A Physician’s Path in the Ming Dynasty: Starting with Saving the Crown Princess

Li Chen’s eyes flew open. The searing pain in his head nearly sent him unconscious again.

The ceiling before him wasn’t the stark white one in the hospital on-call room he knew so well, nor was it the glare of surgical lights. Instead, all he saw was a blur of swaying, dim yellow light.

His nostrils were filled with a jumble of strong scents: sandalwood, medicinal herbs, and something else… a faint trace of blood?

“Hiss…” He sucked in a sharp breath and struggled to sit up, only to find himself weak all over, as if every last bit of strength had been drained from him.

“He’s awake! He’s awake!” A high-pitched voice, edged with panic, came from nearby.

Li Chen laboriously turned his head, and his vision slowly came into focus.

First he saw the carved canopy of an antique bed, its dark wooden frame gleaming with a chilly sheen in the candlelight. Then he saw a young girl’s face, streaked with tears and full of worry. Her hair was done up in twin buns, and she wore a pale blue-green dress, the unmistakable outfit of a maid in a period drama.

A maid? Historical costume?

Am I dreaming? Or… did some film crew bring me here?

He was an emergency room doctor. The last thing he remembered was working thirty-six hours straight before everything went black in the on-call room.

“Doctor, you’re finally awake! Please, please save my lady!” Seeing his gaze clear, the little maid dropped to her knees beside the bed with a thud and begged through her tears.

Doctor? My lady?