Jianping, within the Lu Residence.
The Great Zhou governed the realm under the principles of loyalty and filial piety. Since her grandaunt was ill, Lu Yuanguang naturally requested leave from her duties to stay home and care for her.
Although people came and went within the residence, there was little sound of conversation – everyone knew that Lu Zhongmao’s illness had taken a grave turn. According to the medical officer’s diagnosis, she had at most less than a month left. The household was already beginning to prepare for the funeral arrangements.
A young man of the Lu family, carrying hot water, walked past the corridor. He suddenly stopped and asked a household servant, “What is that commotion outside?”
The servant was ordered to go and investigate. Moments later, he hurried back, “It is an envoy from the palace, here to pay a visit.”
An envoy from the palace had indeed arrived, and moreover, it was someone from the Jingyuan side. However, leading the group was Attendant Chi.
Chi Yi had been kept in the city by the Sovereign this time. Those eunuchs would certainly have sought her out first, and then come together to the Lu residence. The Lu clan members mused that, since they had specifically brought that Cavalier Attendants-in-Ordinary along, this visit was likely to be quite formal.
Sure enough, Attendant Chi had a smile on his face and said courteously, “I have come today on the orders of Her Majesty to pay a visit to Erudite Lu.”
Lu Yuanguang, who had arrived upon receiving the news, cupped her hands in salute. “Much obliged.”
Chi Yi said, “Her Majesty heard that Erudite Lu was feeling slightly unwell and instructed me to deliver a few medicinal pills.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Yuanguang’s movement paused slightly. In the end, still following the protocols of hospitality, she ushered the guests into the inner chamber.
An emperor granting medicine to a minister usually implied one of two possibilities: either she genuinely wished to save the person, or she intended to hasten their demise.
Lu Zhongmao, who was severely ill, naturally did not doubt the Sovereign’s intentions. If the Emperor truly wanted her dead, she need only wait; given Her Majesty’s intelligence, she would never take superfluous action.
Chi Yi gave a slight nod, and the medical officer standing behind her immediately stepped forward to take out the medicine they had brought.
Inside the box were two small, white jade bottles, each with a label attached. One label read “Muzhong Pill,” and the other read “Liu Pill.”
Both Lu Yuanguang and Chi Yi were familiar with the Emperor’s handwriting and immediately recognized that the names on the labels were written personally by Her Majesty.
There had been some rumors circulating in the city recently that the Emperor had been going to Jingyuan to stoke a furnace and refine elixirs. Lu Yuanguang hadn’t believed it at first, but seeing the handwriting on the labels made her uncertain.
Chi Yi said to Lu Yuanguang, “Has Erudite Lu eaten today? If not, please have some food first.”
This was Wen Yanran’s instruction. She had only done a simple drug experiment to confirm the stuff wouldn’t kill anyone, but she wasn’t very confident about its enteric coating effect. If the pill disintegrated prematurely in the stomach, having some food as a buffer would at least mean it wasn’t being taken on an empty stomach.
Lu Yuanguang nodded and had the household servants bring out the prepared soup cakes.
In the Great Zhou Dynasty, “soup cakes” referred to boiled wheaten foods. In later eras, this type of food would gradually diversify into comforting staples like dough drop soup and noodles. However, in this time, not to mention ordinary commoners, even some minor officials from impoverished families rarely had the chance to eat such fine, soft noodles.
Therefore, when the Emperor bestowed food upon her ministers, aside from its symbolic significance, it was also a very practical gesture of concern.
Although the soup cakes were soft, they were still a bit too substantial for the patient. Lu Zhongmao had a servant ladle her a small bowl, which she carefully finished, drinking all the broth down to the last drop.
The Sovereign favored rice, and the south had paid considerable tribute to Jianping. These soup cakes were ground from high-quality grain bestowed by the palace. Lu Zhongmao would have liked to eat more, but her illness prevented her from doing so.
Chi Yi’s gaze swept across the furnishings in the room.
There were differences even among the scholar-official clans. It was a strange era. Within the same clan, there could exist wastrels who would only eat fine white flour, only wear silk clothes, only ride in carriages and absolutely refuse to ride horses, and who were capable of nothing beyond reading the classics. Yet there were also moral cultivators like Lu Zhongmao, who paid attention to self-discipline. According to intelligence from the City Bureau, this person’s grave illness was not a pretense; she normally did not indulge in luxuries. Even when she first fell ill, she merely cooked some bean porridge for herself to eat.
The medical officer poured a cup of warm water and requested Lu Zhongmao to take the medicine.
Lu Zhongmao looked at the two jade bottles and, after a moment, sighed, “I cannot take these.”
She was well aware of her own physical condition and knew her time was short. If she chose to take the medicine bestowed by the Emperor at this moment and something went wrong, history would record it clearly. Would that not unfairly burden Her Majesty with the infamy of poisoning a minister?
