The old princess took it but did not open it. She held it in one hand and then got into the carriage with Xiaocao.
The old concubine's travel ceremonies are comparable to those of a prince's wife, and this is also an honor bestowed by the current emperor.
In addition, there was a logo of the Dingbei Prince's Mansion on the carriage. The Dingbei Prince's Mansion only had two masters, and Princess Changning was not qualified to use this ceremonial procession alone. Therefore, the old concubine must be on it. Looking at the direction of the ceremonial procession, it was either going to see the emperor or the empress dowager. Therefore, other people's carriages, no matter what grade they were, gave way.
The old concubine took Xiaocao aside and explained the situation to her, which was not too complicated. She then told her not to be nervous. The queen dowager was a very kind person and liked girls who were dignified, steady and capable. Coincidentally, Xiaocao possessed all three of these qualities, so as long as she did not make any mistakes, even if she was worst off, she would still have a 30% chance of success.
Xiaocao has always been a thick-skinned person, but he is still a little nervous at this moment. Although he had met some important leaders of the country with his mentor in his previous life, things were different back then. After all, even if he said or did something wrong back then, nothing would happen. But it is different now. Under the imperial power, if you make a mistake, you could really go to hell.
However, her mentality is still quite stable. She knows the etiquette and rules. She is not the kind of person who likes to show off. She tries to say and do less and behave in a well-behaved manner. In the end, nothing big will go wrong.
The old concubine saw Xiaocao's reaction and was satisfied. Han's daughter was more outstanding than the other two. So, it might not be a bad thing to grow up outside. Of course, it also depends on personal opportunities. Most of them would probably be petty and not presentable.
"Have you ever read these child-rearing manuals, girl?"
"No, it's at my mother's place after I brought it back. Because Mother She asked me to bring it, my mother took it directly."
The old concubine opened the bundle and took a look, "Your mother is a reliable person." The corners of each book were folded a little bit, indicating that they had all been checked one by one. If they were circulating outside, they might not need to be handled so carefully, but if they were to be brought into the palace, there could not be the slightest carelessness, and the slightest mistake could lead to big trouble.
The old concubine smoothed the folded corner of the book. She turned the top one and looked at the front table of contents. Because she had read the gynecological manual, she knew that the contents contained in the eye-dew were really pure. Then she looked at the current table of contents, starting from the birth of the child, all stages, various diseases, accidental injuries, growth needs, etc. "The parenting manual is really the same as the previous one, comprehensive and thoughtful. Your child has been working hard outside these years." Without so much experience, how could he write such detailed and useful things.
Xiaocao smiled slightly. She had indeed seen a lot during the years when her adoptive father took care of her. Even though she had been with Tingyu later and had not been to as far afield, she had still experienced a lot. She had seen most of the symptoms listed in the parenting manual, but the "cause and effect" was a bit reversed. She knew what the symptoms were first and then prescribed the right medicine, rather than slowly figuring out a treatment method because of these symptoms.
When they arrived at the palace and got off the carriage, Xiaocao also rode in the sedan chair because of the old concubine dowager, and didn't have to walk. However, it didn't matter to her. If she walked by herself, perhaps she could go faster.
The Queen Mother had quite a few people here. When she learned that the old concubine had brought people into the palace, she said, "Hurry up and announce them."
The next greeting process is just walking. Although Xiaocao knows how to do it, he has never used it formally, especially in the past few years when he was alone. He had never practiced it, so it is inevitable that he is not very familiar with it. At this moment, Xiaocao deliberately slowed down a bit, and completed the whole set of movements smoothly, giving people a feeling of being neither hurried nor steady.
Obviously, this made the Queen Mother very satisfied. Although this girl grew up outside, she learned the rules seriously after returning. She was also smart and her calm demeanor was rare.
