Chapter 322
**Chapter 320: The Women's Medical Office**
Xiao Qin was so frightened that her soul seemed to leave her body, her knees buckling as she collapsed to the ground.
Death by the staff!
The nightmare came too suddenly. She repeatedly knocked her head on the floor, pleading for mercy, “Your Majesty, I’m wronged! I didn’t stir up trouble! I saw it with my own eyes—Consort Chen and Doctor Mo, right under the bright sun—”
But the rest of her words were choked back.
The guards had already clamped a hand over Xiao Qin’s mouth, dragging her out of the Changxin Palace like a piece of trash. The room fell into a sudden silence, the steam from the dinner on the table rising into the air, while Lu Xuan’s face twisted grotesquely in the haze.
Lu Xuan, trembling, said, “Your Majesty! It’s not that I’m jealous, but Consort Chen has your favor and yet is entangled with Doctor Mo. Xiao Qin saw it with her own eyes; there’s even a handkerchief belonging to Consort Chen in Doctor Mo’s room. How could they be innocent?”
Li Yuanjing cast a deep glance at her.
That gaze was truly terrifying, the pupils dark and foreboding.
It held no trace of emotion, as if he were looking at a cold, lifeless object.
“I am not blind to the dirty deeds of the Lu family,” Li Yuanjing said. “Take care of yourself.”
A bone-chilling dread surged through Lu Xuan, as if she had fallen into an ice cave. She opened her mouth, but for a long while, no words came out.
The sunlight was glaring, and Lu Xuan felt cold to her core.
When she finally came to her senses, Li Yuanjing’s tall, dark figure had already vanished. The palace maids trembled, not daring to breathe, bowing their heads to help the collapsed Lu Xuan to her feet.
Lu Xuan’s face was icy. She instinctively touched her cheeks, only to realize they were streaked with tears.
A young maid’s voice trembled as she stammered, “Mistress... the Emperor has ordered you to stay in Changxin Palace for three months to recuperate.”
A disguised house arrest.
Lu Xuan took a long time to recover from the suffocating fear. Li Yuanjing’s words echoed in her mind—“Take care of yourself.”
She instinctively wrapped her arms around herself.
Suddenly, she realized that the Emperor might be starting to deal with the Lu family. The Dantai and Xie families had fallen one after another, the Wu family had surrendered, and other noble families were handing over their power. Only the Lu family remained entrenched in Yunzhou, greedily occupying the remains of the other families.
In that moment, Lu Xuan fully understood what it meant to be heartless as an emperor.
“Mistress, what should we do? Should we seek help from the Duke?” The maid knelt beside Lu Xuan, tears brimming in her eyes.
Lu Xuan closed her eyes, feeling desolate.
After much contemplation, she ultimately decided to write a letter to Duke Lu, urging her father to keep a low profile and, at least on the surface, not to be too greedy for fame and fortune.
Once the letter was finished, the maid took it to deliver the message.
The lavish lunch on the table had already cooled. Lu Xuan sat back down at the table in a daze, picking up a piece of cold shrimp with her white jade chopsticks, slowly tasting it, finding it as flavorless as chewing wax.
“Why... does the Emperor trust Consort Chen so much?” Lu Xuan murmured, utterly perplexed.
...
...
In Yunzhou, the Lu family.
After the fall of the Dantai and Xie families, Duke Lu eagerly absorbed their assets in Yunzhou, and the Lu family’s coffers swelled, overflowing with wealth.
Duke Lu was riding high on his success, but before he could enjoy it for long, Xiao Qin’s bloody corpse was sent back, shocking the entire Lu family. Duke Lu’s face turned ashen as he summoned his advisors to discuss for two whole days.
The experienced advisors suggested that Duke Lu proactively surrender part of his land and properties, and pay taxes according to the official rates.
