You Yusui had just recovered from a serious illness. On the second day after waking up, he had such a heavy nosebleed that it terrified the palace servants in the Eastern Palace.
A young eunuch went to fetch the imperial physician under Eunuch Fu Bao’s rebuke, while palace maids brought hot water and cloth to clean the Crown Prince’s face. The entire Eastern Palace was thrown into a flurry of activity because of You Yusui’s sudden nosebleed.
“Your Highness, Your Highness, how can there be so much blood that won’t stop flowing…” Fu Bao’s voice choked with emotion. He was genuinely concerned, believing that the Imperial Noble Consort had sent such a fine gift to the Eastern Palace with ill intentions.
By this point, Fu Bao had completely forgotten that it was You Yusui who had forcibly demanded the item, and that it was his own order to use it to make chicken soup.
At that moment, You Yusui, surrounded by everyone, seemed bewildered. He had merely gotten a nosebleed.
Soon, the young eunuch from the Eastern Palace brought several imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Courtyard to examine the Crown Prince.
Since the Crown Prince had just recovered from illness and now suddenly had a nosebleed, nearly all the physicians from the Imperial Medical Courtyard were summoned by the Eastern Palace’s young eunuch out of concern for the Crown Prince’s condition.
All at once, the physicians gathered at the Eastern Palace to check the Crown Prince’s pulse.
You Yusui sat on the bed with his black hair loose, wearing an outer robe of dark color embroidered with gold, which made his pale complexion even more apparent. Combined with his listless expression, he looked exactly like someone who had just recovered from a serious illness and was still unwell.
“Imperial Physician Zhang, please quickly examine His Highness,” Eunuch Fu Bao said as he approached the oldest and most respected physician from the Imperial Medical Courtyard.
“Please extend your wrist, Your Highness,” Imperial Physician Zhang stroked his beard and addressed You Yusui, who was sitting on the bed covering his nose with a silk handkerchief.
“Mm,” You Yusui responded, then extended his excessively slender wrist.
The sight of that wrist made Imperial Physician Zhang’s eyebrows jump. It was too thin, like someone suffering from deficiency.
Subsequently, Imperial Physician Zhang placed his fingers on You Yusui’s wrist, then frowned deeply.
This pulse, this strength—even martial artists would be hard-pressed to match it.
As Imperial Physician Zhang felt this strong pulse, his frown deepened and deepened, making Eunuch Fu Bao’s heart rise with anxiety until it reached his throat.
“Imperial Physician Zhang, how is His Highness’s condition?” Fu Bao’s voice trembled with fear of hearing bad news.
“Did His Highness consume anything earlier?” Imperial Physician Zhang asked Fu Bao after removing his fingers from the Crown Prince’s wrist.
“His Highness drank chicken soup made with a 500-year-old ginseng,” Fu Bao honestly replied.
“What!” Imperial Physician Zhang’s voice immediately rose.
A 500-year-old ginseng used to make chicken soup! Imperial Physician Zhang was pained beyond measure. He wanted to scold the Crown Prince for such wastefulness, but considering the Crown Prince’s status, all words became stuck in his throat.
So, Imperial Physician Zhang carefully composed himself and said to You Yusui, “That explains it. Your Highness has been overly nourished, which has caused excessive internal heat resulting in the nosebleed.”
Eunuch Fu Bao immediately felt relieved upon hearing this. As long as the Crown Prince was not in danger, all was well.
However, You Yusui grabbed Imperial Physician Zhang’s hand and asked, “Are you certain that I am overly nourished, rather than too weak to accept nourishment?”
Imperial Physician Zhang was inwardly furious at these words. Having practiced medicine for decades, how could he not distinguish between excessive nourishment and being too weak to accept it?
“Your Highness is indeed overly nourished,” Physician Zhang insisted.
“But I feel very unwell,” You Yusui said weakly, leaning against the cushions and looking pitiful.
Hearing this, Fu Bao’s heart immediately tensed again. The Crown Prince said he was unwell!
