The Female Supporting Role Shows Out

by Usui Takumii

not mine, novel multiverse. Waiting for the Translator to update.

14. 131 to 140

Seeing Lin Dan holding something, everyone showed curious expressions.

"Brother, this thing is called a wheelchair. I bought it at the Fuji Carpenter Shop. With it, I can push you out for walks." Lin Dan pushed the chair over in a flash with rare excitement in her voice.

Seeing her childlike joy, Xue Boyong also couldn't help but smile.

Madam Xue and Xue Jiming incessantly circled around that chair. They praised it again and again, saying that the inventor of this thing was too brilliant, it was simply the salvation of the disabled.

The two guards behind Lin Dan had outstanding martial arts and keen hearing, and before they had even crossed the threshold into the courtyard, had heard Xue Jiming singing Wu Xuancao's praises through the wall. They revealed: "We heard that this wheelchair was invented by Miss Wu. It has been sold at Xuancao Hall for several months already. If, as Second Young Master said, Miss Wu really put our general's injury on her heart at all times, why didn't she bring it up at all? Our General's Manor has money and would never take advantage of Miss Wu. If you brought a chair to us, did you think we wouldn't pay for it? It can be seen that Miss Wu is busy with the affairs of the nobility and has forgotten such trivial matters."

The other guard added: "When Miss Lin went to Xuancao Hall to kneel three times, Old Madam, Madam, Second Young Master, and even us servants also went to grovel to Miss Wu and beg for forgiveness. Miss Wu magnanimously expressed that all grievances were henceforth written off and that they should never be brought up again. So why did you turn around and forbid the doctors in your clinic from selling our household a wheelchair? When we tried to buy one, we were even berated. They said that they would sell it to anyone but our Xue Manor and told us to hurry up and get lost. It can be seen that Miss Wu pretends to be generous on the surface, but secretly holds grudges. What concern, what treatment? We dare not expect anything from her and can only hope that Miss Wu will not stab the general in the back."

After the whole wheelchair fiasco, they had become skeptical about Wu Xuancao's hypocrisy. How could they leave her to cozy up to the general? Lin Dan might have been too lazy to bother with her, but that didn't mean thattheywould let a scheming person have free reign in Xiaofeng Pavilion.

"Is that true?" Before Xue Jiming even had time to respond, Madam Xue's complexion had already changed.

"Of course it's true, all of the people on the street can be witnesses. We only went to Fuji Carpenter Shop after Xuancao Hall absolutely refused to sell to us." The two guards cupped their hands.

Madam Xue shook with anger and turned to glare ferociously at Wu Xuancao. Xue Jiming subconsciously moved to block the accusatory gaze for his sweetheart, but gave her a look of disbelief.

Wu Xuancao's whole face was a deep red, her eyes evasive, and she didn't know how to justify herself at all. Back at the border, Xue Boyong didn't approve of her. He grounded Xue Jiming in the barracks and prohibited the two from having contact. Since then, she had held a grudge against this man. When she heard that Lin Dan caused him to become a paraplegic, she had even gloated for a while. How could she truly place his injury on her heart? Moreover, last time, at Xiaofeng Pavilion, she was severely scolded by Xue Boyong, so she was even more reluctant to try to have his best interests at heart just to be snubbed.

However, she could never say that out loud, so she could only hang her head, unable to defend herself: "I really forgot. Recently, the Su* Prince's old illness relapsed and I was ordered to go to his manor to treat it. I wanted to wait for his condition to stabilize before bringing the wheelchair over, but I didn't realize that once it started I would be busy for more than half a month."

This is a title that means "solemnity."

"So, on the one hand, Miss Wu stayed up multiple nights to study the general's case, but on the other hand she was busy treating the Su Prince's recurring illness. It must have been hard to manage everything on your plate. Miss Wu must have mastered the shadow clone technique and know how to split herself into multiple people. We wholeheartedly admire your skill."

The two guards saluted and stepped down without saying anything else.

No matter how slow Madam Xue might be, she had to understand everything by now. Wu Xuancao didn't care about treating her son's legs at all. Otherwise, why would she have never mentioned a word about this type of wheelchair, the thing her son precisely needed the most? What discussing the diagnosis through the night, what painstakingly researched treatment plans? These were all words used to fool people, and only Second Son was perfectly happy to be deceived by her. And if she truly loved him, why didn't she treat his relatives conscientiously?

Madam Xue's only ray of hope was completely replaced with disappointment. Were it not for Zheng Zhe still being posted at Xuancao Hall, she really wanted to chase this woman out! She forced herself to pull the corners of her lips and said, "Doctor Wu is indeed busy with the affairs of the nobility." After that, there was nothing else she wanted to say. What could she say? Did she have to grovel one more time for good measure? Facing someone who doesn't have the heart, it doesn't matter how many times you kneel in front of her; she will always be apathetic.

Seeing that his mother had become cold toward Wu Xuancao, Xue Jiming was somewhat anxious, and quickly pulled the other out for a private conversation. Before stepping out of the courtyard, Wu Xuancao glanced back at Lin Dan's study, a gloomy light flashing deep in her eyes.

Lin Dan couldn't be bothered to take a single look at Wu Xuancao and Xue Jiming. She carried Xue Boyong onto the wheelchair and was engrossed in pushing him back and forth in the yard. When they went downhill, she would even stand on the footrest at the back of the chair and roll down together with him, her eyes flickering with an unadulterated, childlike light.

Xue Boyong looked up at her beautiful little face again and again, his eyes overflowing with tenderness. No matter how much commotion others made, the two of them seemed to be in a world of their own, always happy together.

By the time Madam Xue recovered from her daze, the two had already had enough fun and were slowly making their way back.

"Brother, this armrest is too smooth and slippery. I'll help you wrap a few strips of cloth around it. The bearing of the wheels must be oiled with tung oil, otherwise it will keep creaking and require a lot of effort to push. Brother, when you're by yourself, don't get in and out of the wheelchair. Someone must be there to help support you, otherwise you might fall and hurt yourself." Lin Dan prattled endlessly while she fetched the cloth strips and tung oil.

Xue Boyong seemed to be expressionless, but in fact a smile was hidden deeply in his eyes.

Lin Dan finished messing with the wheelchair and continued to speak, "Brother, tell me what you want to eat tonight, I'll cook it for you."

Xue Boyong immediately waved his hand: "No need to make anything else, there's still leftover beef from lunch. Just have the cook heat it up. You spent all day outside. You must rest properly when you come home."

"Brother, I'm not tired at all. How about this, I'll cut two radishes up and stew them with the beef. Winter radishes are called little ginseng, they're very nourishing. Then I'll boil some dumplings. I've already made the filling, so I just need to knead some dough. It's very fast."

"That's good too. Just make it casually. Don't tire yourself out." Xue Boyong instructed, not completely reassured.

Lin Dan agreed shortly and went. As soon as she entered the kitchen, she put on an apron and started to wash vegetables, cut vegetables, and knead dough, her every move neat and efficient. Madam Xue followed behind and took it in, her heart extremely touched. She remembered that in the past, it was unheard of for Lin Dan, this girl, to wash her hands and make the simplest broth. She had never even stepped into the kitchen. But now? She hears that she had since mastered the culinary arts as well as the feminine arts, and had even been working hard to study medicine. All of these changes had been for the sake of taking care of Eldest Son.

Needlework.

If a person does not care in her heart, one can see it from her every move. Madam Xue thought that Lin Dan was heartless, but it turned out that she could change this much.

Madam Xue stood at the entrance to the kitchen and deeply sighed for a good while. Then she returned to Xiaofeng Pavilion and said to her son, "Boyong, with Lin Dan here to take care of you, Mother can put my heart down."

Lin Dan and Wu Xuancao, she originally loathed both of them. But now, she saw Lin Dan in a different light, while her hatred of Wu Xuancao became deeper and deeper. If you're unwilling to treat the injury, then don't do it. Just don't put on a face full of concern while doing cold and uncaring things.Thatwas truly terrible.

Xue Boyong just smiled and didn't say anything.

Madam Xue originally wanted to stay for dinner, but when she saw that Lin Dan only brought two sets of bowls and chopsticks, with measly portions, she could only drop the idea. What consideration and affection? This girl was still just as tactless as before!

Madam Xue had already been gone for a long while, when Lin Dan patted her forehead and said, "Wait, I forgot to make a portion for Madam!"

Xue Boyong chuckled and said: "Don't worry, she doesn't lack these two mouthfuls of food. You were outside practicing medicine today. How did it go?"

Lin Dan's eyes lit up with a flash and she immediately became a chatterbox: "It went really well. I learned much more than when I was cooped up at home reading medical books. Although there were only some minor headaches and fevers, based on each patient's situation, I still needed to formulate different treatment plans; it's extremely interesting. For example, when people have phlegm, some have blockages from external negative energy, caused by gloomy emotions; some have stagnant and sluggish qi, caused by their diet and exhaustion; and some even have inner heat that coagulates their bodily fluids or cold and wet energy that congeals their bodily fluids. Different causes yet lead to the same symptoms, which requires doctors to accumulate enough experience to be able to pinpoint the true cause among the multitude of illnesses involving phlegm, then settle on a course of treatment. Learning medicine is really a huge undertaking; even if you spend your entire lifetime, it might not be enough to master it."

Xue Boyong looked at her eyes, brighter than ever before, and asked, "Do you like to practice medicine?"

"I like it!" Lin Dan nodded without the slightest hesitation.

Xue Boyong patted the table and said, "If you like it, just go do it. I will handle Grandmother and Mother. Don't worry about them trying to stop you."

Lin Dan didn't worry at all, but she still nodded and said, "Thank you, Brother."

Xue Boyong shook his head, his eyes extremely gentle. As long as the little girl really liked to practice medicine, he would support her to the end, not to cure himself, but to make her happy.

Carefree, the two talked for a while after dinner before they finally parted ways. As Xue Boyong was just about to go to bed, Xue Jiming burst into the room and stammeringly started to talk: "Brother, I'm sorry about the whole wheelchair situation. Xiao Cao'er and I went to Xuancao Hall to inquire about it. Turns out it was her two apprentices who made that decision by themselves. It had nothing to do with her. She didn't know anything about it. Those two apprentices had been beaten by Lin Dan before, so they did this out of resentment."

Xue Boyong interrupted him impatiently: "So are you trying to say that Lin Dan received the consequences due her actions? Whenever anything happens, you always put the blame on a woman. Are you still a man?"

Xue Jiming's face turned red, and he couldn't say anything even after mumbling for half a day.

"Brother, I came to tell you that Lin Dan, that girl, has no shame! She even told Grandmother that she would marry you! Be careful not to fall into her scheme. The only reason she said that was to keep the glory, status, and wealthy life of being a precious daughter in Xue Manor. Don't be fooled! "

"Are you finished yet? If you're done, you can get lost!" Xue Boyong looked cold and harsh, but his fingertips were faintly trembling.

When Xue Jiming saw that he was truly enraged, he fled the room.

The room quieted down. Xue Boyong wiped his face with shaking hands, the tips of his ears slowly turning red.Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at Novel Multiverse – "NovelMultiverse dot com"

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132

Li Zhong was standing guard just outside the door, so he obviously overheard the conversation between Eldest Young Master and Second Young Master. Seeing that there was no movement inside for a long time, he braced himself and walked in, only to find Eldest Young Master foolishly sitting on the bed, his expression flickering between gloom and happiness, extremely complicated.

"Eldest Young Master, don't let Second Young Master's words lead you astray. Second Young Master is prejudiced against Miss Lin; that's the only reason he slandered her like that. Haven't you clearly seen how meticulously Miss Lin takes care of you these days? Don't you know what kind of a person she is?" Li Zhong persuaded.

When Lin Dan first came, everyone in Xiaofeng Pavilion did indeed hate her to the bone. But after interacting with her on a daily basis, her meticulousness and diligence, her deep affection and friendship, her tolerance and integrity, had already moved all of them. Whether she was sincere or insincere to Eldest Young Master, couldn't they tell?

"I know." Xue Boyong waved his hand weakly: "In Xiaofeng Pavilion, she does everything for me personally. For me, she learned to cook, to do laundry, and to embroider. For me, she wore coarse clothing to be a traveling doctor in the countryside. If she had wanted to live an easy life, how would she be so willing to suffer these hardships?"

It was because he saw it so clearly that he reacted so violently to Xue Jiming's words. He didn't care whether Lin Dan was duping him. He was more afraid that she was wasting her life by being his caretaker. He was already useless, so how could he have any other extravagant hopes?

Thinking this, Xue Boyong covered his face and sighed dimly.

Seeing that he was thinking rationally, Li Zhong didn't say anymore. He just tucked in the corner of the quilt and went out.

The next day, Xue Boyong originally planned on distancing himself from Lin Dan, but he often found himself inadvertently approaching her. When Lin Dan asked him if there was anything he wanted to eat before she left, he shook his head and said there wasn't. Lin Dan turned around and entered the kitchen, where she chose to stew a pot of mutton, which happened to be exactly what he had been craving recently. Although she didn't return for lunch, the familiar flavor still accompanied him.

