Chapter 7: Courtesy before soldiers. Courtesy before soldiers.

Today we are discussing the last chapter of "The Great Learning," and in a few days we will begin discussing the Doctrine of the Mean. If you can read and write a little under Yu Xiucai, you will have to learn poetry and prose under Qiu Niangzi.

Just like in modern times, once you know how to read, you also need to learn how to write essays and articles.

In the morning, she had everyone practice calligraphy for half an hour, and in the afternoon, she took out flower patterns and taught them embroidery. Madam Qiu taught authentic Suzhou embroidery. First, they traced the patterns according to the flower patterns, and then transferred them onto the embroidery pieces. While they were embroidering, Madam Qiu would give them some pointers.

Miaozhen thought that Lady Qiu was truly proficient in everything, but although her aunt was also an embroiderer and a female tutor, the things her aunt embroidered were far inferior to Lady Qiu's. She even seemed not to understand one of the idioms she had used.

Suzhou's Wuxian County is the origin of Suzhou embroidery. Almost every household raised silkworms and did embroidery. People usually learned to split thread and hold a needle by following their mothers. Even if they didn't know how, they could figure it out by seeing everyone else do it.

She embroidered the leaves with a satin stitch, and the flowers with a combination of forward and reverse stitches. She embroidered the leaves for ten days first, and only after she made progress did she start embroidering the flowers.

These beginners all embroidered large blocks of color with clear outlines and simple colors. After finishing the handkerchief, Miaozhen went to the Tao family and saw the two young masters of the Tao family. The eldest young master was already a scholar at the age of eighteen. He was very handsome, but not tall. He was studying at the Suzhou Prefectural School. The second young master did not like to study, but he was tall and handsome. The second young master was only one year younger than the eldest young master, but he was a head taller.

"Miss Xu is here." The two of them greeted her.

Miaozhen smiled and agreed, then hurried to find Madam Ru. Madam Ru happened to have a patient there, so she asked her to help record the medical records.

Recording medical cases was originally Ru Xiniang's job, but today, hearing that she had gone out, it was Miaozhen who took over. This was also the first time she had ever done so, and she was very serious about it. After all, even in modern times, it's not easy to find a mentor to teach you some clinical precautions.

The patient who sought treatment from Ru was the daughter of the magistrate of Changzhou County, surnamed Huang. She was coughing and wheezing so badly that she could not lie in bed, had a fever and chills, a deep and slippery pulse, and a white and greasy tongue coating. This indicated that cold was lurking inside her body and that she had been infected by external wind, which was obstructing the rise and fall of lung qi.

Therefore, Xiao Qinglong Decoction was first used to dispel internal cold, which can warm the lungs and relieve asthma. Then, it was combined with Gualou Banxia Xiebai Decoction, which is mainly used to treat phlegm and turbidity in the chest. Only one dose of medicine was prescribed.

For Miaozhen, recording medical cases was also a way of learning. Ru Shi was not only proficient in gynecology, but also in other specialties.

After reviewing Miaozhen's prescriptions, Madam Ru nodded in approval. In just half a month, the prescriptions had become quite standardized. After seeing Miss Huang off, Madam Ru took a copy of "The Properties of Medicinal Herbs" and spent a full hour discussing it with Miaozhen. This was a classic primer on traditional Chinese medicine.

Don't be fooled by her previous memorization of the "Huangdi Neijing" (Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic); to truly master it, one must build a solid foundation.

Fortunately, Miaozhen also started learning from "Basic Theories of Traditional Chinese Medicine" in modern times, so she picked it up faster than others. Ru praised her: "It takes me three to five months to teach others, but you probably only need a month."

"Teacher, you're too kind. It's all thanks to your excellent teaching." Miaozhen actually felt that she still needed to calm down and focus on learning.

Ru gave her two more jars of honey, saying they were gifts. One jar was lespedeza honey, and the other was winter honey. Each small jar weighed about two and a half ounces. Both were top-quality honey. Miaozhen quickly thanked her teacher before taking her leave.

After Miaozhen left, Madam Ru complained to those around her about Ru Xiniang: "Other families send tuition and money to study here, but she's always thinking about slacking off."

While on the donkey cart, Miaozhen said to the two maids, "I heard that the winter honey in these two jars is a tribute to the imperial court. I will take it to my parents in the main room. I will keep the huzhizi honey to make honey water for everyday use."

Of her two maids, Xiao Xi is rebellious and has a proud nature, but she is clever. Xiao Tao is honest and simple and not good at dealing with people, but she carries out her words almost meticulously.

Xiao Xi couldn't help but say, "Such good winter honey, why don't you put some in your small porcelain bottle at home and send it over, so that everyone can keep half to try?"

