Chapter 22 (Combined Chapter)
In fact, Li Yao'e had mentioned Yu Zhoujin's family background before. The head of the Yu family was punished and dismissed from office due to the Great Rites Controversy during the Jiajing era. Yu Zhoujin's branch originally relied on the main branch for survival. Later, the Yu family declined, her parents died early, and she lived with her uncle's family.
Her uncle abandoned literature to pursue medicine, and he also possessed the Yu family's traditional medical skills, earning him the reputation of "Yu the One-Needle," as it was said that he could save lives with a single needle. It was because of this that her aunt took her to the West Mansion. The old lady of the West Mansion saw that she was exceptionally beautiful, skilled in needlework, backgammon, and everything else, and her medical skills were also superb.
It was also because of her grandson that she remembered the deceased Madam Yu, and also because Yu Zhoujin's uncle had passed away, leaving an unemployed aunt who still had to support her son, so she recommended her.
Of course, Li Yao'e knew about her background because Yu Zhoujin was usually arrogant and unforgiving. She would at least offer a few words of sarcasm to Li Yao'e and herself, but she was even less polite to others.
After putting away the clothes, Xiao Xi looked at the door again and saw that Yu Zhoujin had already left. She couldn't help but mutter, "That person is just jealous of you. If you had really rewarded her, she might have been even happier."
"Who cares about her? Let's just focus on doing our own thing," Miaozhen said with a smile.
Now is the time for her to establish her medical reputation in this house. She can just listen to these sour remarks and let it go. Why be so picky? However, she knows her limits. When it comes to children's illnesses, she lets Li Yao'e handle it and will never try to take it herself.
After lunch, the second young lady's maid came to invite her. The second young lady was born to the eldest concubine, Zhu. Although Zhu was a favored concubine, the second young lady was born out of wedlock. The first wife was unwell that day, and the young lady was said to have caught a cold and had been resting in bed ever since.
The second young lady and her two younger sisters lived in the back room of the third house. When Miaozhen entered, she saw that the room was bright in the middle and dark on both sides, with the second young lady's bedroom on the left. Speaking of which, her room was different from others, as it was almost entirely filled with various manuscripts, poems, ancient books, paintings and calligraphy, etc., so she seemed to be a book lover.
"Miss, Physician Xu has arrived," the maid said.
Miaozhen glimpsed the girl by the window, who looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old. Her hair was styled in a spiral bun and adorned with a white jade hairpin. From behind, her fair neck was visible, suggesting she was a beauty. However, when she turned around, the girl was indeed quite elegant, except for her red nose, which resembled a bulbous nose.
Sure enough, when the second daughter saw that she was the same age as her, she quickly began to complain: "Ever since the New Year, I have been catching colds frequently, and my nose keeps running. Later, I don't know if it's because I keep blowing my nose, but my nose has become red and I can't get rid of it."
Miaozhen first took her pulse before saying, "This is a lychee nose, also called a rosacea nose. You also have nasal growths on the tip of your nose. Your pulse is deep and slow, your tongue is slightly red, and your skin is not in harmony, which is why you have sores. These are symptoms of qi stagnation and blood stasis."
When she was working with Tan Yunxian, she paid special attention not only to gynecology but also to other symptoms.
"What should I do? I can't even go out." The second young lady is a proud person. She is about to come of age and will be betrothed. If her appearance is tarnished, what will become of her?
She had actually bought quite a few medicines to apply, but none of them worked.
Miaozhen comforted her, saying, "It needs to be taken both externally and internally. I'll write the prescription now, and you can have someone take it to me later."
She had previously seen Master Tan using Luru Powder. She had seen the Diandao Powder in the modern medical book "Yizong Jinjian" for external application, but at that time it might also need to be combined with acupuncture and internal medication. The internal medication was He Shou Wu Wan, which nourishes blood and detoxifies.
"Please don't apply it yourself yet. Wait until the medicine is prepared, then have someone call me over," Miaozhen said.
The next day, after the medicine was prepared, a maid named Hanyan, who was close to the second young lady, came to invite her. Miaozhen appeared again and helped her with acupuncture every day, then personally applied the medicine, and had someone give her He Shou Wu pills with licorice soup.
Because the second daughter's condition was not yet severe, after ten days, her nose turned a light red, and the redness and swelling subsided.
Because she came every day, the second young lady would chat with her. When she saw Miaozhen coming over early in the morning, she said, "I never thought it would get better. I used the facial cleanser you mentioned this morning."
