Chapter 14 A Chance Encounter
It was a hot July, and because Ru's eldest son was getting married in August, she didn't have much time to see patients. Miaozhen stayed home to escape the heat, wondering if Tan Yunxian would come for Ru's son's wedding. She had been studying medicine with Ru for three years now and had a thorough understanding of gynecology. She was quite experienced in treating leukorrhea, menstrual disorders, metrorrhagia, pregnancy, miscarriage, difficult labor, and postpartum care.
She naturally still wanted to delve deeper into gynecology, but there was a problem: she had no reputation, was young, and not yet married. Without a powerful person to endorse her, it was absolutely impossible.
When the Suzhou Prefecture summoned female doctors to the palace, Ru Xiniang was also recommended. If she hadn't withdrawn after hearing that someone from the inner palace would be taking the exam, she probably would have been selected.
Although Ru Xiniang learned medicine from Ru Shi, she was not very bright and often made mistakes in diagnosis.
However, she had the help of her aunt, Madam Ru, who provided financial and material support and used her connections to secure her a chance to be selected, but she had no one to help her.
Even if you follow Ru to treat other people's illnesses, you still have to wait and work your way up to get ahead.
Ancient times are different from modern times. Even her father, who was like this, was secretly overheard talking to her mother about how they should start paying attention next year. Once a marriage is arranged, it will not be easy for them to go out again.
She didn't necessarily want to become famous, but nowadays women weren't allowed to open clinics, and most patients sought treatment from people with a reputation. Ru Shi's reason for seeking treatment was that her family came from a medical lineage, while hers wasn't. Even if she had medical skills, patients wouldn't seek her out. What's worse, if you have no reputation, people won't trust you even if you treat them, and they might turn around and blame you for something they didn't understand.
In the future, people will confuse her with a proper doctor or a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, making it difficult for her to advance in her career. If she can enter the palace to treat the people in the inner court, she won't need to ask for help in the future; people will be begging her to treat them.
Just then, Ma Yulan came over and said with a smile, "I thought you had gone out these past few days."
"It's so hot, I naturally stay at home to escape the heat. By the way, I heard from my mother that you went to the Li family. Why are you back so soon?" Miaozhen said as she asked someone to bring over the honeydew melons that were soaking in the well water.
Ma Yulan quickly waved her hand: "Speaking of this makes me angry. You know, Madam Li loves to play cards. One of her card-playing friends grabbed my hand and wouldn't let go, while praising her grandson to the skies. Her hands were all sweaty. She also said I was lazy, and that's how she started to discipline me."
Because the two families were neighbors and had a close relationship, Ma Yulan often confided her worries to Miaozhen.
She is a little over a year older than Miaozhen, and is now thirteen years old, which is also the age for marriage proposals. Generally, after a marriage proposal, the family prepares the dowry, and it takes another two or three years before the bride is married off.
A woman's life seems to be arranged so quickly.
Miaozhen then said, "Your mother loves you so much, she will definitely have plans for you. But how do you plan to celebrate your birthday? Why don't we invite Sister Wang and Sister Tong together this year and have a chat?"
“I have a good idea,” Ma Yulan thought. “Don’t those adults have tea parties? I’ll ask my mother to organize one. We can go with the adults and have a private chat behind closed doors. Otherwise, I can just invite people over by myself. It’s fine for you and Sister Wang, but I’m afraid Sister Tong won’t be able to make the decision.”
Miaozhen praised her for her thoughtfulness, and the two of them discussed it together.
Finally, Ma Yulan said, "Do you know why Tong Meimei isn't allowed to come out? It's all because of the Li family."
Miaozhen couldn't help but say, "The father of the second young master of the Li family is an instructor, a rank of eighth grade, and the father of Sister Tong is a prefectural clerk, also a rank of eighth grade. They are a perfect match. In fact, the Tong family is even more well-off."
The Li family is no longer what it used to be.
Ma Yulan sighed slightly: "Who can argue with that? The eldest son of the Li family went to his aunt's house in Jinling, supposedly hoping to gain influence by relying on a powerful in-law family."
Miaozhen had met the eldest son of the Li family, who often played Cuju (ancient Chinese football) in the alley outside Changmen Gate.
It seems that men are also calculating their marriages for their own future, so why should women just accept their fate? Besides, to some extent, if you are capable, famous, and can develop your career better, you will have more choices in marriage in the future.
Ma Yulan thought Miaozhen would despise Li Dalangjun's behavior, but to her surprise, Miaozhen was in a daze. She picked up the sliced melon and said, "Since it's agreed, I'll talk to you again when the Tong family agrees."