“That’s true,” Miaozhen replied with a smile.

The three chatted and laughed for a while, and she even took their pulses in the car. When they arrived home, she ran into Madam Feng as soon as she entered the door, and Madam Feng nodded at her.

"What's wrong?" Miaozhen asked, puzzled.

"Miss will know when she gets there," Madam Feng said, pursing her lips.

When Miaozhen arrived at the main room, she learned that Old Madam Xu and Fourth Sister Xu had come together. It was rare for Fourth Sister Xu to greet her with a smile, saying, "Sister Zhen is back. We've prepared roast chicken at home."

“Grandmother, Auntie,” Miaozhen called out.

Then Mei came out and said, "Zhenzhen, come and eat quickly, your father will be here soon."

Miaozhen sat down, thinking to herself, "Does Xu Si Niang still want to live in my house? She's like a persistent ghost. My third uncle only gave me two or three taels of silver to buy two rooms in my own house, and she moved in long ago. The Xu family's house is quite big now, so why does she still want to come?"

While they were muttering to themselves, Xu Erpeng came over and asked Miaozhen, "What did you learn today?"

"We finished the last chapter of the Great Learning today. Lady Qiu said that we will also need to spend half a month finishing the Doctrine of the Mean, and then we will start studying the Analects," Miaozhen said.

Xu Erpeng nodded slightly: "Last time I asked Madam Qiu, she teaches the Book of Changes. Put aside everything else, just tell her to make sure she teaches you the Plum Blossom Divination."

It would be ideal if someone studying medicine could master the Plum Blossom Divination method.

These things were like gibberish to Old Lady Xu and Fourth Sister Xu, but Xu Erpeng was well aware of them. For him, it was normal for him to raise his own children and to take care of his younger sister on a regular basis, but to actually send them over to be raised by his older brother and sister-in-law was absolutely unacceptable.

At this moment, Old Mrs. Xu was attracted by the food. When she was at her third son's house, her third son's family was not very good at cooking, so she did all the cooking. The food was just cooked to a tasty level. But the second son's family cooked glutinous lotus root with brown sugar, savory roast chicken, fried tofu with lots of oil, and a pot of rice with dried tofu, water celery and minced meat. It was very fragrant.

Just as they were enjoying their meal, Xu Erpeng asked, "Did you know you were coming here, brother?"

Grandma Xu asked in confusion, "What are you talking about with your older brother?"

"Mother, back then you told me that since my eldest brother was someone else's son-in-law, he would mostly rely on that side. I went out to study, while Sanlang didn't, so it was only natural that the family rice shop would be left to Sanlang, and I agreed. But later, Sanlang continued to study, and if he hadn't failed the county exam three times, he probably wouldn't have taken over your rice shop. These disputes between you adults are not something we children should interfere with. After all, it wasn't easy for you and Dad to raise us. So, when Grandfather passed away and we didn't have enough money for the burial, I paid for it to save face for you. You and Dad didn't want the loom, but wanted the spinning machine, which cost several tens of taels of silver, and I even borrowed money to help you get it. Logically speaking, I've contributed quite a bit to this family, haven't I?" Xu Erpeng said seriously.

Instead of feeling ashamed, Old Mrs. Xu became furious upon hearing this: "We only asked you for this money because we were short of cash at the moment."

"Look how anxious you get as soon as I mention it. I still owe so much money about this house all these years, but I never expected you to pay it back, and I've never complained to you. But don't act like I'm your only son. If you really wanted to help, my eldest brother doesn't even have anyone to cook, clean, or do laundry. Why don't you go with Fourth Sister? It's obvious you're planning to let Fourth Sister come here and enjoy a life of luxury. Even my own daughter is so sensible because she's been studying and writing under my guidance, that's why I'm willing to spend money on her. My younger sister is so lazy and playful; she won't be able to settle down in two or three years. I'm not going to support this little devil." Xu Erpeng's voice grew louder and louder as he spoke.

Old Mrs. Xu was no match for him, especially since he had exposed her secrets in front of Madam Mei and a group of servants. She wished she could disappear into the ground.

Miaozhen applauded inwardly. Her father was so powerful! No wonder he was not good-looking, but her mother loved him so much. So that's why.

After the meal, Xu Erpeng personally escorted Grandma Xu and her daughter onto the donkey cart, and specially gave them a bag of red dates, nine and a half abalone, and a live duck to take back with them.

Judging from Old Mrs. Xu's expression, she was quite happy to receive these things and showed no anger towards her son. She even waved her hand and said, "Have someone bring the walnuts back later. Don't bother sending them."

Miaozhen was dumbfounded, but her father laughed and said, "If you don't explain things clearly, people will always misunderstand me as a nice guy who doesn't know what 'courtesy before force' means."