Chapter 19

 Chapter 19

Chu Qianchen smiled, her eyes and brows blooming like delicate flowers. With a half-serious, half-joking tone, she said, “Of course, I could tell at a glance.”

“Miss, your medical skills are truly impressive!” Hu Po’s eyes were full of admiration as she asked, “Miss, is the second madam’s waist injury serious?” 

Chu Qianchen was confident in her own needlework, and casually replied, “It’ll be fine in two days with acupuncture, but…”

“But what?” Hu Po asked, curiosity piqued.

“Well, if the physician’s technique is mediocre, it’ll hurt for a couple more days,” Chu Qianchen said indifferently.

Hu Po nodded in agreement, satisfied.

From her perspective, the second madam deserved it!

Hu Po thought this to herself, and soon turned her attention to Liu Shi’s condition.

There was quite a commotion in the second branch, so it was easy for Hu Po to gather information. Madam Zhang’s husband had done the acupuncture for Liu Shi, but it was ineffective. Liu Shi lay in bed, crying in pain and rolling around for days. She had called every physician in the capital, and it wasn’t until the fourth day that she started to recover.

The miss said four days, and indeed, it was four days!

It was truly amazing!

Feeling Hu Po’s intense gaze, Chu Qianchen could guess what she was thinking and smiled. “Stop staring. Go to Jishi Hall today.”

“And,” she added, taking out the bracelet she had found from Liu Li, “take this and pawn it.”

Pawn it?! Hu Po gave Chu Qianchen a peculiar look.

Chu Qianchen didn’t mind at all. She took out a piece of silk paper and handed it to Hu Po. “Buy all the herbs written on this.”

Last time they had gone out, Chu Qianchen had told the people at Jishi Hall to send a maid every five days.

Hu Po agreed to the task, changed into some ordinary clothes, and left as soon as the rain stopped.

She first went to the pawnshop, where she pawned the bracelet for ten taels of silver, then went straight to Jishi Hall.

The shop assistant remembered Hu Po and treated her with great courtesy. Hu Po was a bit taken aback by how polite he was. She asked him to prepare the herbs according to the list written by Chu Qianchen and asked, “Miss asked me to inquire, are there any recent difficult cases?”

Just as she finished speaking, Physician Liu came out and interrupted, “There is indeed a difficult case.”

Hu Po’s interest piqued. “Please, tell me more.”

Half an hour later, Hu Po emerged from Jishi Hall, carrying several bundles of herbs. She went directly back to the Marquis' residence and reported to Chu Qianchen.

“Miss, I pawned the bracelet for ten taels of silver and bought the herbs from Jishi Hall,” Hu Po said, her eyes shining with excitement. “Physician Liu said he encountered a difficult case recently.”

“Fearing I might misremember, I had Physician Liu write down the details of the condition.”

Hu Po pulled out a folded piece of silk paper from her sleeve and handed it to Chu Qianchen.

Hu Po could read, and she had skimmed through the paper Physician Liu had written. She remembered the first line: "Male, thirty-six years old, height eight feet," but the rest of the symptoms were unclear to her—things like "blood vomiting with heat rising in the chest," "blood vomiting half a bowl when severe," "left pulse is floating and moving," and "yin and yang not in harmony," among others.

She recognized every character but couldn’t understand them when put together, so she couldn’t make sense of it at all.

Chu Qianchen read the paper twice, her lips curling into a satisfied smile.

Although Physician Liu lacked some skills, he was meticulous in recording the patient's symptoms in great detail.

She instructed Hu Po to prepare ink and paper to write a prescription and sent her out again, reminding, “Tell Physician Liu that the patient has internal injuries, a weak constitution, and is vomiting a large amount of blood. There’s danger of death at any moment, so do not use Sanqi to invigorate blood and stop hemorrhage. In acute cases, stop the bleeding first, or the condition will worsen.”

Thus, Hu Po, having just returned, hurried out again within the time it took to drink a cup of tea. The young maidservants in the courtyard were curious but didn’t dare to ask too much.

