Those in authority become ever more arrogant and tyrannical.
This group of cavalry didn’t bring any sedan chairs; they shoved people around, forcing them onto horseback.
The monk Mingbian wanted to instruct the monks in the temple on some matters and bring along his medicine pouch, but he was mercilessly denied.
“Everything needed is in the palace; the noble’s illness cannot be delayed!”
The cavalry leader wore a cold expression, completely indifferent to the temple gates damaged by his subordinates and the items trampled and overturned.
Mo Li’s eyes flickered slightly.
—This is the capital under the jurisdiction of King Ning, who is known for his devotion to Buddhism?
Not at all. From these rude and impudent cavalrymen to the debauched nobility on the streets, Ningtai City was completely different from what Mo Li had imagined.
That strategist, Mr. Qiu, does he intend to start a rebellion with subordinates like these?
Or will he “purge” Ningtai City first, eliminating the corrupt and obstructive while retaining those he can use?
Mo Li’s heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively touched the sand rat hidden in his bosom.
He hadn’t left behind the rattan box, and the sand rat had obediently stayed nestled in his arms without moving.
This sudden turn of events had, in fact, given Mo Li an excellent opportunity to infiltrate King Ning’s palace.
The opium smuggled in by the Xiliang people must be well hidden. Without infiltrating the palace to investigate thoroughly, it would be difficult to find any clues.
Logically, the first thing to do after entering the city should be to find the “Qiu Residence” to understand the strategist’s intentions. However, doing so would easily expose himself. Mo Li hadn’t forgotten about the Fengxing Pavilion’s presence. If Mr. Qiu were a capable man, any anomaly in Ningtai City wouldn’t escape his notice.
Mo Li’s background couldn’t withstand scrutiny.
For now, it depended on how many physicians King Ning’s guards had taken into the palace.
Mo Li lowered his head, feigning the demeanor of an elderly, feeble man who had been frightened.
The cavalry exited the alleyway, galloping along the main road. Some noble carriages just returning to the city were forcibly pushed aside. The once carefree young nobles quickly sobered up, whispering among themselves about what might have happened in the palace.
This road was the central axis line of the reconstructed Ningtai City, very spacious, designed exclusively for carriages, with commoners forbidden to use it.
The market alleys on both sides were not allowed to have windows facing the street, and the road ended at King Ning’s mansion.
However, it was no longer called a “mansion” but a “palace,” with everything modeled after the imperial palace in the capital, albeit on a much smaller scale.
To the people of Ningtai City and some Jiangnan aristocratic families who had never been to Taijing, King Ning’s palace already seemed grand.
The neatly adorned yellow glazed tiles, vermilion palace walls, jade belt bridges over golden waterways, and white marble steps leading up to the palace building had nine mythical beasts perched on its ridges.
“……”
The sand rat made a faint sound, as if laughing.
It was hard to blame Meng Qi for mocking it; the palace indeed resembled a clumsy imitation. The buildings of Taijing’s imperial palace stretched endlessly, with multiple layers of gates, towering palace walls blocking any view, and the grand Wanhe Hall where officials held court completely out of sight.
But here at King Ning’s palace? The gates were wide open, and right behind them stood a building modeled after the Wanhe Hall.
The dragon carvings on the platform were somewhat decent, but the stairs were too short, and the dragon itself seemed incomplete—a stubby, short-bodied dragon.
The palace walls and wooden poles at the gate bore banners of the Chu dynasty and King Ning’s insignia. From afar, it looked like a theater stage, as if they were afraid others wouldn’t know what this place was.
The cavalry galloped to the palace gates and dismounted in unison.
Mo Li was almost dragged off the horse; his steps faltered, but he clung tightly to the rattan box.
The sand rat, indignant, scratched at Mo Li’s inner garments with its claws.
In the distance, another team of cavalry arrived, bringing more forcibly taken physicians. Their faces were pale, and one collapsed to the ground as soon as he dismounted.
“Commander Ma, if you keep finding doctors this way, you’ll need to summon imperial physicians for them first,” the cavalry leader on Mo Li’s side sneered at his colleague.
“Silence!”
The other commander was furious and turned back to berate his subordinates. “What are you doing? Help them up immediately!”
