Physician, Not A Consort

Lin Haihai helped Keqing settle down before sending for Li Junyue. He came to find her after finishing the tasks at hand.

“Stupid Bear, do you remember Gold Caterpiller Du?” Lin Haihai asked seriously.

“Is that a real thing?” Li Junyue was stunned. “I read about it in an ancient text, but I’ve never encountered it in real life!”

“Keqing has been poisoned with that particular gu,” Lin Haihai explained in a grave tone. “The poison will come into effect in two months. However, we have only a month to deal with it!”

Li Junyue looked at Keqing in disbelief, at a loss of words. Lin Haihai continued, “I remember reading about the way to cure Gold Caterpillar Du in one of Grandpa’s travel journals, but I was too young to pay attention to it. Have you read it?”

Li Junyue thought for a moment. “Does it have a yellow cover with the drawing of an orchid?”

“That’s right. That’s the one!” Lin Haihai exclaimed in excitement. “You’ve read it, haven’t you? It details the method to resolve a Gold Caterpillar Gu. Can you still remember it?”

Li Junyue shook his head in frustration. “I’ve read it, but just like you, I didn’t commit the cleansing method to mind.”

Lin Haihai was disappointed. “You don’t remember either?”

Noting the frustrated look on their faces, Keqing smiled faintly and said, “Don’t worry for me. Life and death are predetermined by fate. I don’t care too much about my survival. You shouldn’t let it burden you, either!”

“Can you find the travel journal?” Juanzi asked anxiously. “Please save the empress dowager!”

“The empress dowager?” Li Junyue was shocked. What empress dowager?

“Keqing is the empress dowager of Rong,” Lin Haihai explained. “This is Li Junyue, my elder brother. You can place your trust in him!”

“It’s fine, I believe you.” Keqing huffed out a self-deprecating laugh. “Those who were chasing after me have given up already because it’s close to the day I’ll die of this poison. No one will put in the time and effort to look for a dying person!”

“How about you go back to look for the travel journal, Stupid Bear? See if you can find it?” Lin Haihai didn’t want him to be away at a moment like this, but there was no other option.

“What about you then?” Li Junyue said, his unspoken words clear.

Lin Haihai smiled. “I’ll be fine. I’ll move out after Mid-Autumn Day. Besides, you’ll return soon. It’s not a big deal!”

“I’m afraid it won’t be easy to find the journal,” Li Junyue talked about the worst-case-scenario. “It’s been more than a decade. You’ve moved houses a few times, and the books are all over the place. I’m afraid that it might have been lost already!”

“Then you’ll have to seek grandpa out,” Lin Haihai said. “He’s a living medical textbook. He may remember!”

“Who’s a living medical textbook?” Yang Shaolun’s voice came from the outside. As soon as he said so, a number of handsome men appeared at the door.

Lin Haihai rose to her feet to smile at his warm face, her eyes shining with joy. Yang Shaolun was reminded of his conversation with Yang Hanlun, which weighed him down and made his gaze on Lin Haihai gain a trace of ruefulness. Those who were in love were the most sensitive. Lin Haihai sensed the change in his mood immediately, and her heart sank. Did something go wrong?

She shot Chen Luoqing a questioning glance, but he averted her eyes and bowed to Keqing. “Chen Luoqing of Daxing greets Your Majesty the Empress Dowager of Rong!”

As the emperor of a nation, Yang Shaolun forewent the formal etiquette and took the initiative to greet Keqing, “The emperor of Daxing greets Your Majesty the Empress Dowager of Rong!”

Keqing hurriedly returned the gesture. “You’re too kind. Your Majesty is the emperor of Daxing. It should be this Empress Dowager who bowed to Your Majesty. This Empress Dowager has been impolite!”

Lin Haihai chuckled. “Stop bowing to each other. Have a seat!”

“There are a lot of patients outside,” Li Junyue interjected. “I’ll get back to work!”

Lin Haihai nodded. “Do you need my help?”

“Stay here with them. The imperial physicians and I will handle it.” Li Junyue reminded her before walking away, “Remember to get your pills from me when you’re leaving the hospital!”

Lin Haihai responded without thinking, “I still have folic acid. Just give me some calcium supplements. I’m not taking more pills!”

Yang Shaolun turned to Lin Haihai, “Are you seriously ill?”

“Nah,” Lin Haihai diverted his question. “Just a loss of appetite!”

She wanted to tell him the truth, that she was pregnant with their child. However, it wasn’t time yet. She would let him know after Mid-Autumn Day.

“Give her a thorough checkup, Li Junyue!” Yang Shaolun hurriedly stopped Li Junyue from leaving.

“She’s a physician herself. She knows her body well. Don’t worry, she’s not going to die!” Li Junyue snarked. He wasn’t trying to curse her, but it irritated him that she was unable to let the father of the child know about her pregnancy.

“Listen to yourself!” Yang Shaolun’s expression darkened. He narrowed his eyes and stared at Li Junyue, who shot Lin Haihai an exasperated look before marching outside. He sighed inwardly. How am I going to return to the modern day given the circumstances?

