Chapter 836 - 757: Malignant Ulcer (Part 3)

Chapter 836: Chapter 757: Malignant Ulcer (Part 3)

The Emperor looked at her condition, feeling some pity, and turned to ask Meng Zhang: "Can she be cured?"

Meng Zhang replied: "I shall do my utmost, the Princess’s illness is hidden within the five viscera, usually hard to detect, but now that it’s manifested, it’s quite dangerous. I will study the prescription, nurture her internal organs, dispel cold and heat, unblock meridians, relieve inflammation and reduce fever..."

The Emperor could not bear to listen to these words, and interrupted him abruptly: "When can she be cured?"

Meng Zhang secretly lamented, for he had just examined the Seventeenth Princess, and her face was covered with blisters, some shiny, some filled with yellow liquid. Initially, he thought it was smallpox but found anomalies after checking the pulse.

With her face like that, it’s said her body also has them, and they are not something that can disappear in a few days.

He even dared not claim that his prescribed medicine would definitely be effective.

He had also reviewed the prescriptions written by Luo Jia and Liu Jiang, which coincided with his own ideas, but they had no effect; evidently, the prescription was useless.

He needed to research anew, without knowing whether the new prescription would be effective.

Yet when questioned by the Emperor, he dared not remain silent. He glanced at Luo Jia, who tried to make himself invisible and minimize his presence.

Helplessly, he gritted his teeth and said: "The Princess’s condition is extremely difficult to handle. If the sores are to heal and scars to disappear, it would take at least half a month!"

The Emperor contemplated, half a month’s time was nothing, as the East Tang Envoy would remain in the Capital City for a month, waiting for his response.

But Meng Zhang hesitated a bit, and then added: "I beg for the Emperor’s pardon, our diagnosis, along with Deputy Director Luo and Imperial Doctor Liu, is consistent; even if the Princess’s illness is healed, it might affect her appearance."

Luo Jia felt uncomfortable about being dragged in by Meng Zhang at this moment, but before the Emperor, he dared not express it at all.

The Emperor’s face darkened, his gaze passing over Meng Zhang’s face, then settling on Luo Jia, his voice gloomy: "She cannot recover?"

Meng Zhang bravely replied: "The Princess’s delicate appearance is endangered by those large vicious sores, currently proliferating rapidly. If the medicine is ineffective and uncontrollable, her face will be marred with cracked sores scabbing over, of varying depth, akin to skin replacement, inevitably leaving scars, causing discoloration and darkness lasting not...not less than several years! Potentially even...lifelong!"

The Emperor: "..."

Upon hearing this, Consort Li could no longer suppress her sobs: "A woman’s appearance is so important, and now Ying’er is of marrying age, how can she face others?"

The Emperor, feeling agitated, reprimanded her: "What nonsense is this? My daughter would be worried about marriage?"

Consort Li couldn’t muster a trace of joy. Though the Emperor could find a consort for the Seventeenth Princess, the fondness for beauty is universal, who would willingly face an ugly person?

Even if marriage resisted royal power, the consort’s heart would not be favorable towards Ying’er.

The Emperor’s cold gaze landed on Dean Meng, saying: "The Seventeenth Princess’s illness went unnoticed by the Imperial Hospital before, and now you are at a loss. I wonder, is the Imperial Hospital too unambitious, failing to refine its medical skills?"

Meng Zhang, drenched in sweat, knelt down, trembling in fear: "I am guilty, my medical skills are lacking, failing the Imperial grace! Please forgive me, Emperor!"

Luo Jia also knelt and pleaded: "Emperor, illnesses are varied and peculiar across the world, my knowledge falls short, leaving me without a good treatment for the Seventeenth Princess. I am afraid!"

Consort Li hastened: "What does it mean there’s no effective treatment? You’re the finest at Imperial Hospital, if you have no good plan, who can save my Ying’er?"

Luo Jia, reflexively, blurted out: "If only the legendary Undying Poison Doctor were here, he could surely cure her!"

The Emperor remained silent, while Consort Li grasped it like a lifeline: "Undying Poison Doctor? Who is he? Quickly bring him here?" She had never heard of the Undying Poison Doctor.

Meng Zhang disapprovingly glanced at Luo Jia and said: "The legendary Undying Poison Doctor is but a myth, estimated to be over a hundred years old, likely long deceased?"

Consort Li’s newly sparked hope faded, leaving her face ashen.

Luo Jia said: "A year ago, I went to Northern County Wanshan Town to treat an epidemic, aided by a prescription left by the legend’s heir. It was said that the Undying Poison Doctor was still alive, and before the imperial envoy visited, he lingered in Wanshan Town. However, elusive like a dragon, hard to locate now!"

Consort Li’s eyes brightened, nearly lunging to grab him: "If the Undying Poison Doctor can’t be found, can his heir be located?"