Mo Li looked toward the physician.
Likely from the jostling on horseback, the man wobbled unsteadily and suddenly bent over to vomit on the person next to him.
“Damn it!”
Commander Ma roared angrily and drew his blade.
Sensing trouble, the crowd immediately pushed him aside, pleading urgently.
“Don’t act rashly! The king is still waiting!”
“The noble’s illness cannot be delayed!”
Commander Ma glanced at the approaching third cavalry team and spat fiercely. “There are so many doctors in Ningtai City—losing one won’t matter!”
“Commander, this is the palace gate!”
“If the treatment fails and King Ning blames you, it won’t be worth it!”
“Exactly. Commander, why not go to the duty room to change clothes? Besides, those who enter this palace gate might not leave alive!”
The crowd worked together to drag Commander Ma away. He cast a deathly glare in Mo Li’s direction before storming off.
Mo Li discreetly stroked the sand rat in his bosom, signaling Meng Qi to stay calm—he wouldn’t suffer losses here.
Within the palace walls, over a dozen eunuchs jogged over, holding palace lanterns. Their leader, dressed in a robe with a mang design, looked like a bizarre blend of Chu and Chen dynasty attire—awkward and mismatched.
“What are you all standing around for?” the eunuch shrieked.
“We’re… we’re still waiting for the team from Xining Alley—they haven’t returned yet!”
Hearing this, the eunuch widened his eyes. With his short, rotund figure and his face twisted with urgency, he resembled a toad.
The toad-like eunuch bellowed, “Those who have arrived should go in first! Saving the noble takes precedence—what, are you planning to bathe, change, and line up neatly before entering? Move quickly! If there’s a delay and the king blames us, none of you will escape punishment!”
The cavalry leader who brought Mo Li here clearly disliked the eunuch and smirked coldly. “We’ll leave it to Assistant Director Xu, then.”
With that, he cracked his whip, mounted his horse, and rode off with his men.
“You—”
The toad-like eunuch wanted to curse but, mindful of the many watching eyes and the urgency of the palace summons, could only stomp his foot and vent his frustration on the gathered physicians.
“Let me make this clear: the palace is not like the outside. If you dare to look where you shouldn’t or step where you shouldn’t, be prepared to lose your heads!”
The physician who had just been tossed like a sack of grain across a saddle and galloped to the palace gates had finally recovered some color after vomiting. However, upon hearing the toad-like eunuch’s words, his face turned ashen once again.
“Hurry up! Stop dawdling!”
Assistant Director Xu barked impatiently.
The elderly monk Mingbian, frail and weak, could hardly move quickly.
Even though King Ning’s palace was much smaller than the imperial palace in Taijing, it was still exhausting for an aged monk to traverse.
Mo Li lowered his gaze and flicked his fingers subtly.
Assistant Director Xu, walking at the front, suddenly felt his right foot give way, causing him to trip over his own steps and fall face-first onto the ground in an embarrassing heap.
“Assistant Director!” The other eunuchs were startled and hurried to help him up.
This gave Mingbian a chance to catch his breath.
Xu’s fall was no minor tumble—he was in visible pain, grimacing as he stood. However, pressed for time, he had no choice but to limp along.
“Someone, support me!”
Xu glanced down, trying to locate whatever had tripped him, but the ground was spotless. Finding nothing, he suppressed his anger, unable to lash out.
Taking advantage of the situation, Mo Li sat down on the ground, feigning weakness. “Ah… this old man is almost seventy years old… I truly can’t go on…”
“We can’t afford delays!” Xu was exasperated and quickly ordered the nearby eunuchs to help the three physicians walk.
This conveniently allowed him to lean on someone as well, sparing him from further ridicule.
The group walked for a full two quarters of an hour, passing through four palace gates and two palace walls, before arriving at a brightly lit garden complex.
The garden was designed in the style of a Suzhou garden, featuring winding corridors, artificial mountains, and flowing water, with delicately arranged buildings scattered throughout.
Several eunuchs were already waiting at the entrance of the garden. Upon seeing Xu arrive, they immediately complained, “Why did it take so long?”
