The Daily Life of a Down-on-Hard-Life Medicine Girl Supporting Her Family

When Defu went forward to serve again, his master's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Sir, you..."

Defu wanted to ask the doctor if his grandfather's illness was incurable.
But I didn't have the courage to ask.

I feel sorry for him. After all, he is the master, and a whole bunch of concubines in the three palaces and six courtyards are craning their necks waiting for his favor.

Sigh, it's really quite tragic.

If this gets out, what will become of us?

Well, this is something only heaven, earth, my grandfather, and I can know... No, I don't know either. I'm deaf and blind, I can't see or hear, and I didn't accompany my grandfather to the doctor today.

Throughout the journey, Defu tried to minimize his presence.

Although he had served his master for so many years, and outsiders might think there was some affection between them, in reality, everyone knows that there is no kinship in the imperial family. They would kill their own brothers and sisters without hesitation, let alone a servant like him.

So, it's really hard to say whether I'll survive today.

"No one is allowed to tell you about leaving the palace."

"Yes, Master."

How could he say that? It's not like he's tired of living; he wants to see the sun rise tomorrow morning.

Back in the palace, Defu accidentally strained his back and had to take two days off.

If there's anything to do, they'll send their godson or godson to handle it.

"Godfather, let me ask Physician Cao to take a look at you. You won't get better just lying here like this."

“It’s no big deal. Physician Cao is for the nobles in the palace. We are servants and we must know our place and position. We are not allowed to go to them. Don’t let people think we are taking advantage of their favor.” Defu quickly stopped him: “You servants should all be more discerning. Don’t upset your master. Better safe than sorry.”

"Yes, godfather."

Their godfather had given them a chance to shine in front of the emperor, so naturally they wanted to perform well.

"I'll say it again: do not try to guess the Emperor's mind, do not offend the Emperor's majesty, otherwise even the most powerful immortals cannot save you."

"Yes, godfather."

Xiao Dongzi didn't think serving the emperor was a difficult thing.

His godfather occasionally sent him to serve the emperor a few times, and the emperor was quite fond of Ge Ke.

Knowing that the Emperor used to dote on Consort Gui, after Consort Gui's incident, he began to favor Consort Jiang and the young mistress of Qingyun Pavilion.

Serving the emperor well is actually quite simple. As long as these concubines take charge, the servants become invisible.

Xiao Dongzi went to the Imperial Study to serve.

Being an emperor is actually a tough job.

Look, thick stacks of memorials are piled up on the emperor's desk; he has been working diligently with his head down.

The eunuchs in the clean room were waiting outside the door. Xiao Dongzi looked up at the sky. It was indeed time to choose a concubine, but the emperor was busy with state affairs and was still buried in reviewing memorials. It seemed that he had no intention of favoring anyone.

"Father-in-law, look..."

The eunuch received a favor from Consort De today, saying that he had something to discuss with the Emperor and asked for his help. He had also done something risky today, so he was eager to resolve the matter quickly.

"Just wait here, we're waiting here just like you."

Xiao Dongzi glanced at the eunuch and realized that not everyone could get guidance and instruction from his godfather. How could someone like him serve in front of the emperor?
The thought of serving the emperor at such a young age made him stand up straight.

The eunuchs in the clean room could only wait.

"cough……"

In the imperial study, the emperor finally raised his head and coughed lightly.

"Your Majesty, please have some tea to soothe your throat."

Xiao Dongzi quickly stepped forward to pour tea, then whispered, "Your Majesty, the clean room has been chosen for you, what do you think?"

"Go back, I'm busy today."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The eunuch in the washroom was dumbfounded. He could only reply, "What about Consort De?"
He glanced at Xiao Dongzi.

Xiao Dongzi glared at him and then told Steward Liu to warn him not to send just anyone to the Emperor's court, or else no one would have a good life.

The eunuch had no choice but to leave dejectedly.

Xiao Dongzi kicked in the direction he left.

That night, the Emperor stayed in the Imperial Study until midnight, reviewing memorials before returning to Yongle Palace to rest.

After handing over his shift, Xiao Dongzi returned and reported to his godfather that the emperor was diligent and loved the people, and was the best emperor in history.

Only Defu was anxious.

The Emperor's excuse was quite good: state affairs were of utmost importance and the harem was too busy.

One or two days is fine, ten days or half a month is fine, but what about three or five months, or a year or two?

How could he possibly cover it up?
I worry about him and feel anxious for him.

Yes, this is truly a case of the emperor not being worried while the eunuch is!
For several days in a row, the Emperor's daily records showed that he went to the Golden Palace, the Imperial Study, and the Yongle Palace. Oh, and he also went to the Empress's Kunning Palace.

