After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

There are actually quite a few people in Jiangpu City.

Thanks to trade between the north and south, the coming and going of merchants, and the fact that the army of 30,000 Jiangpu soldiers never defaulted on its pay, the Liang Dynasty was able to maintain its prosperity.

Commerce in the city was very developed; the food, drink, and daily necessities of the Jiangpu soldiers alone were enough to support tens of thousands of people in the city.

More than twenty riders, carrying torches, rode through the streets and alleys.

When we arrived at East Street, we saw bonfires lit at the wounded soldiers' camp in the distance, and several large pots set up on the street, boiling water.

A quick glance to both sides revealed that the sewage drainage ditches had also been dug.

Ning Nan felt relieved.

It seemed that Cui Cui's wife had made the right choice in selecting the two imperial physicians sent to conduct the pilot program for the wounded soldiers' camp. They were efficient and effective, and in just a few days, they had already made some progress.

I walked to the door.

A medic with a white veil covering his face sat behind a wooden platform, raised his palm, and said lazily:

"Who? The brand."

As night fell, Ning Nan presented the delegation's sign.

The medic didn't actually recognize the sign; it was just a routine procedure. As long as someone had a sign or could explain something, he would let them go.

"handwashing……"

The medic's voice had just begun.

Ning Nan was already chuckling and calling out to Xu Xiyin, Er Laizi, and Qian Sijin, who was responsible for protecting him, to go to the place where there was warm water and scoop up water to wash their hands.

The medic gave him a questioning look:

"You don't look familiar, but you're so well-behaved? Have you been here before?"

"This is my first time here."

"Who are you visiting?"

Ning Nan thought for a moment and said, "I am here on the orders of Her Majesty the Empress to inspect your camp..."

The moment the word "Empress" was uttered, the medic jumped up from his chair.

"Greetings, Your Excellency!" he said, standing with his hands clasped and quickly bowing.

Even with a white veil on, Ning Nan could still sense the dramatic change in the other person's facial expression.

Suddenly, a howl came from the wounded soldiers' camp!

"Damn it, you surnamed Cheng, you're a royal physician, a royal physician... You're saying my son is doomed?! You won't even treat him?!..."

The sound was like a drum suddenly pounding in the night sky, rough and loud. It startled the dogs huddled in the alley, making them jump up. "Woof woof woof woof woof woof," the big yellow dog bared its teeth and barked incessantly toward the source of the sound that had startled it.

Inside a private residence.

The imperial physician Cheng Qiu, dressed in brown, glanced at the newly appointed general of Jiangpu City, whose face was flushed and whose eyes were still filled with tears. His face turned pale, and his heart pounded.

Dong Anguo glanced at the young man on the sickbed, whose face was pale, who had a fever, and whose forehead was covered in cold sweat. His eyes darkened, he sighed, and quickly pulled the furious Jiang Luzhi away.

"Old Jiang! Life and death are preordained, life and death are preordained..."

Jiang Luzhi's heart sank, his fierce eyes fixed on the Imperial Physician Cheng, on whom he had placed such high hopes.

"Dr. Cheng!" Jiang Luzhi clenched his large fingers into a fist and gritted his teeth, "Have I offended Dr. Cheng? Or has Jiangpu City shortchanged the doctor in terms of money?"

Cheng Qiu helplessly spread his hands and said, "General Jiang, I came to the Jiangpu wounded soldiers' camp by His Majesty's decree, and I am certainly not such a short-sighted person. Why does Your Excellency need to make such remarks? Besides, let alone the fact that General Jiang treats me with great respect, even if General Jiang truly offended me, so what? Just as my esteemed teacher, Physician Da Liang, said, 'A doctor's heart is like a parent's.' If your son truly has a way to be saved, with the heart of a parent, how could I abandon him?"

The candlelight in the house cast Cheng Qiu's shadow long on the wall.

Dong Anguo grabbed Jiang Luzhi's arm and said, "Old Jiang, you've seen what Imperial Physicians Cheng and Mo and their esteemed students have done these past few days. Besides, didn't our Jiangpu army's doctors say a few days ago... that Shikuan was going to die... that he's managed to hold on for so many days is already thanks to the two Imperial Physicians? Don't..."

He also regarded Jiang Shikuan as a nephew, and at this point, his voice choked with emotion as he said, "Don't make things difficult for Imperial Physician Cheng."

