“Ah! Doctor Xiao Jiang, you’ve finally arrived! I’ve been waiting and waiting for you to check the pulse—I was getting worried.”
Her husband, who had been about to go out to buy groceries, saw Bai Lan carrying her medical kit approaching and quickly stepped forward to support her. Forgetting the groceries, he hurried her into the house.
Right now, his health and the child’s well-being were of utmost importance. The family had been anxiously watching over him, and they had already finished the medicine days ago. Not seeing Bai Lan come to manage things, he had long considered going to her himself.
He only roughly knew that Bai Lan lived over at Lihua Garden, but didn’t know the exact location, leaving him frustrated and helpless.
Bai Lan said, “I meant to come to check your pulse earlier, but I was delayed by trivial matters.”
“I know Doctor Xiao Jiang is busy. As long as you’ve come, that’s what matters.”
Bai Lan entered the house and performed her usual pulse examination. Frowning slightly, she turned to the man who was anxiously waiting for her to speak: “During your period of nourishing your body, have you been sharing a bed with your husband?”
The man blushed but grew even more admiring of Bai Lan. “So Doctor Xiao Jiang can even tell from the pulse?”
He looked like a child caught in mischief and shyly admitted, “After the last consultation, I told my husband what you said. He felt ashamed and, during the period of taking the medicine and nurturing my body, we slept separately.”
He blushed even more: “But, after all, we are husband and wife… so a few times we shared a bed during that period.”
Bai Lan said, “I only suggested reducing intimacy to preserve your health; I never said to cut it off completely. If it were totally severed, the marital bond might weaken, and having children would be even harder. Young couples can’t just extinguish desire.”
“You mean… a month ago there was an occasion?”
The man, embarrassed, said, “Truly nothing escapes Doctor Xiao Jiang.”
He regretted it and added, “From now on, I’ll follow your instructions completely.” He thought such matters were only known to the two involved, never expecting the doctor to be so perceptive.
The man thought, if this isn’t a reincarnation of a divine healer, what else could it be!
Bai Lan laughed softly: “No need to be so nervous. To be able to tell someone’s health and marital matters from a pulse, you’d either need to be Hua Tuo reincarnated or a charlatan.”
“And for me to tell this, you should be congratulated—you’ve already achieved your wish.”
The man didn’t immediately understand her words, looking at Bai Lan with confusion.
Patiently, Bai Lan said plainly, “You are one month pregnant.”
“R-really!”
Bai Lan packed up her kit, replacing the originally prepared Angong Powder with medication to protect the pregnancy. “You can detect pregnancy from the pulse. If you’re uncertain, you can have another doctor check.”
The man was so overjoyed he didn’t know what to do, gratitude filling him. Had Bai Lan not intercepted him in time, he might have knelt down right then and there.
“Take good care of yourself, but don’t be overly anxious. You still need regular movement.”
“Yes, yes, all according to Doctor Xiao Jiang’s advice.”
Overjoyed, he rushed to share the news with his family.
His family thought he was happy simply because his health had recovered and he could now try for a child—but they were stunned to learn the pregnancy was already confirmed. The whole family celebrated as if it were the New Year.
The matriarch clasped her hands together, murmuring prayers, repeatedly praising Doctor Xiao Jiang as a living divine healer.
When Bai Lan was leaving, the family gave her a large red envelope and insisted on handing over a basket full of eggs as well, only letting her go when she reached the alley’s entrance.
“You’ll still have to come check the pulse from time to time,” they said.
Bai Lan waved her hand, signaling that the couple needn’t see her off: “I’ll come when I can. If I don’t, you can go to the clinic yourselves.”
“Yes.”
Bai Lan carried her medical kit and the basket of eggs, satisfied. These months of effort had not been in vain—truly a great success!
She called a familiar ox-cart driver at the city gate, paid him two wen to take the eggs back to her father in the village, and then went to her next patient.
The next day, Bai Lan carried her supplies to set up her stall. With autumn, dawn came later than in summer. She left at her usual time, and though the day was just breaking, people praised her for leaving early. Yet, by the time she reached the stall, a line had already formed.
“Doctor Xiao Jiang, you’re really early today! Have you eaten breakfast?” A woman running a small stall nearby saw her approaching with her apprentice and quickly brought over a bowl of noodles.
It was Bai Lan’s favorite—red soup noodles with chili: “Freshly made, not clumped at all.”
