one
Back at the pharmacy, Xia Yue frowned, feeling uneasy and unable to calm down for a long time. She stroked the jade cicada in her hand, secretly blaming herself for being too careless. Now she could no longer carry the jade cicada with her. She found a handkerchief to wrap the jade cicada, and then put it in the jewelry box on the dressing table. Then she felt that it was too stupid, and after hesitating for a long time, she climbed onto the table, put a stool under it, and stood on tiptoe to put the thing on the beam.
As soon as I got up from the table, the door was pushed open without knocking.
"Oh - our eldest lady. Are you going to move into the house or hang yourself?" asked Aunt Pei in a crisp voice.
"Aunt." Xia Yue jumped off the stool a little embarrassedly, "I'm catching a bug."
"If others saw you doing this, they would think that I, as your aunt, had done something to make you angry and forced you to hang yourself."
"Daughter-in-law, how can you talk like that?" Xia Yue's grandmother heard the noise and followed in.
"What's wrong with me? Old lady, you should be honest when you speak. Your son went to southern Xinjiang to sell goods in order to make money, and he only made that little money in half a year. Business is so bad now, and we don't know how many days of good life we can have. I am the only woman busy in the shop. Now there is a rich girl in the family for no reason. Do you want me to worship her and give her gifts?"
"Okay, okay. Stop talking." The old lady advised, "The servants from Mr. Liu's house are here outside, waiting for me to call you out."
My aunt nodded and threw a small bottle on the table as she left: "I heard that you had a bad cough after coming back from outside today. I got you a pill for treating cold from Mu Yuanzhi. You can try it."
Xia Yue smiled: "Thank you, aunt."
Pei said somewhat embarrassedly: "Why thank you? I'm afraid that you, who are used to being a pampered lady, would fight me to the death if anything goes wrong with you. " After saying that, she left in a hurry.
Xia Yue and the old lady smiled at each other.
"In fact, your aunt is a person who has a harsh mouth but a kind heart." The old lady turned and asked, "How have you been studying medicine with Yuanzhi in the past few months?"
Mu Yuanzhi is the doctor hired by the clinic. He has a calm temper and treats people kindly, so everyone in the clinic likes him.
Xia Yue smiled: "Anyway, I'm usually too idle and have nothing else to do. He won't be angry even if I don't learn well."
At night, with the cold wind blowing outside the window, she dreamed of Zijin. In the dream, he was standing under the wintersweet tree, but unfortunately, she could not see his face.
He has never been a person who is good at wandering in the world, so he will definitely not be happy with Prince Huai.
In the early morning, just after the hour of Mao, Xia Yue and the shop assistant opened the door and saw a middle-aged man waiting at the door. This man was Mu Yuanzhi.
"Sir, you're here so early today." He Xiang said happily.
Xia Yue also nodded: "Good morning, sir."
Mu Yuanzhi had just sat down and hadn't had time to drink the brewed tea when Xia Yue came over with a book in her arms and asked.
"Sir, I read in the Golden Chamber some time ago that a prescription can be prescribed for yellow tuberculosis, with Artemisia annua as the main ingredient, supplemented with Gardenia jasminoides and Rhubarb. But I also heard Doctor Zhao say that he used this prescription for several months, but the patient did not get better. Is it because of the wrong medicine or improper usage?"
"What does Miss Min think?" Mu Yuanzhi asked.
Xia Yue did not answer immediately, and said thoughtfully: "In the Golden Chamber, it is always called Qinghao, but the word 'Yinchen' is used only when referring to yellow tuberculosis. Although everyone knows that Qinghao is the official name and Yinchen is the folk name, it is very strange to use it here. I asked Uncle Wu later, and he said that in their hometown in the southern region, the word 'Yinchen' sometimes specifically refers to the Qinghao that has just sprouted in March or April."
Mu Yuanzhi smiled appreciatively: "Yes, the Artemisia annua here should be dried and used as medicine when it is fresh in March. However, yellow tuberculosis is not common in the northern part of the imperial capital, so many doctors occasionally use it incorrectly. In fact, although Artemisia annua and costusroot are similar, they will be useless if they are picked at the wrong time."
"Oh." Xia Yue nodded, frowned and asked again, "I have another question. If the symptoms are red face and upset, or even irritable, syncope, dry mouth and red tongue, rapid pulse and fever, is it due to worm accumulation?"
