Capítulo 16: Chapter 17: Aspirin Youth Version
Chapter 17: Aspirin Youth Version
"Oh, my dear heart!" Queen Marie exclaimed as she pulled Joseph into a tight embrace. "I've been thinking about you day and night.
"Did you get hurt? "You're looking so thin! "From now on, you must always take a chef with you when you travel..."
King Louis XVI, standing nearby, also moved closer, but he froze at the sight of the large crowd surrounding them. He couldn't bring himself to say anything, so he just gave his son an encouraging look.
"Come inside, it's cold out here," the Queen said, dragging Joseph into the Palace of Versailles. As she glanced back at the array of young ladies vying for her son's attention, she leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Joseph, you're at the age where you should be thinking about getting engaged. Which country's princess do you like? The Spanish princess? Or maybe someone from Savoy..."
Joseph couldn't help but laugh at the suggestion. "Getting engaged? But I'm only just entering my teenage years. Please, don't rush me into this."
Quickly, he turned to his father to change the subject. "Father, how's your 'salamander fountain' coming along?"
Louis XVI glanced at the people around them and, instead of answering, he said, "Joseph, choose a girl you like. Even if she's not a princess, I'll support you!"
Queen Marie rolled her eyes at him in exasperation but then took Joseph's hand again. "My dear, I've also prepared a grand ball for you..."
She suddenly stopped, feeling his hand. "Why is your hand so hot?" She touched his forehead. "Oh my God, you're running a fever!"
She quickly called out to her maid, De Berninac, "Hurry, fetch Dr. Lamarque!"
"Your Majesty, Dr. Lamarque went to Paris this morning."
"Then get Dr. Larceny! Quickly!" The Queen kissed her son's burning forehead, tears brimming in her eyes. "You must take a doctor with you whenever you leave."
Joseph felt a warm surge of affection and quickly tried to reassure her. "It's just a mild fever, really... I'm fine." But even as he spoke, he was overcome by a fit of coughing.
"Fine? You're seriously ill! You must rest and let the doctor examine you properly."
Hearing that the Prince was sick, the young women nearby immediately crowded around in concern, practically carrying him to his bedroom alongside the Queen.
Once Joseph was lying on his velvet-covered bed, Queen Marie shot a resentful look at Louis XVI, her eyes seeming to say, If only you had half the power of the Sun King, our son wouldn't have to work himself sick for the country.
Before long, a short, middle-aged doctor arrived, panting heavily. Under the Queen's anxious gaze, he took Joseph's temperature and examined him thoroughly before bowing to the King and Queen. "Your Majesties, the Prince's pneumonia has worsened, and he's running a fever of 37.9 degrees. I believe we should proceed with bloodletting immediately."
"All right, please be quick about it."
Joseph's face darkened at the suggestion. Bloodletting? With his fragile body, it was as if they wanted to send him off faster! He didn't blame the doctor, though. In this era, medicine was barely more advanced than alchemy practiced by barbers, and bloodletting was a common treatment. In fact, a few years later, George Washington would die from excessive bloodletting.
Joseph quickly pretended to feel worse, asking everyone, including the King and Queen, to leave so he could rest.
Once the door to the bedroom was closed, he jumped out of bed and said to Dr. Larceny, "No bloodletting! No matter how sick I am, I absolutely forbid it."
"But, Your Highness, that's not possible!"
Joseph tried to persuade the doctor repeatedly, but seeing that he wouldn't relent, he had no choice but to draw the Persian scimitar that Monot had gifted him from the table. "I won't repeat myself again—no bloodletting. Understood?"
The cold glint of the blade made Larceny's pupils contract. He suddenly remembered the Prince's fearsome reputation—chasing criminals across half of Paris, personally arresting the Chief of Police, leading ninety guards into battle against hundreds of gang members, and wiping out all the thugs!
Yes, the stories had grown more exaggerated with each retelling.
Larceny swallowed hard and quickly nodded. "As you wish, Your Highness."
"But you're still running a fever..." Larceny ventured cautiously.
Joseph sighed, feeling dizzy and exhausted. If only I had penicillin, he thought. It was the perfect weapon against pneumonia, but it wasn't something that could be made easily.
What fever-reducing medicine could be produced quickly?
Suddenly, he remembered a documentary he had seen about aspirin, which included a method for extracting salicin—a substance akin to an early version of aspirin. Fortunately, Joseph had a good memory and could recall most of the process. While salicin had only mild anti-inflammatory effects, it was excellent for reducing fever, and most importantly, it was easy to make—he could have it ready in half a day.
He immediately turned to Dr. Larceny. "Doctor, are you familiar with extracting substances from plants?"
Larceny's confidence returned. "Yes, Your Highness. I even taught this subject at university."
"Wonderful." Joseph quickly wrote down the process for preparing salicin, explaining it to the doctor in detail. "Grind the willow bark into powder and steam it dry. Add a small amount of quicklime, then soak it in alcohol in an alkaline environment for an hour and a half. Boil, filter, and evaporate the solution to concentrate it. Adjust the extract to alkaline, soak again, repeat... until crystals form.
"That's the gist of it. How long do you think it will take?"
Larceny's eyes widened in amazement. The Prince spoke with such expertise—his knowledge was certainly on par with his own! The rumors of the "Child Blessed by the Heavens" were indeed true!
After discussing the process in detail and confirming that nothing had been overlooked, Larceny estimated, "All the materials should be available in the Royal Alchemy Lab. If everything goes smoothly, I should have it ready by four in the afternoon.
"But Your Highness, I must ask, are you sure this medication is safe?"
"Positive," Joseph nodded. "Just follow the process. And one more thing—don't tell my parents that I didn't have the bloodletting."
"This... Very well, Your Highness."
After all that activity, combined with the fever, Joseph quickly drifted into a deep sleep.
He didn't know how much time had passed when he felt a smooth hand touching his forehead. Struggling to open his eyes, he found himself staring into clear, lake-like green eyes and a perfectly shaped nose.
Startled, Joseph shifted back a little and saw that the figure belonged to a girl of about seventeen or eighteen years old. She had covered her lips with a yellowish-brown substance, wore a heavy white wig, and was dressed in a man's moss-green hunting suit and black trousers, looking like a mischievous girl who had stolen her father's clothes.
"I'm sorry to have disturbed you, Your Highness," the girl said, bowing slightly. Then she turned and called out, "Dr. Lamarque, the Prince's fever is serious."
A middle-aged man with upturned hair, dressed in a simple light-gray coat, with a gaunt face, a prominent nose, and light green eyes, approached. "Perna, please take the Prince's temperature."
"Yes, doctor."
Dr. Lamarque bowed to Joseph before rolling up the Prince's sleeves one by one, examining his arms with a frown. "Your Highness, Dr. Larceny told me he had already performed bloodletting, but it's clear he didn't tell the truth."
Joseph sat up, feeling dizzy. Perna gently supported him. "Please open your mouth, Your Highness. And try not to bite down."
In his groggy state, Joseph obediently opened his mouth, and a large glass thermometer was placed inside.
Ten minutes later, Perna retrieved the thermometer and looked at Dr. Lamarque with concern. "Doctor, it's 38.6 degrees."
(End of Chapter)
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