Conquering the Emperor

This is the Royal Medical Office?! Really?!

I stood there gazing up at the large sign with my mouth hanging open in astonishment. I couldn’t believe that I was standing in front of the Royal Medical Office. This is the place that I’ve always wanted to visit. The skill and practice of the royal doctors of the Flame Dragon empire was famous throughout the land. Even in my small village, medical traders who visited would often speak about the advancement of medical knowledge and practices from the capital.

There was no way that a small town like mine would have the same advanced equipment or knowledge like the capital of such a large empire. I turned to Ren and cried out in joy as I clapped my hands together.

“You look so excited…” Ren teased.

“I’ve always wanted to come here!” I exclaimed excitedly. I couldn’t stop smiling from ear to ear.

It was like my dream land was right in front of me. Talk about a dream come true moment.

“Want to go inside?” Ren asked, needlessly.

Of course, I wanted to go inside! I wanted to live here, eat here, and breathe here!

“Yes…please…” I said, nodding my head up and down eagerly.

Ren laughed a little at how excited I looked. I bet I must have looked like an overly excited child to him at that moment and I didn’t blame him for finding my reactions funny.

“Don’t mention to anyone about your intention to study medicine here, ok?” Ren said, his tone suddenly serious.

Oh…I guess it could cause some trouble if the doctors found out about that from out of nowhere…

“Ok. I understand,” I replied as I nodded understandingly.

“Good. I’ll give you a little tour,” Ren said as he squeezed my hand.

“Thank you, Ren!” I exclaimed happily.

Without another word, Ren led me through the large double wooden doors and into the building of the Royal Medical Office. Once we were inside, the familiar smell that I found so pleasant filled my nostrils and made me think of home. It was the smell of medical herbs. You couldn’t find this smell anywhere else except medical clinics and medical herbal stores.

“This feels so much like home…” I said without thinking.

“How so?” Ren asked as we walked hand in hand.

“This might sound weird but…the herbal smell of medicine in the air…it just reminds me of home,” I replied a little shyly.

“I see. I hope this will make you miss home a little less…” Ren said as he gave my hand a comforting squeeze.

It hurts a little whenever I thought of home and my hometown but having Ren next to me has made me feel more at ease lately. I wondered when I would finally get to go home. However, while I still didn’t have the answer to that and I was stuck here in the capital, I fully intended to gather as much medical knowledge as possible.

“This way,” Ren said as he led me through the hallway and deeper into the building.

“Wow…this building is huge…” I said in awe as I looked around us.

We were standing in the central courtyard, and I could see four buildings surrounding us. From the outside, I had thought that the medical office was one large building; however, I have just observed that it was actually four very large buildings.

“Of course, it is. The Royal Medical Office also serves as the hospital and there are patients being treated here as well. That building over there in the North is the hospital where patients are,” Ren explained as he pointed to the building in the North direction.

“Wow…there’s a proper hospital and all…” I muttered in amazement.

There was no such thing on this scale in the town where I came from. The best we had were independently run small clinics such as those ran by Uncle Gobei and Auntie. People couldn’t afford much, and it was common practice to hire travelling doctors who would visit and inspect the patient at home.

“The building to East is for herb and medicine storage. Basically, it’s like a warehouse that is supervised by doctors and herbalist who are in charged of dispatching medicine to relevant patients. They are also responsible for providing medical aid to other provinces and town in the empire,” Ren continued with his useful explanation.

“There must be so many herbs and medicine inside…” I said excitedly.

I mean, there was a whole building just for storing medicine and herbs. That’s like out of this world crazy! I couldn’t wait to see inside.

“Of course, and that building to the South is for research and testing. I don’t know much about the details because I don’t have knowledge about medicine, but the doctors try out new herbs and medicine there. They try to make new medicine there…” Ren explained, struggling a little to describe the activities that took place in that building in the South.

“Don’t worry. I honestly don’t know much about research and making new medicine either. My knowledge is probably basic at best…” I said humbly.

“On to the last building, the building in the West is the most commonly used building. It is where the doctors treat the patients. When new patients get hurt or sick, they would enter that building first. Many doctors also live in that building and there are doctors working there around the clock. I mean, you never know when someone could get sick or injured,” Ren continued to explain as he pointed to the building in question.

“Who are treated here?” I asked, curious.

“Everyone in the Imperial palace. Officials and soldiers from outside the palace as well. In some cases, we also treat the commoners. Shin and I have the idea to send doctors out to treat the people in their towns as well, but we currently don’t have that many doctors who can do so…” Ren answered, his brows furrowing.

Frankly, I was impressed with Ren’s effort to help the people in his empire. His empire was vast and there were many people living as part of his empire. It meant lot to me that he has been actively thinking of their welfare. The thought of sending royal doctors out to help the people would have been unheard of before.

--To be continued…