If I traveled back to the Tang Dynasty, all I really wanted to be was a carefree prince.

Li Ke rested in the side hall for a full seven days.

For those seven days, he didn't go anywhere, spending his days lying in bed taking medicine, sleeping, and spacing out. But his mind never stopped.

He was organizing the medical knowledge in his mind.

His previous life spanned thirty-four years, twelve years of medical experience, thousands of cases, and tens of thousands of drugs—this information was like a vast library, which he needed to unearth, categorize, and archive bit by bit.

He first listed the most urgently needed categories:

First aid: cardiopulmonary resuscitation, hemostasis, fracture fixation, burn treatment, and drowning rescue—these were his specialties, and also the most lacking skills in that era. First aid methods in the Tang Dynasty were still very primitive. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation relied mainly on chest compressions, hemostasis relied on cauterization and herbal medicine, and fractures were fixed with wooden boards—the direction was correct, but the methods were crude and the success rate was low.

Infectious diseases: malaria, typhoid fever, dysentery, smallpox—these were the most common fatal diseases in the Tang Dynasty. He knew how to prevent them and how to treat them, but he needed to find suitable medicinal materials and processing methods.

Chronic illnesses: Empress Zhangsun's qi ailment, Consort Yang's stomach problems, and Qin Qiong's battle wounds—these all require long-term treatment and cannot be rushed, but they also cannot be delayed.

Surgical procedures: debridement, suturing, incision and drainage—he had done these countless times in his previous life, but here there were no scalpels, no sutures, no sterile environment. He needed to find a way himself.

On the fourth day, Ang Lee brought some news.

"Your Highness, His Majesty has investigated the matter of the drowning," Li An said in a low voice.

Li Ke put down his pen and looked up: "What do you mean?"

Li An was a member of the Hundred Cavalry Division, sent by Li Shimin to protect him and also to act as Li Shimin's eyes and ears. But Li Ke knew that this man could be trusted—at least for now.

"It was someone from Consort Wei's side." Li An's voice was very low, so low that only Li Ke could hear it. "A eunuch, who pushed His Highness by the Taiye Pond. That eunuch is already dead, supposedly from a sudden death, but..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but Li Ke understood.

To silence them.

"What did Father Emperor say?" Li Ke asked.

"His Majesty did not make a fuss," Li An said. "He only issued an edict saying that Consort Wei has been unwell recently and that she should rest in the palace and not come out unless necessary."

confined to one's home.

Li Ke remained silent for a while.

Consort Wei, also known as Wei Gui, was one of the Four Consorts, second only to Empress Zhangsun in rank. Her son, Li Shen, was eight years old. If Li Ke died, Li Shen's ranking among the princes would rise—this was her motive.

Li Ke was not angry.

In his past life, he had witnessed far darker things in the ICU. Some people pulled their parents' oxygen tubes for inheritance, some forged medical records for insurance money, and some killed for organ trafficking. He had seen far too much of the evil in people's hearts.

He just felt a little sad.

Consort Wei was not a bad person. She was just a mother, a mother who wanted to fight for a better future for her son. It's just that her methods were wrong.

"Understood," Li Ke said, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather. "Don't mention this to anyone else."

Li An was slightly taken aback. He had expected the eleven-year-old Prince of Shu to be frightened, angry, or to cry upon hearing the news—but nothing happened. The child simply nodded and said, "I understand."

"Your Highness..." Li An hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

"Li An," Li Ke raised his head, looking into his eyes, "remember one thing—I don't want revenge, I don't want to compete for favor, I don't want to vie for the throne. I only want one thing: to live, and then protect the people I want to protect. So, as long as Consort Wei doesn't cause me any more trouble, this matter will end here."

Ang Lee remained silent for a long time, then lowered his head deeply.

"Your Highness is kind," he said.

Li Ke remained silent. It wasn't out of kindness; he simply felt that wasting time and energy on hatred was a waste.

He has more important things to do.

