Denghuaxiao

Chapter 189: Philistine

Jasmine has mostly bloomed under the window, its branches are fragrant, and the green leaves are fragrant, diluting the smell of Chinese medicine in the house.

 In the garden outside Qi Yutai's gate, Qi Qing stood with his hands behind his back.

The setting sun fell into the pond, and the water was dyed with a layer of light red. The shimmering light seemed like flickering fire burning at the bottom of the water, and the remaining red was brilliant.

Qi Qing watched quietly.

Nearly ten days have passed since the fire broke out in Fengle Tower that night.

In the past ten days, there have been endless disputes between the court and the court, Yuan Yao has been pressing harder and harder, and the prince's people have come several times. Emperor Liang Ming's attitude is subtle, and he can no longer calm down.

There were endless turmoils in the court. He only said that he was ill and stayed in the mansion, guarding Qi Yutai every day.

There were footsteps behind him. The old housekeeper walked across the yard and walked behind Qi Qing. He whispered: "Master, the matter of Han Shi San has been taken care of."

"good."

On the second day after the Fengle Tower fire, someone accused Qi Yutai of taking medicine in the building. How could Yuan Yao not seize this opportunity and force the emperor to conduct a thorough investigation in front of all the officials?

The thin old hands and the young and pale hands are held together, and they look more and more desolate and dead.

 In Qi Yutai's house, the door was closed.

Qi Qing’s expression changed.

Qi Yutai stared into the void, as if he saw a silk painting invisible to others, and murmured: "And that old man, he and Huamei looked at me together... His eyes were bleeding... Dad!" He suddenly became frightened and grabbed him The blanket buried his head in the blanket and went crazy, "There is a ghost, there is a ghost, the ghosts of the Yang family are here!"

Perhaps it was the fire at Fengle Building that made Qi Yutai think of the fire at Yang's house in Mangming Township in his panic, thus bringing back old memories of Huamei.

The loving tone seemed to make Qi Yutai bolder. He looked dazed for a moment: "I saw the thrush..."

 “Father,” he called suddenly.

He started to cry and curse, and two young men rushed forward to hold him back as much as possible.

 “Where is the thrush?”

The housekeeper pushed open the door, and there was a maid kneeling in front of the door. Her forehead was still bleeding, and the porcelain was smashed on the floor. There were two other servants standing by the couch, watching the person on the couch nervously.

 Can't find anything.

 These days, Qi Yutai occasionally utters this sentence.

 The layout of Fengle Building, the guest rooms are facing the wall, and it is true that silk paintings have been hung there.

Qi Qingren found a scapegoat to take the blame. The person who took the medicine powder was someone else, and naturally it had nothing to do with Qi Yutai.

Qi Yutai has been delirious every day since he was sent back to his home. He always said that he saw a thrush.

The old housekeeper winked at the maid who was bleeding on her forehead, and the maid stepped out while pressing the wound on her forehead. When the two boys saw Qi Qing coming, they quickly moved out of the way. Qi Qing stepped forward slowly and pushed aside the hanging curtain.

 “Yes… there are many, many birds in the tea garden…”

On the bed with red sandalwood and lotus patterns, Qi Yutai huddled in the corner, with a thin blanket wrapped around him, looking at the four-cornered sachet hanging above his head.

 Qi Qing tightened his grip on the corner of the curtain.

Qi Qing was silent and held his hand: "Yutai."

but…

Qi Qing shook his head.

The old housekeeper said: "The young master had an accident that day and was sued the next day. It is too coincidental. Master, could this matter be a trap set by the third prince?"

Qi Qing leaned forward and his tone became gentler, "Yutai tell dad, what does that painting look like?"

Unless Cui Min risked his life, there was no way he would take the initiative to reveal this matter to others.

Qi Yutai in the corner seemed to finally hear the noise, his eyes moved, and his eyes slowly moved to the two people who entered the room.

After the fire in Fengle Building, the Qi family also suspected that the fire was not accidental and sent people to investigate deep into the building. However, the top pavilion where Qi Yutai was located was the place where the fire first broke out. The people who went into the fire shop put out the fire downstairs, but they were unable to save the fire upstairs. It was completely burned by the fire at night, leaving no trace.

The same was true when Shuhui fell ill.

"Let's go." Qi Qing turned around, "I'll go see him."

Qi Qing held his hand, like a father looking at a young child, and asked warmly: "Yutai, tell dad, who wants to harm you?"

“In Fengle Tower, on the wall, there is a large painting with a painting of thrushes, many, many thrushes—”

 But today is the first time that the "paintings" in Fengle Tower are mentioned.

 The old housekeeper behind him looked up in surprise.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　』

When he fell ill, he screamed and ran away, loudly beating and cursing the people around him. In just a few days, several batches of servants were changed to serve him.