He glanced at the girl on the lower left. Although she has been living with her parents in the local area for many years, her father is the Censor of the Judicial and Surveillance Department, one of the three local departments. There are only one or two people who can restrain him. In addition to the relationship with the Ming family, she must be doing very well in the local area. As his daughter, she is surrounded by stars. Although she is not as unrestrained as Ming Zeyue, she is definitely not timid. As a result, when she is in front of her, she is so anxious and loses her composure on the spot. She is not a man-eating tiger, and no one is urging you. Why are you so anxious and flustered? Why don't you learn from other girls
The virtuous concubine saw the empress dowager's "glance". Needless to say, she knew what the empress dowager meant. She did not show it on her face, but she was very annoyed in her heart. She was really a person who could not do anything for her but always made trouble. When she was in her palace, she behaved quite well, but then when she came to the empress dowager's palace, she made such a big mistake. She had thought that if she could please the empress dowager, she would marry her to the Zhang family. Then her father would be transferred back to the imperial city and enter the Ministry of Justice as a minister, and her chances would be better.
Although it is very rare for a person to directly jump from a vice minister to a minister in the six ministries, it has happened before. How can you know that you can't do it without trying? Although it is too early to become a minister.
But now, do you still want to marry into the Zhang family? You are just dreaming. Then the father will stay in the local area for the rest of his life!
She might as well replace Ming Zeyue and marry the Ninth Prince. Anyway, the engagement between the Ming family and the Ninth Prince has not been cancelled, and it has not been reported to the Emperor. She might as well just replace her with someone else and there is no need to cancel the wedding date.
The idea came suddenly, but Concubine Xian had already made up her mind. Then she set her eyes on Xiaocao with inquiry and scrutiny. Yesterday, the old concubine of the Dingbei County Prince's Mansion entered the palace and gave something to the Queen Mother. This was naturally a big deal in the harem, especially since the identities of the two parties involved were different, and it was impossible not to pay attention to it. But what was the gift? Concubine Xian did not have the courage to reach out to the Queen Mother's palace. It happened that today she was going to receive the cousin's wife and niece of the Ming family who came back from the local area. Because she had made plans before, and she learned who the Queen Mother was going to summon, she simply came here in advance.
She didn't have any thoughts before, but when compared with her own niece, her niece looked so unbearable. It would be fine at other times, but in front of the Queen Mother, if the Ming family members did not behave well, the Queen Mother's impression of her would be reduced. It was inevitable that Concubine Xian would have some dislike for Xiaocao, and her eyes naturally became more and more picky.
Therefore, Xiaocao had no idea at all that she had inadvertently won the favor of the Empress Dowager and the dislike of Concubine Xian. If Xiaocao knew, she would probably cry out that she was wronged and that she was so innocent.
The Queen Mother allowed him to sit down.
The old concubine had a high status, so she sat directly opposite the virtuous concubine. Xiaocao followed her and only moved one seat back.
The Queen Mother saw the maid accompanying her dragging something and said, "Is the child-rearing manual out? Bring it here for me to see."
The things were handed over, and the aunt beside the Queen Mother took one and handed it to the Queen Mother.
The empress dowager had good eyesight and she just opened the book and took a look. She probably had the same idea as the old concubine. She even turned directly to the main text when she saw a "table of contents" whose meaning was not very clear, and read it carefully. But she fell silent after reading for a while, and even showed a bit of sadness in her expression. Anyone who saw the empress dowager's "change of expression" would be nervous.
The Queen Mother just kept looking at the book without any other expression. She put the book down after finishing the two pages and pressed her eyelids unconsciously. "Well written, well written. If I had a book like this back then, my daughter might have survived."
Everyone then breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, they were relieved.
"My Queen Mother, please accept my condolences." said the old concubine.
The Queen Mother waved her hands. "It's been decades, it's long gone. It's only now that I see the same symptoms as my daughter did that I realize I can handle it myself. It's quite simple. Even if I can't recover, it's more than enough to wait for the doctor to come."
When the empress dowager was still in the palace of the previous emperor, she was only a concubine and an unfavored one. When her daughter fell ill, not only did she not call in the imperial physician, but the doctors she found from outside were all kidnapped, just because the son born to the favored one was not well.
It goes without saying how much hatred the Queen Mother had in her heart. Even though she couldn't save the woman's son later, and that woman died, she took the position of Queen and now she is the Queen Mother. She has avenged all her revenge, but the trace of regret in her heart is now brought up. She strokes the book in her hand, and no amount of regret can make up for it.
The Queen Mother waved to Xiao Cao, "Come here, girl."
Xiao Cao stood up and stepped forward, standing below the Queen Mother, "Queen Mother."