Bai Lan took the bowl: “Thank you, ma’am. What do you need?”
The woman first apologized to the line: “Doing business, everyone, sorry.”
Seeing her bring noodles out of turn for Bai Lan, people didn’t mind, only urging her to hurry.
“Looking for small medicinal pills?”
When Bai Lan came to set up her stall, she often had breakfast here, so the woman recognized her—they were familiar with each other.
The woman shook her head, whispering: “Ointment.”
Bai Lan slurped the noodles while asking: “Ointment? For injuries?”
“For injuries? No!” the woman lowered her voice. “My son just got married recently, but the couple… intimacy isn’t going well.”
Bai Lan’s eyes widened. “I’m not even married yet. Matters of intimacy—I can hardly help. You’ve been married for years, and it’s your own son. You surely can teach him more than I could.”
“I’m not teaching. Even if I did, I’m not his wife. He came back the other day asking for ointment. I thought, something like this—I’ve never used it either. Only Doctor Xiao Jiang would have it.”
“Ma’am, you mustn’t make things up! I don’t have that kind of thing.”
The woman, seeing this, wouldn’t relent: “Doctor Xiao Jiang, you are benevolent. You treat women’s illnesses and also help young men. I’ve heard before that if someone is uncomfortable or embarrassed to speak, they’ll still tell you. You always bring the necessary medicines, sometimes even visiting patients at home. Why would you ignore us here?”
“That young man in Xiaoxi Alley who couldn’t conceive… now that your treatment has helped him, you really have to treat everyone fairly.”
Bai Lan frowned. “Wait, how do you know about this?” He had only just heard the news yesterday.
“I live in the next alley over. People are practically beating drums and shouting about it—how could I not know?”
“……”
“Doctor Xiao Jiang, please, just think of a way!”
Bai Lan said, “I want to help, but what can I do?”
“Consider it my plea! You see, we’re not like those scheming men who have endless connections. We live our lives honestly and simply. When we fall ill or suffer, often there’s no one to consult. Luckily, there’s a doctor like you, Doctor Xiao Jiang, to ease our worries.”
“Besides, young men in need aren’t just one or two—surely many others require your help. If you don’t resolve mine today, won’t you have to resolve someone else’s tomorrow?”
Bai Lan, worn down by the relentless pleading, finally relented. Since more and more people came for consultations, practically anyone could be seen buying medicine now.
Who would even remember the timid young girls who initially came to the stall, shrinking in embarrassment? Now, the women and young men coming to him likely wouldn’t spare any of their private concerns.
While Bai Lan was pleased that people trusted him, he often found himself overwhelmed by the endless problems he had to solve.
Ah well, he had chosen this path. The woman wasn’t wrong—if someone asked today, there would surely be others asking tomorrow.
“Fine, fine. If there’s none today, I’ll bring some over by the end of the month when the stall opens again.”
Upon hearing this, the woman immediately brightened with joy. “Thank you, Doctor Xiao Jiang! You’re a living Bodhisattva! Next time you come to eat noodles at my stall, eat as much as you want; I won’t charge you a penny.”
“That’s your promise!” Bai Lan said, raising his chin at San Leng. “Go fetch noodles from her stall.”
The woman happily led San Leng away.
Bai Lan scratched his head, thinking about how to make the ointment. This was touching a medical area he wasn’t familiar with.
Learning never ends—he would have to carefully consult the medical texts his father had given him.
After packing up at the stall and returning home for dinner, Bai Lan sat down with his medical books early in the evening.
Normally, he went to bed early and rarely stayed up late preparing prescriptions or making medicines. But thinking of the woman’s request, he felt it was more convenient to work at night. He sent San Leng off to sleep and got started.
Since it was an ointment, that was manageable—he just needed to cook the herbs into a thick paste. He had experience making plasters for bruises and injuries, but never the kind the woman requested. So he wasn’t sure which herbs to include.
Bai Lan sat bewildered under the eaves, until inspiration struck. Remembering his father’s teachings, he went to rummage through the chest the old lady had gifted him.
Those booklets, if viewed carefully, indeed contained valuable knowledge to enhance his medical understanding.
Bai Lan went through them meticulously and leapt with joy—the ointment the woman mentioned was indeed recorded inside.
He quickly took it to his medicine cabinet, examining what herbs it was made from.
