Ma Family’s Ailment
In the morning, Xu Miaozhen stretched lazily in bed—nothing compared to the comfort of her own bed at home.
Reluctantly getting up, she first had breakfast with Mei Shi, and even saw her two younger brothers, handing out little trinkets she’d brought back from Wuxi to them, before heading to the Tao residence to greet Ru Shi.
Only then did she go to play with Miss Ma Yulan.
But unexpectedly, Ma Taitai seemed hesitant and awkward.
Xu Miaozhen was puzzled: “Auntie, what’s wrong with Ma Jiejie?”
“Zhenzhen, you should go back. Your Ma Jiejie is ill and cannot see anyone.”
Ma Taitai sent her away.
After returning, Xu Miaozhen immediately asked Mei Shi, “What’s wrong with Ma Jiejie? Aunt Ma wouldn’t let me see her either.”
Mei Shi whispered, “I heard she’s caught a terrible illness. They even invited a Daoist priest to ward off evil. Outsiders aren’t allowed to see her, so I really don’t know what’s going on.”
“If that’s the case, they probably don’t want to make a fuss.”
Xu Miaozhen figured it was some private matter and didn’t ask further.
Over the years, following her master in treating illnesses, she’d seen many wealthy households.
Only when you took the initiative to seek treatment would the illness improve.
If you hid things from the doctor, the diagnosis would be off and the treatment wasted.
At noon, she rolled Ai Zhu the size of jujube pits, and, with a slice of Sheng Jiang as a barrier, performed moxibustion on Xu Erpeng’s Shousanli Point.
After the moxibustion, Xu Miaozhen helped him scrape at the Hegu Point.
Xu Erpeng leaned back comfortably on the lounge chair, “With Zhenzhen as our doctor at home, nothing could be better. I can feel the blood and qi flowing smoothly in my hand.”
“Father, you’re exaggerating.”
Xu Miaozhen only smiled.
Xu Erpeng had often lost sleep due to shoulder and hand pain, but after today’s moxibustion at noon, he felt so comfortable he nearly dozed off.
If Ru Shi was accomplished in Nu Ke and accurate in diagnosis, then Tan Yunxian was especially skilled in moxibustion, even said to revive chronic illnesses and heal persistent ailments.
She also placed great emphasis on the Medical Theory of Danxi, so most of the books Xu Miaozhen read now were related to Zhu Danxi.
Just as Xu Erpeng finished his treatment, Fengniang arrived.
She had a lump on the left side of her neck and was quite worried: “I’ve tried rubbing it with chicken blood and incense ash, but nothing works, Miss. What is this illness? It can still move.”
Xu Miaozhen felt the lump, first easing the patient’s anxiety: “It’s nothing serious, I’ve seen this before. This is a phlegm nodule. The Danxi Xinfang says, ‘When a person is deficient and depleted, lumps appear all over the body.’”
Back when Fengniang worked at the Mei Family, she was always busy.
Life was a little better after marrying out, but she still couldn’t sit idle.
Xu Miaozhen led her into the inner room and had her remove her outer garment, then performed moxibustion on the left Yifeng Point and Jianjing Point.
The Yifeng Point is the meeting of the Shaoyang meridians, while the Jianjing Point is even more important.
During the moxibustion, she also wrote a prescription.
“I’ll have you drink Danggui Lianqiao Decoction, to support the righteous qi and expel toxins, bring out pus and generate new flesh. I’ll also add Erchen Decoction—you may not know, but Erchen Decoction can treat phlegm throughout the body. Two qian of Cangzhu, which also dispels phlegm, and a qian of Qingpi to help dissolve the nodule and disperse phlegm.”
Xu Miaozhen explained.
Though she held the title of Tan Yunxian’s disciple, she had to make a name for herself.
In modern times, a doctor could slowly build reputation in a hospital, but in ancient times, word of mouth was everything, starting from one’s own family.
First heal the family, then treat neighbors and locals—soon, her reputation would spread.
