Jinyi Spring

Chapter 76 Wanting to Be a Prison Doctor
Feng Chuchen said, "I dare not accept the title of apprentice. If Young Master Shangguan is interested in surgery, I can share what I know with you. But remember this: never abuse a living body to practice your skills. This is a great taboo in medicine and goes against the natural order."

Shangguan Ruyu suddenly stood up, raised three fingers of her right hand, and said, "I swear that I will study surgery diligently under Miss Feng's guidance. I will be a doctor with a benevolent heart and treat patients and all living beings with kindness. Prisoners are also patients, and I will no longer use cruel methods against them."

His expression was solemn and serious.

Feng Chuchen was finally satisfied.

Shangguan Ruyu sat down again and chuckled, "Master..."

Feng Chuchen quickly stopped him, "Don't address me like that, I don't accept apprentices."

Shangguan Ruyu felt embarrassed and had no choice but to change her address, "In my heart, I consider you my master, but outwardly I will still call you Miss Feng. Could you send me a set of those strange instruments, and those gloves you're wearing?"

These instruments were very difficult to make. Although they were not as sophisticated as those in the previous life, being both crude and non-standard, they were still usable.

The craftsmen worked for several months but only made two sets, which cost two hundred taels of silver. Feng Chuchen was reluctant to give them away.

Feng Chuchen said, "I'll give you two pairs of sheep intestine gloves. Surgical instruments are extremely difficult to make, and I only have two sets. I'll give you more when I make them."

Shangguan Ruyu said, "If you have two sets, give them to me first... Oh, no, I can't call myself 'young master' in front of Miss Feng anymore. Give me one set first, and I'll take it to the Imperial Household Department and have them make several more sets in bronze. They'll definitely be better than this one, and I'll give you two sets then."

Bronze is more expensive than brass, harder, and the craftsmanship of the Imperial Household Department artisans is also top-notch.

Feng Chuchen generously gave him a set and handed him the previous blueprints. Some of the blacksmith's work wasn't very good; he hoped the Imperial Household Department craftsmen would make them to a higher standard.

Shangguan Ruyu was overjoyed, hugging the box and touching it here and there.

Feng Chuchen had someone bring over a piece of mutton with the skin on. As she used a tool to cut and slice the meat, she explained in detail the name and purpose of the tool.

She also explained that her aunt had heard this from her master, and she drew it out and had the blacksmith make it.

Shangguan Ruyu possessed an astonishing talent in this area, an exceptionally high one at that. By the time the sun was setting, he had already mastered the use of several of the instruments.

During this time, Duan Yan reminded him several times, "Second Master, it's time to go back. You're on duty tonight, and it might not be appropriate if you don't go soon."

Without even looking up, Shangguan Ruyu said, "I'm not going to work in the palace anymore. I'm going to be a prison doctor. I'll hone my skills in the imperial prison and become the top surgeon in the Great Yan Dynasty."

He glanced at Feng Chuchen and changed his words, saying, "A surgeon as skilled as Miss Feng."

Little did he know that his bold words today would truly make him the most powerful and greatest surgeon in history.

Duan Yan wanted to cry. The Princess and her husband didn't even want him to be the imperial physician, let alone the prison doctor.

The aroma and the sound of spatulas wafted in from the kitchen.

Feng Buji had already finished school and lingered at the gate for a long time. He felt that Shangguan Ruyu was too attractive; just look at his own maids, and he didn't want her to tarnish his sister's good reputation.

Seeing that Shangguan Ruyu was still lingering, Aunt Wang reminded her from outside the door, "Miss, Wu San's wife asked if you would like braised tofu or tofu soup for dinner."

Feng Chuchen glanced at the deepening twilight outside the door and her younger brother lingering at the entrance, then stood up and said, "It's getting late, let's study another day."

Despite her reluctance, Shangguan Ruyu had no choice but to get up, carefully put away the equipment, and hand the box to Duan Yan.

"Watch closely, if you lose even one item, I'll sell you."

