As soon as the words were spoken, the young lady squinted and looked over.
Yuanpei: “…”
What sharp ears.
Somewhat embarrassed, he touched his nose and grabbed the trembling butler nearby, asking, “Where did this physician come from, and how skilled is he?”
Female physicians were rare indeed.
They always say that those without facial hair lack reliability, but this one… might never grow any hair on her face at all.
Besides, she seemed quite young.
She probably wasn’t even as old as their young master.
The butler hurriedly replied, “My lord, this young lady, Ma Bing, has been offering medical treatment outside the city for several months, curing many difficult and complicated illnesses. Since she’s also a female physician, it’s very convenient for various matters, so our mistress invited her to come to our mansion on the first and fifteenth of every month for a health check-up. Today is the seventeenth, and she had come to bid farewell.”
Meanwhile, Ma Bing had originally planned to go early to enjoy the first bowl of shrimp and chicken mince wontons from Old Zhang at the street corner, but as soon as she entered the courtyard, she was met with such a grand scene:
The usually imposing Prefect and his wife were both staring blankly, their hair disheveled, being dragged around like crabs without legs…
When she walked in, everyone turned their gaze toward her.
A tall man in official robes stepped forward, bowing, “Miss, are you the physician? Please have a look at our superior.”
He appeared to be about thirty years old, built like a bear, yet spoke very politely.
At this time, just before dawn, Xie Yu’s vision was impaired, and he could only vaguely see a blurry figure approaching, with a faint scent of bitter herbs wafting from delicate fingers, “Let me take a look.”
Ma Bing pinched a bit of white powder between her fingers and smelled it, then asked someone to bring a candle closer to examine Xie Yu’s eyes.
Due to the poor lighting, Ma Bing leaned in very close, her gentle, warm breath lightly brushing against Xie Yu’s face.
Xie Yu’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, and he instinctively took a step back.
Except for his childhood wet nurse and mother, no woman had been this close to him since he grew up.
Ma Bing raised her eyebrows slightly, a faint smile on her lips.
Having seen many lustful and arrogant young masters, encountering someone so “well-behaved” was quite rare.
Xie Yu’s eyes were slightly red, with no external injuries.
“This is a kind of face powder women use daily, called Di Lu Xiang,” Ma Bing said after noticing most of it had spilled on the ground and on him, “Not much got into the eyes, so it’s not a big problem.”
Everyone let out a sigh of relief, “Someone bring water…”
Then they heard Ma Bing continue, “Although it’s just face powder, it contains some lime, talcum powder, and fritillaria…”
She listed several more ingredients, all seemingly unrelated to cosmetics, “Rinsing the eyes with water directly might cause burns.”
The officers looked at each other in confusion, and Yuanpei was particularly shocked:
“Is this really something you put on your face?”
Even the usually silent Xie Yu couldn’t help but twitch his eyebrows.
Ma Bing first gently and skillfully removed the undissolved powder from Xie Yu’s eyes, then asked someone to fetch cooled, boiled water.
Well water might be easily accessible, but it often contains impurities and tiny insects, which might temporarily relieve the situation but could also trigger other symptoms. It was better to be cautious.
After washing, he indeed felt much better, with only slight residual soreness.
Xie Yu slowly exhaled, “Thank you.”
Ma Bing wiped her hands, “No need to thank me, that’ll be two taels of silver.”
Everyone: “…”
Didn’t you say you were offering free medical treatment?
It’s not that they begrudged the money, but compared to what the butler had described earlier… there was a slight discrepancy.
Xie Yu, born into wealth, had no concept of money and didn’t think much of it, but Yuanpei was so shocked he nearly jumped.
Looking so pretty and clean, how could she be so… greedy?
Coming from humble origins, he knew the market prices well. Just a quick glance and no prescription? Two taels of silver?
That was enough for an average family to live on for several months!
Seeing this, Xu Maochai hurriedly signaled to the butler, who understood immediately and quickly handed over the silver purse at his waist, “Please do your best to treat him.”
If anything happened to Xie Yu, their entire family would be heading underground to reunite!
Ma Bing accepted the purse without hesitation, pinched it, and found it contained silver notes.
Her mood immediately improved, and she proactively wrote out two prescriptions.
“Although there’s no major issue, there will inevitably be some redness, swelling, and itching over the next few days. Follow this prescription for external and internal use, and it will heal in five days at most, or three days at least.”
Actually, it would heal without medication too, just more slowly.
So if you don’t pay extra, you wouldn’t care anymore, right?
