After Shi Dalang skillfully set up his cousin Dou Dalang, Old Madam Dou masterfully turned the tables and ensnared her great-nephew in return.
Shopkeeper Zheng, satisfied, sent off Old Madam Dou and then carried three packages into Manbao’s clinic, handing them all over to her. "These are gifts from Old Madam Dou," he said.
Manbao didn’t decline. She could use them right now, so she accepted them all. She even unwrapped one of the paper packages for a look and beca even more certain: "Isn’t this the brown sugar from our pharmacy?"
"Brown sugar looks the sa everywhere in this world. How can you tell them apart?"
Manbao looked up at Shopkeeper Zheng, about to explain, but Shopkeeper Zheng stopped her. "Enough. Tidy up your table and get ready to see patients; soone has arrived."
Manbao let the matter drop.
Manbao regained her fa in the capital. Though the current buzz was confined to this one street, it was likely only a matter of ti before all of the capital knew about it.
It wasn’t because the city’s residents were so gossip-hungry that any sensation spread throughout. It was because Shi Dalang’s illness was rather peculiar.
It catered perfectly to people’s appetite for gossip.
Even doctors like Doctor Ding, Doctor Tao, and others who had been involved in almost the entire treatnt process couldn’t help but privately discuss it. "Do you think the Shi Family and the Dou Family will secretly co to blows over this?"
Doctor Tao’s apprentice, overhearing, said, "No, they won’t."
He explained, "I heard yesterday that First Lady Dou brought brown sugar and eggs back to her maiden ho. Shi Dalang, too, was introduced by First Lady Dou to see the doctor here, and the Shi Family is overflowing with gratitude."
Doctor Tao thought for a mont and then nodded. "True. If you look at it, Shi Dalang started this off wrong. His great-aunt kindly introduced him to see the doctor, but he went ahead and set up his cousin."
"Luckily, the illness has already been cured. It’ll just be a topic of conversation for a few days," Doctor Ding said. Then he coughed lightly and turned to Manbao. "Doctor Zhou Junior, I have another patient. His kidneys seem a bit weak. Shall I recomnd him to you?"
Manbao asked, "Who is he?"
"A rchant with the surna Wan," Doctor Ding replied. "He’s almost forty and has only two daughters, both born when he was young. He hasn’t had any sons. Now he’s very anxious, saying that if he can’t father a son, he’ll have to arrange a marriage where the groom lives with them instead."
Manbao said, "I treat infertility, not assigning the gender of unborn children."
"His daughters are sixteen and fifteen respectively. Since having these two daughters, he hasn’t been able to father any children. I’ve checked his pulse, and it’s similar to Shi Dalang’s condition—kidney weakness and poor vitality. Why don’t you take his pulse first?"
Manbao nodded. "Alright, have him co tomorrow. I’ve got an appointnt later."
She didn’t say where her appointnt was, but Doctor Ding and the others knew she was disguising herself to enter the palace.
Nowadays, her act of dressing up as a eunuch to treat the Empress was just a poorly-kept secret. Within the palace and outside it, everyone who should know already knew, and even those who shouldn’t know probably did—except maybe the Empress Dowager, who was still uninford.
So no one brought up the topic anymore. Instead, they chatted casually while a few more patients entered the main hall. The four doctors split the patients up, treated them, and then put aside so ti to organize dicinal ingredients, prepare ointnts and pills, so that the morning passed until lunchti.
The Eastern Palace sent soone to pick up Manbao.
Manbao had already changed into eunuch clothing in the backyard resting room. Carrying an empty basket, she left.
She didn’t bring her dical kit anymore when entering the palace; everything she needed for treating the Empress was already organized in her chambers. It was exceptionally easy and convenient.
At the palace gates, Manbao obediently hung her head low as the guards inspected her.
The guards checked her empty basket and then, turning a blind eye, allowed her through.
If one were to ask how corruption begins—
It stems from the combination of power and self-interest.
Manbao followed the eunuch all the way to Taiji Hall, where the Empress and the Imperial Hospital’s doctors were already waiting.
Manbao continued giving explanations to the Empress’s dical attendants while administering acupuncture.
Once the needles were placed, the Empress fell asleep.
The Crown Prince had found two dical attendants for Manbao: Ms. Doctor Liu and Doctor Xiao.
Doctor Xiao was Director Xiao’s daughter. She was an illegitimate child and entered the palace at the age of thirteen, primarily assisting in the Imperial Hospital. Occasionally, when the male doctors couldn’t treat concubines or princesses, the dical attendants would follow orders to perform treatnts.
Ms. Doctor Liu, on the other hand, was Imperial Doctor Liu’s granddaughter. She was legitimate, but her father was the son of a concubine. Strictly speaking, she shouldn’t have entered the palace at all. Though her father was a concubine’s son, she herself was legitimate.
However, she appeared to have a great passion for dicine and wanted to serve as a dical attendant in the palace. Imperial Doctor Liu allowed her to pursue her ambition.
Manbao preferred teaching her because she learned quickly and asked thoughtful questions.
After the acupuncture, the Empress fell into a light slumber. Manbao and the two dical attendants withdrew behind the curtain, where Manbao checked their notes. It was essentially a test of their knowledge about acupoints—a demonstration of how accurately they could locate them.
Acupoints had to be found precisely on the body; only by identifying the correct locations could one truly master them.
Both Ms. Doctor Liu and Doctor Xiao had been diligent. They practiced finding acupoints on each other’s bodies under Manbao’s supervision. After noting a few of their mistakes, Manbao taught them a few new thods and had them repeat them. Once she was sure they had a good grasp of the knowledge, she rewarded them with a sweet smile.
Ms. Doctor Liu and Doctor Xiao: ...
Both felt unexpectedly uneasy.
Manbao quietly asked, "Didn’t you both say last ti that you get monthly leave to visit your families?"
The two hesitated before nodding.
Unlike the Imperial Hospital’s male doctors, dical attendants were required to live in the palace. However, they were distinguished from palace maids in that they could take three days off each month to visit their families and enjoy ti with their parents.
Manbao said, "Can you adjust the timing of your leave?"
The two blinked and glanced at the senior maid watching the Empress by the bed. Lowering their voices, they asked, "Doctor Zhou Junior, is there sothing you need us to do?"
Manbao responded with a wide smile, "I’d like to ask for your help."
She explained, "I’ve been assigned to a patient who’s due to deliver in about two months. With that tiline, she’ll likely give birth before the new year. But her pregnancy has been unstable, and she’ll need a cesarean section. I was wondering if you could help assist then."
Ms. Doctor Liu and Doctor Xiao were stunned. "You an to perform a cesarean section even before the labor starts?"
Isn’t this tantamount to risking a life unnecessarily?
Manbao realized they misunderstood and hurriedly clarified that her cesarean section was not the sa as rely cutting open to extract a child.
The two dical attendants finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Manbao spoke softly, "I know what you’re worried about. Don’t fret. Regardless of how things turn out, I will bear the full responsibility."
Still, she had already explained everything to the Li Family and Han Family. Even if the operation failed, she didn’t believe that either family would bla her. However, she had yet to lose a patient on her operating table, and for now, she hoped not to set such a precedent. This matter would require extra careful planning. Tonight, she would start preparing for her first cesarean section.
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