It is said that a woman’s intuition is rarely wrong. Feng Qingyin had always trusted her own instincts, and she was firmly convinced that this Feng Jiu before her truly did carry the scent of Feng Jiu’er.
And yet — the person standing before her was unmistakably a graceful, handsome young man…
She narrowed her eyes, never releasing her scrutiny of even the slightest flicker of expression on Feng Jiu’s face or in her eyes. “If your medical skill is truly as they say, then examine this consort’s pulse.”
With a retinue of palace maids and eunuchs attending to the Noble Consort, the procession passed through the main gate of Tianji Hall — and behind them, a contingent of guards followed close.
With this manner of display, ordinary common folk would naturally not dare step inside to seek a consultation.
Although Tianji Hall was by no means merely a clinic — its trade in medicinal herbs was generally arranged by appointment and prior discussion — anyone who could walk through the door at this hour was there for treatment.
And Tianji Hall had more than just Feng Jiu as its physician; the general run of patients were handled by the physicians below.
Now that Noble Consort Qing had arrived, not a single commoner dared approach the main gate of Tianji Hall.
Accompanied by the assembled crowd, Feng Qingyin entered Tianji Hall. Inside, a considerable number of common patients were still being seen.
Feng Jiu’s Tianji Hall had been arranged to resemble, in some ways, a hospital of the twenty-first century — patients were sorted and directed from an intake desk according to their ailments, with different conditions routed to different treatment rooms.
There was even a dedicated chamber for febrile illness. At first, people had not understood the arrangement — but as Feng Jiu’s reputation grew, those who came eventually fell into the habit. The physicians here were numerous and carefully selected, each specialist skilled in their respective field, prescribing remedies suited to the individual patient’s condition and achieving far greater efficiency.
The moment Feng Qingyin stepped inside, she frowned.
The space was considerably larger than she had imagined, and its layout was entirely unlike anything she could have anticipated. But what displeased her most was that ordinary commoners were still being seen to here.
Feng Qingyin’s brow furrowed, and the palace maid at her side immediately raised her voice in a shrill cry: “How bold! The Noble Consort is present — come and prostrate yourselves at once!”
The Noble Consort! Who knew some Noble Consort would just show up out of nowhere? Everyone had assumed this was merely some fine household’s young lady come for a consultation. Did the palace not have its own Imperial Physicians? Why on earth would a consort of the inner palace come all the way to an outside physician’s hall? Was that not exceedingly strange?
Yet at the sight of those dozen or so ferocious-looking guards who had filed in behind the Noble Consort, the crowd was duly frightened — and one by one, they trembled their way to the ground in prostration.
Xiao Yingtao was so furious she clenched her fists, barely managing to hold herself back from storming forward.
The great majority of those present were patients — every one of them had come here carrying some ailment. Not a single person in this room was feeling well, and some could barely move.
That hypocritical Feng Qingyin, for the sake of her own face, showed not the slightest regard for any of it — commanding sick people to bow before her. Had she no shame at all?
Feng Jiu gave her a light tug, and whatever fury burned inside Xiao Yingtao, she no longer dared act rashly.
They were, after all, operating under different identities at present. If Feng Qingyin recognized the Young Master, the consequences would be far beyond manageable.
But watching ill children and elderly patients bow before that wicked woman, Xiao Yingtao felt wretched to the core. She believed the Young Master must feel it too, somewhere deep inside.
Encouraged by the display, the palace maid lifted her chin with a proud air — yet she was still not satisfied. With a cold sniff she continued, “The Noble Consort is here to be seen. You common rabble — get out…. Ah!”
A sharp crack rang out. From nowhere, without the faintest warning, the Ghost Doctor Feng Jiu delivered a slap that cut off every word the palace maid had been about to say.
No one could believe it — there had been absolutely no forewarning. Had the divine physician Feng Jiu truly just struck that palace maid?
Why? Though everyone inside loathed the maid heartily and would have been nothing but delighted to see someone teach her a lesson —
Why had it happened? No one could make sense of it. Not the palace maid, not Feng Qingyin, and certainly not the guards standing behind her.
This divine physician Feng Jiu… was she mad? She actually dared strike the Noble Consort’s own attendant?
“You… you hit me!” The maid stood stunned for a moment, then erupted in livid outrage, jabbing a finger at Feng Jiu and shrieking at the top of her lungs: “You! How dare you hit me! Noble Consort, Noble Consort, this lowly commoner…”
Crack! Another slap — swift, precise, and forceful. The maid was sent flying, crashed into the corner of a table with a thud, tumbled to the floor, and lay there — nothing left in her but a wail, without even the strength to drag herself upright.
Feng Qingyin was thoroughly enraged. Her fingers trembled as she pointed at Feng Jiu, too furious to find words.
Everything had happened far too quickly — too fast for anyone to keep up, and even Feng Qingyin had not imagined the other party would truly dare lay hands on her people.
The dozen or so guards were similarly stunned for a long moment before they surged forward all at once, surrounding Feng Jiu in the middle.
The patients panicked, scattering in all directions, all of them trying to flee.
No one knew quite what was happening today. A moment ago Physician Feng Jiu had struck someone, and though every person in the room had cheered inwardly — the other party was the Noble Consort’s attendant. Everyone was frightened.
“You!” Feng Qingyin pointed at Feng Jiu, so furious her face was nearly contorted. “How dare you! You… guards, come!”
“Noble Consort, this one has already disciplined this lowly attendant on your behalf — please do not trouble yourself to anger, Noble Consort. Your precious health is what matters.” Feng Jiu replied with a tranquil smile.
Feng Qingyin froze, completely at a loss as to what was meant.
Who had said she wanted to discipline her own palace maid? What she clearly wanted was to tear apart the neither-man-nor-woman commoner standing before her!
She must be Feng Jiu’er — she must! How else would she dare!
“His Majesty is benevolent and virtuous, ever cherishing his subjects — he would be content even to eat and drink alongside common folk. How much more, then, would he wish for the Noble Consort to share a physician’s hall with commoners for a brief consultation?”
Though Feng Jiu’s voice was not loud, in that vast hall crowded with so many people, every single one of them heard her perfectly.
Surrounded with hostile intent by more than a dozen guards, Feng Jiu did not change color — her bearing remained, as ever, light as clouds and easy as wind.
She continued: “The Noble Consort is blessed with a naturally auspicious countenance and carries the air of the imperial house about her — as though she were born to belong to that world. And now the Noble Consort stands as mistress of the Six Palaces… in the future…”
Feng Jiu let the words trail off. To say more would have been treasonous — and yet the meaning she left unsaid was perfectly plain to everyone present.
Even Nanmeng Rong at present held only the rank of Consort Rong — merely a consort. The one standing here was a Noble Consort — the only one in the palace at present, by all appearances.
When Physician Feng Jiu called her mistress of the Six Palaces, the Noble Consort offered no denial. It seemed that she was indeed the one currently overseeing the inner palace.
In that case — given a few further accomplishments — the step from Noble Consort to Empress was no great distance at all.
In this era, there was no such rank as Imperial Noble Consort. Below Empress came Noble Consort, and below that, the ordinary consorts.
All things considered, the likelihood of this Noble Consort Qing ascending to Empress was quite considerable.
But what, precisely, was Feng Jiu’s intention in saying all of this?
Feng Jiu kept her gaze on Feng Qingyin and continued to smile faintly. “The Noble Consort, as mistress of the Six Palaces, will naturally be like His Majesty in cherishing the people as her own children. Am I not right?”