The Imperial Doctress Episode 17 Recap
> The Imperial Doctress Recap
Yunxian, having previously vowed to create medicine that was not bitter for the Empress Dowager, presented a fragrant sachet. The Empress Dowager found the scent refreshing, and Yunxian explained it contained various herbs like Rhizoma Atractylodes, Evodia rutaecarpa berries, mugwort, cinnamon, fructus amomi, angelica, mint, Biond's magnolia, and polygala root, capable of alleviating pain, reducing toxic heat, clearing eyesight and liver, and relieving depression. Impressed, the Empress Dowager instructed Yunxian to prepare new medicine.
Yunxian then requested to re-examine the Empress Dowager’s pulse, citing the earlier crowded conditions. Granted permission, she also insisted on checking the Empress Dowager’s neck, a request initially met with refusal but eventually allowed. Instead of traditional medicine, Yunxian returned with several "medicinal dishes." She explained that food and medicine shared the same source, and she believed the Empress Dowager's discomfort wasn't a severe illness, thus she aimed to help her relax through diet.
The Empress Dowager, who confessed she felt well but was told otherwise by others who wished to keep her from interfering in politics, thoroughly enjoyed the tangerine and Chinese eaglewood meatballs, fingered citron porridge, donkey hide gelatin and sea slug soup, and green permission cake. She praised Yunxian’s talent and found the dishes much more palatable than bitter medicine, rewarding her with golden melon seeds.
Yunxian, in turn, shared the reward with the palace maids, including Yu Xiang, as a thank you for Yu Xiang having previously informed her of Prince Cheng's residence in the palace, the North Five Places. Yu Xiang instructed Yunxian to call her by her name. Later, the Empress praised Yunxian's medicine, noting the Empress Dowager could now take an afternoon nap. When asked if the Empress Dowager was truly ill, Yunxian confessed she had intentionally downplayed the illness.
She explained that the Empress Dowager's strong personality and unwillingness to admit defeat would worsen her condition if she believed it was serious. By asserting it was merely discomfort, Yunxian aimed to calm her, then begin the true cure. Yunxian diagnosed the Empress Dowager with a goitre, characterized by profuse sweating and hand tremors, caused by stagnation of "qi" and coagulated phlegm due to anger.
The Empress, impressed by Yunxian's insight and the efficacy of her unique food therapies, requested Yunxian stay to nurse the Empress Dowager back to health. Yunxian, however, first sought to meet Physician Liu, which the Empress understood as concern for her reputation, revealing that Liu Pingan had already vouched for her.
The Empress promised to personally write a plaque for Yunxian’s medical clinic if she successfully cured the Empress Dowager, assuring her that her identity as a medicine woman and her initial deception would be forgiven due to her merits. When asked if she desired another reward, Yunxian attempted to request a visit to the North Five Places to see Prince Cheng. Yu Xiang subtly coughed, prompting Yunxian to quickly change her request to seeing an ancient agallocha tree there.
The Empress, unaware of Yunxian's true intention, informed her the tree was outside the Shenwu Gate. Afterward, Yu Xiang scolded Yunxian for attempting to inquire about Prince Cheng in front of the Empress.
Yu Xiang explained that such a request from an outsider concerning an imperial prince was highly inappropriate and could be misconstrued as an affair, and warned Yunxian that even the appearance of an inappropriate relationship, such as being an eunuch's partner, was a strict taboo in the palace.
Yu Xiang also revealed that the Empress Dowager stayed up late reading secret military reports due to her concern for the young Emperor and the Annam campaign, and despite her strict demeanor, she was a kind person who secretly pardoned many condemned criminals. Yunxian pondered why such a compassionate ruler did not spare her own family years ago.
The next day, the Empress came to pay her respects and was immediately berated by the Empress Dowager for indulging the Emperor, failing in her duties, and not bearing a prince. Witnessing the Empress's distress, Yunxian courageously interrupted, offering tea and playfully suggesting the Empress Dowager needed to wet her throat to continue scolding. She humorously expressed her fear of being punished with planks if the Empress Dowager's anger worsened her illness, causing everyone, including the Empress Dowager, to laugh.
When ordered to "roll out," Yunxian innocently asked whether to roll vertically or horizontally, further deflecting the Empress Dowager's anger with her wit. The Empress later praised Yunxian's bravery but warned her of the risks. Yunxian explained she acted out of concern for the Empress Dowager’s health and gratitude to the Empress, adding that the Empress Dowager was pitiful for burdening herself with state affairs.
