Chapter 382 – Aiming At Her
Upon returning to the Imperial Physicians’ Courtyard, Ye Zhen found all the women physicians standing outside the yard with Imperial Physician Huang sitting there, looking gloomy.
“Yaoyao!” Chen Jinru hastened to call and waved at Ye Zhen, bringing her to stand still just like the others right now.
“Imperial Physician Huang.” Ye Zhen put her palms together in greeting.
Imperial Physician Huang glanced at her coldly. “Where have you been?”
“Cining Palace.” Ye Zhen thought for a moment and answered.
“Your Highness, it seems that you are not accustomed to the life of a physician. It’s better to leave early and be a princess. You can go to Cining Palace whenever you want, and you can live a life of great honor. Why bother coming here?” Imperial Physician Huang sneered.
Ye Zhen pursed her lips, her beautiful face showed a touch of helplessness. “Imperial Physician Huang, Empress Dowager asked me to go. How can I not go?”
Imperial Physician Huang naturally knew Aunt Cheng had come down to ask Ye Zhen over, otherwise, she would not have summoned these physicians at this time here.
“The empress dowager summoned, naturally, one must go,” Imperial Physician Huang said, looking faintly at the other physicians. “However, there is one thing that everyone should be reminded of: There is no princess in the Imperial Physicians’ Courtyard. Your status can’t help you here. I advise everyone to study hard and make positive results with their own effort.”
This sarcastic remark is clearly aimed at her! Ye Zhen chuckled in her heart. These were times when the identity of women physicians couldn’t be compared with that of before, but it’s not comparable to that of palace maids. In fact, the identity of women physicians was like the Xiunu, but the latter belonged to the harem of the emperor, while the former could freely marry.
During the Huangfu Dynasty, countless girls from noble families wanted to enter the palace to become physicians, because as long as they got recognition from Qi Yanling, they would be given an official rank. Although there were still women physicians today, getting recognition for an official rank was not easy. That said, it did not mean there was no one. There were still many people who sent their daughters to the palace, and some hoped to get close to the emperor by means of medical treatment.
She was a little curious as to what Imperial Physician Huang meant by a positive result. When she looked up to the front, she saw Gao Xueping looking at her with a disdainful smile as if laughing at her.
Imperial Physician Huang continued her remarks with a serious tone, “Tomorrow’s division of labor has been explained to you, Lu Yaoyao, you are the last one to come here. You will be in charge of drying the medicine tomorrow.”
“Yes.” Isn’t Imperial Physician Huang waiting for her here for this? With such an audience, she had no room to say no.
“Everyone, go back inside,” Imperial Physician Huang said. Originally, she had wanted to take some sarcastic jabs at Ye Zhen. But now, seeing that the girl had abided by her arrangement, she was afraid of carrying out her intentions to the end lest people think she’s intentionally targeting her.
But at the sight of Lu Yaoyao, she was reminded of her niece. She had planned to let her enroll in the academy and take her place in the palace in the future. Unexpectedly, she was destroyed by this girl before her. Huang Fuxiang never had a chance to enter the palace and become a physician.
How could she bear this tone so easily?
After Imperial Physician Huang left, Chen Jinru immediately took Ye Zhen’s hand. “Yaoyao, how could you just say yes? How could you bask the herbs alone? There are so many of them, and it’s not like you left on your own—”
Gao Xueping interrupted Chen Jinru’s words. “So, do you think Imperial Physician Huang has done something wrong?”
Chen Jinru hid behind Ye Zhen not daring to offend Gao Xueping who had become an apprentice of Imperial Physician Huang.
“Whether Imperial Physician Huang is wrong or right, none of us can judge.” Ye Zhen glanced at Gao Xueping lightly. She didn’t care what this apprentice would say before her mentor. Anyway, Imperial Physician Huang had taken her as a thorn on her side.
Gao Xueping snorted disdainfully. “Your Highness knows oneself.”
“It seems that you didn’t take your master’s words seriously. A moment ago, Imperial Physician Huang said that there is no princess here. Since you want to treat me as your princess, you should kneel down and speak first,” Ye Zhen said lightly.
There was a change in Gao Xueping’s countenance. “Lu Yaoyao, you …”
“What, now you call me Lu Yaoyao again. Didn’t you just call me Your Highness?” Ye Zhen looked at her and asked lightly.
“I shall see for how long you can hold on.” Gao Xueping coldly snorted, turned, and walked back inside.
Other palace maids looked at Ye Zhen and left silently with their heads down.
“Yaoyao, let’s finish our work early tomorrow so we can help you dry the medicine. You don’t know, Imperial Physician Huang wants all the medicines in the entire storehouse to be dried. It will take you a few days to dry them all on your own,” a fellow physician whispered to her.
Ye Zhen remembered her name, Xia Yaohua. She was a very bright girl. “Sister Xia, it’s okay. If you help me, Imperial Physician Huang might create more mistakes out of that.”
Chen Jinru whispered, “I think she is deliberately targeting you. Let’s talk to Imperial Physician Qi.”
“Imperial Physician Qi is not in the palace these days. It’s no use looking for her,” Ye Zhen said.
Qi Jin has been finding ways to give Lu Lingzhi an antidote these past few days, although she thought it was impossible to purge the residual poison. The longer the seven-day pain dragged on, the worse it would be.
Chen Jinru was somewhat worried about Ye Zhen, Imperial Physician Huang made it clear that she was targeting her. “What should we do?”
“To counter their move, well, let’s all go back and rest for now,” Ye Zhen said with a smile. Upon entering the Imperial Physicians’ Courtyard, she was ready to face the difficulties Imperial Physician Huang may throw at her.
The next day, the other female physicians were arranged to do other things by Imperial Physician Huang. Ye Zhen went to the medicine storehouse alone. Looking at the herbs in the storehouse, she frowned and asked the storehouse keeper who was in charge, “How can the medicine in this medicine storehouse be in such a mess? Doesn’t anyone clean them up at ordinary times?”
“It is cleaned up once every six months. This is a big medicine storehouse. Generally, precious medicinal materials are put into the Imperial Household Department. The medicinal materials here are changed every year, so the medicines here are not tidied up frequently,” said the eunuch.
Have to change a batch every year? Just how much money will be wasted? No! What is wasted is Mo Rongzhan’s silver. What does it have to do with me? Let his treasury be empty.
“So this young miss is here to clean up the storehouse today? Why are you alone?” the eunuch, the keeper of the storehouse, asked suspiciously.
“I’m here to dry the medicine.” Ye Zhen said with a smile.
“That’s not the same. When you’re done drying the medicine, you have to classify and put them in order. You can tidy them up slowly.”
One who doesn’t behave accordingly has always been assigned to such a hard toil.
Ye Zhen nodded and walked into the medicine storehouse. A strong smell of medicine penetrated into her nose. In addition to the smell of medicine, there was a light moldy stench as well. It seemed that some medicines had been overstocked for a long time and could no longer be used.
“There’s a small square outside. I’ll take them out for you. You’re a little girl. How can you carry them alone?” said the eunuch.
Ye Zhen smiled in gratitude. “Then, I shall trouble you.”