In the West Palace of Tokyo, the ministers stood with their heads bowed. A beautiful shadow was swaying behind the yellow gauze curtain, and the person inside seemed to be walking.
A soothing and pleasant voice came from inside: "We have not received the letter from the emperor asking Cao Bin to withdraw his troops."
Wang Pu, the privy councilor standing in the front row, bowed and said: "Replying to Queen Duanci, the Privy Council has not received any more imperial edicts from the northwest. The letter received a few days ago has been reported to Queen Duanci. It was written by Deputy Envoy Wei, saying that the Taichang Temple should send an imperial physician to the south, and also send the cabinet assistant Zuo You to accompany him."
Fu Jinzhan's voice said: Just follow the emperor's wishes.
“Yes,” Wang Pu said.
The Minister of the Ministry of Rites on the side said: I have something to say.
Fu Jinzhan’s voice said: Just say it.
The Minister of the Imperial Household Department said: "General Cao's rural army camp, in accordance with the method of the imperial army, specially sent officials from the Imperial Medical Bureau to set up a healing camp, which includes not only civilian doctors but also imperial doctors. If the imperial doctors in the front are also helpless, I am afraid that sending more people will be of no use."
At this time, Wang Pu said: Please report to Empress Duanci, I have an adopted daughter named Lu Lan, who lives in the palace. I haven't seen her for a long time. I want to meet her in the Privy Council. I hope Empress Duanci will show mercy.
Oh, Fu Jinzhan paused, and suddenly said, I remember that Envoy Wang was seriously ill once and it was Lu Lan who cured you.
Wang Pu bowed and said: That's right, that's why I have formed a father-daughter relationship with her.
Fu Jinzhan immediately said: Come on, go and ask Lu Lan to go to the Privy Council to see her adoptive father and have the old man, the chief physician of the Imperial Medical Bureau, go as well.
On the west side of Xuanyou Gate, there is an unnamed courtyard, which is where Lu Lan lives.
This place is very quiet. The concubines' palaces on both sides of the central axis of Xuanyou Gate will not cross the Wansui Hall; and on both sides of the Wansui Hall are some offices and storage warehouses. Only Lu Lan lives in this location.
The entire yard was planted with medicinal herbs, and even in the living room, flowers and plants were planted in clay pots filled with soil and placed on a large wooden frame.
Lu Lan was holding a kettle and watering the flowers and plants in the pots very carefully. She was very attentive. When the leaves of a kind of broad-leaved grass were dirty, she gently wiped them clean with a handkerchief.
After finishing these tasks, she stood in front of the shelf and stretched her upper body, stretching comfortably. The sunlight shone through the wooden frame on her body, which was very soft and beautiful. Lu Lan was not tall, with small bones but plump skin. When she stretched, the clothes on her chest were stretched very tight.
She put down her arms and smiled contentedly. Seeing these plants growing luxuriantly, she felt an indescribable joy in her heart.
At this moment, a little palace maid stretched her neck at the door and said: Li Shang Gong, who is on duty in Wansui Palace, is here. She said that she has been feeling unwell these past few days. She feels cold when she sleeps at night, but sweats on her vest. She wants you to take her pulse.
Lu Lan said: Let her come in.
After a while, Li Shanggong, who was in her early thirties, came in with a smile on her face and greeted Madam Lu.
Lu Lan pointed to a rattan chair next to the table and said: Please take a seat, Lady Li.
After she said this, she glanced at the kettle on the stove that was emitting white steam, then walked to the wooden rack, brushed her fingers over the light yellow feather grass leaves, stopped on a light green double-feathered grass leaf, picked up a pair of scissors, cut off two leaves, and then washed them in a basin of water.
When Li Shanggong saw Lu Lan personally serving tea and water, she hurriedly said politely: How can you let Madam Lu treat you like this
Lu Lan soaked two leaves in a white porcelain cup, walked over and placed it in front of Li Shanggong, saying: You're welcome, try it. Li Shanggong's symptoms are just due to a little evil spirit entering the body due to yin deficiency, it's not a big deal, don't worry.
Li Shanggong picked up the cup and took a sip. Her brows slightly frowned, and then she smiled again: It's very bitter but has a fragrance. It's good. These are all planted by Madam Lu herself.
That's right. Lu Lan nodded and said, this is Artemisia annua, which is just right for your Yin deficiency. The other yellow Artemisia argyi is not so bitter, but it is not very useful for your disease. It is a medicine for eliminating steam and stopping malaria.
Li Shanggong was surprised and said: "It turns out that this cup of tea can cure diseases."
Lu Lan said: There are still a few plants in the yard. I will cut some for you to make tea with when you go back.
Li Shanggong blew on the water surface and took another sip. She looked grateful and said, "People like Madam Lu are still very respected in the palace. People eat five kinds of grains, and it is difficult for everyone to avoid illnesses. It is not convenient for people in the harem to see a doctor, so everyone should be friendly to you. Madam Lu has few people here, so she can come to our place when she is free, so it won't be so boring."
Lu Lan curled her lips and said, "I really like being with these flowers."
At this time, the young palace maid came in with a eunuch. The eunuch said hurriedly: Madam Lu, come with me.
Lu Lan and Li Shang Gong looked at him with some confusion.
The eunuch said: Empress Duanci and the Privy Councilor want to see you.
