After the immortal disappeared

Among them was a straw man tied with rushes.

Doctor Chen picked it up and took a look, trembling with anger:

Two long needles were nailed to the straw man's chest, and a small piece of white cloth was fixed on it, with his name, Imperial Physician Chen, written on it!

Witchcraft!

Someone cursed him and sent him this box!

"Vicious, good things breed evil!" Doctor Chen pulled out the long needle from the straw man again.

He was a doctor himself, and he could tell at a glance that the needle tube was hollow and was used for medical treatment.

"Liu Qi! It must be the forgetful red-eyed Liu Qi who cursed me!" He threw the needle in the box angrily, "I'll let you be proud for one night, and I'll deal with you as soon as you enter the Imperial Medical Bureau tomorrow!"

After telling the concierge to throw away the box, Doctor Chen went back to the room to rest.

He thought he would be so angry that he wouldn't be able to sleep, but he turned over on the couch and the alcohol came to him.

He didn't know if it was related to the box of evil things, but he had a nightmare.

In the dream, the second prince's condition suddenly recurred.

That crazy state is exactly the same as before.

The king was extremely angry and ordered him to come in for diagnosis and treatment.

When Doctor Chen saw that the bedside of the Second Prince was empty, he was surprised and suspicious: "Where is the heart lamp? It should be hung above the patient's hall and never leave it!"

King Wei sat next to his second son, with the light behind him. Doctor Chen couldn't see his face clearly, but he could feel his gloom and irritability: "It doesn't work. My son starts talking nonsense as soon as he sees this lamp. I Have it removed!"

Doctor Chen was shocked: "I can't help it, Your Majesty, I have to hang it up quickly! The second prince must be protected by a heart lamp."

"Did you create it in the wrong shape or adjust the lighting in the wrong color?"

"The shape and light color don't matter, so we chose the most common melon shape. The key to refining the heart lantern is to have all the materials, especially the bright lantern."

"Really?" King Wei waved, and the palace attendant from behind slowly approached holding a melon-shaped lantern.

Doctor Chen subconsciously said "Hey": "Why is it so big?"

"Look again."

The palace lantern came over, and Doctor Chen took a look and saw that it was actually half the size of an ordinary palace lantern, and it was covered with red paper on the outside.

He always felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't place it in a daze.

The "Heart Lamp" was hung in front of the Second Prince's bed. The light shone on the patient, but it did not work as before.

It’s strange, what’s going on, why does the condition recur?

King Wei slapped the case and was furious: "Will your method work? After so much effort, why is the heart lamp ineffective?"

Doctor Chen broke out in a cold sweat: "It works, it works. The condition occasionally relapses. As long as you persist..."

King Wei interrupted him: "Tell me clearly, where did you get this method?"

"Xiaguan..." Doctor Chen swallowed, "Xiaguan found the method of refining the heart lamp from the fragments of an ancient secret volume. After repeated deliberation, it is effective for the second prince."

"The broken page also records the time and place when Ming Dengzhan matured?"

"Yes, yes." Dr. Chen Baba said, "It's a lucky coincidence that within a thousand miles, only Xiaoyao Sect's Xuefeng grows light grass, and it has matured recently."

"Where did you get these fragments of the secret scroll?"

"I accidentally found it from the old bookstore at the east end of the city. I only spent two coins. I often go to the bookstore to find old books..."

"Is it true?" King Wei stared at him, "You dare to lie to me? Pull me down and hit twenty big boards first!"

Doctor Chen was so shocked that he threw himself on the ground and shouted: "I'm wronged. I dare not lie to you!"

"Unjustly accused? Are you saying that I was wrong?" King Hong chuckled, and every word made his heart skip a beat, "Thirty big boards."

Two guards with big muscles and round waists came over and tried to drag him down like a piggy to be tortured.

Doctor Chen was so frightened that his whole body trembled.

He knew very well that there were tricks in palace people's playing tricks. Thirty strokes might only hurt the flesh, but ten strokes might cost a person's life, but he didn't want to get involved in any of them.

What's more, with King Hong's temper, he couldn't get the result he wanted, so thirty boards might just be an appetizer.

"I say, I say!" Doctor Chen softened immediately, "But the truth is even more outrageous. It is even harder for the king to believe it. The lower officials are so talented..."

Only then did I find a source for the secret scroll.

"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll hit you ten times."

Doctor Chen's message immediately became clear: "The secret method of refining the mind was not found in a bookstore, but appeared directly on my desk."

