Chapter 56 Section fifty-fifth

As soon as the Chinese New Year was over, Feng Rutao received a secret letter from an acquaintance in Beijing, saying that he had news of a transfer.If the military plane heard about it, the Empress Dowager Cixi would not necessarily agree.Because it took only half a year for him to be appointed as Fengjiang, his qualifications are low, and he has no special achievements. The Empress Dowager Cixi has little impression of the name "Feng Rutao", so of course he would be noncommittal. Therefore, his friend advised him that he should try to take care of it as soon as possible. It is best to take the route of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and often mention his name before Empress Dowager Cixi and say good things about him.

After reading this letter, Feng Rutao suddenly had an inspiration. If the Empress Dowager Cixi had an impression of him, she had to do something that made her think of his name often, so why not bring up the old story again and recommend Du Zhongjun to Beijing. So, he asked the small kitchen to cook four extremely delicate dishes, and took a small altar of old flower carvings to see Du Zhongjun.Of course, his original intention was never to reveal it. He only said that he had received a letter from Beijing, saying that the emperor was indeed suffering from severe kidney deficiency, and he had heard that there was a famous doctor in Zhejiang governor's yamen, and asked him why he didn't send a letter to recommend him?

"Zi Weng," Feng Rutao said earnestly, "Let's not talk about the righteousness of a monarch and his ministers, but just treat the emperor as an ordinary sick man, so you can't be indifferent, right?" This is vaguely blaming him with the sentence "doctors have the heart to cut shares".Although Du Zhongjun didn't let go, he couldn't say a word of refusal, he just held his wine glass and murmured. "Zi Weng, if you don't mind being abrupt, I still have something unpleasant to say." "Just tell me." Du Zhongjun replied, "I also don't seek meritorious service, but seek no faults."

"It's just that I'm afraid of making mistakes. Now Ziweng's reputation has reached the heavens. If I issue an imperial edict to take it, I don't seem to look good. As for me, if the court blames me for the crime of knowing but not doing it, it is certainly not a crime. To explain it in words, if it is said that I have this opportunity, but I did not recommend a virtuous person, and treated my friends poorly, it is even more false, and I am unwilling." The words were very profound and tactful, and Du Zhongjun could no longer refuse.However, there are actually some difficulties that cannot be ignored.

"Since Zhongcheng loves you so much, I can't help but appreciate it. It's just that living in Chang'an is not easy! Your Majesty is really physically weak and suffering from kidney deficiency, and taking more than a hundred doses of medicine will not be effective. Living in Beijing for many years, I really can't do it. " "Don't worry about Ziweng, it's natural to make preparations for Ziweng." Feng Rutao said that at least 3,000 taels of silver should be raised for him and brought to Beijing to prepare for a year or so of expenses.He also said that Ji Lu and Kui Jun, the ministers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, have friendship, and they have entrusted them with many letters, so they will naturally take care of them everywhere, so please don't worry about Du Zhongjun.

Ju Ting was so attentive, Du Zhongjun had nothing to say.So Feng Rutao paid homage on the same day, and should be recommended by the imperial edict.After the approval, Feng Rutao was ordered to send someone to escort him to Beijing.Unexpectedly, before the action, Du Zhongjun fell ill himself, and when he recovered from the treatment, it happened that Feng Rutao was ordered to transfer to Jiangxi, so he had to help with an explanation, so he postponed his departure until the end of June. He went north by sea boat from Shanghai.Once he arrived in Tianjin, since Feng Rutao had sent letters and letters in advance, and he asked for pulse on a daily basis, there were many opportunities to get close to the two palaces, so it was inevitable to ask outside public opinion.A small word can affect the future, so Yang Shixiang, the governor of Zhili, treated him as a superior guest.Not only was there a grand banquet to entertain Cheng Yi, but also a special float was prepared to accompany her to Beijing in person.

