Chapter 53 (Combined Chapter)

Mrs. Lou was unaware of these things. When she returned, she told Registrar Lou and Sister-in-law Lou that Miaozhen had only given birth to a daughter. She also said, "If our Qiongyu had given birth to a son, he would be the eldest grandson of the second branch of the Xiao family. If she had given birth to a daughter, it would be neither a good nor a bad thing, and her husband's family would not blame her."

Lou Da Sao chimed in, "Who says otherwise? If her fourth sister-in-law really gave birth to a son, then it wouldn't be surprising if our Qiongyu had another one."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Lou felt for the first time that her daughter-in-law was eloquent, and even ate an extra bowl of glutinous rice balls that evening.

When they saw the midwife carrying two babies when the baby was being washed a third day, they were confused. Did their daughter have given birth and they hadn't told her?

Then someone complimented Madam Mei, saying, "Your daughters are truly complete all at once."

"That's right. Even her father was both happy and unhappy when he heard it. Originally, her family was supposed to send a baby carriage on the ninth day after she gave birth, but today they sent two of them, and they had to be exactly the same, so that her two grandsons wouldn't have to eat the heart of the carriage." Madam Mei was usually humble, but today she was genuinely happy.

Her simple thought was that her daughter had finally gained a foothold in the world.

Mrs. Lou never expected that Miaozhen would give birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Although they were smaller than ordinary children, they were not the kind with blue faces and black mouths. Moreover, their mother was a doctor, so she would take good care of them.

Putting aside the thoughts of the two mothers, Miaozhen drank only egg and millet porridge or brown sugar millet porridge for the first three days after giving birth. She also had Xiao Jingshi help her drink all kinds of soup, such as pig's trotter soup and chicken soup.

Xiao Jingshi also said, "I told them, but they wouldn't listen. Do they all know better than you what you want to eat?"

"Perhaps they have another consideration: their daughter-in-law has given birth to two children, so they can't treat her unfairly. Besides, everyone here seems to think we've seen more of life than you have," Miaozhen said with a smile.

Xiao Jingshi thought to himself that some people's words were like stirring up trouble, making listeners want to start a fight. But Zhenzhen was always so understanding, which made his anger subside a bit.

But the old hen was just too greasy, so he couldn't help but put it down and looked at Miaozhen, saying, "When can I stop eating it?"

Miao Zhen thought for a moment, then said somewhat guiltily, "It will take at least another ten days..."

Xiao Jingshi looked utterly dejected.

It's currently the first week of postpartum recovery, and Miaozhen knows that her body is relatively weak and she's prone to thirst. Right now, she should focus on stimulating her appetite and replenishing her fluids. Fortunately, they sent some millet from their own field, and drinking millet porridge every day is just fine; it's not greasy and is easy to digest.

We can only eat pork trotter soup, pork liver soup, and fish after two weeks.

Fortunately, she can now fully recover her health. The Xiao family hired two wet nurses to take care of the child. Both of them live upstairs. Miaozhen asked Fengniang to watch over the child so that the noise at night wouldn't disturb her.

We hired a wet nurse, but she doesn't need to breastfeed. However, my breasts are very engorged and painful, and they feel hard.

When she told Xiao Jingshi about it, he not only couldn't help, but also blushed. Miaozhen had no choice but to say, "I'll tell you a recipe, and you can get it for me to drink."

Xiao Jingshi quickly wrote it down for her. When he saw it was some kind of roasted barley tea, he hurried out to get it done and also went to her pharmacy to find some Glauber's salt.

She had prepared the Glauber's salt long ago; she only remembered how to produce it and forgot about this.

She ate a bland diet, applied Glauber's salt when in pain, and drank malt soup. She recovered completely in about a week.

Unable to get up and write, she dictated her thoughts and had Xiao Jingshi write them down in her medical log.

To be honest, his thoughtfulness was beyond my expectations this time because of her pregnancy. He took good care of her, although he would sometimes complain after finishing writing, "I'm a grown man writing this."

That's what I said, but I still finished everything. After finishing, I flipped back to the beginning and carefully proofread whether my format and Miaozhen's were the same.

In the first week postpartum, in addition to the lactation-suppressing soup, Miaozhen drank Sheng Hua Tang to accelerate the discharge of lochia. In the third week, she could have people cook some yam stewed with pork ribs and pig's feet soup.

The postpartum period isn't over once the baby is a month old; you have to wait until you're fully healed, especially since you sweat a lot. Luckily, she had plenty of clothes and changed into two or three sets every day.

I spent about forty days in postpartum confinement, which happened to be the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, just after the Lunar New Year.

