Chapter 156 Making Things Difficult

When he arrived at Fenghua Palace, the aroma of wine and meat still lingered on Eunuch Wang's body, and only then did he realize he had some regrets.

"I didn't enjoy the drinks today. Let's go to Yue Dong Lou again another day, and I'll treat you to their signature dishes!"

How could Eunuch Wang dare to go to Yue Dong Lou again? He wished he would never leave the palace again, and even less ever have any contact with Zhou Mujiao.

Zhou Mujiao entered with a faint scent of wine emanating from her, which the Empress Dowager immediately noticed, causing her to frown slightly.

After a night's rest, Princess Jinling had recovered. Although she was still a little scared, her arrogance hadn't diminished much. Smelling the smell of alcohol on Zhou Mujiao, she came up with a plan.

She pleaded with the Empress Dowager, "Empress Dowager, my brother the Crown Prince said this morning that Miss Zhou would do her best to treat my illness. I don't think so. Look, she knew she was coming to treat me, but she still drank alcohol. I'm so sick I'm about to die, how can she be happy? Grandmother, she definitely can't stand to see me doing well!"

The Empress Dowager also disliked the smell of alcohol on Zhou Mujiao, and frowned, saying, "Zhou Mujiao, my granddaughter is sick, are you really so happy?"

Zhou Mujiao calmly replied, "On the contrary, I drank a few extra cups of wine because I was happy that Your Highness had returned from the brink of death last night. But if Your Highness thinks I shouldn't be happy, then I'll start crying now?"

Her eyes immediately reddened after she finished speaking, and her voice was filled with sobs when she spoke again: "Princess, how are you feeling today? Has Physician Liu come? Although your complexion is much better than last night and your spirits are good, you could still fall ill at any time if you're not careful, sob..."

The sobbing and wailing sounded so pitiful, like a funeral dirge. Princess Jinling was furious: "Zhou Mujiao, I'm not dead yet, and you're already wailing like a funeral dirge! Your heart is utterly despicable! Grandmother, tell her to get out. Jinling doesn't want to see her!"

"But Princess, you forbade me from laughing."

"But I didn't make you cry!"

“You’re not allowed to cry or laugh, Princess! You’re doing this to a refugee! Princess, are you going to cut off my head? I’m so scared! I can’t stand up! Oh, my stomach hurts, my hands hurt, my head hurts.”

Jinling was dumbfounded.

She had never been manipulated like this before, and for a moment she didn't know how to react.

"Alright," the Empress Dowager said. "Jinling, stop being willful. Miss Zhou, stop acting. Aunt Luo, see if Physician Liu has arrived yet."

Just then, Physician Liu arrived with two female physicians, and Zhou Mujiao joined them in studying Princess Jinling's illness.

Princess Jinling didn't believe Zhou Mujiao understood medicine, so she listened from the side. As she listened, she became fascinated. After Zhou Mujiao finished reading through her medical records from childhood to adulthood, Princess Jinling looked at her profile and exclaimed, "She doesn't seem so bad after all."

Princess Jinling's illness is a hereditary disease, and her symptoms alone are not enough to draw a final conclusion. Therefore, after staying in Fenghua Palace for three or four days, Zhou Mujiao followed Physician Liu to Princess Jinling's maternal grandparents' home—the Duke of Wei's Mansion.

Almost everyone in the Duke of Wei's mansion has died. None of Princess Jinling's uncles lived past thirty-five, all dying from this disease. On the contrary, the old Duke has been holding on and is now almost seventy years old, and his health is still quite good.

Upon hearing that Zhou Mujiao and Physician Liu had come to study the Wei family's illness, the old Duke immediately flew into a rage: "What are you studying? Our Wei family is just unlucky, we are not sick! You are the one who is sick, your whole family is sick!"

"Princess Jinling suddenly fell ill a few days ago and stopped breathing for an hour. It was this Miss Zhou who revived her." Imperial Physician Liu explained the situation that night, and then brought up the Emperor again, "The Emperor loves the princess and cannot bear to see her relatives leave one by one. So he sent Miss Zhou with me to investigate, hoping to find the cause of the illness as soon as possible and prescribe the right medicine."

The old Duke took a deep breath: "Even if you bring up the late Emperor, I won't let you do anything reckless! Guards, show them out!"

It's no wonder the old Duke was angry. Over the years, Physician Liu would come to the Wei family every few months to ask this and that, claiming to be researching the cause of the disease. But after more than ten years of research, he hadn't found anything. Now that there's a little girl, he thinks he can find something out?

Zhou Mujiao stepped forward: "Judging from the Duke's complexion, it seems he hasn't had a bowel movement for ten days, has he?"

The old Duke's expression changed drastically. Zhou Mujiao took out paper and pen, quickly wrote down a prescription, and handed it to the servant next to her: "Cook and drink this prescription. If you still don't have a bowel movement by tomorrow, the Duke can come to the palace to file a complaint with the Emperor at any time."

After saying that, she suddenly picked up the three or four-year-old boy who was sitting upright to the side, and quickly ran her hands over the boy. Before the old Duke could react, Zhou Mujiao sighed: "Your Excellency, may we take a step back and talk?"

That was the youngest grandson of the Wei family, only five years old. He was quite strong, but he just wasn't growing. He looked shorter than a three-year-old child. Imperial physicians came one after another, and countless famous doctors from the common people were also consulted, but no one could figure out what was wrong.

Zhou Mujiao's treatment of Young Master Wei without his consent was extremely impolite, and the old Duke was about to lose his temper when Young Master Wei suddenly wrapped his arms around Zhou Mujiao's neck and said in a clear and crisp voice, "Grandfather, let this sister treat Xu'er!"

"Xu'er—"

“Grandfather forbids Xu’er from going out and also forbids the servants from talking nonsense, but Xu’er still knows that Xu’er is different from others. Grandfather keeps Xu’er at home so that others won’t laugh at Xu’er. But Xu’er is already five years old this year, and it’s impossible for him to never see anyone again. Grandfather, Xu’er doesn’t want to live like this.”

The old Duke opened his mouth, but when he thought of his grandsons who were almost twenty years old, and his eldest grandson and second grandson who had just turned thirty and passed away suddenly from illness the year before last and the year before that, he couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Miss Zhou, how confident are you?"

"Lord Duke, although the symptoms of the Wei family's familial disease are similar when it strikes, there are subtle differences due to individual differences in physical condition. The difference I'm referring to is that if two people of the same age and with similar physical condition fall ill at the same time, one of them will die on the spot, while the other can survive for a few more days."

This has happened before in the Wei family; just last month, at the home of a branch of the Wei family.

The old Duke pondered for a moment, then looked at his grandson Wei Xu and sighed deeply: "Miss Zhou, I apologize for my rudeness earlier."

Zhou Mujiao smiled slightly and said it was alright, then carefully examined Wei Xu again.

In ancient times, laboratory tests and X-rays were not available, making it extremely difficult to determine the true cause of a patient's illness. Zhou Mujiao meticulously examined every part of the body, which took a very long time.

Two hours passed, and Wei Xu was sweating profusely when Zhou Mujiao finally said the examination was over. Then, as Wei Xu breathed a sigh of relief, she suddenly tapped his acupoint lightly with her finger.

Wei Xu immediately felt pain and numbness all over his body, and couldn't help but cry out.

Duke Wei was shocked: "What did you do to him?!"

"Lord Duke, I'm fairly certain about the young master's illness."