The most dissolute couple in the capital

The news that the Prince of Liang wanted to study medicine quickly reached the palace. The Emperor and the Empress Dowager were deeply moved by the news of the last-place student striving for improvement and rewarded him with many gifts.

Cycads are blooming!

A sow climbing a tree! (Just kidding!)

His Majesty bestowed upon him a set of imperial sandalwood medicine chests, twelve volumes of medical books from the Imperial Medical Academy's collection, and a quantity of high-quality cinnabar, realgar, and other medicinal materials.

The Empress Dowager mainly bestowed these gifts upon Cui Qingyi: two bolts of brocade and a box of pearls, primarily to praise her for her effective advice.

They've only been attending classes for three days!

Meanwhile, the highly anticipated "medical prodigy" Prince Liang is experiencing the darkest moment of his life in his study.

Cui Qingyi brought the reward to Li Chengjing, who was reclining in a chair reciting the medicinal herbs and their properties, while Liu Lu stood to the side fanning him.

"A bluish complexion indicates disease in the liver and gallbladder... A reddish complexion indicates disease in the heart and small intestine..."

(Note: This is from Zhang Zhongjing's original work, "Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases")

After reciting a few lines, I closed the book and reflected: "Green is the heart... no, green is the stomach... no, then where does green come from? The liver... the liver?"

He glanced at Liu Lu, who was beaming. "Oh my! Your Highness is absolutely right, truly a man of integrity! Your Highness's photographic memory and ability to grasp concepts instantly are simply the work of Bian Que and Hua Tuo reborn!"

Su Xin stood behind Cui Qingyi, not daring to look up.

We're both servants, but it seems I haven't been working hard enough.

"Wow... a genius..." Li Chengjing said with a hint of pride, "Truly a genius."

Upon seeing Cui Qingyi enter, Li Chengjing immediately sat up straight and eagerly approached her, exclaiming, "Qingyi, you've come to see me!"

Cui Qingyi instructed the maids to bring up the gifts: "These were all bestowed by your imperial brother. The Empress Dowager also gifted me some silk and pearls, praising me for being so fortunate to have such an ambitious husband as the Prince. This is all thanks to the Prince's prestige."

Upon seeing the pile of books, Li Chengjing felt a slight bitterness in his mouth. But upon hearing Qingyi's next words, he couldn't help but laugh again: "Isn't that because Mother has such discerning eyes and such high regard for you and me? Don't worry, I'm confident in this matter and will definitely succeed!"

He turned to Liu Lu and instructed, "Add another half hour to my recitation time!"

Cui Qingyi put on a look of great concern and stepped forward to gently massage his shoulders: "Your Highness is so diligent and hardworking. I'm afraid that if this news gets out, all the noble ladies in Chang'an will envy me."

Li Chengjing grinned from ear to ear: "Oh dear, oh dear, keep it low-key, keep it low-key! With me here, you can go back and rest in peace, and watch me fight through the night!"

Seeing Li Chengjing once again burying himself in medical books as if he had been injected with chicken blood, Cui Qingyi covered her mouth, suppressing her laughter as she left the study.

"Suxin, where's that sweet-voiced maid you found last time? Quickly call her to my courtyard and have her read that storybook from yesterday to me again."

Cui Qingyi thought for a moment, then carefully instructed, "It's dry in winter, and the little maid's voice gets strained from reading. Go to the small kitchen and stew a pot of honey pear water with fritillaria cirrhosa and prepare it. Also, cut me a few plates of seasonal fruits. They should be refreshing and delicious, cut into small pieces and eaten with silver skewers. Prepare plenty for you, Aunt Guan, and Mama Xiao."

Su Xin smiled and replied, "Yes, Master."

-

In the afternoon, it was time for the old imperial physician Qi to come and provide instruction.

The Emperor and Empress Dowager's gifts arrived that morning, and naturally, Old Qi's share was included among them.

Although at Qi Lao's age, he no longer coveted gold and silver, this was, after all, a royal bestowal of honor, and the old physician's steps seemed a bit lighter today.

But once they reached the study and the black cloth covering the medicine basket was lifted, Old Master Qi's expression returned to that of a stern teacher.

He dumped a basket of fresh herbs onto the long table with a "whoosh": "Your Highness, there are twelve kinds of herbs here, all of which look very similar. You have learned about some of them in the past two days, and there are some that have not yet been covered. Today's lesson is for Your Highness to sort them out."

Upon hearing that he didn't need to memorize anything, Li Chengjing's spirits immediately lifted.

He leaned closer and carefully examined the herbs. The leaves were all oval-shaped, and the stems were similar in thickness; at first glance, they did seem indistinguishable.

Li Chengjing followed his own method: first smell the aroma, then look at the veins of the leaves, and finally rub the texture of the stem.

In the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, he divided the twelve herbs into four groups.

"Old Qi, it's all sorted!" Li Chengjing clapped his hands, quite pleased with himself.

The old imperial physician Qi walked over, picked up the first set of prescriptions, looked at it, and nodded. He then looked at the second set, his brows furrowing slightly. By the time he reached the third set, his expression had darkened.

"Your Highness," said the old imperial physician Qi, putting down the herbs, "there are two herbs mixed in with the others in your third batch."

Li Chengjing was feeling quite pleased with himself when he heard this and waved his hand dismissively: "Hey, they all look pretty much the same. If I sorted them wrong, I'll just pick out a different one and exchange it, won't I?"

"Do you know what got in there?"

"Hmm... brothers from the same clan who look quite similar?"

