The Martial Doctor

Chapter 358: Chapter 324: Connected by Fate with "Number Three

The ranking evaluation is not decided by one person alone. Besides a judging committee, there is a detailed standard.

Of course, as long as humans are judging, subjective biases are bound to exist.

Previously, according to the rules, the trialists had to travel to the capital for an in-person examination, but this approach had many drawbacks and easily opened opportunities for backdoor dealings.

Therefore, after completing the trial and submitting the report, the trialists and supervisors must stay in the original location, waiting for the ranking to be determined before the supervisors are recalled.

The trialists are then issued with the title of "Nationally Selected Physician," marking the completion of the first step in this "Path to Sainthood" trial.

This ranking is entirely determined based on the reports from the supervisors.

The Imperial Pharmacy provides a preliminary discretionary result for evaluation, which is then submitted to the emperor for review. Only after the emperor’s approval is the final ranking confirmed.

In other words, only after the emperor’s approval is the ranking considered official. Generally, the emperor, being an outsider in the matter, would not interfere much with the rankings. He would merely inquire about it, give a symbolic review, and consider it done.

But this time, it seems different.

Although the emperor did not show a clear bias, Mr. Fu, however, appeared to greatly admire and esteem a young physician from Dongshan Prefecture named Lin Miao. He even took the initiative to conduct a special public lecture at the Qihuang Research Institute on an enlightening book Lin authored.

Such an honor has not been seen for many years.

Moreover, there are always rumors about him in the capital, notably after the old Prince Jing’s grandson was nearly finished after being bitten by a dog earlier this year.

It was a decisive prescription from him that saved the life of Prince Jing’s grandson.

There’s also talk that he resolved the "horse plague" at the Su Family’s Horse Field...

He even participated in solving a treason case, for which he received an exceptional commendation from the court.

Among the three trialists, only he was granted an official position, exceptionally promoted to Deputy Commissioner at a Medical Bureau in prefecture.

This was the first time in the Da Li Dynasty history that someone of a physician grade was appointed as an official of the Medical Bureau.

The emperor’s evident fondness was apparent to all, and those at the Imperial Pharmacy, with their heavy bias, disregarded political sensibilities, resulting in Lin bearing this pressure.

These people are truly unworthy, thought Leng Qingfeng to himself, cursing these fellows under his breath.

Lin Miao authored only one Medical Case Collection, while the other two each published three volumes, divided into upper, middle, and lower parts...

He reviewed only fifteen thousand medical cases in total, with diagnoses and prescriptions markedly unconventional, favoring new medicines not recorded in the current pharmacopeia, yet achieving astonishing results...

The other two diagnosed over twenty thousand cases each, averaging over eighty patients a day year-round without rest.

Their diagnostic accuracy was also very high, their prescriptions within the current pharmacopeia, with a high recovery rate among patients.

Their mortality rate was very low.

In comparison, Lin Miao’s patients had nearly a hundred deaths, but for those patients seeking treatment, Lin had clearly stated at the time of diagnosis that they were beyond saving; he could only alleviate their pain or prolong their lives slightly.

They were destined to die eventually.

Lin Miao is no deity; he lacks divine powers.

These cases were not originally required to be included or could be selectively included, but Lin Miao had no intention of falsification; what needed recording was recorded.

Anyhow, the evaluation standards include a clause specifying that the patients dying within one month after diagnosis count as diagnostic failures (except for accidental deaths), provided that the proportion does not exceed one percent.

For ten thousand cases, deaths under a hundred still meet the criterion.

But this mortality rate is a crucial indicator in the rankings; compared to the Medicine King Sun and Xu Mituo, Lin is certainly at the bottom.

Number of diagnosed cases, death ratio, content and quality of the Medical Case Collection, contributions to medicine...

The Imperial Pharmacy held a meeting to discuss each evaluation item individually, then adopted a scoring method to ultimately determine the result.

The meeting lasted three days, with scoring conducted anonymously, taking the average in the end.

Finally, the results were out.

Xu Mituo from the Reclining Buddha Temple ranked first, Medicine King Sun second, while Lin Miao came in last, third place.

The ranking result was unsurprising.

Xu Mituo led in the number of diagnosed cases, had the lowest patient mortality rate, and his Medical Case Collection received unanimous acclaim from the judges, obtaining the highest score.

Medicine King Sun was slightly inferior.

Lin Miao’s scores in all aspects were not as high as the other two, especially with the lowest score in the Medical Case Collection, where most judges felt Lin’s prescriptions were odd and unorthodox. Although he healed patients, he did not follow rules and self-created acupuncture therapies, that they deemed playing with patients’ lives.

If he hadn’t met all conditions for the "Path to Sainthood" trial, such a person, they believed, was unfit to be a physician.

Of course, they did not dare to say these words openly, but it was all reflected in the scores; since the scoring was anonymous, no one knew who gave what score.

As a result, everyone scored low.

The score difference between first and second was not large, but when it came to Lin Miao in third, there was a significant gap.

Seeing this score as an open calculation stirred Leng Qingfeng, head of the Imperial Pharmacy.

Placing Lin Miao in third was not a huge issue, but if this score were submitted, it would be problematic.

He needed to explain this to the higher-ups.

With this result in hand, Leng Qingfeng could only muster the courage to report to His Majesty.