 Forget it.

Qi Qing lowered his head, looked at the blood mark on his wrist that Qi Yutai suddenly grabbed, and sighed deeply.



 It just happens to be now.

　　Not listening to what others say at all, or lowering one's head and whispering to people who don't know what they are talking about. Yutai had an illness a few years ago, but it was not as severe as now. The way he ignored it made people suspicious that he might never wake up again in the future.

Qi Yutai whispered: "Dad, someone wants to harm me."

Yuan Yao had an impulsive temperament and relied on the emperor's favor to act on his own will. If he had the intention to set a trap, he would not use such a roundabout method. What's more, it can be said that some people have heard about Qi Yutai's taking medicine powder, but Qi Yutai's old illness... Apart from the Qi family, only Cui Min knows about it.

 “Young Master...it doesn’t seem to be getting better...” the housekeeper said worriedly.

　　It has been so long, and Qi Yutai is still speaking in a trance, without any improvement.

Qi Qing shook his head.

In the incense burner in the house, Lingxi incense burned quietly, and there was a light knock on the door. Then, the door was pushed open, and Cui Min walked in holding a medicine bowl.

Seeing Qi Qing there, Cui Min bowed and said, "Sir."

 Qi Qing waved his hand.

Cui Min stepped forward and placed the medicine bowl in his hand on a high table that was out of Qi Yutai's reach. Seeing two young men pressing Qi Yutai, he let them go and poured a medicine bottle from the medicine box. Feed Qi Yutai the red pill and take it.

Qi Yutai gradually became quiet.

Anshen Pills can only make him calm down for a short while, and he can temporarily regain his composure due to his confusion. Cui Min asked the boy to bring him a medicine bowl, and when Qi Yutai was calm, he fed him a spoonful of medicine.

 After drinking a bowl of medicine, Qi Yutai had completely calmed down, his eyelids were drooping, and he was drowsy. The boy wiped him clean and accidentally got the concoction on his body. He helped him lie down and covered him with the quilt. He lowered the curtain and the room finally calmed down.

Qi Qing looked at Cui Min who was packing the medical box. After a while, he said, "Envoy Cui, Yutai's condition has not improved."

Cui Min made a move.

He turned around and bowed respectfully to Qi Qinggong: "My medical skills are not good, and my diagnosis has been useless for many days. I am ashamed to trust you, and I am very ashamed."

Qi Qing said calmly: "Why are the envoys so humble? The "Cui's Pharmacology" was praised by all doctors in Shengjing. If you say that your medical skills are not good, no one in the Liang Dynasty would dare to say that they know medical principles."

He said: "The envoy of the hospital also treated my son before. Why is this time different from the last time?"

Cui Min's palms were slightly wet and he replied calmly: "Sir, the young master's illness was caused by panic. It was due to a sudden encounter with a fire and a narrow escape from death. He was frightened and lost his mind. Although the young master was in a state of panic last time, the symptoms of panic were similar. It’s not fatal, but maybe the situation is dangerous this time, so it’s more serious.”

 He ​​did not mention the word "crazy", nor did he mention the weirdness in Qi Yutai's words, as if it was just a common and complicated disease.

Qi Qing was silent for a while and asked: "Master Cui, I only have such a son."

“Yutai has been weak since she was a child, with a gentle temperament. Although she is occasionally naughty, she is still well-behaved.”

"I had to go through all kinds of troubles to get this son. When Yutai's mother left, she was only worried that Yutai would not be down. If something happened to Yutai, I would be too embarrassed to face my wife in the future."

"Therefore, I just want to ask you a question," Qi Qing looked at Cui Min, "Can Yutai's disease be cured?"

 It was quiet in the room, and the muttering behind the curtain was particularly obvious.

The old man looked at him calmly with a pair of gray eyes. Because he was too old, if he looked carefully, he seemed to have a shallow haze. When he looked again, the gray haze seemed to be an illusion again.

Cui Min felt a layer of fine sweat gradually forming on his hands in his sleeves. The fine sweat seemed to grow, crawling from the palms of his hands to his back, then falling drop by drop from his forehead, and silently sank into his clothes. Collar.

He lowered his eyes, and wherever he looked, the woolen carpet had bright patterns, and the petals dotted with crystal stones were dark brown and red. Qi Yutai sometimes fell ill, and would often pick up everything that could be smashed in the house and throw it around. Not long ago, a young maid was killed here.

The stagnant air was heavy on his head. Cui Min stared at the red spot for a long time and uttered two words: "It can be cured."

Qi Qing was pleased: "Okay."