The old imperial physician Qi picked out two herbs from the group and placed them in front of Li Chengjing.

"This one is Pinellia ternata," he said, pointing to one of the shorter plants. "This one is Arisaema heterophyllum."

Li Chengjing tilted his head: "These two do look similar to the ones next to them."

"They do look similar." Imperial Physician Qi's tone turned somber. "But raw Pinellia ternata is poisonous. It will cause numbness and swelling of the tongue and throat upon ingestion, and in severe cases, it can lead to suffocation and death. Arisaema heterophyllum is even worse; the juice of the fresh product will cause redness, swelling, and ulceration if it comes into contact with the skin."

Lee Seung-kyung withdrew his hand.

"You just rubbed the stem directly with your hands," said the old imperial physician, looking at his fingers. "If you had rubbed the fresh stem of Arisaema, your fingers would already be itching."

Li Chengjing looked down at his hands; thankfully, there was nothing wrong.

"Your Highness was lucky this time; the skin wasn't broken," said the old imperial physician, Qi, as he tossed the medicinal herbs back into the basket. "But will you be so lucky next time?"

Li Chengjing's smugness dissipated considerably, but he still protested, "I didn't do it on purpose. Besides, I've only been learning for a few days, isn't it normal to mistake one or two plants? I'm not really going to prescribe a medicine for people to eat."

The old imperial physician Qi did not get angry.

"Your Highness, I have a question for you."

"Please speak."

"What would happen if an apprentice from the Imperial Medical Academy mistakenly identified Pinellia ternata and Arisaema heterophyllum?"

Li Chengjing thought for a moment: "Get scolded, then go back and learn it all over again?"

"That's right." Physician Qi nodded. "Because he was an apprentice, he had a master to review his work, colleagues to correct his mistakes, and layers of checks and balances. The mistakes he made wouldn't affect the patients."

He paused.

"But Your Highness is different."

Lee Seung-kyung blinked.

The old imperial physician, Qi, slowly said, "Your Highness is the Prince of Liang. If one day, Your Highness were to say in front of others, 'This is such-and-such medicine,' how many people do you think would dare to stand up and say that you have admitted your mistake?"

Li Chengjing opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"Among His Highness's attendants, apprentices, and even ordinary doctors, who dares to question Prince Liang's judgment?" The old imperial physician Qi spoke clearly, "If you say it's Pinellia ternata, they'll remember it. If you say it's non-toxic, they won't be on guard. If the doctor understands medical principles, they might secretly let it go, but what if the other person is completely ignorant?"

Lee Seung-kyung's smile vanished.

"If an ordinary apprentice makes a mistake, someone will cover for him. But if His Highness makes a mistake, no one can cover for him. The higher one's status, the greater the price to pay for a mistake. This is His Highness's first lesson in learning medicine, and also the most important one."

Li Chengjing stopped joking around. He stood in front of the basket of herbs, head down, looking at the two Pinellia ternata and Arisaema heterophyllum plants that had been pulled out.

After a long while, he reached out and picked them up, brought them to his nose and smelled them, then turned them over to look at the roots.

"Old Qi."

"Um?"

"Then please teach me. What's the difference between these two plants?"

A hint of relief flashed in the eyes of the old imperial physician, Qi.

He took out several similar herbs from the medicine basket and lined them up in a row.

"Look here, the angles of the veins are different. The veins of Pinellia ternata are narrower and converge inwards; the veins of Arisaema heterophyllum are wider and radiate outwards." The old imperial physician Qi pointed to the leaves of the two herbs, comparing them one by one. "Now look at the rhizomes. The tubers of Pinellia ternata have a smooth surface, while the tubers of Arisaema heterophyllum have fine lines on their surface..."

Li Chengjing squatted down and looked at it carefully.

This time, he didn't rush through the classification process. When he encountered something he wasn't sure about, he carefully set it aside, never making subjective assumptions.

Cui Qingyi remained seated on the soft couch beside her, silently observing everything unfold.

She didn't make a sound to disturb them.

This person, although usually unreliable, can be truly serious when it comes to being serious.

It just needs someone to click on it.

The old imperial physician Qi explained for half an hour, and Li Chengjing re-sorted the herbs. This time he wasn't entirely correct, but at least he picked out the unfamiliar herbs and set them aside.

"I'm not sure about these two," he said, pointing to the remaining two. "That's why I didn't put them there."

The old imperial physician Qi smiled slightly: "If you're unsure, don't draw conclusions. Be true to what you know, and admit what you don't know. Only then can you make progress."

Upon hearing the praise, Li Chengjing perked up again: "Of course! I am a genius of unparalleled talent; my progress in such a small matter is naturally rapid!"

The old imperial physician Qi snorted, "Your Highness is far from it. When I come tomorrow, please have Your Highness write down the names, forms, and main effects of the twelve herbs we discussed today."

"Dictation...dictation?"

"Dictation."

Li Chengjing's smile instantly froze on his face, as if he had heard some death-calling chant from the underworld.

The old imperial physician Qi slowly and methodically put the herbs back into the basket, turned around, and solemnly bowed to Cui Qingyi, who was watching the play: "Your Highness, I will trouble you to supervise His Highness's studies."

Cui Qingyi put down her teacup, her eyebrows curving into a smile, her voice so gentle it could melt hearts: "Don't worry, Elder Qi. With His Highness being so diligent, even if I didn't say anything, he would surely have completed it perfectly."

Lee Seung-kyung: "..."

"Wanla" sounds like a case of praising someone to death!