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

Chapter 19 Rescuing Qiu Yan in the Palace

"Move all these flowers away, we can't plant any more flowers now?"

Because of his frail health since childhood, Mr. Zhang couldn't do anything else but grow flowers and plants. Little did he know that his greatest love would bring him the most harm.

"Yes, Mr. Zhang's illness is largely caused by these pollen, as well as some fur, dust, and the like. Just smelling them will cause him to sneeze, have itchy eyes, tear up, red and swollen eyes, runny nose, itchy throat, chest tightness, cough, asthma, and so on."

"No wonder, no wonder!"

"I not only like planting flowers, but I also like cats and dogs." Old Master Zhang stamped his feet anxiously. After living most of his life, he suddenly realized that he had been loving the wrong things: "Someone, move all those flowers away, and send away Little Yellow, Little Black, and Little White."

The servants gaped when they heard this order: "Is the master possessed?"

You see, these flowers and plants are the master's lifeblood; no one is allowed to touch them, they're more precious than the wives and concubines. Little Yellow, Little Black, and Little White are treated like the young masters and ladies of the Zhang family, eating only fresh fish and meat, never leftovers. The servants secretly lament: "We live worse than dogs! If only we could become one of Master Zhang's cats or dogs!"

The master ordered that all of these be moved away and sent away!

Is she about to abandon her husband and children?

"Uncle Hu, are we really moving?"

Hu Bo dared to give the order, and the servants dared not lay a hand on it.

"Master, have you drunk too much? What if you wake up... we servants can't bear the consequences!"

"That's what the master instructed."

Uncle Hu didn't know the reason either. He was serving outside and didn't hear what the girl and boy inside were saying, so he asked the master to send someone to give instructions in a hurry.

"Alright, let's move all the flowers and plants to the guest courtyard, and take Little Yellow and the others... to the stables first. Little Xue, you take care of the flowers and plants, and Old Zhu, you take good care of the cats and dogs, don't neglect them."

If he says no now, what if he remembers and sees the abuse later and tries to settle scores? Uncle Hu says he's too old to mess with that.

Give what needs to be given, and you'll be able to exonerate yourself when the time comes.

"Yes."

Despite their confusion, the servants proceeded with their task, but they were extremely careful, as none of them could bear the consequences of damaging the master's cherished possessions.

Seeing the servants bustling about outside the courtyard, Chunnuan kindly reminded them: Food contaminated with pollen should not be eaten.

Therefore, even the flower-shaped pancakes she specially fried were not allowed to be tasted by Master Zhang.

"There's one more thing." Chun Nuan remembered that some people are very sensitive and can be allergic to food: "If Mr. Zhang finds anything unusual in his daily diet, he must pay attention to it and make sure he doesn't touch it again."

"For example?"

Master Zhang panicked instantly. Everything he saw, played with, and ate would be in danger. It was truly remarkable that he had lived to the age of fifty-two. He had no idea how much effort his ancestors had put in from the afterlife!
"Fish, shrimp, crab, shellfish, or peanuts, milk, eggs, etc."

"Wait, I remember now." Old Master Zhang said hurriedly, "I can't eat those crabs and shrimp, I definitely can't eat them. Every time I eat them, my whole body gets itchy. I never thought about this before. I didn't know that eating these things is called an allergy. Old Hu, hurry up and throw away all the crabs and shrimp in the kitchen."

"Yes, sir."

Uncle Hu didn't care. Crabs have hard shells and shrimp have lots of shells, so it's better to eat a pig's trotter than crabs.

As Chunnuan watched Uncle Hu turn to throw it away, she sighed inwardly: "Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste, while on the road, frozen corpses lie!"

She really wanted to ask Master Zhang if he could throw it into her bamboo basket; she wouldn't mind, she could eat it!
"Miss Xiao, I am a little curious."

Mr. Zhang interrupted her fantasy, saying that she was really just thinking about it!

