Bai Erlang glanced at her and said, "You’re already a little divine physician, how could you not be good enough?"
Manbao replied seriously, "You wouldn’t understand. You haven’t read *He Guan Zi*, but surely you’ve read the story of Bian Que eting Cai Henggong? If I could diagnose illnesses at their initial stage, when they’re only affecting the skin, Brother Bai wouldn’t be this sick right now."
Bai Erlang did not respond. After all, the person lying inside was his brother.
Still, he felt his brother’s health was inherently weak. On the journey, everyone ate and drank the sa; even the food at ho was the sa. Yet, he himself didn’t have any ailnts at all.
Bai Shan lightly elbowed Bai Erlang and nodded towards their father’s position. Bai Erlang stepped forward to advise, "Father, let them leave for now. Brother likely got sick on the road."
Old Master Bai furrowed his brow at these words, recalling how his eldest son indeed looked pale with poor appetite when he returned ho yesterday evening. He had assud it was rely fatigue from travel or motion sickness.
Sighing, Old Master Bai gestured for the servants to withdraw. He then turned to find Manbao, asking, "How is Dalang?"
Manbao replied, "We’ll need to see how the dicine works."
The illness had struck too quickly and severely, and Manbao dared not claim that he could cure it outright.
When the dicine was ready, the old physician arrived. Compared to Manbao, it was evident that Old Madam Bai and Mrs. Bai had more trust in the old physician, as he had been their go-to doctor for many years.
The old physician felt Bai Dalang’s pulse, examined his complexion, asked so questions, and even inspected the chamber pot. He then concluded, "It’s dysentery—so sudden and aggressive. I don’t have any particularly effective solution; the best I can do is prescribe dicine to detoxify and stop the diarrhea."
Sniffing the brewed dicine presented to him, he remarked to Old Master Bai, "Even I wouldn’t have been able to prescribe such an excellent formulation."
Turning to Manbao, he scrutinized her carefully and sighed, "Truly the younger generation is remarkable. You’ve been out practicing dicine for how long, yet you diagnose and treat illnesses with such ease."
Relieved, Old Master Bai grasped the aning behind the old physician’s words and promptly escorted him out personally.
Manbao asked Bai Shan to help feed Bai Dalang the dicine and accompanied the old physician outside, saying, "Old Physician, should we compare diagnoses?"
The old physician laughed and shook his head. "You prescribed kudzu root decoction; it’s clear we reached the sa diagnosis. In that case, there’s no need to compare. I’m old and weary, and it’s tough for to travel. You handle this patient."
Manbao looked at the dark night sky and offered, "Why don’t you stay at my place tonight? Fifth Sister-in-law can look after you."
The old physician shook his head. "No need to trouble yourself. Old Master Bai will arrange for soone to escort ho."
He gestured to Old Master Bai, who then escorted him out personally.
Outside the house, the old physician comnted, "His illness is terribly sudden—it’s likely from eating contaminated food. In just half a day, the symptoms progressed to blood in the stool. I fear the dicine may not suffice. He still has needles in him; I’m not knowledgeable about acupuncture. Old Master Bai might want to inquire with Manbao."
He didn’t hold back praise for Manbao, smiling as he said, "Her acupuncture skill is famous. Long ago, even before she was confident in diagnosing illnesses, she was already adept at using needles to treat ailnts."
Old Master Bai nodded in understanding, respectfully loaded him into a carriage, and ensured he was sent ho with proper care.
The old physician, being advanced in age, never made house calls without his son or grandson accompanying him. Today, it was his grandson Lu Gui who ca along.
The two boarded the carriage, with Old Master Bai handing over the consultation fee before watching them leave. Only then did he turn back to the house.
Lu Gui, who had entered to observe earlier, waited until the carriage was far away before asking in a hushed voice, "Grandfather, can Zhou Man really cure him?"