Because she was in confinement after childbirth, she did not hold the babies, but with Feng Niang supervising and Mei and Ren Shi coming over to check on them from time to time, the two children looked no different from ordinary babies, unlike when they were born when they were smaller than usual.

Because the daughter was born in Furongwu, she was given the single name Fu. The son's name was chosen by his father-in-law. It is said that he was the first grandson of the second wife, so he was named Zhao, which means beginning.

On the day she finished her postpartum confinement, Lou Qiongyu went into labor, and Mrs. Lou came over and stayed with her from morning until night. They even invited Granny Li to come. Granny Li had received a reward of ten taels of silver last time, so she was very enthusiastic this time as well.

Mrs. Lou added, "Old Lady Li, you must ensure my daughter gives birth to her child safely."

"Of course, don't worry. The grandmother next door just finished her postpartum confinement today, and she looks radiant. Her figure has recovered as well as before. That's all thanks to me delivering her baby," Granny Li said without batting an eye.

Mrs. Lou said, "What did she prepare at the time? I heard from her mother-in-law that she passed gas very quickly and was in good spirits."

"It seems they prepared red ginseng water."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Lou hurriedly ordered red ginseng to be prepared. However, she did not know that people with yin deficiency should not eat it casually. In fact, Lou Qiongyu developed mouth ulcers because she ate a lot of mutton and beef near the New Year.

After Lou Qiongyu gave birth to a boy that night, she drank the red ginseng water. Her bleeding increased on the first day, and she suffered from internal heat, hot flashes, and night sweats throughout her postpartum period. Miaozhen went to see her but did not know that it was because she had taken red ginseng. She only said, "Since you have internal heat, drink more water and eat more mung bean soup and bitter melon to reduce the heat. Just use your diet to regulate your body."

When Lou Qiongyu was in confinement after childbirth, it was during the Chinese New Year. She was all alone and inevitably felt lonely. Although Mrs. Lou loved her, Lou Qiongyu also had a family. At this time, Lou Qiongyu was not feeling well, both physically and mentally.

Fangyun, who was beside her, said, "Why don't we let Sixth Master come back to keep you company sooner?"

"Don't bother him with the issue of having a baby. It will only make him think I can't even handle this simple matter." Lou Qiongyu and Xiao Jingtang actually have a very good relationship. He has praised her for being virtuous and gentle many times. If she can't even handle this simple matter, her husband will inevitably look down on her.

Just then, she saw Miaozhen bring over a food box. Lou Qiongyu was delighted: "Fourth Sister-in-law, what brings you here?"

"My second sister-in-law was originally going to come too, but since she's the eldest daughter-in-law and manages the household, I brought it over for you instead. I had the kitchen prepare stuffed bitter melon, mung bean soup, and two kinds of vegetables just for you," Miaozhen said with a smile.

Lou Qiongyu said, "You've troubled my sister-in-law to spend money again."

"Why bring this up? We're both close to being pregnant and about to give birth, so we definitely need to take extra care of each other."

After chatting for a few minutes, Miaozhen said, "I'll be going now. You should get some rest."

After Miaozhen left, Lou Qiongyu said, "Actually, both my second and fourth sisters-in-law are quite good. I don't know why my mother always says that she has to surpass someone else?"

Fangyi said, "Madam is just standing up for you. They always get to have everything first."

"Whether or not we get the first move is not about these trivial matters, and besides, what do we gain by getting the first move anyway?" Lou Qiongyu felt tired. She was already tired from her postpartum period, and thinking about it made her even more tired.

Miaozhen went back upstairs and went to see Fu Jie'er and Zhao Ge'er. The two little babies had just finished drinking milk and were fast asleep. She pinched their little feet and found them incredibly cute.

As they came downstairs, Xiao Jingshi returned. Miaozhen took his coat, brushed off the snowflakes, and sat down with him, saying, "I just went to see the two children; they were sleeping soundly."

"That's good. Zhenzhen, your birthday is in a few days. What are your plans for it?" Xiao Jingshi asked.

Miaozhen smiled and said, "I'm still a few days postpartum, so I need to rest more. It's fine to just stay home and chat with a few people."

In previous years, she had always celebrated her birthday at home. This year was the first time she celebrated it at her husband's family home, which also happened to coincide with the Lantern Festival. Xiao Jingshi was willing to have some peace and quiet, but it was clear that Madam Ren felt that this would not be a good way to explain things to the Xu family.

The young people are concerned with their own comfort, while the elders are concerned with how to maintain proper etiquette. In particular, Madam Ren felt that Miaozhen had given birth to twins as soon as she entered the family, so her first birthday celebration after visiting the family should not be skimped on, otherwise the Xu family would say that her family was being disrespectful.

