Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My family has been a medical dynasty for generations, with three generations of ancestors serving in the Imperial Hospital. In this generation, there are no sons, only two daughters: Shen Chengyun and myself.

We both studied pharmacology from a young age. Shen Chengyun was born to the First Madam and was pampered from birth. She detested the way pounding and grinding herbs would mar her skin, which was as smooth as congealed fat, and she loathed the way the pungent scent of traditional medicine would cling to her silk gowns, which were always perfumed with expensive incense. Consequently, she always shirked her duties.

My father and the First Madam doted on her, so they turned a blind eye and let her have her way.

I was different. I had no such benefactor to lean on.

As for who my birth mother was, various versions circulated through the manor. Some said she was a servant who died young; others claimed she was a songstress from a pleasure house.

The only certainty was that I was of lowly birth and received no affection.

Fortunately, I was bright. I could remember a pharmacology text after a single reading, and I could discern new insights after copying a prescription twice.

“What’s the use of that?” Shen Chengyun would sneer every time she saw me laboring over the mortar and pestle.

It might be useless to you, but it is useful to me.

A concubine’s daughter like me would likely never marry a gentleman from a prestigious family. If Father betrothed me to some servant, it would be fine if he were someone I liked; but if he turned out to be a drunken brute who beat his wife, I could at least run away and become a traveling physician.

To have a quiet corner of the world where I could live in peace-that was my only wish.

Yet, I never imagined that even such a small wish would ultimately prove impossible to achieve.

It began when I noticed Father staying up night after night, his brow furrowed with worry in his study.

I didn’t have much affection for my father. All his love was given to Shen Chengyun, so naturally, I had none to give him in return.

However, I was interested in medicine. I wanted to know what kind of incurable ailment he couldn’t crack. Perhaps… perhaps I could.

At first, Father was reluctant to tell me. But then he belatedly remembered that I truly had a natural talent, so he had me dress as a medical apprentice and follow him into the palace.

The patient was the Crown Prince. Father told me he had been born with a weak constitution and had suffered from a chronic cough since childhood. He had taken countless medicines over the years, but his condition never improved.

The Crown Prince was reclining on a couch. When I saw his face, my heart skipped a beat.

He was beautiful, devoid of the decadent air typical of those raised in luxury. On the contrary, he was like a quiet plant, much like the medicinal herbs I spent my days with-lean, handsome, and exuding a bitter, clean fragrance.

I wore a bamboo hat with a long veil that concealed my features. I stepped forward with small strides and spoke softly.

My father rebuked me for my presumption, but the Crown Prince only smiled gently.

“It is no matter.” He extended his wrist to me. As I placed my fingers on his pulse, he looked at me with eyes as clear as water. It was fortunate the veil hid my face, or he surely would have seen me blush.

“It is not a weakness of constitution… it is heat toxin,” I whispered. “Therefore, one should not use tonics to supplement, but rather focus on clearing the path.”

“Absurd!” Father shouted.

I was a novice and perhaps too bold. Saying those words was equivalent to declaring that all the elders of the Imperial Hospital had misdiagnosed him for all these years.

“Director Shen, it’s alright.” The Crown Prince looked at me. His eyes had a natural upward curve at the corners, making him look as if he were smiling at everyone. “Can you write a prescription?”

“I… I can try.”

I went home and spent the entire night scouring medical texts. After many hours of careful deliberation, I finally finished writing a prescription.

The prepared medicinal ingredients were sent to the Eastern Palace and brewed daily. Seven days later, the chronic cough that had plagued the Crown Prince for years was cured.

The Crown Prince asked my father who the little medical apprentice was.

“Please forgive me, Your Highness the Crown Prince, for not clarifying sooner.” Sweat beaded at my father’s temples. “That was actually… my daughter.”

News that His Highness the Crown Prince intended to marry the daughter of the Head of the Imperial Hospital as his Crown Princess quickly spread throughout the capital.

I heard the news while picking up herbs at the pharmacy. My heart skipped a beat, and I immediately sprinted home.

The manor was already filled with a festive atmosphere. First Madam was smiling as she pinned a Golden Step-Sway Hairpin into Shen Chengyun’s hair.

“So many noble ladies in the capital want to marry the Crown Prince that they’ve fallen ill with lovesickness, yet they still can’t have him. Our Yun’er is truly the blessed one.”

The bad premonition in my heart had come true. I stood frozen in place. Though the summer breeze blowing against my sleeves was warm, I felt as if I had fallen into an ice cellar.

Shen Chengyun turned to look at me and furrowed her brows.

“Look at that girl’s dazed expression. On such a joyous day, she’s truly a bad omen.”

I opened my mouth, but my throat was dry. The three words I forced out sounded like they were stained with blood.

“…That was me.”

“What?”

Shen Chengyun hadn’t heard me clearly.

“That was me!” I raised my voice.

Shen Chengyun’s expression changed instantly. My father’s and First Madam’s faces also paled.

Father walked over and raised his hand, delivering a heavy slap to my face.

First Madam irritably waved her handkerchief at the servants. “All of you, leave.”

Once only the four of us remained in the room, Father looked at me with a livid face. “What do you think you’re doing?”

I wasn’t trying to do anything.

I looked up at Father and spoke softly. “Father, if you truly have a clear conscience, then look me in the eye and say it-that the Crown Prince coming to marry your daughter has nothing to do with who actually cured his cough.”

Father’s gaze flickered away from mine.

But it was only for a brief moment.

A moment later, he turned back to look me straight in the eye.

“Of course it has everything to do with it.”

Father walked to Shen Chengyun’s side and placed a hand affectionately on her shoulder.

“Yun’er wrote the prescription that cured His Highness the Crown Prince’s cough. His Highness appreciates Yun’er’s talent and virtue, and thus wishes to marry Yun’er as his Crown Princess-what is wrong with that?”

My eyes widened as I stared at my father.

He didn’t avoid me; he stared right back.

I had underestimated him after all.

It turned out that a person really could treat two children of their own blood with such staggering disparity.

Shen Chengyun smiled. She walked over to me and leaned close to my ear.

“Sister, don’t be sad.”

“How could a concubine’s daughter ever become the Crown Princess?”

“You wouldn’t be able to handle such a blessing anyway. I’m taking it in your stead, so you should be happy for me.”

I clenched my teeth. After a long silence, I let out a soft laugh.

“Of course I am happy for you, Sister.”

“Then, Sister, you must pray that His Highness the Crown Prince has smooth sailing in the future and doesn’t catch so much as a common cold.”

“Otherwise, if he ever has a headache or a fever and comes to ask you for help… with your amateur medical skills that can’t even distinguish one herb from another, wouldn’t that be… the crime of deceiving the Emperor?”

Before I could even finish my sentence, the faces of Father, First Madam, and Shen Chengyun all turned pale.

“Yun’er can learn medicine,” Father said with a cold face.

I smiled and shook my head.

“Father, you know your own daughter best. Stop lying to yourself.”