"The hospital envoy is benevolent and benevolent. In the hospital, I only trust you. The empress intended to promote Ji Xun to the position of deputy envoy, but I dissuaded her. After all, medical officer Ji is a bit younger and not older and more stable than the envoy Cui. "

He stood up slowly, patted Cui Min's shoulder affectionately, and said: "Envoy, please don't betray my trust." He left with the help of the housekeeper.

Cui Min stood there and didn't raise his head until Qi Qing and Qi Qing were no longer visible outside the door.

The spine that had been slightly bowed just now felt stiff and painful, and he wiped his forehead.

 His body was covered in cold sweat.   …

 The last ray of sunset sinks and the moon rises.

 The hospital fell into silence.

When Cui Min returned to the medical hospital, the night was already very late.

The green branches were swaying in the grove, and there was no one around. His confidants were not in the medical hospital. Today he went to the Taishi Mansion for medical treatment, and he should have gone back directly.

 But Cui Min didn't want to go back.

The scent of medicine in the hospital seems to make him feel more peaceful.

 He entered the study and closed the door.

There are medical books piled high on the bookshelves and tables in the house. Since he became a hospital envoy, he has collected all kinds of unique medical books everywhere. His subordinates also knew about his hobby and often spent a lot of money to buy them for him as gifts. Others say that it was because he came from a humble background, and all kinds of medical books in the Liang Dynasty were owned by the Imperial Medical Bureau. Cui Min, a common medical worker, had never studied in the Imperial Medical Bureau, so after he entered the Hanlin Medical Academy, he had to All the medical classics and pharmacology that have not been learned in the past are supplemented.

 But he is not.

 He just wants to prove himself.

Cui Min sat down at the table.

 Having finished writing the new medical book, I am still dissatisfied no matter how much the prescriptions are revised. In fact, five years after the publication of "Cui's Pharmacology", he was already feeling anxious.

Ordinary medical workers are struggling in the medical hospital. Every year, there are new medical officers in the imperial medical bureau. There are many young students with strong backgrounds. This alone is not worthy of fear. What is even more frightening is that those with good family backgrounds, Not all of them are mediocre people, there are many who have outstanding medical skills and extraordinary talents.

 For example, Lin Danqing, for example...Ji Xun.

Thinking of Ji Xun, Cui Min's eyes darkened.

This young genius medical officer showed amazing talent as soon as he entered the Medical Officer's Hospital. He was also unsophisticated. If he had any different medical opinions, he would speak out regardless of the situation. He pointed out errors and omissions in his prescriptions several times, making it difficult for Cui Min to step down.

Ji Xun's family background is not bad. Even if he wanted to punish Fa Luo, he could not find the opportunity.

He couldn't criticize Ji Xun, he could only watch him getting more and more comfortable in the palace, and he felt more and more anxious in his heart. I had no choice but to decide to write another medical book.

　　One volume is accidental, but two volumes, at least the position of envoy of other courts will not be shaken for the time being.

This is what Cui Min thought. However, the more impatient he was, the harder it was to get the prescription. He is like an old scholar who has exhausted his talents, and the ink in his pen is full of decay. So he searched everywhere for lonely medical books, gained extensive knowledge, made up for his lack of intelligence, and tried to prove that he was not mediocre.

The book says: My appearance is dull, which will not catch others, and my talent, which is mediocre, will not catch others. I learn it day by day, and do not slack off for a long time, until I am successful, but I do not know whether I am dull or mediocre.

How can everyone in this world be a genius? As long as he works hard, there is no difference between him and those geniuses.

 That's what he thought. However, after a few years, Cui Min sadly discovered a fact.

 Genius and mediocrity are different from the beginning.

Ji Xun became more and more comfortable in the palace. He could only watch helplessly and felt that his position as the envoy was crumbling. Ji Xun was born in a better family than himself, had the same medical skills, and was a young member of a well-known family. He was more suitable to be a medical official than an aging ordinary medical worker.

Just when Cui Min himself was gradually accepting his fate, something happened to Qi Yutai, the son of the Grand Master.

Qi Yutai was frightened by something he collided with and started talking nonsense. Master Qi asked him to come to his house for a consultation. Cui Min knew that his chance had come and treated him diligently for several days, and Qi Yutai recovered.

  Qi Qing was very grateful to him.

This gratitude was reflected in the fact that when someone in the palace reminded Ji Xun that he could now serve as the deputy envoy of the Medical Academy, Grand Master Qi blocked it.

Cui Min understood this deeply, and this was the reward given to him by the Taishi Mansion.

 In the following years, no one else coveted the position of envoy in his court.

Cui Min understood that this was the credit of the Taishi Mansion. Then I dream about it at midnight, but sometimes I still feel uneasy.