When she returned in the evening, Lin Dan, disregarding him rejecting her with all his might, put Xue Boyong in the wheelchair and pushed him out, circling the yard several times. Seeing her cheerful little face, looking at her big sparkling eyes, even if he had more words to reject her, Xue Boyong couldn't bring himself to speak them.

After being sent back to his room and saying good night, he rubbed the space between his eyebrows and finally surrendered to Lin Dan. The distance between them had always been controlled by her. If she wanted to get close, he would only be forced to accept it. If she wanted to stay far away, he couldn't catch up even if he wanted to. This kind of feeling really made one restless. Xue Boyong, who had already gradually accepted the machinations of fate, looked at his useless legs and felt an extremely intense rush of unwillingness out of the blue.

He began to actively seek doctors and request treatment. The pills that he had rejected so stubbornly in the past were now being attentively taken. Doctor's orders were also followed one after another, and he did not dare to be careless at all. Madam Xue and Old Madam observed his changes, feeling very happy. As for what Lin Dan did during the day, he wouldn't let them ask, so they pretended not to know.

Unconsciously, time passed. In the blink of an eye, it had been three months. Lin Dan's use of internal energy had reached a state of perfection, to the point where she could wield it with ease. Her medical skills, through the grind of daily practice, also advanced by leaps and bounds. She no longer only treated headaches and minor fevers, but began to delve into difficult diseases. If she encountered a particularly rare case, she would wholeheartedly devote her attention to it, without concerning herself with how much time and energy she needed to spend. If the disease was not cured, she would feel frustrated for several days, then review her experience and continue moving forward; if the disease was cured, she would record the treatment method in detail for future reference.

Her obsession with medicine almost reached the point of forgetting to eat and sleep, but even so, she did not neglect her care of Xue Boyong at all. The two bodyguards followed her, witnessing her transformation from an inexperienced wandering physician to a renowned miracle doctor. She managed to successfully treat one instance of stroke paralysis, one of tuberculosis, and one of gangrene, three diseases that had been known as incurable up until now.

The two bodyguards originally thought it was just luck, but they did not expect that when she encountered a patient with the same symptoms, eight or nine times out of ten, she could cure them. The one or two exceptions were cases in which the disease had already attacked the vitals, progressing too far to treat.

She had constantly been accumulating experience and improving her medical skills. She began to break away from textbook knowledge. She started to create new prescriptions, boldly overturn the prescriptions of her predecessor, and combine the two together. She didn't realize how extraordinary her actions were, and even more so didn't consider her medical skills to have already reached the pinnacle. She continued to constantly strive for progress. Since she only practiced medicine in remote areas, her reputation was limited to rumors in the countryside. Those in or near the capital were completely unaware of the existence of this miracle doctor.

Slowly, the two bodyguards respected Lin Dan more and more, to the point where they obeyed her without hesitation.

Lin Dan didn't feel that she was all that amazing. After all, her ancestor was a true expert. Treating stroke paralysis, tuberculosis, etc. was as casual for him as treating headaches and internal heat. On this day, she spent tremendous effort before she was able to cure a patient with tympanites.* Thinking of the glorious achievements of her ancestor, she could not help but sigh: "I spent twenty-nine days and consecutively swapped out seven or eight different prescriptions to barely bring the patient back. I'm still a million miles away from the real Dao of Medicine. I'm ashamed, ashamed!"

Abdominal distension due to gas build-up, pronounced "tim-pa-NIGH-tees" (it's Greek).

Bodyguards: "…" You brought someone with a fatal disease back to life. What else could you ask for? We're afraid that you misunderstand "Dao of Medicine," these three words!

The family members of the patient were also a little speechless, and quickly prepared generous remuneration to send this deity out.

The two boarded the ox cart and wobbled back to the west gate to see another guard waiting at the meeting point with an agitated expression, "Miss Lin!" He rushed up with large steps, yelling through the curtain, "We found someone!"

"Oh? Where?" The curtain of the ox cart swished open, revealing an even more anxious face.

"In Xihe (west river) Town, Fengtian* (abundant farmland) Province."

Fun fact: this is literally the Chinese name for Toyota, the Japanese car company.

"Driver, change route to Xihe Town, Fengtian Province right away!" Lin Dan immediately ordered.

The driver hesitated and said, "Master, Xihe Town is quite far from the capital. It takes dozens of li* to go there and back. If we go now, I'm afraid we won't be able to make it back by nightfall!"

about half a kilometer or a third of a mile

"Then we won't go home tonight." Lin Dan wrote a note for a guard to send back to Xiaofeng Pavilion, and then brought the other guard to go see the patient. When the group arrived in Fengtian Province, the sky was already dark. The village was filled with the sounds of dogs barking and chickens clucking, a peaceful rural scene. Lin Dan, following the guard's directions, arrived at the small courtyard of a humble cottage and explained why she came.

The door abruptly opened from the inside, and a woman hurriedly said, "Is what you're saying true? Can you cure my son?"

"Let me take a look first. Don't worry, ma'am, I won't take a penny if I can't treat it." Lin Dan cupped her hands and spoke with extreme courtesy.

Although the person who had come was a young girl, the woman didn't mind at all, immediately inviting her into the house. She pointed at the sixteen-year-old boy lying on the bed-stove and said, "This is my son. He was fooling around three years ago and was thrown down from the back of a cow, injuring his spine. Since then, he could no longer walk. Doctor, please take a look at him. If you can cure him, you can take whatever you want from this house. Although our land has already been sold, the deed to the house is still here. Let me take it out for you right away!"

As the woman spoke, she took out a deed from a chest, her face filled with an ardent expression. She had lost her husband early and raised her son by herself. In order to cure her son, she was willing to try any method and pay any price. Selling the land and the house was nothing – even if Lin Dan wanted her life, she would not object.

The young man struggled to get up, but fell back down powerlessly over and over. He could only cry and beg his mother not to waste money on him. If he had the strength to kill himself, he would have died long ago. Why else would he have burdened his mother for so long?

Lin Dan turned a deaf ear to the boy's pleas and said: "I already told you, if I can't treat him, I won't take any money, so you should put that back. I'll speak plainly. The reason I took the initiative to come to your door is because my older brother has the same condition. My treatment method is a bit unique. I have never attempted it on anyone before, and I was worried that I might harm him. That's why I looked for a person with the same symptoms to experiment on. If you are willing, I can give you a sum of money as compensation. If you are unwilling, I will leave immediately. Although I am not completely certain that I can cure your son, I can guarantee that his condition will not worsen. What do you think? Would you like me to treat him or not?"

Hearing this, the woman's misgivings disappeared completely, and she nodded without pausing to think: "Treat him, we won't take any money. Just treat him however you need to, doctor!"

The boy, who had been resisting desperately, also quieted down, as if he was seriously considering it.

"I thank the both of you for your cooperation." Lin Dan sincerely thanked them. She stepped forward and lifted the boy's pant legs, only to be surprised to see a pair of withered legs that were as skinny as dry firewood.

The woman said quickly: "Since the injury, his legs have shriveled up day by day until they became like this."

Lin Dan frowned for a while, then slapped herself on the forehead with a very annoyed expression. Of course, when one's legs were never used, the muscles would gradually atrophy. Even if they were cured, it would probably take a long time to exercise them until they could actually function. She was so focused on figuring out a treatment method, she forgot to help her brother maintain his muscles. Damn it! Fortunately, the massage technique passed down through the Lin family had a wondrous effect on muscle atrophy. Although it had been delayed for more than half a year, she still could use it to quickly restore Xue Boyong to his original state.

Thinking like this, Lin Dan tried her best to suppress the impulse to rush back immediately and started massaging the young man, saying as she kneaded: "His legs must be massaged three times a day to keep the muscles flexible. Carefully observe my technique, and then slowly learn it. When I'm not around, you can massage him like this. Otherwise, even if I treat his injury, it will still be difficult to walk on these legs without the support of his muscles."

"Yes, yes, of course! I will study hard! Thank you, doctor, thank you!" The woman shed tears of gratitude as she nodded.

The young man was originally still a little resistant, but when he heard this, he blushed and calmed down. Compared to Xue Boyong, he was much thinner. His spiritual state was also gloomier, and one could faintly see the will to die at the bottom of his eyes. However, Lin Dan had come. Everything would be different from now on.

After the massage, Lin Dan checked the boy's pulse and, finding that his symptoms were exactly the same as Xue Boyong's, finally put her heart down completely.

"His body is too feeble. He can't start treatment yet. His foundation and bones must be nourished first before we do anything else. I'll start by prescribing him a few medicines to strengthen his body and build up his foundation. During this period, you can feed him some nourishing foods. Don't worry about the expense." Lin Dan took out a silver banknote, put it on the table, and said seriously, "He is my brother's hope, and I will treat him diligently."Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at Novel Multiverse – "NovelMultiverse dot com"

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133

Lin Dan's willingness to treat her son's legs was already a massive favor and the woman didn't want to take any more of her money no matter what.

Lin Dan folded the silver banknote neatly, stuffed it into the woman's purse, and said bluntly: "The sooner his foundation has been restored, the sooner I will be able to start the treatment, and the sooner Brother can see some signs of hope. This is beneficial for you, but even more so for Brother. Speaking frankly: I'm not helping you out of the kindness of my heart, but for the sake of Brother, do you understand? So do what I say and don't argue."

The woman finally reluctantly accepted the money, thanking Lin Dan a thousand times again.

Only after the two of them made things clear did Lin Dan begin to write the prescription, pondering as she wrote, adding and adjusting with extreme care. The woman dared not disturb her and could only stand beside her and watch with endless awe. The two didn't even notice that, outside the open courtyard door, a carriage had stopped at some point, and a handsome man had been helped down by two guards and settled at the doorway.

The guards who followed Lin Dan, however, were very alert. They hurriedly ran out to take a look and, finding that it was the general, showed expressions of disbelief. Ever since he had been paralyzed, the general had, without exception, never stepped out of the manor again. At most, he only looked at the scenery in the courtyard, his eyes completely unfocused, as if he was in a whole other world.

But now, the general's face was sullen, fixed on the inner courtyard, looking agitated and tense. Who he came for, the guards knew without asking.

"Reporting to the general, the young miss is inside." The guards said in a low voice.

Xue Boyong nodded slightly, then turned the wheelchair to go forward, indistinctly hearing Lin Dan converse with a stranger. He couldn't hear what they were talking about, but couldn't miss the word 'Brother.' Every ten sentences, she would bring 'Brother' up ten times. It could be seen that someone was constantly on her lips and in her heart.

Xue Boyong's heart, which had been filled with worry and fury, directly softened into a total mess, and his frowning brows unconsciously smoothed out, revealing a hint of a tender smile. When he had heard that Lin Dan was going to stay out all night, he almost went mad with agitation. Unable to wait even a little, he immediately told the guards to chase after her. Imagining Lin Dan staying with several strangers in a place he couldn't see, not knowing whether she was in danger, an uncontrollable impulse suddenly surged in his heart. When he came back to his senses, he realized that he had gone along with the guards. The lanterns of Xue Manor were glinting at the end of the road, getting further and further away.

He lifted the curtain of the carriage, looking out at the all at once familiar and unfamiliar capital city, and finally sighed deeply. Stepping out of Xiaofeng Pavilion and returning to this place that he used to travel so freely wasn't impossible after all. He had just needed a turning point and a reason, that's all.

Lin Dan taught the woman how to massage and finished formulating a prescription. She finally walked out of the room, stretching her lazy waist and preparing to take a breather, but found that Xue Boyong was sitting peacefully under the veranda, looking at herself with deep eyes.

Her half-stretched waist retracted immediately and she said in surprise, "Brother, why are you here?"

"I'm here to pick you up." Xue Boyong said slowly. "From now on, we have to make a new rule: no matter where you go, you must come back at night. You're not allowed to stay out overnight." As long as he remembered that Lin Dan was not in Xiaofeng Pavilion, not nearby, he would be unable to control his agitation.

Lin Dan nodded unconsciously: "Okay Brother, I'll listen to you." Then she slapped her forehead, hurriedly saying, "Brother, I made a mistake. Let's hurry up and go back!"

"Don't hit yourself too hard, your forehead's all red." Xue Boyong held her slender wrist and a look of distress flashed across his eyes.

Lin Dan agreed half-heartedly again, said goodbye to the woman and the young man, and then carried Xue Boyong into the carriage. After leaving Fengtian Province, she lifted the hem of Xue Boyong's clothes to look at his legs, but her wrist was grabbed. Xue Boyong asked hoarsely, "What are you doing?"

"I want to take a look at your legs. Brother, can you take off your pants?" As soon as Lin Dan finished speaking, the guard who was driving the carriage let out a loud cough.

Xue Boyong's cheeks flushed and he gritted his teeth: "Little girl, don't you know any shame?"

