Would You Like to Have a Drink

When he heard that the matter of him staying up late was discovered, Zong Luo quickly slipped away to the Imperial Medical Courtyard, as if his soles were greased with oil. He pretended as if he had gone far away and hadn’t heard a thing.

 

The Third Prince’s Mansion was naturally like an iron barrel to the outside world, and no information would ever get out.

 

But the encounter of His Majesty today, that was not necessarily the case.

 

Not to mention the two imperial physicians who were given to him, Steward Liao, who had a very good relationship with Yuan Jia, was also an old man who served Emperor Yuan in the past.

 

As long as Emperor Yuan wanted to know what happened in the Third Prince’s Mansion, he could know it all.

 

Zong Luo was not surprised.

 

Ever since the Rong family’s rebellion years ago, which had severely shaken the entire Imperial City, Emperor Yuan had taken precautions and even established an intelligence organization directly under the emperor similar to Dongchang, it’s just that it was filled with men of sacrifice and secret guards,  the division of responsibilities was also very crude. Except for Emperor Yuan himself, no one else knew where these people squatted every day and what secrets they had discovered.

 

(t/n: Dongchang-Eastern Depot (emperor’s secret service during the Ming Dynasty)

 

In any case, when it came to Zong Luo’s own secrets, no one could find out about them unless he revealed them himself.

 

He had nothing to hide from others.

 

Zong Luo tapped an acupuncture point on himself on the way, and followed a servant to the Imperial Medical Courtyard.

 

As soon as he came in, he heard a eunuch report.

 

“Imperial physician! the Ninth Highness has fainted in the palace again!”

 

The old imperial physician puffed his white beard and glared, “Why are you here again? I have already said that His Ninth Highness is obviously fine. He has not contracted the cold and is not sick. His voice is just hoarse and just needs to sit more.”

 

The guilty-looking eunuch didn’t care and continued to make up random things. “His Highness’ body is golden branches and jade leaves. Since he said that he’s uncomfortable, you must go and have a look! If there is a delay, can you all afford it?”

 

(t/n: Golden branches and jade leaves-a person of noble birth, royal family descendant)

 

He acted arrogantly and looked like a villain with the appearance of achieving one’s ambition.

 

Zong Hongjiu was now banned from entering the palace and had no other options. He also did not dare to send people to plead with Emperor Yuan, so he could only try to exert effort in putting on a show, hoping to attract some attention. Naturally, he would escalate the grandeur of his display in every possible way.

 

The Ninth Prince was highly favored within the palace, and as a result, these servants would act haphazardly either.

 

Anyhow beating one or two servants to death on normal days was not a problem at all.

 

“Such arrogance, do you really think that the Imperial Medical Courtyard is a place where you can mess around?”

 

The face of the old imperial physician became increasingly ugly.

 

In his lifetime, he detested two kinds of people the most: those who caused chaos without reason and those who pretended to be ill when they were not. Unfortunately, Zong Hongjiu embodied both.

 

For the past few days, Zong Hongjiu had been coming daily to ask for an imperial physician. Each physician returned with complaints, but they couldn’t afford to offend him, therefore prescribed some symbolic medicine.

 

At the moment, the fault was being blamed on the ‘oldest in terms of seniority’ imperial physician’s head.

 

“Good! How dare you disobey His Highness’s order!”

 

The eunuch then screamed sharply as he was caught off guard and received a kick from behind.

 

Zong Luo calmly retracted his feet, and clasped his hands behind, “I was not aware, since when can palace servants yell and boss around the imperial physicians of the Imperial Medical Courtyard?”

 

The old imperial physician’s expression turned from gloomy to clear, “Third Highness.”

 

Upon hearing his voice, the eunuch dared not to be arrogant anymore, rolled and scrambled on the ground.

 

In the palace, they still acted arrogant, displaying a haughty and disdainful attitude, but when they encountered a prince with real power, they would run faster than the other, and wouldn’t even dare do anything remotely disobedient or disrespectful.

 

“Thank you, Your Highness.” The old imperial physician let out a “pei” in the direction the eunuch had fled and led Zong Luo towards the inner room of the Imperial Medical Courtyard. (TL: spitting sound, could also be “ptew” or “pooh”)

 

Zong Luo was a little curious about what Zong Hongjiu had done to be banned twice by Emperor Yuan in less than a month. But it’s not a big deal in the end, and it’s not worth asking.

 

Next came the two-hour acupuncture needle treatment.

 

The old imperial physician was Emperor Yuan’s hired imperial physician, and he was extremely skilled in the art of acupuncture. His most famous achievement was that he used acupuncture to seal the major points around the body of a dying person, and forcefully pulled the person back from the gates of hell.

 

The Imperial Medical Courtyard was stained with a smell of incense that made people feel drowsy. The medicine children came in carrying unknown things, and each procedure was extremely complicated.

 

Zong Luo lay on the bed, felt as if his eyes had been poked like a sieve, and under boredom, drifted off to sleep again.

 

After waking up, the old imperial physician had just finished removing the acupuncture needles. “Your Highness, open your eyes quickly and take a look, is it better now?”

 

Zong Luo completely caught up on his sleep this time. The whole person felt much more refreshed and slowly opened his eyes.

 

As soon as he opened his eyes, he was almost startled.

 

Because of the Ghost Valley’s acupuncture technique, he couldn’t see anything but darkness when he opened his eyes.

 

As a result, after a period of acupuncture needle treatment, unexpectedly, he began to faintly perceive some light.

 

Zong Luo: “…..”

 

He forgot about this matter.

 

Originally, the retrograde flow of his meridians was artificially induced. If one day an acupuncture needle successfully reversed it, wouldn’t he be held responsible?

 

Thus Zong Luo said against his will, “I feel like there isn’t a particularly significant difference.”

 

The old imperial physician was shocked. “How is that possible? No improvement at all?”

 

Zong Luo covered his faintly aching conscience and slowly nodded.

 

The old imperial physician collected the needles and paced around the Imperial Medical Courtyard, in which during this period, there’s no shortage of murmuring to himself. “According to reason, it shouldn’t be ah. With so many medicines administered and using this old man’s proud technique.”

 

He asked again in disbelief, “Your Highness, do you really feel nothing at all?”

 

Zong Luo was silent for a moment, feeling that he should not deceive the old imperial physician anymore, and therefore reluctantly said, “Actually, there is a little bit.”

 

“Alas, Your Highness, there’s no need to comfort this old man!”

 

Unexpectedly, the old imperial physician turned around twice and suddenly became excited, “Right, I have been practicing medicine for decades, and this is the first time I have seen a patient like Your Highness who has no reaction after receiving acupuncture!”

 

It was said that doctors like patients with difficult and complicated diseases. At this moment, Zong Luo felt like a guinea pig.