Me and Empress Dowager Cixi

Chapter 49 Imperial Physician (1)
We stayed on Kunming Lake for a long time that day, and no one felt bored. We didn't go back to rest until five or six o'clock in the afternoon.It is rare for the Queen Mother to be so happy, and I took a chance to ask my question: "Queen Mother, what do you mean by the good fortune you mentioned at noon?" Feeling happy, I probably feel that I have found another opportunity to show off my knowledge.

The queen mother paused for a long time before she began to explain. She said: "The so-called good fortune, in a more popular name, is God, which comes from a very ancient folk belief. It is said that God is in charge of all the joys and sorrows in the world, and is responsible for How to arrange them. If you indulge too much in joy, it will punish you appropriately, making you suddenly painful and sad. If there is no existence of good fortune, many people in the world will become addicted to happiness. In the middle of the world, forget yourself and your unexpected disasters; as long as it exists, people will not indulge in false joys. When you feel very comfortable and comfortable, nature will immediately make you uncomfortable and uncomfortable. Comfortable; when you are proud, nature will come to give you a series of failures and blows. It is because of its existence that there is no smooth sailing in the world, and there are no goals that can be easily achieved, only those who are not happy in happiness. Only those who forget the sorrows and firmly believe in the sorrows can finally succeed. It can be said that good fortune is the god to measure whether the heart is firm or not.”

After listening to the queen mother's words, I couldn't help but feel amused and suspicious. I had unintentionally contributed to the superstition of the queen mother.I don't know how much the queen mother believes in the so-called good fortune, but I dare not ask her. I still remember what happened in Fengtian Fox Immortal Pagoda. I don't want to repeat the same mistakes and invite the queen mother's scolding.The queen mother's eyes were very sharp, as if she could see through my thoughts, so she added: "I don't dare to guarantee the existence of good fortune, let's just regard it as a real god that exists but we don't know it. There are many more. If we cannot deny its existence, the best way to deal with it is to believe that it does not hinder us anyway. If you still doubt what I say, please consider for yourself that in your life experience Is there any example of extreme joy giving rise to sorrow? That is, when you are doing well no matter what you do, suddenly all kinds of side issues arise, which makes you feel extremely bored. Such an example, I think you must have had it, that is somewhere in the dark The person who frustrates you may be nature itself."

Hearing what the queen mother said, I felt very grateful in my heart, thankful that I didn't ask rashly just now, otherwise I would definitely be reprimanded again.No matter what the queen mother said, in her heart she believed in the existence of good fortune, at least she was willing to believe it.We had such a happy day today, which made the queen mother uneasy. In her opinion, if something unpleasant happened today, it would definitely happen tomorrow. The mood of waiting for bad things to happen is really unbearable.We played on the lake until dark, and nothing unexpected happened, and the smile on Lafayette's face never changed.After the sun went down, the temperature gradually dropped, and a cold wind blew on the lake.As the saying goes, spring is cold, and if you are blown hastily, you will feel very uncomfortable.At this time, I suddenly believed what the queen mother said, maybe this cold wind was the beginning of good luck's mischief.Although I thought so, nothing really happened that night.

Perhaps the Queen Mother's words were true, and bad luck came the next morning. It rained heavily and was accompanied by a strong wind.Dense raindrops hit the roof, making a crackling sound.After getting up, the raindrops became more and more dense, and the wind became stronger and stronger.Since I am not on duty today, and the place where I live is quite far from Lafayette's bedroom, I plan not to go to her place, and stay in the house alone and read a book.But this was impossible. Not long after I got up, a little eunuch came running to say that the Queen Mother wanted to see me.At that time, I felt more or less ominous in my heart, thinking of what the Queen Mother said yesterday, maybe it will really come true to me.I told the eunuch to go there later and let him go back first.After he left, I looked at the smoky Kunming Lake in the distance through the window, and I couldn't help but marvel at the divine power of good fortune. Yesterday was still sunny and full of laughter, but today was smoggy, desolate and cold.At this time, the sky was a dead gray, and the heavy rain was constantly washing away the Queen Mother's palace on the Longevity Hill.In the cold air, the heavy rain wove countless curtains, blocking my way to Lafayette.I don't know why Lafayette summoned me today. Maybe some misfortune happened. If that's the case, there should be something awe-inspiring in this world.Today's situation is the same as that day in Fengtian, I have an ominous premonition, my body trembles uncontrollably.