Thinking of this, she worried Fengniang might not want to pay for her medicine, so she prepared to use her own savings.
Fengniang hurriedly said, “Miss, it’s enough that you treat me. If you even buy me medicine, I’d be too ashamed.”
Though Fengniang was originally from the Mei Family, after coming to the Xu Family, she had earned Mei Shi’s deep trust.
Every year at New Year, she’d receive a reward, and she planned to stay with the Xu Family in her old age.
She treated Xu Miaozhen and the two younger brothers like her own children.
Xu Miaozhen stopped her, “I still have money. Don’t worry.”
With that, she had a maid take the prescription to the front so the servant could go to the pharmacy for the medicine.
Fengniang was full of gratitude, but Xu Miaozhen told her not to mind.
After Fengniang left, Xu Miaozhen was about to rest a bit.
After all, treating people with acupuncture and moxibustion was tiring, not to mention the fatigue from travel in recent days.
She’d barely closed her eyes when Xu Miaoyun arrived.
Xu Miaozhen quickly got up, “Big Sister, what brings you here?”
“I heard from Father that you’d returned, so I came to see you.”
She noticed Xu Miaozhen was dressed simply in a medicinal-patterned blouse and a plain white cotton-linen skirt, not at all like a rich young lady.
But Xu Miaozhen never considered herself a rich young lady.
Her father only had a few hundred taels of silver at hand, the whole family relied on the bookshop, with neither land nor ancestral property.
One big event could shake them to the core.
Seeing Xu Miaoyun had made a special trip, even bringing fruit, Xu Miaozhen smiled, “It’s been years since we’ve seen each other, let’s chat for a while.”
Xu Miaoyun smiled and nodded, then mentioned her mother was now making dowries for the Fang Family, a job that would take two years.
She added, “Mother’s eyesight isn’t as good as before. I really hope she doesn’t have to keep embroidering.”
“Embroiderers often end up like that. Just buy some chrysanthemum and goji berries for Aunt to brew as tea.”
Suzhou had many embroiderers and weavers.
Many lost their eyesight by their forties, though a rare few with extraordinary talent could still embroider into their eighties or nineties.
After a bit of idle chatter, Xu Miaoyun casually asked, “I remember you learned embroidery from your family’s female teacher, right?”
“That’s right. From drawing flower patterns to making samples, choosing colors and threads, she taught us all.”
Xu Miaozhen recalled Qiu Niangzi fondly.
Xu Miaoyun was actually probing for information.
Her own mother had once been a girls’ schoolteacher, but that was only because of a favor to her maternal uncle.
Now such opportunities were rare.
Since Xu Miaozhen claimed to be Qiu Niangzi’s disciple, Xu Miaoyun naturally wanted to know more.
She asked to see the flower pattern book.
Unaware of Xu Miaoyun’s intentions, Xu Miaozhen had Xiaoxi fetch the booklet.
Xu Miaoyun took the booklet and, while chatting about what gifts to prepare for Xu Siniang’s wedding, secretly memorized the order of the patterns.
She was careful not to let it show and soon changed the subject, “Look, your flower patterns go from easy to hard, just like reading. I remember you first studied with Scholar Yu, then with Qiu Niangzi. Was there a difference?”
“There was—a big one. Qiu Niangzi taught us reading, writing, cooking, embroidery, everything. But she especially focused on poetry and literature.”
Xu Miaozhen smiled.
Xu Miaoyun seemed quite interested and insisted on seeing Xu Miaozhen’s notes.
Xu Miaozhen pointed to the left bookcase, “There, help yourself.”
“I’ll take a look, see how it’s different from what I learned.”
Xu Miaoyun laughed and walked over.
Xu Miaozhen stood up, “Then take your time, I need to organize medical cases.”
Medical case records were very important—treatment outcomes all depended on them.
After writing up her cases, she still had to roll more moxa, make sachets—there was always plenty to do.
Xu Miaoyun secretly read Xu Miaozhen’s notes.
