Chapter 59: Wu Youke's Treatise on Pestilence

When the Chongzhen Emperor heard this, he was somewhat doubtful. These wandering quacks—weren't they all just swindling people to scrape by a living? What real skill could they have? Even the imperial physicians of the Imperial Academy of Medicine were at their wit's end. Could this man really be reliable?

The Chongzhen Emperor's expression was extremely rich, shifting from overcast to clear. The eunuchs and palace maids standing nearby were all extraordinarily tense, not even daring to take a deep breath.

The Chongzhen Emperor sat for a while, then rose and paced back and forth in the warm pavilion with his hands clasped behind his back. Outside, Fang Zhenghua could not fathom His Majesty's intentions and could only wait quietly and obediently.

Before long, the Chongzhen Emperor steeled his resolve and said:

"Let's try the last resort—treat the dead horse as if it were alive. Bring this surnamed Wu quack into the palace to see me, along with that woman of his. You must keep a close eye on her—she must not run away, and she must not die."

Hearing the Emperor issue his decree, Fang Zhenghua hurriedly bowed and said:

"This servant understands—I shall personally go fetch them at once!"

In a remote courtyard near the Forbidden City in the capital, shouts and cries continuously rang out from within. At the entrance stood several agents of the Western Depot in gray-black uniforms, each bearing a blade at their waist and wearing fierce expressions.

"Hey, I say—just let me go out and buy some medicine, alright?"

"Alright or not, won't you say something?!"

"What, are all of you out there mutes?"

"Heh, looks like they really are all mutes!"

At first, none of the agents standing outside the door paid him any mind, but who would have thought this fellow could be so endlessly nagging? Growing irritated by the noise, one squad leader finally replied impatiently:

"No! Without orders from above, you'd best stay put in the house." Having said that, the squad leader muttered to himself with a mocking laugh:

"Besides, medicine in this capital now costs a fortune—all the pharmacies are shut down. Even those rich landowners with silver can't find a place to buy it. Who would bother doing business with a poor wretch like you?"

Hearing this, the man inside truly grew anxious and shouted again:

"Medicine isn't the problem—I'm about to figure it out! If you do this and delay my wife's treatment, then you... then you're committing murder!"

"Hey! You old bastard, how dare you say such things?!"

This was the first time the squad leader had heard anyone dare speak to someone from the Western Depot like that. He immediately moved to go inside and teach the man a lesson—after all, his superiors had only said to keep a good watch over him, not that he couldn't draw his blade to give the fellow a scare.

Just as he was about to turn around, he saw a group of people coming around the street corner ahead.

The squad leader squinted curiously and was startled to see that the man leading them was none other than Fang Zhenghua, the seal-holder of the Directorate of the Imperial Horses and Superintendent of the Western Depot, clad in a python robe.

Fang Zhenghua appeared hurried, with two eunuchs from the Directorate of the Imperial Horses at his side and a squad of imperial guards from the Tengxiang Guard behind him.

It seemed the Emperor himself had issued the decree—otherwise, why would such a trivial matter trouble Fang Zhenghua to come personally? The squad leader was startled, quickly led the several gate-keeping agents a few steps forward, knelt on one knee, and shouted:

"This humble one greets the Superintendent!"

Fang Zhenghua gave an "Mm" and nodded, asking:

"The people inside—are they still in good spirits?"

Not daring to be negligent, the squad leader quickly replied: "Reporting to the Superintendent, everything is as usual. Just now this fellow was shouting and jumping around—full of energy!"

"Good. Take them away for me!"

"And that woman—you must watch her carefully. She must not run, and she must not die. Do you all understand?"

"This humble one understands!"

Normally, the rules for outsiders entering the palace were extremely complicated, but since this time the imperial decree came directly, and Fang Zhenghua with a squad of Tengxiang Guard soldiers were escorting them, all such formalities were naturally waived.

In less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the wandering physician was thrown into a side hall by the eunuchs and told to wait patiently—the Emperor would arrive shortly.

The surnamed Wu physician was initially puzzled. He had only just arrived in Beijing and hadn't done anything—apart from buying and preparing medicine, he had barely left his doorstep. How had he inexplicably caught the attention of the depot's agents?

When he was first brought out, the physician thought he was about to be secretly executed and was terrified, flailing and shouting wildly along the way. But strangely enough, no one paid him any attention at all.

This was hardly surprising—ordinary constables escorting condemned prisoners wouldn't attract troublemakers, let alone a group of gorgeously dressed agents personally escorting someone. Naturally, passersby kept as far away as possible.

Even now, he still couldn't believe that he, a mere wandering physician, had been brought to the imperial palace to meet the Emperor. That was the Son of Heaven—how many ordinary people ever got to see his true face?

The physician tremblingly picked up the tea that a young eunuch had brought and took a small sip, only to immediately furrow his brow.

"This is the imperial palace, and they serve this stuff? You could buy this for a few coppers at a street stall, couldn't you?"

Suddenly, the physician slapped his forehead, remembering that the court had abolished the Jiangnan tribute tea many years ago. It seemed he shouldn't hold out any hope of drinking tribute tea.

Thinking of this, he sheepishly set down the teacup and turned to observe the layout of the side hall.

He had to admit—the place where the Emperor and his consorts lived was indeed different. Although what they served to drink wasn't much, at least on the surface everything looked splendid. Such a scene, poor folk would never see in a lifetime.

As he was letting his thoughts wander far and wide, a young eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial standing at the door suddenly turned in, winking at him and whispering urgently:

"The Emperor is coming—hurry up and kneel!"

By the time the Chongzhen Emperor stepped one foot into the side hall, he happened to see the physician, in his frantic haste to kneel, trip over his own long robe and stumble.

Faced with such a comical and ridiculous scene, the Chongzhen Emperor clearly felt no amusement. He merely waved his hand irritably and said casually:

"No need to kneel! You're that surnamed Wu wandering physician, aren't you? Tell me in detail—how exactly did you cure that woman of yours?"

"Re... reporting to Your Majesty, this humble one's name is Wu Youke. I am not a wandering quack..."

"I didn't ask you that!" The Chongzhen Emperor had recently been driven to distraction by the plague of rats and was about to fly into a rage, but then, as if suddenly remembering something, he asked as though seeing a ghost:

"What did you say your name was—Wu Youke?!"

Seeing Wu Youke nod, Chongzhen still couldn't believe it and asked again:

"Do you also have another name—Wu Youxing?"

Wu Youke was covered in black lines of exasperation, yet inwardly he was filled with admiration. It seemed the Son of Heaven was indeed the Son of Heaven—he had instantly known a name he himself hadn't used in many years. He nodded again.

The Chongzhen Emperor was greatly reassured. He remembered that the plague expert Wu Youke he'd seen in movies actually existed in real history, and even his name was exactly the same.

With this fellow available, what was the rat plague to fear?

Thinking of this, the Chongzhen Emperor grew interested, a smile appearing on his face as he asked:

"How's your Treatise on Pestilence coming along?"

"Uh..."

Wu Youke's eyes went wide. The reason he had come to the capital this time was that he'd heard there was a rat plague outbreak here. He wanted to learn from others and test his new prescriptions—and if he could save a few commoners along the way, so much the better.

But he hadn't told a single soul about this secret trip. Wu Youke immediately regarded Chongzhen as a divine being, kowtowing in terror and shouting:

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Treatise on Pestilence was already completed in the fifteenth year of Chongzhen!"

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