20 Minor Punishment
◎Good medicine tastes bitter but is good for the disease◎
In recent days, Lan Zhu followed Chu Yufu and learned some knowledge about herbal medicine. After leaving Yunxi Hall, she quietly approached and said, "Miss, is the third brother really sick or just pretending to be sick? The medicine you prescribed for him contains Coptis chinensis and Sophora flavescens..." Are you really trying to make trouble for him?
"You're quite clever!" Chu Yufu winked at her, a dimple forming on her cheek. "It's true that he's ill. I don't dare to say anything nonsense, but it's also true that he should suffer!"
"So after taking the medicine, people who don't like studying will start to like studying?" Lan Zhu asked curiously.
"You'll know when the time comes!" Chu Yufu smiled slyly, but refused to say anything more. Instead, she said, "Go find the steward later and ask him to send someone to our courtyard to find a vacant side room and convert it into a kitchen. Starting tomorrow, I'll write out a list of ingredients and have them deliver them so I can prepare medicinal food for my third brother."
Lan Zhu pouted, unwillingly saying, "Miss, you are such a fool! Why do you have to cause yourself so much trouble?"
Chu Yufu patted her and said angrily, "Stupid, making it for him is just making it for ourselves. I don't care if he eats it or not, I'm kind of craving it anyway!"
Lan Zhu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized what was happening. Joy filled her eyes and eyebrows, and she pulled her sleeve and smiled innocently, "Girl, you are so smart!"
When they reached the fork in the road, Lan Zhu turned around and ran to find the manager. Chu Yufu shrank her neck, gathered her cloak and walked back quickly.
The winter weather changes suddenly. Just after she walked a few steps out of Yunxi Hall, the sky turned pale and yellow, the light was dim, and the cold wind cut her face like a knife. From a distance, she saw two thin figures standing at the gate of Zhuyu Courtyard. When she got closer, she found that they were her fourth sister Chu Linglan and her mother Aunt Bai.
As she approached, Aunt Bai bowed to her and said, "Second Miss."
Aunt Bai was a gentle and pretty woman with a graceful figure, dark skin, and ordinary facial features, except for her exceptionally beautiful eyes.
Like Concubine Wan, she was brought in to expand the Chu family's lineage, but she was different. Concubine Wan, due to her beauty, had been favored by Master Chu upon entering the mansion, but later fell out of favor. Concubine Bai, on the other hand, remained unfavored from beginning to end, like a wildflower kept on the outskirts of the house. Master Chu would visit her when he remembered her, to relieve his boredom, but he would let her go when he didn't. Wu Shi also didn't take her seriously, never placing any particular emphasis on her. Her life in the mansion wasn't good, but it wasn't bad either.
As the only two concubines in the mansion, she used to be able to talk to Concubine Wan, and the two of them occasionally interacted with each other.
Chu Yufu smiled and invited them in: "Fourth sister, Aunt Bai, how come you have time to come and sit with me?"
Aunt Bai brushed her long hair by her shoulders a little embarrassedly. "Lan'er's cough hasn't gotten better lately, and the medicine hasn't helped. That's why I thought I'd trouble you to take a look at her."
After walking into the main room and taking off her cloak, Chu Yufu pulled Chu Linglan to sit down, felt her pulse, and asked her to open her mouth to check her throat. She said in a gentle voice, "Fourth sister, there's nothing serious. She's almost recovered, with only a lingering cough. Avoid eating raw, cold, and greasy food these days. Boil some ginger, red dates, and brown sugar in water and drink it. Drink it a few times and you'll be fine."
Aunt Bai heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this and patted her daughter's back: "That's good, that's good, thank you for your help."
Chu Yufu smiled and said, "We are all sisters, why are we being so polite?"
When the two were about to leave, Chu Linglan thanked them shyly with a hoarse voice, and then took out two pieces of sugar wrapped in oil paper from her bosom and stuffed them into her hands before leaving with her mother.
Yun Sui came up and took away the teacups they had used, and refilled her cups with hot tea. She smiled and said, "Young lady, your place has almost become half a clinic. Everyone in the mansion knows that you are kind-hearted. Anyone who has any illness or pain wants to come to our Zhuyu Courtyard."
Ever since the Second Young Lady cured her and her cousin's illnesses, her reputation as a good doctor spread. Twice, when Mama Gu encountered a medical condition she couldn't cure, she came to ask for advice from the Young Lady. The Young Lady was kind and modest, and after listening, she gave her advice. Mama Gu went home and prescribed medicine, and it worked. Now, even other girls in the mansion come to see the Young Lady for treatment.
As one of the few maids in the courtyard, she was proud of it. The maids who had previously avoided serving in Zhuyu Courtyard now regretted it. No matter how much you eat, it's hard not to get sick. The people in the outer courtyard now call her Sister Yunsui, thinking that if they really fell seriously ill one day, if they had a good relationship with her, they could ask her to pass on a message to the Second Young Lady, and perhaps save their lives.
Chu Yufu shook the teacup lightly, skimmed off the tea leaves, and took a sip of tea.
It's not enough to just be famous in the mansion. Her ambitions are very high. It would be great if people outside knew about her excellent medical skills.
With Wu's instructions, the steward acted quickly and sent someone to set up a stove in Zhuyu Courtyard in the afternoon. The next day, the masters and servants in the courtyard got busy and made a dish of Adenophora, Polygonatum and Old Duck Soup to nourish yin and moisten the lungs.
The duck meat was stewed for several hours until it was tender and mellow, and the fat melted into the white soup. The sweetness of the Adenophora and Polygonatum was not like sugar, but like the sweetness of wild plants. The tempting aroma of meat filled the courtyard.
