22 Got it
◎I now understand why so many doctors come to treat me, but none of them can cure me.◎
Two days later, a letter came from the Marquis of Mingxuan's Mansion. It had nothing to do with Prince Zhao, but was an invitation sent in the name of the fifth lady, Zhao Hanyun, inviting Chu Yufu and Lu Jiaan to come to the mansion to sit around the fire and enjoy the snow.
The next day, Chu Yufu got up early, had breakfast, changed into a lilac jacket and a smoky grey long skirt, sat by the mirror and had Yunsui tie a beautiful heart-shaped bun for her. Finally, she took out the jade hairpin given by the old lady from the wooden box and decorated her hair with it.
After she finished dressing up, it was almost time, so she took Lanzhu and Yunsui and walked out. As soon as she stepped out of the door, the north wind blew in her face, making a hissing sound, and she pulled her cloak tighter.
Lan Zhu looked up at the leaden sky and said, "It looks like it's going to snow."
Yun Sui said, "Miss, please go outside. I'll go see if my cousin is feeling better."
Chu Yufu nodded, hunching her neck. She walked to the second gate and got into the carriage that had been waiting there. After about half a quarter of an hour, the cotton curtain on the carriage door was lifted, and Cousin Lu came in with a hand warmer and sat across from her. "Sorry for waiting, sister."
Cousin Lu was wearing a tea-white jacket and skirt today, with chrysanthemum patterns embroidered in gold thread on the cuffs and hem. Her black hair was tied into a spiral bun, adorned with two gold-inlaid jade hairpins. It was obvious that she had dressed up carefully. Chu Yufu looked away, told the driver to set off, and then smiled and shook her head: "Not long."
The carriage and horses moved forward, their hooves clattering on the stone pavement. Lu Jia'an's heart trembled with the sound of the hooves. She straightened her sleeves, then her collar, and finally couldn't help but touch her hair. When she finished this series of actions, she looked up and saw her second sister looking at her with a smile. She couldn't help but blushing slightly, "Aren't you nervous, sister?"
Chu Yufu thought about it, nodded, and then shook her head: "A little bit, but Grandma and Dad also said that to Madam Jiang, I'm probably just going to take a look."
Lu Jiaan nodded slightly. That was true. She had heard this from her grandmother a few days ago. So many doctors had failed to cure Madam Jiang. Her second sister was so young, so most of their trips were in vain. But in the end, it was because of her...
Lu Jiaan sighed softly, took her hand and held it tightly: "Thank you for the trip."
After an incense stick of time, the carriage stopped at the gate of Mingxuanhou Mansion. The two people got off the carriage one after the other. Immediately, two servants came to greet them. One led the carriage to the side door to rest, and the other took the visiting card from Lanzhu's hand and led them into the mansion, saying that the fifth lady was waiting for them in the main courtyard.
Neither the Chu family nor the Li family was small, but it was only when Chu Yufu arrived at the Marquis' Mansion that she realized what was considered big. After walking for a long time, she finally reached the main courtyard. From a distance, she saw a lake blue figure in the house. It was Zhao Hanyun, whom she had met once at the Li family.
She saw Zhao Hanyun, and Zhao Hanyun also saw her. When Chu Yufu approached, her eyes lit up.
Today, Miss Chu Er has changed her rosy makeup from the one she wore at the Li family banquet, and her hair is no longer stuffed with hairpins and rings. She is dressed in a simple and elegant manner, with a pair of smiling eyes, and she walks towards people with a graceful manner that makes people feel good.
She stood up and greeted him with a smile, "Winter is boring. I stay in my room all day, either embroidering or reading. Today, I finally have someone to keep me company!"
Chu Yufu paused slightly, bowed as if she were one of her peers, and replied with a smile, "We're the same. If Miss Zhao hadn't invited us to play, we'd be stuck in the room counting chess pieces right now."
Lu Jiaan also bowed and greeted Zhao Hanyun: "Miss Zhao."
Zhao Hanyun returned the greeting with a smile and asked the two to sit down and have tea. They exchanged pleasantries about today's weather, the epidemic in Beijing, and finally talked about the collision at the Li family banquet some time ago, and asked about Chu Yufu's injuries.
During this period, Zhao Hanyun's eyes would occasionally fall on Lu Jiaan while drinking tea.
She was not familiar with the Second Miss Chu, and even less familiar with Lu Jia'an, who had just arrived in the capital. A few days ago, her own brother suddenly asked her to invite the two of them to his house to see her grandmother in the name of enjoying the snow. She felt puzzled. After all, she had never heard that the Second Miss Chu had medical skills before, and even if she did, many famous doctors could not cure her grandmother's illness. How could she, a young lady from an official family, be better than the imperial physician?
She pressed him, but he refused to say anything. Later, she sent Xier to ask his long-time attendant, only to learn that he was actually interested in the Lu family girl. Perhaps he had other intentions. The two of them had been chatting away at the Luo family's winter party, one saying one thing and the other agreeing with the other...
At this time, Miss Lu sat in front of her, and she couldn't help but take a few more glances.
After half a cup of tea, the three people of similar age became much more familiar with each other. Zhao Hanyun looked at the sky and suggested taking them to the attic in the backyard. The servants had already placed a tea stove and snacks there. Sitting in the attic, one could just enjoy the view of the red plum blossoms in the small garden. The group walked towards the backyard in a mighty manner. When they arrived at a courtyard with a plaque that read "Lin Tao Courtyard", she slowed down and said to the two of them.