“It’s not my fault! Those outside are so careless. I told them to fetch the best physicians in the city, and they dragged their feet. And as if that wasn’t enough, I had to rush here in the dark and ended up falling!” Xu grumbled, rubbing his sore leg.
“Enough!” The eunuch at the garden entrance cut him off impatiently.
Just as Xu was about to retort, a younger eunuch ran over to inform him that more physicians had arrived at the palace gates and were waiting to be brought in.
Xu’s face darkened, but he had no choice but to head back, limping all the while.
Mo Li and the others barely had time to take in the scenery of the garden before they were escorted into a side hall resembling a waterside pavilion.
The side hall had windows on all sides, allowing a refreshing breeze to flow through. It was clearly a comfortable summer residence.
Inside the hall, a group of white-bearded elders, all wearing the official robes of the Imperial Medical Bureau, sat together, their faces etched with worry. They were discussing pulse cases in hushed tones. However, their conversation abruptly stopped when the eunuchs ushered in Mo Li and the others.
Under the scrutinizing gazes of the imperial physicians—half relieved, half resentful—Mo Li set down the rattan box he had been carrying.
Shortly afterward, a team of guards entered to search the belongings and clothing of Mo Li and the others. With their summer garments being so thin, hiding a weapon beneath them was practically impossible.
The sand rat flattened itself against Mo Li’s chest, pressing tightly to blend in.
While the guards were thorough, Mo Li’s rattan box contained only clothing, medicinal herbs, and silver needles—nothing suspicious.
The younger physician, pale and trembling, was subjected to repeated searches due to looking much younger than Mo Li or the elderly monk Mingbian.
Eventually, one of the imperial physicians was summoned to inspect the medicinal herbs Mo Li had brought, ensuring there was nothing amiss.
“Master, you must be the venerable Mingbian from the Jin Gu Temple?”
Monks were easy to recognize, and these imperial physicians clearly had heard of Mingbian’s reputation. One of them greeted the old monk first.
Mingbian folded his hands and recited a Buddhist chant.
“And this one—”
“I—I’m Doctor Hu from Ming Shan Hall in Jixian Alley,” stammered the middle-aged physician who had been treated like a sack of rice earlier, bowing with a pale face.
Just as all eyes turned toward Mo Li, who was struggling to come up with a plausible lie, a furious roar erupted from the neighboring main hall.
“…Incompetent…quacks…drag them out…”
The fragmented shouts caused the imperial physicians to instinctively shrink their necks, their expressions filled with fear.
“Follow me.”
An older imperial physician, clearly the most senior among them, sighed and addressed Mo Li and the others.
As they stepped out of the side hall, they saw a fellow imperial physician being dragged out by several towering, fierce-looking eunuchs.
“Spare me! Your Majesty, spare me—”
His cries for mercy were cut short as his mouth was gagged, and he was tossed into the side hall like a sack.
The physician let out a pained groan, lying on the ground unable to rise for some time.
Doctor Hu from Ming Shan Hall, standing beside Mo Li, trembled violently.
Mingbian remained relatively composed, though his monk’s robe quivered slightly.
Mo Li wasn’t sure how to convincingly feign fear or to what degree. Deciding not to bother, his calm demeanor caught the attention of the elderly imperial physician.
Perhaps out of pity for their predicament, the elder quietly offered a warning, “The king’s favored concubine has been suffering from recurring strange illnesses. She’s the fifth one already. His Majesty is furious, so tread carefully.”
Mo Li stiffened slightly, immediately associating this with opium.
But the initial symptoms of opium addiction weren’t typically this severe. Five cases already—just how much opium would that require?
The Xiliang people surely didn’t have such an extensive supply.
Carrying these doubts, Mo Li entered the main hall.
Passing two large screens, he deliberately stayed at the back. When the others knelt to pay their respects, he feigned instability, sitting down under the guise of losing his balance. Draped in his robes, as long as he leaned forward, it was impossible to tell from afar whether he was kneeling or sitting.
King Ning was seated far away, too engrossed in his fury to pay attention to the newcomers. He waved his arms wildly, yelling, “Are all the people I’ve raised useless? How dare someone wreak havoc in my palace, harming my concubines with impunity! And you can’t even figure out why?! Two years ago… who was it that died? Last month—who died last month?”
