Chapter 26: Recruiting imperial physicians? Perfect! Tear down the imperial notice.

"Stepmother—no!"

The moment the main room door was about to be pushed open, the expressions of Wu Wei, the butler, and the others changed drastically.

Just then, the door was suddenly pulled open from the inside. Yun Qing’s face appeared before them. Taken by surprise and unable to stop her momentum, Madam Wu lunged directly into the room. Yun Qing stepped aside, dodging her. Without Yun Qing there to catch her, Madam Wu sprawled onto the floor, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

A maid hurriedly stepped forward to help her up. As soon as Madam Wu opened her mouth to wail, everyone realized that two of her front teeth had been knocked out. This only made her cry even more heart-wrenchingly.

Wu Wei approached Yun Qing, first apologizing, then pleading, "Young Master Yun Qing, my stepmother, she..."

"No," Yun Qing refused flatly and decisively.

Wu Wei tried to persuade him further, "But just..."

Yun Qing’s face darkened completely, and he spoke with icy coldness, "That person did not instruct me to treat your stepmother’s injuries as well."

Yun Qing’s tone carried a hint of threat. Wu Wei knew that the person Yun Qing referred to was Ji Hangui, the First Prince of the Beiji Kingdom. The fact that he was acting on behalf of his foster father to defect to the First Prince was a top-secret matter within the Wu estate. Even his stepmother and foster brother were kept in the dark. Yun Qing was issuing him a warning.

"It was my offense. Please forgive me, Young Master Yun Qing."

Wu Wei dared not ask further and quickly inquired about Wu Shanggui’s condition: "How is my foster father currently?"

"Everything is proceeding smoothly."

After saying this, Yun Qing cast a cold glance at Madam Wu and added, "However, it was nearly ruined by someone’s interference. Your foster father was almost left permanently paralyzed."

Upon hearing this, Madam Wu immediately stopped her wailing, sitting on the chair in a dazed, stunned silence. She knew exactly where she stood in her husband’s heart. If he woke up and discovered she had nearly caused his lifelong paralysis, he would never let her off. At that moment, Madam Wu was as silent as a mute, her earlier arrogance completely vanished.

Yun Qing gave Wu Wei three medicinal pills, instructed him to feed one to Wu Shanggui daily, and then left the courtyard, returning to his own quarters. If it weren't for the fact that Wu Shanggui still needed time to recover, he wouldn't have spent even a quarter of an hour longer in this Wu estate.

Especially with people like the treacherous, petty Wu Shanggui and the shrewish Madam Wu, Yun Qing felt his body, mind, and soul were being polluted by every extra moment he stayed in the Wu estate.

...

Ten days passed. Wu Shanggui’s bones had finally mended. He was already able to get out of bed and walk, though not for long periods. Wu Wei brought a heavy reward to Yun Qing’s courtyard. Originally, he had assumed that a master of Yun Qing's stature would disdain such worldly wealth and worried that offering gold and silver might offend him. However, Yun Qing had no interest in the other treasures available in the Wu estate. Unable to think of any other way to show his gratitude, Wu Wei ultimately presented the gold and silver he had prepared. To his surprise, Yun Qing accepted it all.

Wu Wei looked astonished, but seeing Yun Qing’s gaze sweep over, he immediately lowered his head and took his leave to avoid giving anything away.

Once the door was closed, Yun Qing broke into a wide smile. "With this gold and silver, I finally have the capital to travel the world. I won't be returning to the sect for the time being. After cultivating on the mountain for so many years, I've never really gone out to enjoy myself. Where should the first stop be?"

"In the past few days, I seem to have heard the Wu family mention... that the deposed emperor of the former Dazhao Kingdom has founded a new nation. It sounds rather interesting, doesn't it? The Southern Barbarian lands?"

Perhaps he would take a trip there. In any case, Wu Shanggui was no longer in danger; as long as he followed the rehabilitation plan, he would be fully recovered in three months. Staying in the Wu estate was simply too stifling.

The next day, Yun Qing left a note and some remaining pills, then departed from the Wu estate. He inquired about the direction of the Southern Barbarian lands and set off toward the new nation.

...

Meanwhile, in the Datan Kingdom of the Southern Barbarian lands, the imperial court system had begun to function following the recent imperial examination, which had yielded three renowned officials and a group of successful scholars. With Fang Xuanling in the Ministry of Personnel, the Emperor, Li Muchen, hardly needed to worry about the trivialities of the department. He only needed to approve the appointments Fang Xuanling selected, sign the documents, and seal them with the Imperial Jade Seal.

Di Renjie, of the Ministry of Justice, had already drafted a portion of the Datan Kingdom’s laws. Three days ago, these laws were disseminated to all walks of life by officials at various levels. Datan was currently small, with a population of only a little over a thousand, so the decrees reached every subject within a few days. The civil order of Datan was now maintained easily by the officials and bailiffs of the Ministry of Justice.

As for Wang Anshi of the Ministry of Revenue, he proved himself a true master of reform. Especially regarding economic reform, Wang Anshi proposed many new policies that left Li Muchen astonished. Following Wang Anshi's economic decrees, their nascent nation, which had been in ruins, would soon see its economy begin to sprout. Because the handicrafts under the Ministry of Works were crucial to economic development, Li Muchen also appointed Wang Anshi to concurrently serve as the Minister of Works until a suitable candidate could be found. To lighten Wang Anshi's load, Li Muchen appointed two scholars who excelled in craftsmanship as Vice Ministers in the Ministry of Works, based on Fang Xuanling’s recommendations.

As for the Minister of War, Li Muchen had not yet found a suitable candidate. Although the military force of Datan was small, it was best not to have other ministers hold the post concurrently, as it posed a security threat. After all, the renowned officials were not his loyal NPC secret guards.

Wait, that was it! He could have one of his own secret guards concurrently serve as the Minister of War for the time being. With this idea, Li Muchen immediately wrote an imperial decree and sent a eunuch to the Ministry of War to issue it.

With everything completed, the entire administrative system of Li Muchen’s Datan Kingdom was truly running smoothly. The next step was to await the next imperial examination or the emergence of more renowned officials. He intended to implement the Three Departments and Six Ministries system of the Tang Dynasty. But before that... Li Muchen felt that he needed to design the Imperial Hospital within the palace. He ordered imperial notices posted at the city gates, recruiting skilled physicians.

...

Three days later, a young gentleman from out of town arrived at the gates of Datan. Seeing the imperial notice posted on the gate, the young man’s lips curled into a smile: "Recruiting imperial physicians?"

With that, he tore the notice from the wall, clutched it in his hand, and walked toward the imperial palace.