"Brother, your illness is the priority. If you don't take it off yourself, I'll help you take it off!" Lin Dan threw off his hand and pulled at Xue Boyong's trousers. How could Xue Boyong let her have her way? He immediately pressed her right hand behind her back. Lin Dan took the chance to flip over and stretched out her left hand instead. The two of them wrestled in the narrow carriage, one grabbing and the other attacking in a dramatic back and forth.

Hearing the frequent muffled thumping sounds from inside the carriage, the two escorting guards' expressions warped, not knowing what to do with their faces.

"Is this a fight, or is it…" One of the guards held his two thumbs up and touched them together, his expression ambiguous.

"That's not for you to speculate!" The other guard slapped him on the back of the head, forcing him to stop talking.

The shaking carriage finally quieted down, and Lin Dan, gasping for breath, had been pinned down by Xue Boyong, her little waist still twisting, obviously not giving up. Xue Boyong's forehead was covered with sweat, not from exhaustion but from restraining himself. He bent his waist with difficulty, trying to keep his lower abdomen away from this unruly girl, and said hoarsely, "Haven't you made enough trouble yet? How can an unmarried young lady freely take off a man's pants!"

Lin Dan turned her head and explained, "Brother, your legs need to be massaged every day. Otherwise, the muscles will atrophy!"

"There are so many bodyguards in Xiaofeng Pavilion. Just have them do it. Why do you need to do it yourself?"

"My massage technique is very unique. They won't be able to learn it." Lin Dan firmly said, "Brother, if your legs are not cured, I will never get married my whole life. Don't preach about whatever 'men and women must guard against each other.'"

When Xue Boyong heard this, he unconsciously loosened his hold on her.

Lin Dan sprang up immediately, pulled the quilt over his head, and then started to pull at his waistband. He held her wrist in a death grip, his cheeks red enough to drip blood. Thank goodness the quilt was covering him and nothing was visible. "Little girl, have mercy! You win!" His voice was hoarse and helpless: "When we get back, let me change into a pair of loose trousers. I can roll up the pant legs and let you take a look. Is that okay?"

"Yeah." Lin Dan finally calmed down, but as she relinquished her grip, she pinched Xue Boyong's leg muscle at lightning speed.

Xue Boyong didn't notice, but when he tore the quilt off his head, he caught a glimpse of her unruly behavior and his cheeks became hot. This damn girl! he cursed secretly in his heart, but the corners of his mouth turned up uncontrollably.

There was another door in Xiaofeng Pavilion that directly led outside the manor. If Xue Boyong didn't want others in the residence to know his whereabouts, he just needed to close the courtyard door and open the corner door. This would completely isolate his courtyard from the general's manor, creating two separate worlds.

He went out and came back that night, but no one in the manor was the wiser. Everyone was asleep, silence had fallen over the surroundings, and only the lanterns hanging under the eaves swayed left and right, casting patches of warm orange light. Lin Dan wrapped Xue Boyong up with a quilt and sent him back to his room. After he changed into loose pants, she rolled up his pant legs to check his muscles. Fortunately, his physique was very robust before the injury, and although his muscles had slightly shrunken, the situation was not serious.

Lin Dan smeared herbal oil on her palms, rubbed it between her hands to warm it, and then, using her internal energy, massaged Xue Boyong rhythmically, slowly saying, "Brother, your legs are in pretty good shape. You only need to massage them twice a day to keep them in the best condition. I'll massage you once before I leave in the morning and once more after I come back at night. That should be just about enough."

Xue Boyong looked at her slightly reddened fingertips and said with some heartache: "Can't you just do it once a day? Otherwise, this adds another thing to your list of burdens."

"It's not a burden, Brother. As long as you can get better, I will try everything." Lin Dan's tone was firm.

Xue Boyong didn't speak for a long time. He just gently patted her head.

After using the ancestral massage technique on Xue Boyong's legs for half a month, Lin Dan found that his slightly atrophied muscles had regained the strength of the past, so she did not dare to slack off. She also went to Fengtian Province every day, changing the prescription as necessary, trying to nourish the boy's body as quickly as possible.

On this day, she got up early as usual to massage Xue Boyong, but was seen by Xue Jiming, who was taking a break from the barracks. The other party was stunned at first. Then, he rushed forward in a rage to try to tear her off, only to be swatted away with a flick of her hand, flying out and violently slamming into the door. He almost spit up blood.

"So it was you!" Lin Dan turned her head, her face full of helplessness: "Why are you so weak? Brother can't even walk, but he can beat me until I can't get up. How come you can't even take one move from me? If Brother hadn't been injured, I'm afraid even ten of you added together would not be his equal."

Her old man and old lady were both military doctors. The original owner grew up on the battlefield with them and had also learned martial arts. Therefore, seeing that Lin Dan was both extremely strong and very skilled, no one in the manor suspected anything.

These days, Xue Jiming had tried his hardest to gain others' approval, but the sentence he heard the most was, "you can't compare with your eldest brother." Nowadays, even Lin Dan, who had once blindly admired him, had these words on her lips. How could he not be upset? His lips trembled, but he couldn't refute her, so he could only rub his stifled chest and hold in his resentment.

Xue Boyong got angry as soon as he saw this foolish younger brother. Thinking of his previous engagement with Lin Dan, he felt even more discomfited. He frowned and said, "Why did you try to pull on Lin Dan just now? Don't you understand that men and women should be separate?"

"Am I the one who doesn't understand, or is she? How can a grown woman like her fondle your legs!" Xue Jiming was extremely aggrieved.

Lin Dan had finished the massage. She wiped her hands with a handkerchief while calmly explaining: "This isn't fondling, it's massage. Brother can't exercise his legs, so they will atrophy over time. Even if they're cured in the future, he still won't be able to walk on them unless he goes through a lot of trouble. Currently, I massage him every day to exercise his muscles. This is beneficial for him and does not harm him in any way. "

Xue Boyong took the handkerchief from her, wiped the little girl's nails clean, one by one, and said with a smile, "Why waste your words on him. If he doesn't believe you, he can go ask Wu Xuancao."

"Xiao Cao'er has never said that your legs need to be massaged. Lin Dan, you and I were once engaged, but now you're clinging onto my brother and refusing to leave. You are truly shameless! Let me tell you honestly, even if Brother never gets married for a lifetime, my grandmother and mother would still never approve of you marrying him. You're not worthy!"

"Get the hell out of here!" Before Xue Jiming could finish speaking, Xue Boyong was already beyond furious. He crumpled the handkerchief into a ball and threw it. It flew deceptively lightly, but smashed into Xue Jiming's chest hard, like a rock, adding injury to injury.

Xue Jiming swallowed a mouthful of blood from his bottled up emotions and said tearfully: "Brother, why can't you recognize good intentions? One day Lin Dan's true colors will be revealed!"

He was so aggrieved that he was about to cry. Meanwhile, Lin Dan, holding a basin of water, went straight around him without even glancing at him from the corner of her eye.Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at Novel Multiverse – "NovelMultiverse dot com"

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Xue Boyong pulled his pant legs back down and picked up the teacup aloofly, pretending that this younger brother of his did not exist. Xue Jiming looked left and right and found that the surrounding guards looked up at the sky, one by one, not the least bit concerned about what had just happened. He immediately felt more bitterness wash over him. Clutching his chest, he ran to the main courtyard to snitch to Old Madam.

Old Madam merely closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, saying nothing.

He then went to look for his mother, telling on Lin Dan about the matter of her groping his brother's legs, and said with conviction: "Xiao Cao'er is a famous miracle doctor, but I've never heard her saying that those with injured legs need to be massaged. Lin Dan is trying to find an excuse to take advantage of Brother and try to leech off of our Xue family. She's willing to do anything for prosperity and wealth. Mother, whatever you do, you must not let Brother marry her. Are you not afraid to lose Xue Mansion's reputation? Has anyone ever heard of a woman engaged to the younger brother later marrying the older brother?"

Madam Xue laughed sarcastically: "Don't mention 'Xiao Cao'er' every time you open your mouth. I feel disgusted hearing it! Wu Xuancao obviously had the wheelchair, but she never even thought to mention it. Why would she tell you how to take care of Boyong's legs? If she really had the heart, she would never have required our whole family to bow to her and beg and plead three or four times. She would already have been considerate of you and taken the initiative to put down her resentment and come treat your brother. You love her to death, but she might not feel the same way. There is a saying that goes, love the house and its crow, hate the house and its crow* you should have heard of it before? She hates me, hates your grandmother, hates Lin Dan, and hates your elder brother. How deep could her feelings for you be? On the surface, she claims to be magnanimous, yet she secretly holds grudges. It's better to be cautious around this type of person. The way I see it, Lin Dan is a hundred times better than her. At least she dares to love and hate and say what she thinks. She would never have one attitude on the surface and another behind your back."

This saying means that when you love something, you like the things that come with it as well; crow more specifically refers to birds that nest in the eaves of houses.

Xue Jiming also got a scolding from his mother, so he ran out of the house. The servants in the courtyard originally tried to chase after him, but they were stopped by Madam Xue: "No need to chase him. Let him go where he wants! This disappointment of a son made a mess and caused Boyong's legs to become disabled. So let him go outside and experience some setbacks for himself!"

His stifled heart in a mess, Xue Jiming wandered around for a while until he unconsciously arrived at Xuancao Hall. He stepped over the threshold and found an apprentice splinting a patient with a broken leg, so he pretended to unintentionally ask: "Do his legs still need to be massaged every day to prevent the muscles from withering?"

The apprentice smiled and waved his hands: "Massage? No, it's fine if you just remove the splint after two months."

Xue Jiming nodded, his heart full of fury. He just knew that Lin Dan, that bitch, had been fabricating lies to take advantage of his brother!

The apprentice remembered the Xue family's Eldest Young Master and added: "Broken legs don't need massages, but those who are paralyzed and bed-bound for a prolonged period need them daily. Otherwise, their legs will become as thin as firewood, to the point where they become completely useless."

Xue Jiming's heart skipped violently and he raised his eyebrows, pretending to be surprised: "Oh, there's such a thing?"

"This is what Master told us. Master knows a lot. If Second Young Master has any questions, you can go find her."

Xue Jiming couldn't even squeeze out a fake smile anymore, saying deeply: "This is really something Xuancao said?"

"Yes, Master once treated a patient similar to Eldest Young Master. The wheelchair was also invented by Master at that time. The patient's legs were as thin as reeds, so Master personally massaged him. That was the only reason he got even a little better."

"Really? Then I'll go and ask Xuancao." Xue Jiming gritted his teeth and left after saying this, not even entering the inner hall to look for Xuancao. Since she had treated similar patients, she should've known all of these details long ago, but why didn't she say anything? Was it forgetfulness or intentional omission? If she forgot it, it showed that she didn't take his brother's condition to heart and was only going through the motions; if she deliberately concealed it, it showed that she still harbored hatred for Xue Manor and didn't actually want to treat him. Xue Jiming didn't dare to think any more about any of these two reasons. He could not accept either one.

—

The complications between Xue Jiming and Wu Xuancao did not concern Lin Dan at all. Every day, she got up early to massage and cook for Xue Boyong, and then went out to practice medicine. In the evening, she went to Fengtian Province to help treat the youth. Her days were very busy.

The boy's name was Niu Dabao*. He had been lying on the bed for three years and his body was skinny to the point of being unrecognizable. After Lin Dan came, he was quickly nourished until he was white and plump. His body and bones grew stronger by the day.

This is a very rustic name; the surname means "ox," and the name means "big treasure."

People in the village heard that Lin Dan was treating Niu Dabao's legs, so they all waited to see the outcome. They had never heard of a paraplegic being able to stand up again. This little doctor was too good at talking big.

Lin Dan didn't mind. She just continued to follow the treatment plan step by step. Finally, one day, she took out a set of gold needles and began to wipe and disinfect them one by one, slowly saying: "These days, I have been massaging you, which helps to circulate blood and disperse blood clots as well as clear your meridians. I also had you take medicine every day to nourish your essence and repair your marrow. Now, your bone foundation is strong, so you might be able to withstand my acupuncture method. This method is divided into two steps. First, with the Mingmen (life gate), Changqiang (tailbone), and Jizhong (middle of the spine) points: cover with an medicinal tablet and moxibustion* base and heat thoroughly. Second, with the Shenshu (kidney acupoint), Huantiao (ring jump), Juegu (extinction bone) points: using a stable and nurturing technique, insert the needles, leaving them in for three quarters of an hour. We will do this once a day for seven consecutive days, then see if we need to adjust the course of treatment. Do you understand?"

Moxibustion is a type of treatment in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) where herbs are burned close to the skin's surface. I took some translation liberties because the author's description of the treatment is similar to moxibustion, even though she never used the term.

Niu Dabao didn't understand a single word, but he nodded and said, "I understand."

The doorway of his house was crowded with people, pointing at the gold needles in Lin Dan's hand and saying, "Look, this doctor is actually using gold needles. She's truly well-off!"

"She's far more than just well-off, she's practically filthy rich! I heard that in order to treat Niu Dabao, she sent good rice and dishes, ginseng and deer antler every day. What is she after? Could it be that she took a fancy to Niu Dabao?"

