maidservant

When they arrived at the Li residence, Li Mao happened to be there, composing a ci poem with Xiaoyue. Maple leaves swirled and drifted slowly down the courtyard. One leaf happened to land squarely on the spread of rice paper.

The faint scent of ink and soft light are sprinkled on the paper, contrasting with the red of the maple leaves, making people intoxicated and reluctant to break this beauty.

Seeing Yunshan and Yan Lie coming in, Xiaoyue raised her sleeve to cover her face and quickly pulled her right hand, which was holding the pen, out of Li Mao's hand.

"You two are so careless that you didn't even tell the servants to pass on the message." Li Mao joked with a smile, his words full of familiarity and closeness.

Yan Lie put down his things and was dragged by Li Mao to the Liquan Room. "I just got a few jars of good wine. Let's drink a whole sea!"

Yunshan followed Xiaoyue into the inner room, took out a purse containing twenty taels of gold from her sleeve and handed it to her.

"Sister, His Majesty gifted me some gold and silver a few days ago. I can't use them in the palace, so take them."

"Your brother-in-law has never left me in financial difficulty. Just keep it for yourself!" Xiaoyue hurriedly declined and stuffed the money back into Yunshan's cloth bag.

"Sister, this means something different. When you got married, we didn't prepare a decent dowry. I know you and your husband don't care about it, but if you prepare some, it will be more convenient in the future."

Yunshan advised, "If I have a niece in the future, when she gets married, you must give her your dowry. It will be passed down from generation to generation. This is a popular custom in Kyoto. It will be more precious this way, isn't it?"

"Although this money can't buy any precious treasures, it's enough to set up a few shops. I have plenty left in my own palace, and even if I need money urgently, I will definitely not treat myself badly."

After saying that, Yunshan once again resolutely took out the twenty taels of gold and placed it in front of Xiaoyue.

Xiaoyue stroked the gold gently and sighed softly.

"Ashan..." She hesitated for a moment, then said with a dejected look, "Please feel my pulse and see if I have any hope of conceiving."

"What's wrong, sister? I heard that the division of labor in the Jiaofang Bureau was clear, and you were just a musician at that time. Could it be that..."

Yunshan's face was full of confusion, and she felt a little uneasy. She swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue, for fear of touching Xiaoyue's sad memories.

"No." Xiaoyue patted Yunshan's hand.

"I'm lucky."

When talking about the past, Xiaoyue's gaze gradually became distant, as if she had returned to those years that she could not bear to look back on.

"Although as you said, the courtesans in the Imperial Music Bureau are not required to obey sexual intercourse. But if those powerful officials force them to do so, what can the courtesans do?"

"Yunnong has been well-educated since she was young. She used to play the pipa and compose lyrics with me, but she couldn't escape her bad luck in the end. One day, she was forcibly taken away by an official, and since then, she has been transferred to the east wing." Xiaoyue's voice was full of helplessness and sadness.

"East wing corridor?" Yunshan couldn't help but repeat it, with an ominous premonition in her heart.

"The courtesans in the East Wing's corridors all have clearly marked prices and are available for overnight stays."

A trace of compassion flashed in Xiaoyue's eyes, and she felt deeply saddened by Yunong's experience. "Once, a customer also wanted to do me, but Yunong couldn't bear to see me suffer the same fate as her, so she took him away, and that's how I was saved."

"Miss Yunong, I once spent time with her. She was incredibly beautiful. Even in the midst of the mire, she was able to shield others from the rain. She was truly a rare example of righteousness." Now, what else can one do except sigh? It's a shame that fate plays such a trick on us.

"But sister, since you've never served anyone before, and you've never drunk that kind of sterilizing soup that's harmful to your body, why are you still worried about being unable to have children?"

As Yunshan spoke, she gently reached out and took Xiaoyue's pulse. Her brow furrowed slightly as she concentrated on feeling the pulse's rise and fall. After a moment, a pleased smile appeared on her face.

"Sister, although my medical skills are not superb, judging from your pulse, you are in very good health. You are in much better shape than when I first met you. Logically, there is no need to worry about your offspring."

"But why has my stomach not moved at all after such a long time?"

Xiaoyue's face was full of confusion and her eyes were full of worry.
"Your brother-in-law Kang Jian was also quite a playboy when he was young. When he was in Nanzhou, he had a concubine and they had a son, who is now four years old. However, the concubine was restless and was caught in bed by your brother-in-law, so they stopped having any contact."

When Yunshan heard the news, she was shocked, but she quickly calmed down.

After all, Li Mao spent money like water, was extremely talented, and often frequented brothels. It seemed reasonable and not surprising that he had a mistress and a child.

Seeing Yunshan was silent for a moment, Xiaoyue hurriedly explained:

"That's all in the past. Ever since we met, he hasn't had any dealings with other women. Ah Shan, please don't mistake him for a playboy. Compared to those men who have many wives and concubines, it's very rare for your brother-in-law to be able to do this."

As Xiaoyue spoke, she held Yunshan's hand, as if she was afraid that she would misunderstand her husband.

Yunshan looked at her sister's anxious expression and didn't know what to say. Her sister was completely obsessed with her husband, afraid that others would misunderstand him in the slightest, so she was so anxious to defend him.

It is true that love cannot touch you, and once you are trapped in this mundane world, it is difficult to extricate yourself.

"What about the illegitimate child?"

"Your brother-in-law has always had some resentment in his heart and is not willing to get close to that child. But that is my father-in-law's first grandson after all. When your brother-in-law insisted on marrying me and my father-in-law objected, my father-in-law forced him to let the child recognize his ancestors and enter the ancestral hall."

"The child is innocent. I once thought of bringing him to Kyoto and taking good care of him, but he refused to acknowledge me. Alas, perhaps it's a good thing for everyone to be separated now."

Xiaoyue's tone was full of regret, but also a hint of relief.

Yunshan nodded slightly and quickly turned the topic back to Xiaoyue's pregnancy.

"Don't worry, sister. There's no rush to get pregnant. You must relax. I'll give you a good prescription. Take good care of your body first." Yunshan said, and took out a pen and paper, carefully writing down two prescriptions.

"These are all good prescriptions used in the palace to prepare for pregnancy. Judging from your pulse, I think they are quite suitable for use. But you still have to find a doctor to check your pulse again to make sure there is no problem before you use them." Yunshan handed the written prescription to Xiaoyue.

At this point, Yunshan couldn't help but fall into deep thought. Without being modest, she admitted that although she had a deep understanding of pharmacology, when it came to prescribing medicine for patients, simply understanding the medicinal materials and prescriptions was far from enough.

After all, every patient has different symptoms and physical conditions. If you cannot accurately judge the condition and only rely on pharmacological knowledge to prescribe medicine, it is likely that the medicine will not cure the disease and may even be counterproductive.

She realized that she couldn't just limit herself to pharmacological knowledge, but also had to master the four diagnostic methods of traditional Chinese medicine: observation, auscultation, listening, questioning, and palpation. (End of this chapter)