When Lady Li heard this, she looked at Lu Lan for a few times, pursed her lips, and said hurriedly: "I'll take my leave now. Things over there are more important. Madam Lu, please go over first."
Lu Lan stood up and followed the eunuch out.
After leaving Xuanyou Gate, the two of them went straight to the Privy Council, one after the other. Wang Pu and Lu Lan's uncle, the old man, was already waiting there.
When Lu Lan saw the two old men, he had no choice but to respectfully call them uncle and godfather.
Wang Pudao: A matter concerning a hundred thousand troops. Can the miasma in Lingnan be cured by a good medicine
The old man nervously took the file sent back by the imperial physician from the front line and read it carefully. Lu Lan turned his head and looked at it as well. The old man said: The miasma may be malaria. The imperial physician's method is fine. Use realgar to fumigate, soak a handful of Artemisia annua in cold water, and then squeeze the juice to drink. This is a prescription from Shennong's Herbal Classic.
Wang Pu looked at Lu Lan.
Lu Lan said softly: I think there is something wrong.
Wang Pu asked: What's the problem
Lu Lan said: Wushan villagers occasionally suffer from malaria. I used to treat them with Artemisia annua according to Shennong's Herbal Classic, but found that there was no relief. Later, I used a large amount of yellow-leaved Artemisia foetida for long-term conditioning, which was quite effective. The Artemisia annua recorded in Shennong's Herbal Classic may be Artemisia foetida. This book is too old, and the previous name may be different.
Wang Pu was overjoyed, his face flushed: "I know now that it is right to recommend Lan'er to Queen Duanci."
The old man murmured aside and said: The disciple surpasses the master.
In fact, Lu Lan's medical books were not taught by him at all, but by Lu Lan's father, Doctor Lu. Of course, this did not affect his uncle's benefit.
Lu Lan added: My fellow doctors believe that malaria is a kind of evil spirit, but I don’t think so. It may be a living creature like an invisible insect.
Oh Wang Pak looked at her with interest.
Lu Lan pursed her lips: "There was malaria in a village in Wushan, and I went with my third aunt, Wushan Bailao, to treat it. There was a family that was taking care of the patient and lived in the same room with him, but they were not infected. If it was evil spirit, how could it not infect the family in the small room, but infect several families near the stream in the village? I stayed there for a while and found that the family poured filthy things into the stream, so the people downstream took the water and drank it, and that's how they got infected."
Shennong's prescription can alleviate malaria, and perhaps cure it, but it is not certain to cure it. If it is a large military camp, those infected with malaria must first be separated, no one is allowed to drink raw water, and the patient's waste must be boiled before pouring out.
Wang Pu listened and nodded continuously, saying: After all, it concerns the lives of many people. In order to be safe, we have to let Lan'er go.
Lu Lan said: I will obey my adoptive father’s orders.
So Wang Pu went to the West Hall of Jinxiang Palace to ask for permission and hurriedly arranged the itinerary.
Jingniang also accompanied Lu Lan to the south, along with Xu Erniang, who served as Lu Lan's attendant; the civil officials included Baisou and Zuo You. Fu Jinzhan dispatched a team of elite cavalry from the inner palace to escort them to Lingnan.
The group crossed the Yangtze River and passed through the old territory of Southern Tang State, and first came to Xiongzhou, which had been occupied by Zhou army. There were many seriously ill soldiers there.
Zuo You took over the power of the infected barracks in Xiongzhou, and first isolated and decontaminated them according to Lu Lan's method. He also sent people to collect Artemisia argyi and send it to Xiongzhou City.
The group of officials, soldiers and civilians started to treat the patient. This medicine was also quite strange. It was not made like other medicinal herbs. It had to be boiled and cooled first, soaked in cold water, and then crushed to extract the juice, which was given to the patient every day.
There were thousands of soldiers who fell ill and died every day, so a large amount of Artemisia selengensis and manpower were needed. Lu Lan and others also personally started working and were very busy.
One day, Xu Erniang saw people carrying the bodies of soldiers out of the camp to burn them. She remembered that Zhao Hu's body was also in the wounded camp. The scene brought back sad memories and she burst into tears.
She wiped her tears and walked to the gate of a yard, watching another corpse being carried out. At this moment, she suddenly heard a voice groaning: Is it my turn
The voice was full of despair and fear.
Xu Erniang's heart softened, so she went in to take a look, only to see a pale and haggard young man lying on a broken bed, staring at the ceiling.
Although the soldier looked sick, he was very handsome, looked very kind, and had a tall and straight figure. Xu Erniang stood at the door of the house, seeming to block his light. The soldier suddenly shuddered: Why did it suddenly get dark? Have I reached the underworld
Xu Erniang hurried over and advised kindly: Don't be afraid, we have good medicine, as long as you focus on recuperating, you will definitely get better.
After a few words of persuasion, the soldier's lifeless eyes regained some color. He turned to look at Xu Erniang and said blankly: Why are you crying? Do you know me
Xu Erniang couldn't answer and just shook her head silently.
She turned around and saw an iron cup on the broken wooden table beside the bed, so she picked it up and went out, first put it in the pot on the firewood to scald it, then scooped a cup of cold medicine and came in, then helped the soldier up and fed him the medicine.
The sergeant said: Drink this and you will live
Xu Erniang said: If you drink more, you will definitely be cured.
The soldier picked up the iron cup and gulped down the liquid.