“Perhaps Your Highness should let my colleagues check your pulse as well?” Imperial Physician Zhang suggested.
“Very well,” You Yusui agreed.
Imperial Physician Zhang made way for his colleagues to examine You Yusui’s pulse.
“The Crown Prince is in good health, just overly nourished,” the first imperial physician stated.
Imperial Physician Zhang was very satisfied with this assessment. As an experienced doctor, how could he have misdiagnosed the pulse? However, You Yusui, sitting on the bed, looked at this imperial physician with an expression that said “you’re talking nonsense,” then expressionlessly said, “Next.”
The imperial physician had no choice but to step back and give his place to other colleagues.
Thus, You Yusui received five statements of “The Crown Prince is in good health, just overly nourished.”
It wasn’t until a young imperial physician in his early twenties checked You Yusui’s pulse that the diagnosis changed.
“Your Highness appears to have a strong and vigorous pulse due to consuming the 500-year-old ginseng, but internally there is emptiness and severe bodily damage. The 500-year-old ginseng merely makes Your Highness’s body appear superficially well. To truly restore good health, careful adjustment and nourishment over five or six years would be necessary,” the young imperial physician concluded while holding You Yusui’s wrist. “The reason the predecessors did not diagnose this is because 500-year-old ginseng is rare and its medicinal power is strong. Before entering palace service, I had the opportunity to check the pulse of a wealthy person who had consumed 500-year-old ginseng, which is how I recognize it. It’s merely luck on my part, and I cannot compare to my seniors.”
He was alarmingly young among the imperial physicians, and his ability to tell such blatant lies was equally alarming. Not only did he satisfy You Yusui’s demands, but he also gave the older physicians a way to save face.
You Yusui was very satisfied with him and immediately decided to let him help with his physical conditioning.
“It would be this subject’s greatest honor to serve Your Highness,” the young imperial physician Cui Yan thanked him.
Having identified the cause of the illness, Cui Yan naturally wrote a prescription, explained how to use the medicine, and then left the Eastern Palace.
You Yusui glanced at the prescription. Goodness, it was all heat-clearing and fire-purging herbs. Wasn’t the amount of coptis a bit excessive?
“Your Highness, I’ll have the young eunuch brew the medicine immediately,” Eunuch Fu Bao said, holding the prescription and looking worriedly at You Yusui.
You Yusui took a breath and then asked Fu Bao, “Can I not take this medicine?”
“Absolutely not!” Fu Bao’s attitude was resolute. “Imperial Physician Cui said that to properly nourish Your Highness’s body, you must take the medicine on time and absolutely must not let Your Highness pour it away.”
Seeing Fu Bao’s serious expression, You Yusui understood—Cui Yan was black-hearted.
“Is there any ginseng chicken soup left?” You Yusui asked.
Eunuch Fu Bao replied, “Your Highness’s body is too weak to accept nourishment, so you cannot eat any more.”
“Who said I wanted to eat it?” You Yusui smiled slightly. “Such a good thing, I shouldn’t enjoy it alone. Go and send the remaining chicken soup to my Imperial Grandmother and Father Emperor. If there are any leftover bits, send them to the Imperial Noble Consort, since the 500-year-old ginseng came from her.”
Eunuch Fu Bao’s eyes lit up at these words. If this ginseng chicken soup were sent to the Imperial Noble Consort, it would likely make her angry enough to smash the bowl.
“Your Highness, how mischievous,” Fu Bao said, twisting his body slightly.
One pot of chicken soup—showing filial respect to the Empress Dowager and Emperor while irritating the Imperial Noble Consort—truly killing two birds with one stone.
“Go on,” You Yusui smiled, then began thinking of ways to dispose of the medicine before Fu Bao returned.
Soon, people from the Eastern Palace went to three different places to deliver three portions of soup.
Not long after the ginseng chicken soup was delivered to the Imperial Noble Consort’s palace by a young eunuch from the Eastern Palace, Imperial Noble Consort Su Hewan smashed the chicken soup in front of her.
