CHAPTER 614: CHAPTER 400: A GROUP OF EXCITED OLD IMPERIAL PHYSICIANS (FIRST UPDATE)

If it had been a normal day, Xiao Song would certainly not have let her rise from her bed so early, but he guessed that the Emperor was most likely to secretly send for Ran Yan during the time when all the high officials went to court, so he did not stop her.

Ran Yan did not wear the wide-sleeved ceremonial robe but chose a narrow-sleeved robe of inconspicuous grey-brown color. Just after checking the autopsy equipment, a maid came to report that someone from the palace had arrived.

Wan Lu carried the box on her back and escorted Ran Yan to the Inner Gate. Liu Qingsong had also arrived early, sitting at the entrance with a large box on his back and a haggard face.

After getting on the carriage, Liu Qingsong yawned and said, "Looking at your complexion, you had a very sound sleep last night! Miss Ran, after we return, I must earnestly seek your advice on how to cultivate such strong psychological resilience."

Ran Yan glanced at him and said, "There’s no need to seek advice. If you were to perform autopsies on thousands of corpses, were threatened by people on a regular basis, stabbed with knives, and had explosives mailed to your home, you too would become increasingly calm."

The first time Ran Yan received a threatening phone call, she immediately called the police and was in a state of panic for half a year. But the reality was, not everyone was of a monstrous and sick heart; most were merely dissatisfied with the autopsy results and used these tactics to intimidate her and vent their anger, so later on, when she received threatening calls in the middle of the night, she would just put them on speaker, listen to the general idea, and continue sleeping. Only twice did she truly face a threat to her life.

Liu Qingsong shuddered and suddenly woke up quite a bit, "I’m not as fierce as you are. If I lived that kind of life, I’d have been a nervous wreck long ago, and who knows, I might have been killed by someone."

Ran Yan smiled and said, "Actually, you’re not so annoying when you’re not doing anything."

"Miss Ran, are you praising me?" Liu Qingsong felt that although the statement didn’t seem very pleasant at first, it seemed as if, perhaps, vaguely, it was an acknowledgment of him.

"You can understand it that way." Ran Yan nodded.

Liu Qingsong chuckled dryly three times, "Truly unique."

After traveling for a while, Ran Yan looked through the carriage curtain and saw the mottled palace walls and the boundless overgrown grass, and then she reached out to tug at Liu Qingsong.

"This is near the medicinal garden of the Imperial Medical Bureau." Liu Qingsong whispered after taking a glance.

Ran Yan nodded her head.

The carriage jolted along and stopped in front of a plain-looking gate, where the voice of the Eunuch sounded, "These are the robes prepared for the two of you."

Then two sets of green official uniforms were handed in. Neither of them changed into them but simply slipped them over their bodies; the place where the body would be placed later would surely be filled with ice, so wearing this should not make them too hot.

The two alighted from the carriage and the Eunuch, after indulging them with a glance, deemed it appropriate and said, "Please follow this servant."

Inside, a Pharmacist was already awaiting them. Seeing Liu Qingsong’s and Ran Yan’s expressions of surprise, he said, "Imperial Physician Liu... how come..."

He stopped mid-sentence, remembering that Liu Qingsong was a disciple of the Divine Doctor, and performing an autopsy should not be strange; he immediately thought of Ran Yan’s identity, quickly bowed his head in a salute and led the two to the tea room.

"The morning court session has not ended, and the Emperor is probably still one or two hours away; several Imperial Physicians are also waiting in the tea room," the Pharmacist said as they walked.

Standing at the entrance of the tea room, they could hear the soft conversations inside. The Pharmacist reported to the people inside, "The guests have arrived."

The room went quiet. Ran Yan and Liu Qingsong entered.

All eyes in the room centered on the two of them simultaneously.

After a few moments of silence, the Imperial Physicians regained their composure and hurriedly stood up to greet them.

"Lady Liang presented!" Medical Director Zhou’s expression was slightly excited.

