Coroner's Diary Episode 22 Recap
> Coroner's Diary Recap
As the new year began, ministers urged the Emperor to prioritize the nation, especially since the Empress Dowager's condition remained critical. Yan Chi advised the Emperor to first visit his mother at Funing Palace, arguing that the people would understand his filial devotion. Within the palace, Princess Zhen brought up the "medical fairy" who had cured the Grand Princess, suggesting she could help the Empress Dowager. Qin Zhaoyu quickly dismissed this as local gossip.
However, Qin Wan, the ninth young lady of the Qin family, stepped forward and confirmed she had treated the Grand Princess, offering to try her best to heal the Empress Dowager. The Emperor, desperate, questioned her willingness to "just try." Qin Wan clarified that without a prior examination, no doctor could promise success, leaving the decision to him.
Despite an imperial physician accusing Qin Wan of being calculating, the Emperor, concerned for his mother, immediately sent the Empress and the Crown Prince to Zhenghua Gate while he personally escorted Qin Wan to Funing Palace. Upon arriving at Funing Palace, Qin Wan examined the Empress Dowager and diagnosed her condition as "wind evil invading the brain," noting specific symptoms that confirmed her diagnosis.
She stated that the first hour after onset was crucial for treating wind symptoms and that there were only three-quarters of an hour left. Trusting her, the Emperor allowed Qin Wan to proceed. After reviewing the previous prescription, Qin Wan suggested adding two specific herbs, Tianlong and Dilong, to improve blood circulation, despite the imperial physicians' concerns about their toxicity and the Empress Dowager's weakened state.
Qin Wan asserted that saving a life was paramount and cautioned against forcing the decoction before the Empress Dowager regained consciousness. When the Emperor became angry with the imperial physicians for their previous attempts at forced feeding, Qin Wan defended them, explaining their methods were sound but overly cautious. Softened by her plea, the Emperor relented and asked if she could save his mother. Qin Wan promised to treat the Empress Dowager as her own kin.
The Emperor then departed for Zhenghua Gate, leaving Yan Chi to guard the Empress Dowager's chambers while Qin Wan, using the Golden Needle's complex acupuncture techniques, began her work. After a tense wait, the Emperor returned. Qin Wan informed him that the Empress Dowager had stabilized and would fully recover after two more doses of a life-sustaining decoction. With the Empress Dowager out of immediate danger, the Emperor, pleased by Qin Wan's success, decided she should oversee her long-term recovery.
He initially instructed that Qin Wan be lodged in the palace, but Yan Chi intervened, explaining that Qin Wan, having grown up in Medicine King Valley, was unaccustomed to strict palace rules. Understanding, the Emperor instead granted Qin Wan a jade token for free access to the palace to attend to the Empress Dowager. On their way out, Yan Chi escorted her home.
Qin Wan confessed her fear of being confined, which would prevent her from investigating her father's case, and apologized for her earlier boldness with the Emperor. Yan Chi, in turn, told her to leave dangerous matters to him. As a thank you for saving his beloved grandmother, Yan Chi presented Qin Wan with a jade pendant, a token of affection his own parents had exchanged, engraved with the words "Guard Your Heart," symbolizing his promise to protect her.
He then warned her against getting entangled in the power struggles between Noble Consort Su and the Empress. Qin Wan suggested that by taking on cases as a coroner, she could gain the Emperor's attention, secure a unique identity, and deter unwanted attention from nobles. Meanwhile, the Empress, Princess Zhen, and the Crown Prince returned to their quarters. Princess Zhen teased the distracted Crown Prince, suggesting he was taken with both Qin Wan and Qin Zhaoyu.
The Empress acknowledged Qin Wan's talents but stressed that her distant familial ties meant she could not offer significant political support and could only be a secondary consort. She explained to the Crown Prince that delaying Qin Zhaoyu's appointment as Crown Princess would make her treasure the position more and remain easier to control, lamenting his lack of strategic acumen compared to Yan Chi. Later, news of the Emperor and Empress showering Qin Wan with rewards reached the Qin family.
Qin Xiang reacted with bitter jealousy, earning a punishment from her mother. Qin Zhaoyu suggested it was time to arrange her sister's marriage to prevent future trouble. Despite the rewards, their mother, Feng-shi, expressed concern to the Marquis of Zhongyong that the Empress might reconsider Qin Zhaoyu's position, but the Marquis reassured her. As Qin Wan prepared to return to the palace, she overheard Feng-shi and Qin Zhaoyu.
Feng-shi, still wary of Qin Wan, mentioned expediting a marriage between her and Yan Chi. She then revealed a dark rumor: that Yan Chi's mother, the previous Princess Consort Rui, was poisoned by Prince Rui himself because Yan Chi was not his biological son, which is why the Prince abandoned his infant son for Shuoxi. Hearing this, Qin Wan recalled the jade pendant and Yan Chi's words about it being his parents' token of love.
Finding the rumor absurd but dangerous, she resolved that it was now her turn to protect Yan Chi. With the Empress Dowager's condition stable, a grand palace banquet was held for foreign envoys, and Qin Wan was invited to sit with Princess Zhen and Yue Ning. The noble ladies who previously shunned her now fawned over her.
During the festivities, Crown Prince Yuan Hong of Beidai presented Princess Zhen with a magnificent "pigeon blood ruby," while the Third Prince Liu Bin of Xihan gifted her a highly intelligent "snow fox," which delighted her. The Emperor then announced an archery contest to be held in ten days, appointing Yan Chi to accompany the foreign princes. Immediately, Princess Yuanwu of Beidai declared that if she won the contest, her prize would be to have Young Commander Yan Chi as her consort.