After half an hour, when the room was still quiet, she stood up and took her leave, and Xu Miaozhen had the maid escort her out.
Once the maid returned, Xu Miaozhen said, “Did you notice Big Sister seemed especially interested in what I learned in girls’ school today?”
Xiaotao was always a bit slow and didn’t know, but Xiaoxi replied, “You spent so much money learning those things. She probably wants an excuse to learn them herself. Why don’t I help you pack up the books and put them in a box?”
“Good idea, just leave the medical books out.” said Xu Miaozhen.
Xu Miaoyun had no idea Xu Miaozhen had already caught on.
Once home, she quickly wrote down everything she’d seen.
As for the flower patterns, she wasn’t worried—she’d learned to draw and embroider from her mother since childhood.
But to make her own pattern book, she’d need to buy pigments, and she was running out.
She’d have to ask her father for money.
Her mother watched every coin, but her father, though clueless and sometimes pretentious, was softhearted and couldn’t refuse when begged.
She went to Xu Da Lang in tears, “Father, it was so hard for me to get this job, and it’s such a wealthy family. If I don’t show some real skill, people will talk.”
Seeing his daughter beg, Xu Da Lang could only take out three taels from the five taels Xu Erpeng had lent him for rent, keeping two for himself to add to Xu Siniang’s dowry.
After giving the money, he could only smile bitterly—now he truly had nothing left.
Xu Siniang’s wedding was the next day.
The new clothes Xu Miaozhen had made were delivered—at home she could dress plainly, but outside she had to look presentable.
A skirt with white embroidery, a bean-green bijia, a Jin Sanshi pendant hanging on her chest, and Jin Liuyekui earrings on her ears.
Xu Miaozhen dabbed a bit of powder on her face.
Looking in the bronze mirror, though she wasn’t a legendary beauty, she was certainly refined and elegant.
After dressing up, she went with her parents to Fengqiao.
In front of the building, a canopy had been set up early, and in the back kitchen, Bao Dajiu—
Baomu’s younger brother—was cooking.
Mei Shi looked a bit displeased, “Why did they invite him?”
“What happened?”
Xu Miaozhen didn’t know.
Mei Shi explained, “Last time, at your brother’s third-day celebration, your third aunt called her brother here, moved all his things in, and we agreed—said there’d be nine tables of guests, but they prepared ten. Not only that, they charged five qian per table, and after the meal, he wouldn’t let his people help clean up.”
“No wonder! Even the current five-dish, five-fruit banquets, with Shouxian Dou Tang on the table, only cost five qian.”
Xu Miaozhen thought Baomu’s uncle was really greedy.
Mei Shi added, “And there’s more. Old Gao the sesame cake seller fell seriously ill—he wasn’t even dead yet. Bao Dajiu brought a bunch of people to arrange his funeral, but the Gao family drove them out.”
Xu Miaozhen was shocked.
Originally, the family wanted Xu Erpeng to keep the gift ledger, but he only agreed to come for lunch—he still had to write in the morning.
So Xu Laotai asked her younger brother, Xu Laojiuye, to keep the ledger.
Mei Shi had two taels of silver brought over as a wedding gift, but they couldn’t call it a gift since they were family, so they said it was to add to Xu Siniang’s dowry.
It had been over a year since they’d seen each other.
Xu Siniang was just sixteen.
Despite having disliked her character before, seeing her now in a red dress, shy and bashful, about to marry into another family, time really did fly.
It was said Xu Siniang could now cook well, do laundry and mending, and was even more capable than Xu Laotai.
After leaving the bridal chamber, Xu Da Lang came over alone.
Xu Miaozhen asked, “Has Big Sister not arrived yet?”
“She and your aunt are both busy,” Xu Da Lang replied.
Xu Miaozhen didn’t ask further.
Clearly, her aunt didn’t want to come.
She’d been mistreated when living in the old house and didn’t want to give face to the Xu Family now, which was understandable.
Huang Shi was different from Mei Shi.
Huang Shi hadn’t had an easy life and didn’t want to bother with her in-laws.