“It was Consort Liu, and two years ago it was Lady Du. Lady He passed away last year,” a eunuch by King Ning’s side reminded him softly.
Though the eunuch spoke quietly, Mo Li heard every word clearly.
Watching King Ning, who couldn’t even remember his concubines’ names, Mo Li was at a loss for words.
If these deaths could be traced back two years, it clearly wasn’t caused by opium.
Rubbing his forehead, Mo Li recalled that both Shopkeeper Bao and Meng Qi had mentioned that King Ning was both lecherous and impotent, yet he had many sons.
—Could this be related to some inner-palace intrigue?
It wouldn’t be surprising. Even in monasteries, where everyone was supposedly devoted to a higher cause, people still schemed and fought for the abbot’s position.
But the imperial physicians in King Ning’s court weren’t amateurs. How could they fail to identify the cause?
Could it be some rare and undetectable poison?
While Mo Li was lost in thought, King Ning strode over with long, deliberate steps.
Standing eight feet tall with a dark complexion and thick black beard, he had the imposing presence of a battlefield general—intimidating at first glance.
Yet, his sunken, dark-circled eyes, cloudy gaze, and unsteady gait betrayed the face of a man drowned in excessive indulgence.
If Mo Li were to speak his mind, he’d say that if King Ning continued to revel in debauchery, his body would give out within three years, leaving him bedridden.
Surely, the imperial physicians in the palace could see this too.
Was it that they wouldn’t speak, or that they didn’t dare to?
Mo Li pondered as King Ning roared, “Are these the doctors brought from outside?”
King Ning’s gaze swept over them with disdain.
He sneered at Mo Li, who appeared “elderly and frail,” and Doctor Hu, who was trembling as if in the throes of epilepsy.
“They all look useless!”
The Chief Imperial Physician, not daring to lift his head, cautiously replied, “Your Majesty, these are renowned… specialists in treating strokes.”
Stroke?
Mingbian and Mo Li both frowned.
“My beloved concubine didn’t have a stroke; she was harmed by villains!” King Ning’s fury surged, and he kicked over a table.
“Why is it that anyone I favor suddenly has a stroke? The audacity of these scoundrels! What’s next? Will they come for me?”
The Chief Imperial Physician immediately kowtowed and stammered, “…The noble consorts all fell suddenly ill with splitting headaches, convulsions, vomiting, and in severe cases, facial paralysis, drooling, and reversed qi disrupting their brain functions. The pulse patterns and symptoms all point to strokes. Treatments for strokes have provided relief, indicating that regardless of the cause, strokes are the apparent diagnosis. However, external factors cannot be ruled out. Folk physicians may have seen more such cases and might know the underlying cause.”
King Ning turned his sharp gaze back to Mo Li and the other two.
Mingbian, being a monk, was not required to kneel. He calmly folded his hands and said, “This humble monk, Mingbian, is willing to assist Your Majesty in resolving this issue.”
Not that he had a choice—his life was in their hands.
King Ning’s expression softened slightly. Mo Li couldn’t tell if the king’s faith was genuine or feigned, but he certainly seemed more receptive to monks.
“Allow Master Mingbian inside for the diagnosis.”
Keeping his head lowered, Mo Li followed the monk into the hall.
When Doctor Hu attempted to enter, a eunuch blocked his way.
“Why did you bring such a young doctor?” King Ning asked disapprovingly.
Doctor Hu, despite being over forty, still appeared youthful. However, under the dim lights, his pale face and youthful features irritated King Ning, who was of a similar age.
“Your Majesty, the noble’s condition is critical, and both this humble servant and Chief Steward Wang will be present. Please rest assured,” the Chief Imperial Physician quickly interjected.
King Ning frowned deeply but ultimately waved his hand in reluctant approval. However, his eyes radiated a murderous glare as he looked at the three of them.
“If you can’t cure her, you’ll all accompany my beloved concubine in death!”
Author’s Note:
This week has been busy OTZ. Next update will be on the 10th QAQ.
——————
“Being a Doctor is Too Dangerous” Series
Mo Li pretends to be old all the way, while the sand rat scratches its claws non-stop.
—The doctor’s inner garment has been clawed to shreds by the sand rat!
