66 The poison remains
◎It would be more reasonable to give him a younger brother◎
Chu Yufu was just wondering who this noble lady was, and who the 'A Zheng' she was talking about was, when she saw Madam Shen's expression suddenly change. She quickly glanced at her son, who was taking a short nap on the bed, and called out in a low voice, "Sister Yi!"
The noble lady heard the voice, pursed her lips, glanced at her, and turned to walk out: "Let's go out and talk."
Madam Shen pondered for a moment, then turned to Chu Yufu and said, "Miss Chu, please come with us." Although Chu Yufu was now married and should be called "Mrs. Chu", she was still young and of a lower generation, so Madam Shen was still used to calling her "Miss".
Young Master Yan's health has indeed improved recently. Chu Yufu originally wanted to discuss with Doctor Xu later about prescribing some warming and nourishing medicine for him.
Then he turned to the two doctors guarding the bed and said, "Thank you, Doctor Xu and Doctor Hu, for taking care of Master Yan for the time being. I'll be back soon and we'll discuss the medicine when I return."
Doctor Xu agreed, and Doctor Hu nodded.
She glanced over and noticed that for some reason, both of them were suddenly feeling a bit uneasy. Doctor Hu, in particular, had his hands hanging by his sides, his gaze fixed on the ground, and he was hunched slightly toward the gate. Suddenly, she recalled what Master Chu had said in the carriage: The Duke's wife and the Empress were very close friends.
Her heart suddenly trembled, and she instantly became alert.
The three of them left the main house. The noble lady and Madam Shen walked in front, arm in arm. Chu Yufu followed half a step behind, neither too close nor too far. The maids tactfully kept a distance of five meters.
A few people left Wutong Garden and walked along the path towards the small garden.
Beneath the weeping willows, Madam Shen's voice was soft, yet it carried undisguised fatigue: "...Sister Yi, I am already content with having only Chen'er. I dare not ask for more. Besides, his health is not yet fully recovered. My heart is hanging on him day and night, so how can I care about anything else..."
It turns out that A Zheng is Mrs. Shen's maiden name.
Chu Yufu raised her eyes slightly and her gaze gently swept across Mrs. Shen's profile.
"A Zheng, you are confused!" The noble lady stopped and looked sideways at Madam Shen, her tone carrying a bit of urgency as if she was disappointed in her husband.
"If you really care about my son, you should quickly take care of his health and give him a brother. That would be the right thing to do!"
Madam Shen's eyelashes trembled slightly: "What do you mean, sister?"
The noblewoman's eyes were sharp, and she lowered her voice. "How many eyes are watching the enormous fortune of the Xin Guo Mansion? That Concubine Chun in your mansion is not the kind of person who keeps quiet! She relied on her pregnancy to give birth to a son, and I am the steward of your mansion, so it is inevitable that she would have some improper thoughts! To put it bluntly, if Concubine Chun ever becomes malicious and seeks an opportunity to harm me, wouldn't her son naturally become the sole heir?"
She paused, her voice lowering. "But if you can recover and have a legitimate son, even if, even if something were to happen to me, this huge Duke's Mansion would never fall into the hands of a bastard! This way, she would stop having such inappropriate thoughts and it would also protect me!"
Madam Shen's face turned pale, her eyes flickered, and she subconsciously clenched the handkerchief in her hand. She whispered, "She wouldn't dare! Ever since that incident, I've been very strict with everyone in the mansion, and her indenture is firmly in my hands..."
"Don't dare? Haven't I seen enough of these things?" The corners of the lady's lips curled up in a cold arc.
"What if she's willing to sacrifice her own life to secure a future for her son? Even if you can deal with her immediately, it will be too late. Will your master allow you to deal with the child as well? Don't even think about getting rid of her first. If she hasn't done anything yet and you take action first, then word will get out, and you, the mistress of the house, will be seen as mean and unkind, and intolerant, ruining your reputation as a virtuous woman..."
The group passed through the moon-shaped gate and stepped into the small garden of Duke Xin's Mansion.
In the small garden lies a rippling pond. In summer, lotus flowers, pink, white, and crimson, bloom in profusion. A few golden-red koi fish swim beneath the layers of lotus leaves, stirring up ripples in the water.
