"Oh, my dear heart!" Queen Mary embraced Joseph after he paid his respects, holding him tightly in her arms, "I have been thinking of you day and night.
"Are you hurt?
"Look how thin you've become!
"You must bring a chef with you when you go out…"
Louis XVI also came over, but as he gazed at the dense crowd around them, he didn't utter a single word, instead giving his son an encouraging look.
"Come inside, it's cold out here." The Queen pulled Joseph into the Palace of Versailles, looking back at the colorful throng of ladies and then whispered in her son's ear, "Joseph, you are of age to be betrothed. Which princess do you fancy? Spain? Or perhaps Savoy…"
Joseph couldn't help but feel both amused and helpless. Betrothal? My young body has just entered puberty, please don't trouble me with this.
He quickly turned to Louis, changing the topic: "Father, your 'Salamander Fountain'…"
Louis XVI glanced around at the people and gave an irrelevant response: "Joseph, choose a girl you like; I'll support you even if she is not a princess!"
Queen Mary glanced at him helplessly and took her son's hand, saying, "Darling, I have also prepared a grand ball for you…"
She suddenly stopped: "Why is your hand so hot?" She then touched his forehead, "Oh God, you have a fever!"
She turned and called out to maid Debreninac: "Quick, find Doctor Lamark!"
"Your Majesty, Doctor Lamark went to Paris this morning."
"Then get Doctor Larseny, quickly!" Queen Mary, kissing her son's burning forehead, was so anxious she was almost in tears, "From now on, you must take a doctor with you when you go out."
Joseph felt a warmth in his heart and hurried to comfort her: "I just have a slight fever, it's nothing serious…" he said, though a coughing fit seized him.
"Still claim it's nothing? You are severely ill! Go and rest, let the doctor take a proper look at you."
The girls around, upon hearing that the Crown Prince was sick, immediately crowded around anxiously, nearly lifting him to the bedchamber along with the Queen.
Once Joseph lay down on the velvet-covered bed, the Queen cast a reproachful glance at Louis XVI, with a look that seemed to say, if you had half the capability of the Sun King, our son wouldn't have to toil so hard for the country.
Soon, a short middle-aged doctor entered the room, panting, and after being hastened by the Queen, he took Joseph's temperature and conducted an examination. He then bowed to Louis XVI and the Queen and said, "Your Majesties, the Crown Prince's pneumonia has worsened, and he has a fever of 37.9 degrees. I believe we must begin bloodletting immediately."
"Very well, please proceed quickly."
Joseph's face darkened at the words, Bloodletting what? With my frail body, do you want me dead even faster?
Of course, he didn't blame the doctor—it was a time when medical practices were almost akin to barbers playing alchemy, and bloodletting was a common treatment. Little did they know that, a few years later, the Great Commander Washington of the United States would die from bloodletting.
He immediately feigned discomfort, wishing for peace, and sent out all the visiting nobles, along with the King and Queen.
As soon as the bedroom door closed, he quickly got out of bed and said to Doctor Larseny: "Do not perform bloodletting! No matter how severe my illness, I absolutely do not want bloodletting."
"Your Highness, that's not possible!"
Joseph tried to persuade him repeatedly, yet seeing the doctor remained uncompromising, he had no choice but to draw the Persian Curved Sword that Mono had given him, and said in a grave tone, "I don't want to repeat myself, no bloodletting, understood?"
The blade reflected the cold light, causing Larseny to shrink back, immediately reminded of the Crown Prince's fearsome reputation—chasing half of Paris himself, capturing the Director of Police Services. Leading ninety guards and hundreds of gang members in a fight, and utterly annihilating the criminals!
Yes, after being passed down several hands, the message had indeed changed to this.
Larseny swallowed and nodded hastily, "I shall follow Your Highness's orders."
He added cautiously, "But, Your Highness, you are still feverish..."
Joseph felt a wave of dizziness and fatigue upon hearing this, thinking that it would be great to have penicillin, a powerful weapon against pneumonia. But such a drug was not easily made.
What was there that could bring down a fever in a short time?
Suddenly, he remembered a documentary he had watched about aspirin which detailed the extraction method of salicin—the youthful version of aspirin.
Fortunately, he had a good memory and remembered the main process. Salicin had only a slight anti-inflammatory effect, but it was excellent for reducing fever; most importantly, it was simple to produce and could be made in half a day.
He immediately turned to Larseny, asking, "Do you know how to extract medicine?"
The other immediately showed a confident expression, "Yes, Your Highness, I even taught that in university."
"That's excellent." Joseph quickly took out paper and pencil, wrote down the preparation process for salicin, and then explained in detail, "Crush the willow bark to a powder, dry it, add a small amount of quicklime, soak it in alcohol in an alkaline environment for an hour and a half, boil, filter, evaporate to concentrate... adjust the extract to alkaline, soak again, and repeat... until crystals form.
"It's roughly like that. How long do you think it will take to make this?"
Larseny's eyes widened with astonishment, the level of expertise shown by the Crown Prince in his words was definitely no less than his own! Truly a God-blessed child!
After discussing the preparation process in detail with Joseph to ensure nothing was overlooked, he pondered and said, "The Royal Alchemy Laboratory has all the necessary materials. If all goes well, it could be ready before four o'clock in the afternoon.
"Your Highness, pardon my boldness, but I've never heard of this medicine before—are you sure it's safe..."
"Positive!" Joseph nodded, "Just go and make it. Also, don't tell my parents that I didn't let blood."
"This... very well, Your Highness."
After all this hustle and with the fever, Joseph soon fell into a deep sleep.
After some time, he vaguely felt a gentle hand touching his forehead. Struggling to open his eyes, he saw eyes as clear as lake water, pale green, and a nose with an elegant curve.
Joseph shifted back a little and could finally see that it was a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl. However, she had applied a tan substance to her lips and was wearing a heavy white wig, dressed in a dark green male hunting outfit with black leggings, like a mischievous little girl sneaking into her father's clothes.
"Your Highness, I am sorry for waking you," the girl curtsied and then turned, saying, "Dr. Lamark, the fever is very high."
A middle-aged man with curled hair, wearing a simple light grey coat, his face gaunt with prominent nose and pale green eyes, approached and gestured, "Perna, please take the prince's temperature."
"Yes, Doctor."
Dr. Lamark bowed to Joseph, then rolled up the sleeves of both his arms to check and frowned, "Your Highness, Larseny told me that he had let your blood, but clearly he didn't tell the truth."
Joseph sat up, feeling dizzy, while Perna supported him with one hand, whispering, "Your Highness, please open your mouth and be sure not to bite."
Joseph opened his mouth drowsily, and a large glass thermometer was inserted into it.
After more than ten minutes, Perna removed the thermometer and looked worriedly at Lamark: "Doctor, 38.6 degrees."