Duke of Zhenguan

"Ugh!"

Physician Liu sighed deeply.

Seeing this, Lin Chuan hesitated for a moment before asking:

"Has Physician Liu encountered this before?"

"Last month, my granddaughter gave birth, but suffered severe bleeding... and both mother and child died!" Doctor Liu said softly.

My condolences!

Lin Chuan paused for a moment, then offered a dry, consoling reassurance.

"I have practiced medicine all my life, but I can only watch helplessly as my granddaughter passes away. It is all because my medical skills are not good enough..." Doctor Liu sighed.

"Human strength has its limits, why should Physician Liu feel so sorry for himself?" Lin Chuan said with a wry smile.

"I didn't want it to be like this either, but the thought that Seventh Sister is only fifteen years old makes my heart ache..." said Physician Liu.

Fifteen years old?

Lin Chuan's face suddenly turned ashen, and he turned his head to stare intently at Physician Liu.

Physician Liu was startled and asked nervously:

"Master Lin?"

"Doctor Liu, your grandson got married at the age of fourteen?" Lin Chuan asked.

"Yes, what's wrong?" Doctor Liu asked, looking bewildered.

"Physician Liu, the reason your granddaughter died in childbirth is probably because she got married too early!" Lin Chuan sighed softly.

"Master Lin, what does this difficult childbirth have to do with getting married too early? Seventh Sister isn't the only one who got married at fourteen; the others are all fine, aren't they?" Physician Liu asked indignantly.

"Ah, Physician Liu, even crops follow the cycle of spring planting, summer growth, and autumn harvest. Aren't people the same? At the age of fifteen, she is still a child, and her body has not yet fully developed!"

"Giving birth at this time is naturally a hundred times more dangerous than for others!" Lin Chuan sighed.

Lin Chuan's words struck Physician Liu like a hammer blow to the chest. After a long silence, Physician Liu bowed to Lin Chuan and asked:

"Master Lin, is there any basis for this statement?"

"Basis? Physician Liu, as a physician, how many cases have you seen? Go back and find a piece of paper, and compile statistics on the proportion of women who have difficult childbirth at the age of fifteen, and then compile statistics on the proportion of women who have difficult childbirth at the age of eighteen and twenty. Wouldn't it be clear at a glance if you compare them?"

"What I say might be false, but real-life examples don't lie, do they?" Lin Chuan said softly.

Physician Liu nodded, straightened his clothes, and solemnly cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Lin Chuan:

"Thank you for your guidance, Assistant Minister Lin! I shall take my leave!"

After a while, Lin Chuan followed the steward to the main hall in the front courtyard. Seeing Qin Qiong, Madam Jia, and Qin Huaidao all there, he smiled and said:

"Uncle Qin, Aunt Qin, Brother Qin, I have some business to attend to at Uncle Cheng's house, so I'll take my leave now. If you develop a fever or any other symptoms of discomfort, please have someone come to Uncle Cheng's house to fetch me immediately!"

"Ogawa, wait!"

Qin Qiong called out to Lin Chuan, took a small booklet from his sleeve, handed it to Lin Chuan, and said softly:

"Here you go, my dear nephew. Take a look first, but don't rush into practicing. Come to my house and meet Huaidao sometime, and I'll personally teach you!"

Lin Chuan curiously took the booklet. The cover was blank, but when he opened it, he found that it looked like a martial arts manual, with a prescription attached to the last page.

There are no gods in this world; Lin Chuan was certain of this from the very beginning.

But this world has martial arts, with fierce generals like Qin Qiong who are unparalleled in bravery on the battlefield, as well as powerful martial arts masters who can move swiftly and agilely.

While drinking at Cheng Yaojin's house, he heard Cheng Yaojin boast about how brave and fierce Luo Yi was, and he also saw Cheng Chumo lift and put down a stone lock weighing several hundred pounds.

Qin Qiong's bravery was not due to innate superhuman strength, but rather to the result of rigorous training.

