Chapter 10: Ancient Meets Modern
Silence.
Silence.
Even though the area was packed with people, the air seemed to have frozen solid.
The retainers in Crown Prince Jiao’s residence were famous throughout the entire capital. How could they possibly be ordinary people?
Moreover, human strength had its limits. No matter how capable one person was, it was impossible for him to be proficient in everything.
After the silence came an uproar. The commotion was so loud that even commoners several streets away could not help craning their necks to look.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on that strange, enchanting flash of red.
“Impossible.”
“Crown Prince Jiao’s retainers each have their own specialties. How could one person possibly beat them all?”
“That’s nothing but fantasy.”
He was too arrogant, but for some reason, there was also a feeling of blood boiling in their hearts, as if they themselves were about to face the hundred retainers in Crown Prince Jiao’s residence.
Of course, there were even more rebukes.
“Arrogant and conceited. Grandstanding.”
In their eyes, saying something impossible out loud just to gain fame was simply inviting humiliation.
Chen Bai acted as if he had heard none of it. What did these rebukes count for? Had he heard so few accusations and insults uglier than these?
The scene was becoming somewhat uncontrollable. At that moment, a refined voice rang out.
“Since this is a competition, how about letting this old man serve as a witness?”
A group of people came in from outside, and there were quite a lot of them.
The one who spoke was seated in a carriage. He was an elderly man in Confucian robes, lifting the curtain as he stepped down.
When Qi Zheng and Crown Prince Jiao saw the old man, their expressions tightened. They gave him a salute. “It would be our honor to have Duke Shang preside over this.”
Chen Bai’s eyes also narrowed.
He knew this old man. Or rather, very few people in the capital did not know him.
It was him—Shang Wangshu, Duke Shang, one of the Three Dukes of Great Qian.
Great Qian had Three Dukes and Nine Ministers. The Nine Ministers changed somewhat every few years, but the Three Dukes had not changed in twenty years.
He was a true iron-clad, powerful minister. Even the king respected him greatly.
Do not be fooled by Shang Wangshu’s refined scholarly attire. Great Qian’s strict laws had been reformed successfully under this man’s leadership, through storms of blood and terror.
One could imagine what kind of iron-blooded methods were hidden beneath this seemingly ordinary, elegant appearance.
Chen Bai frowned slightly. This was only a small matter between Qi Zheng’s residence and Crown Prince Jiao’s residence. Why would it alarm Duke Shang?
In the eyes of someone like him, what they were doing right now was nothing more than children playing around. It should not even have entered his sight.
The surrounding crowd also looked at one another, probably thinking the same thing Chen Bai was.
“Since the second prince and Crown Prince Jiao have both agreed to let this old man serve as witness, then this old man will not decline.”
“Since this is a competition, the questions must naturally be fair. If the two residences each set their own questions, I fear the loser may not be convinced. Why not allow this old man to set the questions? I believe both Your Highnesses should trust that this old man will show no bias.”
Qi Zheng and Crown Prince Jiao cupped their hands. “We would not dare suspect you.”
Their faces clearly carried confusion as well. They truly could not figure out why Duke Shang had such leisure today, to actually get involved in this improper competition.
Shang Wangshu smiled and stroked his beard. “Since that is so, this old man shall set the first question.”
The surrounding people were still rather dazed. In their eyes, this competition already seemed somewhat improper, yet Duke Shang was personally presiding over it. This… this…
At that moment, the smile on Shang Wangshu’s face disappeared. He suddenly became solemn.
“Bring up the people behind us. Hand them all over to the second prince and Crown Prince Jiao.”
“These people are patients among the refugees gathered outside the city. They fell ill after accidentally drinking dirty water. Each of you will take half. Whoever cures more of them shall win.”
This was simply outrageous. Outside the city, starving refugees were everywhere, with nowhere to settle. All kinds of problems were piling up, yet these two princes still had the mood to compete and fight for pride here.
These people were only a portion of those who had fallen ill. The others had already been sent to medicine shops. There were only so many medicine shops in the capital, and the rest truly had nowhere to be placed.
Aside from the doctors in those shops, the only ones left were the private physicians of the various noble households.
These private physicians were highly skilled, but each had all the precious airs of nobility. They would treat no one who was not noble.
He had just been worrying over how to make the various households provide some of their private physicians when he happened upon this competition between Qi Zheng and Crown Prince Jiao’s retainers.
Was there not a famous physician named Hua Yong in Crown Prince Jiao’s residence? He had heard that his medical skills were no lower than those of the imperial physicians. He could be borrowed for use.
Duke Shang’s sudden change in expression stunned everyone.
Only then did the crowd discover that behind Duke Shang’s group, there was also a group of ragged refugees, about thirty or so people.
Their faces were deathly pale, and they were thin as sticks. Because their living conditions were harsh, their bodies were filthy and foul-smelling.
These patients supported one another, heads lowered. It seemed they feared others’ disgust and did not dare meet anyone’s eyes.
Chen Bai: “…”
He had gone outside the city and seen refugees before, but because he had not gone to the places where they lived, he had only seen them in twos and threes. He had not expected the situation to have already reached this point.
As the thirty-something people walked forward and split into two groups, the people around them could not help taking several steps back. Some even covered their noses and mouths.