The two guards standing guard at the doorway drew out their sabers from their waist, their faces filled with anger. The crowd of people whose tongues were wagging immediately shrank their necks and fled as if there was a demon after them.

Mrs. Niu finally breathed a sigh of relief, no longer worrying that the villagers' gossip would drive the little doctor away.

Lin Dan didn't hear what the crowd said at all. She just concentrated on rolling the medicinal tablet single-mindedly. After rolling, she put one on several key acupoints and lit them. When the youth felt that he couldn't endure the heat anymore, she extinguished them and crushed the moxibustion base so that it stuck on the skin. She wrapped it with gauze and left it for eight hours.

After finishing the moxibustion treatment, she took out the gold needles, supplemented them with internal energy, and plunged them into the key acupoints one by one, some of which were death points. Ordinary doctors would never dare to insert needles here, but Lin Dan was not afraid at all, her hands steady as a rock.

Literally "Pill-Fire Heat Penetration Treatment"

The two guards standing at the doorway both knew martial arts and had some understanding of the acupuncture points of the human body, so they could not help wrinkling their brow upon seeing this scene. But it was strange – several death points had been punctured by gold needles, yet the young man was still lying on the bed, alive, without any abnormality.

Every time Lin Dan placed a gold needle, she would gently twist the end of the needle. When she finished piercing all the acupoints, dozens of gold needles quivered and let out a faint hum, as if they were alive.

"The needles keep moving! What's happening?" Mrs. Niu's eyes were round, her expression stupefied.

It was the first time the two guards had ever seen this type of phenomenon, so they could not help but take two steps forward, observing carefully.

"It's nothing. After three quarters of an hour, the gold needles will naturally stop vibrating. Then I can pull them out." Lin Dan waved her hand, unconcerned. The energy she injected into the gold needles rammed into the acupuncture point, naturally causing the end of the needles to slightly tremble.

Mrs. Niu nodded again and again, half believing and half doubting. The two guards watched intently, not realizing that they had big beads of sweat dripping from their foreheads, as if they were even more nervous than the patient.

A quarter of an hour passed, and Niu Dabao didn't feel anything; after half an hour, he began to scratch the bed board restlessly; after three quarters of an hour, he finally opened his mouth, his heart filled with hope: "Mom, I feel pins and needles in my legs! I'm not dreaming, am I?"

"Dabao, where do you feel the pins and needles? Point it out so Mom can see." Mrs. Niu rushed over but did not dare to touch her son at all.

Niu Dabao was lying flat and couldn't see his legs, so he could only raise his hand, pointing toward one spot and saying, "Mom, it's prickling here. It almost feels like there are ants under my skin. It hurts so much." Even though it was painful, he had a smile in his eyes. It had been so long since he had any sensation in his legs at all.

Mrs. Niu took a closer look toward where her son was pointing. There happened to be a gold needle there. In other words, it wasn't that he was hallucinating out of expectation, but that Miss Lin's acupuncture was really effective!

Thanks be to the heavens, thanks be to the earth, thanks be to Buddha, thanks be to Miss Lin! Mrs. Niu folded her hands together to worship, then kowtowed to Lin Dan, choking with emotion, and said, "Dabao, you're not dreaming, the doctor placed a needle where you feel the prickling. You must endure and not touch anything randomly!"

Niu Dabao's eyes flashed brightly and he immediately stopped moving.

Lin Dan helped Mrs. Niu up. Then, she took out a small notebook, carefully recorded her treatment methods, and asked what the patient felt in detail. From beginning to end, her face was tense. The more she came to this type of moment, the more sober and calm she became, lest something go wrong. Instead of adopting her ancestor's treatment method as it was, she had made some additions and changes. Her method was a little radical and risky, but it worked quickly. She seemed to naturally be more steady, careful, and audacious than ordinary people. Even if there was no road ahead, she could use a machete to hack open a path.

After three quarters of an hour, when the gold needles stopped vibrating one by one, she efficiently pulled them out. Then, she prescribed a dose of yang-nurturing anti-coagulant decoction and told Niu Dabao to brew it with water and drink it, then drink the dregs. After seven days, it would be switched out with a new prescription.

"Seven days is one course of treatment. I have drawn up four courses for you. After I leave, Mrs. Niu, continue massaging his legs. Don't slack off." Lin Dan picked up the medicine chest and exhorted seriously.

"Thank you, Miss Lin, thank you, Miss Lin! Don't worry, I will do everything you say!" Mrs. Niu nodded again and again emotionally.

Lin Dan finally left, and the two guards following her looked at her straight back with reverence. When Miss Lin first said that she would cure the general, they thought she was casually saying that just to stay in Xue Manor and continue in her extravagant lifestyle. But now that they looked at it again, they realized how superficial and disrespectful their understanding of her had been!

What the general said about her was true – she was someone with a spine of steel who never spoke empty words, and far more responsible than Second Young Master! In order to send her away, Madam Xue gave her five hundred taels of silver banknotes. She didn't spend a single penny of it on herself, spending it all on the general and other patients instead. If she was greedy for wealth, why would she have done that?

Second Young Master even snubbed such a good young lady. He was simply blind as a mole!Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at Novel Multiverse – "NovelMultiverse dot com"

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By the third course of treatment, Niu Dabao was able to hold onto the wall and walk a few steps. The remaining course of treatment would just consolidate the effect without any risks. So far, Lin Dan had collected a thick pile of data, all of which were her insights and notes written down during the course of treatment. With this, curing Brother should be within her grasp.

On this day, she said goodbye to Niu Dabao and Mrs. Niu, and after collecting enough herbs, hurried back home. She waited for Xue Boyong to finish dinner, clasped his hand, and said carefully: "Brother, starting today, I will begin treating your legs."

Xue Boyong had already heard from the two guards. He knew what Lin Dan had been doing in Fengtian Province, so he wasn't surprised.

"Then I'll leave it to you." He reversed the grip and held Lin Dan's hand, his eyes full of trust.

"Brother, the method I use is comparatively risky. If you have internal strength, don't circulate it to resist, just accept mine calmly. After the first course of treatment, you should have a feeling of pins and needles in your legs; after the second course of treatment is over, the sensation in both legs should be mostly restored; and after the third course of treatment, you should be able to stand up and walk a few steps by yourself. However, Brother's body is much more fit than ordinary people, and you have outstanding martial arts skills, so you might not need three or four courses of treatment. Just one or two courses of treatment might already have amazing efficacy." Lin Dan said calmly.

"Okay, I understand. Whether I'm cured or not, I will be okay with the outcome. Don't feel too much pressure." Xue Boyong took out his handkerchief and wiped the beads of sweat off the girl's forehead. It was already midwinter, and even if the brazier was lit, it was still very cold inside. But Lin Dan, without realizing it, was covered in sweat. It could be seen that she was extremely tense. However, the guards said that when she treated that young man in Fengtian Province, she was cool-headed from start to finish, never once revealing an unconfident attitude. That's why it's said that care creates panic; when all was said and done, treating irrelevant people versus treating loved ones were two completely different things.

Thinking of this, Xue Boyong chuckled twice, his expression becoming more and more gentle. Lin Dan snatched his handkerchief and wiped the back of her neck as well, causing his low smile to grow into a wide one.

A guard standing at the door suddenly said, "General, this is a significant matter. Shall we inform Old Madam and Madam and write a letter to the marshall general?" Marshall General Xue had returned to the manor once. After he had seen Lin Dan taking excellent care of his son, he left feeling reassured. But now that he had gone back to the border, he would not be able to come back home for a year or two even if he wanted to.

"No need to tell them. Grandmother is getting old. A rollercoaster of emotions will harm her health. My mother has an anxious temperament and will keep it on her mind all day long. Might as well wait for me to make a full recovery, then get up and walk in front of them." Xue Boyong waved his hand to refuse. But the most important reason was that he didn't want to give Lin Dan too much pressure or have so many people to show up in front of her and disturb her composure.

The guard nodded and no longer brought up reporting to the main courtyard.

Lin Dan asked Xue Boyong to take off his shirt and trousers and lay down on the bed with only a pair of shorts on. She was about to rub the medicinal tablet when she heard him speak in a deep tone: "When you treated that Niu Dabao kid, was he also in this state of dress?"

"Of course." Lin Dan blinked, her expression innocent.

Xue Boyong secretly gritted his teeth but didn't say anything else. The heart of the doctor was like a parent. In the face of human life and death, the differences between men and women are set aside, and this little girl didn't do anything wrong. He forced himself to ease back with great effort, and his face finally softened.

Lin Dan had no idea what Xue Boyong was thinking. She just focused on rolling the medicinal tablets, placing the moxibustion base on his key points and lighting them. After they were heated thoroughly, she administered the needles. Brother's physique was indeed many times better than Niu Dabao's. As soon as the gold needles began to vibrate, he already had a reaction. His paralyzed legs started twitching uncontrollably.

"General, how do you feel?" All of the guards who had been standing guard outside the courtyard gathered at the doorway, looking at him nervously and expectantly.

The feeling of being bitten by ants was obviously uncomfortable, but compared to not being able to feel anything at all, the current suffering was almost a delight. Xue Boyong gritted his teeth and said, "I'm very good. I've never been better!"

"Brother, do you feel a slight prickling sensation right now?" Lin Dan gently twisted the end of the needle.

"It's not just a slight prickling, it's a very severe acidic soreness, like there are countless ants digging into my flesh." Xue Boyong was unable to take his eyes off Lin Dan, lifting his cuffs to wipe the beads of sweat on her forehead.

Lin Dan didn't evade either, but instead tilted her head and rubbed her face against his sleeve. She was currently twisting the end of the needles with both hands, using the tremor of the needles to monitor the situation of the internal energy rushing the acupuncture point. She had no effort to spare handling the sweat she was soaked with.

Xue Boyong was amused by her kitten-like movement. Even if his legs were screaming in pain and his mind was tossing and surging violently, when he compared all of that to the solid person in front of his eyes, everything else seemed to fade into the background. He often said that he didn't care whether this pair of legs were cured or not. He said this so that Lin Dan would not study until she burned out and not put too much pressure on herself, and they were not empty words. It was good to be healed, but even if he wasn't healed, his life was also very satisfying and happy.

Lin Dan didn't expect Xue Boyong's reaction to be so strong and broke out in cold sweat. When treating Niu Dabao, she could be as calm as water, but seeing Brother suffer with her own eyes, she felt extremely uncomfortable and even had an indescribable sense of panic.

"Brother, hold on, you just need to get through it." She murmured these words repeatedly, not knowing whether she was comforting her brother or herself.

Xue Boyong immediately suppressed his look of pain and then tried his best to control his twitching legs, soothing her: "I feel much better."

"Really?" Lin Dan looked at the gold needles trembling incessantly with a somewhat uncertain expression.

"It's really not painful anymore, and not numb either… my legs are beginning to have sensation." Xue Boyong smiled slightly, as if pleasantly surprised.

Lin Dan finally breathed a huge sigh of relief and sighed, "No wonder there's that saying in the field, 'a doctor cannot heal oneself.' My heart was so chaotic just now, I almost messed things up."

Xue Boyong took her hand and patted it lightly. He instantly felt like his pain was gone, leaving only warmth and joy.

After another three quarters of an hour, the gold needles stopped quivering. After pulling out the needles, Lin Dan brewed a bowl of medicine for Xue Boyong, personally watched him take it, lay down, and close his eyes, before she returned to her room feeling relieved. But what she didn't know was that after she left, Xue Boyong sat up again, rubbing his sore and prickling legs, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

Half a month later, Xue Boyong began to go out frequently. Old Madam and Madam Xue sent people to inquire about the situation, but only got the reply that he was "going out to relax," with no other information, so they could only let him be. Going out of the Xue Manor was a good thing, much better than being shut up at home.

Lin Dan went out to practice medicine every day as usual, only coming back after dark. Old Madam didn't care, but Madam Xue was not very happy. She often wanted to summon her to the main courtyard to reprimand her. But whichever servant girl she sent to bring her would be given a severe tongue lashing by Eldest Young Master, and they always came back to report weeping. Eldest Young Master's protection of Lin Dan had almost reached the point of not distinguishing between black and white, right and wrong. He supported everything Lin Dan wanted to do and gave her whatever she wanted without even asking for a reason.

In just a short dozen days, half of the rooms in Xiaofeng Pavilion were converted into herb warehouses by Lin Dan. The courtyard was covered with various herbs drying in the sun; the smell could fumigate a person to death. Not only did Xue Boyong not stop her, he also bought a small courtyard belonging to the family next door, saying that he wanted to break down the courtyard wall and build more warehouses for Lin Dan to store herbs in.

Madam Xue sometimes even thought: If Lin Dan wanted her son's life, he might be willing to give it up to her, right? He was simply poisoned by Lin Dan!

Thus far, Lin Dan's influence on Xue Boyong had already reached a level that no one could replace. When she was in the manor, he was full of smiles. When she was not in the manor, he had a stoic expression, not saying a single word, neither happy nor angry, frighteningly cold. What's more, he would be too lazy to stay in the manor. Lin Dan went out on the front foot, and he also left on the back foot, only coming back with Lin Dan after evening fell. When he was being helped down from the carriage by the guards, his face was full of gentle smiles, as if he were a completely different person.