From the eunuch's mouth, I know the general situation of Lafayette.Due to the hard work of swimming in the lake yesterday and the wind and cold when I went back at night, when I got up this morning, the Queen Mother felt a little unwell, accompanied by a slight cough.After listening to the eunuch's narration, I couldn't help frowning.When the Queen Mother was ill, she was very irritable and always vented her anger on others for no reason.Every time the Queen Mother falls ill, we are very worried, knowing that the lives of each of us are in her hands!If she doesn't want us to live until tomorrow, we certainly won't be able to see the sun tomorrow.To put it bluntly, we have always regarded the sick queen mother as a man-eating monster.I'm not sure how many people hold this view, but our eight female officials, Emperor Guangxu and his wife, and the eunuchs accompanying us all think so.Among these people, my situation is relatively better. In any case, the Queen Mother always treats me very favorably, perhaps because I have received higher education abroad.The queen mother likes me to tell her some outside things very much, and also likes to talk to me very much. When she is upset, I can always find a way to calm her down.It is for this reason that although I am not on duty today, the Queen Mother ordered someone to call me over.Following the decree, I hurried to the residence of the Empress Dowager. As soon as I entered the palace gate, I naturally kowtowed to the Empress Dowager first.After she asked me to stand up, she immediately gave me a special order: "De Ling, you step forward and touch my forehead with your hand to see if I have a fever."

The queen mother was very solemn when she gave me orders, but through her calm appearance, I could see that she was restless and uneasy.I was very scared in my heart, and my hands were shaking violently, but I didn't dare to resist the order, so I had to put my hands on the queen mother's noble forehead.I have grown up so much, I have never studied medicine, and I don't have much life experience. I am a little unclear about what a normal body temperature should be.Even so, Her Majesty was clearly suffering from a fever that day, and I felt the heat as soon as I put my finger on her forehead.In addition, the queen mother was still coughing, and sometimes she even had to split a sentence into two or three times.Based on these two points, I said to the Queen Mother: "Yes, Lafayette, you do have a fever." My voice was very low, almost to the point of silence.The queen mother nodded and said nothing.Li Lianying was standing behind the Queen Mother at that time. Although he was very worried about the Queen Mother's health, but without the Queen Mother's order, he didn't know what to do, so he stood there with a charming smile on his face.After a long time, the Empress Dowager said to Li Lianying as if she had made up her mind, "Go to the imperial hospital quickly and find some on-duty imperial doctors."

Like the previous dynasties, there is a imperial hospital in the palace, which is full of imperial doctors who specialize in treating the royal family.The person who presides over the Taiyuan Hospital is the envoy, who has a very high rank, and is the second-rank follower from the first-rank. Under the envoy, there are court judges and imperial physicians, among whom the imperial physician with a relatively high rank is comparable to my father.Li Lianying is such a smart person, he woke up in the morning and saw that the Queen Mother was not feeling well, so he sent someone to find the imperial doctor, and he is waiting in the side hall right now.These imperial doctors are different from outside doctors. They have read more medical books than outsiders, and their medical skills are better than outsiders. In addition, each of them has a set of experience in serving the royal family.Since these people are officials in the court and their positions are very high, of course they have complete official uniforms. If you just look at them, you can't distinguish them from other officials.Since entering the palace, I have seen countless officials, big and small, but I have never seen an imperial doctor. This time I have the opportunity to see the real face, and my whole heart is excited. I have long wanted to see how these people are. Healed the Empress Dowager.At this time, I couldn't help secretly delighting, if the queen mother couldn't remember to call me, maybe I wouldn't have such a good opportunity to see this rare spectacle.

Because Li Lianying had made arrangements in advance, the Queen Mother's order was handed down less than 3 minutes before four imperial doctors from the Imperial Hospital came in one after another.Her Majesty went to a lower throne, where she was going to receive their visits and medical treatment.Although coughing all the time, the dignity of the queen mother did not weaken at all. The four imperial doctors kowtowed nine times in a proper manner, and then stood aside to wait for further instructions from the queen mother.Ordinary people see a doctor, and the doctor pays attention to looking, smelling, asking, and feeling, but how dare these four imperial doctors look directly at the Queen Mother?This process can only be omitted.In this way, how should the Empress Dowager's illness be diagnosed and treated?Two small square tables were placed on both sides of the throne where the Empress Dowager sat, with a soft cushion on top.At this time, the Empress Dowager ordered the two female officers to roll up her two sleeves in half, and slowly put her arms on the two square tables.In addition, two thin handkerchiefs had to be placed on the Empress Dowager's arms in order to prevent the imperial doctors from directly touching the Empress Dowager's skin.

Seeing that the Empress Dowager was ready, the four imperial doctors divided into two groups, kneeled to the left and right sides of the Empress Dowager and began to sound the pulse.They stretched out their hands very cautiously, and then carefully pressed the queen mother's pulse with their fingertips through the handkerchief.When it comes to pulse diagnosis, I really feel that this method is amazing. Although it is manual, it is more advanced than any other country in the world.The doctor can accurately diagnose your condition with just three fingers. What is the mystery?I still don't understand.