The refugees buried their heads even lower. In truth, they were already no different from beggars.
In ancient times, human life was cheap. If a noble household beat a servant to death, they only had to pay some money and the matter could be settled, let alone these refugees, who were worth even less than servants.
But Chen Bai had not been educated that way.
Human life was the most precious thing in the world. Everyone deserved to respect others and to be respected.
When he saw these refugees, something in Chen Bai’s heart was struck hard.
An immense sorrow surged up within him. It was the sorrow of this era, the first fierce collision between the ideas of different eras.
Ancient productivity was low. People starving to death was common, and there were even tragedies one could hardly imagine. He knew this, but he had never expected to witness it with his own eyes.
Duke Shang had originally wanted to scold Qi Zheng and Crown Prince Jiao, but after seeing the patients, he sighed.
“Begin.”
When Crown Prince Jiao heard the topic, a trace of mockery appeared at the corner of his mouth. It was actually a contest of medical skill. He was certain to win.
He waved at a middle-aged man accompanying him. “Cure them.”
This middle-aged man was Hua Yong, a retainer in his residence. His medical skills were extraordinary. He had just so happened to bring him along today.
Hua Yong frowned slightly as he glanced at the group of refugees assigned to him. They were actually asking him to treat a group of lowly refugees. If word got out, it would truly damage his status. But this was a competition between the crown prince’s residence and the second prince’s residence. They could not lose.
While Hua Yong was frowning, Qi Zheng was also looking at Chen Bai.
Yet he saw that Chen Bai did not seem to hesitate at all. He simply walked up to the group of patients assigned to his side.
The refugees were extremely restrained and even took a step back awkwardly.
Chen Bai merely said calmly, “It’s all right. You are the same as everyone else. You are all subjects of Great Qian.”
A simple sentence made the refugees lift their heads in surprise. Their eyes were filled with something indescribable. Was there still someone who acknowledged them as subjects of Great Qian? They were not only useless, but a burden.
“Life may be difficult, but you will get through it. What you need to do now is tell me the symptoms you are experiencing.”
Sometimes, patients needed comfort of the heart even more. At least, Chen Bai felt that these people needed it.
His voice was very even, and one could hardly hear any emotion in it.
For some reason, the eyes around them all turned toward Chen Bai. That strange red figure seemed to possess something that drew people in, though he was clearly only asking the patients about their condition.
That feeling was very strange. They could not put it into words, but they always felt there was something different.
This person was far too different from the arrogant man just now.
Qi Zheng was also watching Chen Bai intently. Were demons all like this? They did not seem as bad as the storybooks claimed.
Even Shang Wangshu could not help glancing at Chen Bai. He had originally only intended to borrow the private physician from Crown Prince Jiao’s residence. As for who won or lost, or even who took part in the competition, he did not care at all.
Shang Wangshu looked again at the hesitant middle-aged man beside Crown Prince Jiao. He roughly understood where that abrupt feeling in his heart came from.
He muttered, “Where did Prince Zheng find such a strange person?”
At his age, he was very accurate at judging people. This was indeed a strange person.
Seeing that Chen Bai had already begun asking the patients about their condition, Crown Prince Jiao frowned at Hua Yong, displeasure in his expression.
Hua Yong gritted his teeth and could only step forward. What he was treating now was not a group of destitute refugees, but the face of the crown prince’s residence. The crown prince would never want to lose to anyone, much less in full view of the public.
What medical skills did Chen Bai have? Although he had started asking the patients one by one first, by the time Hua Yong had already written prescriptions and started boiling medicine, Chen Bai had only just finished asking.
However, he had more or less guessed the cause.
It was dysentery, caused by drinking dirty water.
In modern times, it was a minor illness that could be cured with a few doses of medicine. But under the medical conditions of ancient times, if the illness was serious, it could kill, especially for those who had no money to see a doctor. The mortality rate was extremely high.
Chen Bai walked directly into the sedan that had carried him here, took out his phone, and began buying medicine.
This sort of illness truly was minor in the modern era. Even when going to a pharmacy, one could simply take the medicine from the shelf and go pay for it.
Outside, a faint, almost imperceptible expression of victory appeared on Crown Prince Jiao’s face. Their side had already begun boiling medicine, and the medicinal aroma was drifting through the air. In particular, Hua Yong had just told him that he was using the fastest-acting prescription.
As for the retainer on Qi Zheng’s side, he had actually hidden inside the sedan. Did he think hiding would spare him from humiliation?
The crowd outside was also puzzled. Wasn’t this a competition? Why was there no movement?
Had he already admitted defeat?
As expected, he was only a clown grandstanding for attention.
While people were thinking this, inside the sedan, Chen Bai had finished buying the medicine and was tearing open the packaging himself, then matching the medicines according to the instructions.
Chinese medicine had always focused more on conditioning. It had miraculous effects on some illnesses, but in the current situation, its effects would be slow. Even just boiling the medicine would take one or two hours.
The people outside were also wondering. This was a competition, wasn’t it? Why had nothing happened?
Had he conceded?
As expected, he was merely a jumping clown seeking attention.
At that moment, Chen Bai extended his hand from inside the sedan. “The medicine is ready. Take it and have them swallow it with water.”
In his palm were granules of different colors, so pretty they did not look real.
But this was medicine?