Madam Xue looked on helplessly as her son relied more and more on Lin Dan. She didn't know whether to dissuade him or let him do what he wanted. She ran to Old Madam to tell her about it, but Old Madam waved her hand and gave her one sentence: "The younger generation will do all right on their own." So, Madam Xue also stopped worrying about it and let them do what they wished.

The elder son's future seemed to have been settled, but a problem occurred on the younger son's side. He stopped going to the barracks, stopped doing work, staying at home drinking himself drunk all day. Madam Xue didn't need to think hard to know that Wu Xuancao must have made some drama that caused her youngest son to suffer.

She was just preparing to have a heart-to-heart with her youngest son and help him resolve his grief when Wu Xuancao, whom she hadn't seen for a long time, came to the door by herself and even brought a lot of gifts. Madam Xue desperately wanted to inquire about the situation, but her younger son locked her outside the door. The two talked secretly for a while, then reconciled as before, making Madam Xue so angry her face flipped. She deeply hated that her belly was so unsatisfactory: the two sons she gave birth to were both so boneless. As long as a woman coaxed them for a bit, they became so confused that they didn't know which way was north!

Since then, Wu Xuancao often came to the Xue Manor to have fun. One day, she coincidentally rescued the eldest grandson of the second branch who had fallen into the pond in a moment of inattentiveness. The second branch shed tears of gratitude and felt extremely indebted to her. Whenever she came, the old madam of the second branch and their eldest daughter-in-law would personally accompany her, treating her like a valued guest. They even, from time to time, asked Old Madam when she and Xue Jiming would hold their wedding.

Although Madam Xue was very sullen, she was also grateful for Wu Xuancao's life-saving grace and did not reject her as much as before.

One day, Wu Xuancao heard that Xue Boyong's wheelchair was broken and was going to be taken to a carpenter's shop for repair, so she volunteered to help take a look. Since the wheelchair was invented by her and the Second Young Master brought her over in person, the guards dared not obstruct them and invited them into Xiaofeng Pavilion.

Wu Xuancao looked at the wheelchair and said that she could repair it, but she had no tools at hand, so she had the guards go find some. The guards did not suspect her and quickly departed. Wu Xuancao made another excuse to send Xue Jiming away, then quickly ran into Lin Dan's study and immediately trained her eyes on a big mahogany chest traced with gold.

A thought violently reverberated in her mind— yes, it was this chest! What you want is in here!Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at Novel Multiverse – "NovelMultiverse dot com"

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Wu Xuancao reached out, as if bewitched, to lift the lid of the chest, but failed to move it a few times, only to discover that there was a copper lock hanging on it. She was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly stood up and rummaged through the room for the key, not letting off the drawers, vases, and even floor tiles.

While she was rummaging through the bookshelf, Xue Jiming came back, frowned and said, "What are you doing?"

She immediately pulled out a medical book from the shelf, pretending to be overjoyed: "Jiming, look, theMyriad Medical Canonthat I have been seeking for a while is here! Miss Lin's book collection is really extensive. I caught a few glances from outside the window, the tip of my heart caught fire, and I walked in. You also know that Physician Zheng and I are now studying your eldest brother's pulse day and night and we have a faint idea of what to do. After reading this book just now, I had some inspiration. I know what method to use now."

"What method?" Xue Jiming's eyes lit up.

"Moxibustion, accompanied by acupuncture, should be able to cure your eldest brother's legs. Jiming, look, Miss Lin's place is filled with books about moxibustion and acupuncture, more than Physician Zheng's and my collection combined. If we could have the opportunity to study a few books, there might even be a breakthrough." Wu Xuancao said heavily, as if making a promise.

"Really? Then just go ahead and read them!" Xue Jiming waved his hand generously.

Wu Xuancao pointed to that chest and said, "Are there also medical books in here?"

"Yes, the medical books in here are the late Physician Lin's treasures. When I was young, I remember seeing him take them out to dry in the sun." Xue Jiming drew out his dagger and directly pried the copper lock open.

Wu Xuancao immediately crowded around it, feigning curiosity and flipping through the medical books, but her fingertips felt all around the bottom and top of the chest. She had clearly never seen this chest before, but she knew where the hidden compartment was installed, as if a supernatural force was guiding her to find what was originally hers. Very quickly, she found a double layer at the bottom of the chest. But she pretended not to know, guiding Xue Jiming to discover it, then borrowing his hand to retrieve the Lin family's ancestral medical books.

Looking at this set of medical books with covers sewn from blue silk, Wu Xuancao swallowed her saliva and felt her heart beating violently. Yes, this was it! The things that should have belonged to her since long ago had now returned to her hands! She couldn't wait to flip open the title page and was about to take a closer look, but, unexpectedly, Lin Dan came back early, throwing a pebble that hit her on the wrist and caused the book to fall.

"Who allowed you to touch my things?" She strode in, wrapping the whole set of medical books in fabric and holding them tightly in her hands.

"Miss Lin, you're back. Can you lend me this set of medical books to look through? I can just flip through them here and not take them away, is that okay? I promise to give it back to you after only taking a glance, a quarter of an hour is enough, really." Wu Xuancao tried to humble herself as much as possible.

"No." Lin Dan looked around at the overturned study with a frigid expression.

When Xue Jiming saw that Wu Xuancao's wrist was red and swollen due to being hit by the stone, he immediately became angry, stretching out his hand to seize the books and cursing: "Lin Dan, these books are worthless in your hands, so why can't you let Xiao Cao'er take a look? Don't you remember that when we were small and didn't have the strength to chop firewood, you were going to burn these books and roast sparrows for me? If my father hadn't scolded you, how could they still be here safe and sound? You never cared about them, so why are they so precious to you now? Are you deliberately making things difficult for Xiao Cao'er?"

Hearing that the original host had wanted to burn these books as kindling, Lin Dan's expression distorted for a moment. Wu Xuancao was also a little speechless and her decision to seize control of the medical books became even firmer.

The two people began to fight in the study, but Xue Jiming was obviously not Lin Dan's opponent and she shook his arm off two or three times, causing him to wail in pain. Lin Dan didn't even look at him, just glared at Wu Xuancao coldly and said, "Get lost!"

Wu Xuancao helped Xue Jiming out. Before leaving, she glanced back with a treacherous light in her eyes.

Lin Dan cleaned up the disheveled study and was about to find a new place to hide her family's ancestral treasures, but she saw a maid walk in, saying that Old Madam was looking for her. She put the books in the basket on her back and strode over, passing through the Wisteria* Door. From afar, she saw the main hall, doors wide open, only to find that Madam Xue, the old madam of the second branch, and several sisters-in-law were all there, as if they wanted to interrogate her.

Literally "drooping flower."

Xue Jiming, arm drooping, said with conviction, "Grandmother, Mom, Xiao Cao'er is extremely intelligent and skilled in medicine. She already has a clue about how to treat Brother. Lin Dan's medical books are exactly what she needs to make more headway. Lin Dan, that dead girl, said that she wanted to study medicine, going out to practice every day, but who knows what she can do messing around like that. I've never heard anyone say that she has ever cured anyone. It can be seen that she's dull and has no aptitude; she will never make any achievements. Those medical books are wasted in her hands anyways, so why can't she lend them to Xiao Cao'er to take a look? If she can receive inspiration and find a way to treat Brother, wouldn't that be an amazing achievement?"

Who knows when he had been invited, but Zheng Zhe, who was also there, stroked his beard and said, "I heard Physician Wu say that Miss Lin has an extremely extensive collection of books. If this old man may be allowed to read one or two, it will certainly allow me to make some progress."

"But those books are the treasures that the late Physician Lin left to the Lin girl." Old Madam said, in a difficult situation.

"Grandmother," Xue Jiming said resentfully, "What treasure or whatever? You don't really think Lin Dan, that wench, treasures those books, do you? If it wasn't for her making the excuse that she's studying medicine so that she could brazenly stay in our house, those medical books would've already been piled up in some storage room somewhere long ago, collecting mold! Have you ever seen her take care of them? Have you seen her study them regularly? When she was younger, she even tore those books to fold little origami stars!"

Zheng Zhe and Wu Xuancao frowned upon hearing this, their expressions filled with pain, and Old Madam finally seemed to soften.

Madam Xue considered it and said, "How about I make an executive decision to loan these medical books to the two honorable physicians? We can just make it so that you're not taking all of them away; just borrow five copies at a time and send them back after you've finished reading them."

Old Madam finally nodded and said: "Let's do it like that. Which books do you two want to borrow? Give me a list. With my old face* the Lin girl will not be able to disagree."

face, referring to reputation, standing; old refers to her seniority. Together, it also refers to her authority.

They took it for granted that Lin Dan was still the same Lin Dan as before, placing no value on these medical books, so they thought it would be easy to persuade her. People were all selfish. If only this matter didn't involve Xue Boyong's legs, they would just sit on the sidelines observing. But Zheng Zhe and Wu Xuancao kept saying that these medical books were useful for Xue Boyong, so they would make every attempt to get them for the two of them no matter what. In any case, Lin Dan didn't have the talent to study medicine and the books would only be gathering mold in her hands, so why not give it to others?

Every person in the room had their own thoughts and calculations, but no one considered Lin Dan's feelings and wishes. Hearing up to here, everything Lin Dan wanted to say disappeared, and she silently walked in, kowtowed three times to Old Madam, and said, "Many thanks to Old Madam for disregarding past enmity and allowing me to stay in the manor. Now that my mission has been completed, I will take my leave." Then she left Xue Manor with big strides, carrying only a bamboo basket and a small hoe, not even taking a change of clothes.

Old Madam and Madam Xue fell into a daze for a long time before their spirit returned to their bodies, and they quickly ordered people to chase after her. However, Lin Dan practiced medicine in the wilderness every day; her pace was fast and she had long since vanished into the street, leaving only an empty Xiaofeng Pavilion and a courtyard full of drying herbs.

Xue Jiming's dislocated arm had already been relocated by Zheng Zhe, and he sneered as he rotated his shoulder: "Why chase after her? She didn't bring a single penny and will come back by herself sooner or later. Do you really think she is willing to give up the glory and wealth of Xue Manor?"

"That's enough, stop talking!" Madam Xue's heart was in a mess and she didn't know how she would explain everything to her eldest son when he came back. She had no choice but to admit that the current Lin Dan was the apple of Eldest Son's eye. He would be willing to lose anything in the world except for her. If he knew that people in the manor had joined forces to pressure Lin Dan until she left, who knew how furious he would be.

Old Madam clutched her chest and murmured, "How could the Lin girl leave so easily without any compromise? I thought she had changed for the better, but I didn't expect her temper to be more stubborn than before."

A senior maid added fuel to the fire: "Old Madam, Miss Lin has had a good life. You used to be the one spoiling her; then, when she entered Xiaofeng Pavilion, Eldest Young Master also spoiled her. Naturally, this temper of hers became more and more headstrong, to the point where she refuses to listen to a single rebuke."

"Isn't it just borrowing a few books, why be like this?" Old Madam sighed again and again, with a distressed and bitter look on her face.

Wu Xuancao did not care about the turn of events just now. She insistently said: "Old Madam, Madam, can we still borrow Miss Lin's books?"

"Borrow them, of course you can borrow them, you can just go find them yourselves. When you have picked them out, it would be better if you made a list of which ones you took. In the future, when the Lin girl returns, I will give her the list for her to check, or else she might lose her temper again. Don't worry, she won't be away for long. She has no money, no place to stay, no food to eat; she will be back in at most four hours."

If it had been the original host, Old Madam's analysis would be absolutely, one hundred percent prophetic. But right now, the one who left was Lin Dan. If they wanted her to come back, it would probably be impossible in this lifetime. The original host's debt had been paid off in full. She and Xue Manor owed nothing to each other, so if she could cast off those fetters, why wouldn't she do so? When she leaves, there is a vast sky waiting for her, and she will naturally spread her wings and fly higher and higher.

After leaving Xue Manor, she picked out a few taels of silver from her purse, planning to conveniently find a cheap inn to stay in and then make money practicing medicine. After she had saved up enough money, she would open a clinic and become an in-house physician. As soon as she walked out of the south side of the city, a fast horse rushed straight toward her. Seated on the horse was a young man with red lips and white teeth, extremely feminine-looking. He kept brandishing his whip and shouting, not at all concerned about the safety of pedestrians.

Seeing that the horse's hooves were about to trample a woman to death, Lin Dan hurriedly ran over and pushed the woman, but startled the horse, causing the boy to be thrown into the air. As Lin Dan subconsciously caught the other party, she accidentally put her hands on the boy's chest, and, feeling a soft, plump sensation, was momentarily stunned. Although the young man had an appearance as beautiful as a sunrise and a gentle and feminine temperament, he had an obvious Adam's apple on his neck. He was clearly male! Out of a doctor's intuition, she immediately put two fingers on the boy's wrist to check his pulse.