On the seventh day, Imperial Physician Wang Yongzheng came for a follow-up examination.

He took Li Ke's pulse, examined his tongue, checked the wound on his forehead, and then nodded in satisfaction.

"Your Highness's pulse has stabilized, and the wound is healing very well. After three more days of medication to consolidate the treatment, you will be able to move around normally."

Consort Yang, listening nearby, had tears welling up in her eyes again: "That's wonderful...that's wonderful..."

Li Ke smiled and said to Wang Yongzheng, "Thank you, Physician Wang."

"Your Highness is too kind." Wang Yongzheng was packing his medicine box. "Your Highness is young and has a good constitution, so you will recover quickly. However, you should still be careful and avoid strenuous exercise and horseback riding for the next two weeks."

Li Ke nodded.

After Wang Yongzheng left, Consort Yang went to the imperial kitchen to cook porridge for him. Li Ke sat alone on the couch, gazing at the sunlight outside the window, and let out a long sigh.

Seven days.

He has been in this world for seven days.

In seven days, he came to know the people around him: his birth mother, Consort Yang, gentle and fragile; his stepmother, Empress Zhangsun, dignified and loving; his father, Emperor Li Shimin, dignified and distant; his eldest brother, Li Chengqian, steady and sincere; his fourth brother, Li Tai, intelligent and aloof; his younger brother, Li Yin, lively and clingy; his ninth brother, Li Zhi, soft and adorable; and his eldest sister, Li Lizhi, dignified and precocious.

In those seven days, he also came to understand his situation—a prince born out of wedlock, the son of a princess from the previous dynasty, without a powerful maternal family, without the support of important officials in the court, and with people who wanted him dead.

Over the course of seven days, he set a goal for himself—to save those who cared about him.

"It's time to go out," he said to himself.

On the tenth day, Li Ke officially resumed his daily activities.

The first thing he did was not to pay his respects to his father and mother, nor to reminisce with his elder brother, but rather—

Go to Hongwen Hall.

Hongwen Hall was the imperial academy of the Tang Dynasty, located east of Taiji Palace, where princes studied. The hall housed tens of thousands of volumes of books, covering everything from classics and history to philosophical works, astronomy, geography, agriculture, and medicine.

Li Ke came here not to read, but to find books.

He needed to find the medical knowledge that already existed in this era, and then, based on that, "translate" the modern medicine in his mind into a language that people in the Tang Dynasty could understand.

Li An followed behind him, saying nothing. Since their last conversation, Li An had developed a feeling for this young Shu king that was hard to define—not awe, but a kind of…respect.

The head scholar of the Hongwen Academy was Kong Yingda, a scholar in his fifties, with a serious expression. He was specially invited by Li Shimin to teach the princes. He was slightly surprised to see Li Ke walk in.

"Your Highness, the Prince of Shu? Weren't you recuperating from illness?"

"Scholar Kong, I am well now." Li Ke bowed. "I would like to come to the library to find some books to read."

Kong Yingda stroked his beard and nodded: "Your Highness's eagerness to learn is gratifying to this old minister. May I ask what kind of book Your Highness is looking for?"

"Medical books".

Kong Yingda stopped.

"Medical books?" He frowned. "Your Highness, the Hongwen Hall's collection mainly consists of classics and history. Although there are some medical books, why has Your Highness suddenly become interested in medicine?"

Li Ke had already prepared his explanation: "After falling into the water, I thought about it for a long time. I realized one thing—the most important thing in life is not fame and fortune, but health and life itself. I want to learn some medical skills so that I can take care of myself and the people around me in the future."

Kong Yingda remained silent for a moment. He couldn't refute this reason.

"Your Highness is very kind," he said. "The medical books are on the third shelf in the east wing. Please make your way there."

"Thank you, Scholar Kong."

The third row of bookshelves in the east wing.

Li Ke stood in front of the bookshelf, looking up at the yellowed scrolls and bamboo slips, his heart beating slightly faster.