"How is Che'er?"

"Your Majesty, Panpan came today. Che'er had a great time playing with Panpan. He drank some soup and porridge in the evening and his condition has improved somewhat."

"That's good. Take good care of yourself."

The emperor remembered the chubby little girl.

"Give her a waist token, so she can enter the palace anytime to play with Che'er."

If he weren't so young, the Emperor wouldn't mind assigning Che'er a concubine sooner.

Those who can become emperors are all very clear about the stakes involved.

Some people can lend you a helping hand, so you must hold onto them tightly and not let them slip away unnoticed.

It's clear that the little girl is the one destined to bring good fortune to Che'er.

Che'er is his first son, and so far, his only son.

He had always been physically weak, and he was somewhat pessimistic about his future, often wanting to give up.

Fortunately, he never gave up all these years; otherwise, he would have no sons at all.

Just as the third brother said, in the end the throne will fall into the hands of those collateral branches.

We can't abandon this sickly son; he's the lifeblood of the Great Xia!

"emperor……"

Giving Panpan a waist token that allows her to enter the palace at any time was something even the Empress hadn't expected.

At most, she simply had someone bring Xiao Chunyu and her son into the palace, but the Emperor made such a grand gesture as soon as he arrived.

This child is even more favored than her father, who is a general.

"She's just a child, she doesn't have any other thoughts. Che'er likes to play with her, so let her come to the palace to keep Che'er company more often."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Despite her surprise, the Empress was happy for her son, which showed that the Emperor valued him and would keep the people and things he cared about in mind: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for thinking of Che'er."

"Che'er is my son, so naturally I should think more about him."

The Emperor gave a few more instructions, basically telling his son to take good care of his health and for the Empress to pay close attention to him.

Even after the Emperor left, the Empress was still completely confused.

I feel that the Emperor has been acting differently these past few days. "Your Majesty, the Emperor hasn't entered the inner palace for some time."

The nanny's news came quickly and accumulated in large quantities.

These kinds of things are usually not mentioned, but they will be brought up when necessary.

A qualified nanny's job is to take good care of the Empress's logistics.

"What happened in the previous dynasty?"

With so many national affairs to attend to, the ruler of a country naturally dared not go to the inner palace, otherwise he would be gossiped about by the censors.

The emperor was very clever; he knew how to weigh the pros and cons.

That way, we won't give others a reason to criticize us.

"No, not at all." The old woman's information gathering was comprehensive, accurate, and timely.
"understood."

The Empress paused for a moment, then seemed to have figured something out.

He hadn't been to the inner palace for many days, and he was particularly concerned about Che'er. Considering that he only had one son and several princesses, and that there hadn't been any good news from the concubines in the inner palace for more than three years, he figured he must have given up the struggle.

This person is getting old and probably can't have a son anymore, so he wants to cultivate his mind and body.

Or perhaps, the emperor is unwell?

"Ah sneeze"

The Emperor sneezed loudly in the Yongle Hall.

"Your Majesty, shall I summon the imperial physician for you?"

Defu couldn't keep hiding for two days, so he had to bite the bullet and come to work.

Fortunately, everything remained the same except that the Emperor did not choose a concubine.

He could manage, but he became more careful and cautious while serving her.

"It's alright, no need."

The emperor waved his hand: "You may leave now, I need to rest."

The emperor lay on his dragon bed, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

These past few days I've been thinking it over and over, and what I've thought about most are the two previous Imperial Physicians Xiao.

The Empress Dowager said that since her birth, it was the old Imperial Physician Xiao who took her pulse, and later it was the young Imperial Physician Xiao who protected her. The Empress Dowager always remembered the great kindness of the Xiao family.

The case of the Imperial Concubine's false pregnancy involved Imperial Physician Xiao. The Empress Dowager insisted on giving the Xiao family a favor, and in the end, she compromised, only executing Imperial Physician Xiao and exiling the male members and their female relatives back to their ancestral home in Shu.

At the time, I thought I had let Doctor Xiao and his family off the hook.

Looking back now, I realize I let myself off the hook.

If it weren't for that little girl named Panpan, Che'er might have already met with a terrible fate.

Furthermore, every time the little girl gave Che'er some pills, the imperial physician always said they were some kind of nourishing and conditioning medicine, but the pills made by the Imperial Hospital did not have such an effect. Therefore, the Xiao family was keeping secrets from Che'er.

Upon thinking of this, the emperor immediately sat up.

Defu, who was waiting outside the hall, jumped up in shock, but dared not utter a sound.

