"Let's not talk about that for now. Seriously though, I've recently developed prickly heat and I'd like to ask the little princess to take a look!" The maid with the red ribbon felt an itch on her chest and wanted to scratch it, but such an action could easily be misunderstood and lead people to have inappropriate thoughts.
"This prickly heat is very itchy, and the more I scratch it, the itchier it gets." The palace maid with the red ribbon frowned, clearly in distress.
"You actually believed that it was a free medical consultation?! The little princess is such a noble person, how could we, lowly palace maids, possibly trouble the little princess to treat our illnesses?"
"It's nothing more than having a good reputation so His Majesty has an excuse to bestow a title upon him," said the green-haired palace maid.
"Besides, how could such a young child know how to treat illnesses?!" the maid with the green headband said disdainfully, giving the maid with the red headband a suspicious look.
“The little princess is intelligent, and she’s already three years old,” the palace maid with the red ribbon argued.
"Moreover, when the little princess was born, the Empress Dowager said that the little princess had extraordinary potential."
"You actually believe that?!"
"Putting everything else aside, you know His Highness Prince Ning, right? His Highness Prince Ning is a renowned physician! After the little princess's first birthday celebration, His Highness Prince Ning has been teaching her medicine every day!" the red-haired maid continued to explain.
"Last year, I heard from Juan'er, a palace maid in Linhua Palace, that His Highness Prince Ning took the little princess to see the oleanders."
"Don't look down on me. The little princess knows far more herbs than you do!"
"Alright, I won't argue with you. Don't ruin our sisterly harmony."
“We’re not like those who work in the palaces of our masters. We don’t have the means to ask the imperial physicians to treat us. If you’re really feeling unwell, you might as well try your luck with the little princess.”
"Go ahead, I'll cover for you with Eunuch Zhang for now."
...
Inside the Fu Shuang Palace, Yun Duoduo heard footsteps coming from outside the hall.
The footsteps were very light, but she could hear them.
From afar, a palace maid dressed in an orange-red palace gown and with a red hair tie could be seen slowly walking in.
The palace maid first stood at the entrance of the main hall, tentatively peeking inside. When she saw the words "Miraculous Healing Hands, Huichun Hall" written on the beige banner hanging on the eaves, she smiled.
She walked to the entrance of the main hall with her head bowed, knelt down and saluted, "This servant greets the Ninth Princess!"
Yun Duoduo's mind went blank for a moment before she realized that the Ninth Princess was herself!
People inside Fu Shuang Palace call her Little Princess or Duo Duo, but only outsiders call her Ninth Princess.
"Get up."
"What's your name?" Yun Duoduo asked her in a childish voice.
"My name is Dong'er, and I am a servant of the Imperial Household Department." After replying, Dong'er stood up and looked at Yun Duoduo with a surprised expression.
The Ninth Princess is truly a celestial being!
Those big, expressive eyes!
No wonder the Empress Dowager and His Majesty adore the little princess so much.
As Yun Duoduo listened to her praising herself in her heart, she couldn't help but straighten her back and sit up even more upright.
"Sit down." Yun Duoduo pointed to a stool in front of her and gestured for Dong'er to sit down.
"This, how dare this servant..." Dong'er hesitated, her face showing difficulty. Her master was sitting, how could they, as servants, sit opposite her?
"Sit down." Ah Xiang helped Dong'er sit down.
Yun Duoduo looked at Dong'er and asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
Dong'er looked around and, after confirming that there was no one else but Ah Xiang standing to the side, gently pulled open her collar, revealing a patch of skin on her chest.
All that could be seen was a dense patch of red rashes on Dong'er's chest, with red scratches on them, which were probably marks from scratching.
"Has this rash been there for a long time?" Yun Duoduo looked closely at the wounds and found that they had already scabbed over, so they didn't look like new wounds.
Dong'er nodded, "This rash is so itchy, I can't sleep at night because of itching."
"I went to the Imperial Hospital to ask for medicine, and they gave me some to alleviate the symptoms, but it's still not very effective." Dong'er looked troubled and shook her head.
"Besides, it's not appropriate for the imperial physician to examine my chest," Dong'er said, her face flushing red.
[This little palace maid has a rather thin skin!]
[She was the first customer to come in, which shows she trusts her a lot; she needs to be treated properly!]
Yun Duoduo nodded. She understood that this was the situation in the palace: people fawned on the powerful and bullied the weak. The Imperial Hospital was too busy to handle everything, and seeing that she was just a lowly palace maid, they gave her some passable medicine and sent her away.
"You have heat rash. It could be caused by not cleaning the sweat off in time or by the stove being too hot."
Dong'er looked enlightened. They often worked hard and sweated a lot, and often got prickly heat.
"Ninth Princess, do you have a prescription?" Dong'er asked tentatively. She didn't know if the little princess really knew how to treat illnesses, and there were no imperial physicians or other helpers around.
"This prickly heat is not a difficult disease to treat."
"After you get back, boil purslane in water and drink it. Then, rub the crushed purslane on the areas with prickly heat twice a day. The prickly heat will start to subside after the second application, and it will disappear after the third application," Yun Duoduo said, gesturing as she spoke.
“This purslane…” Yun Duoduo thought for a moment, and it seemed like she had seen it somewhere before.
"Oh, right,"
Yun Duoduo slapped her forehead. "You can see them by the palace road outside the Buddhist hall. They have green bracts that look like leaves, and dark red stems. Just pick some and use them."
Purslane is an annual herb, entirely hairless.
This thing is very resilient; it will grow wherever there is sunlight, so it's a very good thing.
But for farmland, it's just annoying weeds.
Seeing the pitiful state of the little palace maid, Yun Duoduo figured she probably couldn't afford medicine and had to make do with what was available.
"I remember," Dong'er muttered to herself, referring to the Buddhist hall, the green bract-like leaves, and the dark red stems, as if afraid she would forget them.
Yun Duoduo originally wanted to write a prescription for her, but it seemed unreasonable for her to be able to write at such a young age, and she didn't want to cause any controversy, so she had to ask Aunt Xiang to do it for her.
"Aunt Xiang, please write down a prescription for her."
"yes."
Ah Xiang wrote down what Yun Duoduo said on a piece of paper and then handed it to Dong'er.
After Dong'er took the prescription, she carefully folded it and tucked it into her waistband. She then took out a purse from her sleeve and took out some silver from it.
"No need to pay." Yun Duoduo knew from her actions that Dong'er wanted to pay the consultation fee.
Dong'er gripped the silver in her hand even tighter, and tears seemed to glisten in her eyes. As a lowly palace maid, she didn't have much monthly allowance to begin with, and the Ninth Princess was helping her save money!
"This servant thanks the Ninth Princess for her great kindness!" After saying this, she made a move to kneel down.
"Sit still!"
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