Because of Yang Shixiang's support, Du Zhongjun's trip went very smoothly, and he received courtesy everywhere.On July 16th, led by Jilu, he went out of the Xibianmen to Haidian in the middle of the night, and met with six military ministers in the Summer Palace: Qing Wang Yikuang, Chun Wang Zaifeng, Zhang Zhidong, Lu Chuanlin, Yuan Shikai, and the military aircraft not long ago. The succession of the world, and then the court room of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is on standby.First, there was an official in sixth-grade clothing. After asking for his surname, he found out that he was Chen Lianfang, who was admired but never met.

Before we could have a deep talk, Chen Lianfang was called and left in a hurry.Half an hour later, Ji Lu came and led him to the Hall of Renshou, gestured for him to wait outside the curtain, and then quietly opened the curtain to enter. Separated by a curtain, the sky is so close.Du Zhongjun never imagined in his dreams that there would be such a patient with the No. 1 Tianzi. For a moment, he didn't know whether it was excitement, surprise, or fear, but he felt very disturbed and uneasy.At this time, Chen Lianfang had already left the palace, and Jilu waved to him repeatedly from inside.

Du Zhongjun was trembling, and when he arrived in the hall, according to the pre-rehearsed etiquette notes, he first knelt down and kowtowed three times to the Empress Dowager Cixi who was sitting facing west, then turned to kneel and kowtow three times to the emperor who was facing south, only listening to the Empress Dowager Cixi. Asked: "Are you Du Zhongjun?" "Yes!" Du Zhongjun moved his knee slightly and replied to the east. "Feng Rutao said that you are very good at medicine, and you should take the No. 1 pulse with your heart for the emperor." "yes!"

At this time, Jilu reminded softly: "Please take the pulse!" So Du Zhongjun got up and walked in front of the emperor. A prayer mat had been placed on the side of a half-table. As he entered the palace quickly, he knelt and kowtowed, and because of his nervousness and hot weather, Du Zhongjun suddenly felt short of breath, so he held his breath and waited for his breath to calm down.And the emperor was a little impatient. "How do you see my pulse?" Du Zhongjun had already been told that the Empress Dowager Cixi hated people saying that the emperor had stagnant liver, and the emperor himself hated people saying that he had kidney deficiency.Therefore, in Du Zhongjun's answer, he carefully avoided using these words.

