The Stories of Mine in the Ming Dynasty of China in 1368

Early in the morning, in the Qianqing Palace.

It was as bustling as ever. The princes and imperial grandchildren still regarded him as a plague god when they saw him, but this time, none of them flinched.

There was a reason for this. Both Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were present.

"Your humble servant pays respects to Your Majesty, Her Majesty the Empress, and His Highness the Crown Prince…"

"All right." Zhu Yuanzhang interrupted his salutation. "Skip these formalities and hurry up to treat the Empress."

"Your servant obeys." Li Qing stood up accordingly and said to Zhu Yuanzhang, "Your Majesty, acupuncture treatment allows no room for the slightest mistake…"

Zhu Yuanzhang understood and waved his hand. "All of you, step back!"

"Your son (grandson) takes his leave."

The princes, imperial grandchildren, and the little palace maids who served the Empress all withdrew. Only Zhu Yuanzhang and his son were left in the palace.

Li Qing took out slender silver needles of different lengths from a wooden box, then took out a three - inch - high jade bottle and put the needles into it.

Zhu Biao asked, "Is this for disinfection?"

"Yes."

"Isn't it usually disinfected by roasting?" Zhu Biao was surprised. Although he didn't know much about medicine, he knew such common sense.

Li Qing explained, "Fire can disinfect, but it has too much of a smoky smell, and the effect is not as good as mine."

This was highly - distilled liquor that he had repeatedly distilled, with an alcohol content not much lower than that of alcohol.

After waiting quietly for about a quarter of an hour, Li Qing took out the silver needles, placed them on a clean cotton cloth, and then carried the tray to the bedside of Empress Ma.

He reminded, "Your Majesty, the first few needles will cause pain."

"All right." Empress Ma nodded, calm and composed. Instead, she comforted him, "Don't be nervous."

Li Qing nodded, took a deep breath, and said, "Your Majesty, I'm about to start!"

With that, he circulated the true qi in his body, bringing his spirit, energy, and vitality to the best state. A half - chi - long silver needle was suddenly in his hand, and he stabbed it down abruptly.

Zhu Yuanzhang and his son's hearts immediately rose to their throats. The little half - chi - long silver needle had actually penetrated one - third, which was really terrifying.

Li Qing's needle was fast and ruthless, precisely stabbing at the Guanyuan acupoint, which was located four fingers below the umbilicus of the human body. It was an important acupoint on the Conception Vessel for strengthening the whole body. Stimulating it with acupuncture could enhance the functions of the internal organs and improve the body's immunity.

However, it also carried risks. It had to be extremely fast, and at the same time, the position and depth had to be grasped with the utmost precision. The slightest mistake could lead to disastrous consequences.

Precisely because of this, the imperial physicians didn't dare to perform acupuncture easily. A slight tremble of the hand could cost the Empress her life. Moreover, since the Empress was a woman and couldn't undress, it greatly increased the difficulty of acupuncture.

Even if the imperial physicians had superb acupuncture skills, they didn't have the psychological quality for it.

A trace of pain appeared on Empress Ma's face, but her body didn't move at all. She looked at Li Qing encouragingly, indicating that he should continue.

Li Qing let out a sigh of relief, picked up the silver needle, and stabbed it again. It was also below the umbilicus, very close to the first needle. This time, it was the Qihai acupoint.

The Qihai acupoint is where the body's original qi is stored. Stimulating it with acupuncture can strengthen the original qi. At the same time, it can also greatly improve the blood circulation in the pelvic cavity.

Li Qing's spirit was highly concentrated, and his fingers didn't stop. As soon as the second needle was inserted, he immediately inserted the third needle, at the Zhongwan acupoint!

It is located four inches above the umbilicus, in the middle part of the stomach. It has the effects of warming the stomach, strengthening the spleen, and replenishing qi.

Li Qing, with a solemn expression, continued with the acupuncture.

The Quchi acupoint can activate the meridians and regulate qi and blood.

The Zusanli acupoint can promote digestion in the stomach and intestines and relieve neurasthenia.

The Neiguan acupoint can regulate the flow of qi and calm the mind.

...

After nine needles, Li Qing let out a long sigh of relief and completely relaxed. Although not much of his true qi was consumed, his mind was severely exhausted.

"Your Highness, please go and check how the medicine is being decocted," Li Qing said. "Half an hour later, Her Majesty needs to take the medicine."

"I'll go right away." Zhu Biao nodded and left in a hurry.

Zhu Yuanzhang quickly stepped forward. "Dear, how are you feeling?"

"I feel warm all over and very relaxed."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face lit up with joy. Just as he was about to ask more, Li Qing interrupted him directly. "Your Majesty, please be patient. Her Majesty is not suitable to talk now."

Zhu Yuanzhang rubbed his nose and shut his mouth awkwardly.

Li Qing adjusted his breath and gently twirled the silver needles to stimulate the acupoints.

Half an hour later, the silver needles were pulled out one by one, and the decocted medicine was brought in time. After Empress Ma took the medicine, her spirit and vitality improved significantly.