They walked slowly along the winding gravel path, along the edge of the pond. Chu Yufu lowered her eyes, trying her best to conceal her presence, her gaze fixed only on the hem of her skirt embroidered with a few green bamboo leaves.
She really didn't want to hear more about the disputes in the backyards of these wealthy families. As the saying goes, the more you know, the more trouble you will get into.
About half a quarter of an hour later, they walked into a pavilion by the water. The stone table was icy and the stone benches were slightly cool. The three of them sat down around the stone table.
The noble lady smiled as she turned her gaze towards Chu Yufu. She softened her tone and said softly, "I've heard Ah Zheng mention that Chen'er's health is improving, but I just haven't had the time to come. Now that I've seen it with my own eyes, I know it's true. His little face looks much rosier than in spring. Second Miss Chu, you're truly a skilled doctor."
Chu Yufu raised her eyes and looked at Madam Shen silently, then smiled modestly and said, "Madam, you are too kind."
The noblewoman's smile deepened. "General Pei is both brave and resourceful, a true commander. Miss Chu is a master of medicine, saving lives in times of crisis. They are truly a perfect match made in heaven, and couldn't be more perfectly matched. I heard from my boy that when Saibei was besieged, he not only had to thank General Pei for saving his life, but also Miss Chu for the anesthetic. Otherwise, the pain of having his flesh cut out would have been enough for him to endure."
Madam Shen spoke at the right time: "This is the Queen."
"Greetings to the Queen." Chu Yufu said in her heart, "As expected," and immediately stood up to pay her respects.
"Hey," Empress Wu reached out her hand, lightly supporting her, stopping her movements. Her tone was gentle, "I'm leaving the palace privately today. There's no need to be so formal. Just call me Madam Wu."
Chu Yufu stood up following her strength: "Yes, ma'am."
"Good boy." Queen Wu nodded with a smile.
The maids served tea. Empress Wu casually inquired about the recipe for the anesthetic and why it was so effective. Chu Yufu explained it in simple, easy-to-understand terms. Although Empress Wu didn't quite understand some of what she heard, her eyes were fixed on it.
After she finished speaking, Empress Wu's eyes lit up with admiration. "It's incredible that you're so knowledgeable at such a young age. It's a pity you're a girl. If you weren't bound by these constraints, you'd be free to soar freely."
After she finished sighing, she changed the subject lightly, took Madam Shen's hand and placed it on the stone table, and said to Chu Yufu: "In fact, the root of my congenital weakness is related to an old incident."
"Twelve years ago, when Ah Zheng was pregnant, she was poisoned by a concubine in the mansion, which led to her premature birth. Since then, not only has my body been weak, but Ah Zheng's body has also been completely weakened. So today, I would like you to take a look at Ah Zheng as well and see if there is anything you can do to help her recover."
Madam Shen let Empress Wu hold her hand without struggling, clearly agreeing. Chu Yufu reached out and gently placed her hand on Madam Shen's wrist, closing her eyes and listening intently.
The two ladies' eyes were fixed on her calm profile.
After a few breaths, Chu Yufu frowned slightly.
Mrs. Shen's pulse was extremely deep, requiring hard pressing of the fingertips to touch it. It was also as thin and weak as a thread, with a sense of difficulty in beating, which was an obvious sign of qi deficiency and blood deficiency.
She slowly withdrew her hand, not rushing to make a judgment, but raised her eyes and asked, "May I ask, Madam, what was the poison?"
Madam Shen and Empress Wu exchanged a glance, a hint of bitterness on her lips as she shook her head and said, "I don't know. When the incident happened, my mother immediately suspected the concubine and sent people to question her. Unexpectedly, when she saw that the matter was exposed, she hit herself against the pillar on the spot... The clues were cut off from then on. The imperial doctors tried several detoxification decoctions, but in the end, I don't know which one worked, and she was lucky enough to save her life."
"Then how did the imperial physician diagnose and treat the disease later, and what did he say?" Chu Yufu asked.
Madam Shen said, "The imperial physician said that it was a deficiency of both qi and blood, and that it needed to be slowly nourished. I have been taking decoctions and medicines all these years, but my health has always been up and down, with no significant improvement... What do you think, Miss Chu?" There was a hint of imperceptible hope in her voice.