He listed the ingredients, then made the ointment himself, carefully adjusting the doses and improving the formula.
He planned to listen to people’s needs while at the South Gate Temple stall. Once he had saved enough, he could rent a small shop in the city, settle in, and then bring his father over.
He would treat women’s ailments while his father treated men’s, and with both their skills, they could live without worrying about food or clothing.
Planning ahead was crucial; enduring some hardship now was better than struggling for life later.
He also saved a little from the monthly allowance and sales from consultations and medicine. But the city’s cost of living was high, so it would still take two or three years at this income to rent a shop.
Still, Bai Lan felt hopeful, giving him more motivation.
“Finally done!”
Bai Lan finished making the ointment and wanted to put it into a wide, short jar designed for ointments. But when he opened the cabinet, there was only a blue jar for bruising plasters. Since it was his first time making a new ointment and he had no other colored jars, he would make do and plan to buy a batch of jars from the porcelain workshop later.
He considered labeling it for distinction, but the ointment’s color differed from the bruise plaster, so he wasn’t worried about confusion.
Once the ointment was stored, Bai Lan noticed it was already late at night. He stretched his arms and prepared to fetch water, wash up, and sleep.
He carried the basin outside; most of the lanterns in the garden had gone out. The autumn night was quiet, with the wind rustling the bamboo. Moonlight filtered through the clouds.
Yet the study light still burned.
Bai Lan was surprised that Ning Muyan had not yet rested.
He set down the basin and knocked on the study door.
“Come in.”
Ning Muyan looked slightly surprised to see him, closing his book. Though late, his face showed fatigue, and his voice was gentler than during the day. “Why are you here?”
“I saw your study light still on so late, so I came to check.”
Ning Muyan smiled faintly. “It’s not yet my usual bedtime. But why are you still awake so late—can’t sleep?”
“No, I was working on some prescriptions.”
“You’re quite diligent.”
Bai Lan raised his eyebrows. He had thought himself diligent, but in comparison, he felt insignificant.
He hadn’t expected Ning Muyan to stay up so late every night yet rise early in the morning. “Do you still have unfinished work?”
“Even though the people under my command are competent, I still have to check on them regularly, lest they become complacent. There are many matters in the residence—not too many, but not few either. Grandmother is old and frail; she mustn’t be overexerted. Mother rarely handles the household affairs herself, and there are only a few stewards in charge, so naturally, it falls on me to manage most of it.”
Bai Lan pressed his lips together. No wonder he had rarely seen Ning Muyan in the past. The entire Ning residence was sustained by him, and on top of that, he had to attend the civil examinations—truly far more exhausting than other rich heirs.
Though admired and envied by many, beneath that aura was a chaotic, burdensome reality.
Bai Lan said, “Then in the future, when the eldest young master marries, he should marry someone virtuous who knows how to manage accounts and handle business. That way, he wouldn’t have to toil so hard.”
Ning Muyan looked at Bai Lan and said, “If it’s someone he loves, it doesn’t matter if she doesn’t know these things. He will willingly endure the hardships. But if it’s someone he doesn’t love, no matter how virtuous she is, it will only be a chasm between them.”
Bai Lan felt a sudden warmth in Ning Muyan’s gaze, and for a moment he dared not meet it, averting his eyes with a guilty glance. “What you say makes sense, Young Master.”
“And you?”
“Me? What about me?”
Ning Muyan said, “Before entering the residence, didn’t you want me to find a good family for you? What kind of person do you like, so I can keep it in mind?”
Bai Lan wondered why he suddenly brought up this topic. It had only been a joke before. “I’ve never thought about it.”
“Really?” Ning Muyan said calmly. “What about someone like Zheng Yu? I saw that you get along quite well with him.”
Bai Lan’s eyes widened. “Second Young Master is just a child. Usually when we ‘get along,’ it’s mostly just teasing. What the eldest young master says doesn’t make sense. I don’t like someone who always scolds me.”
Ning Muyan’s brow twitched slightly. “Oh.”
The night was deep, the dreams lonely. Bai Lan felt oddly uneasy. “Young Master, you should rest early. I’ll go back and sleep.”
He was about to leave, but at the door he added, “Staying up too late makes it hard to sleep. I have some calming incense in my room—do you want me to bring some for you?”
Ning Muyan only looked at him quietly, shaking his head.