"Appeared directly on your desk?" King Wei laughed when he heard this. "You mean, you didn't look for the secret method, but the secret method found you on its own?"

"It sounds unbelievable, but it's true, it's true." Dr. Chen swallowed his saliva, "I still remember that night when I saw the doctor, I got up late the next day, hurriedly went to the palace to be on duty, and didn't go home until dark . When I got home, there was half a booklet under the paperweight in the study, which recorded the secrets of the Light Lamp and the Heart Lamp."

"After that, I checked a lot of information and concluded that the heart lamp is very likely to be effective on the second prince!" Chen Taiyi kowtowed and said eagerly, "Your Majesty, I don't dare to tell you a single false word!"

King Wei's anger subsided a little, and he seemed to be thinking: "When did it happen?"

"Half a year, half a year ago!"

"Half a year ago? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Doctor Chen quickly defended: "The appearance of the fragmented scroll was too sudden. The subordinate had to check the information and work hard to identify the evidence before he dared to let the second prince use it. Besides, it was still early for Ming Dengzhan to be mature at that time."

"Is this really the case?" King Wei said coldly, "Is there no other reason?"

"No, no more." Although Imperial Physician Chen lowered his head, he could feel King Fan's sharp gaze, as if it could burn two holes in his forehead.

He was sweating profusely.

"Then what?" King Wei asked him again, "My son's condition is recurring. What's the explanation?"

Doctor Chen had never used a heart lamp to treat mental illness. He calmed down and said: "The souls of the two princes are still there and have not been lost. Unlike other heart-breaking diseases where one or two souls are missing, it cannot be cured with a bright lamp." return."

"The heart lamp made from bright lamps can even expel the inner demons of immortals. It should be only a matter of time before it can deal with the second prince's illness." He pointed to the small lamp beside the bed, thinking that it was actually a overkill. , "We still need to observe carefully here, and please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

King Wei hummed: "Who do you think will give you the secret scroll?"

"I don't know about this." Imperial Physician Chen kowtowed, "Perhaps God is blessing the second prince."

King Wei smiled: "Are you rewarding the gods?"

The gods occasionally respond to humans when they feel it is necessary.

Doctor Chen was startled again and shook his head: "Xiaguan usually goes to the temple to offer gifts, but unfortunately he has never been favored by the gods."

"Can this mind be restored to a bright lamp?"

"Uh, this shouldn't be possible. This treasure is made into a magical weapon, just like a tree has become a boat. The boat cannot turn back into a tree."

"How do you use the reward that Gu gave you?" King Hong said leisurely, "I heard that you have become a famous person in the capital recently, and you are popular wherever you go."

"This is all due to your favor!" Doctor Chen quickly said, "The rewards are still there, I don't dare to show them off indiscriminately."

When Imperial Physician Chen woke up, he saw a fish-belly white color rising in the east.

It turned out to be a dream.

When he touched his forehead, he was covered in cold sweat. The bed was also wet.

Okay, okay, it’s just a dream.

It's all the fault of Liu, I will deal with him well when I return to the bureau today!

…

He Lingchuan also got up, stretched his neck and stretched.

The soul-catching mirror immediately asked him: "Is there anything gained?"

Among all the people/things around He Lingchuan, it is the real insider, and even knows about the existence of the Coiling Dragon World and the Nightmare.

"Yes. Last night, Nightmare sneaked into Dr. Chen's dreamland and asked for a lot of information. The most important thing is that he admitted that he used the heart lamp to treat the second prince, and he also introduced the Ming Lamp Grass to King Wei before."

He Lingchuan just gave it a try, but he didn't expect to succeed immediately. From this it can be seen that the Yuan power of the state of Fan was even weaker than that of the state of Yuan, and it could not even ward off evil spirits for the medical officials in court.

Yuanli is not only a reflection of national strength, but also a symbol of people's support.

Doctor Chen inexplicably obtained the fragment of the secret scroll half a year ago, and spent several months verifying it before he dared to use it on the second prince. That book has no legs and cannot run by itself. So, who takes care of him like this?

The soul-catching mirror also asked: "Who is this? Why didn't you give the scrap to someone else, but gave it to Doctor Chen?"

"Good question." He Lingchuan smiled, "Mr. Chen doesn't know it himself, so we have to find the answer for him."

If we could figure out why the person behind the scenes chose Doctor Chen, we might be able to get a glimpse of his motives.

It may be easier to find someone after you have figured out the motive.

The soul-capturing mirror wondered: "He doesn't even know it himself, how can you find it?"

