Lamarck's Shock

Jinghua Book Pavilion,

Lamarck immediately took a knife and a copper basin from his suitcase and said to Perna, "Prepare to bleed the Crown Prince."

Joseph said firmly, "No! I forbid you from bleeding me..."

Seeing how weak he looked, Lamarck said gravely, "Your Highness, I must do this. A fever lasting too long will have serious consequences!"

Joseph struggled to reach for his saber, but Lamarck added, "If you refuse treatment, I shall report this matter to Her Majesty the Queen."

Joseph felt a headache coming on. Just as he was pondering how to persuade this hardliner, Lasenne pushed open the door and entered, carrying a glass bottle.

"Your Highness, this is what you asked for." Lasenne looked somewhat guilty as he handed over the bottle and stammered, "Perhaps... the purification was a little insufficient..."

Joseph looked at the gray, viscous substance in the bottle. The moment he opened it, a strong smell of alcohol hit him, and he smiled bitterly to himself. This was more than a little insufficient. Still, he comforted the doctor. "It is your first time doing this. It is already very good. Thank you very much."

Joseph was about to take the salicin when a thought suddenly struck him. He looked at Lamarck. "Mr. Lamarck, if I accept your bloodletting treatment, how long will it take for my fever to subside?"

Lamarck considered it briefly. "Perhaps your temperature will return to normal tonight, or perhaps tomorrow morning."

Joseph raised the glass bottle. "With the medicine I prepared, my fever will be gone in an hour."

Lamarck immediately felt his professional dignity had been challenged and shook his head. "Your Highness, your pneumonia has not been brought under control. Among the medicines known to me, there is absolutely none that can reduce a fever so quickly."

He was an academician of the French Academy of Sciences, a renowned European biologist and pharmacologist, a leading figure who had first proposed the theories of biological evolution and survival of the fittest. He was also one of France's finest doctors, and he had every confidence in saying so.

Joseph smiled wearily. "Then let us make a wager. If my fever subsides within an hour, you are never to bleed me again."

Lamarck froze for a moment, then nodded confidently. "Very well, Your Highness. If your medicine is not so effective, you may no longer refuse any treatment from a doctor."

"Deal!"

Joseph poured out a spoonful of salicin and swallowed it with his head tilted back. It tasted terribly bitter, heavy with the flavor of alcohol, and made him dry-heave.

Lamarck solemnly took out his pocket watch and showed it to Joseph. "Your Highness, it is now 4:21."

Joseph nodded. He had intended to sleep a while longer, but with three people standing by his bed—one of them a girl—he felt somewhat awkward. So he simply got up and began discussing the purification of salicin with Lasenne.

When Lamarck heard that the medicine had been made from willow bark, he could not help shaking his head to himself. The British had studied the medicinal effects of willow bark more than ten years ago. Though it could reduce fever, it had to be taken continuously for several days before taking effect.

Moreover, the stuff was extremely unfriendly to the stomach. Many people gave up because of stomach pain before they ever lived to see their fever break.

Still, he deeply admired the Crown Prince's theoretical knowledge of experiments. It far surpassed that of his own few students. If the Crown Prince devoted himself to pharmacy or experimental science, he would surely achieve great things.

In truth, Joseph was only a novice in this field. He had merely picked up a little from an older chemistry major in his university dormitory. But in the eighteenth century, that made him look exceptionally professional.

"So, lowering the temperature during precipitation can make it faster..."

Joseph was still speaking when he suddenly stopped. He rubbed his forehead, then smiled at Lamarck. "Mr. Lamarck, I believe my fever has already broken."

Lamarck had been listening intently to him discuss the experiment and had nearly forgotten about it. He hurriedly looked at his pocket watch. It was 4:58. Only thirty-seven minutes had passed since the Crown Prince took the medicine.

Then he looked at Joseph again and saw life had returned to his eyes. He quickly bowed slightly and reached out to touch his forehead. Sure enough, it was no longer hot!

"Perna, the thermometer."

Lamarck took the thermometer, placed it in the Crown Prince's mouth, waited a moment, then personally removed it to inspect it. His eyes were filled with disbelief.

36.8 degrees Celsius!

His body temperature had returned to normal!

"H-how is this possible?!" he muttered, lowering his head. Then he suddenly seized Joseph by the shoulders, excitement surging through him. "Your Highness, what you just..."

"Was what you drank really an extract of willow bark?"

Joseph smiled and nodded.

"I never imagined purification could make it this effective!" Lamarck's eyes seemed to sparkle. "Your Highness, if its efficacy is stable, this is absolutely a medicine that will change an era! May I try producing it?"

"Of course. Mr. Lasenne can explain the specific process to you."

"I simply cannot express my gratitude to you!" Lamarck gave Joseph a deep bow, then hurriedly pulled out a notebook and rushed to find Lasenne. He turned back to ask, "Your Highness, did you invent this medicine?"

"Well..." Joseph hesitated, then could only make something up. "Ah, it must have been God's revelation that gave me a flash of inspiration."

"Oh, God!" Lamarck was shaken to the core. Could His Highness truly be a Child of Divine Grace? To think he came up with such a medicine with only a flash of inspiration!

But with a scientist's rigor, he felt that a great many experiments were still needed before its efficacy could truly be confirmed. At that thought, he was immediately filled with fighting spirit. He pulled Lasenne toward the Alchemy Laboratory, leaving behind only one sentence: "Perna, keep watch over His Highness's condition at all times. Inform me immediately if anything happens."

"Yes, Doctor."

Two days later.

After treatment with salicin, Joseph's condition had stabilized considerably. Though he still coughed somewhat, his fever had not returned.

When he stepped through the Golden Gate of the meeting hall in the East Hall of Versailles Palace, it was not yet nine o'clock. There were still several minutes before the Cabinet Meeting began.

The other Cabinet ministers had already arrived. When they saw the Crown Prince enter, they all rose to bow to him.

Mono, the Minister of the Interior, even came forward to greet Joseph with a broad smile. In a low voice, he said, "Thank you, Your Highness. The decree concerning Guizot's disposition was issued yesterday. It made no mention of inciting riots."

Joseph smiled and drew him to his seat. Yesterday, during lunch, he had mentioned a few words to the Queen, nothing more than placing all the blame on Guizot alone. Then he had the Clerk add a formal report, and the matter was considered settled, the coffin lid nailed shut.

Although Joseph felt there might be more to the Guizot affair, it likely had nothing to do with Mono. Once his intelligence agency was established, this would be the first matter he investigated.

Mono suddenly rose, spread his arms, and announced loudly to everyone, "The Police Reform led by His Highness the Crown Prince has achieved remarkable results! As everyone knows, criminals in the Saint-Antoine District have now been almost completely purged! His Highness truly lives up to the name Child of Divine Grace! Let us all congratulate His Highness together!"