The Lantern Festival was indeed a lively and bustling day. Operas were being performed on the stage, and Miaozhen didn't leave until the very end.

Spring arrived in the blink of an eye, and my third uncle sent a letter saying that Xiao Jingtian, the eldest son of the third branch of the family and also the third in the clan, had achieved the sixteenth place in the second class of the imperial examination this year and had been selected to enter the Hanlin Academy. His marriage was also arranged, with the daughter of the Gao family, a prominent family in Huating, Songjiang Prefecture. The daughter's father was the Vice Minister of Works, and her grandfather had also served as a Grand Secretary. This was truly a case of "finding a son-in-law right after passing the imperial examination."

Miaozhen looked at Xiao Jingshi and said, "You go with your parents. The children and I will wait for you at home."

“It’s still early. Third Brother needs to take his wedding leave back to Songjiang, and then he’ll take his bride north. We’ll have to go in a few days,” Xiao Jingshi said.

The marriage between Miss Gao and her third cousin was held at the end of March, which was quite rushed. Almost the entire Xiao family attended, except for Miaozhen and Lou Qiongyu, who had children and couldn't leave.

Speaking of Lou Qiongyu, her father has already stepped down as registrar. It is said that the family still has five or six hundred acres of fertile land, and they live a fairly comfortable life. Moreover, her brother is now a clerk. Although he is not a high-ranking official, he is in charge of the household registration of a county and can be considered a person with real power.

The Lou family has more food gift boxes than they can finish. Seeing that Lou Qiongyu's place is piled up like a small mountain, she said apologetically, "I already told my mother, but she insisted on sending them over."

“That’s how parents feel,” Miaozhen said with a smile.

Lou Qiongyu's child is named Miaoge'er. He is exactly four months old and is going through a period of refusing milk. Miaozhen's two children have passed this period and have just started teething. They will be able to eat some pureed complementary foods when they are six months old.

The two chatted about children's affairs. Lou Qiongyu was surprised when Miaozhen mentioned that she was preparing to go out for free medical consultations on Buddha's Birthday: "Fourth Sister-in-law, are you still going out for free medical consultations?"

"That's natural." These past few months she's been busy taking care of her child and hasn't been able to come into contact with patients, for fear of catching something, which would be bad if her child's immune system was weak.

But now that she's raising her child very well, and the child is almost six months old, she naturally doesn't need to follow him every step of the way. She needs to return to the workplace, otherwise she'll feel out of touch.

Moreover, citing her health, she had discussed with Xiao Jingshi that the couple would use fish bladders or sheep intestines for contraception in the future and would not have children for the time being, so naturally they had to act quickly.

No one can stay at their peak forever, so you have to persevere and accumulate experience to achieve a qualitative leap from quantitative change.

Lou Qiongyu sighed, "I really admire you, Fourth Sister-in-law. You're in such good spirits. I'm not so lucky."

"What's this about good or bad spirits? I'll do what I'm supposed to do," Miaozhen chuckled.

After returning from Haitangxuan, she first went to see the children and had the wet nurses carry them downstairs to their rooms to play. Two of the wet nurses also chatted with them.

Miaozhen carefully instructed them: "The young lady and the young master are growing up, and they can't stay in the courtyard all the time anymore. Once they go out, it's fine with other people, but you must be careful with this person. It's better to offend someone than to let her hold you."

She held up one index finger as she spoke.

The two wet nurses understood; they were referring to the eldest grandmother, Xia.

Lately, Xia Shi seems to have been treating her quite well, and her words are no longer sharp and sarcastic. But the more she does this, the more she must not let her guard down.

With Miao Zhen's earnest instructions, and knowing that Miao Zhen was generous and had given her extra gifts worth no less than ten taels of silver in the past few months, the two wet nurses naturally had to listen to her.

The group returned quickly after attending the wedding. Since Songjiang Prefecture was close to Suzhou, Xiao Jingshi didn't say anything. Han Yueyao knew more and came over, saying to Miaozhen, "I only realized today what it means to have two faces, one in front of others and one behind their backs."

"What do you mean?" Miaozhen asked, puzzled.

Han Yueyao laughed and said, "On our way to Songjiang Prefecture, the Xia family said that the Gao family's daughter was an old maid who was twenty-four or twenty-five years old before getting married. I wonder what she was like? When she met people, she was so obsequious that I couldn't help but admire her."

Miao Zhen understood: "So the reason she used to nitpick at us was because we didn't meet her standards."