He watched the emperor in the hall with extreme caution.

Then, they saw the emperor fall back onto the bed.

Thankfully, she didn't lose her temper. Is she about to go to bed?
Little did the emperor know, he was torn between his conscience and his inner thoughts.

A voice told him: If you wrongly killed Physician Xiao, you should exonerate his family, summon them back to the capital, settle them properly, and compensate them.

But a voice told him that he was the emperor, his word was law, and he could not change his mind at any time. What was right was right, and what was wrong was also right. This was the only way things could be.

Even if we want to exonerate him, we should leave it to Che'er to do.

Besides, it seems that no one in Doctor Xiao's family has studied medicine.

Oh, no, his second granddaughter seems to know how to make pills. The little girl said that her pills were made by a person named Xiao Chunnuan.

At this time, in Changzhou, Sichuan, a fortune teller who traveled from street to street arrived at Xiaojia Wharf in An'nan Town.

"He was skilled in divination and fortune-telling, possessing knowledge of astronomy and geography, as well as the Five Elements and numerology; he was omniscient and omnipotent."

"Predicting good or bad fortune..."

Xiaojia Wharf is bustling with people from all walks of life, so one more fortune teller wouldn't make a difference.

Nobody paid any attention to these things.

However, the fortune teller walked up to Uncle Luo's stall and stopped curiously.

"Brother Luo, you are truly a miracle doctor! Look at my leg, it was so stiff last year that I couldn't straighten it and walk. After you massaged it with this medicinal wine, I can walk normally now."

"I'm no miracle doctor, we're brothers." Uncle Luo patted the man's shoulder. "We used to be boatmen, we all suffered like this. It was only by chance that a hunter gave me some pointers and I used his medicinal wine that I had this effect."

"You got the medicinal wine and learned massage, and all the brothers are benefiting from it."

"That's necessary. Brothers are meant to share both good times and bad. Otherwise, how can they be called brothers?"

"Yes, yes." The man suddenly remembered, "By the way, Brother Luo, I heard that your neighbor, Miss Xiao, can prescribe medicine and see patients, is that true?"

"Ms. Xiao mainly treats women's diseases."

Chunnuan's reputation gradually spread, and more and more people came to her for treatment. Of course, they were all women, and they were all poor people who would pay for the consultation with eggs, fruit, or vegetables.

Chunnuan didn't look down on them; she showed them the sights as soon as they arrived.

She would occasionally write something down on paper.

“It’s a woman’s ailment.” The man sighed. “Brother Luo, you know that I’ve been married for five or six years, but it’s all talk and no action. The crops in the fields just won’t sprout. My wife is actually a good person, but she’s suffered a lot because of this. I can’t help her, so I thought I’d ask Miss Xiao to take a look at her.”

“I don’t know if Miss Xiao can see it. Maybe I’ll ask her when I get back tonight.”

"Alright, alright, thank you very much, Brother Luo." The man was extremely grateful: "No matter what, I have to give it a try. If Miss Xiao says there is really no hope, then we'll think of another way."

"What other way? You don't mean you're thinking of divorcing your wife, do you?"

“No, that’s not true.” The man quickly shook his head. “My wife is really good. She’s virtuous, filial, kind, and hardworking. My mother just wants me to divorce her. I told her directly that even if I divorce her, I won’t remarry. You decide what to do. That’s why my mother stopped saying anything.”

"Good job, brother." Uncle Luo patted his shoulder and whispered, "Whether it's your wife's fault or not, a man should act like a man and take responsibility. A good wife is worth cherishing. It's good to see a doctor. What if it's not your wife's fault?"

"what?"

"I've heard that having a child is a matter for both people, and some men can't have children either."

"No, Brother Luo, I'm actually quite capable."

How can a man who is capable of procreation not give birth?
He didn't understand.

"I can't say for sure about this. You should go see a doctor."

"May I have Miss Xiao take a look?"

"This..." Uncle Luo felt very embarrassed: "Miss Xiao is just a young girl, how could she possibly cure your illness?"

How could he possibly bring that up?

"They say that there are no men or women in front of a doctor. Besides, her grandfather was an imperial physician who treated nobles in the palace, so he can definitely treat my illness."

"How about this, I'll go ask Miss Xiao first."

Uncle Luo was afraid of causing trouble for Xiao Chunnuan.

Little did he know that when he packed up and went home, a real problem was following him: the fortune teller had calculated everything, but he never expected that finding Xiao Chunnuan would be so easy!
Yes, he was ordered to come to Shu to find Physician Xiao's family. He had just disembarked when he learned the news at the dock. Excellent! (End of Chapter)