"Okay, okay." Miaozhen finally came to her senses.
Ma Yulan ate a few slices of melon here, then felt sleepy and took a nap at my place before going back. Miaozhen had also planned to take a nap, but she couldn't fall asleep. She opened her money box again, which contained a five-tael gold ingot and two strings of cash. That was all her savings.
The family had just paid off their debts at the end of the year, and now was the time to save money. Her father also said that he didn't know when the writing job would be banned, so they needed to save some money so that if the harvest was bad in the future, the whole family wouldn't starve.
Their family had originally moved to Suzhou, but they had no land. If they lost this livelihood, they would probably all go hungry, so they had to plan ahead.
Miaozhen was also very sensible and never asked for much money. Although she didn't spend much of her daily allowance, she always made sure it was for something she actually needed, such as toilet paper, soap, and silk thread.
The next morning, she told Madam Mei about Ma Yulan's birthday the day before. Madam Mei readily agreed, "Since that's the case, I'll agree then. You guys were fine before, but after Madam Qiu left at the end of last year, you'll all be separated sooner or later."
"My daughter thinks so too."
"Take advantage of your youth and relax a bit more." Although Madam Mei's life is now ten times better than usual, she also wants her daughter to be able to relax a bit more.
Miaozhen smiled and nodded.
But then Madam Mei changed the subject: "Zhenzhen, tell me, did you treat Aunt Qiao on purpose? I think you are a cautious person, even though you are young."
Hearing her mother mention this, Miaozhen didn't mince words, saying, "Part of it is for my own medical skills, and another part is because I saw that Fifth Aunt always verbally bullied you. Even when you were poor and destitute, she didn't give you a single penny. I clearly upheld medical ethics, but she was cold and sarcastic towards me instead. Not only that, she also publicly mocked you for not being virtuous and for not arranging a concubine for my father. Since that's the case, then let her deal with the concubines who have children herself."
“You child…” Madam Mei was somewhat speechless.
She lost her mother at a young age, her stepmother treated her badly, and her father was irresponsible, so he preferred to avoid trouble. But her daughter seemed different; despite her young age, she was very resourceful and even retaliated in subtle ways.
Miaozhen added, "Besides, I'm just helping that person cure their illness. Whether they can conceive or not is not up to me."
Madam Mei didn't scold her too much, only saying, "If your aunt knew, she would probably blame you too."
“Then that’s her problem. Does this world only allow us to treat her illnesses and not others? Mother, although the Qiao family is a prominent local family, my teacher is the elder sister of Imperial Censor Qiu. Perhaps I have some connections.” Miaozhen was not afraid.
For some reason, Ms. Mei recalled that year when her family was poor. Her stepmother secretly gave rice to her stepsister, but only let her eat beans. She made her get up early in the morning to cook, feed the pigs, and cook, and would often accuse her of stealing money.
It was a dark period in her past, but her life has gotten better and better, and she no longer wants to think about it.
Suddenly, Madam Mei smiled, hugged her daughter, and said, "You're right, Mother won't blame you."
"Mother, no matter what I do, you are always so good to me," Miaozhen thought to herself.
Soon after Mrs. Ma received a response from the Tong family, they arranged to meet at Lotus Pond, rent a painted boat, and go boating on the lake to pick lotus pods.
It is said that Miaozhen and the others first took a carriage to the lakeside. At this time, many people were too excited to enjoy themselves, and the painted boat was still on the opposite bank, so everyone had to take small boats and row across. The boat that Miaozhen and the others were on was not rowed by a boatman, but by a boatwoman.
The old woman who rowed the boat was very talkative. She said she had been rowing the boat here for more than ten years.
“I’m here 360 days a year, rain or shine. I’ve made a living by rowing my boat, at least enough to keep my son and daughter from going hungry.”
Madam Mei sighed, "This is really not easy."
"Who can argue with that? My hands have been numb for six years, and no amount of medicine has helped." The old woman said this with a hint of helplessness in her eyes.
Although Miaozhen is now studying gynecology, she was acupuncture and moxibustion specialist before she transmigrated. She always has her maid carry her medicine box. She said, "This is rheumatism. A little moxibustion will do the trick. I have been studying medicine for three years. If you trust me, I can try it for you."
Originally, she thought that the old woman would refuse, after all, she was not very old. However, the old woman saw that Mei and Miaozhen were accompanied by servants and dressed in fine silk, looking like people of status. With her eyes that had seen countless people, she immediately agreed.
Mei said, "We'll have lunch at the nunnery on the shore at noon. You should go find us."
The old woman noted it down.