Keqing looked at Yang Shaolun curiously. The emperor was known for his wisdom and composure, but it seemed that the man wasn’t as calm and collected as people said.

Yang Shaolun walked up to Lin Haihai and put his hand on her forehead. Lin Haihai grabbed his hand and said, “I’m fine. Li Junyue was just spouting nonsense. You don’t have to worry about me!”

“You’re not leaving your residence from tomorrow on until you’re fully recovered!” Yang Shaolun’s tone suggested that there was no room for argument.

“Then I’ll die immediately!” She would die of boredom if she wasn’t allowed to go outside. She was someone who couldn’t stay idle.

Yang Shaolun scowled and levelled her with a piercing stare. “You’re the one who’s spouting nonsense!”

“I’m fine. I just lost my appetite because of stomach problems. I’ll be bored to death if you don’t let me leave the residence!” She hadn’t stopped working since she came to this era. If she did, she would miss home terribly.

“You said you were just a physician?” Keqing asked with a smile.

Lin Haihai paused. They had been so busy flirting and bantering that they forgot they had an audience. She looked at Keqing awkwardly. How was she going to introduce herself? She was the sixth princess consort, but the one she loved was the emperor. What exactly was she then?

“She’s mine!” Yang Shaolun said coolly. Her indecisiveness wounded him. She would be his after a month. Might as well admit to the truth now.

Lin Haihai widened her eyes at him. She was touched and surprised that he would tell the truth to the empress dowager of another nation, but was it really the right time? She felt a sense of foreboding she couldn’t explain.

Keqing chuckled. The emperor was a good man. The loving look in his eyes told her that he was truly in love with the woman before him. In an earnest tone, she gave them her blessing, “I’m glad to see how happy you are!”

“You two should talk,” Lin Haihai said awkwardly .”I’ll go out to help!”

Yang Shaolun didn’t want her to leave, but she went off immediately after her parting words. He could only look at her from behind and shook his head with a smile.

There were a lot of patients, and Lin Haihai didn’t have time to lament the situation she was in. She plunged into work immediately. She had already bought the storefront next to the hospital. All they had to do now was to renovate it.

The patient being treated now was a boy aged seven or eight. His eyes were reddened, and they had been tearing up and stinging. Lin Haihai examined him and concluded that he was suffering from infectious conjunctivitis. She turned to Imperial Physician Chen. “How many red-eyed patients do we have today?”

“Twenty and some. There’s an increase in patients with acute red eyes, but there shouldn’t be an outbreak.” The imperial physicians sounded relaxed since there had never been a large-scale outbreak of conjunctivitis in the past.

“Don’t be so certain yet,” Lin Haihai said. “The condition is also known as conjunctivitis. It’s caused by the human eyes coming into contact with infectious agents. It’s highly contagious and shouldn’t be underestimated!”

Noting her seriousness, Imperial Physician Chen promised, “I understand. I’ll keep an eye on the number of patients and report to Master!”

Lin Haihai nodded. After some thinking, she called out for the doctor in charge of prescriptions and asked, “How much mulberry leaf do we have in stock?”

“There’s still a lot,” he said. “It’ll be enough to last us a month!”

“Good, that’s good,” Lin Haihai said. “Put an announcement outside the door that mulberry leaf, soybeans, and common selfheal can prevent acute red eye. Tell everyone to boil water with them and drink the water! We’ll supply everyone for free. Adults can drink water boiled with saffron as well. That’s also effective!”

“I’m afraid we don’t have a lot of selfheal in stock,” the pharmacist said hesitantly.

Lin Haihai was confused. “That can’t be. Summer has just passed. There should be a large supply of selfheal!”

“I told you about the shortage of selfheal when we resupplied earlier. Although we acquired some from herb farmers later, there still isn’t enough for us to give them away freely!”

“They must have been burned.” Lin Haihai made a decision immediately. “Contact the herb farmers and ask them if they have any selfheal. I’m buying all of them!”

“We don’t have any other option. Why don’t we opt for other herbs instead of selfheal, though?” asked the pharmacist. Many of selfheal’s properties were also shared by other herbs, including weeping forsythia, reed rhizome, and indigowoad root.

“The other herbs are going to be even more difficult to find, aren’t they?” Lin Haihai said with a sigh.

“I’ll contact the farmers first. We’ll buy as much as we can!”

“I’ll entrust the matter to you!” Lin Haihai still sounded troubled.

She gave the boy’s mother the prescription and said, “Have the young helper fill your prescription. Remember not to share a towel or a handkerchief with your son. Don’t go to crowded places either. And remember to drink a lot of water!”

The mother thanked her before leaving.

There were a few more patients with conjunctivitis. The imperial physicians had been treating only members of the palace and didn’t know much about the prevalence of conjunctivitis in the past. Lin Haihai had to ask the pharmacist once he returned. She hoped that these were merely individual cases and not an outbreak!