Duan Yan hugged the box tightly, saying, "I'm here, the box is here."

Shangguan Ruyu bowed to Feng Chuchen again, saying, "You may not accept me as your disciple, but in my heart, you are my master."

After spending half a day together, Feng Chuchen's positive impression of Shangguan Ruyu grew rapidly.

This is a genuinely studious child, and his character is not as bad as outsiders portray him. Perhaps he has a slight tendency towards lust, but in ancient times, this was unrelated to character.

He said, "I dare not accept the title of master. If there is anything you don't understand, we can discuss it together. Also, please do not tell anyone about learning surgery from me."

"It's natural."

When Shangguan Ruyu arrived at the door, Feng Buji bowed to him.

"This humble one greets Young Master Shangguan."

Shangguan Ruyu took a jade pendant from her waist and handed it to Feng Buji as a gift, saying, "Call me Brother Shangguan. I'll come and exchange knowledge with you another day."

Feng Buji respectfully accepted the jade pendant and said modestly, "Brother Shangguan is too kind. I am not well-versed in my studies and dare not accept the title of 'exchanging skills'."

"With such capable aunts and elder sisters, you can't be any less capable."

No sooner had they left than a small black bird landed in the Feng family's courtyard.

Feng Buji happily picked it up, "Ah Xuan has come to visit again."

Shangguan Ruyu did not go home, but went directly to the Duke of Dingguo's mansion.

When Ming Shanyue saw those strangely shaped instruments and heard about their bizarre uses, she sneered, "What a strange girl. Her ruthlessness rivals that of the prison guards who administer torture."

Shangguan Ruyu said, "No, my master is beautiful and kind-hearted. She reminded me that surgery is for saving lives, not for practicing on living people. But my mother and father don't agree to me marrying her, because they're afraid I'll ruin her life."

Ming Shanyue said, "That girl is tough; she's more likely to bring trouble to you."

After a moment's thought, she added, "She is indeed quite skilled; she's the best urologist I've ever seen. I'll ponder these things; maybe I can come up with some new instruments of torture..."

Shangguan Ruyu slapped away his hand holding the surgical forceps. "These things are for saving lives, not for harming them. If my master knew that you were using these things to make torture instruments, he would take his anger out on me and wouldn't teach me to perform surgery."

Ming Shanyue awkwardly withdrew her hand and teased, "Why are you so protective of her? What kind of magic potion did that girl give you?"

"Don't even mention soup, they won't even leave me a meal. Now she's my master, and a teacher for a day is a father for life, so of course I have to protect her. Hey, how about I work under you as a prison doctor? I can practice my skills more."

Ming Shanyue was in the Imperial Prison, where he could manipulate the prisoners at will. Unlike the Ministry of Justice, where those old guys would immediately send people to guard him as soon as they heard he was going to the prison, preventing him from having his way.

Ming Shanyue shook her head and said, "The Eldest Princess, my maternal uncle, and my maternal grandmother would never agree, nor would the Empress Dowager agree..."

Shangguan Ruyu gave a bitter smile. "My mother and grandmother really won't agree, but my father will definitely. The more useless I am, the happier those people will be."

Ming Shanyue looked at him sympathetically and put her long arm around his shoulder.

"Young Master Ruyu is just as intelligent as my uncle. A smart person can do anything to the best of their ability. Come if you want, and the prisoners in my place are at your disposal."

"However, the Empress Dowager, the Eldest Princess, and my maternal grandmother must not know that you are with me. They may not be willing to harm you, but they will take their anger out on me."

Shangguan Ruyu smiled broadly, "Of course, I'm not stupid."

The next day, the yamen runners came and marked out a rectangular plot of land behind the two houses of the Feng family, which was about two acres in size.

It runs east-west, level with the two houses of the Feng family, and is only a little over ten feet away from the river.

For safety reasons, the officials made the Feng family pay to build a wooden fence along this stretch of the river to prevent passersby from falling into the river.

Feng Chuchen readily agreed, "Of course."