The boatwoman then escorted them to the painted boat. The classmates met and naturally had a lot to talk about. Tong Pan'er was still the same as before, insisting on going to the Wang family's house to play. Wang Xie said, "You should be more careful and stop saying childish things."
Of all these people, Wang Xie was the kindest, but she also had many worries. Her worries lay in the discord between her mother and sister-in-law. "My sister-in-law was so gentle before marriage, but after marriage, I realized how formidable she was. She turned my brother's room upside down, and my mother was very worried."
“I think Aunt Wang is a shrewd person, so you don’t need to worry,” everyone reassured her.
Wang Xie shook his head: "Now she's trying to take advantage of me, constantly hurling insults and even finding fault with me."
Miao Zhen thought Mrs. Wang was a capable person. She had heard that she had disguised herself as a man and sold silk with Mr. Wang when she was young, and only opened her own silk shop in middle age. She was definitely not an ordinary person.
These people who are able to establish themselves, even if they only do small businesses, are not ordinary people.
A field of lotus flowers, pink and white, half-open, with clear, refreshing lotus leaves, was in the pond. Everyone was composing poems together. Ma Yulan commented, "Among us, Xiaoxiao is the best at writing. It's a natural talent; she never makes a mistake and has quick wit. Before, when I was in school, I always complained about having to get up early, but now I still think school was great."
Everyone quickly agreed.
Then, at noon, the pleasure boat stopped at a nearby nunnery. Mrs. Ma said, "There's a patch of crape myrtle flowers behind this nunnery. Let's go there and play after we finish eating."
Unexpectedly, it started to rain during the meal. An old lady and the old woman we saw that morning also came in to take shelter from the rain. When the old woman saw Miaozhen, she said to the old lady, "Guest, please take shelter from the rain here for now. I'd like to ask this young lady to treat my illness."
The old woman quickly glanced at Miaozhen.
Miaozhen remained calm and found an empty room to perform moxibustion on eight acupoints for her. These were Jianyu acupoint, Quchi acupoint, Zhigou acupoint, and Lieque acupoint; she treated her for rheumatism.
Jianyu and Quchi are both acupoints of the Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian, Zhigou is acupoint of the Hand Shaoyang Sanjiao Meridian, and Lieque is acupoint of the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian. These four acupoints are all used to treat wind-dampness in the upper limbs.
"I'll apply moxibustion to you now, and then I'll prescribe a formula for you. It's Cangzhu Decoction, which is specifically for removing dampness."
...
Those outside had never witnessed Miaozhen's medical skills. Half an hour later, they saw the old woman come out, crying and laughing, saying, "My arm, which has been numb for so many years, has finally started to react. I owe it all to Miss Xu."
People who have never been sick have no way of understanding.
But then the silent old woman looked at Miaozhen and asked, "How did you treat her just now?"
Miaozhen saw that although the old woman was old, she was still very energetic. Since it was raining outside and she had nothing else to do, she told her about her method. The old woman nodded: "Your method is correct."
"Do you know about moxibustion?" Miaozhen asked.
The old woman just smiled, but the maids and servants behind her all looked like they wanted to say something but hesitated. Miao Zhen was smart, so she didn't ask any more questions, but only asked them where they were from. When she heard that they were from Wuxi and had come here to drink, Miao Zhen thought to herself, "Could this be Tan Yunxian?" She had just used a method that she had read in her book "Miscellaneous Sayings of a Female Physician".
But she wouldn't let any opportunity slip by. If this person was someone she knew, she would eventually meet him at the Tao family's house, and she could ask him for advice, perhaps even become his apprentice. If he wasn't, then it would just be a chance encounter.
Therefore, she sighed: "I am now studying gynecology with my husband, but I am the only one who loves acupuncture. Back then, Sun Simiao said in his book 'Emergency Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold' that our Wu and Shu regions have many rivers and lakes, and we need to do acupuncture two or three times every time we come. It's just a pity that I am not from a family of doctors, otherwise, I would really like to study acupuncture more."
When the old woman heard her say this, she asked her what medical books she had read. When she heard her answer, she was very surprised: "It is really not easy for someone so young to be able to read so many books."
He then asked her a few questions and saw that Miaozhen answered fluently and had lofty aspirations, which made him feel a sense of goodwill and a desire to cherish her talent.
This elderly woman was Tan Yunxian from Wuxi, attending the wedding banquet of Ru's son. She was over seventy years old; her son had passed away twenty years ago, and her grandson had also been implicated in the tragedy. Listening to this young woman talk about how, after becoming an apprentice, she went out early and returned late every day, diligently studying medical books, reminded me of my own childhood, nestled on my grandmother's lap, reading medical texts…
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
