As for the third branch, they had no children.
The old madam had a daughter who died last year, and they raised the granddaughter, who was reportedly quite beautiful despite her youth.
Miaozhen gave each mamma a silk handkerchief, then quickly jotted down what she remembered.
Xiao Tao didn’t understand, “Miss, you’re going to be a doctor; why bother with all this family stuff? I felt dizzy listening.”
“No, if you want to live well somewhere, you need more than just medical skills,” Miaozhen said with deep insight. After all, everything boils down to human relations.
That night, as they rested, Li Yaoyue admired Miaozhen’s loose hair.
“Sister, your hair is so beautiful, like satin.”
Miaozhen smiled.
Just as they changed rooms and she struggled to sleep, Li Yaoyue closed her eyes.
Miaozhen pondered how the Cheng family wanted to bring all their people to Nanjing, probably to control her brother.
Li Yaoyue’s mother was poor and had been sold into concubinage by her father to the childless second master of the Cheng family.
Li Yaoyue followed her there and was later kicked out after giving birth to a son.
To avoid gossip, she was only formally adopted and sent to study medicine under Mrs. Cheng—a great favor.
Her brother had grown up, but fearing she might expose secrets, the Cheng family wanted to marry her off far away.
A match had fallen through, but now with Nanjing’s need for doctors, they appeared to offer her many benefits to keep her.
This was different from the new acquaintance Miss Xu.
Although not from a big family, Miaozhen’s was comfortably well-off, her father a merchant with two maids to serve.
Her father left after seeing her settled, but her mother and brother remained in Nanjing.
The more complicated it was, the more cautious she had to be.
Li Yaoyue was very caring toward Miaozhen and took her responsibilities seriously.
The two got along well, but Miaozhen knew being a court physician was different from studying at a women’s academy.
There was no financial entanglement, and everyone returned to their own homes daily, but since several female doctors lived together, conflicts over interests were inevitable.
So Miaozhen did not reveal too much right away.
Five days later, their boat reached Nanjing.
Miaozhen wanted to reunite with her father but was soon escorted by Cheng family sedan chairs and horses.
She had to get into a carriage first.
Nanjing was a bustling and prosperous city, with money exchange shops everywhere and busy streets filled with restaurants.
Fortunately, Miaozhen was from Suzhou, also very prosperous, so she wasn’t looked down upon.
The weather was bad, with a sudden heavy rain, but when they arrived at Cheng Lane, the sky cleared.
They entered through the west gate, passing rock gardens, flower fences, arched bridges, and four-cornered pavilions, with willows and pines by the lake—a truly picturesque scene.
Miaozhen felt like a country bumpkin stepping into a grand garden.
Li Yaoyue looked equally amazed, which reassured Miaozhen—they were in this together.
They were led along a long corridor behind the rockery to their residence.
The entrance had no side rooms, only three main rooms with two side rooms.
Miaozhen considered moving to the east side because the west was too sunny, planning to discuss this with Li Yaoyue.
Unexpectedly, a young lady emerged from inside—stunningly beautiful, graceful, and slender.
Li Yaoyue and Miaozhen both asked, “Are you also here as a female physician for the Cheng family?”
The young lady replied, “I’m a bit different. I’m the niece of the West Mansion’s old madam. The last time the old madam had a headache, I happened to treat it, so she sent me here to take care of her.”
Miaozhen thought, isn’t that basically the same?
She had already heard that the West Mansion’s old madam had died over twenty years ago.
If this girl were truly a relative, she wouldn’t live like them here.
Still, she said politely, “So, you’re the family’s cousin?”
“My surname is Yu, and my given name is Zhoujin. Everyone calls me by my name.”
Yu Zhoujin glanced over Li Yaoyue and Miaozhen without much interest and stepped aside to let them in.
Miaozhen saw that Zhoujin took the sunny east side and sighed, “The west side is too hot…”
“Miss Xu, you stay in the middle, I’ll take the west,” Li Yaoyue quickly offered.
Miaozhen felt embarrassed by Li Yaoyue’s courtesy and had Xiao Xi cut two feet off her own ruler to send over.
While everyone was settling in, the Cheng family sent an old mama named Gu to guard their door and care for their daily needs.
Li Yaoyue had a maid named Cuiyu, who often didn’t listen and fiddled about.