The booklet in his hand was undoubtedly Qin Qiong's means of survival. Cheng Yaojin also had this, and he originally planned to find a suitable opportunity to get Cheng Yaojin's opinion, but he didn't expect Qin Qiong to deliver it to him today.

But it was just a minor surgery, and this thing was really too hot to handle. Lin Chuan glanced at it, closed the booklet, handed it back with both hands, and said in a deep voice:

"Uncle Qin, I can't accept this!"

"Keep it. There's no reason to take back what I've given away. Although you're past the age when you should be learning martial arts, as long as you practice diligently, you can still improve your health!" Qin Qiong waved his hand.

Since Qin Qiong has said so, what else can we do but accept it?

Having incurred another huge debt of gratitude, Lin Chuan put away the booklet and bowed to Qin Qiong.

"Thank you so much, Uncle Qin!"

"Alright, go ahead and do what you need to do. Huai Dao, see Xiao Chuan out!"

It was already noon when we returned to the Cheng family home, and the smell of stone paint in the front yard had completely dissipated.

Just then, Cheng Yaojin finished his shift and returned home, so Lin Chuan went with Cheng Yaojin to the courtyard where the stone lacquer was being steamed.

Without letting the craftsmen interfere, Lin Chuan personally mixed and stirred the white sugar, sulfur, ore powder, and gasoline in proportion in front of Cheng Yaojin, turning them into a dark brown liquid.

He threw two jars filled with dark brown liquid onto the artificial hill in the yard. The jars made a crisp breaking sound, and the black liquid spilled everywhere. Cheng Yaojin threw the torch in his hand over.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, orange-red flames billowed out from the artificial hill, accompanied by thick smoke.

After a while, even the clumps of black liquid splashed on the water surface were ignited, stirring up plumes of water vapor.

Once the black liquid had burned completely, the artificial hill had collapsed, and all the green plants on it had been burned to ashes.

Cheng Yaojin looked at the messy artificial hill, then at the jars filled with gasoline, and patted Lin Chuan on the shoulder with satisfaction:

"I will bring gifts to see His Majesty first thing tomorrow morning!"

The next morning, Lin Chuan, who had been on leave for many days, changed into his official robes and arrived at the Ministry of Works early.

Two days after the Vice Minister of Works and the Director of Works were taken to the Court of Judicial Review, Zhao Xun, the head of the department, was also arrested and taken to the Court of Judicial Review. Faced with such a dramatic change, Dou Gui, the Minister of Works who was on sick leave at home, had no choice but to drag his ailing body back to the Ministry of Works to take charge of the overall situation.

After Lin Chuan arrived at the Ministry of Works, he made a special trip to pay a visit, but Dou Gui politely dismissed him after only exchanging two sentences.

Upon returning to the Ministry of Works, Lin Chuan heard from Xu Chun that Pei Qing, the Vice Minister of Works, and Dou Gui were related.

Lin Chuan was somewhat helpless, having inexplicably offended his boss's boss.

But classes continued as usual. The position of Director of the Ministry of Works was temporarily vacant, and as is customary, he, as a junior official, temporarily took over the work of the director, so he was quite busy.

Meanwhile, at the court assembly, a debate was underway regarding encouraging early marriage and childbirth among the common people, and encouraging widows to remarry.

At this moment, the official in charge of the Ministry of Civil Affairs was reporting. After the official finished speaking, Fang Xuanling, who was presiding over the court assembly, asked in a deep voice:

"Any objections?"

Once there are no objections, the content of the court discussion will be compiled into official documents and distributed to various prefectures and counties.

Just when everyone thought no one would object, Dr. Liu, looking haggard with red and swollen eyes, stepped forward, holding a booklet, and loudly proclaimed:

"Your Majesty, I have an objection!"

Li Shimin waved his hand, and Zhang Anan hurriedly went down to take the booklet from Physician Liu's hand and presented it to Li Shimin with both hands.

He frowned as he took the booklet, opened it, and saw that the ink on it was not completely dry. However, the numbers on it made Li Shimin's eyebrows twitch.

After reading two pages, Li Shimin could no longer contain himself. He slammed the booklet into Zhang Anan's face and roared:

"Go check!"