“You’re doing very well. You should eat less cold and raw food and drink less alcohol for this illness. Just be more careful in your daily life,” Miaozhen said with a smile.
The second young lady asked Hanyan to bring a box. When she opened it, she saw that it contained several pieces of jewelry. She then said to Hanyan, "I've always wanted to thank you. These are all my favorite pieces. Please choose a few."
Miaozhen quickly declined, saying, "What are you saying, young lady? I am a doctor invited by the Cheng family. How could I dare to accept your gift? It's not necessary, really."
She resolutely refused to accept it, but the second young lady insisted on giving it to her. Miaozhen could not refuse, so she chose a pair of silver begonia flower hairpins. The second young lady secretly praised Miaozhen for being sensible and not as eager as others. Remembering her sensible nature, she smiled and said, "This pair is nothing. I have something else for you."
After saying that, he took out two more hairpins, one with a gold lotus petal head and the other with a begonia petal head, along with a pink stand-up collar robe and a water field jacket, and gave them all to her.
Miaozhen never expected that in less than a month, she would have received three sets of clothes and several more pieces of jewelry. When she was at home, she only owned a pair of earrings and a gold trinket this year, and usually just wore some silk flower hair ties.
In any case, she reaped a great harvest. In September, she received a monthly allowance of three taels and six qian. Miaozhen took out two qian for Xiaoxi and Xiaotao for their daily expenses, and saved the rest of the money.
Li Yao'e came to her place for a meal that day. She also had some clothes that Third Madam Ruan had given her. The peach-red brocade vest shone brightly when she wore it.
"You even know about sores?"
"It's just that I encountered similar patients before. If it were more complicated, I might not know. But sister, now that the Second Madam and the Third Madam both value you, could you please give me some guidance when you have time?" Miaozhen said with a smile.
Li Yao'e said, "You mean, don't you often visit the First Madam and the Second Miss? What's the difference between us?"
The two exchanged some jokes, and after the meal, they saw Yu Zhoujin doing needlework with them. The three of them chatted about other things. Someone outside said that it was the Double Ninth Festival, and that the old lady had a stomachache and had caught a chill. They also mentioned that the eldest aunt was in pain.
Li Yao'e looked at the two of them and said, "I only know pediatrics, and I'm not very good at anything else."
Miaozhen glanced at Yu Zhoujin and said, "Sister Yu, go to the old lady's place. I'll go to my great-aunt's place."
"You said that? I heard that my great-aunt usually chants Buddhist scriptures and is a good person," Yu Zhoujin said with a smile.
Li Yao'e glanced at her: "Don't pretend to be innocent after getting the benefit."
The eldest aunt was betrothed to the son of the chief minister Xia, but her husband passed away unexpectedly. She vowed to remain chaste and lived in a small building. It was said that the place was somewhat eerie and no one liked to go there.
But Miaozhen knew that Yu Zhoujin had always been fond of competing for the best, and if she offended her now for this matter, she would only be asking for trouble.
Xiao Xi and Xiao Tao insisted on going along this time, fearing that something might happen to Miao Zhen. Miao Zhen chuckled and said, "You're going too far."
The young lady lived in a place called Shuiyue Tower, where towering trees stood. Even in the early autumn heat, it was surprisingly cool. Miaozhen calmly went out, and a servant invited someone downstairs.
The young woman was pale and quiet. She said she had vomited blood before her period, accompanied by abdominal pain. Her foster mother was very worried: "They say that if a young person vomits blood, they won't live long. What if they have tuberculosis?"
After taking her pulse and seeing that her nasal cavity was normal, Miaozhen comforted her, saying, "It's nothing serious. This is caused by the upward flow of liver qi. If there is no internal injury, as long as you calm the liver yang and soothe the liver qi, it will be fine. I will prescribe Shunjing Decoction, which can be decocted in water and taken orally. Try taking ten doses first."
After saying that, he wrote down a prescription. The young woman took it and looked at it. She also had a basic understanding of pharmacology. She saw that it said to be five qian of Angelica sinensis washed with wine, and that black mustard seed spikes were also for guiding blood back to the meridians, soothing the liver and regulating qi. So she gave it to her foster mother.
As Miaozhen was about to take her leave, her foster mother personally saw her off and gave her two gold rings. She refused to accept them, after all, she was a widow.
But then the wet nurse said, "Our eldest daughter can't easily ask an outside doctor to come and see her, so we'll have to trouble Miss Xu."
