With the help of the second butler, Xu Shichu selected the servants he needed and asked several guards to take them back to the prime minister's residence for settlement. Then he went to the largest clinic in the capital.
When the people in the clinic saw Xu Shichu coming in with a team of well-trained servants, they immediately realized that she was of extraordinary status. Although they did not recognize which noble family she was from at the moment, they still did not dare to neglect her, so an old doctor with a kind face came forward to receive her.
"Madam, are you well? Do you need medical advice?"
"Yes, I need to regulate my body." Xu Shichu nodded, sat in front of the pulse table and stretched out his thin hand.
Although the old doctor was somewhat puzzled as to why the noble lady did not ask a doctor to come to her home for treatment but came to the clinic herself, he did not want to meddle in other people's business, so he treated Xu Shichu as an ordinary patient.
The old doctor carefully observed Xu Shichu's face, paying attention to his eyes and lip color. After looking for a long time, he frowned and took Xu Shichu's pulse.
After feeling for a long time, the old doctor finally said, "Madam's pulse is thin and weak, difficult and slow, which is a sign of deficiency of both Qi and blood, and various deficiencies and fatigue. It is also floating and weak, which is a sign of deficiency of Yin, a cold symptom, mostly caused by cold limbs, heatstroke, excessive sweating, and indigestion... If you don't treat and recuperate well, your life span will be affected."
The old doctor said a lot of things, in short, Xu Shichu's health was very poor and he had suffered severe damage. If he didn't take good care of himself, he wouldn't live long.
Xu Shichu had been mentally prepared for this, so he said calmly: "Then I'll trouble the doctor to prescribe a prescription for me."
The old doctor looked at Xu Shichu, wanting to say something but stopping himself, perhaps wondering why her health was so poor despite her extraordinary status. Looking at her physical condition, it was obvious that she had many hidden dangers since childhood, not only the loss of qi and blood, but also the blockage of meridians left by external injuries.
It was obvious that this lady's life was not as good as she appeared to be.
Xu Shichu pretended not to notice the old doctor's expression. While she was waiting for the clinic clerk to prepare medicine for her, she bought some other medicinal herbs that she had other uses for.
After coming out of the clinic, Xu Shichu didn't go anywhere else and went straight back to the prime minister's residence.
He only left two maids to train the newly bought slaves, and Xu Shichu returned the others to Luo Yaqing.
After returning to his remote little courtyard, Xu Shichu felt weak all over and dizzy. His health was really too poor. He couldn't bear it after just going out to do such a small thing.
She asked someone to boil some medicine and then lay down on the bed to have a good rest.
In the study of Luo Changqing in the Xiangfu, Luo Changqing had already come out of the palace. He frowned as he looked at the document in his hand, and asked the second housekeeper who was standing solemnly with his hands down, "What did Xu do when she went out today?"
The second butler then told the story one by one about everything Xu Shichu had done, including asking the eldest lady for servants, returning to her parents' home to get rid of her dowry, buying slaves, and seeing a doctor. He described every single thing clearly and in great detail, even the dispute between Xu Shichu and Zhou and the pulse feeling taken by the old doctor in the clinic.
Luo Changqing was a little surprised when he heard this. He didn't even look at the document in his hand and said, "Why is Xu's personality so different from before? She actually dared to curse at her aunt and hit her stepsister? Wasn't she being bullied by the people in that mansion?"
The second steward glanced at Luo Changqing cautiously, and seeing that he only showed surprise but no disgust, he said:
"Maybe I have finally escaped from the den of wolves and tigers, and I don't need to hide myself or show weakness anymore in order to survive?"
The second butler himself found a reasonable reason for Xu Shichu. He listened to the old doctor tell the true condition of Xu Shichu's body. Her health was not even as good as that of the little maid who made fire in the prime minister's mansion. The little maid who made fire had no worries about food and clothing, but Xu Shichu, as a proper lady of the Ningyuan Marquis's mansion, was not well fed or clothed, and was abused. It was so miserable that the second butler, as a servant, felt very sympathetic towards her.
After listening to the second housekeeper's words, Luo Changqing nodded and somewhat understood Xu Shichu. After all, if she had not restrained her temper and endured the humiliation, she might not have lived to see the end of her life, living under such a vicious stepmother.
Now that she is in the prime minister's residence, although he cannot treat her as his real wife, he has given her the dignity of being the prime minister's wife. It all depends on how she uses this dignity in the future.
Three months after getting married, Luo Changqing saw that she was still the cowardly and submissive girl, and thought that was her true character and she could not change. Unexpectedly, she made him look at her in a new light today. Not only did she deal with the slave who came with her dowry in a swift and decisive manner, she also began to take care of her body, and she looked like she had turned over a new leaf and was going to live a good life from now on.
Luo Changqing was happy to see her change. After all, even if she was just the mistress of the Prime Minister's Mansion in name only, she still had to go out for social events. If she was weak and could be bullied, it would not be a good thing for the Prime Minister's Mansion.
I didn't care about her before, I just thought she was a hopeless case. Now that she is no longer a piece of mud, I can help her.
"As long as she keeps to her duties and doesn't interfere in the affairs of the young master and the young lady, I will satisfy her with whatever she wants." Luo Changqing ordered. He would give her all the dignity of the wife of the prime minister as long as she was smart enough.
"Yes!" the second butler replied, and he was also happy for Xu Shichu.
Xu Shichu didn't know that she had more power, but the next day she felt a positive change in her food, clothing, housing and transportation. Beautiful clothes and jewelry were delivered to her like water, breakfast became more delicious, the dilapidated yard began to be renovated, and the flowers and plants in the garden began to be planned...
From that day on, Xu Shichu began to feel the true joy of life that a wife of a prime minister should enjoy.
After lunch, she lay on the porch in the sun and saw several maids tidying up the flowers and plants in the yard.
Xu Shichu called them over and said, "Except for the precious ones, you should pull out all the ordinary flowers and plants and tidy up the remaining land. I have my own plan for what flowers and plants to plant later."
The maids did as she said.
Xu Shichu didn't have the leisure time to plant flowers and plants. She planned to plant some flowers and plants that could be made into spices, such as bergamot, mint, osmanthus, plum blossom, magnolia and other flowers and plants that could be used in a variety of spices.
After Xu Shichu looked through her meager dowry last night, she discovered a spice shop and a bookstore, so she planned to develop her own spice shop.
It just so happened that in her previous life she traveled through time and space and became a maid who specialized in making perfumes for the empress dowager. The empress dowager had long been the ultimate winner of the previous emperor's harem, and the current emperor's harem had nothing to do with the empress dowager. Therefore, Xu Shichu felt quite comfortable being the empress dowager's maid. She only needed to concentrate on making perfumes, which gave her the time and conditions to delve deeply into the craft of perfumery.
This time, this skill has found its use again.