Duke Lu calculated in his mind; if he followed their advice, he would have to pay at least five hundred thousand taels of silver each year. He felt a pang of heartache—noble families had enjoyed privileges for nearly a century, and suddenly being forced to pay taxes felt like having his flesh cut away.
“I can give silver to the court, but not from my own coffers,” Duke Lu said, his eyes darkening as he made up his mind. “This year, let’s increase the taxes on the common people and merchants by twenty percent. We’ll squeeze some silver out of those wealthy families in the east of the city.”
He felt no remorse for extorting silver from the common folk.
The advisors continued to persuade him, but Duke Lu ignored them.
Once the advisors left, Duke Lu sat alone in his study, drinking in frustration. Upon learning that Lu Xuan had been placed under house arrest, he angrily threw his wine cup: “Useless! Pregnant and still being overshadowed by a mere consort!”
He had painstakingly nurtured Lu Xuan, hiring the best teachers in Yunzhou to train her in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, molding her into a perfect palace consort.
Unfortunately, Lu Xuan was truly useless; after nearly three years in the palace, she couldn’t even compete with a consort from a peasant background.
Creak—
The study door swung open.
Duke Lu’s youngest daughter, Lu Yun, entered with a graceful stride. It was cold, and she wore a thick deer leather jacket, her cheeks rosy. She cautiously glanced at Duke Lu: “Father, the chef made roasted deer meat today. I brought you a portion.”
Lu Yun obediently presented the roasted deer meat.
She looked at her father, who wore a frown, and cheerfully said, “Don’t worry, Father. Once Sister gives birth to a prince, perhaps the Emperor will change his mind.”
Duke Lu sighed, “Let’s hope so.”
Lu Yun set down the roasted deer meat, bowed, and left gracefully. Winter was approaching, the air biting cold, and the red plum blossoms in the courtyard were beginning to bud.
As the cold wind blew, Lu Yun expressionlessly brushed aside her disheveled hair. She had seen the future in her dreams: Lu Xuan’s next child would be a daughter, a frail and sickly daughter.
“Oh, Sister, the glory of the Lu family will ultimately depend on me.” Lu Yun’s expression revealed her determination.
Once Lu Xuan completely lost favor, she would ask her father to send her into the palace to serve the Emperor.
She was confident she could win the Emperor’s heart.
...
...
A biting cold wind howled as winter descended. With Shufei under house arrest during her pregnancy, the rumors about Consort Chen and Doctor Mo did not fade.
Until a shocking announcement was made: the Imperial Medical Bureau would establish a “Women’s Medical Office.”
The chief female physician of the Women’s Medical Office would be Doctor Mo. Furthermore, Consort Chen ordered notices to be posted throughout Yanjing City, recruiting skilled female physicians to join the Imperial Medical Bureau.
In a society where men dominated, most physicians in the Great Qing were male, and female physicians were exceedingly rare. It was often inconvenient for women to seek treatment from male doctors.
The establishment of the Women’s Medical Office would make it much easier for the women of Yanjing to receive medical care.
Debate erupted in the court, with stubborn officials vehemently opposing the idea, claiming that women should not serve as physicians. They even cited historical texts, asserting that there had never been a female physician in history.
Shen Wei scoffed, unable to understand the mindset of these ancient men—how could a woman wanting to see a female doctor possibly threaten a man?
She flipped through the list of opposing officials and invited their wives and daughters to the palace for tea the next day. Before long, the dissenting voices had dwindled significantly.
In Yongning Palace,
Zhang Miaoyu was so shocked that she spat out her tea, her eyes wide with disbelief: “What? Doctor Mo is a woman?”
Shen Wei handed her a handkerchief: “She’s a close friend of mine and an excellent physician. If it weren’t for Shufei causing a scene, Doctor Mo’s identity wouldn’t have been revealed.”
Shen Wei took advantage of the situation, establishing the Women’s Medical Office and publicly disclosing Mo Xun’s identity as a woman.
The rumors about Consort Chen and Doctor Mo quickly fell apart.
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