Physician Liu, who had personally witnessed Chu Qianchen save the dying Wang A'niu, felt even more confident after reading the prescription and hearing Hu Po’s words. After Hu Po left, he personally took the prescription and rushed out. 

The carriage hastened toward the General Ming’s residence, but Physician Liu was stopped at the gate by the doorman. Only the prescription was delivered to the general’s wife by several maidservants.

“Madam, this prescription is from the physician at Jishi Hall. He says it can treat the master’s condition,” the senior maidservant presented the prescription.

Nearby, an elderly man with a long beard, dressed in a scholar’s robe, had just finished feeling the pulse of a middle-aged man on the couch. He withdrew his hand and casually asked, “Jishi Hall? Is that a medical clinic in the capital?”

Madam Ming explained politely, “Physician Wang, my husband has been coughing this winter, with blood in his phlegm. He’s seen many physicians, but his condition hasn’t improved and has gotten worse. This morning, his condition suddenly worsened, so I sent for physicians from several clinics in the capital. They were all helpless, and that’s when we asked Jishi Hall’s physician. We didn’t expect him to send this prescription.”

Jishi Hall wasn’t a particularly renowned clinic in the capital, and Madam Ming hadn’t paid much attention to it, especially since Physician Wang had arrived. She felt reassured and was about to have the prescription discarded when Physician Wang said, “Let me see that prescription.”

The senior maidservant glanced at Madam Ming, saw her nod, and then presented the prescription to Physician Wang.

Physician Wang quickly scanned the prescription, revealing a look of disdain. He stroked his long beard and shook his head, saying, “A quack physician who misleads others! A quack physician who misleads others!”

“Prescribing medicine requires attention to the compatibility of the herbs. In the treatment of blood vomiting, when using Sheng Di Huang in large amounts, it must be accompanied by San Qi to invigorate blood, nourish the body, stop bleeding, and resolve stagnation. They work in harmony!”

“This prescription has Sheng Di Huang, but no San Qi. It’s simply ridiculous!” Physician Wang barely looked at half of it before losing interest, casually placing the prescription on the desk.

It seemed that Jishi Hall was truly only impressive in name. Madam Ming thought to herself, but on the surface, she politely complimented Physician Wang, “How could it compare to your brilliant medical skills, Physician Wang?”

The middle-aged man, sickly, was leaning against a large pillow on the couch. His face was pale, with flushed cheeks, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat, almost soaking his hair.

Cough cough… He suddenly covered his mouth with a handkerchief, coughing violently several times. When he removed the handkerchief, it was drenched in blood, a shocking sight.

The air was thick with the stench of blood.

Madam Ming’s heart ached. She quickly wiped the blood from the corners of his mouth, trembling as she asked, “Physician Wang, is the general’s illness treatable?”

“I’ll write a prescription for the general right now, and I assure you, he will be cured with the right medicine!” Physician Wang smiled confidently.

“Thank you so much, Physician Wang!” Madam Ming’s face lit up with joy, and she hurriedly instructed the maidservant to prepare ink and paper.

General Ming looked at Physician Wang with hopeful eyes.

Physician Wang, full of confidence, immediately began writing a prescription with practiced ease. He instructed that General Ming should take one dose three times a day, starting with three days of treatment.

Madam Ming quickly sent the senior maidservant to fetch the medicine and ordered the housekeeper to personally escort Physician Wang out.

After Physician Wang left, the senior maidservant quietly told Madam Ming, “The physician from Jishi Hall repeatedly warned that if the general uses San Qi, it could be life-threatening.” She had just seen the prescription from Physician Wang, and it contained San Qi.

“What’s the use of listening to such a quack physician?” Madam Ming waved her hand dismissively, “Once you fetch the medicine, hurry and brew it. Don’t delay.”

“Yes, Madam.” The senior maidservant hurried to do as instructed.

The prescription from Jishi Hall was left alone on the desk. When a young maid came in to tidy up, she initially planned to discard it, but when she saw how beautifully the characters were written, she decided to keep the silk paper. She thought it was almost empty, and it would be perfect for her brother to practice calligraphy next time she went home.

(End of Chapter)