Bai Dalang’s condition wasn’t looking good. They’d encountered patients like this before, where survival past three days was rare due to the rapid progression of the illness.
From what Lu Gui knew, people with dysentery this severe never survived.
The old physician, his eyes half-closed, replied, "It’s fifty-fifty. As long as she can stop his diarrhea, there’s a good chance he can recover."
Then he sighed, "Bai Dalang has internal heat toxins yet also shows signs of external cold—cold outside but heat inside. Prescribing dication for this must be handled with great caution."
Lu Gui asked, "Grandfather, why didn’t you ntion this to Zhou Man earlier?"
The old physician chuckled. "Do you think she doesn’t already know? Judging by how she placed the needles, even though I don’t understand acupuncture, the points she used make it clear she’s addressing not only the diarrhea but also balancing exterior and interior conditions. Her dical skills have already surpassed what I could teach."
In the past, he excelled due to his rich experience and the sheer number of cases. Zhou Man had clearly encountered nurous patients and conditions over the past two years, and with her innate intelligence, experience alone was no longer sothing that would benefit her much.
Why disrupt her diagnosis with unnecessary input?
Lu Gui said no more after hearing this.
The old physician glanced at Lu Gui and couldn’t help but let out a long sigh. How curious it was—despite generations of the Zhou Family never practicing dicine, they produced a prodigy like Zhou Man.
anwhile, his own family had been imrsed in dicine for three generations, yet his son and grandson seed as dense as hardwood knots.
Bai Dalang drank the dicine, and Manbao removed the needles. After so careful consideration, she adjusted the acupuncture points and continued the treatnt. The three sat by the side of the bed watching Bai Dalang closely.
At first, Bai Dalang was unaware, but soon his stomachache subsided, and his dizziness faded, leaving him feeling embarrassed. He subconsciously shifted slightly.
Manbao imdiately cautioned, "Don’t move! Be careful not to displace the needles."
Bai Dalang froze and didn’t move again.
Old Master Bai entered from outside, approached Manbao, and apologized, asking if she could stay the night.
Manbao nodded readily, indicating she had no issue with it. In fact, even if Old Master Bai hadn’t asked, she intended to stay to ensure Bai Dalang didn’t relapse, which could be life-threatening.
Especially since his diarrhea was so severe—it might lead to rectal prolapse.
Seeing her agreent, Old Master Bai visibly relaxed a little.
Bai Shan turned to Manbao and offered, "I’ll stay with you tonight."
Manbao nodded.
Bai Erlang imdiately said, "I’ll stay too."
To keep them warm and to prevent Bai Dalang from catching cold, the servants added another brazier near his bed.
The three of them sat around the brazier, while in the outer room, Old Madam Bai and Old Madam Liu had been persuaded by Old Master Bai to retire for the night.
Mrs. Bai and her sister-in-law sighed as they talked. "Sister, why don’t you go get so rest tonight? We’ll take care of things here."
Mrs. Chen glanced at her daughter trailing behind her and then looked at her son, who idly leaned against the doorfra. Frustrated, she grabbed Mrs. Bai’s hand and suggested, "Sister, let Bo stay here to look after Dalang. They’re cousins; they could chat to lighten the mood."
Mrs. Bai quickly declined, "No, no, don’t trouble yourselves. Erlang is here; he can take good care of his elder brother."
When Old Master Bai returned after sending away Old Madam Bai and Old Madam Liu, he also refused the offer. He escorted the family of three to their rooms to rest. Only then did the couple breathe a sigh of relief, checking on the four children before retiring for the night themselves.
One of them, lying on the bed with acupuncture needles, was already dozing off. Though his complexion was still pale, he no longer showed signs of discomfort, which gave them so relief.
anwhile, Bai Shan and the other two were sitting around the brazier chatting and snacking. Soone had brought them a few books, though they were chatting rather than reading.
Old Master Bai nodded in approval and drew Mrs. Bai back to their room to rest.
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