Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 151 Prince of Runan

Zhu Youdun smiled and said, "Father said that the magic of herbs lies in the fact that they can both save and harm people. Unless one is familiar with or has studied them, no one would try them easily. But..." Zhu Youdun's smile faded, "I'm afraid that some people have the intention to harm others. They may study them seriously for other purposes. Father wrote the book to tell people how to identify, use, and consume herbs. It was originally a sincere act... Fortunately, some herbs are not from the Central Plains. The more bizarre their medicinal effects, the more likely they are to grow in remote places."

"But for some people, remoteness is not an obstacle."

"Yes, that's why my father is very cautious and has instructed the herb-gathering bureau to act with caution. My father has told me many examples, but unfortunately I don't have the wisdom to do so. I only remember that my father said that the sea breeze vine and the heartbreak grass look similar. The sea breeze vine enters the liver meridian, is slightly warm in nature, and can clear the meridians and dispel wind and dampness. As for the heartbreak grass, it goes without saying. My father made pictures of these two similar-looking things with completely different medicinal properties, also because he didn't want anyone to accidentally eat them and die."

Jia Chuan took a deep breath. Although Zhu Youdun spoke tactfully, he was also quite frank. The Prince of Han had indeed been eyeing the academic works that Zhu Su had produced, wanting to see if there was anything useful. However, Zhu Su had been maneuvering around, and he couldn't afford to offend him. He had suffered a lot in his life because he was born into the royal family. They could easily find a crime to frame him and punish him. If... Therefore, the Prince of Han had his eye on it, and the old prince never published it until his death.

Jia Chuan wanted to change the subject, but couldn't think of anything else to talk about, so he blurted out, "Why are the Prince and the Prince of Han of the same generation? Uh, I apologize for being so offensive, um..."

“I have never considered myself a prince, so you don’t need to be reserved. There’s no one else here, so feel free to ask whatever you want.”

"Your names..."

Zhu Youdun thought for a moment and smiled, “Oh, Emperor Taizu made arrangements for each branch. For example, under the Crown Prince: Yunwen followed the ancestral teachings, Qinwu was the great prince. Under the Prince of Yan: Gaozhan was Qijianyou, Houzai was Yichangyou. Under the Prince of Zhou: Youzi was Tonganmu, Qinchao was Sugong.”

Jia Chuan stared, his mouth agape. It seemed that Old Zhu had held Zhu Biao's branch in high regard, leaving behind such a grand inscription. What a pity.

At this moment, Gao Yuntian, who was outside the door, couldn't help but ask loudly, "How much longer? It's cold. The book is here, do you want to read it?"

Jia Chuan then remembered that there were two door gods at the entrance. He quickly got up, opened the door, and let the two in. He turned around and asked, "Has Your Highness heard of a kind of drug in Yunnan that can cause hallucinations in those who accidentally ingest it, or even just smell it?"

Zhu Youdun frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "I seem to have heard that my father said that most of these kinds of medicines are hard to come by, and even if they are made, they are extremely rare, but they can be very harmful. So he instructed that such medicines should not be made. You can ask Zhou Cheng about this. You should have seen him yesterday."

Jia Chuan nodded and looked at the old eunuch at the door, who was holding two thick stacks of books in his hands.

Zhu Youdun got up and personally set up a desk, and the old eunuch placed two scrolls on the desk.

Zhu Youdun explained: "When my father was young, he was passionate about medicine. He led a group to compile 'Baosheng Yulu', 'Puji Fang', and 'Xiuzhen Fang'. However, those sets are different from this one. They are all mainly about medical prescriptions, while this set of books is more like a picture book to me. My father even built a garden for this, which is full of all kinds of plants that I don't recognize."

Jia Chuan sat down at the desk without ceremony, and eagerly began to gently open the book...

This glance was crucial; Jia Chuan tensed up completely and didn't relax until he finished reading it. Only then did he let out a long sigh, look up, and realize that it was already dark outside, but the room was brightly lit by candlelight, though he had been completely unaware of it.

The book "Emergency Relief Materia Medica" consists of two volumes. According to the table of contents, it records 414 kinds of plants, nearly two-thirds of which are plants that have not been recorded in previous herbal books.

Jia Chuan didn’t know if this was boasting or not. He had never read any so-called traditional herbal medicine books in his two lifetimes, but as a worldly person, he was still amazed by the book in his hand!

The book is organized by category: grasses, trees, grains, fruits, vegetables...

Zhu Su's descriptions are based on direct observation, without tedious research. He simply uses concise and popular language to describe the morphology of plants. What is most commendable is that he includes an illustration when describing a plant, making the combination of text and illustrations quite compact.

Jia Chuan believes that this is of great significance both in popularizing botanical knowledge and in making it easier for people to find food.