The teenager struggled as he got up, covering his chest tightly, and saying venomously, "I'm going to kill you! Come, someone tie her up for me and take her back to the manor!"

The several guards who rushed over behind him immediately whipped out their sabers from their waist and pointed them at Lin Dan's neck. Lin Dan originally thought about resisting, but her eyeballs turned* and she willingly froze, then obediently followed the group to leave.

This turn of phrase means that a person has an idea or a sly or clever thought.

Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at Novel Multiverse – "NovelMultiverse dot com"

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137

Lin Dan was escorted into a manor with her hands tied. As she walked through the front gate, she lifted her head and glanced up. Seeing a signboard hanging from the beam with "Xuanping* Marquis Manor" written in big characters, she immediately understood in her heart. In the original host's memory, this Xuanping Marquis was the number one soft rice* king in Great Qin. Relying on his pretty face, he won the favor of the eldest princess. He married up, jumping from being the down-and-out son of a petty official to Xuanping Marquis in one leap in a meteoric rise. But he had a licentious nature and couldn't control his lower body. Even though he married a princess, he still didn't change his dissolute and fickle instincts, attracting peach blossoms everywhere.

A title meaning "widespread peace."

Slang word referring to a man who leeches on a woman. He usually comes from a poorer background, is unemployed, and waits for his woman to earn a living and sometimes even do the chores. Bonus points if he's also a cheater.

In the beginning, the eldest princess ruthlessly resolved each and every case, dealing with all of the women he attracted. A wedge was driven between husband and wife and they lost their affections for each other. He was honest for a few years and then reached his branches out again – no longer daring to loiter in brothels, he turned to find girls from respectable families. His face really was that handsome, and, adding his luxurious attire and aristocratic mannerisms, as soon as he hooked his finger, women were fooled. One after another, they fell into his embrace, wave after wave.

He raised five or six mistresses in a row and made seven or eight illegitimate children. When he didn't have enough money, he went back to the manor to ask the eldest princess for more. Whether he lied or coaxed her, he would always get gold, silver, and jewelry from the eldest princess to support his mistresses. The eldest princess wasn't an idiot either. She quickly realized what was happening. Her heart finally cooled to ash and she closed the door to focus on raising her single young son by herself, never again caring about his romantic affairs.

But Xuanping Marquis took this as a sign that the princess had compromised, so he brought back his mistresses one by one and brazenly kept them in the manor. The eldest princess had nothing to say. She merely sneered and divided the Xuanping Marquis manor – which is to say, her own princess manor – into two. She occupied the majority of the residence, leaving only a small square courtyard for Xuanping Marquis and his women and children to live in. She completely stopped caring about their food, clothing, and other living expenses and made Xuanping Marquis take care of them with his own salary.

Xuanping Marquis' salary was only a little more than fifty taels a month, which wasn't even enough for his own expenditures, so how could he afford to provide for so many people? He immediately started kicking up a fuss, crying and shouting to apologize to the eldest princess in an attempt to reconcile with her. But the eldest princess had already lost all of her feelings for him. If it weren't for her son needing to smoothly inherit the marquis position in the future, she would've kicked him out long ago.

Presumably, this young man in front of her, whose appearance looked like spring flowers, must be the only son of the eldest princess, Zhu Yimin, that is, the heir of the Xuanping Marquis. He often went in and out of the palace and was doted on by the emperor, but he seldom went out and about and did not like to participate in social activities. Therefore, the original host did not know much about him.

But what kind of person he was was not important to Lin Dan. She only knew that he was a patient urgently needing treatment, and that was enough. After being locked in the woodshed, she found a haystack and lay down, feeling very calm.

On the other side, the little prince clutched his chest and ran into the main courtyard with a deathly pale face, wailing and shouting, "Mom, Mom, something bad happened! You have to save your child!" At this time, where was his brash, domineering, ruthless, and vicious style? He was clearly only a little kid who was scared out of his wits.

The eldest princess put down her teacup heavily and scolded: "Haven't I told you to be calm and steady at all times? Even if the sky is falling, there are tall people to hold it up. What are you afraid of? Didn't I tell you not to go out whenever you wanted? Why didn't you listen?"

"I, I thought that winter clothes were thicker, so most people shouldn't be able to see it." The little prince gripped his collar tightly with tears in his eyes: "I didn't think that my horse would be frightened and gallop chaotically downtown, almost trampling someone to death. I also fell off the horse and was rescued by a little girl. The little girl touched my chest; she probably knows something now. Mom, what should I do? She did save me, after all. I can't just kill her to keep my secret, can I?"

The eldest princess rubbed the middle of her eyebrows with a gloomy expression. What she feared the most had finally happened. Her son had originally been perfectly all right, but for some unknown reason, his chest became plumper day by day and his lower body also hurt so much that it basically lost its function. Since then, his skin was glossy and smooth, his facial hair didn't grow, and his features became more and more beautiful, as if his gender had changed. Seeing that his chest was getting bigger and bigger, to the point where he could no longer cover it, the eldest princess was so worried that her hair almost whitened overnight.

Her son's illness could never be made known to outsiders. Otherwise, it would be impossible to keep his title of heir, and he might even be accused of being a demon and then be burned to death. Thinking of such an outcome, the eldest princess shuddered and didn't dare to invite an imperial physician for him at all, lest any news be leaked. These days, she had been thinking about whether she needed to go to another country to find a doctor, but she didn't expect an accident to happen so quickly.

"Where is she? What's her background?" The eldest princess smacked the table and said: "No, Bengong* has to personally go and see."

"This palace," one of the various royal "I"s used in Chinese. This one is often used by female royalty.

The capital was said to be a small world, but it could also be said to be a big world. You could casually walk around the street a few times and meet one or two powerful people, so prudence in conduct was extremely necessary. The eldest princess dared not dispose of people at will, lest small matters became big problems, and big problems became never ending issues. She hurriedly arrived at the woodshed, even forgetting to open her umbrella. She cut a sorry figure with her hair and skin covered with snowflakes, which her two most trusted senior palace maids were wiping off of her with handkerchiefs. All of the surrounding guards were sent away to avoid having too many people, as there could be spies mixed in with the crowd.

Zhu Yimin hid behind the eldest princess and peeked out at Lin Dan, his expression a little ashamed.

"Which family are you from?" The eldest princess walked slowly to Lin Dan's side and looked down at her with drooping eyes.

"It doesn't matter who I am. All you need to know is that I can cure your son's illness." Lin Dan opened her eyes. Seeing the blushing cheeks of the indescribably beautiful eldest princess, she couldn't help staring blankly.

The eldest princess's heart skipped a beat, but she grit her teeth and said, "How come Bengong didn't know that my son is ill?" This little girl was only seventeen or eighteen years old, yet as soon as she opened her mouth, she said that she could cure this unusual illness. She wouldn't be a swindler, would she? Before she found out her background, the eldest princess would never let down her guard.

Lin Dan stared at the eldest princess attentively, and said confidently: "Not only can I cure your son's illness, but I can also cure yours."

Zhu Yimin said in surprise: "How come I didn't know that my mom is ill?"

Lin Dan chuckled, thinking that this mother-son duo was really interesting. Even their wording was the same.

The eldest princess patted her son's head, her tone frozen: "That's right, how come Bengong didn't know that I'm ill, but you already know about it?"

Lin Dan got up from the haystack, saluted and said, "No need to put on a brave face, Your Royal Majesty. Although your majesty's complexion is tender and pink, as colorful as peaches and plums, having an appearance of health, your majesty has actually been plagued with a serious illness for many years. If I'm not mistaken, ever since you gave birth to the little prince, I'm afraid your majesty hasn't had a good night's rest ever since, am I right?"

The two senior palace maids' pupils flickered slightly, and they tried their best to hold back from glancing at their master.

The eldest princess remained unmoved and sneered coldly: "Oh? Tell me more. Where is Bengong ill?"

Zhu Yimin promptly jumped out and hollered: "Yeah, where is my mom ill? You list all of the ins and outs for me right now. If you're wrong, I'll have people kill you right away!"

Lin Dan didn't even look at this toothless little unweaned puppy who liked to bounce around. She just stared at the eldest princess and gently said: "Your Majesty's complexion is flushed red, not because of the cold frost and snow, but rather because of internal fire ascending in your body. During a cold day in winter, your majesty is wrapped in thick clothes, but you only wear a pair of thin unpadded shoes – and yet your legs and feet show no signs of being frozen stiff at all. It can be seen that internal fire is tossing about in the Shaoyin (minor yin) acupoint in the foot, along the kidney meridian, to the well acupoint* with no way out. It rushes to the head and face, which is actually because the scorching yang energy is too weak to control the kidney yin energy, causing the yin fire to boil up and the soles of your feet to burn hot. If I'm not mistaken, deep into the night, every night, the heat will burn blazing hot in the soles of your majesty's feet, which must disturb you so much that your majesty can't get a peaceful night's rest. When you're exposed to even a little bit of cold, your knees will feel awfully sore and cold to the bone. When it's severe, even standing is out of the question, and you need to lie in bed all day long recuperating. Your majesty's yin fire is vigorous, so your complexion is rosy and your eyes are clear, as if extremely healthy, but your majesty's root bones have actually been almost boiled dry, isn't that right?"*

A transitional acupuncture point found in the fingertips and toe tips.

Translator's note: (My family does TCM, so I will try my best to explain.) All of this talk about fire, energy, yin, yang, all of that refers to qi (aka chi, internal energy). Yin is negative energy, yang is positive energy. According to TCM, yin and yang need to be in balance for optimum health. If either one starts overpowering the other, illness sets in. In the eldest princess' case, her yin energy (associated with her kidneys) is much stronger than the yang energy. When yin energy is too strong, a corrupted version of yang energy, which is this scorching or burning internal heat, rises up, which is why it's very common for people who have sleep problems (associated with the kidneys/yin) to have hot feet. (The meridians of the kidney run down to the feet.) Also, since she has an overload of yin energy in her body, even the slightest bit more cold or yin energy will make things much worse.

The eldest princess finally showed a surprised look, but she still couldn't bring herself to believe that the little girl in front of her could see through her illness at a glance. That's right, she really had been ill for more than a dozen years. Every night, she had to stick her feet out of the quilt and put them on cold jade in order to fall asleep, but she couldn't stay asleep for more than a few hours because she was constantly awakened by the scalding heat. Her appetite grew weaker and her body became skinnier day by day. Whenever she felt even a little cold, her knees seemed to be wrapped in a layer of ice, both sore and cold, but the soles of her feet felt like she was stepping on hot coals, making her want to jump up. That feeling was truly so painful she had a hard time describing it.

Bystanders said her complexion looked good, but they would never have guessed that she was terminally ill! She invited countless imperial doctors and drank countless decoctions, but there was no effect at all and she gradually despaired.

"So what if you're right? Even imperial physicians can't cure this disease. Don't tell me that you can cure it?" The eldest princess's hoarse voice hid her anxiety.

Lin Dan took a whiff of the strong smell of herbs on her body, then shook her head and said, "It's not that they can't cure it, but that they used the wrong medicine from the very beginning. Your majesty's illness is caused by the rise of yin and the fall of yang. Your majesty's yin fire waxes, your yang fire wanes, yet the imperial physicians' prescriptions nourish yin, supplement your majesty's kidneys, and decrease internal heat, as well as purging your bones by heating them up. This exacerbates your yin fire. How could it have the desired effect? If I smelled it correctly, your majesty has recently changed the prescription and started taking yang boosting, fire scattering soup. Remember, in the philosophy of yin and yang, yang is the root of yin; if you boost yang, yin will grow. The imperial doctors want to boost your majesty's yang fire, which indirectly causes your majesty's yin fire to grow, inversely aggravating your majesty's condition. In this way, even if you undergo dozens more years of treatment, Your Majesty will never make a recovery."

The eldest princess secretly pondered her words, and the more she thought about it, the more she thought it made sense. Her half-believing expression was gradually replaced by her suppressed excitement, and she immediately softened her tone and asked, "May I ask this young lady's name?"

"This subject's surname is Lin. I'm just a novice rural doctor, not worth mentioning." Lin Dan was not being self-deprecating at all. She truly believed that her skill level was still very shallow.

However, the eldest princess absolutely didn't dare to look down on her anymore. She quickly took off her own cloak, draped it over her shoulders, respectfully invited the guest into the main courtyard, offered hot tea, and then finally began to ask about the treatment method. She had been ill for more than a dozen years and this young lady had a way to cure it. If she wanted to treat her son's strange illness, it should be no problem.

The little prince dizzily followed his mom all the way around in a big circle, but he was also faintly aware that there seemed to be hope for him!Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at Novel Multiverse – "NovelMultiverse dot com"

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138

Lin Dan was escorted into Xuanping Marquis Manor all trussed up, but in less than an hour she had been invited to the main courtyard as the eldest princess' respected guest. She drank a bowl of ginger soup to warm her body, then proceeded to dispel the eldest princess' doubts: "In the case of Your Majesty's illness, neither nourishing yin nor nourishing yang will work, or else the symptoms will worsen."