"The old concubine said that you grew up outside and have great medical skills. How old were you when you started learning medicine?"
"To answer your question, Your Majesty, I started learning it when I was just starting out. My adoptive father is a doctor who has devoted his life to medicine. He travels all over the country to practice medicine. He has nothing but medical books on hand, and he deals with all kinds of medicines every day. My adoptive father likes to talk a lot no matter whether he is reading or doing things. I heard from my adoptive father that the first thing I said was not 'Dad', but the name of the medicine. He was not angry, but very happy. From then on, he would hold me and talk to me whenever he had time, regardless of whether I could understand him or not. When I was really starting out, I seemed to remember a lot of things." Xiaocao blurred some things, but some of the words were indeed said by her adoptive father later.
When I say this, I can't help but feel a little nostalgic.
"So, you are not very old, but you have been studying medicine for more than ten years. It can be seen that you are quite experienced. But," the Queen Mother picked up another book at hand, "did you also learn gynecology very early?"
"Yes. My adoptive father said that as a doctor, he should not distinguish between men and women. When he picked me up, he was already fifty years old and had always been alone, without a wife or children to take care of him. When he taught me medical skills, he probably didn't treat me as a girl. He just wanted to pass on all his medical skills to me.
I traveled to many places with my adoptive father, met many patients, and encountered all kinds of diseases. I knew how difficult it was for women and how many secrets they had. They couldn’t seek medical treatment even when they were clearly ill. I don’t remember how old I was at that time, but I just thought, I’m a girl, I can help them, I want to help them, and before I knew it, gynecology became the department I came into contact with the most.”
"You are a kind-hearted child." The Queen Mother sighed, "You were ignorant at that time. Do you still not regret it now? You know, it is not a good reputation for a girl to study medicine."
"Why should I regret it? Every time I see a patient getting better under my care, it is a very pleasant thing. If you want to say that my reputation is bad, it has been bad for a long time. It cannot be restored by letting go now. Besides, for me, reputation is nothing compared to saving people. I don't care what others think of me."
"Even if those who were saved by you express gratitude to you in person but slander you behind your back, you still don't care?"
"The essence of saving lives and curing illnesses is not to make them grateful, but to ask whether you have done a good job. This person speaks two words with one mouth and listens to one side with two ears. Isn't it normal?"
"That's right. It's rare to keep your original heart. You are a good child. I hope you can benefit more people in the future. Come, I was reading a book yesterday, and there were some parts that I didn't understand. Can you explain it to me?"
"Yes." Xiaocao stepped forward and saw that there were annotations on the page that the Queen Mother opened. For the parts that she didn't quite understand, Xiaocao patiently explained them to her.
So, for a while, all that could be heard was the question and answer between the old man and the young man, and it seemed as if everyone else didn't exist.
All the questions were answered, but the Queen Mother seemed unsatisfied. She continued to read the parenting manual and did not ask Xiaocao to leave. She even asked someone to bring a stool and let Xiaocao sit next to her, as if she wanted to accompany her until she finished reading the book.
She was the Queen Mother, so she naturally had some rights and "willfulness". Besides, she would be seventy in a few months. Xiao Cao treated the old lady like a child, with the same patience. She would answer any questions the Queen Mother asked, and her answers were easy to understand. She would definitely understand. But after reading for a long time, Xiao Cao was worried that her eyes would be tired. "Queen Mother, how about I read to you?"
The Queen Mother waved her hand and said, "It's more interesting to read this book yourself. My eyes are still quite good."
Xiao Cao originally wanted to ask her to take a break, but seeing how focused she was, she didn't say anything. She was old and the most noble woman in the world, so it was normal for her to be a little willful and stubborn.
Xiaocao thought about it, stood up, found the aunt next to her, lowered her voice, and said something to her. The aunt nodded and left, spending some time preparing some things, and the one who came with her was the imperial physician from the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Xiaocao went to a side hall, and under the gaze of everyone, he worked quickly. It took him about half an hour to get ten finished products - thumb-tip-sized patches that could be applied to the temples to effectively relieve eyestrain.
The imperial physician who had been watching applied two of the medicines to himself and felt it intuitively. Well, it was very effective and the empress dowager could use it.