Because Zhu Su had an experimental botanical garden, he could observe plants in detail at any time. Therefore, the descriptions of plants in "Emergency Relief Materia Medica" are quite detailed, such as the number of flowers, leaf veins, and inflorescences. In addition, the wording is concise, precise, and easy to understand.

On the pages that caught Jia Chuan's attention were Zhu Su's records of novel methods for eliminating the toxicity of certain edible plants. Based on the classic herbal texts' claim that beans could detoxify, he devised a preparation method of steaming bean leaves with poisonous plants to neutralize their toxicity. When describing the consumption of celandine, he ingeniously devised a method of soaking the cooked plant in fine soil, followed by rinsing to remove the toxic substances…

Upon seeing this, Jia Chuan immediately recalled... the adsorption separation method.

"In times of famine, one can seek these according to the map; they are found everywhere, without difficulty. If one gathers and eats them according to the method, one can survive. This book is of great help to the people's livelihood."

This is the last sentence Jia Chuan saw before closing the book.

Seeing that Jia Chuan had finally finished reading, Zhu Youdun asked, "If you want to take it back and read it carefully..."

Jia Chuan shook his head and said, "It's no use for me to see it. Only when the whole world can see it can we do justice to the old prince's hard work."

Zhu Youdun's usually calm face finally showed some emotion. He took a few deep breaths before calming down.

Chen Mo coughed lightly and asked, "If we don't need to take them with us, then..."

Jia Chuan said "Oh," and looked at Zhu Youdun, saying, "We've come here to attend a banquet hosted by the Prince of Runan, Your Highness..."

“I know about this. He told me early this morning that he needed some ingredients, and I prepared them and sent them to him at noon.”

"Isn't Your Highness afraid of him...?"

I thought you would come.

Jia Chuan paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "I'll go and meet him."

After saying that, he turned to leave, but then, remembering something, he turned back and asked, "Your Highness... do you really not hold a grudge against him?"

"All blessings originate from within; seek them in your heart, and you will find them everywhere."

Jia Chuan didn't understand.

"The prosperity and decline of a hundred years have passed by like a dream."

Jia Chuan understood this sentence; it meant that he had let go of the past and didn't care, right?

"Well, I'm going to make a bit of a commotion today, so I hope it won't frighten Your Highness. Your Highness doesn't need to feel awkward; just report the facts."

"Soaring into the sky, letting go and riding the wind, looking back at the mortal world, never to return."

Jia Chuan rushed out of the house.

The young eunuchs in the courtyard led the way in a very proper manner.

Chen Mo whispered to Jia Chuan, "King Zhou wants to cultivate immortality." "Reciting a couple of lines of poetry is enough to become an immortal?" Gao Yuntian asked, puzzled.

"It sounds like a life of simplicity and detachment, somewhat like Taoism."

"Can you hear this?"

As Jia Chuan listened to the two whispering, he was still recovering from the shock of the book. He secretly vowed to make Zhu Zhanji print the book in large quantities, so that it could be passed down to future generations, and then his trip would not have been in vain.

However, Jia Chuan, with his limited historical knowledge, would not know that both Zhu Su and Zhu Youdun were recorded in history for their contributions in their respective fields.

Zhu Youdun's artistic temperament was not feigned; he was a famous playwright of the Ming Dynasty, who created 31 kinds of zaju plays, making him the most prolific zaju play writer in the early Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Su's "Emergency Relief Materia Medica" has been of great significance to the development of botany and traditional Chinese medicine in later generations. It has not only had a profound influence in China, but has also been highly praised by Western scholars.

Jia Chuan is now pondering how to recommend this book to Zhu Zhanji. In fact, as long as Zhu Zhanji sees it, he will know that the significance of this book far surpasses any words!

What King Zhou was really worried about was not who could do anything with this book, but that King Han's clever actions would drag the Zhou royal family down with him.

Now that the old King Zhou has passed away, once this book is made public, even if the King of Han still wants to relentlessly pursue the matter, the new King Zhou is completely ignorant. Besides, the King of Han won't be able to hold on for much longer.

What Jia Chuan couldn't understand was why there were no methods for making poison in other ancient books? And why was the King of Han so fixated on his uncle?
……

Meanwhile, Zhu Youxun, the Prince of Runan, was anxiously waiting in the small courtyard where he was temporarily staying in the Prince of Zhou's residence.

He naturally knew that the Embroidered Uniform Guards would arrive in the afternoon, and it would be proper to go and see Prince Zhou. He had already figured out how to persuade the Embroidered Uniform Guards to work for him during the banquet that evening.

It seems everything is ready, just waiting for the right opportunity.

In Zhu Youxun's view, his actions yesterday must have angered the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and they would definitely take their anger out on Prince Zhou, since he said that Prince Zhou had forced him to do this in order to save his life.

