Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 208 The Flower Planter

Yan Mingzhang took out a few roasted beans from his pocket and handed them over: "These roasted beans can counteract the poison of the Dream Eater Flower. Such a small amount of Dream Eater Flower won't cause any harm. Let's each eat one, and then cover our mouths and noses with handkerchiefs. The Dream Eater Flower's flowering season is over at this time, so as long as we don't touch its milky white sap, we won't be poisoned!"

Mo Yun took the fried beans, his face darkening further. He muttered under his breath, "My lord, although these fried beans have the same effects, they taste even worse than Miss Rui'er's! I'd rather have lost a day's worth of memories..."

"Eat up! Stop talking nonsense!" Changfeng pulled Moyun off the carriage and headed straight for the small courtyard.
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As the sun rose, the dew on the bluestone slabs was still wet when a carriage sped by, its wheels making a clattering sound as they rolled over the stones.

"Knock, knock, knock..." The door knocker was knocked on, and a childish voice came from inside: "The landlord is not receiving guests today, so there's no need to knock!"

"Knock knock knock..." Mo Yun persisted, her voice growing more urgent with each knock, "Please open the door, or this person will die!"

"Squeak..." The door opened a crack, and a head peeked out. The child was only seven or eight years old, with a childish face, but spoke in a precocious manner, "Those who come to see my master are all dying. My master has been unwell these past few days and is still resting. He won't see anyone! Please find someone else!"

Mo Yun was not one to follow the rules. He pushed the door open and used his body to block it. Chang Feng and Rong Junye took the opportunity to carry the person in.

"Hey hey hey..." The child stomped his foot in anger.

"Imperial Physician Zhuang!" Mo Yun called out as he walked inside.

"Oh dear! What's wrong? Why are you shouting like that?" An old man with a white beard opened the door, squinted to adjust his eyes to the light outside, and was wearing a coat but not yet wearing his shoes.

"Imperial Physician Zhuang, my apologies. My name is Yan Mingzhang." Yan Mingzhang stepped forward quickly, cupped his hands, and said, "Please save this person. He is severely poisoned and may die soon!"

"Quick, let me see..." Doctor Zhuang, with the heart of a parent, hurriedly took two steps to check on the person's condition.

As they approached, the man's face became even more grim; his lips were bluish-purple, and his skin was covered in bruises and festering sores, as if he had been struck by an impact—a truly gruesome sight.

However, upon seeing the person's face clearly, Imperial Physician Zhuang was shocked and regretted his actions, gasping in shock: "Yunze! How could it be Yunze!"

The group exchanged bewildered glances. Rong Junye had met Lin Yunze before, and while the others hadn't, they had at least heard of him. Lin Yunze was Imperial Physician Zhuang's most prized student. Rong Junye had met Lin Yunze a year ago, when he was full of vigor and the youngest and most talented physician in the Imperial Medical Academy. Rong Junye simply couldn't reconcile the image of this man lying on a wooden plank, with a withered face, seemingly half-dead, with that same Lin Yunze.

"Didn't you tell me that your senior brother went on a journey? How come he's still in the capital?" Doctor Zhuang said angrily, looking at the young boy who opened the door.

The little boy pouted, looking extremely aggrieved, his eyes red and tears welling up in his eyes: "Master, I didn't mean to lie to you. You've been sick for almost two months, and your condition hasn't improved. How could I dare to bother you with my senior brother's matter?"

"What exactly happened! Tell me quickly!" After saying that, Physician Zhuang seemed to realize he had been too harsh, sighed, and softened his tone, "Tell me, I don't blame you." The young boy wiped his tears with his sleeve and said, "My senior brother resigned from his position at the Imperial Hospital two months ago, a few days after you fell ill. He came to say goodbye, but your condition was serious at the time, so I didn't let him in... He asked me to tell you... Although you, Master, didn't agree with him doing that, he insisted on doing it, and he would prove himself right! I was afraid you would be angry, so I told you that my senior brother resigned from his position at the Imperial Hospital to travel and improve his medical skills."

"Damn it! What a fool!" Doctor Zhuang slapped his thigh hard, filled with remorse, tears streaming down his face. "How many times did I advise him not to study that Dream Eater Flower? That flower is very strange! But he just wouldn't listen!"

"You know about the Dream Eater Flower?" Yan Mingzhang was very surprised. There should be very few people in the capital who know about the Dream Eater Flower. How could Physician Zhuang know about it?
"It's a long story, let me take a look first!" Doctor Zhuang placed his hand on Lin Yunze's wrist, carefully took his pulse, and then examined his eyelids. He took out a dagger and cut open Lin Yunze's right index finger, from which some dark blood instantly flowed out.

"It really is the poison of the Dream Eater Flower!" Physician Zhuang shook his head. "But how could the poison develop so quickly?"

"Could it be that running accelerated the spread of the toxin?" Yan Mingzhang guessed.

Physician Zhuang nodded: "It's possible, the poison has reached the heart..."

Seeing that Physician Zhuang had not yet begun to treat him, Rong Wanyin became anxious: "Physician Zhuang, saving lives is the priority, please save him quickly!"

Physician Zhuang shook his head and sighed, "It's not that I don't want to save him, but the poison of this Dream Demon Flower is extremely potent. Judging from his condition, it has already seeped into his bone marrow. Even if I use acupuncture, I can only barely control the poison; I cannot cure him completely..."

Physician Zhuang's eyes reddened as he traced the poisonous spots on the man's wrist with his fingertips. He wanted to save Lin Yunze more than anyone else, and his voice trembled as he said, "I am powerless to help... He is my most prized student. He has been learning pulse diagnosis and medicine from me in the Imperial Hospital since he was a child. Even the head of the hospital praised his talent for acupuncture..."

Physician Zhuang wiped away his tears, but still withdrew his silver needles. He glanced at the young boy and said, "Yunzhi, come and lend a hand!"

The young boy deftly took out the bag containing the silver needles, laid them out, and took out the longest needle, handing it to Physician Zhuang. Physician Zhuang's hands trembled slightly, but he tried his best to control himself and began to administer the acupuncture. The moment the silver needles entered the acupoints, Lin Yun's originally bluish-purple complexion gradually faded, and her breathing became more even.

Seeing this, everyone quietly left the room, leaving the imperial physician Zhuang inside to focus on administering acupuncture.

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Daylight had broken, and everyone who hadn't slept all night was sprawled out on the chairs in the front hall. After Physician Zhuang finished administering acupuncture, he and the young boy named Yunzhi came out from the inner room. Yunzhi was about to wake everyone, but Physician Zhuang stopped him, lowering his voice and saying, "Go prepare some breakfast, and then cook some refreshing soup for them to eat when they wake up."

Yunzhi nodded and went to prepare.

Yan Mingzhang felt lightheaded and woke up when he heard someone coming. When he saw Physician Zhuang, he quickly got up and bowed.

Physician Zhuang nodded, gesturing for him to come out, as he had something to say.

The two stood under the eaves. It was very quiet. The wind blew the curtains, and only a few birds chirped and flew away. The plants in the yard had just been watered, and a fresh earthy smell mixed with the fragrance of herbs in the yard, which inexplicably made people feel at ease.