The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 1117 - 196 Inquiry

Chapter 1117: Chapter 196 Inquiry

Old Madam Liu and Mr. Zhuang were anxiously waiting at home.

Usually calm and composed, Mr. Zhuang couldn’t help but pace back and forth in the courtyard. As soon as he heard from the servant that Manbao and the others had returned, he exchanged a glance with Old Madam Liu before quickly heading outside.

Manbao and her colleagues jumped off the carriage, each carrying their own medicine box and book basket, chattering as usual.

Seeing their relaxed faces, Mr. Zhuang breathed a sigh of relief, stood firmly, waved his hand and called out, "Manbao, come here."

Only then did Manbao notice Mr. Zhuang and immediately ran over, "Mr. Zhuang, did you call for me?"

Mr. Zhuang glanced around at the servants standing in various places, and turned around, "Let’s talk in the back courtyard."

Old Madam Liu also walked up to the second gate, and upon seeing Manbao, she took her hand, scrutinizing her up and down. Seeing that she was fine, she breathed a sigh of relief and asked with a smile, "Which noble from the palace wanted to see you?"

"So many," Manbao replied. "I met the Emperor, the Empress, the princes, and the princesses, but mainly I went to the palace to treat the Empress."

Once they reached the back courtyard, only Nanny Liu and Daji were left inside, while the other servants were dismissed. Then, Manbao recounted in detail the day’s events in the palace.

Hearing Manbao mention that she advised the Emperor against a general amnesty, Old Madam Liu gasped in fright. Before she could respond, Mr. Zhuang had already asked, "The Empress’s illness, can you cure it?"

Manbao thought for a while then shook her head, "It’s difficult to cure, but I will study hard during this period and strive to provide treatment."

Mr. Zhuang then lowered his voice and asked, "Can it be alleviated?"

"That is possible."

Mr. Zhuang pondered for a moment before asking again, "In your opinion, if you weren’t here, how long do you think the Empress’s condition would last?"

Old Madam Liu was startled, and Bai Shan and Bai Erlang also looked at Mr. Zhuang in surprise.

Manbao scratched her head, pondering longer.

She said somewhat unsurely, "I have seen the prescriptions they used before and asked about their previous treatment plans. Without the support of acupuncture and medicinal baths, I’m afraid her condition cannot be controlled."

Growing more confident as she spoke, Manbao nodded, "Yes, and moreover, the Empress is overly worried, leading to depressive liver qi, which is something no amount of medicine can cure. She can’t sleep well, and symptoms will only intensify more quickly, so she can only maintain for about half a year at most, or a bit more, but less than a year."

Not only Old Madam Liu, but even Mr. Zhuang, who had been psychologically prepared, was startled, "Is it that serious?"

Manbao nodded, "That’s why the prescriptions from Director Xiao are all conservative."

Manbao had heard from Imperial Doctor Fan and Doctor Ji that prescribing such conservative medicines essentially meant there was little hope; it was just to make the patient less miserable in their final days.

But the ailment the Empress had was one that could cause great discomfort - coughing, difficulty breathing, chest tightness, even causing headaches and deafness. Although Manbao had not experienced it herself, she could tell from the descriptions in books that it was a persistent and torturous illness.

Bai Shan quickly asked, "Then if you were to treat her..."

Manbao replied, "If it were just me treating her, she might not even have half a year left."

Everyone: ...

Manbao said earnestly, "I’m serious, even though I only discussed with Director Xiao and others for about an hour, they are really capable. Their prescriptions are much better than mine. I’m only slightly better at some acupuncture techniques, but they also know quite a bit. During this exchange, I changed two acupuncture methods, and I want to try them on the Empress. I think the effects should be better."

This time, no one interrupted her while she was discussing medical matters. Although they mostly didn’t understand, they realized one thing.

Manbao’s medical skills were still far from matching those of Director Xiao and his team, but she also had her strengths. If only one side treated the Empress, the effects of Manbao’s side might still be less than those of Director Xiao and his team.

But when both sides cooperate, they can not only bring out each other’s strengths but also make progress together to find better treatment methods.

Manbao said, "Given the current state of the Empress, I no longer think about her heart disease. As long as she can properly undergo acupuncture, take medication, and do medicinal baths, she should have about two years left, and it might even be a little better than now."

Bai Shan was surprised, "Why are you not thinking about treating her heart disease anymore?"

Manbao glanced at him and said, "Isn’t that what you taught me? Besides, she is the Empress, even she can’t solve her own problems, how could a junior doctor like me possibly solve them?"

Bai Shan praised, "Truly a teachable child."

Mr. Zhuang couldn’t help but pat him on the head: "Naughty, she is your Senior Sister."

Manbao said, "Exactly."

Mr. Zhuang said, "In that case, do your best, but be careful with your words and actions in the palace. Remember, once you enter the Imperial Palace, you are a doctor, just focus on your medical duties."

Manbao knew Mr. Zhuang also disapproved of the things she said to the Emperor, and she nodded in agreement.

Seeing her listening, Mr. Zhuang nodded slightly, "Alright, go rest for a while. Don’t you still have to discuss medical skills at Director Xiao’s house at the hour of You?"

Manbao then went to rest.

Mr. Zhuang sent Bai Shan and Bai Erlang away, and then discussed matters with Old Madam Liu in the study.

Bai Shan stood silently in the courtyard for a moment, and eventually decided to go to Manbao, "Going to Xiao’s house, do you want me to accompany you?"

Manbao thought for a moment and shook her head, "No, let Daji take me. Don’t you still have homework to do?"

Bai Shan nodded, "Then I’m off to do my homework."

Bai Erlang followed Bai Shan, blinking and said, "But I don’t have homework?"

Manbao then said, "Then will you go with me to Director Xiao’s house?"

Just as Bai Erlang was about to agree, he suddenly remembered something and shook his head repeatedly, "I won’t go, I just remembered, I still need to review my lessons. You go ahead."

Meanwhile, Director Xiao was discussing Manbao with his trusted colleagues, mainly because of the Empress’s condition.

As an imperial doctor, they certainly couldn’t, and didn’t dare to directly tell the Emperor that the Empress only had about half a year left, maybe even less.

They could only do their best to treat her and then leave the rest to fate.

However, as the Empress’s main imperial doctor, Director Xiao knew the severity of the Empress’s condition well, and the imperial doctors who diagnosed with him also knew.

In fact, they all knew that the severity of the Empress’s condition was partly due to her physical state and partly because of the mix of court and imperial household affairs that led to her excessive worrying.

But what could a junior imperial doctor like them do?

Could they tell the Empress not to worry so much since worrying is useless and better to let go; or tell the Emperor to manage both the court and household affairs well to ease the Empress’s worries; or tell the Crown Prince to quickly have a son, or tell the Third Prince to stop eyeing his elder brother’s imperial position...

With so many troubles in this world, all they could do was to tell the Empress to rest her mind.

Knowing that the disease was incurable, they adopted a very conservative treatment approach, aiming to minimize the Empress’s suffering.

But now with Manbao involved, Director Xiao felt that they needed to change the treatment plan. He felt that the Empress’s condition still had a chance to turn around.

In this regard, he had much more confidence than Manbao.