Mei Shi, on the other hand, kept to herself, lived comfortably, and only saw her in-laws two or three times a year, so she could still tolerate them.
As guests arrived, Mei Shi and Xu Miaozhen took their seats.
The dishes were all greasy, and when the groom came to hand out door-opening money, only the third branch got slightly larger red envelopes.
Xu Miaozhen saw her new brother-in-law—a sharp head, protruding mouth, looking shrewd.
Still, it was lively enough, and with gongs and drums, the bride was taken away.
On the third day, when the bride returned to visit, Xu Miaozhen and the others didn’t go.
Xu Siniang’s gifts were all sent to Xu Laotai, who, since she lived with her third son, gave one share to the third son and kept the rest for herself.
Mei Shi was a careful person and knew all this, but her youngest son was only three months old and needed her constantly.
Even with a wet nurse, she couldn’t relax.
Xu Miaozhen now had free time and spent her days studying medicine and doing embroidery, quite at ease.
A month later, the phlegm nodule on Fengniang’s left neck really had disappeared. Fengniang was so delighted that she praised Xu Miaozhen’s medical skills to everyone.
But when Ma Family’s servants overheard, Ma Furen wiped away her dried tears, seeming to have made up her mind to visit the Xu Family.
At that time, the whole Xu Family was eating dinner together.
Xu Miaozhen was quizzing her brother, helping him recite, and after he finished, she served him soup and rice.
Just as she handed it over, Ma Furen arrived.
Seeing her hesitate to speak, Mei Shi feared she had some difficulty and invited her into the inner room, but she said, “I’d like to ask Zhenzhen to come over to our house for a look.”
Xu Miaozhen paused—could it be that Miss Ma Yulan really was seriously ill?
She hurried to follow.
In the past, the Ma residence had always been cheerful, but now the atmosphere was strange.
Ma Furen was silent all the way, and only when they reached Miss Ma Yulan’s small courtyard and entered the main room did she open the door for Xu Miaozhen.
Inside, the once lively and cheerful Miss Ma Yulan now had a face that was alternately pale and flushed, her abdomen protruding as if pregnant.
Miss Ma Yulan seemed dazed, and Ma Taitai whispered to Xu Miaozhen, “Zhenzhen, your Ma Jiejie was fine at New Year, but after the festival, her monthly bleeding stopped and her belly started growing. We’ve held two rituals, spent a lot of silver, but nothing helped. Later we invited a doctor—one said your sister was possessed, another said she was lustful and wouldn’t admit it. I was so angry I trembled, and I had to bribe them to keep quiet, afraid the rumors would spread.”
Xu Miaozhen felt a pang in her nose and asked, “Did you invite Ru Furen to take a look?”
“We did. At first, she said your Ma Jiejie had Shi Jia in her belly, but nothing worked, then she said it was a Ghost Fetus. Even your master suggested inviting someone for a ritual.”
Ma Taitai was very worried.
She knew if even Ru Shi couldn’t help, how could her disciple?
But now, she had no choice but to try anything.
Xu Miaozhen suddenly remembered reading about Shi Nü Guai Tai in Fu Qingzhu’s Gynecology.
Though it had its limitations, the symptoms seemed to match. She calmed herself and said to Ma Taitai, “This isn’t a Ghost Fetus. My method only has a thirty percent chance. If you trust me, I’ll give it a try. If not, I won’t speak of this again.”
Without modern medical tools, Xu Miaozhen had to be extremely cautious.
Fortunately, Ma Taitai truly loved her daughter and wasn’t an ignorant woman.
Seeing Xu Miaozhen’s cautious attitude, Ma Taitai immediately said, “I trust you. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have come.”
“Alright, but let me say this first. I’ll write your daughter’s case in my medical records. If anything goes wrong, you can’t blame me. If you agree, let’s find a witness and sign a written agreement.”
Xu Miaozhen had crossed over due to a medical dispute, and the memory still made her uneasy.
So, she insisted on this.