When the duck soup came out of the pot, Chu Yufu lined up four bowls in a row, filled them with thick soup, and put a few pieces of meat in each bowl, then invited the little girls to eat together.
Lan Zhu: "It smells so good! The girl's cooking skills are really good!"
Yun Sui: "It's so nice to follow you, girl. This is the first time I've eaten such delicious duck!"
Yinsuo: "It's delicious, but girl...is this really okay..."
Chu Yufu blew on the hot soup and drank it happily. "What's wrong with that? We're just trying out the food for Third Brother. How can we know if it's cooked well if we don't taste it?"
Yinsuo tilted his head and thought that what the girl said was right. He gulped down the soup and felt that it was so happy to follow the second girl!
After eating and drinking her fill, Chu Yufu chose an exquisite sky-blue Ru kiln bowl, filled it with a bowl of soup, a duck leg and a duck wing, put them in a food box and asked Lan Zhu to send it to Yunxitang.
On the second day, she made Poria cocos and pork ribs soup, on the third day, Tremella and lily soup, and on the fourth day, Angelica, ginger and mutton soup. After four days of nourishing with medicinal food, the girls in Zhuyuyuan felt their hands and feet were warmer and they slept better, but Chu Junze suffered!
Before dinner, Chu Junze's stomach twisted as he looked at the dark, bitter medicinal soup in front of him. He retched reflexively, covering his mouth and nose and shouting, "Get out! Take it away from me! I won't drink it!"
Mother Meng remained unmoved. With a stern face, she advised, "Third brother, good medicine tastes bitter but is beneficial to the disease. There is no such thing as delicious medicine in this world. You'd better drink it quickly. Once you drink it, your illness will be cured and you won't have to worry about it anymore."
Seeing Chu Junze's face full of bitterness and hatred, staring at the medicine bowl, she added, "It's useless for you to waste time with us. If it gets cold, heat it up. If it spills, boil it again. This is the Madam's order."
When Chu Junze heard her bring up her mother, he couldn't help but feel a headache. After hesitating for a while, he finally reached out, pinched his nose and forcefully drank the medicine, grimacing in the bitterness.
Mother Meng watched him drink the medicine and then left with everyone. The maid Hong Shao came over to feed him candied fruit and whispered, "Sir, Madam is doing this for your own good. When you're better, you don't need to drink anymore."
Chu Junze's eyes suddenly lit up. Yes, when he gets better, he won't have to drink this bitter medicine anymore! And his second sister's medicine seems to be of some use. After drinking it, he didn't feel as impatient and depressed as before.
The next day he got up early, which was rare for him. He lit the candle as soon as it was light, sat down at the desk and started reading. His voice was as loud as a bell, and he read for half an hour before he rested.
When Wu heard about this, she was dressing herself. She paused as she put on her earrings, overjoyed: "Really? He really got up early this morning and went to study on his own?"
Mother Meng was also very happy: "How could this be true? The candles were lit early, and everyone could hear the sound of reading! The second young lady is really amazing, the medicine cured the disease immediately, it's simply magical!"
Wu's eyes were filled with smiles. She pursed her lips and smiled for a long while before saying, "Since you're well, you can take the medicine for two more days and then stop. Oh, by the way, this is a credit to the second girl. Pick out a piece of brocade satin from the bottom of my box and send it to her."
Wu had four or five rolls of embroidered satin in her hand, and Madam Meng was unsure which one to give her. So she asked, "Madam, is it the one with a peony pattern or a diamond-patterned floral pattern?"
Mrs. Wu rolled her eyes at her and said, "The little girl is using peony patterns, but she doesn't even know if she can suppress them."
Mother Meng realized that she had asked a stupid question and kept silent.
-
On November 30th, the snow was lightly falling and the light in the room was particularly dim. Chu Yufu fell asleep naturally. She turned over and sat there for a while before calling for help.
Lanzhu lit the candles and brought hot water to help her wash up. Yunsui and Yinsuo brought breakfast to the table. After washing up, she sat down at the table and picked up the bowl of porridge. She found that the red bean porridge in the bowl was a little cold. She couldn't help but wonder, "Did I get up late today? Why is the porridge cold?"
The food in Zhuyuyuan was taken from the big kitchen. Usually, she woke up at the same time as the meal was served, so it was always warm when it was served.
Yunsui said, "Madam, the young lady, and the cousin are going to the Winter Meltdown Party today. They were busy dressing up this morning, so Madam asked the main kitchen to prepare food early. The food was delivered a little early, so how about I go and heat it up for the young lady in the small kitchen?"
The porridge wasn't too cold to be eaten, so Chu Yufu shook her head and said, "Don't bother."
After breakfast, she sent the maid out and casually lay on the bed with a book in her hand. She first silently recited the circulation pathways and main functions of the twelve meridians and the Ren and Du meridians for a while, then flipped through the "Four-Point Acupuncture" left by her grandfather, took out a cotton pad, and repeatedly practiced the movements of inserting the needle, lifting, inserting, and twisting.
This body has not undergone systematic training, and the finger strength and stability are not enough. Now it can only be said to be barely sufficient, and more efforts are needed.
In the afternoon, she spread out the half-written "Military Doctor's Guide" and bit the pen to add two new prescriptions she had just thought of. Just as she finished writing and the ink was not dry yet, she suddenly heard Lan Zhu come to report that her cousin was here.
She hurriedly put the book on the antique shelf beside her. Just as she put it there, Lu Jiaan knocked on the door and came in. He was cold, his lips were tightly pursed, and he looked at her with some trepidation.
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