"Please speak, Mr. Zhang."

"I've had this illness since I was a child, and so many doctors have seen me over the years, so why have they never mentioned it?"

Chunnuan was stunned for a moment. What was the difference between asking that question and not asking it at all?
That must be because those doctors weren't qualified enough to notice it. Chunnuan was so sure because she had thoroughly studied her great-grandfather and grandfather's medical notes in the capital.

My great-grandfather recorded that a nobleman was allergic to pollen.

That year, on the Empress Dowager's birthday, eight-year-old Chunnuan accompanied her grandmother to the palace to offer birthday greetings. In such a solemn occasion, the Empress Dowager suddenly sneezed repeatedly and her eyes welled up with tears. Yu, the nanny beside the Empress Dowager, was on high alert and immediately gave the Empress Dowager a pill.

Chunnuan suddenly noticed that Miss Qiu, who was standing next to her, had an apricot blossom in her hair. She quickly pulled her aside, signaling her to remove it.

Miss Qiu didn't understand why, but she still listened to advice and quietly slipped out the door to throw away the flowers.

The next day, Madam Qiu prepared generous gifts and brought Miss Qiu to express her gratitude.

Some things are self-evident. From then on, Miss Qiu became his confidante, and the Xiao family and the Qiu family of the Hanlin Academy also started to have contact.

On the day she left the capital, Miss Qiu specially sent an old woman in disguise to approach her and say a word: If you need any help in the future, please be sure to ask her. Qiu Yan will always be her sister.

Chunnuan was very touched, but she entrusted her elder sister to Qiuyan and asked her to take care of her in secret. After all, the Wu family had a complex population and not everyone was a kind person.

The warmth of spring can remind the swallows of autumn because on that beautiful day, there are no red or green flowers in the entire palace, only some green plants dotting the landscape.

Then, considering that his great-grandfather's top-secret medical notes mentioned a benefactor, it must be this benefactor!
According to the records in my great-grandfather's notes, these records should be from when the Empress Dowager was still in the palace. Therefore, it was always my great-grandfather who took her pulse when she entered the palace.

This is also why the women of the Xiao family were able to receive the Empress Dowager's grace and escape the calamity to return to Sichuan.

"Miss Xiao, what medicine should I take for this illness?" Physician Xiao pointed to the medicine bottle in Chun Nuan's hand: "Miss Xiao, could you spare some of these pills for me? Price is not a problem."

pill?

Chunnuan glanced down at the small porcelain bottle.

“Master Zhang, it’s not that Chunnuan doesn’t want to sell, it’s just that there are only two left.” Chunnuan tossed her head bitterly: “These pills were secretly made by my grandfather for my grandmother in case of emergency…”

The rest is self-explanatory.

It's too sad to talk about it!

“Then…” Master Zhang bowed deeply: “It was my greed that led me to this. Thank you, Miss Xiao, for the medicine.”

Physician Xiao has already met with misfortune, and the medicinal materials for his secret medicine must be very precious. Miss Xiao is willing to give him just one of these pills. This kindness is so great that even if you cut down some bamboo for him, or even give him the whole bamboo forest, it would be hard to erase it!

"Mr. Zhang, don't worry. As long as you find the cause of your illness, pay attention to it, and take some medicine, you will get better."

"Thank you, Miss Xiao."

Master Zhang's thanks were very sincere, and he directly gave Xiao Chunnuan one hundred taels of silver.

"No."

Chunnuan quickly refused.

Although the Xiao family is short of money, there are some kinds of money they cannot accept.

She came to express her gratitude, not to extort money; what illness could possibly require a hundred taels of silver for a consultation?

"If Master Zhang wishes to express his gratitude, I will give him two taels of silver."

A consultation fee of two taels of silver should be considered quite expensive.

"In addition, I would like to ask Mr. Zhang to grant Chunnuan a request."

"Miss Xiao, please speak."

(End of this chapter)