Xiao Xi reported, “Miss Li even personally made the bed, but Cuiyu just sat with her legs crossed, cracking melon seeds.”
“I heard that maid wasn’t originally hers but was given to her by the Cheng family. We grew up together, so our relationship is different,” Miaozhen laughed.
Xiao Tao exclaimed, “What will the master do when we get here?”
Miaozhen smiled, “My father registered me at the gate, sent me in, and then left. Don’t worry.”
She examined her room—a large chamber divided into three by folding screens.
The east side held a jumu bed, the west had a square-corner wardrobe, the east side next to the bed was empty, and a dressing table was at the front.
She had her trunks placed on the east side.
The middle section had a luohan couch with embroidered stools on both sides, and at the far west, a washing rack with basin and clothes hanger.
Gu Mama came in and asked, “Miss Xu, do you need anything? Just tell me.”
Miaozhen thought two maids—one could sleep on the couch, the other with her or at the foot of the couch.
The priority was a long table to write medical records.
She smiled, “Everything is fine, but I need a long table for writing. Mama, please arrange it.”
She gave Gu Mama two embroidered osmanthus handkerchiefs, a box of Suzhou snacks, and twenty coins as a greeting gift.
Gu Mama accepted and said, “Miss Xu, you’re too polite, but the girl next door, Yu Miss, wants an embroidery rack, floral water, and complains about our silk thread. The madams have instructed the steward to get those for her, so don’t be too honest.”
“Then I’ll also request a spring stool for my maid to sleep on,” Miaozhen replied.
Gu Mama took note and went to ask Li Yaoyue.
By afternoon, several rough maidservants delivered the items.
Miaozhen had the long table placed in the east room and the stool by her bed.
After everything was settled, she and the two maids went to bed early.
Li Yaoyue, however, was busy and frazzled.
Cuiyu, who had been involved in a scandal with her mistress, was now sent to Miaozhen’s service because the mistress no longer liked her.
The more she was put down, the more determined she became to succeed.
When bathing, she even used cold water to splash her face, resolute to work hard.
Meanwhile, Yu Zhoujin was painting her nails under the silk lamp.
Her maid Xiao Lingdang asked, “Miss, what do you think of the two new girls today?”
If not for being the West Mansion old madam’s maid, Xiao Lingdang would have been dismissed for her lack of tact and frequent foolish questions.
Yu Zhoujin, a noble lady, considered herself far above the others.
The girl surnamed Li was from a medical family, the girl named Xu came from a small merchant family.
She, as a government family’s daughter, was of a different class.
Besides, the East Mansion’s old madam liked her, so why make a scene?
The next morning, Miaozhen dared not oversleep as she did at home.
Her two maids brought hot water and meals, all while familiarizing themselves with the routes with Gu Mama.
Opening the food box, Miaozhen saw the fare was better than on the boat: small wontons filled with wild vegetables, coix seed porridge, crispy duck oil biscuits, oily salted duck eggs, a dish of pickled cucumbers and eggplants, and two finely fried small yellow croakers.
“What a treat,” Miaozhen said, inviting her maids to eat.
The three sat close together and ate heartily.
Thinking that Li Yaoyue and Yu Zhoujin came from medical families and probably knew more than she did, Miaozhen couldn’t slack off.
After eating, she began reviewing medical books and case records.
She had thought that upon arriving at the Cheng family, they would meet the old madams to leave an impression, but no one appeared, and they were not allowed out.
The more reason to remain patient, just like when she first apprenticed under Tan Yunxian, enduring cold benches without neglecting her studies.
No sooner had she finished eating than Li Yaoyue came to visit.
Miaozhen stood to greet her, “Sister Li, did you sleep well last night?”
“I’m fine. How about you? Oh, you’ve already settled your place.”
Li Yaoyue noticed the green satin bolster on the luohan couch, the plum blossom porcelain set on the moon-shaped table, the bamboo incense burner on the small kang table, and two paintings on the wall behind—the portrait of Sun Simiao and a landscape scroll—quite elegant.
Miaozhen took Li Yaoyue’s hand and sat down, “It’s just tidied up carelessly. I must thank you for letting me stay in the middle room.”
The part about Li Yaoyue is pretty unclear.