The next day, Uncle Wu invited the people who were building the house to come. Feng Chuchen went with them to the back of the clinic, explained how to expand the house, and gave them the floor plan he had drawn.

The main entrance still faces east, with three rows of houses built to the north. To save land and facilitate management, the houses are modeled after the traditional tenement buildings of the past, but only one story high.

The first and second rows are Class B general wards, with ten rooms, each accommodating three people, plus a medical staff office and a small latrine.

The third row consists of five Class A wards, each with two rooms, and also includes a medical staff office and a small latrine.

Narrow green belts were left between each row of houses... As soon as Feng Chuchen got home, his neighbor, Granny Sun, and her daughter-in-law stormed into his door in a menacing manner.

"Dr. Feng, I heard you're going to build another clinic in the back? Oh dear, the place where babies are born will be even closer to my house! Your family isn't afraid of bloodshed, but my family is! This old woman wants to live a few more years. So young, how can you do something so immoral..."

Previously, the clinic was separated from her house by a house, but the new clinic is now right next to her house wall.

However, the Feng family was too powerful for them to deal with, so they had to go to their door to reason with them; otherwise, they would have their children and grandchildren come to beat them up.

Feng Chuchen said, "Aunt Sun, you are mistaken. Have you seen Aunt Fang, who was sick for a long time, recover? This shows that the place where Guanyin Goddess grants children is not a filthy place. Besides, the place closest to your house is a hospital ward, not a delivery room."

The Fang family lived in front of the clinic, and Aunt Fang's bleeding disease was cured by Feng Chuchen.

Grandma Sun retorted angrily, "Nonsense! Who doesn't know that the delivery room is a filthy place? Yet you spout blatant lies. Whether it's the delivery room or any other ward, anything that's tainted with bad luck is unacceptable..."

Peony jumped over angrily, pointed at her and cursed, "Try cursing again, and I'll slap your old face to pieces."

Grandma Sun sat on the ground, slapping her thighs and crying out, "Oh dear, this is outrageous! They're bullying us to death! They've built the delivery room right behind my wall! My family is so unlucky..."

Sister-in-law Sun cried and wailed along with her mother-in-law.

More and more neighbors gathered at the entrance of the courtyard to watch the spectacle.

Aunt Wang, Aunt Jin, and others came over and started arguing with the Sun family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

Feng Chuchen didn't want to argue, so after they finished arguing, she said to Aunt Sun, "If you really don't want to live here, you can move out. I'll buy your house."

Grandma Sun's crying stopped abruptly, and her mind began to wander.

Selling the house to the Feng family under these circumstances would definitely increase the price. Their children and grandchildren are growing up, and this small courtyard is too cramped. Unfortunately, they don't have the money; a two-courtyard house in the inner city is unthinkable, and even a slightly better two-courtyard house in the outer city costs six or seven hundred taels…

She got up and said, "You mean what you say?"

Feng Chuchen nodded.

Grandma Sun added, "Your family forced us to move, so you have to pay us extra money, six hundred and fifty taels."

It's true that we forced them out, so we should give them some compensation. But 650 taels is too high; this house is worth at most 580 taels.

Feng Chuchen said, "Six hundred and ten taels. Take it or leave it."

Grandma Sun's face lit up with joy. "I'll send my son to look for houses in the outer city. If he finds a suitable one, we'll sell it."

After they left, Aunt Wang said, "When we have money, we can buy a better house elsewhere. Why did we pay such a high price for the Sun family's courtyard?"

Feng Chuchen said, "Once the Sun family moves out, our family will move to their place. This courtyard will serve as the pharmacy, staff dormitory, and staff kitchen."
"The courtyard of the clinic will be used as the maternal and child outpatient department, delivery room, and patient kitchen. After we move to another place, the Sun family's courtyard will be used to open the Yisheng Clinic."

Feng Chuchen thought the environment here was quite nice and that there was room for expansion.

She had her own ulterior motives.

The construction of the clinic later did indeed have some impact on the residents of this alley. However, because their family had powerful backers, those people didn't dare to cause trouble.