"The authorities are obsessed with it, and sometimes the answer is not always in their own hands." He Lingchuan pondered, "I already have some clues here."

Next, he wandered around Xuncheng for two days, observing the local people's livelihood and customs.

…

Just after it rained that evening, Dong Rui came back.

This guy's face was glowing red, and he asked for water as soon as he came in: "What a harvest, what a great harvest!"

He Lingchuan poured him a cup of hot water: "Who did you find?"

"I first went to Zuiyue Tower to spread money and have a drink with the top doctor there. She told me that there is indeed a doctor named Liu Qi in the Imperial Medical Bureau. He is good at detoxification and has been well-known in the Imperial Medical Bureau for many years."

"So, you have a hidden poison and want to know the solution?" When going to the land of fireworks to find out information, do you have to give a nod? "Are you talking about Huayue or Hualiu?"

"How can it be me? I clearly have a friend!" Dong Rui spoke sternly. Anyway, He Lingchuan's money was spent, so his friend is——

"I am just a small businessman from out of town. How can I hire Imperial Physician Liu? Fortunately, Imperial Physician Liu is very popular in Nanwei. Several of his direct disciples are in Xuncheng. Among them, the best one is surnamed Yang, who is also from Zuiyue Tower. He is a frequent visitor and often goes there to socialize. He has opened three medical clinics in Xuncheng. Because of the reputation of his mentor and his own skills, patients are attracted to him. The consultation fee of Director Yang is not cheap. "

He Lingchuan smiled and said, "Are you going to visit Director Yang?"

Director Yang can live so well in Xuncheng and practice medicine with the title of a direct disciple of Imperial Physician Liu, so the relationship between him and Imperial Physician Liu should be quite close.

This kind of inheritance, support, and interest binding between master and apprentice is sometimes stronger than the relationship between father and son.

"Then I have to go." Dong Rui said with a smile, "I spent a lot of money to meet Director Yang. When we met, he said that he had a large number of precious medicinal materials and was looking for a long-term buyer. He originally wanted to drive me away, but when he saw me After taking out four or five herbs, I immediately changed my mind."

Dong Rui himself is also proficient in pharmacology, and he never lacks precious materials.

Lingguang looked at him with a look of resentment. The 500-year-old ginseng Dong Ruiliang gave him was taken from it.

"The good medicine I brought out is still very good even if it is not sold to patients, but used to honor the teacher or presented to the palace. So the two of us went to Zuiyue Tower to get a private room, and we drank and discussed business." Dong Rui sighed, "As you know, I don't like dealing with people, so I'm going to do it this time."

Being well-rounded and talking a lot is usually He Lingchuan or Lu Qiuwei's strengths.

Dong Rui watched for so long and only learned a little bit.

Lingguang couldn't help but said: "Have you used the Zuixin Powder I gave you?"

"I used it, I used it, I put it in his wine." Dong Rui gave it a thumbs up, "I didn't give it to him until the end of the wine game to avoid making him suspicious. He fell into a trance as soon as he drank half the glass. Ask questions and answer questions.”

"He won't remember what he said when he wakes up." Ling Guang said, "This thing has no side effects."

"What did you ask?"

"Mr. Liu has been in a bad mood for the past two days. The chief physician made things difficult for him in front of all his subordinates for no reason and scolded him severely."

Lingguang immediately said: "This imperial physician has a really bad temper."

It's really unlucky to have a boss like that, but luckily his boss is very kind.

He Lingchuan smiled and said nothing.

The brocade box was given by him, and the chicken head and rat head were brought by Dong Rui.

He wanted to find out who the opponent of Imperial Physician Chen was in the Imperial Medical Bureau.

The person who knows Imperial Physician Chen best must be his enemy.

Even Doctor Chen can't figure it out. Maybe someone has the answer here?

"What's the conflict between Imperial Physician Chen and Imperial Physician Liu?" As soon as Imperial Physician Chen saw the nails and the straw man, he blurted out and scolded Liu Qi.

Obviously the deepest rift exists between these two people.

"A few months ago, Imperial Physician Chen was just an attendant. The Imperial Physician at that time was Wang Chuanyi, and Imperial Physician Liu was his deputy." Dong Rui recounted Director Yang's original words, "Because the second prince's condition did not improve, King Wei was The imperial doctors were very dissatisfied, and often summoned Wang Chuanyi to reprimand him, and also scolded other imperial doctors. Later, Wang Chuanyi changed the prescription for the second prince, which calmed the patient down and reduced the number of attacks. But the side effect was that he often fell asleep , not even easy to wake up.”