Even without concrete evidence, human hearts were unfathomable. One must not neglect to guard against such possibilities.
The main reason Lu Zhongmao harbored such thoughts was, naturally, her thorough understanding of the Great Zhou’s medical standards.
Chi Yi also understood the level of medicine in Great Zhou, but she trusted the Sovereign’s capabilities even more. With a faint smile, she took the medicine from the medical officer and said, “If you refuse, Her Majesty might have to return from Jingyuan personally to persuade you to take it.”
Lu Zhongmao glanced at Chi Yi and sighed, “Though you, Attendant Chi, are young, you already have the bearing of a renowned eunuch. Could you not dissuade Her Majesty on my behalf?”
Chi Yi shook her head. “I am no renowned eunuch. It’s simply that the Sovereign is an enlightened ruler.” She then lowered her voice to persuade her further, “you need not worry excessively. Since Her Majesty ascended the throne, when have there ever been few criticisms from the court and the public? But how could the cries of owls ever affect the lofty aspirations of the mythical yuanchu bird?”
Lu Zhongmao fell silent for a long while, but eventually nodded.
An emperor determined to promote local schools and educate the people would indeed not concern herself with the speculations and opinions of those who, aside from their family background, had no redeeming qualities. For someone like Her Majesty, once she had made up her mind, it was difficult for others to sway her.
Chi Yi personally helped Lu Zhongmao sit up from the bed, and then, following the Emperor’s medical instructions, had her swallow two Muzhong pills and one Liu Pill simultaneously.
“After taking the medicine, please do not lie down to sleep immediately. Talk with someone for a while to help disperse the medicinal properties.”
The imperial physicians hurried over to take her pulse again, feeling quite uneasy inside. At this moment, Lu Zhongmao appeared to be in good spirits, but in fact, she was being sustained by ginseng. The Lu residence had long since made all the final arrangements.
Lu Zhongmao leaned on the couch and chatted idly with Chi Yi for a while. Half an hour later, as the effectiveness of the ginseng slices waned and fatigue washed over her, she could no longer hold on and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Chi Yi had matters to attend to and could not stay long at the Lu residence, so she left a young eunuch behind to monitor the situation.
As soon as the palace envoy left, people from all sides emerged to inquire about the situation, hoping to glean some information.
Lu Yuanguang initially didn’t want to say much. Since the Emperor had considered the Lu family’s interests, they should reciprocate the kindness and not truly allow the Sovereign to incur the reputation of poisoning a minister. However, Chi Yi and her party had arrived openly and made no secret of delivering the medicine. Even if the Lu family wished to conceal it, it was simply impossible.
After a night had passed, a younger cousin of the clan came to relieve Lu Yuanguang, letting her go back to rest.
“How is Grandmother’s condition after taking the medicine?”
Lu Yuanguang shook her head. “Let a physician come and take a look first.”
The imperial physician had never left and now, with a worried expression, hurried over to take Lu Zhongmao’s pulse – he feared nothing else but that she might only hold on for a few more days, and die right after taking the medicine bestowed by the Sovereign.
A servant went to help Lu Zhongmao sit up. The moment his hand touched her, they saw the owner, who had been listlessly ill all this time, open her eyes directly and sit up on her own without needing any assistance.
Lu Zhongmao’s cheeks were still gaunt, but the redness in her eyes had faded somewhat, and she appeared clear-minded. Her family and servants looked at her, almost mistakenly thinking this was a final burst of energy before the end.
The physician quickly came over, first reaching out to feel the temperature of Lu Zhongmao’s forehead, and then immediately showed an expression of astonishment. “…The Erudite’s fever has broken today!” He then took her pulse. “The pulse condition has also calmed down somewhat.”
The people in the room looked at each other in blank dismay – could the medicine bestowed by the Sovereign truly be a secret remedy from the palace?
“But how could this possibly be achieved…”
In this era, a persistent high fever was indeed a critical condition that left even good physicians helpless. The physician was astonished for a moment, examined her carefully once more, and finally nodded. “The fever has indeed broken. As long as the Erudite rests well, recovery is not impossible.”
Salicylic acid is quite suitable for use as an antipyretic and analgesic, possessing some anti-inflammatory effects. In this era, some doctors had indeed begun to use willow trees medicinally, but they simply used the bark as raw material, boiling it in decoctions, which yielded too few active ingredients. Wen Yanran’s method, however, was a simple and direct extraction and crystallization.
Lu Zhongmao nodded.
She could clearly feel the changes in her body. At this moment, no one understood better than Lu Zhongmao herself that her original symptoms were indeed alleviating because of yesterday’s elixirs.
It was an unbelievable feeling.
Limited by the level of technology, when people fell ill, they could basically only rely on their bodies to fight it. Whether they recovered or not depended entirely on fate. Even when seeking medical help, luck played a greater role.
“Ah-Yuan, stay.”