There were ten households in this alley. After the Sun family moved away, there were seven households left.

If the other seven families also refused to live there, she would buy them all at high prices and expand the area behind them.

Of course, this requires waiting for an opportunity and having money of your own.

In the late afternoon, the autumn sun shone brightly and a gentle breeze was blowing. Feng Chuchen let the four pregnant women come out to bask in the sun.

Mu Jin came over and said with a smile, "Miss, we have a guest at home."

As they approached the side door, Mu Jin whispered, "It was a man, extremely handsome. He wasn't Young Master Shangguan; he said his surname was Gai."

The extremely handsome man's surname was Gai; Feng Chuchen guessed who it was.

The man has been invited to the main room.

He was wearing a bright blue, wide-sleeved robe, around twenty years old, tall and handsome, exuding a heroic spirit.

In particular, her eyes were bright and piercing, as if a blink or a gaze could pour out a thousand emotions, and every frown and smile seemed to tell a story.

Just by looking at those expressive eyes, one can tell that he has a special profession.

The only drawback is that there are a few small pimples on the side of the bridge of the nose.

Gai Hetian stood up, clasped his hands in greeting, and said with a smile, "Dr. Feng, I apologize for disturbing you."

Her voice was clear and pleasant, with a melodious charm.

Feng Chuchen smiled and said, "If I'm not mistaken, you must be Boss Gai, right? I've heard Young Master Shangguan mention you. Please have a seat."

She knew that besides seeking medical treatment, she had another opportunity to make money.

Gai Hetian was not only the top star and leading martial arts actor of the Hongyun Opera Troupe, but also the deputy troupe leader.

Gai Hetian sat down, lifted the hair on his forehead to reveal a few small pimples, which had already shrunk a bit.

"I often get acne and my skin is dry. I've tried many methods but nothing has cured it. Since taking the secret medicine given to me by Young Master Shangguan, I feel much better..."

Feng Chuchen looked at his face, examined him, and said, "Boss Gai's long-term use of oil-based makeup has clogged his pores. The oils and pigments in the makeup hinder the excretion of sebum..."

"In addition, you did not cleanse your skin thoroughly when removing your makeup... You not only need to use herbal decoctions and secret medicines to regulate your body, but you also need to pay attention to cleaning your skin on a regular basis."

She tried her best to describe the illness using vocabulary that people in ancient times could understand.

Gai and Tiandao said, "Every day when I remove my makeup, I wash my face at least three times and use soap to clean it thoroughly."

Feng Chuchen explained, "Even if you wash the surface of your skin, the oil remaining in your pores is not easy to remove. I have a special makeup remover here, which I use with soap every day when removing my makeup..."

Feng Chuchen picked up his pen and wrote out five doses of medicine, then went inside to get two small packets of powder.

"This powder is for internal use, a one-month supply. Come back to me after you finish it. This makeup remover powder is to be divided into thirty portions. Dissolve each portion in half a pound of warm water. When removing makeup, gently wipe with a soft cotton cloth soaked in the water..."

Gai Hetian heard about "makeup remover" for the first time, but he understood its meaning and his eyes were full of anticipation.

He asked, "How much?"

Feng Chuchen said, "The decoction will be bought at the clinic's pharmacy, the powder will cost five taels of silver, the makeup remover powder will cost three taels of silver, and the consultation fee will be one tael of silver, for a total of nine taels."

Her beauty secrets and makeup remover are extremely expensive.

Gai Hetian said to the servant behind him, "Ten taels."

The servant took out a ten-tael silver ingot from his pocket.

Feng Chuchen took it and asked for more money.

Gai Hetian smiled and said, "No need, the rest is just a token of my appreciation, thank you for your trouble."

He didn't mention "rewarding money" because he was of low social status and had no right to "reward" the doctor.

Feng Chuchen instructed Shaoyao and Mujin to tidy up the south room of the east wing, make it a separate room, and use it specifically for internal medicine. Once they've made enough money and established a reputation, they plan to open a cosmetics workshop.

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