However, since this matter involves a vassal king, the Embroidered Uniform Guard probably wouldn't dare to act rashly. No problem, he has prepared another piece of 'ironclad evidence'. If the Embroidered Uniform Guard does as he says, it will be a great achievement!
But it was already dark, and no one had come. Zhu Youxun was getting impatient. He couldn't understand what the Embroidered Uniform Guard had to talk to an actor.

The kitchen was all set, just waiting for the distinguished guest to arrive so that the dishes could be served. Zhu Youxun, growing impatient, ordered his attendants to hurry him along.

The attendants dared not disobey, but they also dared not urge him. They could all see that the prince was unwilling to pay attention to his master, and he could not be allowed to do as he pleased. If he really went, he would be beaten to a draw.

Fortunately, Jia Chuan and his men arrived while the entourage was wandering in the corridor.

But the attendant was in a dilemma. His master said he only invited a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so why did three people come?

Zhu Youxun heard the commotion and went to the courtyard to greet them. He was stunned to see three people had come. He cursed the commander inwardly for not knowing the proper etiquette. If he had invited him alone, he must have something confidential to discuss. How could he bring someone along? Did they all have a life-or-death relationship with him? Were they thinking of bringing something good along?
This thousand households are quite righteous.

After answering his own question, Zhu Youxun adopted the demeanor of a member of the royal family, waiting for the others to pay their respects. It was already a great honor that he had come to greet them at the door.

But the young man leading the group didn't even glance at him and walked straight into the house.

The room was brightly lit, and two sets of bowls and chopsticks and a warm wine cup were already set on the round table, as if they were just waiting for the food to be served.

Jia Chuan sat down in the head seat with a sullen face, his mind still replaying the illustrations he had just seen, when he heard an angry shout: "Is that a seat for you?!"

Jia Chuan looked up at Zhu Youxun, but before he could answer, Gao Yuntian exclaimed impatiently, "If he can't sit, why can you?"

Chen Mo chuckled and said, "He always acts this way when he sees the Emperor, so please don't take offense, Prince of Runan."

Zhu Youxun was stunned for a moment. He didn't react at all. Could it be that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had secretly followed some censor on this trip?

Zhu Youxun carefully examined Jia Chuan. Such a young censor?
At this moment, the Prince of Runan completely forgot about the young man surnamed Jia.

Jia Chuan had just met an artist, who, while not exactly pleasing to the eye, was still more agreeable than the middle-aged man with triangular eyes and a sickly appearance in front of him.

"So you were just faking your death to scare people?" Jia Chuan asked coldly.

Zhu Youxun frowned, turned to Chen Mo and asked, "This... I don't know, Commander Chen, you should know. I was forced to use this method to save my life. In the end, this matter is..."

"Your elder brother is the King of Zhou, while your full title is the Prince of Runan. The difference is enormous. Why would the King of Zhou want to kill you? What for? Because of your sickly appearance? Because of your experience of being demoted to a commoner?"

"How dare you! You know I am a member of the royal family, holding a princely title, regardless of your official rank..."

“You will soon lose your royal title. It’s not like you haven’t been a commoner before. I’ll ask you one more time: you said the King of Zhou had designs on you. There must be a reason. Why would the King of Zhou want to kill you?”

Zhu Youxun paused for a moment, then subconsciously looked at Chen Mo. Coincidentally, a servant was peeking in from the doorway, and he finally found someone to vent his anger on. But just as he raised his finger, Jia Chuan shouted, "Serve the dishes!"

Chen Mo and Gao Yuntian then sat down. A servant craned his neck to look at Zhu Youxun, who waved his hand angrily and said, "Hurry up and come up!" Then he sat down next to Chen Mo and asked in a low voice, "Who is this person?"

Chen Mo said with a stern face, "Just answer the questions truthfully."

Seeing Chen Mo's attitude, Zhu Youxun knew that this young man must hold a high official position, so he straightened his back, cleared his throat, and said, "Why does the King of Zhou want to kill me? Because I know his great secret!"

At this moment, the servants began to serve the dishes. Zhu Youxun was somewhat displeased. He was speaking at a crucial point, his tone was high, and his emotions were running high. He was interrupted like this. At this moment, he forgot that he had instructed them beforehand: "After the people arrive and sit down, serve the dishes immediately. Don't delay important matters."

Although he was interrupted, Zhu Youxun thought his words would surely attract the attention of the others. However, the three of them picked up their chopsticks and ate whatever was served, as if they had not heard what he had said.

Zhu Youxun grew anxious and leaned forward, saying, "Did you hear what I said? I have learned that the King of Zhou and the King of Zhao are secretly communicating, and the letter they recently wrote has just arrived in Zhangde."

Sure enough, those words did make Jia Chuan stop eating, and not only did they stop, but Jia Chuan's heart also churned.

(End of this chapter)