The Ninth Lady is a rebellious person.

Chapter 358 No Illness, No Curse
The moment Zuo Yan saw the black blood drawn out by the golden needle, his first thought was that someone had poisoned Bai Ning, otherwise, how could a normal person's blood be black?
Lang Jiuchuan turned his head and saw his expression, knowing what he was thinking. He said, "It is poison, but not poisoning. Her meridians have been blocked for many years, and her qi and blood have also stagnated. So when she has a high fever, it causes the heat toxin to accumulate, damaging her lungs and internal organs, which is why she vomits blood. I just used acupuncture to clear her meridians and promote blood circulation, and to expel the heat toxin. Otherwise, it would be difficult to dissipate the heat with just decoction. Don't think too much about it."

Zuo Yan's tense expression relaxed, and he asked, "How is my wife?"

Lang Jiuchuan looked at the sweat on Bai's forehead and said, "The high fever is already subsiding, don't worry, I won't do anything unnecessary with the acupuncture."

The physician standing nearby felt a little embarrassed. He glanced at her and couldn't help but take her pulse as well. Seeing that the young master's wife's hand was indeed not as hot as before, he couldn't help but marvel at how quickly it had gone.

When Lang Jiuchuan saw that Bai Shi's brows were furrowed even when she was unconscious, as if she was enduring some kind of pain, he said, "Her body is weak and difficult to take care of. You said that she was not as weak as she is now when she was young, but judging from her pulse, she must have been deficient in the womb."

“That’s true. She has always been frail, but not like this, where she would be blown away by the wind.” Zuo Yan frowned and said, “Before she got married, although she was frail, she could still move around freely, just a little weaker than the average strong woman. After she got married, she fell ill every few days, and her health deteriorated day by day.”

His tone was somewhat bitter as he said this.

If she weren't so frail, they wouldn't have been married for ten years without children. They simply didn't dare, and all the doctors said her body couldn't withstand the pain of pregnancy.

He didn't dare to gamble.

Lang Jiuchuan asked for and looked through all the prescriptions that Bai's doctors had written over the years. When she saw the prescription signed by Imperial Physician Ou, she carefully considered it. She also examined the medicine she had been drinking recently, even looking at the dregs.

Seeing how meticulous she was, Zuo Yan felt somewhat relieved. A good doctor would never be arrogant. Lang Jiuchuan was so young, yet she was so attentive; she must have some skill, right?
He thought of the scene in the courtyard again, and for some reason, he looked at her with a sense of awe. She had just said that little ghosts were hard to deal with. Could it be that she meant that there were already ghost messengers coming to collect souls?
Zuo Yan felt a pang of pain in his heart at the thought of this possibility, a tearing sensation spreading through him.

"Madam's fever has subsided!" the nanny serving Madam Bai exclaimed in surprise, holding a handkerchief in her hand as she wiped the sweat from Madam Bai's forehead.

Zuo Yan was also delighted to see that the flush on his wife's face had faded, but it made her face look even paler and more pitiful.

"Your wife's illness has been treated by Chief Physician Ou, hasn't it? The prescriptions are all focused on conditioning and nourishing the body gently," Lang Jiuchuan said. "I've noticed that other doctors also prescribe mostly conditioning formulas."

Zuo Yan nodded: "Is there a problem?"

"No, it's all about treating deficiencies and meticulous care. Her body is very weak, partly due to insufficient nourishment during her mother's pregnancy, and partly because she must have had a serious illness when she was young. She survived, but that illness damaged her very foundation." Lang Jiuchuan said, "To put it this way, some people may seem able to walk and move around, but in reality, their internal organs are weak and their vital energy is insufficient. For a person to be healthy, the yin and yang of their internal organs must be in harmony, and their qi and blood must be sufficient to nourish them. But she is not like that; her meridians are blocked, her qi and blood are stagnant, and she has difficulty generating vital energy."

