Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

Chapter 239: Hello, Honorable Europa Physician, Could You Treat Our Crown Prince? (2 / 2)

By dinner time, most of the officials in the district had already eaten their fill and were reclining on couches, lazily belching as they digested their meals.

Just as they were settling into their post-meal relaxation, a thunderous exclamation shattered the quiet:

[What?!?]

[The old emperor wants to let the Europa people treat his precious son?!?]

[What a foolish decision!!!]

In his courtyard, the Left Army Deputy Commander, who was taking a walk to aid digestion, suddenly froze upon hearing someone criticize the emperor as foolish. He tripped, falling forward and barely saving himself by grabbing a servant’s shoulder with his soldier-honed reflexes.

Meanwhile, Xu Yanmiao had gone completely silent.

The officials living around him were almost frantic with worry.

What do you mean by foolish?! Explain yourself!!!

You can’t just stop halfway! The crown prince’s life is at stake!

The next morning, Xu Yanmiao entered the palace’s waiting room and was utterly stunned.

[I know it gets busy near the year’s end, but this is ridiculous!]

[So many dark circles under everyone’s eyes!]

The ministers living near him collectively thought: “…”

Whose fault do you think that is?

Xu Yanmiao, of course, had no idea that the officials’ frustration was because of him. As he glanced around the room, his gaze landed on the Minister of Rites, whose face was clouded with worry.

[Is this… from punishing the child too much, or from spending too much money?]

Spending money?

The Minister of Revenue picked up on the keyword and cast several curious glances at the Minister of Rites.

The Minister of Rites blushed furiously and awkwardly explained in a low voice, “My grandson was setting off firecrackers on the street yesterday and scared quite a few people. I’ve had to go around apologizing to them one by one.”

The Minister of Revenue gave him a sympathetic look.

Kids at home can be such trouble.

[Huh? The Crown Prince?]

All the officials turned their heads in unison, just in time to see the Crown Prince step into the hall, followed by several attendants.

[The Crown Prince has been so diligent lately. He’s almost coming to court every day now.]

The Crown Prince immediately spotted a familiar face squeezed among the crowd. His lips twitched slightly.

It wasn’t as if he wanted to be here. Ever since the female physician Qin Zheng was sent to the Eastern Palace to take care of his health, she had been relentlessly supervising him—early to bed, early to rise, with no room for negotiation.

If it were the palace physicians, they would have at least shown some deference to his status. Besides, they were men and couldn’t stay overnight at the Eastern Palace. Qin Zheng, however, was different. Carrying her medical kit, she followed him everywhere without saying much—just quietly watching him. The Crown Princess, knowing that Qin Zheng was there to restore the Crown Prince’s health, not only didn’t oppose it but wholeheartedly supported her.

No more late nights. No more drinking. The Crown Prince had no choice but to obediently go to bed early, wake up early, and even practice the Five Animal Frolics every morning under her watchful gaze. During meals, she was also present, and from that day on, anything he couldn’t eat for his health simply stopped appearing on the table.

The results were immediate. He hadn’t experienced stomach pains in a long time, and his body felt much lighter. The persistent coughing that used to keep him up all night was now under control, allowing him to sleep soundly once or twice a week.

But…

The Crown Prince wailed internally: No spicy food, no sweets, and I have to eat ginger every day to warm my stomach—what’s the point of life anymore?!

The only saving grace was that Qin Zheng couldn’t follow him into court.

The Crown Prince pulled out a steamed bun he had bought on the way and quickly devoured it with pickled vegetables. The salty taste almost moved him to tears.

Yes, not only was spicy and sweet food forbidden, but overly salty food was also off the table. Pickled vegetables, dried and cured goods—all banned! Yet he had grown up loving those flavors.

A dignified Crown Prince, sneaking around just to eat some pickled vegetables—how ridiculous is this?!

[Whatever! Anyway, since the Crown Prince is here, it’s going to be a lively day!]

Hearing this thought, the Crown Prince bit into his pickled vegetable bun even more determinedly, tears faintly welling up in his eyes.

A dignified Crown Prince, not only sneaking around to eat pickled vegetables but also being treated as entertainment. How ridiculous is this?!

Xu Yanmiao glanced at the Crown Prince once, then ducked into the crowd, heading for the corner.

[This is much better! A perfect spot for day dreaming.]

[Why does the old emperor think it’s a good idea to let the Europa people treat the Crown Prince?]

[Then again, it’s not entirely the emperor’s fault. Ever since the Silk Road was opened during the era of the Seven Kingdoms, Western medicine has frequently been incorporated into traditional Chinese medicine. Things like ‘Western miraculous drugs’ or ‘Western secret remedies’—even kings and emperors believe in them. They even gift them to their trusted ministers.]

[But the Western region isn’t just one country! Huihui physicians and Europa physicians are worlds apart!]

The Crown Prince absentmindedly chewed his pickled vegetable bun.

How different could they really be? What are they going to do, cut me open to see where my stomach and liver have problems?

[The Crown Prince can still eat now, but if he knew how Europa people treat illnesses, he’d be crying for his parents by now.]

The Crown Prince scoffed dismissively.

How could that be possible? He was already grown—

[Who would have thought that European doctors treat every illness by drawing a bottle of blood?]

[Who would have thought that for a fever, European doctors would make patients stop eating and drinking?]

[Who would have thought that for a stroke, European doctors would use a hot iron to burn the patient’s head, thinking that would cure them?]

[To Europeans, isn’t treatment just sweating, inducing vomiting, inducing diarrhea, administering enemas, and bloodletting?]

The Crown Prince instinctively clenched his legs together. Even without anyone administering an enema, his stomach already felt like it was churning violently.

Why!!!

Why would there be a place where medicine was practiced like this?!

The Crown Prince’s heart quivered. “It’s fine… it’s fine…”

Maybe those methods were just crude treatments for commoners. Surely they wouldn’t treat the Crown Prince like that…

[The most tragic case has to be that king… what was his name? Charles II? Truly a pitiful end…]

[After he had a stroke, his royal physicians started by drawing a bottle of blood. Once the bloodletting was done, they gave him an emetic. The poor man, already ill, nearly vomited himself to death.]

The Crown Prince couldn’t help but take a step back, distancing himself from the terrifying Xiao Baize.

[When the vomiting didn’t cure him, the physicians decided more bodily fluids needed to be expelled. So they started administering enemas.]

[An enema every hour! For five days straight!!! Five whole days!!!]

The Crown Prince’s face turned as white as a sheet, and his legs shook uncontrollably.

[And still, he wasn’t cured!]

[Of course! They decided they hadn’t done enough! The disease must be in the king’s head! They shaved the king’s head and used a burning hot iron to sear his scalp!]

[They believed that by burning blisters into his scalp and squeezing them, they could expel the disease!]

The Crown Prince instinctively touched his intact head and swallowed hard.

Were those royal physicians secretly enemies of the king?

It sounded so painful!

[Then they smeared pigeon dung on the king’s feet.]

[Stuffed sneezing powder into his nostrils.]

[Coated his entire body with a hot poultice.]

[Finally, through their “dedicated” efforts, they managed to treat a strong and healthy king to death!]

The Crown Prince: “…”

The Crown Prince: “…”

The Crown Prince: “…”

He immediately tossed away his steamed bun and pickled vegetables, turned around, and ran back to the palace.

Father—

I was wrong QAQ!

I’ll take my treatment seriously from now on!!!