Lu Yuanguang knew her grandaunt had something to say. Her judgment was correct. After everyone else had left, Lu Zhongmao said to her, “Her Majesty is truly one who bears the Mandate of Heaven.”
As an elder who had lived through three reigns, Lu Zhongmao understood very well what the effectiveness of the elixirs truly signified.
Although it could be discerned from the attitudes of Chi Yi and the others that both Liu Pill and Muzhong Pill were extremely precious, likely scarce throughout all of Great Zhou, Lu Zhongmao did not expect the medicine to become widespread. It was enough as long as the Sovereign herself could use it.
Lu Zhongmao was not worried about her own death from illness, but she was deeply concerned about the young emperor’s lifespan.
In this era, the child mortality rate was very high. Even among noble and powerful families, the number of children who died before the age of ten exceeded one-third.
The Sovereign was a person with great ambition. However, whether the Emperor’s will could be implemented depended not only on her ability, but more importantly, on the length of her reign.
Before Wen Yanran had even officially ascended the throne, she had suffered a serious illness. Then, just before the new year, she had fallen ill again… These incidents could cause wavering among the ministers.
A new emperor brings new ministers. If Wen Yanran could only be emperor for three to five years, then the series of policies currently being implemented would gradually fall into disuse after her death.
But if Wen Yanran could rule for twenty, or even thirty years, then what problem under heaven could she possibly not solve?
A strange light shone in Lu Zhongmao’s eyes as she instructed, “Ah-Yuan, you can tell outsiders that the palace now possesses a secret medicine capable of saving the gravely ill.”
Lu Yuanguang bowed to accept the order.
Once this news spread, it could sway the position of many fence-sitters.
A matter of no small significance had recently occurred within Jianping.
Lu Zhongmao of the Lu clan had fallen gravely ill – considering her age, this was actually quite reasonable. However, just after the physicians had instructed the Lu family to prepare the coffin and burial clothes, the Emperor dispatched a physician. With just a few pills, she completely cured the Erudite of the Imperial Academy, who had been declared beyond help.
Many acquaintances had visited the Lu residence. After they clearly perceived the change in Lu Zhongmao’s condition before and after taking the medicine, they were all greatly astonished.
Although many people believed in mysticism and the existence of miraculous elixirs, they had generally only heard of such things. This was the first time any of them had witnessed it with their own eyes.
Through the deliberate efforts of the Lu clan to spread the word, the scholar-official families of Jianzhou gradually came to know that the elixir which had saved Lu Zhongmao’s life was personally refined by the Sovereign. One was called Muzhong Pill, and the other was called Liu Pill.
For Wen Yanran, the efficacy of her crudely made allicin and salicylic acid was actually quite unsatisfactory. They possessed only basic anti-inflammatory and bactericidal effects. However, here in the Great Zhou Dynasty, they could already be considered miracle drugs, striking across eras.
Some people doubted the authenticity of the medicinal effects, but Lu Zhongmao’s improvement was genuine. Given the Lu family’s prestige and reputation, even if they wanted to support the Emperor, there was no need for them to deliberately put on an act.
After confirming the efficacy of the divine elixirs, the Jianping scholar-officials also voluntarily supplemented certain background details for Wen Yanran: The pursuit of longevity was a common hobby among emperors. Several rulers of the Great Zhou had tried to summon alchemists to refine elixirs. For example, Emperor Li had once studied alchemical formulas, and some had even personally fired up the furnace to produce a few batches of pills.
As for why the elixirs refined by the current Sovereign were particularly effective, it wasn’t really surprising – after all, within the same profession, she was an exceptionally outstanding emperor.
Many thought, this was perhaps a case of “the capable find nothing impossible.”
At the same time, certain powerful clans in the Central Plains region also found themselves caught in a subtle hesitation.
Since Wen Yanran ascended the throne, her style of conduct had leaned towards the assertive, and she had offended quite a few scholar-official families along the way. However, her prestige was too high, and she was victorious in every battle. As soon as opponents made a move, they were directly hammered into the ground, never getting a chance to find a weakness and strike back.
Lu Zhongmao had previously been involved in the matter of promoting local schools, and her serious illness had caused many to waver. But no one anticipated that the Sovereign merely sending medicine once would lead to Lu Zhongmao’s health improving day by day. Now, she was already able to return to work.
Aside from the conclusion that the current emperor was truly destined by Heaven, there was simply no other explanation – it was said that during the reigns of the virtuous sage-kings of antiquity, the people knew neither hunger nor illness, and presumably, it was something like this.
The undercurrents stirring in the Jianping area subsided without a ripple. This was rather regrettable from the system’s perspective. After all, the relevant content was far too positive; according to the settings of Guide to Becoming a Tyrant, it was difficult for the censorship mechanism to circumvent such material. Consequently, the system simply couldn’t notify the player of the unfortunate news of “[Stability] +3”.