These are all original medical books from the Tang Dynasty, 1,300 years ago.

He reached out and gently traced the book titles with his fingertips—

The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic... The Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica... The Pulse Classic... The Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion... The Classic of Difficult Issues...

He took them down one by one, flipped through the table of contents, and got a general idea of ​​the contents.

The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic—useful. It is the foundational work of Traditional Chinese Medicine theory.

The *Shennong Bencao Jing* (Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica) is extremely useful. It's the most authoritative pharmacopoeia of the Tang Dynasty, recording the properties, effects, and indications of over three hundred medicinal substances. He needs to memorize this book.

The Pulse Classic – Useful. Wang Shuhe's treatise on pulse diagnosis is essential reading for anyone learning pulse diagnosis.

The *Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing* (Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion) is useful. It's a specialized work on acupuncture compiled by Huangfu Mi.

"Emergency Prescriptions to Keep Up One's Sleeve"—not found. He searched the entire bookshelf but couldn't find Ge Hong's book. This book recorded a method for treating malaria with artemisia annua—it was this prescription that inspired Tu Youyou to discover artemisinin more than a thousand years later, winning her the Nobel Prize.

He needs to find this book. If it's not in the Hongwen Hall, then he'll look elsewhere.

Li Ke picked up the book he had chosen and placed it on the desk, then began to read it.

He first turned to the "Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica".

He had read this book in his previous life when he was in medical school, but that was in modern times, and it was a vernacular translation. What he was holding now was the original, vertically formatted bamboo slips without punctuation.

He needs to relearn.

But he had an advantage—he possessed modern pharmacological knowledge. He knew the active ingredients, pharmacological effects, and toxic side effects of each medicinal herb.

For example, Asarum. The *Shennong Bencao Jing* (Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica) does not mention its toxicity. Li Ke knew that Asarum contains safrole, which is hepatotoxic and nephrotoxic; large doses or long-term use can cause organ damage.

For example, ephedra. The *Shennong Bencao Jing* (Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica) doesn't mention its cardiovascular effects. Li Ke knew that ephedra contains ephedrine, which can be used to treat bronchial asthma, but the dosage must be precisely controlled; excessive amounts can lead to arrhythmia and hypertension.

Take aconite, for example. The *Shennong Bencao Jing* (Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica) doesn't mention its extreme toxicity. Li Ke knew that aconite contains aconitine, a potent neurotoxin; an oral dose of 0.2 milligrams can cause poisoning. However, aconite is also an excellent medicinal herb; the key lies in its processing and dosage.

As Li Ke flipped through the book, he silently took notes in his mind. Beside him was a piece of paper covered with dense writing—writing that only he could understand.

Li An stood at a distance, watching the Prince of Shu bury himself in his book, remaining motionless for the entire afternoon, and secretly marveled at it.

This prince has truly changed.

The news that Li Ke was looking for medical books at the Hongwen Academy reached Li Shimin's ears that very evening.

Liu, the chief clerk of the Hundred Cavalry Division, stood in the imperial study and reported in a low voice: "Your Majesty, His Highness the Prince of Shu went to the Hongwen Hall today and borrowed several medical books."

Li Shimin paused for a moment while reviewing memorials.

"Medical books?"

"Yes. The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic, Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica, the Pulse Classic, and a few other books... His Highness spent an entire afternoon studying them in the library, very attentively."

Li Shimin remained silent for a while, then put down his pen.

He recalled what Ang Lee had previously reported—Li Ke's reaction after hearing the truth about the drowning. "I don't want revenge, I don't want to compete for favor, I don't want to vie for the throne. I only want one thing: to live, and then protect the people I want to protect."

An eleven-year-old child was pushed into the water and nearly drowned. After finding out the truth, he didn't express hatred or resentment, but only said, "Live on and protect the people I want to protect."

Then he turned around and went to the Hongwen Hall to look for medical books.

Li Shimin leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.