Like a hollow person who is forced to ascend to a high position, knowing that there is nowhere to support him, and always trembling with fear.

 To this day, the fear has become a reality.

 Chance Qi Yutai fell ill again.

This attack was more serious than the last time, and Cui Min himself was worried because he had not seen any improvement after several days. Epilepsy is inherently difficult to treat. Qi Yutai has used Lingxi incense since he was a child to sort out his emotions and stay awake. However, once the epilepsy occurs frequently, it is difficult to cure it with medicine or stone.

 It’s very tricky.

Cui Min remembered what Qi Qing said in Qi Yutai's house in the evening.

He asked him: "Can Yutai's disease be cured?"

That is not asking whether he can be cured, but whether he still wants to live.

Cui Min's lips are pale.

He knew clearly in his heart that Qi Qing sought him instead of Ji Xun to treat Qi Yutai, not because he thought his medical skills were better than Ji Xun's, but because in Qi Qing's eyes, he was easier to manipulate than Ji Xun.

Ji Xun is a child of an aristocratic family and has family background to support him. He will treat Qi Yutai seriously, but he will not lie about Qi Yutai's medical records like himself.

Nor would he help conceal the fact that Qi Yutai had epilepsy.

That fact that the Taishi Mansion most wants to hide.

He is still alive now only because the Taishi Mansion needs him. If Qi Yutai really falls ill and never regains consciousness, he will not survive.

When an aristocratic patient gets into trouble, ordinary doctors and workers are buried with him. This has always been the case, even if the hospital envoy is no different.

Cui Min scratched his hair, his usually plain face was full of anxiety, and he was nervous about being at the end of his rope.

 It would be great if there were a new remedy, a new remedy for confusion and madness.

It’s a pity that he couldn’t write it himself, and the disease is difficult to treat. In recent years, no new medical officer in the Medical Officer’s Hospital can come up with new prescriptions. Even Ji Xun has not solved this problem.

 Newcomers who have passed the spring exam are not allowed...

 Spring test…

 Suddenly, Cui Min's expression changed.

He stood up in a hurry. He didn't know what he thought of. He turned around and walked out of the door with a lantern in hand. He walked quickly through the woods until he reached the door of the medical record library, unlocked the door and walked in.

There was no one in the medical record library, and fine dust lingered on the tip of his nose along with the scent of old ink. Cui Min walked around the corridor, walked to a wooden cabinet in a few steps, and unlocked the cabinet with a key.

 There are piles of volumes neatly stacked in the wooden cabinet.

This is the nine-question test paper for students in the Spring Examination of the Imperial Medical Bureau over the past years.

Cui Min put the lantern on the ground, leaned over and started rummaging around.

He searched quickly, flipping through the examination papers quickly. There was only a rustling sound in the night. After a while, the sound suddenly stopped.

Cui Min took out a letter from the thick stack of volumes and held it under the lantern with trembling hands.

The light was dim. He squinted his eyes and looked at each word one by one in the light of the falling fire. Then, his expression gradually became excited.

"found it…"

 The man pursed his lips silently, with rare joy in his eyes.

 The writing on the examination paper was scrawled, and the name line that had been torn off the seal was shone in the dim light, and the shaking blur gradually became clear—

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　.

 …

"what sound?"

 In the dormitory, Lu Zhuo looked towards the wooden window.

"It's a rat." Lin Danqing was sitting in front of the window reading a book. Hearing this, he stretched out his hand to close the window. "It's been hot these past two days. There are a lot of rats in the Medical Officer's Hospital. I cleaned them the past two days and dragged them out of the hole in the wall of the hall." There was a big handful of peanuts, half a bag of rice, and half of the walnuts I had eaten were gone.”

"Shameless things," Lin Danqing cursed, "just doing some petty theft."

Lu Zhen smiled faintly.

"Speaking of which, the lights in the hospital guard's room were still on just now." Lin Danqing glanced outside and said, "It's so late to go back to the hospital. The hospital guard is really working hard."

After the fire in Fengle Building, Cui Min was often absent from the medical officer's hospital. The hospital was too busy with affairs, and even Chang Jin was transferred out of the library. Temporarily reinstate the position.

"I heard that Qi Yutai's illness has not recovered yet. I think it is probably very serious. Otherwise, how long would it have taken for the envoy to be like this? He has never been seen staying up so late before."

 Sighed again: "However, the condition is so serious, I think Cuiyuan will still be very busy in the future."

The night outside the window is quiet and windy, and there is no sound. Only the sparse black shadows of the woods bury the moonlight above the head.

Lu Zhen turned over a page of the book and nodded casually.

“Indeed,” she said, “he must be very busy.”

 "My posture is faint..." - "A Poetry to Learn from My Nephew"