“No, it’s because our status is not as good as theirs. Outsiders say they judge people by their clothes and appearance, but here they judge people by their official rank and appearance,” Han Yueyao said with a smile.

Miaozhen spread her hands: "Sister-in-law, you are at least from an official family. My father is just a student of the Imperial Academy. I am ashamed of myself."

The two sisters-in-law laughed heartily, and Han Yueyao stood up again: "I have to go back and clear out our west wing first, because we'll be welcoming new people soon."

"Huh? I remember there was one person who had their face opened?" Miaozhen thought she was remembering wrong.

Han Yueyao was straightforward and said, "Our Second Master doesn't think much of it."

The man who had previously served in Han Yueyao's room was taken in, but the Second Master had no intention of promoting him. The woman he was marrying this time was someone Miaozhen had actually met before. She was the eldest daughter of the Zhang family from the Zhang family pharmacy. She had originally married into the family, but after her husband passed away, she got involved with Xiao Jingheng. Although the Zhang family pharmacy was no longer what it used to be, with only three of its five storefronts remaining, it still had some wealth.

After the Qingming Festival, the sedan chair was brought in. When it arrived at the Xiao family, Han Yueyao personally went to receive it. The dowry consisted of fifty or sixty trunks, and her shop was taken over by Xiao Jingheng.

"Since she has a dowry, why doesn't she marry someone else and become his legal wife?" Miaozhen didn't understand.

Xiao Jingshi said, "Her parents are gone, who will advocate for her? Many people in the Zhang family have designs on her. If it weren't for my second brother, she probably wouldn't know who she would have married off to, and she would have almost lost her wealth. My second sister-in-law has no children. If she could give birth to a son, things would be different."

Miaozhen sighed slightly. In fact, her biggest advantage in ancient times was her father.

From then on, Han Yueyao took Aunt Zhang with her wherever she went, and the two got along quite well. This was different from the fierce rivalry between Xia Xianjie and Wu Shi in the main wife's house. Aunt Wu had Chao Shi backing her up, and she was no longer as timid and submissive as when she first came in.

These matters between the wives and concubines were none of Miaozhen's concern. On the day of Buddha's Birthday, Miaozhen accompanied Ren Shi to Woyun Nunnery, mainly to provide free medical consultations.

This time, she first asked the nuns of Woyun Nunnery to notify some pilgrims or people from the foot of the mountain. When she arrived, there were already five or six people waiting. Miaozhen quickly asked Xiaoxi and Tianjie to decorate the inside. They were very skilled at it and quickly decorated it according to Miaozhen's requirements.

The first person to come in was a sixteen-year-old girl with her hair styled in an unmarried bun. Her mother was very anxious: "She's getting married next year. She had her period once before, but now I don't know what's wrong with her. She just hasn't had it. Even the first time she did have it, she was in excruciating pain. The doctor said it would be fine after she gets married. Is that true?"

Miaozhen shook her head, first taking her pulse, and then carefully questioning her before discovering that she still had pain in her lower abdomen. Miaozhen pressed on the spot before saying, "This is due to stagnation of qi and blood, which has just clumped together. I will give you a bottle of medicine to take on an empty stomach. Take twenty pills each time, with a little vinegar soup."

The medicine she prescribed was called Tongjing Wan, which comes from "Complete Collection of Effective Prescriptions for Women". The cinnamon bark and rhubarb in it can warm the meridians and dispel cold, promote blood circulation and unblock the meridians. The green tangerine peel and rhubarb can treat abdominal pain. Curcuma zedoaria can remove masses and lumps. The other medicinal materials have similar effects.

The mother and daughter left, expressing their gratitude profusely. The second person to enter was a woman with red eyes. Perhaps because Miaozhen had specifically studied her beforehand, upon seeing her like this, she asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"My eyes are itchy and painful, and my knees and legs are covered in sores. I look completely unrecognizable. It's really unbearable. Doctor Xu, if you can cure me, I will definitely reward you handsomely."

Miaozhen noticed that she was well-dressed, suggesting she was at least from a wealthy family, but she smiled and said, "I'm here today for a free clinic, no need for your thanks. Are your ears itchy?"

The woman nodded quickly, then subconsciously touched her ears: "Both of my ears are itchy too."

Miaozhen immediately understood what was going on when she heard her ears: "You have kidney wind poison attacking upwards. I don't have this medicine, but I'll write you a prescription. Just follow the instructions to get the medicine."

After saying that, she wrote out a prescription for Sisheng Powder, which contains only four kinds of herbs: Astragalus membranaceus, Notopterygium incisum, Tribulus terrestris, and Aconitum carmichaelii. She also instructed, "You need to take at least three doses to see the effect. You must not stop taking the medicine halfway through."