Modern people often say that it's good to be rich without a husband, but in ancient times, being a widow was clearly not a good thing, especially for the women Miaozhen encountered. Liver qi stagnation means pent-up emotions, and young women had to live alone, unable to wear bright clothes, suppressing their feelings—it was truly difficult.
Even worse, some people changed their minds halfway through...
Miaozhen smiled and said, "My specialty is gynecology. If you need anything from here tomorrow, just send someone to find me."
The foster mother saw that Miaozhen didn't utter a single falsehood, didn't pry into things, was calm and composed, prescribed medicine after the diagnosis, and could even comfort her, which made her feel good about her.
Two gold rings were placed in the dressing case. Yu Zhoujin next door heard that the old lady had rewarded her with a brocade dress. She was certainly not as good as the old lady in this respect, but she wanted to take it slowly. She had to eradicate the diseases of women at the grassroots level.
She didn't want to compete with Li Yao'e for pediatrics, but she still had to excel in other areas.
The next day, Cheng Junxian's concubine and the old mistress came to see her. Yu Zhoujin was unwilling to treat these people because he thought they were too lowly. Miaozhen, however, did not mind. Although she did not get anything else, she was very diligent.
Li Yao'e has an even better reputation; her twins are the apple of everyone's eye and receive a lot of attention.
In October, the eldest aunt's illness improved considerably. The second mistress, knowing that she was the one who cured her, hurriedly summoned her over. This was the first time she had met the second mistress, Madam Ruan. She had heard that Madam Ruan and the second master were deeply in love and that she was quite straightforward. Now that she saw her in person, she was almost afraid to recognize her.
This Ruan woman should have been forty years old, but she looked like she was in her twenties. She was tall and slender with an oval face and a charming smile. Her appearance was not particularly outstanding, and she was not even as pretty as Zeng woman, but she had a natural sweetness.
"Second Madam." Miao Zhen curtsied.
The second wife looked Miaozhen up and down before saying, "You are so young, yet your medical skills are so exquisite. You are indeed worthy of being Madam Yang's disciple."
"You flatter me, madam."
The second wife inquired about her family background and, upon learning that her father was a student and her maternal grandfather a scholar, exclaimed, "It sounds like she comes from a scholarly family."
“Our humble family is no match for a scholarly family,” Miaozhen said with a smile.
The second wife asked many questions in detail. Seeing that Miaozhen answered fluently and remained humble, she rewarded her with a piece of dark-patterned satin and said, "Be more attentive to the eldest aunt in the future."
Miao Zhen agreed. She noticed that the second wife seemed hesitant to speak, but after a pause, she still didn't say anything and let her leave.
On their way back, they heard that the Third Miss Cheng Yuan had fallen into the water. The female doctors rushed over and thankfully the Third Miss was alright. However, this greatly worried the First Madam Zeng, who had only given birth to these two daughters, who were her lifeblood.
She blurted out without thinking, "All three of you have to stay here with me. If the Third Miss does anything, I will question you all and have you beaten with a board."
Even Miaozhen was speechless. They were invited servants, not slaves. How could they be beaten with boards at will? However, at this moment, she looked at Yu Zhoujin, who had always been rebellious and looked down on everything. Seeing that Yu Zhoujin was even more docile than herself, like a quail, and even her clothes were the simplest, she understood everything.
The third girl woke up in no time and took some medicine to prevent typhoid fever. She was very excited when she saw everyone.
At this moment, the Third Madam was in good spirits. Madam Zeng wanted to have a private talk with her daughter, so she asked Miaozhen and the others to leave. Then she asked, "Yuan'er, what happened to you? How did you fall into the water?"
"No, it's nothing." Cheng Yuan never expected that she would come back alive one day.
Yes, she was reborn.
In her past life, because her parents were at odds, she and her mother both attributed it to her mother marrying into a family of equal social standing, so the family didn't take her seriously. Therefore, they specially chose Lu Shi'an, a poor scholar from Suzhou Prefecture. Seeing that he was handsome yet open-minded, talented yet humble, Cheng Yuan's heart fell for him.
After getting married, Lu Shi'an passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi. During this time, the Cheng family also gave him a lot of support, and Lu Shi'an's career was very promising. However, he did not expect that he would later get involved with the Yan family. The Yan family's daughter was very fond of him. When she was about to give birth, even though the baby was in the correct position and the midwife said it was all good, she died in childbirth.
If it weren't for his unwillingness to accept his fate after death, turning into a wandering soul, he wouldn't have known that it was all Lu Shi'an's scheme.
"Mother, how are you?" Cheng Yuan asked.
