I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 534 Recovering from a Serious Illness

Chapter 534 Recovering from a Serious Illness

The doctor who treated Wang Wenzhou was named Chen Zhengwei.

Chen Zhengwei is forty-eight years old this year, but he looks like an eighty-four-year-old man with silver hair and a white beard.

Chen Zhengwei's appearance is entirely due to his excellent makeup skills; he is actually a fraud.

Chen Zhengwei came to treat Wang Wenzhou, of course, for the money. The owner of the house offered him a Hanshan grain coupon worth 1,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain. Hanshan grain coupons were currently in high demand; even with money, one couldn't necessarily buy them, because with the coupons, one could exchange them for grain at Hanshan grain shops throughout the country.

Chen Zhengwei assumed the patient was one of the master's wives or concubines; after all, why would a man allow the doctor to take his pulse through a suspended thread? Although taking a pulse through a suspended thread isn't difficult for a skilled doctor, it's still not as accurate as taking a pulse face-to-face.

Chen Zhengwei actually knew a little about medicine, but he didn't know the special skill of diagnosing pulse by hanging a thread.

Chen Zhengwei pretended to be taking pulses by pinching the silk thread, shaking his head as if he were taking someone's pulse. In fact, he was carefully observing the family. He noticed that everyone in the family, from the male head of the household to the servants, was dressed very luxuriously, with the servants all wearing gold and silver.

However, the house was quite ordinary, and not even in a good location in the capital.

Scammers, especially seasoned con artists like Chen Zhengwei who have been in the business for many years and are rarely beaten, are all meticulous and good at analysis. If they changed their profession, they could definitely be excellent actors or detectives.

Chen Zhengwei analyzed that the master of this house must be a prominent figure in the capital, and the patient in bed was probably his mistress. He could tell that Wang Chengen was quite concerned about the patient's condition and eager to cure her.

A man only cares this much about his woman. Little did Chen Zhengwei know, Wang Chengen wasn't a man at all.

Chen Zhengwei put down the silk thread in his hand, stroked his beard, and said softly, "Judging from his pulse, the patient is weak and has been bedridden for a long time. I wonder if any doctor has prescribed any medicine for the patient before? Could you please bring it to me for a look?"

Wang Chengen nodded. It seemed this doctor was promising. He quickly instructed someone to take several prescriptions and hand them to Chen Zhengwei.

Chen Zhengwei looked down and saw that this was indeed a wealthy and noble family. The prescriptions were all tonics, including ancient mountain deities, bird's nest, and shark fin.

After thinking about it, Chen Zhengwei figured it was probably a postpartum ailment the patient had developed, otherwise he wouldn't have prescribed so many tonics.

Chen Zhengwei never imagined that these prescriptions were actually written by the imperial physicians. In the imperial physicians' view, Wang Wenzhou had already taken the antidote after being poisoned, but the patient was still unconscious. They dared not prescribe other medicines, only tonics, since they knew they wouldn't kill him.

“Although the patient is weak and needs tonics, too much of a good thing can be bad. Such tonics make the patient’s yang energy too strong, which worsens the illness and is why the patient is unconscious.” Chen Zhengwei knew that Wang Wenzhou was unconscious, and he guessed correctly. Because for so long, he did not hear the patient on the bed turn over or say a word, and the patient’s breathing rate was the same.

"Doctor, what do you think we should do?" Wang Chengen was increasingly convinced that this doctor was capable. Compared to the dozen or so quack doctors he had killed, this doctor's medical skills were superb. He could diagnose that Lord Wang was unconscious just by looking at his pulse.

If Chen Zhengwei knew about this, he wouldn't have dared to come and scam people, no matter how high the reward was.

Chen Zhengwei thought for a moment and said, "I can't guarantee how long it will take for the patient to wake up. I estimate that after taking a few doses of my medicine and following my medical advice to prepare the patient's diet, the patient should wake up in three to five days."

Wang Chengen quickly cupped his hands and said, "Then I'll trouble you, doctor, to prescribe a medicine. I... I'll immediately instruct my servants to fetch the medicine."

Chen Zhengwei nodded, picked up a brush, wrote down a prescription, handed it to Wang Chengen, and instructed Wang Chengen to feed Wang Wenzhou more liquid foods such as meat broth.

After giving his instructions, Chen Zhengwei cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and said with a smile, "This old man is about to take his leave. What about the consultation fee?"

Wang Chengen's expression changed. "Lord Wang hasn't even woken up yet, and you already want payment for your consultation? If Lord Wang wakes up, forget about payment, the Emperor might even appoint you as a royal physician. If Lord Wang doesn't wake up, I won't wait for the Emperor's orders; I'll kill you right now."

"Someone, take Mr. Chen to rest." Wang Chengen waved his hand, and two agents from the Eastern Depot rushed forward and pulled Chen Zhengwei away.

"Hey...hey...sir, this is no way to treat a doctor! Why won't you let me leave?" Chen Zhengwei suddenly felt that this business deal might go wrong.

The guard scolded, "Shut up! If Lord Wang wakes up, you'll be a great hero. If he doesn't, your head will probably be gone."

"Ah..." Chen Zhengwei's expression changed, and he asked in confusion, "Brother, which Lord Wang is this?"

"Hmph!" The guard snorted coldly and said irritably, "Don't ask so many questions. Just pray for your own good fortune and hope that Lord Wang will wake up soon."

Perhaps it was fate, but this old swindler prescribed a medicine that made Wang Wenzhou wake up that very night after taking it.

"Lord Wang! You're finally awake!" Wang Chengen was so excited when he saw Wang Wenzhou wake up that tears streamed down his face.

"My baby!" Wang Wenzhou cried out as he spoke of his Liu Hanxue.

"Go quickly to the palace and report to the Emperor that Lord Wang has woken up!" Wang Chengen hurriedly ordered.

"Yes!" The messenger accepted the order and left.

Wang Wenzhou looked at Wang Chengen and asked weakly, "Old Wang, tell me the truth, who exactly wants to kill me?"

"Lord Wang, don't worry. You've just woken up and must be starving. I'll have someone prepare dinner for you right away." Wang Chengen didn't know who was behind this, but all the signs made it clear that someone from the palace was behind it.

This presented a difficult situation. In Wang Chengen's view, it was highly likely that Zhu Youjian intended to poison Wang Wenzhou to end the matter once and for all. However, after Wang Wenzhou was poisoned, his wives and concubines immediately launched an attack under the pretext of "purging the court of corrupt officials." Zhu Youjian then changed his mind and wanted Wang Wenzhou to live.

"Go to hell! Is it Zhu Youjian who wants to kill me? Besides him, besides you, who else can order my baby around?" Wang Wenzhou asked sternly.

As a subject, Wang Wenzhou's words were tantamount to veiled criticism, yet Wang Chengen dared not punish him. Based on his understanding of Zhu Youjian, he knew that even if Wang Wenzhou had said such things to Zhu Youjian, Zhu Youjian would not have punished him now.

Wang Chengen quickly replied, "Lord Wang, the Eastern Depot is already investigating this case, but they haven't found any leads yet."

"Draft it!" Wang Wenzhou cursed.

"Boxin! Boxin, you're finally awake!" At this moment, Zhu Youjian rushed over.

Wang Wenzhou looked up at Zhu Youjian and said irritably, "Brother Zhu, you're so happy that I'm not dead. Would you be even happier if I were dead?"

Zhu Youjian frowned deeply. "Boxin! How could I possibly want you dead?"