Ran Yan’s fame as a Divine Doctor had already spread throughout the Capital region, and coincidentally, she became pregnant not long after, also being a lady with imperial command behind her name, so nobody came to disturb her. But within the medical community, her status was already exceedingly high. If she were not a woman, perhaps she could have been mentioned in the same breath as Sun Simiao.

However, all of this was unknown to Ran Yan; looking at the overly enthusiastic trio of Imperial Physicians, she was somewhat surprised. After politely returning their greetings, she was ushered to a seat of honor on the upper left side. Weighing her options, she realized that she probably held the highest rank in the room and took her seat accordingly.

Two of the Imperial Physician Directors were familiar to Ran Yan, one was Medical Director Zhou Chu, who was over fifty years old; the other was a Medical Director named Zhang Songhe, white-haired and white-bearded, at least sixty-five years old. There were also four Imperial Medical Supervisors Ran Yan had never met before, but they all seemed to be over forty years old.

Ran Yan looked at Liu Qingsong.

Feeling her question, Liu Qingsong quickly whispered, "You don’t know? You’re quite famous now."

Faced with their unusually happy demeanor, Ran Yan went through her thoughts several times and eventually felt that they might be excited about the opportunity to witness an "Autopsy". Great Tang doctors had an obsession with secret recipes and techniques that laypeople couldn’t understand.

Ultimately, all of this stemmed from Ran Yan’s identity as a "descendant of Hua Tuo," and that one surgery that shocked the medical community.

Which also meant that this autopsy was likely to be accepted.

But Ran Yan dared not be blindly optimistic; the Imperial Medical Bureau was one of the eight bureaus under the Imperial Sacrificial Worship Bureau.

What does the Imperial Sacrificial Worship Bureau do? It primarily manages state rituals, temples, and ancestral sacrifices! After the case was closed, word of it would someday get out, and what those sticklers for ritual at the Imperial Sacrificial Worship Bureau would think was anyone’s guess.

"Cough!" Liu Qingsong, looking at the elderly Zhang Songhe, couldn’t bear to see it and couldn’t help but remind, "I know that both senior predecessors have treated countless patients, and can be referred to as the Mount Tai of medicine. However, the autopsy may be somewhat bloody, and the subject has been dead for two days. Such a scene is not so pleasant, so I have prepared protective gear for you all."

Liu Qingsong took out three sets of protective gowns, masks, and gloves from a large chest and taught the Imperial Physicians how to use them.

"The Emperor has arrived," announced an Eunuch’s voice from outside the door.

Not expecting Li Shimin to arrive so early, everyone was startled and quickly stood up to welcome His Imperial Majesty.

Then, a tall and burly man in black garb walked in.

Li Shimin was dressed in a narrow-sleeved foreign outfit, which seemed more invigorating than his dragon robe. His silhouette backlit by the sunlight, Ran Yan seemed to see the image of the King of Qin who once swept through the battlefields with extraordinary valor.

"Your Majesty!" Everyone promptly bowed down to salute.

"Dispense with the formalities," said Li Shimin, not in the mood for pleasantries. He immediately commanded, "Let’s get started."

Liu Qingsong took out a protective gown, "Your Majesty, please wear this protective gown."

Liu Qingsong felt Li Shimin pause for a moment, afraid that he would say something like "With True Dragon Protection, there is no need for a protective gown," which would be disastrous should anything happen to the Emperor on their account.

Fortunately, it seemed that Li Shimin was merely a bit taken aback and then agreed, "Good."

Liu Qingsong and the Eunuch helped Li Shimin into it, and the others quickly followed suit. Liu Qingsong, with his foresight, had made Li Shimin’s gown light yellow while the few others wore light brown. Only Ran Yan and Liu Qingsong wore standard white.

Otherwise, if they all wore white coats, Ran Yan might feel a sense of familiarity, which these old men might not be able to accept. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast a recommendation ticket, monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)