herb gathering
After leading the two boys back to the pharmacy, Xu Ruoyan threw them a rag and a broom, saying, "I'm going out for a bit. When I come back, I need to see that you've cleaned this place up."
The two boys readily agreed.
Xu Ruoyan went out to buy some medicinal herbs. Now that the pharmacy was almost ready, she needed to open it as soon as possible; she couldn't delay any longer, as the money she had wouldn't last long.
Before coming, she had Zhuying scout things out. She was lucky this time, as she happened to arrive during the opening of the capital's medicine market, which was located near the Wangcheng Temple. After asking around, she soon spotted the Wangcheng Temple plaque hanging high above.
When she got closer, she was really surprised. The scale of this medicine market was so large that it felt like she could walk for three days and still not get out. And everyone who came here was sure to find the medicinal materials they needed.
"'A hub of goods, a gathering place for merchants, and medicinal herbs from the mountains and seas—the ancients were truly right!'"
Xu Ruoyan shook the basket on her back, rubbed her hands together, and prepared to go in and get to work.
"Bupleurum, Panax notoginseng, Rehmannia glutinosa, Coptis chinensis... give me a lot of these, a hundred catties of each, to start with." She casually tossed out several large pieces of silver like a nouveau riche. "Deliver them to the house next to the old locust tree at the entrance of Willow Lane."
As she walked, she not only stocked up on many medicinal herbs at the pharmacy, but also bought some rare herbs that could be used to treat Pei Jue's eyes.
There were many people browsing the medicinal herb market. She was thin and carrying a large bamboo basket, so it was easy for her to lose her balance as she jostled through the crowd. Just then, a large, fat man adorned with gold and silver jewelry walked towards her. Xu Ruoyan's gaze was lingering on the abundant medicinal herbs, and by the time she looked up, it was too late. She tried her best to dodge, but she couldn't manage to move aside and bumped straight into the fat man.
"Ouch!" The fat man clutched his stomach and staggered back, his face contorted in pain.
Xu Ruoyan's face darkened, thinking to herself, "I haven't even earned any money yet, could I be getting swindled?"
"Young master, young master, what's wrong?!" Three or four servants rushed over to help the fat man, but the fat man was so fat that he looked like Maitreya Buddha. Not only was he not helped up, but he almost knocked the servants down.
Xu Ruoyan grinned at the scene before her, which was both heartbreaking and amusing. She stepped forward, used her inner strength to grab the man's arm, and pulled him up.
Once the man had regained his footing, she let go of him and shook her arm.
Since embarking on her journey to the capital, she hadn't practiced martial arts with Pei Jue. Now it was time to pick it up again; this skill couldn't be neglected for even a day.
"Are you alright?" She forced a worried expression, seemingly asking, but in reality, she had already looked the person in front of her up and down several times.
The heavy gold necklace draped over her neck, her long hair was tied up high with a gold hairpin, and she wore a large gold earring. Her hands were even more extravagant, with gold bracelets and gold beads stacked one on top of another, and eight of her ten fingers adorned with gold-inlaid jade rings. Her clothes were also embroidered with gold thread, with peony and cloud patterns intertwined, glittering with gold light.
It almost blinded Xu Ruoyan.
What kind of tycoon must be to be this wealthy...?
Xu Ruoyan is now not only worried about her wallet, but also about her personal safety.
"Are you alright?" she asked cautiously, her worry genuine.
The man clutched his stomach and waved his hand, saying, "It's nothing, it's nothing..."
As he was talking, he suddenly collapsed to the ground.
Xu Ruoyan: ...
I'm afraid I'm going to die here today.
At this moment, several guards squeezed up from behind to help the man. The guards were stronger than the servants, and three or four of them dragged their young master into the temple. A monk saw this and quickly led them into an empty room.
Xu Ruoyan followed behind, meek and submissive.
"Esteemed benefactor, please have some water first." An old monk handed a cup of tea to the fat man.
The fat man was still rolling on the ground, clutching his stomach.
Xu Ruoyan's expression darkened.
No, she's petite to begin with. Even if she rammed into him with all her might, it wouldn't cause a grown man much pain, especially since the person in front of her has a thick layer of fat protecting him.
She stepped forward, knelt on one knee in front of the man, and looked up at the servants, saying, "Help me control him."
Upon hearing this, the servants looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
"If you don't want to see your young master die, you'd better cooperate!"
Seeing Xu Ruoyan's serious expression, the servants and guards dared not hesitate and rushed over to subdue the man who was baring his teeth and claws.
Xu Ruoyan acted swiftly, first prying open his eyelids to look at his eyes, then pinching his chin with one hand and patting his face with the other: "Stick out your tongue."
A servant was about to speak up to stop her, but when he remembered that this unfriendly-looking woman was saving his young master, he immediately fell silent.
Xu Ruoyan moved her finger down and pressed on his upper right abdomen, which immediately caused him to scream.
One of the guards couldn't take it anymore and jumped up, ready to draw his sword.
Then Xu Ruoyan glared at him and sent him flying back.