"Do you have abdominal pain after eating and don't feel like eating?" Mu Yuanzhi took a sip of tea.
"right."
"That's it. You should take the above ten ingredients, pound and sieve them separately, mix them together, soak black plums in bitter wine overnight, remove the cores, steam them with five dou of rice, and when the rice is cooked, pound it into a paste, mix it with the herbs until they are well matched, put it in a mortar, and pound it with honey for 2,000 times, make pills as big as sycamore seeds, take ten pills before meals and with water, three times a day, and gradually increase the amount to twenty pills."
Xia Yue quickly took note.
At this moment, an old woman came into the store holding a child.
"Doctor Mu, please take a look at my granddaughter."
The girl was probably only two or three years old, and her face was red, probably because of the fever. She first smelled the medicine in the shop, and cautiously poked her head out from her bosom to look. Looking around, she saw the cabinet filled with medicine, and she pouted and cried: "Grandma, grandma, Mei'er doesn't treat illnesses! Mei'er doesn't treat illnesses!"
"Okay, okay, okay. I won't see a doctor." The old woman agreed and rolled up her granddaughter's sleeves for the doctor to feel her pulse.
The child screamed in alarm and struggled desperately in her grandmother's arms. The screams were simply piercing. Xia Yue glanced at the child. Now it was difficult to calm her down, let alone feel her pulse.
The old woman asked Mu Yuanzhi for help shyly: "Doctor, look at this..."
If it was the old Doctor Zhao, he would have been angry and glared, looking unhappy. But Mu Yuanzhi just smiled and said, "Auntie, it's okay, I'll take a look."
Mu Yuanzhi opened the medical box and took out an egg.
Xia Yue whispered to He Xiang, "Sir, are you eating eggs again this morning?"
"I'm blessed." He Xiang stuck out her tongue.
Mu Yuanzhi was practicing medicine alone in the imperial capital. He had no female relatives at home, could not afford maids and servants, and had no idea about pots and pans. Although he could make do with three meals a day outside, as the daybreak got later and later, breakfast became difficult to prepare.
Later, Xia Yue had an idea and taught him how to boil eggs.
"Mei'er, look here, uncle."
The girl looked up at the egg and didn't seem to be tempted. She pursed her lips and continued crying. I guess she was not feeling well and had no interest in eating anything.
Mu Yuanzhi was not surprised: "Mei'er, don't cry, uncle will show you a magic trick." Then he took the pen on the table and drew a few strokes on the eggshell.
The girl was really attracted by him, stopped sobbing, tilted her head and looked at the thing in Mu Yuanzhi's hand curiously. She saw that Mu Yuanzhi had sketched a fat baby in the New Year picture on the smooth eggshell in just a few strokes.
Mu Yuanzhi put the ink to his lips to dry it, and handed it to the girl. The girl couldn't help but reach out to take it. But Mu Yuanzhi pulled back and asked with a negotiating expression: "Then Mei'er, let uncle hold you, okay?"
The girl nodded vigorously and opened her arms to let Mu Yuanzhi hug her.
So, the egg that had been transformed into a magic trick was held in the child's hand, and the child was held in Mu Yuanzhi's arms.
He Xiang glanced at Mu Yuanzhi, took the things and walked out.
While the child's attention was on other things, Mu Yuanzhi gently felt her pulse and forehead, then turned up the child's collar, revealing her chest and back covered with abscesses.
"When did the sores start?" Mu Yuanzhi asked.
"We didn't know either. Her parents had gone back to their hometown earlier. I found out later when I saw the child was always scratching herself."
"So when did the fever start?" he continued to ask.
"Last night at midnight."
"Are you eating normally?" he asked again.
"I haven't eaten for two meals."
"Are you unable to eat, or will you vomit if you eat?" he asked again.
"I threw up everything I ate."
“Is the child afraid of the light?”
"We... didn't notice this."
The old woman became more and more anxious as he asked her a series of questions: "Doctor, is the child's illness serious?"
Mu Yuanzhi did not answer immediately. After a while, he said, "Auntie, the child is fine. He just has yellow sores."
"I want to take the child into the inner hall for acupuncture." Mu Yuanzhi turned to the waiter next to him and said, "Xiao Wu, give me a hand."
Xiao Wu agreed and prepared to put down his work and go in together.
"Sir, let me help you." Xia Yue said.
Mu Yuanzhi groaned: "Miss Min, this..."
