Time Travel: The Best Doctor in Ancient Times

Chapter 48: Chapter 26 Changsheng Edition Monk Tang_2

Seeing this, the Court neither blamed nor complained, but instead decided to recruit Hu Bingzhi from Liuzhou, who was similarly renowned. Hu Bingzhi did not refuse and gladly went.

Once Hu Bingzhi joined the Imperial Medical Bureau, the Hu Family Medical Hall’s fortunes soared. His nephew, Hu Yihai, took over the Hu Family Medical Hall and successfully became the head of the Liuzhou City Medical Guild.

Not long after Hu Bingzhi arrived at the Capital City, Gu Chengyi succumbed to a stubborn illness and died, leaving behind his unmarried granddaughter, Gu Changsheng, and his unfinished medical treatise.

In terms of medical skills, Gu Chengyi was not inferior to Hu Bingzhi, but he was even more adept at post-illness recuperation.

This fact did not go unnoticed. What is most abundant in Capital City? Nobles! And surely, nobles need recuperative care after illnesses, something Hu Bingzhi was not adept at. Thus, over the past five years, using the old promise made by Old Grand Master Gu that his medical skills were meant to benefit doctors across the world as a premise, his nephew came several times to Uncle Song to demand the medical treatise. Uncle Song, not daring to claim control over it, stalled by claiming Gu Changsheng, as part of her dowry, had already taken the books to the Capital City. However, Hu Yihai was not deterred. Now that Gu Changsheng had returned from a failed marriage, his hopes were rekindled, and he came again to claim the books.

Upon hearing this, Gu Changsheng reflected on her grandfather’s noble integrity. In ancient times, the prescriptions concocted by doctors were secret and were always meant to be reclaimed after dispensing medicine, let alone sharing medical skills with others, which was simply out of the question.

Yet, Elder Gu had the idea of writing books and establishing theories to benefit all doctors, which was indeed sigh-worthy.

Not to mention ancient times, even Yhan’s, whom Gu Changsheng apprenticed under, also only transmitted knowledge within their own family, which was exactly why she faced so much scrutiny when she became an apprentice.

Moreover, she had also vowed at that time that the art of acupuncture, if ever taught to others, must be with the permission of her school.

This shows what kind of courage and virtue it takes to pass on lifegiving skills to others.

“Uncle Song, was the medical book really included as part of my dowry to Li Mansion?” Gu Changsheng asked thoughtfully after a long silence.

“It was not. At that time, the lady was grief-stricken by the master’s death and sealed up the master’s study, thus the medical book was not taken.” Uncle Song shook his head and said, “It is this old servant who has caused trouble for the lady; if I hadn’t said that you had the medical book, Hu Yihai wouldn’t be so…”

“Uncle Song, there’s no need to blame yourself. Given the situation, your response was the most appropriate. No matter what you said, they would neither believe it nor drop the matter, and only I could serve as the best shield.”

People chase after benefits and often do not choose their methods; even if Uncle Song had claimed that the medical book was buried with Old Grand Master Gu, the Hu Family would likely have dug up the Gu Family’s ancestral grave to retrieve it!

“Uncle Song, go fetch the medical book now.” Gu Changsheng sighed, lamenting that this really was a significant nuisance…

Uncle Song agreed and went off to fetch the medical book, leaving Gu Changsheng alone to complain to the heavens.

Why write a book on medicine of all things? If you must write a medical book, keep it to yourself at home, why announce it to the world? Now look, the troubles have surfaced, and she had to bear the burden, wanted or not. If she managed well, it was simply fulfilling her grandfather’s legacy, which was expected. If managed poorly, it would reflect her as a disgraceful granddaughter, bringing dishonor to her grandfather’s name…

Gu Changsheng was truly fed up with these burdensome days!

Uncle Song returned quickly since Old Grand Master Gu’s study was in the front courtyard.

Seeing the solemnly delivered medical book, Gu Changsheng’s expression grew serious.

Regardless of her internal criticisms, anyone who devoted their life to writing and theorizing in medicine deserved respect.

Gu Changsheng pondered as she opened the medical book, a thread-bound thick volume that even lacked a cover.

The meticulously drawn characters conveyed the author’s precision; even in tidy handwriting there was no sign of sloppiness, reflecting his seriousness.

The book detailed various prescriptions needed for patients with different illnesses, how the poor should use medicine effectively, and how the wealthy should use medicine effectively, even listing medications according to patients’ statuses—while prescriptions for the poor were inexpensive and easy to obtain and focused on everyday conditioning, those for the wealthy did not consider the cost and were quite orthodox…

The deeper Gu Changsheng read, the more somber her expression became. She encapsulated the essence of Chinese medicine over five thousand years and, having extensively read medical classics, could instantly recognize the value of this book.

It was the life’s work of a great doctor, containing his heart for saving the world and all his knowledge about practicing medicine gathered throughout his life.

Suddenly, Gu Changsheng felt an unprecedented heaviness in her heart. In her era, Chinese Western Medicine Universities were commonplace, and yet, there were still revered physicians holding divine skills who would not share them with others, like her school.

Yet, this body’s grandfather had made her realize anew what it means to follow The Great Healer’s Way.

Although she saw imperfections in these prescriptions, in her time, they still formed the foundation for a doctor’s life and career. And that unknown writer had laid it all out before the world.

Tears began to obscure her vision; she too was a doctor, she too had a heart inclined towards saving lives, but she had never thought beyond that…

Unable to continue, Gu Changsheng closed the book abruptly; the last page, with its visibly fading script, caught her eye: Gu Chengyi knew his life was not long, lamenting that his life’s narrative was still incomplete. Yet, fortunate it is that future generations will continue to perfect what I have started.

The moisture gathering in Gu Changsheng’s eyes suddenly broke free…