"The emperor's pulse is weak on the left chi, and stringy on the right. The weak pulse on the left means congenital deficiency of kidney water; the stringy pulse on the right means an imbalance of the spleen and earth." "I've been ill for two or three years and can't be cured," the emperor asked, "What's the reason?" "The emperor's illness did not happen overnight. If it has been accumulated for too long, it will be slow to recover. The minister is outside to see a doctor. Anyone who is as weak as this illness cannot be cured by two hundred doses of medicine. The medicines taken are effective. Ten doses and eight doses, do not change the prescription." Du Zhongjun said again: "If you change a doctor every day, the effect of the medicine will be slower!" "You're right!" The emperor became happier, "What medicine did you give me?" "For congenital deficiency, use Erzhi Wan; for acquired deficiency, use Guishao Liujun Decoction." "Okay! Just write the prescription like this, no need to change it." "Yes, yes!" Du Zhongjun repeatedly agreed. When he knelt down and retreated, he had already left the palace, and suddenly a eunuch came up and shouted: "Doctor Du, Doctor Du!" When Du Zhongjun stood still, the eunuch said, "Long live, the prescription must not be changed. " At that time, the Military Aircraft Department had already returned the value, and the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs took him to the value house of the Military Aircraft Zhangjing nearby to prescribe prescriptions.After entering the room, they found that Chen Lianfang was already there. They looked at each other and smiled, as if they had greeted each other. Du Zhongjun sat down behind an empty table, took out a fountain pen cartridge and a prescription pad with his name printed on it from the booklet, and quietly imagined how to write the pulse case. "Are you Dr. Du?" Suddenly someone asked beside him. Looking up, he was a eunuch, wearing a six-rank top belt, and his rank was higher than that of the county magistrate.Du Zhongjun stood up and replied, "I am." "Long live God sent me to tell you, prescribe whatever you just said in the palace, don't change it!" He pointed to Chen Lianfang and said, "You must not collude with him!" "No, no!" Du Zhongjun was full of suspicion. He couldn't collude with this point, and he could understand the reason for it. He thought it was a discussion with each other, and hoped to have the same opinion. If they disagreed, no one could get away with it if something happened.But I don't know why the emperor repeatedly told the prescription not to be changed. Could it be that someone else is in charge, so how to prescribe it? Just as he was thinking about it, the leading officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs came to urge the prescription, and Du Zhongjun followed the eunuch's words just now, wrote whatever he said, and handed over the prescription without any mistakes. At this time, there was already a calligrapher waiting, and he took his prescription and used Ming yellow paper to honor it, in duplicate, and put it in a yellow box. It is said that the empress dowager and the emperor each have a copy.Soon, another eunuch ordered: "A table of rewards." This is called "gifting meals", and as usual, the leading ministers will accompany them.After eating with him, Jilu said: "You are new here today, and you are a transfer class. Twenty-one is your regular shift. I will send someone to pick you up when the time comes." When he was sent back to the inn, Du Zhongjun was so tired that he woke up after a long sleep, the first thing he thought of was whether the emperor had taken his medicine or not?I thought to myself, Chen Lianfang also prescribed a prescription, I wonder what the similarities and differences are?If he obeyed his own prescription, would Chen Lianfang still use that prescription? In the evening, a eunuch came, it was the one who had just sent his pulse out of the palace during the day, and chased after him to deliver a message.He said: "Long Live Lord has already taken your medicine, and I still need to ask for pulse tomorrow." "Yes!" Du Zhongjun said, "Does Master Ji know?" "Another person was sent to notify him, and someone from the Ministry of Internal Affairs will come to pick you up." Du Zhongjun nodded, and seized the opportunity to ask: "Excuse me, Dr. Chen also prescribed a prescription, has the emperor accepted it?" "Probably convinced! I didn't see it." "Let me ask again, why is my class not until the 21st?" "Now there are five doctors in total. If you do the math, if you are in class today, won't you be in your class on the 21st?" Du Zhongjun was stunned when he heard that, he didn't even notice that the eunuch had left.This night has been unable to sleep.He got up in the middle of the night, waited for the officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to accompany him to the Summer Palace, and first negotiated with Jilu. "Master Ji," he said, "five people take turns to ask for the pulse, express their own opinions, and ask each other without hearing each other. How can the disease be cured like this? You know, I am here to treat patients, not to work! Please continue My lord, tell the empress dowager and the emperor about this unreasonable rule, and it must be improved." Ji Lu smiled and replied: "The rules of the inner court have always been like this, we can't talk nonsense. Please sit down for a while, and I will send someone to greet you when you ask for your pulse." After sitting for an hour, someone came to greet me.Everything is as it was yesterday, and the pulse condition is still the same, only took one dose of medicine, naturally it still can't take effect.Du Zhongjun is just Chen Zuo, who knows more about the emperor's illness, and said that "the illness goes away like