Then, Xu Ruoyan lifted his big, fat arm and forcefully pulled down his bunch of jingling gold bracelets, barely exposing his wrist, and then stretched out four fingers to touch it.
Soon, Xu Ruoyan frowned deeply.
Upon seeing this, the servant's face changed, and he was about to burst into tears.
"The flesh is too thick; I can't feel the pulse," Xu Ruoyan said calmly.
The servant opened his mouth and then closed it again.
Everyone held their breath and waited for a while before Xu Ruoyan finally spoke.
“Cholecystitis, nothing serious,” she said, secretly relieved. “It’s probably because I bumped into the area where the gallstones were, which caused the severe pain.”
She looked up at the old monk and said, "Abbot, could you please fetch a bowl of hot water and a towel?"
The old monk nodded and gave the same instructions to the young monk, who then ran off with his slender legs.
Xu Ruoyan turned to the guard closest to her and said, "You, help me turn him over so he's on his side."
Although the fat man was in so much pain that he was almost unconscious, he was still somewhat conscious. Hearing what Xu Ruoyan said, he immediately felt like a fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of others.
The guards and their companions hurriedly pushed the fat man over, shouting "Heave-ho, heave-ho!" to make it look like dockworkers were moving heavy cargo.
Once they were in position, the little monk ran over with a basin of hot water. Xu Ruoyan soaked a towel in the hot water and applied it to the fat man's upper right abdomen.
Then, Xu Ruoyan took out her needle case and spread it on the ground. She took out a thin needle with one hand and pressed it against the fat man's Yanglingquan acupoint with the other. The next second, the needle pierced the fat man's skin and embedded itself in his flesh. Then, another needle was inserted into his gallbladder.
Xu Ruoyan straightened up and patted the dust off her hands: "Alright, leave the needles in for twenty minutes, and the pain will subside."
Once the fat man's pain subsided, she breathed a sigh of relief and plopped down on the ground.
A servant boy came over when he saw this. Xu Ruoyan glanced at him and recognized him as the one who had reacted the fastest after the incident.
"Miss, my name is Wang Wu, and I am the young master's personal servant. May I be so bold as to ask, what was that... gallbladder... gallbladder what illness you mentioned earlier?"
Xu Ruoyan then realized that the term "cholecystitis" probably didn't exist at that time.
She carefully considered her words before replying, "It's just rib pain and gallbladder distension, nothing serious. It can be cured with consistent treatment."
To everyone's surprise, the servant's face remained troubled upon hearing this.
"But our young master has been taking medicine for a year, and he still hasn't gotten better. Why is that?"
Xu Ruoyan thought that since she had accidentally bumped into the person while walking, answering their question now would be a form of compensation, so she patiently said, "The treatment for this disease is long-term, and it generally takes several months to several years to cure, depending on the individual. It could also be because the prescription is unsuitable." She held out her hand to the servant: "Do you have a prescription? Let me take a look."
The servant hurriedly took out a piece of paper from his pocket and respectfully handed it to Xu Ruoyan: "We came to the medicine market today for two reasons. First, we want to purchase medicinal herbs. Second, we want to go to the doctor to see if the young master's prescription needs to be adjusted."
As Xu Ruoyan took the medicine, she asked curiously, "Looking for a doctor? Families like yours usually have private doctors at home, right? Why are you coming out to find a doctor?"
"This doctor was introduced to us by our young master. He said he was even more skilled than a private doctor, so naturally we came to find him."
Xu Ruoyan stopped asking questions and focused on studying the prescription in her hand.
At a glance, she noticed that something was wrong with the prescription.
Ginseng and atractylodes are used to strengthen the body, while angelica and white peony are used to replenish qi and blood. They have absolutely nothing to do with treating gallstones.
She pondered it in her heart, but ultimately didn't say it aloud.
“This recipe is indeed not suitable for your young master,” she said. “Do you have paper and pen? I’ll rewrite it for him.”
After receiving the paper and pen, she quickly wrote down the names of medicinal herbs such as Artemisia capillaris, Gardenia jasminoides, and Rheum palmatum, then handed them to the servant and thoughtfully asked, "Can you understand this?"
The servant quickly took it, repeatedly expressing his gratitude.
She had rested and stood up to leave. After taking two steps, she remembered something, turned back to the servant and said, "Believe my prescription or not, it's up to you, but I think trying a different prescription wouldn't be a bad thing."
After all, wealthy people are extremely cautious and unlikely to entrust their health or even their lives to a prescription from an unknown source. Everyone has their own destiny; she can't control that.
When she finally returned to the pharmacy, the two boys had already cleaned it until it looked brand new. The boy seemed to be exhausted and was dozing off on the counter.
Upon seeing her return, Banxia immediately stood up, ran to her, and took the bamboo basket from her: "Madam, you're back."
Xu Ruoyan nodded, looked around, and smiled at her, saying, "You did a good job."
Banxia looked at her with a grin, her eyes shining as if stars had fallen into them.
“Go and wake up Honeysuckle,” Xu Ruoyan said gently, patting her head. “Let’s go home.”
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