Chapter 111 Folk Remedies
Pei Zhi frowned, but there was nothing he could do. He could only tell Ye Wanning, "Be careful. If anything happens, have a palace maid send a message. I'll wait for you outside the palace gate."
"I know, don't worry." Ye Wanning nodded and followed the eunuch into the palace. The palace was ornately decorated and resplendent, but she had no mood to appreciate it.
She followed the eunuch to the Empress Dowager's palace and saw the Empress Dowager lying on a soft couch, her face pale and her spirits low.
"No need for formalities, quickly let me see." The Empress Dowager used a bit of force and waved her hand.
Ye Wanning stepped forward and took the Empress Dowager's hand to feel her pulse. She gently placed her hand on the Empress Dowager's pulse and only put it down after a long while. She then carefully examined the Empress Dowager's tongue coating and said, "Your Majesty, this is due to insufficient qi and blood, coupled with the recent stress. I will prescribe a prescription for you. Get some medicine to regulate your body and you will recover soon."
The Empress Dowager nodded, her eyes filled with weariness: "I've heard that many people here were saved because of your superb medical skills. You truly live up to your reputation."
Ye Wanning quickly replied, "Your Majesty is too kind. This is what I should do."
Afterwards, Ye Wanning wrote out the prescription and prepared the medicine in the palace, and then had a palace maid decoct the medicine and feed it to the Empress Dowager. By the time everything was settled, two hours had passed.
Pei Zhi waited outside the palace gate, carrying a food box containing red bean buns and osmanthus cakes, Ye Wanning's favorites, which he had ordered freshly made by the kitchen. He kept glancing inside the palace gate, his heart filled with worry, fearing that Ye Wanning might be mistreated inside.
An official passing by saw him and greeted him, "General Pei, why are you standing here? Aren't you going in?"
Pei Zhi smiled and replied, "The Empress Dowager summoned Ye Wanning to the palace for a pulse diagnosis, and I am waiting for her outside." But he was still worried.
Seeing this, the officials didn't ask any more questions. Time passed by, and the snacks beside Pei Zhi's feet grew cold, but he still stood upright and waited.
Finally, the palace gates opened, and Ye Wanning emerged with a palace maid. Pei Zhi rushed forward, grasping her hand anxiously and asking, "Are you tired? Did the Empress Dowager give you a hard time? Were you mistreated?"
Seeing his anxious expression, Ye Wanning couldn't help but laugh: "I'm fine. The Empress Dowager didn't make things difficult for me and even praised my medical skills." She took out a piece of osmanthus cake from her bosom and brought it to Pei Zhi's lips, "This was a gift from the Empress Dowager. Take a bite; it tastes good."
Pei Zhi took a bite, his mouth filled with the sweet fragrance of osmanthus, and his worries dissipated. He took Ye Wanning's hand and handed her the food box: "I brought you red bean buns and osmanthus cakes. Eat something, you must be hungry."
Ye Wanning took the food box, opened it, and found the pastries inside were still steaming hot. She picked up a red bean bun and put it in her mouth; it was incredibly sweet, and her heart was filled with sweetness too: "How did you know I was hungry?"
“You haven’t eaten anything since this morning, of course I know you’re hungry.” Pei Zhi smiled and wiped the red bean paste from the corner of her mouth. “Next time something like this happens, don’t be stubborn, you must tell me.”
Ye Wanning hummed in agreement, nestled in his arms, feeling incredibly warm inside.
The book market in the capital was vast, offering a wide variety of ancient and new books, with booksellers loudly hawking their wares to attract passersby. Ye Wanning and Pei Zhi, hand in hand, strolled through the market, searching for books that satisfied their tastes.
"Look at this book, 'Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases,' it's a unique copy from the previous dynasty." Ye Wanning picked up the yellow-covered book and flipped through it, her eyes full of surprise.
"Buy it if you like it." Pei Zhi smiled and took out some silver from his pocket, handing it to the bookseller.
The two continued walking and came to a corner of the book market. The bookstall there was very simple, and the few books were old and rarely visited. Ye Wanning, however, was attracted by a blue leather-bound book. She picked it up, blew away the dust, and saw the words "Folk Medical Prescriptions" written on it.
"This book looks quite old." Ye Wanning flipped through its contents, which were full of folk remedies, all very useful. When she turned to the recipe for "Double Flower Drink," her eyes suddenly lit up with excitement: "There are annotations next to this recipe!"
Ye Wanning suddenly exclaimed, pointing to a line of small characters next to the square: "This is my mother's handwriting! I often watched my mother write when I was little, there's no mistake!"
Pei Zhi smiled and took the book, glanced at the small print, and then looked at the excited Ye Wanning: "It's the handwriting from your mother's letter that you showed me before."
He flipped through the pages and exclaimed excitedly when he saw the "Prescription for Treating Arrow Wounds!" Next to the prescription was a line of small print, the handwriting strong and familiar to him. "This is your father's handwriting!"
“Wan Ning, look at this!” Pei Zhi pointed to the small print in the book. “It’s my father’s handwriting! He studied medicine when he was young and was especially good at collecting prescriptions for treating arrow wounds.”
Ye Wanning snatched the book and looked at it with Pei Zhi. Sure enough, it was General Pei's handwriting. The two saw surprise and disbelief in each other's eyes—it turned out that their parents had crossed paths decades ago because of this medical book, and had both made annotations on the prescriptions.
"What a coincidence." Ye Wanning smiled, her eyes a little red. "My mother and your father certainly never imagined that their children would meet because of this book."
“Yes, this is fate.” Pei Zhi held her hand tightly, his eyes full of tenderness. “Perhaps our fate was already predetermined by them.”
Seeing their excitement, the bookseller smiled and said, "You two have excellent taste. I acquired this book from an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor. It sat there for many years without anyone wanting it. I never expected it to be so meaningful to you two."
"We'll buy this book." Pei Zhi took out some silver and handed it to the bookseller, carefully putting the book away. "We'll buy it no matter the price."
Returning from the book market, both the senior and junior sisters were carrying a copy of "A Collection of Folk Medical Prescriptions," filled with practical, ancestral remedies. Ye Wanning leaned against Pei Zhi, flipping through the annotations in the book: "My mother must have really liked this book back then, otherwise she wouldn't have written so many annotations."
“My father was the same,” Pei Zhi said. “He once told me, ‘A good remedy can save ten thousand lives, so I keep it hidden.’”
Back at the General's Mansion, her senior sister and junior brother placed the medical book and the letters on the bookshelf in the study, where their parents' letters were also kept. Looking at the books and letters on the shelf, Ye Wanning felt a warm glow in her heart.
She knew that this medical book was not just an ancient text, but also a testament to the extraordinary bond between their two families, and a connection between her and Pei Zhi. "We'll leave our own mark on this medical book in the future," Ye Wanning said with a smile. "When we get old, we'll show it to our children and tell them our story."
Pei Zhi returned from the Western Regions with some local specialties, including raisins, almonds, and a huqin (a two-stringed bowed instrument). This huqin was made of mulberry wood, a type of wood unique to the Western Regions, with carved patterns on its body and strings made of horsehair, making it look very precious.
“This is a huqin from the Western Regions. Locals say it can play the most beautiful melodies.” Pei Zhi handed the huqin to Ye Wanning, his eyes full of anticipation. “I learned a piece called ‘The Phoenix Seeks Its Mate’ and wanted to play it for you.”
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