"Um……"
Chu Yufu pondered for a moment, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the edge of the stone table. "The diagnosis of the Imperial Hospital officials is correct. The pulse indicates a severe deficiency of Qi and blood. However, years of warming and nourishing treatments have been ineffective. In my humble opinion, I'm afraid the residual toxins are lingering in the body, hindering the absorption of the medicine. We must first find a way to eradicate the root of this residual toxin before the subsequent treatment can be effective."
This wasn't a profound principle; if she could grasp it, the experienced imperial physicians wouldn't have missed it. However, Madam Shen held a noble status and enjoyed the Empress's favor, so the imperial physicians prioritized stability. They sought not success, but only to avoid error. Since they didn't know the source of the poison, they couldn't just flood her with antidotes like they'd done in a life-saving operation, risking the Duke's wife's precious life. The safest option was to use only warming and tonic medicines to maintain her vitality and prevent her condition from worsening.
Now that the Empress and Madam Shen had come in person and their words were sincere, and since she was not from the Imperial Hospital, she could naturally speak frankly about what was on her mind.
After hearing this, a hint of sadness flashed across their eyes. The crux of the matter was that unknown poison, but there was no way to investigate. What should they do?
Chu Yufu didn't feel that there was no hope.
She called Lanzhu over and took out a pen and paper from her medicine box. She said to Madam Shen, "Madam, why don't you tell me in detail the symptoms you experienced after being poisoned that year? I'll write them down. I can then look through the medical books when I get back to see if there's any record of them in my grandfather's notes."
Mrs. Shen nodded and recalled, "It started with me cleaning my teeth in the mornings. I noticed blood oozing from my gums, and I couldn't sleep well at night, with frequent dreams and frequent awakenings. I called a doctor, and he said it was due to excessive summer heat and excessive heart fire. Later, I started getting up more often to go to the bathroom at night, and my legs and feet were a little swollen. But I was pregnant at the time, so I couldn't tell whether it was pregnancy symptoms or poisoning. Then, for a few days, my back and waist ached so badly that I couldn't move my whole body. Then... I went into premature labor."
Chronic poison.
Chu Yufu wrote down everything on the paper, made a judgment in her mind, and then asked, "Since giving birth, Madam, have you felt anything strange?"
"I still often feel heavy, tired and weak, and I sleep lightly at night. And..." Mrs. Shen paused, a faint blush on her cheeks, and her voice lowered, "My period is always not very accurate."
In reality, it was more than just irregular periods. Sometimes her husband's feelings were stirred, but she felt no ripples in her heart, unable to arouse the slightest desire. She had to find excuses to decline, which led to her husband's frequent visits to Concubine Chun. Madam Shen was too shy to speak of these intimate matters to the married yet still too young Miss Chu.
Chu Yufu didn't think too much about it, only concentrating on writing down the irregular menstruation item. Looking at the symptoms listed on the paper, she was also a little puzzled. These descriptions were too broad. Many chronic poisonings progressed in this way. The only slightly unusual thing was the initial bleeding gums.
Seeing her frown, Madam Shen sighed inwardly, put on a faint smile, filled Queen Wu's teacup, and took the initiative to change the subject.
"The other day, my distant cousin, the daughter-in-law of the Xie family, came to visit me. She saw him playing chess with someone in the corridor. He looked very energetic and was amazed at your medical skills. She even asked me to introduce him to you, but I declined. I said that the girl was busy preparing for her own marriage and had no time to spare."
Chu Yufu put down her pen, two blushes appeared on her cheeks, and she looked a little shy: "Yes, Yufu has been a little overwhelmed recently."
Ever since the news of her treating the young master of Duke Xin spread, the number of invitations from various mansions has suddenly increased.
The wife of the Grand Tutor, the daughter of the Shaoqing... Old Madam Wei thought about her upcoming wedding and the complicated matters, and she also didn't quite agree with her running around like a doctor, which was not in line with the manners of a lady, so she politely declined all the offers.
【Author’s words】
[Dog head holding a rose] Here I come, babies!
Click on the author's homepage, collect the author, and roll around for love! [Poor] I really want a three-digit income of 55
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
