The strongest second generation

Bai Shu asked Su You, "Senior Sister, what are you going to do with so many apples?"

Su Youdao: "How to do it?"

Bai Shu: "Huh?"

The female physicians' night duty station was by the side gate, a room with two beds and a desk. Late at night, the kitchen staff would deliver midnight snacks.

With over three thousand palace maids and eunuchs in the harem, it was hard to say which one might suddenly fall ill with a life-threatening illness, making it impossible to sleep soundly.

Su You placed the apple on the table, bowed repeatedly, and muttered incantations. Bai Zhu stood to the side, not daring to make a sound to disturb her.

—Senior Sister Su said she was going to "perform a ritual".

Looking at Su You's respectful and devout demeanor, Bai Shu felt that she shouldn't be in the gynecology and pediatrics department, but rather the incantation department would be more suitable for her.

After completing the set of French rituals, Su You took two more apples, gave one to Bai Shu, and said, "This is for us to eat. Have you remembered the night watch rules I told you?"

That set of rules was much easier to remember than any information on the properties and meridians of medicinal herbs. Bai Zhu nodded, "I remember, we can't say 'busy'..."

"That's enough," Su You covered her mouth, "Just keep it in your heart, don't say it out loud."

Bai Zhu's mouth was covered, and she blinked to indicate that she understood.

Su You let go of Bai Shu, and said sincerely while eating an apple, "It's good that you're here, I feel at ease. This is the first time I've been on night duty by myself. They say there are gods watching over us, but the gods in our line of work love to bully newcomers. If something really happens, I can't handle it myself. I'm counting on you, junior sister."

Bai Shu felt that Su You was being polite, and said with a smile, "Senior Sister's medical skills are superb, so I'm just helping her out and broadening my horizons."

Su You waved her hand dismissively and said, "You don't know, I originally wanted to apply to Jinchuang Department, but who knew that Jinchuang Department doesn't hire female doctors exclusively, but only under Xiaofangmai, so I had no choice but to come to the Department of Gynecology and Pediatrics."

With nothing else to do, Su You chatted idly with Bai Shu. Su You, the daughter of a military family, had grown up on the frontier, learning from veteran army doctors and gaining considerable experience in treating external injuries. After returning to the Duke of Huai's mansion in the capital, Su You found herself unaccustomed to the life of a noblewoman and, relying on her medical skills, wanted to enter officialdom. But what kind of knife or arrow wounds could one expect in the palace? At most, it was just a minor bump or bruise, easily bandaged—a simple task, suitable for both general and minor acupuncture. Therefore, Su You had no choice but to switch to minor acupuncture.

"I'm only good at external wounds and wound treatment. The military is rough and tough. If my intestines come out, I just stuff them back in. In a hurry, I might even pull out blood vessels and tie them up," Su You said. "I'm good at external wounds and things like arrow poison, but I'm not good at internal medicine emergencies. I have to learn everything on the spot. Those things about the Eight Principles of Differentiation are so complicated and I just can't learn them. They're so hard for me. The Imperial Attendant is busy every day and doesn't have time to pay attention to me. Sigh."

Bai Shu sensed something was wrong and said guiltily, "Um, Senior Sister, there's something I'm not sure if I should say it."

"you say."

"I'm going to tell you the truth, so please don't be angry."

"What?" Su You dropped the apple core, her eyes sparkling. "Good junior sister, you're my talisman now, how could I be angry with you?"

Bai Shu felt even more guilty and weakly said, "Actually, I came here to escape an arranged marriage, and I don't know anything."

Bai Shu recounted how she had inadvertently managed to sneak into the Imperial Medical Bureau by sheer coincidence. Su You was taken aback after listening and said, "See, isn't that a coincidence? I don't know either."

Wan Gongfeng never expected that his two cronies, Bai Shu and Su You, two pseudo-experts in gynecology and pediatrics who were only half-baked, would get together. One of them actually dared to teach, and the other actually dared to learn.

Bai Shu never expected that she wasn't the only slacker trying to take advantage of such a prestigious place as the Imperial Medical Bureau.

Ah, what Imperial Medical Academy, what Department of Gynecology and Pediatrics? Bai Zhu seemed to see the shiny "Imperial Medical Academy" plaque outside the Imperial Medical Academy smashed on the ground. It's just a makeshift operation!

Su You felt like the sky had fallen, and said miserably, "It's over. The night shift is bullying newbies. What I feared most has come to pass. I didn't bring enough apples."

Then there was a knocking sound at the door, and a eunuch outside said urgently, "Which sir is on night duty tonight? Someone in the kitchen has fallen seriously ill, and we need your help to take a look."

—What I feared most has come to pass, help!

Bai Shu pulled Su You aside and whispered, "Senior sister, what if... what if we make things worse?"

"Pah!" Su You said, "Have you forgotten the night watch rules?"

The rules for imperial physicians on night duty are as follows: they cannot say they are busy, because saying so will make them even busier; they cannot say they are not busy, because saying so will inevitably make them busy; they cannot say words like "death," "gone," or any other unlucky words, and they cannot even say "red."

Bai Shu said, "Senior sister, you can't say it's prosperous either."

Su You: "Pah!"

Su You carried her medicine box on her back and followed the little eunuch who came to deliver the news. She and Bai Shu ran to the residence of the palace servants in the kitchen.

The young eunuch said on the way, "It's a palace maid who just entered the palace this year. She suddenly became possessed at night, shouting and talking nonsense, disturbing everyone in the courtyard."