Xia Yue tilted her head in confusion. This was not the first time she had followed Mu Yuanzhi in acupuncture. She didn't know why he hesitated. "I won't make trouble. Besides, Xiao Wu is busy." She smiled.
Mu Yuanzhi had no choice but to follow her.
In the inner room, in order to prevent the child from moving around, Xia Yue had to hold her in her arms and sit on the recliner. Mu Yuanzhi took out the silver needles: "We need to prick all the sores and apply medicine. This process is very painful. So we need to first use needles to seal the three acupoints of Xuehai, Taiyuan, and Chize to stop her pain."
Then he wrote another prescription to Xiao Wu: "Crush the above herbs as soon as possible and bring the sauce over."
"Sir, you don't need Ma Fei San?" Xia Yue was a little surprised.
"All medicines are poisonous. Ma Fei San is too strong for children of this age. If the dosage is not appropriate, it will affect their five senses in the future."
"Uncle, do you want me to give you an acupuncture treatment?" The girl looked at the long and short silver needles that Mu Yuanzhi had placed on the table with some fear.
"Mei'er, uncle will only give you three injections. Only then can the disease be cured." Mu Yuanzhi said gently.
"Does it hurt?"
"It's like being bitten by a mosquito twice."
The girl nodded as if she understood, then closed her eyes, much braver than before.
Xia Yue said: "The master is really patient with children."
"Children are usually stronger around strangers, so I asked her grandmother to stay outside."
Before acupuncture, Mu Yuanzhi asked, "Miss Min, do you know the locations of these three acupuncture points?"
"The Xuehai point is located on the inner side of the thigh, from the upper corner of the inner side of the kneecap, above the groove of muscle about three fingers wide, where you will feel pain when pressing it. It can be applied when the patient bends his knees.
"Taiyuan point is located on the wrist, on the transverse line of the wrist, on the side of the base of the thumb." Xia Yue said, and Mu Yuanzhi followed suit to locate the point and insert the needle.
"Chize point is located on the chest, just below Yufu point, in the intercostal space below."
"How do we find the Yufu acupoint?" Mu Yuanzhi asked.
"On the upper chest, three finger widths to the left and right of the patient's midline, just below the clavicle." Xia Yue replied.
After the three needles were inserted, Mu Yuanzhi took another needle and gently poked the tip of a shiny rash. Yellow pus slowly flowed out. He caught it with the white handkerchief in his left hand. After a short pause, he poked it again. After making sure that the pus had been cleaned up, he took the sauce brought by Xiao Wu and applied it on the wound.
It took more than half an hour to finish one by one. The child could no longer hold on and cried and made a fuss, but Xia Yue held him tightly, and even when she couldn't move her limbs, she turned her head and bit her hard.
The old woman was called in to hold the child.
"Maybe you're tired of crying." Xia Yue handed the child to her, who fell asleep in a short while.
Mu Yuanzhi said, "Auntie, I've given the prescription to the waiter. Go get the medicine and come back for a follow-up visit in two days. Remember not to touch water, stay out of the wind, or have contact with outsiders."
The old woman thanked him again and again before leaving.
Xia Yue stood up to help Mu Yuanzhi clean up the utensils, her face pale.
"Did it hurt you?" Mu Yuanzhi asked.
"The kid is quite strong, just a little tired." Xia Yue wiped the sweat off his face.
"Did you eat the meatballs on time yesterday?" Mu Yuanzhi asked suddenly.
"Ah?" It turned out that the pill was prescribed by Mu Yuanzhi. Xia Yue said with a smile, "I have felt much better after taking it. The doctor's medical skills are second to none. He can bring people back to health and cure diseases with his medicine."
Mu Yuanzhi looked at Xia Yue, but this time he didn't smile, instead his eyes were inquiring.
Mu Yuanzhi taught her medical skills on weekdays. Although he was still young, he was also respected by Xia Yue. However, Xia Yue had always been a funny person since she was a child. She would occasionally talk and laugh, and Mu Yuanzhi would let her do as she pleased.
But this time it's different.
Xia Yue suddenly felt something was wrong.
"Sir, is there something wrong with the child's illness?" She was a little confused just now.
"What's the abnormal method?" Mu Yuanzhi asked while washing his hands in the basin.
