顾 明公郎种痘。即请往看。其痘苗淡红磊落。中含水色。明润可爱。且颗粒稀疏。如晨星之丽天。门
下医者。先已夸为状元痘。昌未知也。踌躇良久。明告曰。此痘热尚未退。头重颈软。神躁心烦。便泄青白。
全自一团时气外感。兼带内虚。若用痘门通套药。必危之道也。 明毫不动念。适值二尹请同挨户查赈
饥民。出街亲董其事。余忙造其契戚家谓曰。我观 明公郎在家布痘。而精神全用于赈饥。虽仁人长者之事。
然此等处。他人可代。乃自任不辞。明明言之。绝不回顾。此必有医者夸美献
谀。而信之笃耳。不然岂有倒行逆施之理哉。此痘必得一二剂药。先退其外感。则痘不治自痊。若迟二三日。
缓无及矣。相烦速往朝阳门内外追寻。直述鄙意。其戚闻言即往。余亦回寓修书投之。其辞激切。不避嫌疑。
傍晚一仆携回书至。掷于几上。忿忿而去。余以为 明之见责也。折视。则云尊翁大人。必欲得
方。始肯服药。余即定一方。并详论方中大意。令僮辈 送。僮辈窃谓余之不智也。一日三四次奔走大人之
门。是自忘其耻辱矣。吁嗟。余岂不自爱。但当群小蒙蔽时。倘得一拨立转。所全颇钜。于是亲送其方至门。
则内户已扃。阍人收之。次早送进。余暗地独行。往返六里。以图心安。次日再托其戚。促之进药。
则云既是状元痘。何必服药耶。此后即欲一造其庭。末繇矣。吁嗟。朝廷之上。任者议者。不妨互用。使余得
与其侧。此儿即不服药。亦必无死法。盖感症在身。而以 鱼鸡笋发痘之物杂投。误上加误。适所以促其亡
耳。才至六日而坏。正应感症坏期。若痘出既美。即有意外变症。亦在半月一月矣。越二日。三公郎即
发热布痘。仍夹时气外感。仍用前医。仍六日而坏。旬日间两儿为一医所杀。 明引为己辜。设局施药于城
隍庙。余偶见之。蹙然曰。盛德之人。恐惧修省。皇天明神。岂无嘿庇。然赏善自应罚恶。而杀儿之医。宁无
速夺其算耶。一夕此医暴亡。余深为悚惕。然尚有未畅者。左右之宵人。未尝显诛也。
胡卣臣先生曰。谗谄蔽明。邪曲害正。今古一辙。而幽愤所至。真足以动鬼神之吉凶。
顾明公的儿子接种牛痘。我随即前往诊视。他身上的痘疹色泽淡红、颗粒分明，中间含有水色，明亮润泽，十分可爱。而且颗粒稀疏，如同清晨天空中点缀的星星。门下的医生们，事先已经夸赞这是“状元痘”（指预后极好的痘疹）。我并不知晓此事。
我犹豫良久后，明确告知顾明公：此患儿的痘热尚未消退，头部沉重、颈部软弱，神情烦躁、心中烦闷，大便泄泻且呈青白色。这完全是由于感受了当时的时行疫气（外感邪气），兼有体内虚弱的缘故。如果使用痘科通用的常规药物，必定会导致危险。
顾明公毫不动摇念头。恰逢二尹大人邀请他一同挨户核查救济饥民。他亲自上街督导此事。我急忙赶到他的亲戚家，对他说：“我看顾明公的儿子在家接种牛痘，而他的精神却全用在赈济饥荒上。这虽然是仁人长者的善举，但在这种地方，别人可以代替他去。他却自告奋勇，毫不推辞，说得清清楚楚，绝不回头考虑其他事。这必定是有医者夸美献媚，让他深信不疑罢了。否则，怎么会有这样倒行逆施的道理呢？这患儿的痘症必须用一两剂药，先退去外感邪气，那么痘症不用特别治疗也能自愈。如果拖延两三天，就来不及了。麻烦您速往朝阳门内外寻找顾明公，直接陈述我的意思。”他的亲戚听后便去了，我也回到寓所写信给他。信中言辞激切，不避嫌疑。
傍晚时分，一个仆人带着信回来，把信扔在桌上，愤愤不平地离开了。我以为顾明公是在责备我。拆开信一看，上面说：“令尊大人，一定要得到处方，才肯服药。”我便定下一个方子，并详细论述方中的大意，让僮仆送去。僮仆们私下议论，认为我不明智，一天三四次奔走于大人家中，是自忘耻辱啊。唉，我难道不自爱吗？只是当群小蒙蔽视听时，如果能得以拨乱反正，保全的生命很多。于是我将方子亲自送到门口，但内屋的门已经关上了，守门人收下了信。第二天早上送进去。我暗中独自步行，往返六里，以求心安。第二天再托他的亲戚，催促进药。对方却说：“既然是状元痘，何必服药呢？”从此以后，我想再去他家，也没有机会了。唉，朝廷之上，任职者和议谏者不妨互相任用，假如我能在他身边，这孩子即使不服药，也必定没有死法。因为患儿身上有感症，而误投鱼、鸡、笋等发痘之物，错上加错，正好加速了他的死亡。才到第六天病情就恶化了，正应验了感症导致痘症坏死的期限。如果痘出得既好，即使有意外变症，也应该在半个月或一个月后才出现。过了两天，顾明公的二儿子也开始发热出痘，仍然夹杂时行外感，仍然使用之前的医生，也是第六天就坏了。十天内两个儿子被同一个医生害死。顾明公引咎自责，在城隍庙设局施药。我偶然见到他，皱眉说道：“盛德之人，恐惧修省，皇天后土，神明岂会没有默默庇佑？然而赏善罚恶自有定数，那个杀人的医生，难道不会很快折损寿命吗？”当晚这个医生暴亡。我深感惊恐警惕，但还有未畅快的地方，就是左右逢迎的小人，未曾受到显明的惩罚。
胡卣臣先生说：“谗言阿谀遮蔽光明，邪恶歪曲伤害正气，古今都是一样的道理，而内心的幽愤所至，真足以感动鬼神的吉凶。”
Mr. Gu Ming's son underwent variolation (smallpox inoculation). I was immediately invited to examine him. The vaccine pustules were pale red and distinct, containing a watery luster, bright and moist, quite lovely. Moreover, the particles were sparse, like morning stars adorning the sky. The physicians under his employment had previously praised them as "Zhuangyuan Pustules" (a term for excellent prognosis in smallpox). I was unaware of this.
