen completely ignored her. He was not the master of the harem, but he was a prince, a prince of the blood. Did he need anyone's approval to take away a servant girl?

We are now in a traditional, late-stage feudal society with a landlord system!

Evil may be evil, but when monarchical power reaches its peak, killing officials may require a plausible reason, but killing servants only requires a moment of whim.

"Shut her up," Ma Dezhao ordered, frowning.

"promise!"

Tao Ze immediately stepped forward, his thick, muscular body brimming with power. With his eyes wide open and teeth clenched, he slapped the old woman, sending half a tooth flying out of her mouth. Her chin was crooked, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed like a limp rag doll, completely unconscious.

It looks like it's uncertain whether he'll ever wake up again.

Zhu Zaizhen couldn't help but take another look at Tao Ze. He hadn't realized that this chubby boy, who was usually quiet and unassuming, and didn't seem to have any outstanding qualities when running errands, was actually quite capable. It was a waste to use him for serving tea and water.

He secretly made a mental note of it, planning to send the man to the Imperial Stables for training. If he trained well, he could have a useful martial arts assistant by his side.

...............