Zeng touched her forehead: "I'm fine now, why are you talking nonsense?"
Cheng Yuan looked at her mother. Her mother was straightforward and impulsive. Not only was she left alone in her empty house, but she was also disliked by her mother-in-law. Without her sister-in-law's power, she was like a transparent person in this house. No one took her seriously. Yet, she was the one who loved her two sisters the most.
"You rest first. I'll send someone to tell the old lady, and then call Dr. Xu to come and take a look later tonight." Seeing that her daughter seemed a little dazed, Madam Zeng thought she was not in good spirits.
That evening, Miaozhen overheard Li Yao'e saying that the Third Miss was obsessed with painting. She had gotten so engrossed in sketching that she accidentally fell into the lake, but luckily the old women rescued her in time. However, the First Madam fined them all and said that the number of people assigned to the lakeside was insufficient, implying that the Third Mistress was not attentive.
"Wouldn't that offend the second wife's family?" Madam Ruan is the eldest daughter-in-law of the second wife's family and also the second wife's niece.
Li Yao'e said, "Whether I offend you or not, I can't say for sure. Just be careful."
Before she could finish speaking, Zhao Mama, who was by the First Madam's side, came to invite her. It was October evening, and it was still a bit chilly. Miaozhen was wearing a cloak outside and went over with Xiaotao.
After taking her pulse, there was no reward, of course. The first wife even said, "If my daughter falls ill tomorrow, just come to us."
When Miaozhen came out of the room, Xiaotao couldn't help but say when she saw that no one was around, "The First Madam is really something."
"She's always like this. Last time, she was afraid of looking bad, so she didn't dare call me during the day and sent someone over at night, making me stay up all night." Miaozhen pouted.
These servants don't care whether you're a wife or a concubine, a legitimate child or a illegitimate child. If you treat your servants well, they'll be willing to help you. If you don't treat them like human beings, they certainly won't have any nice words for you.
Nowadays, even a peddler selling sesame cakes outside the city gates earns twenty taels a year. These doctors, who have studied for many years to achieve such success, not only do they not need respect, but they also want to beat people with sticks at the drop of a hat. It's just too ridiculous.
Unexpectedly, Cheng Yuan found Miao Zhen's face very familiar. She didn't dare to ask before, but after the person left, she asked the maid beside her, "Who was that female doctor just now?"
"In reply to you, young lady, that is a female doctor we hired to treat the women in our household. Speaking of which, this Dr. Xu's medical skills are very superb. Madam had been suffering from an old illness for many years, and it was thanks to her that she was cured. Madam even rewarded her with two sets of clothes."
Where is she from?
"The man from Suzhou Prefecture is a disciple of the famous physician Tan."
Cheng Yuan thought about it again, but she still couldn't remember.
The next day, Miaozhen went to the third wife's house. It turned out that Banxia, the third wife's head maid, had fallen ill. Miaozhen saw that Banxia's forehead was black, her whole body was hot, and she kept needing to urinate and couldn't control it.
She carefully took his pulse again and said slowly, "The kidney meridian is deficient and the heat is rising upwards, which is strange."
The eldest maid usually doesn't need to do any rough work, and Banxia even has two maids to help her with chores. However, Miaozhen immediately realized that this must be due to her unrestrained sexual activity, which has led to kidney deficiency and blood stasis.
Thinking of this, she asked Banxia in a low voice. Banxia was straightforward and blushed a little, but she admitted it and said, "I have no choice. The third branch has no children, and the third wife feels guilty."
“But you also need to be more restrained. I’ve helped you get better this time, but if you don’t exercise restraint, it won’t work,” Miaozhen said.
After saying this, she had someone go out and buy wolfberry roots, which she personally ground into medicine and took with strong wine.
Banxia felt very bad, "How could I ask you to come and grind the medicine yourself?"
"Take this medicine first. I'll have someone brew the Siling Decoction in our room; that way it'll be cheaper. But you should take the Siling Decoction after meals, and a few doses should be enough to cure you," Miaozhen comforted her, explaining her reasoning.
Not only are the medicine servers prone to mixing up the medicines, but they also tend to deviate from the proper procedures. Some medicines need to be stir-fried, while others need to be weighed precisely, making inaccuracies easy to occur. Therefore, she asked Gu Mama for a small pot and a small stove.
If I have the time, I can help stew the medicine. Otherwise, if the medicine prepared by the tea housekeeper is not prepared according to the rules and causes health problems, I will have to go back to her.