After hesitating for a long time, I explicitly informed Mr. Gu: The heat from the pustules has not yet subsided; the head is heavy and the neck is soft; the spirit is restless and the mind is vexed; the stool is loose and greenish-white. This is entirely due to an external contraction of seasonal epidemic qi (pathogenic factors), combined with internal deficiency. If one uses the standard general-purpose medicines for pustular diseases, it will inevitably lead to danger.
Mr. Gu did not waver in his resolve. Coincidentally, the Second Yin (a local official) invited him to inspect and relieve famine victims household by household. He personally went out to the streets to supervise the matter. I hurriedly went to his relative's house and said, "I see that while Mr. Gu's son is undergoing variolation at home, his energy is fully devoted to famine relief. Although this is the act of a benevolent elder, others could substitute for him in such matters. Yet he takes on the responsibility without hesitation, speaking clearly and without looking back. This must be because some physician flattered and praised him, leading him to believe firmly. Otherwise, how could there be such counterproductive reasoning? These pustules require one or two doses of medicine to first expel the external contraction; then the pustules will heal spontaneously without specific treatment. If delayed by two or three days, it will be too late. Please trouble yourself to seek out Mr. Gu inside and outside Chaoyang Gate immediately and state my views directly." Upon hearing this, his relative set off. I also returned to my residence to write a letter to him. The words were urgent and impassioned, disregarding potential suspicion.
In the evening, a servant brought the letter back, threw it on the table, and left angrily. I thought Mr. Gu was reprimanding me. Opening the letter, it read: "Your father insists on receiving a prescription before he is willing to administer medicine." I then formulated a prescription and detailed its main principles, instructing my young servants to deliver it. The servants privately remarked that I was acting unwisely, running to the great man's door three or four times a day, thereby forgetting my own dignity. Alas, do I not value myself? It is just that when petty people obscure the truth, if I can manage to turn things around, many lives will be saved. Thus, I personally delivered the prescription to the gate, but the inner door was already locked, and the gatekeeper accepted it. The next morning, it was submitted. I walked secretly alone, covering six li round trip, seeking peace of mind. The following day, I entrusted his relative again to urge the administration of the medicine. They replied, "Since it is a Zhuangyuan Pustule, why take medicine?" From then on, although I wished to visit his courtyard, there was no way to do so. Alas, in the imperial court, those in office and those offering advice should complement each other. Had I been able to stand by his side, even if the child took no medicine, there would surely have been no fatal outcome. Because the child suffered from a pathogenic syndrome, yet fish, chicken, bamboo shoots, and other eruptive foods were mistakenly administered, compounding error upon error, which merely accelerated his demise. By the sixth day, the condition deteriorated, exactly matching the timeline for death caused by pathogenic syndromes complicating smallpox. If the pustules had emerged beautifully, even unexpected complications would likely have occurred half a month to a month later. Two days later, Mr. Gu's second son also began to develop fever and pustules, still complicated by seasonal external contraction. He still used the previous physician, and the result was also deterioration by the sixth day. Within ten days, two sons were killed by one physician. Mr. Gu took this as his own fault and established a clinic to distribute medicine at the City God Temple. I happened to see him and frowned, saying, "A person of great virtue fears and reflects upon himself. Would Heaven and Earth, and the bright spirits, not offer silent protection? However, rewarding good and punishing evil has its own course. Would the physician who killed children not have his lifespan swiftly shortened?" That night, this physician died suddenly. I was deeply alarmed and vigilant, yet there remained something unsatisfying: the sycophants around him had not received explicit punishment.
Mr. Hu Youchen said: "Slander and flattery obscure clarity; crookedness harms righteousness. This is the same rule in ancient and modern times. And the depth of hidden resentment can truly influence the auspicious or ominous actions of ghosts and gods."