The Empress agreed that anxiety and anger were the root of the illness but admitted the Empress Dowager was not easily swayed. Despite Yunxian's previous efforts, the Empress Dowager’s vision remained blurry. Yunxian proposed a unique method, claiming it was a "magic spell" she learned from a Taoist immortal that could temporarily transfer the "toxic heat" from her eyes to her feet. The Empress Dowager agreed to try, and Yunxian performed incantations and an eye-washing ritual using a "miracle pill."
She instructed the Empress Dowager to avoid mirrors and meditate for three days, assuring her that while her feet might develop sores, her eyes would clear. The Empress Dowager agreed to endure, and Yunxian even prepared cream for the supposed foot sores. The Empress Dowager then asked Yunxian if she was a real medicine woman, and Yunxian admitted she was unmarried, bracing herself for punishment. However, the Empress Dowager, impressed by Yunxian's skill, forgave her and promised fair treatment.
Meanwhile, in the Imperial Faculty of Medicine, the imperial physicians were agitated by Yunxian’s success. Chen Shisan openly criticized Yunxian's methods as "nonsense" and "mystical," downplaying her medicinal dishes as mere variations of existing remedies. Liu Pingan stepped forward, revealing he had recommended Yunxian and asserting her superior skill by correctly diagnosing and curing the Empress Dowager's goitre. Other physicians argued that Yunxian's advantage was her gender, allowing her to physically examine the Empress Dowager's neck.
Liu Pingan admonished them for their jealousy and urged them to admit their shortcomings and learn from Yunxian, even defending the "Zhu You" branch of medicine, which he had once dismissed as nonsense. Chen Shisan conceded that Zhu You involved comforting patients but accused Yunxian of exaggerating its effects, making other physicians look bad. Three days later, the Empress Dowager's eyes were perfectly clear, but her feet showed no signs of sores.
Yunxian explained that her "spell" was a strategic diversion. By making the Empress Dowager worry about imaginary sores on her feet, her attention was drawn away from her eyes. As "thoughts of the heart are reflected through the eyes," the constant focus on her swollen eyes had exacerbated the toxic heat. With her attention diverted, her eyes naturally healed.
The Empress Dowager, initially indignant at being deceived, was amused by Yunxian's analogy of physicians using "insidious tactics" like military strategists, a concept she understood well from her military reports. She laughed and forgave Yunxian. The Empress seized the opportunity to advise the Empress Dowager to prioritize her health and relinquish control of state affairs to the now adult Emperor. She reminded the Empress Dowager of her own past, having lived under the Grand Empress Dowager's authority.
Yunxian supported the Empress, highlighting the Emperor’s successful governance, including victories in Annam and the smooth operation of the Six Ministries. Reflecting on her illness and the counsel, the Empress Dowager decided to return power to the Emperor and retire to the inner palace.
However, she imposed three conditions: first, the Emperor must discuss national matters with imperial advisors and inform her if more than 5,000 troops were deployed, or she would intervene; second, he must not expel her loyal officials from court; and third, the Empress must diligently work to expand the imperial family. The Emperor, expressing remorse for past disobedience, accepted her orders, with the Empress and Emperor both acknowledging her continued importance in major crises.
Meanwhile, Chen Shisan, furious at the Empress Dowager's retirement which had weakened his political influence, sought to undermine Yunxian. When Yunxian brought a prescription to the Imperial Dispensary, a dose of "Cinnabar," a forbidden ingredient and royal taboo, was clandestinely added to her prescription, which Eunuch Hou then used as an excuse to punish her. Eunuch Hou accused Yunxian of betraying the court and ordered her to be beaten thirty times.
Yunxian vehemently denied writing "Cinnabar," claiming it was added by someone else. Yu Xiang intervened, warning Eunuch Hou of the Empress Dowager's return from Qingyang Palace, where she had gone to fulfill a vow. Unable to administer a beating without facing severe consequences, Eunuch Hou instead ordered Yunxian to be forced into a painful bending posture against a wall for two hours, with Ding Xiang supervising.
Yu Xiang rushed off to seek help from the Empress, but en route, she stumbled upon the Emperor. Upon hearing the name "Yunxian," the Emperor immediately rushed to the Imperial Dispensary. He found Yunxian collapsed against the wall and ordered her to be taken to the palace. Before losing consciousness, Yunxian managed to thank Ding Xiang and offer her a remedy for her body odor, suggesting ginger or yam slices.