Xie Yu almost laughed in irritation. He lifted his chin slightly, and the big man who had spoken earlier immediately stepped forward to take the prescriptions and rushed out like a whirlwind.
In the Great Lu Dynasty, city gates were closed at night, but there was no curfew. Many shops stayed open all night, which was perfect for getting the medicine.
“May I ask where Ma Bing is heading?” Xie Yu suddenly asked.
Ma Bing didn’t hide it, “It’s rare for me to visit the capital region. Not seeing the prosperity of the capital city would indeed be a pity.”
She had been practicing medicine in Ning’an Prefecture all along, but now… it was time to visit Kaifeng Prefecture.
Yuanpei, understanding Xie Yu’s intention, said, “In that case, Ma Bing might as well travel with us. First, we can look out for each other, and second, the journey will take at least two days, and we still need the young lady’s skillful hands to take care of our superior’s injuries.”
Two taels of silver, after all, should be worth it.
Ma Bing looked at Xie Yu and smiled, “In that case, I’ll accept with pleasure.”
She had visited the Xu residence more than once or twice and naturally knew how proud and arrogant Xu Maochai and his wife usually were. Today, their reverence toward this young man couldn’t be solely because he was an official from Kaifeng Prefecture.
The big man, though rough-looking, was indeed quick in action. Before long, he returned with several packets of herbs.
Ma Bing, familiar with the way, went to the Xu family’s medicine room, found a mortar, crushed the herbs, took out some gauze to apply the paste, and carefully folded the gauze into long strips before approaching Xie Yu.
The pungent, bitter smell approached, and Xie Yu instinctively turned his face away, but the next moment, a cool hand gently turned it back, “Don’t move.”
Ma Bing covered Xie Yu’s eyes with the gauze soaked in ointment and tied the excess into a neat knot at the back of his head.
It was even a beautiful butterfly knot.
Xie Yu’s face turned green from the medicinal smell, his visible eyebrows furrowed into a tight knot.
Ma Bing found it increasingly amusing.
Although it was their first meeting, one’s background was easy to discern. This official’s origins were probably not simple.
At such a young age, yet able to control his temper—truly rare.
“If you keep moving that good eye around, you’ll end up with double vision,” the young physician remarked.
A few breaths later, Xie Yu felt a cool sensation over both eyes and couldn’t help but exhale in relief.
Although this physician might have a tendency to be money-driven, her medical skills were indeed quite decent.
Only then did the Xu couple timidly step forward to apologize.
Although Xie Yu couldn’t see at this moment, he could easily guess. He sneered, “You’re afraid I’ll be so angry that I’ll take revenge and kick you when you’re down?”
The couple dared not answer, but their expressions clearly said so.
A cold snort came from the big man behind Xie Yu, “Judging others by your own low standards.”
Xie Yu’s young age for such an important position was indeed partly due to his noble background, but the Emperor was no fool. If he were truly prone to favoritism and corruption, even Princess Ningde’s tears wouldn’t have saved him.
Xu Maochai’s lips trembled, wanting to say something else, but Xie Yu had already lost interest in listening.
“Huoping, Yuanpei, back to Kaifeng Prefecture.”
The big man and Yuanpei responded affirmatively, not bothering to help him but walking out one on each side.
Ma Bing noticed that their footsteps were noticeably heavier than before, and Xie Yu’s ears twitched slightly. A moment later, he followed steadily, two steps behind.
Because of this incident, when the group left Ning’an Prefecture, the city gates had already opened.
Originally, they had slowed their pace out of consideration for the presence of a woman in the group, but to their surprise, Ma Bing’s horsemanship was excellent, so they felt reassured to ride at full speed.
But what no one expected was that the real drag turned out to be someone else:
“I… I…”
Xu Maochai’s legs trembled, almost unable to stand. His pale face flushed red, both from exhaustion and embarrassment.
The group’s eyes were filled with disdain:
Riding was one of the Six Arts for gentlemen!
Xu Maochai was deeply ashamed.
Having served as an official for many years, he had long been accustomed to a life of comfort, always traveling by sedan chair. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had ridden a horse, and his riding skills had inevitably become rusty.
Suddenly galloping at high speed today, he couldn’t even recall the techniques. After several hours, the insides of his thighs were completely raw, blood seeping through his trousers.
Xie Yu frowned but said nothing, “Where are we now?”
Because of the extra burden, today’s journey had been painfully slow.
Yuanpei checked ahead, “My lord, there’s still about forty miles to the next post station. There are no houses or inns nearby.”