"My grandmother is sixty-two years old and has a back injury. She's extremely afraid of cold and the wind, and she suffers greatly during the autumn and winter seasons. There's a warm room in Lin Tao's courtyard, and she moves in there for a while every winter." She paused before getting to the point of the invitation. "I've heard Miss Chu is a medical professional. If it's convenient later in the day, could you please come and see her and see if there's any way to alleviate her symptoms?"
Chu Yufu glanced at the tightly closed vermilion courtyard door, tilted her head, pursed her lips and smiled as she replied, "Of course it's convenient."
As soon as she finished speaking, she heard hurried footsteps coming from behind the gate beside her. Then the gate creaked open and a little maid hurried out. Seeing the group of people at the door, she was stunned for a moment and bowed at the knees, "Fifth Miss."
Zhao Hanyun looked behind her and saw the maids coming and going in the courtyard, all with hurried steps. Some were holding towels, some were holding hot water, and some were holding silver charcoal, and were carrying them to the warm room.
Her delicate eyebrows knitted slightly as she asked, "But grandma is not feeling well again?"
"Yes," the maid said, "The weather is bad today. The old lady complained of back pain early in the morning and sent for Doctor Yuan from Baicaotang. He is currently seeing a patient inside. The charcoal in the courtyard is running low, so she sent this servant to the storehouse to get some."
Zhao Hanyun waved her hand, signaling the maid to get busy. She no longer had the mood to make tea and admire the snow. She simply said to Chu Yufu, "Why don't we go see Grandmother first?"
Originally, this visit was not for tea and fun. After hearing her say this, Chu Yufu and Lu Jiaan nodded in agreement.
Zhao Hanyun was in front, and the two sisters followed behind. After entering the courtyard, they walked a few steps inside and came to a small attic. As the attic door opened, Chu Yufu knew why this place was called a warm room.
The room was no more than ten meters wide, and the floor was paved with dark blue stone bricks, which felt warm when stepped on. In the center of the room was a square pool with a charcoal fire burning inside, steam rising. The maids and servants serving in the room were only wearing thin clothes.
On the east side of the room stood a large bed with carved green curtains, on which lay an old woman with gray hair.
There were two men standing beside the bed. The middle-aged man was dressed as a doctor, with his hands on the old woman's waist, looking like he was doing a massage. The other young man stood sideways behind him, revealing half of his handsome profile. It was Prince Zhao.
The three of them walked over quietly, stopped by the window, and watched the doctor's movements quietly.
The old woman was wearing two layers of clothes with white silk cloth on top. Doctor Yuan pressed the silk cloth gently. Although his movements were light, the old woman still let out a soft moan. Her eyes were half closed, and a trace of pain flashed between her brows.
After a moment, the middle-aged man withdrew his hand, looked up, and bowed slightly to Prince Zhao: "The old lady's prescription remains the same as before, there is no change. Later, Prince, you can directly send someone to Baicaotang to get the medicine."
Prince Zhao frowned slightly, his expression somewhat grim, and said, "Doctor Yuan, is there really no other better prescription?"
Doctor Yuan shook his head and said, "I have tried many prescriptions for relaxing muscles and activating blood circulation, but after trying many, I found that this one is indeed the most suitable..."
When they mentioned the prescription, Chu Yufu took two steps closer to Zhao Hanyun's ear and whispered softly, "Fifth Miss, do you know what prescription the old lady used?"
Zhao Hanyun whispered back, "I don't know the exact name of the recipe, but I know it's Doctor Yuan's secret family recipe. After you get the herbs, wash them, wrap them in white linen, steam them, and then apply them to your lower back. It can promote blood circulation and relieve pain."
"Doctor Yuan is an expert in treating injuries in the capital, and his massage skills are incredible. When he first started treating Grandma, the results were very good. We all thought Grandma would soon recover and were extremely happy. But..." She paused, sighed, and continued, "In the past year, Grandma's back pain has become more and more frequent, and Doctor Yuan doesn't have any good solutions."
Massage, hot compress...
Chu Yufu seemed to be thinking about something, and hesitated, "Just a massage and hot compress?"
Zhao Hanyun said: "Yes."
As early as when she heard cousin Lu's description, she guessed that the disease that Mrs. Jiang suffered from was most likely "lumbar disc herniation" - sitting or standing for a long time would cause lower back pain, and being aggravated by cold were all typical symptoms. Then it developed into unilateral hip and leg pain, indicating that the disease had further progressed, the tissues around the lumbar disc were damaged, inflammatory mediators were released, nerves were stimulated, and neuralgia was caused.
But this was just her guess, and she was hesitant to confirm it for two reasons.
Firstly, I was not sure because I had not seen the patient in person. Secondly, this disease was classified as Bi syndrome in traditional Chinese medicine, which was not a serious illness. It was impossible that the famous doctors in Beijing had tried many treatments but failed to get better, so I suspected that it might be other difficult and complicated diseases with similar symptoms.
But now that she had arrived at the Marquis' Mansion and had seen Old Madam Jiang with her own eyes, she was certain in just a moment that what Old Madam Jiang was suffering from was a herniated lumbar disc. She also understood why so many doctors had come to treat her but none of them could cure her!
【Author’s words】
Thank you for the unknown baby's nutrient solution yesterday!
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