“Your Highness, even if it costs me my life, I will get this done!” Harold Green was dragged up by Victor Thompson, knelt down, eyes brimming with tears, and choked out these words.

　　“Good! Go, then!”

　　“Your servant takes his leave!” Harold Green, with a look of heroic resolve, strode out of the hall with unwavering steps. At this moment, Harold Green felt he was shouldering the heavy responsibility entrusted to him by His Highness the Prince of Liang; not even mountains of blades or seas of fire could block his path forward.

　　Richard Thompson looked speechlessly at this loyal, chubby eunuch. Wasn’t he just being sent to Mount Zhongnan to fetch someone? Did it really require such tragic determination?

　　To cure the Empress Zhangsun’s illness, of course a good doctor was needed. Mark Thompson knew a bit of medical knowledge, but he was certainly no doctor, so he definitely couldn’t cure the Empress Zhangsun by himself. However, Charles Thompson didn’t trust others either. If one were to rank all the famous doctors in history, there was one in the current Great Tang who could make the top ten: the man later honored as the King of Medicine—Benjamin Franklin.

　　Benjamin Franklin was born during the Northern Zhou era and died in the first year of Tang Yongchun, living over a hundred years. He devoted his life to medical research, authored “Qian Jin Fang,” established the classification system for organ and bowel diseases, and made tremendous contributions to the development of Chinese medicine. He was not only skilled in internal medicine, but also proficient in surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, ENT, ophthalmology, and had studied health preservation, dietary therapy, acupuncture, prevention, and alchemy. He possessed extensive knowledge of pharmacology and superb acupuncture skills, making him a truly remarkable master of general medicine.

　　Benjamin Franklin was honored as the King of Medicine by later generations, but now it was the tenth year of Zhenguan. Mark Thompson estimated that Old Sun was probably in his sixties, still living in seclusion on Mount Zhongnan, more than 200 li south of Chang’an, occasionally treating the local residents. Because of his superb medical skills, he was quite famous in the area.

　　However, Benjamin Franklin only became truly renowned after he turned one hundred. At that time, the emperor was Tang Gaozong, that is, George Thompson, who greatly admired and promoted him, which made Benjamin Franklin’s fame grow ever larger, not just in the medical world. One of the Four Literary Eminences of Early Tang, Lu Zhaolin, was even his disciple, and his famous “Qian Jin Fang” was also completed after he turned one hundred.

　　Currently, Benjamin Franklin was already somewhat well-known. George Thompson recalled that when Abraham Lincoln had just ascended the throne, he had even sent someone to grant Benjamin Franklin a noble title, but Benjamin Franklin refused. However, one shouldn’t think that Abraham Lincoln truly valued Benjamin Franklin because of this. In fact, the two had never even met, and there was a reason behind the conferring of the title.

　　Everyone knew that Abraham Lincoln’s ascension to the throne was not entirely legitimate; fratricide was a stain Tang Taizong could never erase. When he first took the throne, public opinion was very unfavorable toward Abraham Lincoln, so he had people select virtuous local figures to grant titles to, hoping to change public perception. However, this approach didn’t work well, as many of those selected refused Abraham Lincoln’s favor, and Benjamin Franklin was one of them. So, while Abraham Lincoln might have some impression of Benjamin Franklin, it definitely wasn’t deep. Otherwise, the Empress Zhangsun had been ill for nearly two years, yet Benjamin Franklin, the divine doctor, had never been summoned—this fact alone speaks volumes. As for later tales about Benjamin Franklin curing Empress Zhangsun’s illness by pulse diagnosis with a silk thread, those are pure fabrications and not credible at all.

　　After learning of Empress Zhangsun’s illness, Philip Thompson immediately thought of Benjamin Franklin. The King of Medicine was best at internal medicine, and the Empress’s illness was an internal one. So Patrick Thompson believed that even if Benjamin Franklin couldn’t cure it, he could at least help her live a few more years. Of course, a full recovery would be best. Either way, he would surely get credit for it. Given how much the emperor loved Empress Zhangsun, would he not reward him handsomely? If Consort Yang and his third brother Henry Thompson put in a few good words, perhaps he could even improve his standing in the emperor’s eyes. Then, with a bit more effort, even if he were sent out as an official, he probably wouldn’t be sent as far away as Yizhou, right?

　　Thinking of his prospects, Charles Thompson burst out laughing, especially since this was the first time he was using knowledge from later generations to influence the course of history. This made Charles Thompson even more pleased, and he couldn’t stop laughing. Standing nearby, Anna and Emma grew nervous, both thinking: Has His Highness the Prince of Liang’s old illness relapsed?

Chapter Five: Henry Thompson’s Ambition

　　Everything went smoothly. Six days later, Harold Green returned to the Prince of Liang’s residence, bringing the travel-worn Benjamin Franklin with him.

　　“You... are you sure you’re Benjamin Franklin?” Louis Thompson looked the King of Medicine up and down with suspicion. No matter how he looked, something felt off—why was there such a big difference from what he’d imagined?

　　In George Thompson’s mind, the King of Medicine Benjamin Franklin should at least be a white-haired, white-bearded, immortal-like sage. But upon meeting him, he realized how wrong he’d been. The man before him was dressed plainly, not tall, thin and dark-skinned, looking more like a coal miner from modern times. With a head of jet-black long hair and a thick beard, he didn’t look like a man in his sixties at all, but rather like a middle-aged man in his forties.