Chapter Twenty-Eight: Rescuing a Person at the Grand Secretary's Mansion Meets Ridicule from Other Doctors
The old lady readily agreed.
"Thank you for your kindness, young lady. If you ever need my help in the future, please come to Xie Family Village to find me."
My husband's surname is Xie, and mine is Yang. If you don't mind, you can just call me Aunt Xie. And this coarse cloth handkerchief, I embroidered it myself; it's not worth much.
Come find me. If I'm not there, all my neighbors know about this handkerchief, and they won't mistreat you.
Xie Family Village? Xie Family Village in the ancient town of Lincheng County? Qin Zhining's eyelids twitched, as if she had thought of the original owner's mother's family home, which was Xie Family Village.
However, she was in a hurry to make money and didn't have time to pay attention to this, so she quickly paid fifty coins.
Just then, someone overheard someone say, "I heard that Lord Zhang's nephew is in a coma."
All the doctors examined him, but it wasn't poisoning, and he hadn't bumped or bruised himself. They didn't know what was wrong; they just couldn't find the cause.
"Oh dear, this is so troublesome! That—that Grand Secretary Zhang must be frantic! No wonder he offered such a hefty reward for a master physician. Sigh..."
Hearing this, Qin Zhining understood the situation and called to Qin Xiaoxiao, "Let's go take a look outside Grand Secretary Zhang's residence."
Qin Zhining clutched the coarse cloth handkerchief as she hurried through the streets and alleys, the edges of the fabric wrinkled from being pinched by her fingertips.
Qin Xiaoxiao had to run to keep up with her pace, looking at her tense profile, nervously gesturing and babbling.
Qin Zhining understood what she meant. She didn't turn around, but her voice carried an undeniable certainty: "If that cold poison is left untreated, the person will be beyond saving."
The whispers at the city gate and in the market earlier felt like needles chilled to the bone, pricking her heart.
Symptoms: Unconsciousness, no cause found, neither poison nor injury. These clues are rapidly piecing together in my mind, perfectly matching the symptoms of cold poison recorded in the ancient book in the space.
In particular, the clues about the intractable disease and cold toxins given to her by the Wood System made her even more convinced that the illness of Grand Secretary Zhang's nephew was caused by cold toxins invading his internal organs.
The stone lions in front of the vermilion gate of the Zhang Mansion have their eyes wide open in anger. The plaque above the gate that reads "Zhang Mansion" appears extremely understated, yet it seems to be shrouded in an unyielding cloud of sorrow.
Upon seeing the two women dressed in patched, coarse cloth, the gatekeeper immediately brandished his door stick, shouting, "Where did these beggars come from, daring to make a scene in front of the Zhang residence?"
Qin Zhining took out a notice torn from the city gate from her sleeve and said in a clear voice, "I can cure your young master's strange illness. Please inform him."
When Qin Zhining tore down the notice and stood in front of Zhang Gelao's mansion with the mute Qin Xiaoxiao, the crowd of onlookers had already packed in three or four layers.
A woman stood on tiptoe, tugging at the sleeve of the person next to her, staring wide-eyed in their direction; other idlers stood with their hands on their hips, talking loudly, spittle flying with their words.
"These two little girls are as skinny as reeds, and they dare to break into the Grand Secretary's mansion? They must be crazy for money!"
"Oh dear, don't even mention it. That young lady in front is the legitimate daughter of Magistrate Qin. She just returned from the countryside, and there was quite a commotion at the magistrate's residence yesterday."
Qin Zhining was completely unaffected by the surrounding noise, her back ramrod straight, her face as cold as if covered with a thin layer of frost.
Qin Xiaoxiao stood close to her, not saying a word, but her clenched fists revealed a fierce protectiveness.
The two stood side by side, displaying a certain confidence that showed they weren't intimidated.
Before long, the side gate of the mansion creaked open, and the steward, Li Shi, walked out through the narrow doorway, wide enough for two carriages to pass side by side.
His eyes swept over the two of them, his brows furrowing into a knot. His gaze swept over Qin Zhining and Qin Xiaoxiao as if weighing rags. His Adam's apple bobbed, but he ultimately didn't say "Where did these beggars come from?"
"Ladies, please come in." He reluctantly stepped aside, gesturing for them to enter through the door, his tone full of perfunctory politeness.
Amidst the murmurs and whispers of the crowd, Qin Zhining and Qin Xiaoxiao stepped inside.
As you walk through the winding covered corridors, the strong smell of medicine hits you like an impenetrable fog, and even the carved window frames seem to be covered with a layer of medicine stains.
Upon entering the bedroom, the first thing one sees is a young man curled up under the quilt—his face is frighteningly pale, like a vegetable leaf just pulled out of ice water, his chest rises and falls so weakly that they are almost invisible, and even his breathing is as thin as a wisp of smoke.
Grand Secretary Zhang stood guard by the bedside, his white beard hanging down to his chest, trembling with his rapid breathing.
He stared at the boy's bloodless face, his knuckles clenched so tightly they turned white, and his heart burned as if it were a ball of fire inside him.
This is the youngest son left behind by the late emperor. He was raised by the current emperor and they are like father and son. He was granted the title of Prince Rui Qin at the age of seven and is known as the Nine Thousand Years Old.
If anything were to happen to him in his territory, not only would his old bones be implicated, but the entire Zhang family would likely be exiled.
If things go wrong, the entire clan could lose their lives.
“This is our Master Zhang.” As soon as Li Shicou finished speaking, Qin Zhining curtsied and said, “This humble woman, Qin Zhining, greets Master Zhang.”
Qin Xiaoxiao followed suit and bent over as well.
Grand Secretary Zhang had no time for etiquette and hurriedly waved his hand to let them get up.
But when his gaze fell on the two thin, sallow faces, the glimmer of light that had just ignited in his eyes was instantly extinguished by doubt.
He secretly clutched the corner of the blanket, his heart pounding.
These two girls are probably not even fully grown yet; they can't even accurately feel a pulse, so what medical skills could they possibly know? Perhaps they've heard the household is in dire need of medical help and are trying to scam money!
"You...you really know how to treat illnesses? You can cure people?" Grand Secretary Zhang suppressed his panic and tried to keep his tone steady, but his words still trembled as soon as they came out.
As soon as these words were spoken, the doctors in the room erupted in an uproar.
Doctor Wang, who was leaning against the wall, sneered and slammed his medicine box shut. His voice was shrill and piercing. "Lord Zhang, are you just grasping at straws because you're desperate?"
These two girls probably can't even distinguish between a cold and a fever, yet they want to cure Young Master Zhou's illness?
Another doctor, Dr. Li, with a goatee, nodded in agreement, took two steps forward, and scanned Qin Zhining with his eyes, as if he were appraising merchandise.
"Young lady, I advise you to leave as soon as possible. We doctors with decades of experience are helpless with Master Zhou's illness. Do you think you are better than us?"
"What if you end up not curing the person, but instead wasting time and losing your own life!" If he were to miraculously cure the patient, his reputation as a doctor would be ruined.
Standing at the foot of the bed, Doctor Zhao was even more impolite. He rolled up his sleeves and pointed at Qin Zhining's nose, saying, "I think you're here to cause trouble."
"You had the guts to tear down the notice, but now do you even know anything about medicine? If you can't even explain the four diagnostic methods of 'observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation,' then get out of here and stop getting in my way."
Qin Zhining seemed not to hear the taunts, her gaze fixed only on the boy on the bed. She turned to Elder Zhang and asked, "My lord, may we begin examining the patient now?"
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