The Lucky Farmgirl

"However, listening to Lord Wei’s snoring, it seems his nose has some issues, hmm, could also be due to sleeping on his stomach," Manbao asked the old servant, "Does Lord Wei snore when he sleeps at night?"

The old servant replied, "...Sometimes he does, sometimes not."

Manbao murmured softly, "Not sure if it’s due to exhaustion or some other issue..."

"Forget it, it’s not the time to treat this now. Later, you can tell Lord Wei that sleeping on his side at night could make his breathing smoother and reduce snoring."

The old servant didn’t understand why they were so concerned about such a minor issue. It’s just snoring; which man doesn’t snore?

But since it was instructed by Imperial Doctor Zhou, he still took it seriously.

Manbao sat on a small stool nearby, calculating the time. Occasionally, she twisted the needle, while Lord Wei continued sleeping.

The old servant, listening to the sound of deep sleep, began to feel drowsy too.

As everyone was feeling a bit sleepy, there was a knock at the door, which immediately woke the two of them.

Manbao frowned slightly, while the old servant hastily stood up to answer the door.

From the courtyard, Manbao heard the old servant say, "Our lord has just fallen asleep. If you have matters, perhaps wait until our lord wakes up to discuss?"

"Yes, I will certainly pass on the message," the caller replied.

Manbao heard the sound of the door closing and breathed a slight sigh of relief. She reached out her finger and gently placed it on the acupuncture point, then twisted the needle. One of the needles slightly vibrated; it seemed a force was moving outward from inside, making Wei Zhi’s uncomfortable snoring pause, and his body shifted.

Manbao immediately rotated the needle out mostly, and then continuously jabbed at the acupuncture point, slowly waiting until the vibrating frequency of the needle decreased, then settled it at the point, no longer moving.

Meanwhile, there was another knock on the courtyard door.

Manbao paused, turning her head to gaze outside through the window.

She saw the halfway-returned old servant going back to open the door again.

"Lord Zhou?" the old servant said, "Lord Zhou is not here. You may find him at the medical office."

"I’m not sure. Lord Zhou did come in the morning to check my lord’s pulse, but then left," explained the old servant.

The old servant dismissed the person and closed the door again, returning to greet Zhou Man, saying, "Lord Zhou, it was the palace maid beside Her Highness Zhao summoning someone, claiming that Her Highness felt unwell during summer, and wished for your consultation."

Manbao frowned, "Even the imperial concubines from the harem are involved now?"

The Yongzhou palace is quite cool; they came here as a summer resort, so how could they feel uncomfortable during summer?

Manbao glanced at Wei Zhi and spoke to the old servant, "We can remove the needles after another half an hour. I will go check then."

"Then I’ll first check outside if anyone is present."

It seemed as if something urgent was happening.

Curiously, Manbao pointed to the neighboring courtyard and inquired, "Minister Li and Minister Han live next door, don’t they? If others don’t know I’m here with Lord Wei, wouldn’t those families know?"

The old servant smiled, "Our lord said, these old ministers know when they know. It’s unavoidable, but unless Lord Zhou mentions it, nobody knows the specifics of our lord’s condition. It’s even less likely with ministers from further away; usually, they rarely even meet.

"Just with our lord being ill, it’s like the specters are all coming out, as if without our lord, they can all act as chief ministers."

Manbao laughed but did not reply.

After a while, Manbao went to remove the needles.

She properly inserted the needles back and covered Wei Zhi’s body with a thin quilt, speaking to the old servant, "Let the lord sleep, as long and as much as he can; he’s lacking sleep most."

"Oh, isn’t it true?" The old servant sighed while escorting Zhou Man out, "Last night, the lord retired early, but couldn’t fall asleep, feeling it was wasting time. So he got up to handle state affairs; the more he read, the more invigorated he became, and ended up sleeping near dawn. Yet, he wondered whether he even fell asleep as morning came."

Manbao frowned.

Opening the courtyard gate, the old servant proficiently peeked out, confirmed no one was spying, and let Manbao leave.

This palace is different from the outside, with periodic patrols by the guards; thus, one can’t linger in one place for too long, risking questioning.

This, however, allowed Zhou Man and Wei Zhi some convenience.

She could openly visit Wei Zhi for acupuncture and treatment; otherwise, in the capital, someone with ulterior motives could easily staked out at Zhou Residence and Wei Residence, tracking who comes and goes, and it’d be problematic.

But here, even if some are suspicious, they cannot simply linger outside to watch them.

However, families in the vicinity surely kept someone at home to listen for movements; it’s practically impossible to hide from them.

Fortunately, those living in this area are of the rank of Minister Han and Minister Li; they face each other regularly, mindful of basic etiquette.

Manbao carried her medical kit home first, asking Xi Bing and May, "Did anyone come seeking consultation?"

"No one has, my lord," they answered.

Manbao pouted, then got up to head to the medical office, coincidentally bumping into Assistant Doctor Duan returning from outside. Seeing him holding a medical kit, Manbao asked, "Who did you go to treat?"

"Her Highness Zhao, my lord," he replied.

Manbao was surprised, "She’s actually unwell? What’s her condition, is it serious? Have you prescribed anything?"

Manbao inwardly apologized for her prior misunderstanding, thinking of redeeming herself when she heard Assistant Doctor Duan say, sadly, "The Empress believes Her Highness Zhao is uncomfortable with summer, suspecting the climate here doesn’t suit her, and has instructed preparations to send her back to the capital."

He added, "I was summoned to check Her Highness Zhao’s pulse and prescribe some cooling remedies along the way."

Manbao asked, "Did you prescribe anything refreshing?"

"Sour plum soup," he replied.

Unable to hold back, Manbao laughed heartily, exclaiming in delight, "Good remedy!"

With a sigh of relief, Assistant Doctor Duan chuckled too, "Glad it’s not wrong, glad it’s not wrong."

Manbao extended her hand, saying, "Let me see the pulse diagnosis."

Assistant Doctor Duan quickly handed over the pulse diagnosis, and after looking it over, Manbao nodded slightly, returning it, "Archive it."

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"Yes," Assistant Doctor Duan was about to file it, but hesitated, "Lord Zhou, the Empress has always been gracious; how did Her Highness Zhao offend her?"

Manbao casually waved, "It’s not our concern; we just treat ailments when there are any, relax and enjoy summer when there aren’t."

Looking around, she asked, "Where’s Imperial Doctor Zheng?"

"Resting in his courtyard, claiming today is your duty to oversee, my lord."

Manbao nodded, "After filing, bring it to me for signature. Then visit Imperial Doctor Zheng; tomorrow the Emperor plans to pick grapes, let Imperial Doctor Zheng serve him with you accompanying."

Assistant Doctor Duan was surprised, "Aren’t you going, my lord?"

Manbao shook her head, "Tomorrow I need to make some medicinal pills and research some prescription formulas, so I won’t be going."