...

"Mr. Yao, how is His Majesty’s mood today?"

"It’s alright, but when you go in later, remember to tread lightly, His Majesty is playing chess with Mr. Fu."

"Mr. Fu is also here?"

At these words, Leng Qingfeng’s face instantly twisted into an expression of discomfort.

If Mr. Fu weren’t present, Leng could still try to smooth things over in front of His Majesty, but now Mr. Fu, who is privy to the situation, is here, making things much more complicated.

There was no other choice, now that Leng Qingfeng had arrived, it was impossible to turn back.

After Mr. Yao went in to announce his arrival and came back out, he let Leng Qingfeng enter.

Inside the warm chamber.

Zhao Rui was dressed in casual clothes, sitting cross-legged on a soft couch with a chessboard in front of him, facing Fu Qingzhu who was seated sideways.

Although Fu Qingzhu was older than Zhao Rui, he appeared considerably younger than the Emperor, though he deliberately made himself look somewhat older to accommodate the Emperor’s feelings. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be comfortable for the Emperor to see someone older looking younger than himself every day.

"Your Minister..."

"Hold on, wait until Old Fu and I finish this game."

"Yes." Leng Qingfeng hastily bowed his head in response.

On the chessboard, with back and forth moves, the result was soon clear, and in the end, Mr. Fu lost by a half-stone, making Zhao Rui delighted and ordering hot drinks to be served.

"Minister Leng is here, is the ranking result of the ’Path to Sainthood’ trial out?" Zhao Rui chuckled, stood up, stretched his legs, and asked.

"There is none more wise than Your Majesty..."

"Dispense with the flattery, who ranked first?"

"The disciple of the Reclining Buddha Temple, Xumituo, ranked first," Leng Qingfeng replied with a bow.

"Oh? And second, Lin Miao?"

"Your Majesty, second is the son of the Medicine King Sect, and Lin Miao, Mr. Lin, ranked last..." Leng Qingfeng felt a chill in his heart, fearing the subsequent report to His Majesty would not go smoothly today.

"Oh, third then, that’s fine, there are only three people in total. Lin Miao is the youngest, so his ranking third is understandable. I heard that during the ranking assessment, to avoid favoritism, a scoring method was used. Tell me about the scoring situation." Zhao Rui said.

"Your Minister follows orders..." When the Emperor asked him to speak, he dared not refuse and could only recount the situation in full detail.

"Old Fu, I remember you held Lin Miao’s Medical Case Collection in high regard, believing its level far exceeds that of the son of the Medicine King and Xumituo?"

Leng Qingfeng knew this was bad.

He could never have imagined that Mr. Fu had spoken highly of Lin Miao’s Medical Case Collection in front of the Emperor.

"I did say that. Lin Miao’s Medical Case Collection indeed offers a fresh perspective, with some prescriptions used very boldly, which is uncommon among young doctors. Some medicinal ingredients were used in quite an innovative way that I have not heard of, yet the effects are excellent. I believe these prescriptions hold great value, and I have had some verified by others, proving more effective than past prescriptions, which led to this conclusion," Fu Qingzhu nodded slightly.

Leng Qingfeng was sweating down the back of his neck, not only had Mr. Fu read Lin Miao’s Medical Case Collection, but he also verified some of the formulas.

How did no one know about this?

Once the formulas were validated as effective, it wouldn’t be just grandstanding or seeking novelty, but rather the others would be seen as lacking insight for scoring it poorly.

"Alright, since you have established the rankings, I, being an outsider, and Old Fu merely offering a singular opinion, I will respect this decision. Let’s announce it publicly, along with the detailed evaluation results, and send a copy to the Alliance of Apricots as well, and that’s settled." Zhao Rui didn’t ask further and directly confirmed the rankings.

Leng Qingfeng was a little stunned.

The Emperor acknowledged their rankings, which was supposed to be a good thing, but once this ranking was publicly announced, especially with the evaluation details, could this result withstand the test of time?

Leng Qingfeng looked toward Fu Qingzhu.

Fu Qingzhu gave him a slight nod, indicating not to say more and to quickly take his leave.

Leng Qingfeng hurriedly knelt, kowtowed, and took his leave.

...

"With such arrogance, he even dares to treat my Crown Prince in this manner. Old Fu, do you still think I should justify him?"

"Your Majesty, Lin Miao is not aware of the Crown Prince’s identity."

"If it weren’t for his unawareness, I would have already issued a decree to punish him for encouraging the Crown Prince to cut off what?"

"^^" Fu Qingzhu quickly responded, actually finding it quite fitting, though he was not familiar with this field and wasn’t sure what to say.

"If he can truly restore the Crown Prince’s reproductive function, I won’t hold it against him. If not, don’t blame me for settling accounts then!" Zhao Rui said angrily.

In Fu Qingzhu’s heart, there was regret. The Emperor was a suspicious and capricious man who, when angry, would not listen to reason.

Being third is fine, staying low profile at third doesn’t easily invite hatred. If he were raised to the first position,

it would likely cause turmoil again, and neither Reclining Buddha Temple nor the Medicine King Sect would be easy to deal with.

"Let the cabinet draw up a decree, conferring the title of King Qi upon the Fifth Prince, Zhao Yuanchun!"