“Farewell, Imperial Physician Shen.”
Wen Zheng escorted Shen Yu all the way to the front gate, then cupped his hands and bowed deeply to Shen Yu.
“I entrust my daughter’s matter to Imperial Physician Shen.”
As he spoke, Wen Zheng pressed down on Wen Boyan’s head, who looked as if he was wearing a mask of agony, forcing Wen Boyan to also give Shen Yu a rather non-standard bow.
Shen Yu could tell that under her careful guidance, that spendthrift Wen Boyan had indeed been taught a lesson.
Although he was unconvinced by Shen Yu, at least he knew what was more important; for this divine physician who could cure his little sister, Wen Boyan, no matter how unconvinced he was inside, didn’t dare to act rashly.
“Farewell, Imperial Physician Shen.”
Wen Boyan had been beaten quite severely, and as he spoke, he couldn’t help but hiss and gasp.
“By the way, Imperial Physician Shen, regarding the consultation fee—”
Wen Zheng took out a gold sycee; this was originally a prize given by the Empress Dowager when Wen Zheng presented a personally inscribed couplet for her birthday celebration.
As a civil official, Wen Zheng was relatively indifferent to money, but if it was a reward from the imperial family, especially given in appreciation of his literary talent, then it was different.
This gold sycee weighed about five taels; it wasn’t large, but it was still quite valuable.
It was one of Wen Zheng’s most treasured possessions.
He really had nothing else decent to offer; the entire large mansion couldn’t scrape together even twenty taels of silver.
For the sake of his daughter, Wen Zheng had to part with what he cherished, offering the only valuable thing on him to Shen Yu as payment for her house call.
“Young Master Wen has already paid the consultation fee. Then, Minister Wen, I’ll take my leave.”
Shen Yu took Yin Qiu’s little hand; the little girl had not been slighted at all in the Wen mansion.
Her mouth, hands, and the basket on her arm were all filled with various pastries given by Lady Wen; even the ones His Majesty had bestowed upon Minister Wen were given to Yin Qiu, and she simply couldn’t refuse.
If Shen Yu hadn’t dragged Yin Qiu away as if escaping, Lady Wen would probably have stuffed a few more boxes of exquisite pastries into Yin Qiu’s arms.
“Given? Already paid?”
Wen Zheng was slightly stunned, then remembered that the old master at home had apparently sent servants carrying a chest of silver to visit Shen Yu; that chest of silver had nearly emptied the Wen family’s coffers.
However, in Wen Zheng’s view, this amount of silver was far from sufficient.
Wen Zheng was no stranger to the imperial physicians of the Imperial Academy of Medicine; even his father, the former Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion, had dealt with them.
Giving a chest of silver as a meeting gift to those senior imperial physicians in exchange for their medical services was a common practice.
A chest of silver was just a stepping stone, the basis for greasing the wheels.
If one needed further help from them, one had to keep sending silver, euphemistically called consultation fees.
After all, the imperial physicians of the Imperial Academy of Medicine treated the Emperor and the imperial relatives; as the most skilled physicians in the entire empire, they naturally charged “higher” fees when treating others.
Their medical skills were indeed top-notch, but asking them to do something was as difficult as reaching the sky.
Even as the Minister of Personnel, Wen Zheng was not exempt; the only privilege he enjoyed was that the imperial physicians might be a bit more approachable and treat him with a bit more courtesy.
But he still had to spend every cent necessary.
After all, before the incident with Princess Yulan the previous night, His Majesty had given many favors to those imperial physicians to ensure the Medical Recruitment Exam went smoothly.
For a time, the status of the imperial physicians of the Imperial Academy of Medicine had reached the highest point in any dynasty.
Although the Wangshu dynasty didn’t have a Chief Imperial Physician, the few Court Physicians and Administrators were quite arrogant, especially Administrator Zhou of the Imperial Academy of Medicine, who prided himself on his ancestors having served as Chief Imperial Physician under a former emperor.
No way around it—he had a relatively mature treatment plan for Her Royal Highness the Eldest Princess’s lung condition.
The herbal decoction he made could stabilize the Eldest Princess’s fluctuating lung disease; although it couldn’t cure it, his control over her condition was masterful.
His Majesty relied on him to prolong the Eldest Princess’s life, which also secured his extremely high status in the Wangshu court and even in the future when the Eldest Princess would ascend the throne and the dynasty changed.
At the very least, Wen Zheng couldn’t invite Administrator Zhou, even if he paid a fortune.
That man now enjoyed His Majesty’s deep appreciation for making the Eldest Princess’s medicine.
Looking at the entire court and the whole Imperial Academy of Medicine, probably only Shen Yu had any hope of competing with Administrator Zhou.
In comparison, using just one chest of the family’s savings to gain Shen Yu’s favor and even have her make a house call was a really good deal.
“Another day, I’ll borrow some silver and send more to Imperial Physician Shen. She’s working hard to treat He’er, and we should be reasonable—we absolutely must not skimp on necessary expenses.”
“Father… Father, please listen first. Imperial Physician Shen did accept a consultation fee, but she didn’t touch a single coin from that chest of silver.”
Wen Boyan endured the sharp pain in his backside; although Shen Yu had not only failed to stop his father from disciplining him but had even helped, regarding the fact that Shen Yu didn’t take the money, he felt he must explain this clearly to his father.
“Didn’t touch a single coin? What do you mean? Did you not deliver the silver to Mu’en Hall at all?”
“No… Father, I delivered it. You wouldn’t even let me touch the silver; you had two trusted servants carry it. I never even touched the dust on that chest the entire time.”
Wen Boyan cried out in grievance.
Hearing this, Wen Zheng’s hand, which had been raised halfway, slowly lowered.
“That makes sense. Since Imperial Physician Shen didn’t take that silver, what does she mean by the consultation fee already being paid?”
“Father, Imperial Physician Shen only asked for two copper plates.”
“Two copper plates? She only took two copper plates?”
Wen Zheng’s voice suddenly rose, and even the whole street heard his exclamation.
“Father, Father! Father, your son begs you, please keep your voice down.”
As the Minister of Personnel, shouting in the street was a bit undignified, and the content was rather embarrassing—was two copper plates worth a shout from the Minister of Personnel?
Moreover, the Wen family was not wealthy now, and his father might need to borrow money from colleagues and friends in the future.
If someone overheard this shout today, wouldn’t they gossip about the Wen family behind their backs?
“I was indeed a bit undignified. You just said Imperial Physician Shen only charged two copper plates as the consultation fee—is that true?”
“Absolutely true! The chest of silver was carried back by the servants and is now in your study. Imperial Physician Shen really only took two copper plates from me.”
Wen Boyan’s words directly shocked Wen Zheng’s worldview.
The “rules” he had always believed in were completely shattered by Shen Yu.
Wen Zheng even wondered if this was some test Shen Yu had set for him, if the two-copper-plate fee had some hidden meaning.
But after thinking it over and over, he couldn’t figure out what trick was behind it.
‘Why did she specifically charge two copper plates? Was it implying that one chest of silver wasn’t enough, and they needed to send two?’
Wen Zheng scratched his head but still couldn’t understand.
In his view, the Shen Yu he knew was nothing like the image he was conjuring; she wouldn’t have such trickery.
‘Could it be that she always charges two copper plates? Whether treating the Emperor or commoners, it’s the same?’
“Father, I think Imperial Physician Shen is a good person. Mu’en Hall has clear pricing: two copper plates per consultation. According to Shen Yu’s little assistant, she set the price… Shen Yu really only charges two copper plates for each visit, and that’s only because other colleagues denounced her for charging just one copper plate to treat commoners, saying she was ruining other doctors’ livelihoods.”
Wen Boyan spoke cautiously, while Wen Zheng stood there stunned, not moving for a long time.
“Can there really be someone like Imperial Physician Shen in this world?”
“This is a bit troublesome. If I have to perform surgery… I don’t have any confidence at all.”
After returning to Mu’en Hall, Shen Yu locked herself in her room, facing the human anatomy diagram she had brought from Qingfeng Village, and randomly gestured with a scalpel over it.
The more she studied, the more her mind became a chaotic mess.
Treating Wen Shuhe was extremely difficult.
The last time she saved Marquis Wuding through surgery, it was a lucky success that depended on favorable timing, location, and people.
At that time, Shen Yu even performed the surgery with the mindset that Marquis Wuding might die in her hands.
Although the outcome was joyful for everyone, only Shen Yu knew how much pressure she had been under.
And that was just an appendectomy.
What Shen Yu was about to do for Wen Shuhe was a lobectomy.
Ha!
Wen Shuhe’s constitution was different from Marquis Wuding’s.
She had been bedridden for years, her health declining day by day; she could barely eat, and her body was frail.
Without a doubt, this condition would further increase the risk of Wen Shuhe dying during surgery.
“Sister.”
Just as Shen Yu was at a loss over what to do, Yin Qiu cautiously knocked on her door.
Then she entered carrying steaming hot food: warm flatbread, stir-fried shredded pork with cabbage, and also pickled cucumbers and vegetables sent from the palace, along with millet porridge.
Seeing Yin Qiu bring in the meal, Shen Yu realized it was already dark.
She had been sitting at her desk for an entire afternoon since returning from the Wen mansion.
Shen Yu hadn’t even noticed.