The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 876 - 854: From the Royal Mansion

Chapter 876: Chapter 854: From the Royal Mansion

It’s no wonder they were skeptical, after all, it was only yesterday that they had considered finding a place in the western suburbs.

Bai Shan couldn’t help but swallow hard, stood up to speak with the young man on the other side, but was quickly grabbed by the sleeve by Manbao.

She stood up as well, her eyes bright and focused as she turned to look at the young men.

The young men under their scrutiny: ...

They then realized they had been discussing the young boy and girl within earshot.

Since it was his younger brother who had invited the guests, Qi Dalang felt it quite rude and quickly stood up to apologize, but Manbao directly looked at Guan Erlang and asked, "Are you the son of Old Master Guan from the Guan Family Estate outside the city?"

Guan Erlang paused, looked at Manbao for a while, then stood up, respectfully greeted her with a smile and said, "I haven’t been in Yizhou City for a few years now, may I ask which family’s young lady you are?"

Manbao looked him up and down, didn’t see any resemblance to Old Master Guan on his face, and thus asked with some suspicion, "Are you really Old Master Guan’s son?"

Guan Erlang: "...Yes, may I ask who the young lady is?"

Manbao replied, "I visited Old Master Guan with Doctor Ji and only met the eldest son of the Guan family."

Guan Erlang couldn’t help but turn to look at his friends, and Qi Dalang laughed and said, "Then this must be Young Lady Zhou who studies medicine with Doctor Ji?"

Seeing Manbao nod, he turned his head and introduced her to Guan Erlang, "Young Lady Zhou is very skilled in medicine; she’s even helped Fan Imperial Physician treat Ji Hao, the young master of the Ji Family."

Guan Erlang looked at the young Manbao with skepticism but could only offer a polite smile.

Qi Dalang understood, as he himself had been skeptical when he heard about this from his brother, but even their father had said that Ji Hao had been in grave danger and it was thanks to a young female doctor next to Doctor Ji who stopped the bleeding, and it seemed that she had later provided a prescription that saved him.

Manbao didn’t pay attention to Qi Dalang but kept staring at Guan Erlang. She felt it would be inappropriate to rashly inquire about the other estate, so she started with Old Master Guan’s case instead, saying, "I have been organizing Old Master Guan’s medical records recently and found that his headache problems are not just over ten years old, but started eleven years ago..."

Manbao paused, subconsciously turned her head to glance at Bai Shan, and spontaneously felt that this timeline was somewhat coincidental.

Bai Shan looked back at her and nodded slightly.

Manbao then said to Guan Erlang, "There are many causes for headaches, but in truth, no matter what kind of disease one has, it’s related to one’s lifestyle and diet..."

Manbao rambled on to Guan Erlang, providing him with an overview of the causes of illness and emphasized what she believed to be the main reason for Old Master Guan’s sickness.

Not only Guan Erlang, but the others also listened in stunned silence, mainly because they had never understood the causes of illness in such detail before.

Illness would mean visiting the doctor, who would at most comment "A cold has entered the body" or "The liver qi is not smooth," but they would not explain that the imbalance of yin and yang caused by different living habits, seasons, and diets could lead to sickness.

The group listened in stunned silence, Guan Erlang didn’t quite understand but felt that the other party seemed very impressive, so he listened attentively, occasionally asking questions, and Manbao explained in great detail.

Qi Dalang and the others became interested, simply stood up and made room for two to sit down, one of them even rolled up his sleeve and extended his hand, "Since Young Lady is so skilled, why not take a look and see if my daily habits and diet have been appropriate these past few days?"

Manbao didn’t really want to bother with him, she just wanted to talk with Guan Erlang to find out more about the other residence and Old Master Guan.

But she vaguely knew it would not be good to refuse, and since everyone was still looking on curiously, she folded her sleeve, and while sizing him up, placed her hand on his pulse. After examining his tongue coating, she said, "It is not suitable, you’ve eaten too much meat, causing poor digestion within the stomach, harming the stomach qi and causing it to be out of harmony. During the winter, excessive drinking has injured your liver qi, and the liver and kidneys are not functioning smoothly, hence you’ve had difficulty falling asleep recently..."

Manbao glanced at the pimples on his face and said tactfully, "When the interior and exterior are out of harmony, the complexion suffers."

The young man was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but look up at his friends, "That’s actually right, I do love to eat meat. Since last winter, I’ve had nonstop social engagements and haven’t stopped drinking. These past few days, as soon as it gets late, I can’t even sleep, waking up before the chickens do."

He became excited and asked Manbao, "Is there a remedy?"

"There is," Manbao thought for a moment and said, "A conditioning prescription will make you better after drinking it for three days. In spring, you should eat less meat and consume more grains and vegetables, and you can eat some sweet foods."

He asked curiously, "Why eat sweet foods?"

Manbao gave him a look and said, "In spring, the liver energy is strong, and excessive liver energy can affect the spleen; sweet flavors can strengthen the spleen, while sour flavors enter the liver; therefore, in spring, one should eat less sour and more sweet. You’ve eaten too much meat. Spring is the beginning of the seasons, the time when all things sprout, hence one should eat more grains."

Manbao curiously glanced at them and asked with some confusion, "Haven’t you all read the ’Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor’?"

Qi Dalang and the others: ... Why should they read ’Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor’? They were not doctors.

Manbao pointed at Bai Shan next to her, "He has read it, and so has my husband."

Qi Dalang and the others gave a stiff smile, "Your husband is truly learned and knowledgeable."

Manbao and Bai Shan nodded in agreement.

Then Manbao simply let go of the seated young man and looked toward Guan Erlang, "Second Young Master Guan, I have given Old Master Guan acupuncture several times, but each time Doctor Ji is the one who consults. Old Master Guan doesn’t seem very willing to be treated, so neither Doctor Ji nor I receive much response to our questions. Actually, I think if Old Master Guan’s headaches are well managed, there is still some chance of improvement."

Manbao didn’t speak definitively, only said, "After all, it isn’t an acute illness; he has been sick for about eleven or twelve years, right? Do you still remember when he first complained of headaches?"

Guan Erlang didn’t suspect anything, nor did the young nobles around; after all, Manbao was young, and it was normal for a doctor who encountered a patient’s family member to take the opportunity to learn about the condition.

Guan Erlang thought carefully and said, "It seems about ten years ago, my father suddenly collapsed. We’ve had many doctors come to see him to no avail, and even the Prince sent an imperial physician to look at him. He has taken much medicine and received countless acupuncture treatments, but it has been intermittently good and bad, and it has grown increasingly severe over the years."

Bai Shan’s eyebrows twitched, and standing beside Manbao, he chuckled softly, "I didn’t know Old Master Guan and the Prince had connections."

Qi Dalang laughed and said, "That’s because Young Master has arrived late and doesn’t know. Old Master Guan originally came from the Prince’s mansion; the Prince has always treated Old Master Guan well."

Manbao couldn’t help but swallow and subtly shifted, her sleeve brushing Bai Shan’s, her finger gently touching his, signaling him to swallow the words he was about to say.

Manbao’s eyes sparkled and she inquired, "Could it be because Old Master Guan suddenly changed where he lived, or because of irregularities in his diet, that his headaches were triggered?"

She swallowed and asked, "I just heard you mention another residence; could it be that Old Master Guan used to live in that other residence?"