For such wealthy households, Miaozhen would also send a visiting card, so that they could come to her for treatment if they were ever sick.

Next was the wife of a local gentry. She was suffering from bone steaming, with night fever, night sweats, hot flashes in the palms, soles, and knees. Miaozhen couldn't help but ask, "When did you get this illness?"

"Ever since I gave birth to my son, it's been like this. Out of 360 days a year, I don't get a good night's sleep for more than two days." She said with a worried expression.

Miaozhen took her pulse and saw that it was thin, deep and weak. She couldn't help but say, "You have a deficiency of essence and blood after childbirth, and internal heat due to yin deficiency. I can only prescribe Chaihu Meilian Decoction for now. If it doesn't work, you can come to me again."

After treating more than a dozen people, it was already noon. Miaozhen took off her outer robe, washed her hands, and went to Ren's place to eat vegetarian food with them.

When the nun Ding learned that Miaozhen had given birth to twins and that Xiao Jingshi had passed the imperial examination, she showered him with compliments. Miaozhen quickly laughed and said, "You're a nun, why are you being so flirtatious?"

Madam Ren also said, "She is still young, we mustn't overpraise her."

Miaozhen smiled and ate the vegetarian dishes, then pointed to the milk cake: "The milk cake in your nunnery is quite delicious."

Ding the nun said, "If Fourth Madam likes it, I will send it over when the time comes. It's not worth it."

As the two women were talking, Aunt Zhang, who was standing next to Han Yueyao, was filled with envy. When she was learning medicine from Madam Ru, she only knew a little bit and couldn't even insert a needle, let alone treat patients. If she could use her medical skills to make friends with powerful people, she wouldn't have been bullied by her cousin like this.

Now that I've become someone else's concubine, there's nothing I can do to change things. Fortunately, my wife, Madam Han, is a tolerant person and can still forgive others.

It is said that in the afternoon, Miaozhen took a walk and had just arrived at the free clinic when she changed into her blouse. She saw someone carrying a woman over, which attracted Han Yueyao, Ren Shi and others to come and see.

It turned out that the pregnant woman had fallen and hurt her stomach. Her in-laws were afraid that she would lose her baby, so they carried her over and kept emphasizing, "Doctor, please have mercy on us. She is the only son in three generations of our family. We finally managed to scrape together the money to hire her."

Miaozhen was already an expert in treating this kind of illness. She first had the pregnant woman carried in, and carefully took her pulse to diagnose the condition. It was just a common fall and injury. The pregnant woman had no other illnesses and would not have any symptoms of miscarriage. It was just that the pregnant woman was weak and had a deficiency of qi and blood.

To treat this kind of disease, we cannot just treat the external injury. We need to replenish qi and blood and add some blood-activating medicine as appropriate. Only in this way can we succeed.

Fortunately, she always kept this kind of medicine on hand, so she asked Sister Tian to brew a decoction to save the pregnant woman's body and prevent miscarriage. After one dose, the pregnant woman's lower abdomen stopped hurting. The pregnant woman's family members knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly. Miao Zhen told Xiao Xi to help her up quickly: "Don't make me feel so bad. I've prepared another dose of medicine for her to take tomorrow. Besides, the root cause of her problem is still insufficient qi and blood. She needs to take good care of herself in her daily life. That's the fundamental solution."

The old woman was a straightforward person. She patted her chest and said, "Don't worry, I'll definitely take good care of her. Let her husband go fishing and do other work. I'll make sure she's well taken care of."

Miaozhen nodded: "That's good, that's good."

As dusk fell, Miaozhen's free clinic ended, and she returned with the others. Unexpectedly, upon entering, she saw Sister Xia Xian holding Zhao Ge'er. She said, "I had a nice rattle drum, and I was just bringing it over to give to your two children."

Miaozhen calmly took the child from her, saying, "Thank you, sister-in-law."

Xia Xianjie wanted to befriend Miaozhen because she knew she spoke fairly behind her back. She specially sent her some good things, but she didn't expect that the two wet nurses wouldn't let her hold them and made all sorts of excuses. After all, she was the mistress, so she took one of them in her arms. However, she didn't expect that Miaozhen would treat her child as if she were going to harm her, so she walked out sullenly and then went back to the window.

"It doesn't matter," she heard Miaozhen say, "I told you all not to let her hold you. Others are fine, but she's not a good one."

Upon hearing this, Sister Xia was instantly enraged, gritting her teeth and wishing she could tear Miaozhen into eight pieces.