The Imperial Doctress Episode 19 Recap
> The Imperial Doctress Recap
After Empress's maid Dingxiang informed the Emperor about Consort Dowager Wu and Qiyu's mistreatment of Yunxian, the Emperor was furious. He immediately went to console Yunxian, explaining that Consort Dowager Wu's actions stemmed from her ambition to curry favor with the Empress Dowager and secure a marriage alliance with Duke Wang. By marrying Qiyu to Wang Meilin, Consort Dowager Wu hoped to use their influence to make Qiyu the new emperor, thus allowing her to become the Empress Dowager.
Yunxian understood Consort Dowager Wu's hostility towards her and reaffirmed her unwavering commitment to becoming a female physician, overcoming all obstacles. The Emperor wanted to settle Yunxian in the palace for her safety, especially with Duke Wang's malicious nature and her unsettled marriage with Qiyu. However, Yunxian was neither a palace maid nor an official and longed for the freedom to study medicine outside the palace with Wan Ning and treat common people.
Observing Yunxian’s determination, the Emperor granted special permission for Yunxian to take the Imperial Faculty entrance exam, believing it could provide strong support for her medical career. He also offered to transfer Physician Wan to the Imperial Faculty so they could study together. Though Yunxian felt it improper to stay in the palace without a proper title, she expressed her interest in learning from Supervisor Liu Pingan, whom her grandmother had praised.
The next day, the Emperor summoned Liu Pingan and requested he take Yunxian as an apprentice. Liu Pingan respectfully declined, citing his oath to only accept male physicians and Yunxian's lack of formal background compared to the well-established medical families within the Imperial Faculty. Yunxian then proposed that if she could pass the Imperial Faculty exam and become a physician, Liu Pingan should be willing to take her as a disciple.
Liu Pingan, though acknowledging her talent, warned her of the rigorous exam, which would be judged by six different physicians, but agreed to her condition. News of a woman attempting to enter the Imperial Faculty caused an uproar among its members, who vehemently opposed it, viewing it as a defilement of their refined culture and an insult to their profession. Liu Pingan, the supervisor, intervened, reminding them that the Imperial Faculty's doctrines did not prohibit women from taking the exam.
He cited Yunxian’s crucial role in containing the cholera epidemic and curing the Empress Dowager's eye illness, emphasizing that the Emperor himself had granted her special permission. To challenge their skepticism about Yunxian's abilities, Liu Pingan tasked Cheng Cunxia, his apprentice and one of Yunxian's fiercest opponents, with meticulously preparing the exam questions for the upcoming five-day trial. Meanwhile, Qiyu visited Yunxian to criticize her strong stance against his mother.
Yunxian reiterated that Consort Dowager Wu had feigned illness during their last encounter. Qiyu found this hard to believe, as Cheng Shisan had diagnosed his mother as ill, though Yunxian knew this was false and Liu Pingan had also found no actual illness. Qiyu expressed his desire for Yunxian to give up practicing medicine on patients, reminding her that even her grandmother had not done so.
Yunxian was deeply hurt, accusing him of breaking his promise to support her medical aspirations and coercing her. Dingxiang intervened, subtly reminding Qiyu of their surroundings and later, when Qiyu returned to try and dissuade Yunxian from taking the exam, Dingxiang blocked him, stating, "How can a sparrow know the will of a swan?" Qiyu left in a huff. Later, Wang Meilin visited Qiyu, feigning reconciliation, and suggested that Yunxian would eventually understand that a woman’s husband is her world.
Qiyu wistfully wished Yunxian could be more like Meilin. Yunxian, with the Emperor's arrangement, received guidance from Wan Ning, who had been transferred to the palace. Wan Ning detailed the exam structure: a written component covering six sections (essay, application, meridians, prescriptions, methods, and qi) and a practical component with three on-the-spot diagnoses. He listed essential medical texts and noted that clinical skills were prioritized. He also cautioned that as a woman, she might face stricter requirements.
Yunxian dedicated herself to intense study, burning the midnight oil for days. On the day of the exam at the Imperial Faculty, Yunxian faced Cheng Cunxia's challenging written test, which consisted of six questions to be completed within the time it took for one incense stick to burn. She answered calmly and meticulously, completing it before time was up. Out of twelve judges, seven awarded her high scores, three medium, and two low, resulting in an overall high score.
Cheng Shisan then unexpectedly added an oral Q&A session. Despite Liu Pingan's protest about the unfairness, Yunxian accepted. Cheng Shisan questioned her about a hard, painful lump on the tongue. Yunxian correctly diagnosed it as fungus of the tongue and offered two prescriptions, one of which included ingredients considered "lowly" like calamitas urinae hominis and chicken manure. She defended her choice by recalling Emperor Hongwu’s use of such ingredients for nobility.
Cheng Shisan then asked about pregnancy-related swelling, and Yunxian provided a suitable diagnosis and prescription. When Cheng Shisan questioned her experience as an unmarried woman, Yunxian retorted by implying his guilt related to the previous question. Liu Pingan quickly ended the Q&A. The practical examination began with the first task: a blindfolded pulse diagnosis. Yunxian accurately determined the patient to be a seven-to-eight-year-old child suffering from tuberculosis.
However, Cheng Cunxia, ever critical, argued that she had not specified the child's gender, attempting to invalidate her answer, which Liu Pingan recognized as unfair. The second practical problem involved an elderly patient with a severe abscess on his hand. The patient was terrified of scalpels and needles due to a previous doctor's warning. Realizing the challenge was not just medical but also psychological, Yunxian ingeniously used a silver hairpin, concealing it in her hand, to prick the abscess.
She then applied anti-bacterial powder, successfully treating the patient without violating his fear of "knives, needles, or swords," thus passing the challenge. For the third and final practical test, which was supposed to be acupuncture on a bronze man, Cheng Cunxia substituted a naked eunuch, claiming the bronze man had suddenly broken. Liu Pingan expressed concern about the impropriety, but Cheng Cunxia dismissed it, citing Yunxian’s past experience treating men. Yunxian, refusing to forfeit, began the acupuncture.
She correctly identified several acupoints, but for the final needle, Cheng Cunxia instructed her to use a sensitive acupoint located in the eunuch's waist/buttocks area, making it extremely difficult and humiliating for Yunxian to proceed.