The eldest princess suddenly felt extremely confused, and worriedly said: "None of the usual methods can be used, so how can my illness be treated?" It was only now that she realized that it was not the imperial hospital's physicians that were useless, but her own illness that was too bizarre. It was impossible to treat it like a normal disease.

Lin Dan pondered for a moment, then said slowly: "The Mingmen (life gate) is located in the Xiajiao (lower burner), which contains the true fire* of the human body, the source of qi transformation. Instead of replenishing yin fire or yang fire, I will directly prescribe medicine that acts the Xiajiao to replenish your majesty's true fire. When your true fire grows, yang qi grows, and when yang qi grows, yin fire weakens. When the time comes, your majesty will naturally be cured of all diseases." After her words fell, she rolled up her sleeves and asked politely, "Where is my bamboo basket? My pen, ink, paper, ink-stone, and pulse pillow* are in it. I have to carefully check Your Majesty's pulse before I can formulate a prescription."

One of the "triple burners," the Xiajiao is below the belly button.

True fire is also known as origin qi, and comes from the kidney.

A small pillow to rest patients' wrists on while taking their pulse.

The two senior palace maids hurried to the woodshed and brought all of Lin Dan's belongings, not even daring to overlook the little hoe that had mud all over it.

The eldest princess muttered to herself: "Neither replenishing yang fire nor replenishing yin fire, but directly replenishing true fire? Good, good, Physician Lin really is a brilliant doctor, not conforming to the mold!"

In the Dao of Medicine, the worst habit was to be overly rigid. Many would rather go through many more twists and turns and use a few more types of herbs, all to avoid the most direct path. But Lin Dan was completely different. Her scope of vision and line of thinking, in many cases, could help her discard the surface symptoms and directly see the most essential inner workings. This also caused her prescriptions and acupuncture to be much bolder than ordinary doctors. She might even have come closer to transcendence than that famous, impressive ancestor of hers.

But up until now, she had only practiced medicine in the countryside. Most of the patients she treated were ignorant and inexperienced, sometimes not even aware that they themselves had been suffering from a terminal illness. How would they know what level her medical skill had reached? The patients didn't find anything unusual, and she also had an ancestor shining through the ages that she compared herself to, so she naturally didn't know what realm she was in.

If the treatment plan she had so easily drawn up had been revealed to the public, it would certainly astonish the entire medical world. The other doctors couldn't even find the root of the illness, but she could accurately diagnose it with just a glance and come up with the most efficient treatment method. How extraordinary were her medical skills?

The more the eldest princess thought about it, the hotter her heart became. She pointed at her son and said, "Physician Lin, please take a look at my son's illness. How can he be treated?"

Zhu Yimin hurriedly hid behind his mother, but was forcefully hauled out by the other party and pushed in front of Lin Dan. He hurriedly wrapped one arm around his chest, covering his face with the other, like a young girl who had been harassed.

Lin Dan pulled his hand away and said, "Can you take off your clothes and let me take a look? What are the symptoms and when did they start?"

"The symptoms started two months ago. First, there was dull pain in the lower pouch, with redness and swelling. Soon after, his chest swelled up day by day, his sleep was plagued with dreams, his temper became irritable, his appetite decreased, his stool was hard and dry, the sides of his chest were swollen and unbearably painful, his skin became smooth and glossy, and his facial hair stopped growing." The eldest princess waved her sleeves, and the two senior palace maids immediately captured the little prince and stripped off his clothes in three or two moves.

Zhu Yimin covered his chest with all his might while shrieking, and his white and tender cheeks had become a patch of red. If a bucket of water had been poured over his head right then, he would definitely have given off steam.

"What's the point of covering yourself? What you have, I also have." Lin Dan's one sentence made him shut his mouth completely.

The corner of the eldest princess' mouth twitched, as if she wanted to laugh, but she held herself back. This was the first smile she had shown since her son had fallen ill.

Lin Dan firmly felt the little prince's chest, took his pulse again, and waved her hand: "It's not a big problem, it's just that his yin pouch* has inflammation, and since it hasn't been dealt with for a long time, it led to his yang water* being exhausted. All we need to do is eliminate the inflammation, supplement yang energy, dissolve the stagnant qi in the liver and stomach, and soften the knots and disperse the clots. To help him recover even faster, I can mix a few more doses of Returning Spring powder for him. Add water to give it a pastelike consistency, then apply it on the affected area two times a day, two to four hours each time. The symptoms will be gone within seven days."

These are euphemisms that the author had to censor. Comment on Novel Multiverse if you need clarification.

The eldest princess said with tears of gratitude: "If the symptoms can be eliminated in seven days, my Xuanping Marquis Manor will be in Physician Lin's debt! Many thanks to Physician Lin for disregarding previous conflicts to treat my son's illness, many thanks!"

Zhu Yimin looked at Lin Dan with glistening eyes, looking like he wanted to thank her but was too bashful to open his mouth.

But Lin Dan didn't even look at him. She just took out the pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, wrote a few prescriptions, and had the eldest princess send someone to get the medicine. After all of this, she saluted and said: "Your illnesses are not major problems, but before your symptoms subside, you may not be at ease for me to leave the Marquis Manor. Would you rather arrange for me to stay?"

The eldest princess had just been considering how to go about firmly making her stay without being rude, but she didn't expect her to speak first, which saved a lot of trouble. Even someone as noble as the eldest princess would not dare to casually offend a doctor with such excellent medical skills, but fortunately, the other party could read the situation and was an extremely tactful and clever person – the type that was the easiest to communicate with.

The eldest princess's favorable impression of Lin Dan continued to rise, and she promptly held her hand and said in an intimate tone: "It would be my honor for Physician Lin to be able to stay in the manor. Yaozhu (jade pillar), Pantao (saturn peach), bring Physician Lin back to Furong (cotton rose) Pavilion to wash up!"

Furong Pavilion was the most luxurious courtyard in Xuanping Marquis Manor. Usually, the eldest princess only let the extended royal family spend the night there, yet today she invited Lin Dan to stay there. It could be seen how much she valued Lin Dan.

The two senior palace maids did not dare to neglect anything at all; one helped carry the basket, the other helped carry the hoe, and they led the guest way with the utmost courtesy. The little prince finally softly clung to the eldest princess and asked with tears in his eyes: "Mom, can I really get better? My illness is only caused by inflammation, not yin and yang in one body*?"

A euphemistic way to say hermaphrodite/intersex, where one person has the reproductive organs for both sexes.

"What nonsense are you saying! Physician Lin already said, as long as the inflammation is eliminated, the knots are softened, and the clots are dispersed, you will be fine. If you had yin and yang in one body, wouldn't she have seen it? For now, you just need to calmly stay at home for treatment. Don't run all over the place!" The eldest princess consoled with her mouth, but her heart still hung up high, for fear that Lin Dan had also misdiagnosed. But out of all the doctors she had met, Lin Dan was the one whose words made the most sense and whose vision was the keenest. If she couldn't even believe Lin Dan, she really didn't know who to believe.

Lin Dan found a place to stay, but Xue Manor, on the other hand, had become a complete mess. This was because Xue Boyong hurried back after receiving the news and directly ordered guards to tie Xue Jiming up, hang him on the door beam and flog him with a whip.

Xue Jiming wailed that he was being unjustly punished. His voice was so loud that the whole manor could hear. "Brother, I did everything for your own good! Lin Dan could never understand those books, so why not lend them to Zheng Zhe and Xiao Cao'er to take a look? Their medical skills are better than hers by who knows how many factors. If they have a revelation, they may be able to cure your legs. Good things will only be effective when they are in the hands of people who can recognize good things. Lin Dan pretended to hold those books and read them. It's been more than a year now, and did she achieve anything? Brother, you bite the hand that feeds you and return kindness for malice! It's just a few books, but you're already flogging me with a whip. Don't tell me that in your heart, Lin Dan is even more important than your own brother?"

Old Madam and Madam Xue gathered around Xue Boyong to persuade him to stop, but they did not dare to grab his whip, extremely nervous that they might knock him out of the wheelchair and add injury to injury.

"If you help yourself to someone's things without asking, that's theft. You stole Lin Dan's belongings, but you're still somehow justified?" Xue Boyong laughed grimly: "How do you know that her medical skills are not good? How do you know that those medical books are useless in her hands? Those are the last things her father left her, more precious than any gold, silver, or jewelry! Someone come, go to Xuancao Hall immediately, and bring back all of Lin Dan's belongings. If even one book is missing, it will be on your heads!"

Several guards accepted the order in unison and went out on horseback.

Xue Boyong lifted the hem of his clothes, unhurriedly stood up straight, and said word by word, "My legs have been cured by Lin Dan. From this day on, if anyone makes things difficult for her, it will be the same as disrespecting me. I will not forgive it easily." After he spoke, he threw the nearly broken horse whip aside and left the main courtyard without looking back, his steps steady and stable.

Old Madam and Madam Xue were stunned, Xue Jiming, who was hanging from the beam, was stunned, and all the servants whom he walked past were stunned, each revealing looks of astonishment and disbelief.

"That, is that Eldest Young Master?" A servant girl stammered.

"It's Eldest Young Master, it is! Eldest Young Master's legs have completely recovered and he can walk again!" Someone cheered, rousing the extremely shocked Old Madam and Madam Xue.

It wasn't until now that Old Madam understood why when Lin Dan left, she said that her mission had been completed. It turned out that she had cured Eldest Grandson's legs a long time ago. But she neither asked for repayment, nor became so pleased that she lost her sense of measure, nor broadcasted the news publicly. She still took care of Eldest Grandson as meticulously as always, and quietly went out to practice medicine and save people. Without those medical books, she would not have made the accomplishments that she had today, and Eldest Grandson would not have recovered to the healthy state he was in today. All of those were the treasures left to her by her father. They were inherited skills passed down through the family. How could others be allowed to covet them?

But they not only enabled Wu Xuancao and Zheng Zhe, but even took the initiative to lend her family treasures out. Wasn't this forgetting favors and violating justice, destroying the bridge after crossing the river? Lin Dan was so angry that she left. When she did, she cast away all of the books her family left her, showing that her heart had become completely cold to the Xue Manor. She had already thoroughly inherited the skills. When she went outside, the world was vast enough for her to soar high*. How could she come back? And Xue Manor offended such a miracle doctor. If Eldest Grandson's condition recurred in the future, who else could they find?

Literally, "The sea was wide, allowing fish to leap freely; the sky was high, allowing birds to fly unhindered."

The more Old Madam thought about it, the more anxious she became and the more remorse she felt. She picked up the horse whip and personally flogged Xue Jiming, berating him: "What right do you have to insult Lin Dan and call her an unlucky star? All of this is because you made a mess of things. As soon as your brother's legs had even a little improvement, you teamed up with Wu Xuancao again to force Lin Dan away. If something else goes wrong with your brother's legs, can you saw off your own legs and connect them to him? You can't command troops, you can't handle military affairs, you only think about romance all day long. You've grown this big, but have you ever done anything well? That Wu Xuancao borrowed books on the surface, but secretly coveted other people's inherited skills! She's also nothing good! It's only because you're blind that you see something in her!"

Madam Xue completely ignored her severely beaten younger son, continuously instructing the servants, "What are you still standing around for? Hurry up and bring the Lin girl back! Hurry up!" She hadn't known at all that her son's legs had recovered, so she also didn't know if the problem would recur. If Lin Dan wasn't here, she couldn't put her heart down. If she had known that Lin Dan was so promising, she would have worshiped her as her own ancestor!

At the same time, Xue Boyong had just been sending people to look for Lin Dan everywhere. He sealed up her study, sent troops to guard it, and didn't allow a single person to approach.

An hour later, the guards who went to the Xuancao Hall to demand the medical books returned. They pointed to an extra book and said, "General, we found this book in Wu Xuancao's clinic. She rigidly insisted that this book was bought from an antique store and absolutely was not one of Miss Lin's belongings. Can you take a look?"

Seeing the familiar cover, Xue Boyong immediately realized that this book was definitely part of the inheritance left by the old Lin ancestor. The title page had the three wordsXing Lin* Spring. Flipping it open, what was written inside wasn't a medical technique, but an internal energy cultivation method. In the appendix, it was very clearly written – in order to practice the Lin clan's medical skills, this method must first be cultivated, otherwise the acupuncture and massage techniques will be ineffective.

This is a phrase with multiple meanings. It literally means apricot grove, but refers to TCM because of one well known doctor who, when patients couldn't pay the medical fee, would ask them to plant an apricot tree instead. It also has the same Lin as the Lin family.