Jiang Luzhi's body went limp, and he slowly walked a few steps to the bedside. Doctor Cheng quickly stepped aside, and Jiang Luzhi's mouth was open, letting out several breaths of white air.

The general of Jiangpu City, still in full armor, could not sit down. His tall shadow fell over his son on the bed, and he could not even reach out to hold his son's hand.

The personal guards he brought were all as close as brothers to Jiang Shikuan, and at this moment they all showed resentment.

"You dog Tartars!"

"General, I need to send men out of the city! To avenge Brother Jiang's blood feud!"

"Yes! Revenge!"

"Those Tartar bandits!"

Immediately, the crowd was outraged, and everyone shouted curses.

At this moment, someone seemed unable to hold back any longer. They glanced at Jiang Shikuan on the bed a few times, their eyes reddening, and they cursed bitterly:

"It's all that damn prince consort's fault!"

"Shut up!" Dong Anguo shouted, his face filled with terror.

The guard muttered, "If it weren't for him..." Dong Anguo snorted and took a step towards him, which silenced the guard.

But the other guards all wore expressions of sorrow and anger, muttering things like "the Grand Prince Consort," but not saying a complete sentence.

Dong Anguo, gripping his sword, angrily shouted, "Don't bring trouble upon the general! Anyone who speaks recklessly again will be punished with twenty strokes of the military rod!"

"Mr. Cheng, Mr. Cheng..."

Just then, a voice called out.

Dong Anguo and his personal guards were startled and turned to look, only to see four or five figures standing inside the door.

The one leading the group seemed to be the medic who was guarding the entrance.

Beside the medic stood a tall figure dressed in a moon-colored robe.

There seemed to be another woman in the middle, but she was a female Taoist priest, and she was holding a whisk in her hand.

Dong Anguo and his personal guards were taken aback.

I didn't hear any footsteps, so I guess these people came in when everyone was shouting and cursing.

He only spoke after they had rested.

Imperial Physician Cheng Qiu was taken aback, his face showing displeasure. He flicked his sleeve and, addressing the medic indirectly, said, "What kind of behavior is this, shouting and yelling like that!"

talking.

He strode toward the medic.

The medic seemed to know the imperial physician's temperament well, so he wasn't annoyed and quickly whispered a few words to the imperial physician.

Upon hearing this, Imperial Physician Cheng's expression changed, and he hurriedly bowed to the man in the moon-colored robe.

The man in the moonlit robe pointed with his finger and said something like, "What's going on?"

Dong Anguo frowned, somewhat puzzled by the man's origins.

But before he could even step forward and ask a question...

The young man in the moon-colored robe nodded and slowly walked towards them.

Cheng Qiu walked ahead and called out, "General Jiang, General Jiang, make way, make way quickly!"

Jiang Luzhi turned around abruptly, and Dong Anguo and the others also straightened up, their gazes following Physician Cheng and the others, their steps involuntarily taking a step back to the side.

"General Jiang, these two gentlemen are from the capital..."

Like them, the young man wearing a mask smiled, raised his hand to stop them, glanced at Jiang Luzhi, and said:

"General Jiang, your son's wound has become festering and foul-smelling, and he also has a fever and night sweats. The wound is infected, but thankfully it hasn't turned green. I, Ning, and this gentleman..."

He pointed to the female Taoist priest beside him,

"This Master Xu can only try it out with the help of the new medicine. If General Jiang agrees, the two of us, Ning and his companion, will give it a try."

In the dim light, the young man bowed slightly.

……

……

The doors of the houses were closed, a cold wind was blowing outside, and the moon was half full.

Jiang Luzhi, Dong Anguo, and others were all driven out.

Only the young man, the female Taoist priest, and Physician Cheng remained inside.

The female Taoist priest brought in a stove, a few small knives, and a basin of boiling water.

At this moment, Dong Anguo said with a look of surprise and doubt, "Old Jiang, Prince Jing and the Grand Prince Consort have already entered the city. Why don't you…?"

"I'm not going," Jiang Luzhi said.

Dong Anguo sighed and said, "Everyone knows about your drunken outburst against the Grand Prince Consort the other day. Lord Shangguan has spoken up for you; just go and offer him a few drinks, and the matter will be over... The Grand Prince Consort has close ties with the Embroidered Uniform Guard..."

"So what if it's not simple!" Jiang Luzhi, hands on the sword at his waist, stared at the tightly closed door. "I'm not going in!"