"King Wei was dissatisfied with this effect. He hoped that his second son could return to normal so that the country of Wei could have a heir. Soon after, King Wei suddenly decided that there was something wrong with the medicine Wang Chuanyi used, saying that it caused the second prince to feel dizzy all day long and become seriously ill. , he chopped him down in anger."

He Lingchuan suddenly realized: "So, Wang Chuanyi is the imperial doctor who was beheaded?"

Dong Rui added: "The person named Yang doesn't know which medicine Wang Chuanyi used was taboo, but I guess..."

"Sedative drugs!" Ling Guang suddenly interrupted, "The less the second prince gets sick, the less they will be blamed. When there is no cure, this is a conservative but useful treatment plan."

In the opinion of the Imperial Physician Wang and others, it was impossible for the second prince to return to normal anyway, so using sedatives to prevent him from getting sick would allow him to explain himself to the king.

"After Wang Chuanyi was beheaded, Imperial Physician Liu suspected that there was an informant behind the incident, Imperial Physician Chen." Dong Rui continued, "Logically speaking, the attendant doctor is not qualified to inspect the prescriptions of the Imperial Physician Cheng, but Imperial Physician Liu caught Imperial Physician Chen stealing them on the spot. Look, I even punished him.”

"After this incident, Imperial Physician Liu and others hated Imperial Physician Chen extremely. As soon as Wang Chuanyi died, the position of Imperial Physician Cheng became vacant. King Wei asked them to nominate someone with outstanding medical skills to succeed him, so everyone promoted Imperial Physician Chen to him."

"This guy is really not lovable." After Wang Chuanyi's death, all the medical officials understood that the position of the Imperial Physician Cheng had a hot butt, and whoever sat in it might die.

So they unanimously elected Dr. Chen, a murderer in the eyes of all the medical officials.

Ling Guang expressed his confusion: "I don't understand. Is Wang Chuanyi very popular in the Imperial Medical Bureau? Why do all the medical officers hate Imperial Doctor Chen?"

He Lingchuan touched its head: "You are too simple and have never been in a bureaucracy. Most of the other doctors know exactly what prescription Wang Taiyi prescribed for the second prince."

Can the medicine given to the second prince be concealed from other qualified doctors?

"The number of imperial physicians who have the right to view this prescription should be limited."

Ling Guang understood: "So they are together?"

"It's either a stick or a loss of head. All the imperial doctors were also forced to do nothing by King Hong. As the saying goes, there are demands from above and countermeasures from below. If you want to overturn the diagnosis and treatment plan of Imperial Physician Wang, you will have to come up with a better version. Besides, Wang Chuanyi He has been serving as the Chief Physician for a long time and has already established his own network of contacts." He Lingchuan analyzed, "I believe that if he had a second way, he would not tamper with the prescription. This is too risky. You see, always There will be people like Doctor Chen who will come out to disrupt the situation."

"But they didn't expect that Doctor Chen could actually cure the second prince's disease, and his status and future were stable." Dong Rui counted on his fingers, "That's not right, Doctor Chen obtained the fragments of the secret scroll half a year ago. , why didn’t he offer it in time?”

"At that time, he was just serving as a doctor, and his status was too low. Logically speaking, the prescriptions he presented could not be handed over directly to the court, but had to be given to the imperial physician for review first." He Lingchuan had never been in the court of the Kingdom of Wei, but the rules of officialdom were the same everywhere. , "If the Imperial Physician Cheng thinks it is feasible, he will hand it over to King Fan. How much credit do you think Imperial Physician Chen can get from it?"

When Imperial Physician Chen's secret method reaches the Imperial Physician Cheng, it is the Imperial Physician Cheng's credit. How much the Imperial Physician Chen will receive in the end depends on the conscience of the Imperial Physician Cheng.

Ling Guang asked curiously: "Can't he leapfrog the rank and offer it directly to King Fan?"

"Dedicate it to King Wei, but King Wei can't understand it. Professional matters have to be left to professionals, so this prescription will still flow into the hands of the imperial physician. Even if the imperial physician says it's not possible, King Wei won't use it." He Lingchuan smiled and said, "Look, in the end, Dr. Chen couldn't show his merits, and even offended his immediate boss for no reason. If you were Dr. Chen, and you had such a feasible diagnosis and treatment plan in your hand, what would you do?"

Isn't this a dead situation? Neither the left nor the right can get any credit! Ling Guang scratched his head for a long time before he remembered that Dr. Chen had actually taken practical actions to break the situation:

"He got rid of the imperial doctor?"