Zhu Yuanzhang and his son watched as Empress Ma's condition improved at a visible speed, almost becoming the same as that of a normal person. Their faces were filled with shock.

Some time ago, they had almost made the worst - case scenario plans. They thought there was no way to save her, but they didn't expect Li Qing's medical skills to be so superb that he could actually bring her back to life.

This made the two of them extremely happy.

Zhu Biao was about to give rewards, but was interrupted by a glance from Zhu Yuanzhang. He whispered, "The rewards for him won't be lacking, but it has to be after your mother is completely recovered. Rewarding him now will reduce his enthusiasm. What one can't get is the best."

Zhu Yuanzhang cleared his throat and started to make promises. "Li Qing, when the Empress recovers, I'll confer a marquis title on you."

"This is just my duty as a subject," Li Qing said modestly, with a pleasantly surprised look on his face. "I will surely do my best."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled with satisfaction and glanced at Zhu Biao, as if to say, "Son, learn this. This is the way to control people."

If these words were said to someone else, they would be quite effective, but Li Qing just wanted to live a happy life and wasn't enthusiastic about glory and wealth.

After dealing with Zhu Yuanzhang, Li Qing turned around and asked, "Your Majesty, do you feel any discomfort?"

Empress Ma gently shook her head. "I feel warm all over, and there's a warm current flowing slowly in my body. The palpitations I often had before have also been greatly reduced."

"That's good." The tense nerves of Li Qing relaxed. Fortunately, nothing had gone wrong.

He smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you'd better not get out of bed in the morning. Have some rice porridge and green vegetables for lunch. Avoid spicy and greasy food in your diet. In the afternoon, you can go out for some fresh air.

Oh, keep the doors and windows open often to let the air circulate. Don't burn incense in the bedroom anymore. It's not good for your health."

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately said, "Somebody, remove the incense burner and open the windows."

The palace maids and eunuchs waiting outside the hall immediately came in, opened the windows, and moved the incense burner.

Li Qing put away the silver needles, wiped them clean, put them back into the wooden box, saluted, and then left the Empress's bedroom.

Empress Ma watched Li Qing's receding figure and said softly, "Chongba, if it weren't for him, I'm afraid we would be separated by life and death by now. My health really isn't good. If there's any accident in the future, don't blame him."

"Don't say such unlucky things. Your health is getting better, and everything will be fine," Zhu Yuanzhang said, stroking her hair. "You can't leave me behind."

Empress Ma nodded with a smile. "Then you have to promise me."

"All right, I promise," Zhu Yuanzhang assured. "No matter what happens in the future, I won't kill him."

"The emperor's words are as good as gold. You can't go back on your word."

"Don't worry, don't worry."

Hearing her husband's perfunctory words, Empress Ma couldn't help but sigh inwardly. She knew her husband's character all too well. If he really wanted to kill someone, even an iron certificate of immunity from death couldn't stop him, let alone a verbal agreement.

...

The Zhenfu Division.

As soon as Li Qing arrived, Liu Qiang brought good news.

"Sir, we've found a residence. I'm sure you'll be satisfied."

"Oh? Where is it?"

"It's in the north of the city, less than five li from the yamen and about seven li from the palace gate." Liu Qiang raised his eyebrows and grinned wickedly. "It's only two li from the Zuixian Tower. Even better, it's right next to the Jiaofangsi, only three hundred meters away."

"嗯, very good," Li Qing said delightedly, then added, "Not far from the imperial palace and the yamen. You've put in a lot of thought."

Liu Qiang nodded with a smile and didn't expose the real reason. "Sir, do you want to go and take a look?"

"Sure."

Li Qing took three or five subordinates and headed to the north of the city.

The residence covered an area of about half an acre. Compared with the mansions in the capital that often occupied several mu of land, it was indeed not large, but the house was quite new. It seemed to have been built only two or three years ago.

There was a wing room on each side, with a main hall in the middle. In front of the east wing room was a kitchen...

Liu Qiang said, "It's a bit small, but it has a good location, and the house is new. The original owner has moved to a new home, and it only costs 280 taels."

"It's not small," Li Qing said, quite satisfied. Compared with the houses in later generations, this single - family courtyard covering half an acre was already very large.

"Where's the original owner?"

"He's nearby," Liu Qiang replied. "Sir, please wait a moment. I'll go and get him."

Li Qing nodded and looked around his future new home. There were four rooms and a fairly large yard. A one - meter - wide stone path ran through the middle, and fruit trees were planted by the courtyard wall.

Pomegranates and persimmons were hanging all over the trees. They weren't ripe yet. He didn't know if they were delicious, but they looked pleasing.

Li Qing was quite pleased. After traveling through time for ten years, he finally bought a house, and it was in the capital.

What was more important was that the land for building the house was also included in the purchase. It was really a good deal.

"I don't know where the old man has gone. Otherwise, I could bring him here to enjoy a peaceful life," Li Qing muttered to himself. "Really, he's over a hundred years old, but still loves to wander around."