People in the Qin Dynasty sought good fortune and avoided misfortune.

Chapter 495, Zhao Ji Comes to Invite (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

Xu Qing's straightforward question made Meng Ao and the other generals feel embarrassed.

However, since Xu Qing asked first, Meng Ao coughed twice and then answered frankly.
"It's nothing major, I just wanted to ask Lord Zhaoming, when do you plan to start lecturing to military doctors?"

Seeing that it was still about military doctors, Xu Qing was truly helpless. He had already said that the military doctors would be arranged by Ying Zheng and the Grand Commandant, and it was not something that he, as the Imperial Physician, could decide.

"General, as I told you before, I am only responsible for training, not for making arrangements," Xu Qing said helplessly.

Meng Ao glanced around, grabbed Xu Qing's arm, and walked to the side. The other generals silently blocked the curious gazes of the ministers around them.

The ministers were initially curious about what Xu Qing and Meng Ao were going to do, but upon seeing the fierce and menacing military officers, they all turned their attention away and quickly walked out of the palace.

It would be a huge loss to get beaten up by military officers just to satisfy one's curiosity.

As for whether these military officers would dare to fight them, no one could guarantee that. Which of these generals who rose from the ranks didn't have a temper?
On the other side, Meng Ao pulled Xu Qing to a secluded spot, glanced around, and then whispered...
“Lord Zhaoming, it’s fine if you’re too embarrassed to say it in front of others, but now that it’s just the two of us, just tell me the truth.”

"General, it's not that I don't consider you one of my own, it's just that I really didn't participate in the allocation of military doctors."

After taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Xu Qing explained again.

“I understand, I understand everything. Even if you didn’t get involved, you’ll know when your disciple becomes skilled in medicine, right?” Meng Ao said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing finally understood Meng Ao's purpose.

People are all about compromise. If you lift the roof off, everyone will object, but if you first say you're going to lift the roof off, and then say you're going to open a window, then everyone will agree with the latter.

Meng Ao, that old fellow, was also a shrewd man. Other generals wanted to pull strings with him, but this old man simply asked for a list. With his status and ability, he could get people into Meng Wu and Meng Tian's army as long as he knew their names.

Xu Qing could understand this, after all, military doctors are crucial to the army, and having one more highly skilled military doctor means that more elite soldiers can survive.

“I’ll keep an eye on things then, but I can’t entrust everyone to you. I have to take care of the other armies as well,” Xu Qing said in a low voice.

The army under Meng Wu and Meng Tian must have been the elite of the Qin army, so it was only natural to assign good military doctors to the elite troops. It wouldn't hurt to do Meng Ao a favor, as long as it didn't affect the number of troops in the other armies.

Moreover, even if the military doctors trained are of varying quality, the worst ones won't be too bad. After all, these people will save lives in Xu Qing's name after they graduate. If their medical skills are too poor, it will be a disgrace to him.

“Of course, I also know how to consider the bigger picture,” Meng Ao nodded and said.

Although he had selfish motives in asking Xu Qing for people, he wouldn't disregard the entire Qin army; he was simply thinking about securing more security for his children and grandchildren in his final years.

"Now you can let me go, right? I still need to give lectures to the selected doctors, and it will be too late if I stay any longer," Xu Qing said.

Meng Ao nodded and released Xu Qing.

Xu Qing glanced at the burly generals not far away, then stopped himself from taking the step forward and said in a low voice.

"General, I will keep an eye on the people for you, but I'll need you to handle the other generals. I need to focus on teaching and training military doctors, so I don't have much energy to deal with them."

“Alright, leave the rest to me,” Meng Ao nodded and said.

Xu Qing glanced helplessly at Meng Ao, bowed slightly to him, and then carried his things toward the Doctor's Palace.

Seeing Xu Qing leave, the other generals walked towards Meng Ao, intending to inquire about the situation.

Meng Ao answered the questions from the military officers one by one, and dispelled their idea of ​​using Xu Qing to get in through connections, citing that Xu Qing had not participated in the allocation of military doctors and that the focus should be on training military doctors.

When Xu Qing arrived at the Doctor's Palace, he saw the medical family and military doctors who had been waiting for a long time. After putting down what he was holding, he began to give a lecture to everyone.

Everyone listened attentively to Xu Qing's explanation, occasionally taking notes of the key points.

In the blink of an eye, half a day had passed.

"Ahem, that concludes today's lesson. You can review the key points I covered later and memorize the methods and herbs for treating various wounds," Xu Qingqing said to the group, clearing her dry throat.

"Yes," the group replied, bowing.

Xu Qing waved his hand, and the group immediately gathered in twos and threes to start discussing. Some people were watching with others because they hadn't taken notes of all the key points.

Watching three or four people gathered around a complete medical book, Xu Qing was somewhat lost in thought, pondering the matter.

He was so busy working on medical books that he forgot about the inconvenience of carrying bamboo slips and their difficulty in being passed down. If teaching and learning were to be done using bamboo slips, it would be fine for the few dozen people there now, but if more military doctors were trained in the future, medical books using bamboo slips as a medium would definitely become a limitation.