“He sent these scraps to deliberately anger this Consort!” the Imperial Noble Consort exclaimed, pointing at the ginseng root tips, chicken neck, wings, and feet on the floor.
The palace servants in Jujiu Palace knelt on the ground, not daring to breathe.
When the Empress Dowager received the ginseng chicken soup from the Eastern Palace and learned it was made with 500-year-old ginseng, she praised the Crown Prince for his thoughtfulness, then gave some perfunctory rewards, perfectly playing the role of a kind grandmother.
As for the Emperor, Eunuch Fu Bao personally delivered the ginseng chicken soup to Xuande Hall.
Xuande Hall had always been the place where emperors handled state affairs and rested. As a diligent emperor, You Fengyun spent most of his time in Xuande Hall.
“Your Majesty, Eunuch Fu Bao from the Crown Prince’s palace requests an audience,” reported the chief eunuch An Hai.
“The Crown Prince?” You Fengyun raised his slender eyebrows. “Has he recovered?”
“The Crown Prince woke up yesterday,” Ah Hai said with his head lowered. “We did not report it yesterday because Your Majesty was concerned with the flood disaster in Hedong County, and we dared not disturb you.”
The previous day, urgent news had arrived from Hedong County about flooding that had destroyed countless fields. You Fengyun had discussed with the Prime Minister and several trusted ministers for a day and a night, finally arranging various disaster relief measures. He had only closed his eyes for a brief rest after sunrise and had just awakened.
“Since the Crown Prince is awake, send someone to visit him,” You Fengyun put down his brush and looked toward the door. “As for the Crown Prince’s palace servant seeking an audience, keep the chicken soup but send the person away.”
“If the Crown Prince’s health has improved, tell him to come see me himself,” You Fengyun said, lowering his gaze.
“Yes,” Eunuch Ah Hai replied.
Eunuch Fu Bao outside the door didn’t expect to see the Emperor anyway. His purpose in delivering the soup was merely to express the Crown Prince’s respect for the Emperor; delivering the soup was enough to complete his task.
Soon, Eunuch Ah Hai brought the steaming chicken soup to You Fengyun’s side and said, “I hear this is chicken soup made with 500-year-old ginseng, most nourishing. It’s perfect for Your Majesty after such exhaustion.”
“500-year-old ginseng?” You Fengyun became interested. “The one from the Imperial Noble Consort’s palace?”
“Precisely,” Ah Hai answered.
“How did the Crown Prince end up using the Imperial Noble Consort’s precious ginseng to make soup? Tell me what happened in the Eastern Palace,” You Fengyun said after accepting the ginseng chicken soup.
Soon, the palace’s secret guards appeared and informed You Fengyun in detail about everything that had transpired in the Eastern Palace.
They told him how the Crown Prince kicked away the imperial physician upon waking just because the imperial physician said he was a ghost; how the Crown Prince forcibly demanded the Imperial Noble Consort’s precious ginseng; how the Crown Prince sarcastically suggested the Imperial Noble Consort was poor at managing palace affairs and sent her household records to help; how the Crown Prince implied the Imperial Noble Consort had uncannily good information and always managed to encounter the Emperor.
After listening, You Fengyun’s lips curved slightly upward as he said, “The Crown Prince’s personality seems to have changed after his recovery.”
Ah Hai dared not respond, not knowing what this inscrutable emperor would say next.
“However, he was right about one thing—the Imperial Noble Consort has overreached and hasn’t been attentive to managing palace affairs,” You Fengyun said slowly.
Ah Hai listened with some alarm. Spying on the Emperor’s movements was indeed taboo, and the Eastern Palace belonged to the outer palace—the fact that a consort had extended her influence to the outer palace was another violation of imperial taboos.
“Go, draft an edict to have the Consort Xian replace the Imperial Noble Consort in managing palace affairs,” You Fengyun said calmly.
At this point, You Yusui was still unaware that his sarcastic remarks had cost the Imperial Noble Consort her power to manage palace affairs.