After a long time, the imperial doctors on both sides switched positions, I think it was to ensure the correctness of the results.During the process of mobilizing each other, none of the four people raised their eyes to look at the Queen Mother's face. Although they all knew that checking the Queen Mother's tongue coating or complexion would be of great help in diagnosis, and the Queen Mother might not refuse, but none of them Nor did he have the guts to make the request.After living in the palace for so many years, they have all developed a very cautious habit, how could they rashly ask to see the Queen Mother's tongue coating?When the two groups changed positions, they bypassed the Queen Mother's line of sight, and then returned to their previous appearance, turning their heads to one side, and took the pulse of the Queen Mother motionlessly.This process takes a full hour. In foreign countries, it usually only takes two to three minutes to determine a disease, but now it takes four doctors an hour to determine it.When the pulse was checked, the four people did not move at all. From a distance, they seemed to be fast asleep against the Queen Mother.During the process of their pulse diagnosis, the queen mother's cough has not been interrupted. Every time the queen mother coughs, they pay special attention to it, and they will always secretly exchange glances.Due to the long time, the Empress Dowager's face clearly showed displeasure, not to mention the Empress Dowager who always maintained a posture, even those of us who watched felt very bored.Looking at the scene at that time, I almost had the urge to laugh.The Empress Dowager wearing a red dress sat on an apricot yellow chair, behind her was a short screen with very dim colors. The colors were so incongruous that I felt a deep sense of disgust.The colors of the official uniforms of the entire room, together with the colors of the official uniforms of several imperial doctors kneeling on the ground, mixed into a very boring picture.If anyone can capture the moment at that time, it will surely make many people laugh.

I am not a patient person by nature, and the Empress Dowager knows this too, so when I occasionally looked up, I saw the Empress Dowager smiling at me, and a warm current flowed through my heart.The Empress Dowager always takes such good care of me, she knows me very well, it is expected that I have never seen such a situation before, and that is exactly the case.At this moment, the four imperial doctors announced the end of their pulse-pressing process. They stopped almost at the same time, then got up from the ground, kowtowed to the Queen Mother a few times as usual, and then retreated without saying anything. .The queen mother didn't say anything to those imperial doctors, but said to me: "De Ling, follow them out and have a look."

The queen mother seemed very anxious when she gave me this order, obviously not because she was afraid that I would not be able to keep up with the four imperial doctors, but according to my guess, it was because she herself did not trust the four imperial doctors.Following the Queen Mother's order, I hastily followed the four imperial doctors out.Going around from the queen mother's bedroom, we turned into a side hall, where four tables were prepared in advance, and the four imperial doctors didn't say anything after entering, each occupied a table, and began to write their own pulse case.You could tell they were cautious, trying to find the most appropriate words to use.It didn't take long to write a pulse case, but they actually wrote it for more than half an hour.After writing it, they discussed with each other, and found that the four people had four different pulse cases.This was obviously not possible, so they had no choice but to compromise with each other, modifying their own pulse cases, and then wrote a set of pulse cases with similar meanings, which was regarded as confirming the illness for the Queen Mother.After the illness was confirmed, the four of them sat back to write the prescription. When writing the prescription, they also did not discuss in advance, but weighed their own considerations.I can see very clearly from the side, they are really too cautious, they have to think about every medicine for a long time, it is really a long waiting process.About an hour later, they wrote their respective prescriptions. Since there was no discussion in advance, the results are predictable, and the four prescriptions are all different.

Later, I told the Empress Dowager what these four imperial physicians had done, and the Empress Dowager told me the reason why it took so long for them to prescribe.It turned out that the prescriptions prescribed by these imperial doctors were not only related to the health of the patients, but also related to their own safety, so they always wanted to prescribe a perfect prescription to avoid unnecessary troubles for themselves.As we all know, the imperial doctor is a doctor who treats the royal family. When the royal family members are sick, the imperial hospital usually sends two or four imperial doctors there, and the imperial hospital will record their names at the same time. One cannot be cured. If the sick person cannot be cured, the task of these four imperial doctors will not be completed.Because of this relationship, the imperial doctor would be very cautious when prescribing medicines, lest there be any accidents.If it is unfortunate that the sick person does not get better for a long time, these imperial doctors will be despised by everyone, and some will be punished.The worst situation is that the patient dies halfway, especially if the person who dies is still a person in power.Once such a thing happens, the imperial doctor in charge of treatment must accept punishment.Many years ago, the punishment given to these imperial physicians was death, regardless of their own faults.This approach is too inhumane, and it has improved significantly since then.If a similar thing happens again now, the official uniforms of these imperial doctors are usually taken off, and then the tops and feathers are removed, and they are locked in prison for more than 20 days as punishment for their inability to cure patients.They are generally not killed unless there is solid evidence that their misdiagnosis caused the patient's death.When the new emperor succeeds to the throne, the imperial decree will come down soon, and they will still be allowed to work in the Tai Hospital.It is precisely because of these complicated relationships that the imperial doctor will be extra careful when prescribing medicines, lest there will be mistakes.

(End of this chapter)