"Looks like I need to find some time to get the paper out," Xu Qing thought to himself.

By developing paper and movable type printing, the drawbacks of bamboo slips could be solved, and even classics could be printed on a large scale, spreading the knowledge of various schools of thought.

Just as Xu Qing was still pondering the paper problem, the palace doors were pushed open from the outside, and a high-ranking attendant entered the hall, escorted by several eunuchs. The group that had been discussing the matter stopped and stared at the suddenly arriving eunuchs.

"May I ask if Lord Zhaoming is here? The Empress Dowager requests that he come to Zhilan Palace for a medical consultation," the head attendant said, bowing.

Xia Wuqie and the others all looked at Xu Qing. Xu Qing naturally heard what the waiter said, and couldn't help but feel suspicious and wary.

He had just been enfeoffed as a ruler when Zhao Ji invited him to come and treat patients. It's hard not to suspect that this was a trap set by Lao Ai.

However, as the Imperial Physician, Zhao Ji had no reason to refuse when she asked him to examine her.

After regaining his senses, Xu Qing looked down at Xia Wuqie, nodded slightly to him, and gestured "up" with his hand.

Xia Wuqie immediately understood and nodded to indicate that he comprehended it.

Seeing this, Xu Qing got up and walked towards the outside of the hall, saying as he went.
"You guys continue."

The group immediately resumed their discussion of medicine, while Xu Qing led several eunuchs outside the hall.

"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager requests your presence for a medical consultation. Do you have time to go?" the head attendant said with a smile.

"The Empress Dowager is unwell, and as the Imperial Physician, I naturally have to examine her. But I would like to trouble you to tell me the specifics of the Empress Dowager's condition first," Xu Qing said, nodding.

"This servant cannot say for sure. Only Your Majesty, after taking her pulse, can know exactly what is wrong with the Empress Dowager. We do not know."

The eunuch's smile vanished, and he shook his head slightly.

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing became even more vigilant.

"In that case, let me get the medicine box. Please wait a moment," Xu Qing said.

“Your Majesty, you no longer need to go to the Imperial Hospital. I already fetched your medicine chest when I came,” the servant said, bowing.

The eunuch beside him carried the medicine box to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing glanced at the medicine box, then gave the attendant a deep look. He knew he couldn't avoid the trip to Zhilan Palace.

It wasn't that Xu Qing was paranoid, but he had to be careful. Too many famous people in history had met their demise at "meetings." He was going alone to examine Zhao Ji, and if Lao Ai had planted his men in Zhilan Palace, things would be disastrous.

"Let me check if everything in the medicine box is complete."

As soon as Xu Qing finished speaking, he opened the medicine box. After touching the jade and silver needles hidden at the bottom of the box with his fingers, he felt a little more at ease.

"Let's go, take me to see the Empress Dowager."

Xu Qing took the medicine box in his hand and said to the waiter.

"Lord Zhaoming, please." The waiter said with a smile.

After speaking, Xu Qing followed several attendants out of the Doctor's Palace and headed towards the Zhilan Palace located in the Xianyang Palace.

Meanwhile, in Zhilan Palace.

In the classical palace, a small, exquisite incense burner, carved with delicate, unidentified floral patterns, slowly releases wisps of unidentified white smoke, which rise and dissipate, adding a touch of serene fragrance to the palace and bringing peace and comfort.

The pale pink curtains were casually spread out, and the breeze blowing freely through the gaps made them flutter.

The warm yellow sunlight filtered through the curtains, adding a unique sense of ambiguity to the already somewhat dim palace.

With a voluptuous and graceful figure and an exquisitely beautiful face, Empress Dowager Zhao Ji, dressed in a phoenix robe, reclines on a small couch. Her scarlet long dress outlines her beautiful figure, and the full curves of her breasts make people swallow hard. A gold and jade hairpin is inserted in her hair, adding a touch of dignified elegance.

Her slender fingers slowly unfurled a scroll, revealing a portrait of a handsome man with a face like jade, none other than Xu Qing.

Looking at Xu Qing's portrait, Zhao Ji's peach blossom eyes, adorned with red eyeshadow, curved slightly, and a smile appeared on her face.

"Lord Zhaoming is a good title, but it's a pity it's not a marquisate with written characters."

Zhao Ji raised her hand and reached for the painting. Her sharp nails lightly traced the face in the portrait. Her eyes sparkled with a seductive allure, and a playful smile appeared on her charming and pretty face. Her soft voice carried a captivating, tingling quality.

She didn't attend the court meeting today, but what happened there couldn't escape her ears, especially such important news as Xu Qing's investiture as a prince.

Zhao Ji had always been very interested in Xu Qing, and since Lao Ai was not in the palace today, she sent someone to invite Xu Qing to come and consult her.

I want to take a good look at Xu Qing and see what makes this Zhaoming Jun, who is stirring up trouble in the Qin state, so extraordinary.

(End of this chapter)