Behind the screen, the Empress secretly breathed a sigh of relief. What she feared the most was the Crown Prince refusing treatnt, just like in the past—avoiding illness and eschewing doctors.
Though the Empress relaxed, the other attendants in the hall were still terribly tense. They wished they could block their ears and pretend they hadn’t heard anything.
Manbao had already formulated the treatnt plan quickly in her mind. She asked for paper and a brush from a palace servant, then swiftly wrote down two prescriptions. She originally wanted to hand them to the Crown Prince but, seeing Eunuch Wu behind him, she handed them to him instead and said, "This one is for consumption; the instructions are written on it. This one is for soaking in a bath; the instructions are also written."
Manbao turned to the Crown Prince and said, "Your Highness, for the next two months, you should refrain from intimacy. As for acupuncture, should I administer it now?"
The Crown Prince glanced at the prescriptions. The one for the bath could be overlooked, but many of the dicines listed on the first prescription for eating were ones he had already taken— prescribed by Director Xiao.
He handed the prescriptions to Eunuch Wu, leaned on the couch, and said, "There’s no rush today. Co to the palace tomorrow instead."
Manbao: "...Tomorrow is my day off."
The Crown Prince raised his eyelid slightly to look at her. "Doctors get days off?"
Manbao couldn’t help but reply, "Doctors are human too."
The Crown Prince waved his hand and said, "Then let’s do it the day after tomorrow. I’ll send soone to fetch you then."
Manbao wanted to say that she was off the day after as well, but glancing at the Crown Prince, she didn’t have the guts to speak.
She sighed inwardly and thought to herself: Fine, the day after tomorrow it is. I’ll carve out half a day to co to the palace.
Seeing her sowhat unwilling expression, the Crown Prince added, "There are also many rare plants in my Eastern Palace."
Manbao’s eyes lit up at that, and she looked up at him, her eyes filled with longing.
The Crown Prince couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He waved his hand and said, "Take whatever you like when the ti cos."
Manbao imdiately declared loudly, "Thank you, Your Highness!"
Keke was delighted too.
Because of the Crown Prince’s promise, this ti before leaving the palace, Manbao sneaked off to get the flowers she had preordered from Eunuch An but didn’t ntion the ones she wanted next ti.
Eunuch An held the new purse in his hand and actually let out a long sigh of relief inwardly. Although the orders had co from soone above, carrying them out still made him feel jittery.
Manbao took the two plants with divided branches out of the palace. While in the carriage, she had Keke record them.
The points from the last recording session also ca in. While it couldn’t compare to the points earned from recording horses, it still amounted to over 50,000.
Manbao was very pleased.
She had a vague realization: these wealthy families loved rare plants and were willing to spend large sums of money on them. Yet, they also seed quite generous, as if they would readily give them to her if she asked.
Manbao rested her chin on her hand and began to think. Why was this?
Was it because the plants being offered weren’t really rare, or was it because her perceived value to them outweighed the worth of the plants?
Manbao brought this question to Bai Shan, hoping for an answer.
Bai Shan took out the books and assignnts from his basket, arranged them neatly, and replied, "If you fancy their prized peonies or orchids—plants bought with thousands of gold coins—they likely wouldn’t give them to you. But if you have your eye on sothing that looks rare but doesn’t matter much to them in their garden, they wouldn’t mind sharing a portion with you."
Manbao: "So I’m still not that important, huh?"
Bai Shan nodded and said, "Exactly. You need to keep working hard."
After tidying up, Bai Shan said, "Let’s go visit Brother Xiang."
Xiang Mingxue was lying on the bed, enduring the pain. The anesthesia had completely worn off, and the pain in his foot ca in waves, transmitting to his brain—a strange sensation that made him want to move it.
Manbao noticed his pale complexion and knew the pain from the wound was too much.
She pulled out needles to administer acupuncture for pain relief.
Fifteen minutes later, Xiang Mingxue exhaled slightly. While his foot still hurt, the sensation had lightened enough that he could smile and chat with the three visitors.
Bai Erlang carefully examined his foot and decided that he would write this scene down when he returned and add it to a biography later.
Bai Shan even helped him organize his thoughts. After the two had finished whispering to each other, they noticed that Manbao had finished her work and knew things were better now. They promptly showed care and asked Xiang Mingxue, "Brother Xiang, how are you feeling now?"
Xiang Mingxue smiled and said, "Much better, thank you for visiting ."
Bai Shan didn’t co empty-handed. He pulled out a book from his collection and handed it to Xiang Mingxue. "Brother Xiang, if you’re bored, why not read this? Return it to when you’re done."
Xiang Mingxue accepted the book and thanked him.
As the three chatted, a familiar voice suddenly rang out from outside. The three turned to the door to see Liu Huan and Yin Huo entering with quite a few things in hand. Upon seeing them, they imdiately approached excitedly.
The three were surprised to see the items in their hands.
What a rare sight—since when did Liu Huan and Yin Huo bring gifts when visiting?
But Liu Huan didn’t hand the gifts to the three of them. Instead, he craned his neck, trying to look past them into the room. Yin Huo handed the gifts to Xiang Chao, who was standing by and said warmly, "These are supplents for Second Young Master Xiang."
The two then both directed their attention to Manbao with concern and asked, "How is Second Young Master Xiang’s injury?"
Liu Huan even complained, "You should have told us earlier. If I’d known Second Young Master Xiang was having a tendon suturing today, I would’ve taken leave from school to stay here and keep watch."
Manbao, Bai Shan, Bai Erlang: ...
Xiang Mingxue in the room: ...
Liu Huan, still holding his things, tried to squeeze into the room. Bai Shan and Manbao blocked his way, saying, "He just had surgery, and the wound hasn’t healed yet. Right now, extra caution is needed. Too many visitors in the room could bring contamination, especially since you’ve just co from outside—we don’t know what germs you might be carrying on you."
Liu Huan hadn’t expected to be unable to even catch a glimpse of his idol and was quite upset. "Then how co you all were in the room earlier?"
Manbao replied, "I was in there to administer pain relief."
Bai Shan and Bai Erlang, faces unchanging, added, "We were there to assist her with the procedure."
Bai Shan gave Liu Huan an up-and-down look and asked, "What can you do? Can you lend a hand?"
Liu Huan opened his mouth but couldn’t find words. Yin Huo cleared his throat softly and asked, "Did it go well?"
Manbao nodded and said, "It’s been sutured, but we don’t know yet how viable it is. There will still need to be rehabilitation afterwards."
Yin Huo responded, "Let us know if there’s anything we can do to help. Are there enough dicinal supplies?"
Liu Huan chid in, "She works at Jishi Hall; how could there not be enough supplies? Other than dicines, is there anything else you’re lacking? Let know, and I’ll help you source them."
Seeing their enthusiasm, Manbao decided she would draw the tools needed for rehabilitation later and have them find craftsn to make them.
Because Manbao, Bai Shan, and Bai Erlang stood at the door blocking the entry, the two highly expectant visitors ultimately didn’t get to see their idol. They had to settle for speaking with Liu Huan and Yin Huo through the window before leaving, disappointed.
Once they left, Manbao opened the window and spoke to Xiang Chao standing nearby, "This window needs to be opened frequently to allow ventilation. The afternoon sun hits this spot directly, so sunlight can stream in if you open it."
Xiang Chao: ...So why was the window closed just now, forcing those people to talk to Second Young Master through the gap?
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