The physician nodded repeatedly, agreeing that this made sense.

"Her constitution is weak, so even when she drinks medicine, it's like water entering the ocean; she can't absorb the essence of the medicine, so naturally she can't nourish herself. To put it bluntly, she's too weak to take tonics; no matter what good food she eats, it won't help. It's just that she's destined for wealth and honor, entering a noble family, surrounded by servants, and eating countless expensive tonics. She's been pampered like this and hasn't suffered any hardship, which is why she's lived to this day." Lang Jiuchuan glanced at the furnishings in the room. It was the Duke of Dingguo's mansion; every part was exquisite and expensive.

Zuo Yan frowned. "Is it that serious?"

"Even with the best care, she's just barely clinging to life; it won't last long. I see coldness accumulating in her uterus; I suppose her illness in her youth was caused by severe cold?"

Zuo Yan nodded: "When she was twelve, she jumped into the cold lake to save me and caught a chill." Lang Jiuchuan raised an eyebrow: "A weak woman saving a hero? She's overestimating herself."

Zuo Yan's face turned green, and the others also looked rather grim.

Lang Jiuchuan coughed, stroked his chin, and said, "I apologize, I can be a bit blunt, I've offended you. But with her health like that, she should be taking care of herself first. Jumping into the lake to save someone is just courting death. Cold Lake, is that the perpetually icy Cold Spring Lake in Guanghan Palace? No wonder the cold energy accumulated in her uterus, the cold spring entering her uterus and lingering for so long. I'm afraid that ever since then, she's been in excruciating pain every time she has her period. In that case, having children is out of the question."

She shook her head as she said this.

An already weak body is further damaged by external factors; how is that any different from courting death?

When saving someone's life, one should know their own limitations. What's the point of risking one's life to save someone?

Is this the legendary true love?
She doesn't understand.

Zuo Yan noticed her gaze darting back and forth between him and his wife, and couldn't help but protest, "It's not what you think. We're childhood sweethearts. Doctor, just tell me, can my wife's illness be cured?"

"To say she's ill is an understatement; it's more accurate to say she's physically weak and difficult to treat. She's not sick, just too frail." Lang Jiuchuan stroked the imperial bell at his waist and said, "However, even if this weakness can't be cured, it shouldn't get worse with treatment. That's a bit strange."

She had seen all those prescriptions, and they were all very suitable for Bai's conditioning. Even if they couldn't make her as healthy as a normal person, she shouldn't be so weak and feeble.

Lang Jiuchuan thought for a moment, then dismissed the physician and sent some of the maids and servants away, leaving only a nanny to assist him. As for Zuo Yan, he retreated behind the screen, where he could see what was happening on her side but also avoid any awkwardness.

She instructed the nanny to remove all of Bai's clothes and began examining her from head to toe, touching her scalp with her fingers and checking little by little, then moving down to her neck and all the way down, not missing a single toenail.

No, could it be that she's mistaken, or is it not a curse?

Lang Jiuchuan pondered for a moment, then made a hand seal with one hand, guiding spiritual energy to his Heavenly Eye, while pressing his other hand on her wrist pulse, staring intently at her meridians.

Upon closer inspection, Lang Jiuchuan noticed something different, and his brow twitched.

A black line extended from Bai Shi's wrist meridians toward her heart meridian, looking extremely sinister, like a black snake. She tentatively guided spiritual energy into Bai Shi's meridians. As soon as the spiritual energy touched the black line, it seemed to be threatened and quickly rushed upwards while attacking Lang Jiuchuan.

This provocation caused Bai great pain; she screamed and her whole body trembled.

Lang Jiuchuan stopped his attack and said in a deep voice to Zuo Yan, who was rushing over anxiously, "Your wife is indeed not sick. Her frail and difficult-to-treat condition is due to a curse."

　No extra updates, I'm writing every day with anxiety and fear.
　　(End of this chapter)