He glared angrily at Xu Maochai afterward.
Xie Yu listened to the sounds of weary birds returning to the forest, then paused thoughtfully, “Find a place to rest.”
The horses hadn’t rested on the way here, and now that it was getting late, even if the people weren’t tired, the horses needed water and grass.
Yuanpei opened his mouth, “You…”
“It’s fine,” Xie Yu “looked” behind him, “Ma Bing, I’m afraid you’ll have to endure this for a while.”
Ma Bing remained silent for a moment before urging her horse forward, “I’m right here.”
Everyone: “…”
Xie Yu’s ears quickly turned red, but he casually turned his head, pressed his legs against the horse’s belly, and shouted, “Giddyap!”
They rode for about another quarter of an hour, the sun almost completely setting, before finally finding a flat open area to rest.
Kaifeng Prefecture was rich in waterways, and not far away was a small river. Huoping and the others divided into groups, setting up fires, fetching water, and taking dry leather from under the saddles to spread on the ground for Xie Yu to sit on. Everything was orderly and efficient.
As for Xu Maochai, as long as he was still breathing, nobody cared about him!
Later, Yuanpei returned joyfully with two rabbits, a pheasant, and several bird eggs, “Great! We can have a feast!”
Unfortunately, the rabbits weren’t fat enough since winter had just passed.
The orange-red flames rose, flickering on Xie Yu’s face, making his features more distinct.
Though in the wilderness, he showed no sign of discomfort, even leisurely leaning against a tree trunk, listening to the crackling firewood, and casually tossing in a few more sticks.
Very accurately.
Ma Bing watched in fascination, finding this person truly contradictory:
If you say he’s the upright and impartial Xie Yu, his posture leaning against the animal hide with one hand on his knee right now looked exactly like those indulgent nobles; but an ordinary young nobleman could never be as impartial and professional as he had been at Xu’s mansion early that morning, nor could he possibly tolerate such a crude “residence” at this moment…
As she shook her head, she caught sight of Yuanpei raising his knife and chopping down. The next moment, the rabbit’s head flew off entirely!
Ma Bing: “…”
Will you stop already!
Finally, Ma Bing, unable to bear it any longer, seized control of the cooking.
Everyone watched as she pulled out a pile of strange and oddly shaped bottles and jars from the saddlebags on either side of the horse. Once opened, pungent or savory aromas immediately filled the air.
Finally, she even pulled out a shallow, square-shaped flat-bottomed iron pan from inside.
The yamen runners let out a collective exclamation of amazement, “Wow!”
Ma Bing couldn’t hide his smugness as he raised his eyebrows and began issuing commands with a clear conscience.
She first had someone chop the rabbits and pheasants into pieces and blanch them to remove the blood foam. Then, as if performing a magic trick, she pulled out a small, round silver spoon and scooped a spoonful of snow-white lard from an equally round, pot-bellied earthenware jar, dropping it into the pot.
The bottom of the pan was already piping hot. As soon as the lard was added, it melted away like snow in the afternoon sun, filling the air with a rich, savory aroma.
Game meat has a strong, fishy smell that requires heavy seasoning to mask. Ma Bing initially thought of adding chili peppers and pepper, but after glancing at the blindfolded patient lying on the animal hide, she regretfully gave up the idea.
Everyone watched with fascination as Ma Bing performed the operation with effortless grace.
The chunks of meat tumbled in the bottom of the pot as the scant fat gradually melted, pooling into a shallow layer that mingled with the clear lard. The aroma grew increasingly rich and complex.
As the edges of the meat turned into a beautiful light golden hue, an enticing aroma of caramelization filled everyone’s nostrils.
Even Xie Yu in the distance subtly swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing faintly.
The braised meat chunks are glossy and reddish-brown, crispy on the outside yet tender inside, with a rich sauce that clings to them. The aroma alone is enough to make one’s mouth water.
Not only that, but Ma Bing even took advantage of the downtime while the meat was stewing to gather a bunch of tender shepherd’s purse from the roadside woods. Using the bird eggs Yuanpei found, she whipped up a large pot of shepherd’s purse egg drop soup!
Ma Bing personally brought the meal over to Xie Yu and said with a pointed tone, “Don’t underestimate this meal. I’ve nearly exhausted all the supplies I painstakingly gathered.”
Xie Yu, holding a bowl: “…Huo Ping, pay more.”
Ma Bing: If I may humbly say so, I am none other than the new generation’s “Master of Adding Fees.”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage