“I know. The Private Imperial Treasury… simply put, it’s just Her Majesty’s private clinic.”
Shen Yu didn’t understand why the Empress would establish a private clinic outside the palace when she already had Imperial Physicians at her beck and call.
Not only did it lose money every year, placing an even greater burden on the already strained Private Imperial Treasury, but it also served no practical purpose.
Mu’en Hall was unnecessary for minor illnesses and useless for major ones.
Thus, this Mu’en Hall was nothing more than a facade, a gold-swallowing beast where money went in but never came out.
“It is not as simple as you think. I do not know much myself, but this Mu’en Hall was established by the current Empress’s decree just as she ascended the throne, even before the era name was changed to Wangshu.”
Yun Wei’s expression was serious.
Although her face still showed signs of intoxication, her logic remained sharp.
“Word has it that Her Majesty felt those Imperial Physicians were incompetent and that there was no hope for them to cure the Princess. That is why she sought this alternative path.”
“But you also know that the world’s most famous doctors are all monopolized by the Imperial Academy of Medicine. No physician elsewhere is better than those in the academy. Naturally, Mu’en Hall became a useless decoration.”
Yun Wei did not have a deep understanding of Mu’en Hall, but every word she spoke was the truth.
In fact, it was common knowledge within the Imperial Court that Mu’en Hall was a drain on the private treasury.
However, since it belonged to the Empress’s private estate, it was essentially the Sovereign’s personal business.
How could any of her subjects feel comfortable critiquing it?
They simply maintained a tacit understanding of Mu’en Hall’s lack of competence.
Furthermore, Mu’en Hall was not like a merchant guild where officials could funnel interests or cut corners to curry favor with the Empress.
It was a medical clinic.
Its duty was to treat patients, and its revenue was supposed to come from successfully curing people.
Yet, the skills of the resident physicians at Mu’en Hall were… hardly worth commending.
Even if those officials wanted to suck up to the Empress, they needed a viable opportunity.
Flattery was one thing, but they had to preserve the Empress’s dignity.
After all, if news got out that the Sovereign’s own clinic required the charity of officials to stay afloat, how would that look?
If the flattery was too obvious, it would only backfire.
So, rather than racking their brains over this dangerous dilemma, it was better to pretend nothing was happening.
If Mu’en Hall was rotting, let it rot.
Without an opportunity to curry favor with Her Majesty, who would care about such a small clinic?
“I can understand that,” Shen Yu said, nodding.
“Moreover, the herbal suppliers behind Mu’en Hall are not ordinary; they are not your typical Imperial Merchants. They are… the trade caravans under the Prince of Jin. That man is no easy person to deal with.”
“The Prince of Jin?”
Hearing those words, Shen Yu instinctively grew more alert.
Before she had even arrived in the Capital City, her mother, Su Lianyue, had sent her a letter.
Aside from explaining that there were signs of smallpox breaking out at the Border, she had also warned Shen Yu to be careful of the Prince of Jin.
At the time, Shen Yu found it very strange.
‘He is a regional prince in Liuzhou, thousands of miles away from the Capital. Why would I need to be on guard against him?’
“This Prince of Jin… how much do you know about him?”
Shen Yu asked cautiously.
“And why do you say he’s not an easy person to deal with?”
“The Prince of Jin has always had a poor attitude toward the Imperial Court. He is arrogant and overbearing. He is one of the reasons Mu’en Hall has fallen into its current state,” Yun Wei explained in a low voice, shaking her head slightly.
“Additionally, before the Former Emperor passed away, the regional princes were re-allocated. The Prince of Jin, the Prince of Zhao, the Prince of Qi, and the Prince of Han—all these princes who held military power and the responsibility of guarding the four directions—had their territories reshuffled.”
“The scope of that movement was so massive that many heads rolled back then. The Former Emperor gritted his teeth and forced the matter through before his death.”
“But the immediate consequence was that the regional princes became extremely dissatisfied with the central government, and communication became scarce. With the princes reshuffled and their territories redistributed, this information became a secret within the Imperial Court. As for me, I don’t even know which territory the Prince of Jin is in now, let alone anything else about him.”
Hearing Yun Wei’s words, Shen Yu was momentarily stunned.
“No… that’s not right.”
“What isn’t right?”
“Nothing…”
The words slipped out of Shen Yu’s mouth instinctively, but she quickly corrected herself once she realized the problem.
Yun Wei said the territories of the regional princes were a secret within the Imperial Court, but her Grandpa had told her about these things years ago.
Shen Yu had simply treated them as stories to alleviate her boredom.
‘Yun Wei doesn’t know where the Prince of Jin’s territory is, but I do. Grandpa told me.’
The Prince of Jin commanded 30,000 garrison troops and was primarily responsible for the border defense of Liuzhou.
Liuzhou was in the north, the place where the Barbarians were most likely to invade.
Because of the frequent warfare, the Prince of Jin was the most powerful of the regional princes.
As for the other princes, Shen Yu knew their details like the back of her hand.
How many tens of thousands of troops they led, and exactly how strong they were—Shen Yu knew it all clearly.
Yet, here was Yun Wei, knowing nothing at all?