"Because I don't understand three things. The teacher just said it was yellow sore, but the patient will not have a fever after contracting yellow sore. First, her pus is yellow with blood after being picked out. Third, the medicine Xiao Wu made contains Bei Han and Man Zi, and I have never seen these two medicines used to treat yellow sore."
"Miss Min is very attentive. It is definitely not jaundice. I am not sure about this disease either. The symptoms are somewhat similar to black sha."
"Black Yin Sha?"
Mu Yuanzhi said: "This is a disease that was prevalent in the Western Regions a few years ago. It is very contagious and often occurs in children of a few years old. Once the disease becomes serious, it is extremely difficult to treat, so..."
"So that's why the master asked me to get out of the way just now?" Xia Yue said, "I'm in good health, and my cold has gotten better. I'm not a child, so it's not that easy for me to get infected. Besides, I've been studying with the master for many days, and I'm a medical student after all, so I shouldn't be afraid of these things."
When saying these words, Xia Yue looked calm and showed no fear.
Mu Yuanzhi's eyes flashed. There was nothing special about his facial features, except for his eyes, which looked like two blobs of ink.
"Sir, do you have anything to say?"
Mu Yuanzhi hesitated and said, "Actually, young lady, you don't have to suffer like this."
Xia Yue was stunned for a moment, then slowly said: "Although I am a woman, I also want to be independent one day."
Mu Yuanzhi looked at Xia Yue, calmed down and said, "Tomorrow is the day I will take the exam for the Golden Chamber Essentials. Miss, don't forget it."
"Sir, why don't you tell that lady directly about your illness?" Xia Yue also took over the topic, diverting the solemnity just now.
"The child has been ill for only a short time and is now fine. If we tell them, it will cause panic among the relatives." After saying this, the two men lifted the curtain and left the inner room.
two
A few days later, the old lady took out her private money and urged Xia Yue to take He Xiang to make new winter clothes. Xia Yue smiled and said, "I have money."
Although Mr. Min was an honest man, he still had some property. In fact, except for the house, most of the things were sold before he passed away. He just wanted to keep them for Zijin, thinking that they would be useful. However, Zijin took nothing with him when he left.
He never talked about these things with her.
In the afternoon, under the urging of the old lady, Xia Yue and He Xiang went out to the street.
The owner of the clothing store had just finished measuring Xia Yue's size when a little girl with pigtails lifted the curtain and ran in, scaring He Xiang.
"Go, go, go. Zijin, what are you doing? Mother is working with the customers." The proprietress chased her son away.
Xia Yue smiled when she heard his name and squatted down to tease the child: "Oh, your name is also Zi Jin?" Because of Gao Xin and Baoyu, Zi Jin has become a common boy's name in many families.
The child nodded.
Xia Yue narrowed her eyes and smiled: "My brother is also called Zijin."
The child seemed to interact with guests frequently and was not shy at all. He tilted his head and said, "Next time you come, bring him to play slingshot with me."
Xia Yue smiled: "That won't work, he's already a big boy."
As soon as I came out of the embroidery workshop, I saw the golden sign of "Linlangfang" diagonally opposite.
This shop is a famous jewelry shop in the capital. The strange thing about it is that it never makes gemstones and jade, but only gold jewelry. The golden and yellow gold, when it comes out of the hands of the master in his workshop, gets rid of its vulgarity and becomes elegant and extraordinary somehow.
Even the ladies in Jinluo were proud to have a piece of jewelry from Linlangfang. When she was a child in the capital, her mother asked someone to make her a pair of gold locks. Later, she accidentally lost it and cried for several days until her father made a new pair at Jinluo.
Thinking about these past events, she crossed the street with a faint smile on her face, and couldn't help but walk towards the shop.
As soon as the shop assistant saw the two people coming in, he greeted them warmly, picked out a few pieces of jewelry that ordinary young ladies liked to use and put them out, then served tea and set up seats.
Xia Yue had come in to take a look, but since the servants were so kind, she couldn't leave, so she had to sit down. There were several open boxes on the table, with earrings, gold bracelets, hairpins... a dazzling array of things. She was also a girl who loved beauty, and she touched them one by one, the brilliance was dazzling, and it would be a lie to say that she was not moved at all. But, how could she have such thoughts
When the waiter saw that she was about to leave, he hurriedly said, "If you are not satisfied with anything, there just happened to be a batch of new styles available today." Then he took out a few more brocade boxes and opened them to show Xia Yue.