silk", please the emperor to take pictures patiently. After resigning from the palace, the prescription is as yesterday.The Empress Dowager Cixi rewarded the meal again, and at the same time issued an order: "Du Zhongjun will be on duty on July 22 instead." This further confirmed the six-day rotation method from the beginning to the end. So, when Du Zhongjun entered the city, he went to visit Lu Runxiang, Minister of the Ministry of Officials.This is the second time, without much greetings, Dao explained the purpose of coming: "The famous doctor in the family for generations, the "Shibuzhai Medical Book" by your lord has been widely read all over the world. Among the elders today, there is no one who knows the way of medicine the most, Mr. Lu!" He said. Question: "Master Lu, tell me, if you prescribe a prescription every six days, and you don't know each other, is there such a way to heal the disease?" "The situation inside the palace is different from outside, I'm afraid you don't quite understand it yet." "The principle of healing is the same." Du Zhongjun said angrily: "We went to Beijing, thinking that we could gain a reputation if we cured the emperor's illness. Looking at the situation now, it's futile and hopeless. We don't seek meritorious service." , first seek no fault, according to the current method, the disease will definitely not be cured! Who will be responsible for any accidents in the future? Master Lu is the Southern Study Hall, a close minister of the emperor, please tell the two palaces!" "You don't have to worry about it!" Lu Runxiang replied casually: "The affairs of the inner court have always been like this, neither merit nor fault. Although I walk in the South Study Room, I don't often see the two palaces, and they are not divided. It's not convenient to talk about it." Only then did Du Zhongjun realize what it was like to be on an errand in the palace, so he had no choice but to retreat silently.However, if there is "neither credit nor fault", it is more reassuring. So I entered the palace once every five days, and each time I was in a hurry, I could neither look closely at the emperor's complexion nor ask about his illness, and the emperor himself seldom spoke. "Seeing, hearing, asking, and knowing" only occupies the last word, and Du Zhongjun feels quite useless.However, the Empress Dowager Cixi was not as majestic as the legends outside, and she often sent warm condolences.He also had a share of the Mid-Autumn Festival rewards, two large rolls of red silk with two hundred taels of silver, which were sent to his apartment at Binshengdian on Yangmeizhu Xie Street. After sending out the reward, Du Zhongjun asked the eunuch who awarded the reward by the way: "How should I thank you?" "Let's kowtow together! I'm not sure, you'd better ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs." After inquiring with the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, I found out that the award was given as usual, and it was an appointment to thank each other, and the date was set on the third day of August.On that day, the clouds were thick and the rain was pouring, but the Haidian Road was full of cars and horses, and the civil and military ministers still arrived at the Summer Palace on time. The salute was scheduled to take place after the military plane was summoned, around eight o'clock in the morning.Unexpectedly, when the rain was getting heavier, the princes and relatives with splendid feathers were all waiting in the two corridors of Renshou Hall, and the two palaces also rolled up the curtains in the hall. Prince Gong Puxing said loudly, "I can't wait any longer, let's salute!" After finishing speaking, he lifted his robe and went down the steps, followed by princes and ministers, kowtowing messily in the well filled with water.Du Zhongjun was also in the middle, saluting along with the class, making his body covered in mud and in a panic. After leaving the Hall of Renshou, he was eager to go back to change clothes, but a little eunuch grabbed him and said, "Dr. Du, I have something to tell you." "Say it!" "This is not a place to talk, come here!" The little eunuch looked around hastily, then walked away.Du Zhongjun has been working in the inner court for more than half a month, and he already knows the rules. It is forbidden for eunuchs to associate with outsiders like this.I knew it would be inconvenient to have a private conversation with the eunuch, but I was afraid it was an important matter about the emperor's condition, so I couldn't miss the opportunity.After thinking about it, he finally followed. Following to a secluded place, the little eunuch raised his thumb and said, "Your pulse is very good!" "how do you know?" "I heard Lord Long Live say that your pulse is prescribed well. Let me tell you right away, Lord Long Live often refuses to take the medicine prescribed by the imperial doctor, and you have taken three doses of your prescription!" After finishing speaking, he briefly He stretched out his right hand and waved his five fingers randomly, as if it was an unconscious move. Du Zhongjun, who was thanking him verbally, suddenly understood, and hurriedly took out a bank note from his pocket, crumpled it into a ball, and stuffed it in his hand.The little eunuch ran away as if flying. Du Zhongjun didn't think that he deliberately made up a set of nice words to flatter him in order to ask for a reward.I did my own calculations, except for the first day of transfer, there were three regular shifts, probably these three prescriptions, and the emperor took all of them.I was thinking in my heart, is it possible to play the Ming Emperor, every time a prescription is prescribed, and five doses are taken in a row, the effect of several medicines will not be interrupted, and it is easy to receive the power.