Outside the room of the sick palace maid, many palace maids were disturbed by the commotion. A young eunuch led Su Youbai Shu through the crowd, saying, "Make way, make way, the officials from the Imperial Medical Bureau are here."

Bai Shu felt a prickling sensation on his back and gripped Su You's hand tightly, noticing that her hand was also covered in sweat.

Candles were lit in the room, and several stewardesses stood there. Bai Shu saw a woman whose hands and feet were bound, her hair disheveled, lying on the bed with empty eyes and a blank expression. She was motionless, as if she had no life.

Bai Shu recognized her and was surprised. This was the young lady from the "Tofu Zheng Family in the West of the City" whom he had met at Xuande Square that day and who had even given him directions.

Su You went over to untie the rope binding Zheng Xiaoniangzi and said, "Why are you tying her up? Look, her hands are bleeding from the rope."

“You mustn’t do that, sir,” said the head maid. “This girl has gone mad. She tried to run outside uncontrollably, throwing things and hitting people. Several people couldn’t hold her down. We absolutely cannot let her go.”

Bai Shu glanced at the room and indeed there were still broken porcelain shards and wood chips on the floor that hadn't been cleaned up yet.

Su You asked the head maid about Zheng Xiao Niangzi's condition. Bai Shu walked over to Zheng Xiao Niangzi and asked her, "Are you surnamed Zheng? We've met before, on that day at Xuande Square. You said you knew how to make tofu, do you remember?"

Zheng Xiaoniangzi's eyes were vacant, and she ignored Bai Shu's voice.

Bai Shu spoke to her a few more times, but received no response. Bai Shu sighed sympathetically and returned to Su You's side.

The head maid said to Su You, "We don't know what happened. She was fine when she came back from delivering dinner to the Empress's palace this afternoon. But she said she couldn't eat and went back to her room to rest. Who would have thought she would end up like this?"

Another aunt said, "I think she's possessed. I'd appreciate it if you two gentlemen could give her some calming medicine. Otherwise, with so many people in the kitchen, all with their own tasks, we can't let her keep her up at night."

“Indeed,” said the head maid. “Thank you for your trouble, sir.”

"She's not making a fuss or causing any trouble now, so how could she be keeping you up at night?" Su You had a feeling that the head of the kitchen wasn't telling the truth, and said somewhat angrily, "The illness hasn't even been diagnosed yet, how can you prescribe medicine haphazardly?"

“My lord,” said the head maid, “you are here to treat an acute illness, not to preside over a case. It is more important to cure this girl’s madness first.”

Su You ignored her.

Bai Shu whispered to Su You, "I see her face is a little red and swollen."

Su You glanced at Zheng Xiaoniangzi and said, "Judging from her symptoms, she seems to resemble a soldier returning from his first battle, who has been frightened."

Su You took Zheng Xiaoniangzi's pulse and asked her, "Has something happened to you? I am a physician, you can tell me."

Suddenly, Madam Zheng went mad, screaming, "I want to go home! I want to go home!"

As she spoke, Zheng Xiaoniangzi suddenly broke free of the rope. Su You tried to hold her down, but she bit Su You's wrist. Su You, being a former soldier, was skilled in martial arts. With a clean and swift chop to the back of Zheng Xiaoniangzi's neck, she slumped to the side and fainted.

With a single slash, she displayed the imposing presence of a daughter of a military family, raised on the frontier and battle-hardened.

Everyone, including Bai Shu, was stunned.

Su You couldn't hold back her martial arts skills and was quite embarrassed. She said awkwardly, "It just happened on purpose." She added, "Her appearance is really similar to those soldiers who saw blood for the first time."

My God, are there still soldiers who have shed blood?

What kind of killer female physician is this?

The kitchen staff all took a step back, and the head cook asked cautiously, "May I ask, sir, who are you...?"

Bai Shu, carrying a medical kit, stood behind Su You.

"Su You, daughter of the Su family of Huaiyin, from the Duke of Huai's mansion," Su You said. "Now I want to know, what exactly happened to this Lady Zheng today?"

The head cooks exchanged bewildered glances. One of them stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Excellency, we don't know what happened. We only know that she was sending food to Consort Shu's palace today. Perhaps you could inquire at Consort Shu's palace, Lord Su?"

When Su You pressed for more details, the kitchen staff simply lowered their heads even further and refused to say another word.

Summer days are early; the sky is already tinged with a pale, fish-belly white.

The dawn was still faint, and the palace alley was deep and dark. Bai Shu, arm in arm with Su You, walked slowly along the dim palace lanterns by the wall, and asked with a heavy heart, "Senior Sister, what illness does Madam Zheng have? Can it be cured?"

"It's hard to say," Su You said. "In the Xiliu Camp, after every battle, some people are always scared out of their wits, especially the young people who have just gone to the battlefield. Most of them recover in ten days or half a month, but some go crazy."

“I knew her before I entered the palace,” Bai Shu told Su You about Lady Zheng, “She’s good at making tofu and has a very kind heart. Sigh. How should we deal with her?”

Su You said, "I prescribed her a formula to calm her nerves and soothe her liver. Once the palace gates open, I'll ask Qingyan, Zhifang, and her two senior sisters to come and take a look. The acupuncture and incantation departments should be able to treat her symptoms."

—When in doubt, seek consultation.

“I think a mental illness requires a mental cure. We need to find the root of the problem,” Bai Shu said. “Those head maids seem suspicious. They told us to ask Consort Shu’s palace. Shall we go and ask them?”

"Are you stupid?" Su You tapped her. "That's Consort Shu. Do you think the two of us would even bother asking her?"