Banxia was very grateful and wanted to get up to pay, but Miaozhen said, "Really, there's no need. If you really want to give me money, wait until I'm better."
The three of them, mistress and servants, were decocting medicine in the room. Miaozhen smiled and said, "When we return from the Cheng family in the future, we will be able to decoct medicine and treat patients. Who knows, I might be able to open a women's clinic. You two will be my right-hand women."
After dinner, she personally delivered the medicine and asked Xiao Tao to burn incense in the room so that the smell of medicine wouldn't always be there.
After taking Banxia for about half a month, she recovered. She wrapped two gold-embroidered handkerchiefs in a piece of silk, wore a set of lotus-silk double-breasted long jacket, a matching cloak, a beaded necklace, and a jade flower.
Miaozhen was startled: "You've given too much."
“Every time Third Master comes over, I also get some things. Besides, Third Madam won’t let me marry out, and she doesn’t treat me like a concubine. She only uses me as a bed warmer, so I have to ask for some good things. When I got sick, everyone disliked me, but only you personally brewed medicine for me and cured my illness. These things are nothing. You are a girl from a good family. Whether it’s part of your dowry or something you keep for yourself, I just hope you will remember me in the future.” Banxia felt that it was already very good that she was able to recover from her illness, and a few things were nothing.
Miaozhen felt that Banxia was very loyal, and the two became good friends. From time to time, when Banxia had nothing to do, she would come to sit with her for a while.
When I came over today, I overheard Yu Zhoujin from next door arguing with the maid in the tea room, complaining that they must have made a mistake with the prescription, and that the First Madam had an accident after taking her medicine.
"What's wrong?"
“The tea server sometimes makes mistakes when decocting medicine, so I came up with the clumsy solution of decocting it myself in the room, but Sister Yu probably always had the tea server do it,” Miaozhen explained.
Banxia came in and said in the inner room, "That shouldn't be the case. The maid she was scolding just now has an unusual background. She is the daughter of the First Madam's maid."
"I see." Miaozhen thought to herself that there were really many twists and turns in the lives of wealthy families.
After exchanging a few words, Miaozhen asked again, "Since Miss Yu is a cousin of the family, why is she working as a female doctor like us?"
Banxia said, "The eldest son of the eldest branch was raised by the old lady since he was a child. He is the old lady's favorite. He is good in every way, except that he is too close to the eldest mistress. The eldest mistress has only had one daughter in the years since she entered the family and has not taken any concubines. Of course, this is my personal speculation. That Miss Yu's family is already in decline. She is not suitable to be the main wife, but she can be a good concubine. Besides, she is also very beautiful."
Upon hearing this, Miaozhen recalled Yu Zhoujin's actions and felt that these things might not come true.
It would be better to save up some money in this house and marry a good man. Being a concubine is not so easy. Look at Banxia's illness, the Third Master still went to sleep with other men.
Thinking this, someone came over and said that Miss Qin's cough had flared up and asked her to come over for some moxibustion. Miaozhen had no choice but to hurry over.
This young lady from Qin had been suffering from a cough since autumn. Originally, Yu Zhoujin was treating her, but now Yu Zhoujin was unwilling to go over in the evenings, so Miaozhen had no choice but to go instead. She used moxibustion on four acupoints: Hegu, Feishu, Tanzhong, and Zhongwan, for about a quarter of an hour at each point. It took half an hour, and Miaozhen was quite exhausted.
After the moxibustion was completed, she came out and ran into the third daughter of the Cheng family who was visiting her. The third daughter of the Cheng family stopped and asked her name and where her home was.
Miao Zhen finished answering and left, but Cheng Yuan didn't expect to actually run into the Xu family, whom Lu Shi'an had mentioned as being materialistic and snobbish. According to Lu Shi'an, the owner of the bookstore, Mr. Xu, had taken a liking to Lu Shi'an's status as a scholar and wanted to marry his daughter to him. However, an official intervened halfway through, and the Xu family, being materialistic and snobbish, married their daughter off to someone else.
Cheng Yuan often spoke out against the Xu family for being blind to their worth, and even after arriving in the capital, she ridiculed Xu Miaozhen, causing her to be ostracized by the wives of officials...
Later, after Lu Shi'an passed the imperial examination and entered the Hanlin Academy, he praised the Cheng family for their discerning eye in recognizing talent, while the Xu family was ridiculed as clowns. The story was even written into a play to advise people not to be greedy for wealth and status.
Only after she died and the truth came out did we realize that the Xu family truly had the foresight to recognize her talent.
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