Xue Boyong had seen Lin Dan's set of books, so how could he not know that thisXing Lin Springwas not among them? But he closed the cover and said with certainty, "This is indeed the little girl's book and should be returned to its original owner." At this point, he finally understood Wu Xuancao's plan. It was because she acquired this volume by chance, learned about the inheritance of the Lin clan, and saw that Lin Dan had several other volumes in her hands, so she struck up crooked intentions and wanted to put together a complete set. Avaricious and insatiable, a snake wanting to swallow an elephant, this idiom was precisely referring to her.Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at Novel Multiverse – "NovelMultiverse dot com"

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139

After getting the prescription drawn up by Lin Dan, the eldest princess acted like she had gotten a treasure. She drank one dose at noon and one dose in the afternoon. When she went to bed at night, the yin fire in the soles of her feet actually weakened by a lot and she even felt slightly cold sticking them out of the quilt. The effect could be said to be immediate. Since giving birth to her son, she had never slept peacefully, even once, but tonight she slept extraordinarily sweetly. When she woke up in the morning, the flush on her cheeks had faded, but her whole body had loosened up, as if a burden of several hundred cattys* had been lifted overnight.

Unit of weight.

"Your Royal Highness, how do you feel?" The two senior palace maids hurried over to inquire.

"Bengong feels the best I've ever felt!" The eldest princess said, full of vitality: "Go take a look at Min'er. Physician Lin's medicine has a miraculous effect. After taking only two doses, Bengong has already greatly recovered. Min'er should also have had some changes."

The group hurried to the little prince's courtyard. They dragged him, still asleep, out of bed and opened his clothing to check. Before he went to sleep last night, Lin Dan had prepared Returning Spring powder, then told the servants to mix it with water and apply it on him, leaving it on without wiping it off all night. By this morning, the paste had dried up, leaving only a strong medicinal smell. The abnormal bulging in his chest had reduced by a lot, leaving only a slight swell.

The eldest princess was overjoyed. Zhu Yimin woke up slowly. When he saw that his clothes had been stripped off by the two aunts, he shrieked shrilly before noticing the changes in his chest. He looked at it in disbelief, squeezed it a few times, and then threw himself into the arms of the eldest princess, crying with joy: "Mom, it's gotten so much better! Mom, I don't feel pain down there anymore either! Mom, I'm finally not going to be a woman! I'm so happy, wu wu wu*…"

Chinese onomatopoeia for crying, similar to "boo hoo."

The eldest princess rubbed his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "Who told you that you were going to be a woman? You were born a boy, could Mom have gotten it wrong? This time it's all thanks to Physician Lin. If it weren't for her, your chest would only swell more and more. Later on, you have to apologize to her and make amends, understand? Without her, who knows what would've happened to you in the future!"

"I know, I know! As long as my chest can shrink back down, I would even kowtow to her." Zhu Yimin covered his chest, shedding tears of gratitude. Lin Dan's grace to him was like giving him a new lease of life. He would definitely repay her in the future!

After being emotional for a long time, Zhu Yimin grabbed the eldest princess' sleeve again and asked anxiously, "Mom, did you get any better? Did you sleep well last night?"

"I've also gotten much better. Physician Lin really prescribes medicine like a god. After only two doses, my yin fire is already under control. She said that our symptoms would be completely gone within a week. It seems like those weren't empty words." The eldest princess was full of admiration.

A senior palace maid gasped with admiration and said: "This Physician Lin is truly incredible. She's so young, but her medical skills are so brilliant. There are so many diseases that imperial physicians cannot cure, but in her hands, the disease is cured the moment the medicine is taken. Yesterday, when she revealed her treatment plan to neither replenish yin fire, nor replenish yang fire, but directly replenish true fire, we were all extremely shocked. Her methods are indeed, truly…" She thought for a while, but couldn't find any words to describe it.

The eldest princess smiled and said: "Her methods are fast, ruthless, and accurate, not like a doctor, but more like a general who kills and attacks decisively. It is said that one can tell a doctor's style of handling matters through their medical techniques; I finally understand what they mean. Those imperial physicians in the imperial hospital have been in the muddy waters of bureaucracy for a long time, and one by one, they've learned to shirk responsibility, causing their prescriptions to become more and more conservative. If they cannot cure the illness, at least the patient won't die. Physician Lin's treatment method, directly striking at both the symptoms and the root, is really rare to see. In the future, our Marquis Manor will still be relying on Physician Lin for quite a few things. You must wait upon her with the utmost care, do you understand?"

Literally, "practice tai chi," a slow martial art valued (especially by the elderly) for its health benefits. It encourages redirecting attacks through circular motions.

The two senior palace maids hurriedly agreed with solemn expressions.

Just at this moment, a servant girl walked in and whispered: "Your Highness, General Xue, Xue Boyong is here, saying that he wants to pick up Physician Lin and bring her back."

"Back, back to where?" The eldest princess looked surprised. Judging from Lin Dan's clothing, she had truly thought she was just a country girl.

"Back to the Xue Manor. It turns out that Physician Lin was an orphan taken in by Marshall General Xue. Yesterday, the young heir bumped into her while she was going out to collect herbs."

"If that's the case, then go and invite Physician Lin to come over. It's up to Physician Lin whether she wants to go or to stay. Do not stop her." The eldest princess urged seriously, but at the same time, she breathed a sigh of relief in her heart. Fortunately, she had never been rude to Physician Lin, otherwise she would not only have offended Xue Boyong, but also have harmed the rest of her son's life.

Although Xue Boyong had been paralyzed, in the emperor's heart, he was still his right hand official. Ever since he had left the border and returned to the capital to recover, the Wei and Wu kingdoms had repeatedly sent troops to invade, but no one had since been able to sweep away the invaders and pacify the seas like he had. Without him, the Qin kingdom was like a tiger without teeth; anyone dared to tease the tiger's whiskers. The more this was the case, the more the emperor realized his importance, and these days, he had mobilized the entire kingdom to find a miracle doctor for him.

Speaking of miracle doctors, the eldest princess immediately thought of Lin Dan, and said, "Since there's Physician Lin, those legs of his…"

The maid replied immediately: "To answer Your Highness, General Xue walked here on foot."

The eldest princess' eyebrows jumped up, and "as expected" was written across her expression. Of course, with Physician Lin around, how could Xue Boyong's legs not be cured? Since it was like this, it would be even worse to offend these two, and she had to go meet with them personally. Thinking like this, she immediately walked towards the rear courtyard. From a distance, she saw the scene of the two staring at each other, so she pursed her lips and smiled, then quietly retreated. No wonder he chased her so urgently. It turns out it wasthattype of a chase*…

Literally "the man has affection, the concubine has intentions," meaning a romance.

Seeing Xue Boyong standing in front of her, Lin Dan was surprised: "Brother, did you not sleep well last night? You have dark circles under your eyes."

Xue Boyong touched his eyelids and chuckled bitterly: "I couldn't find you, so how could I sleep? Lin Dan, are you willing to go back with me?"

Lin Dan immediately shook her head: "No, I'm not willing."

This answer was obviously within Xue Boyong's expectations, so he did not show a disappointed expression. He just nodded slightly, his eyes dim. He sometimes felt that Lin Dan was very close to him, as if he could just stretch his hand out and catch her, but other times he felt that she was so far away that if he blinked, she would disappear without a trace. For this reason, he had once tossed and turned, losing sleep at night. But now, what he feared most had still happened. Lin Dan was such a strong and independent person, no one could make her stay if she wanted to leave.

He lowered his eyes and savored the bitterness in silence.

Lin Dan was the most sensitive to his emotions, so she explained patiently: "Brother, the reason I don't want to go back to Xue Manor is not because you're not good to me, but because I don't get the respect I deserve. There, they see me as an object, not an independent person. They can give away my things whenever they want; they can enter my room whenever they want; they can keep or send away my people with just a single sentence. My value is based only on your health. I'm just a non-essential accessory. But Brother, when I go outside, I am a person with a name and a surname, a flesh and blood human, and the label on my head is no longer "the adopted daughter of the Xue family," but Lin Dan, a Lin Dan who truly exists. Brother, do you understand how I feel?"

The rims of Xue Boyong's eyes were sour, and he nodded again and again: "I understand, of course I understand. I had said a long time ago that whether I am well or not has nothing to do with you. I wanted to save your life, and I have never been resentful toward you. Actually, every time I think of that day, I rejoice in my decision. I bore suffering in your place for you to live in peace for the rest of your life. You having a good life is the most important thing, as far as I'm concerned. If you don't want to go back, then you don't have to. I won't force you."

Lin Dan let out a long sigh of relief and a smile finally appeared on her fair face.

Xue Boyong also began to smile and continued: "There's just one thing. I want to take you somewhere and show you something. Are you willing to come with me?"

Lin Dan nodded and said, "I'm willing." She still trusted Xue Boyong very much.

The two left Xuanping Marquis Manor and came to a storefront on Xing Lin* Street. There were three connected blue brick tile-roofed buildings on the outside, which could be used as a clinic, an apothecary, and a storeroom. The inside was a small four-sided courtyard that could be used as a residence. The door beam in front of them had a plaque hanging on it, with the three words "Ji Shi* Hall" written on it, and currently, two guards from Xue Manor were on a ladder, carefully taking it down.

The same characters as the Xing Lin Spring book. Again, Xing Lin means apricot grove and refers to TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine).

Literally, "helping the word."

"This is the clinic I'm giving you. The original shop owner was suppressed by Xuancao Hall across the street, lost all of their business, and had to close." Xue Boyong lifted the curtain of the carriage and pointed to the storefront.

Just as Lin Dan was about to shake her head, he immediately added: "Don't rush to refuse, just listen to me. This clinic is not a free gift. If you make money in the future, Brother will take 50% of the profits. Also, if I am sick, you have to diagnose and treat me free of charge. How's that?"

Lin Dan considered for a moment, and finally nodded: "Okay."

Xue Boyong's eyes darkened, and he added: "Don't rush to agree, this agreement will be valid for a lifetime. That is to say, as long as I get sick in this life, no matter if you're at the ends of the earth, you must come back to treat me."

Lin Dan nodded again and said decisively, "Of course!"

Xue Boyong was finally able to smile happily.

At this moment, Wu Xuancao saw the carriage from Xue Manor, and looking in through the open curtain, found Xue Boyong and Lin Dan sitting inside. She immediately came over and said, enduring humiliation, "Brother Xue, the book you took yesterday is mine. Can you please return it to me?"

"Oh, since it's yours, why is Lin Chaoxian's name written on the title page? Who is Lin Chaoxian? Lin Dan, do you know?" The first half of Xue Boyong's words was full of cold ridicule, but the second half was gentle like water.

"Lin Chaoxian is my ancestor. I have a genealogy here. Do you want to take a look, Physician Wu?" Lin Dan's reaction was fast and she immediately followed up on Xue Boyong's words.

Wu Xuancao had no evidence to show that the book was her own, and it clearly listed the names of the ancestors of the Lin family. Even if she filed a lawsuit, she would still lose with no suspense. Fortunately, she had a highly retentive memory, and had already imprinted the contents of the book into her brain. It didn't matter whether she could get it back or not; she just couldn't stand Xue Boyong's blatant banditry.

"Brother Xue, you should understand the principle of "leaving a way out, being on good terms in the future," right? Your legs are still paralyzed, so don't offend a doctor too much. Keep in mind that one day, you might have to come to the door and ask for help." After cultivatingXing Lin Spring, Wu Xuancao had a faint trace of internal energy. As long as this internal energy was combined with acupuncture and massage techniques, it would be extremely effective. It didn't matter if Lin Dan took away the other parts of her inheritance. She could explore other existing medical canons on her own. She didn't believe that with her own wisdom, she couldn't surpass these people living in ancient times!

Xue Boyong stepped out of the carriage with his long legs, and said slowly: "Oh? With Lin Dan by my side, I'm not sure whether I'll ever ask you for help. But please, Physician Wu, feel free to wait your turn." After he spoke, he held out his hand and helped Lin Dan get off the carriage.

Lin Dan looked at her own clinic, then looked at Xuancao Hall across the street, and thought: Why did I open a shop across the street again? Wait, that's not right, how come I used the word "again"?Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at Novel Multiverse – "NovelMultiverse dot com"

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140

After Wu Xuancao came to this world, she flipped through many medical canons. The subject which occupied the most text was none other than stories about Lin Chaoxian. As early as several hundred years ago, he was able to open skulls and abdominal cavities to treat people's diseases. He could also use golden needles to restore the sight of cataract patients.

However, due to chaotic warfare between kingdoms and gaps in the cultural record, his medical arts were gradually lost. Wu Xuancao had always been skeptical about these stories, but now, seeing Xue Boyong standing in front of her with her own eyes, she felt reverence toward the ancestors' medical skill for the first time.

Did traditional Chinese medicine actually work? This issue had been debated endlessly by later generations. With the development of western medicine, the philosophy that traditional Chinese medicine was useless had gradually become mainstream belief. However, the ancient Chinese people relied on traditional Chinese medicine to treat diseases for thousands of years and left behind many ancient treatments. How could those be explained?

Wu Xuancao was a surgeon, and only after she transmigrated here did she understand whether Chinese medicine worked or not. One of her colleagues once said that if a western medicine doctor transmigrated back to ancient times, they would probably have no choice but to become a butcher. And after she arrived, she had a deeper recognition of this viewpoint. Without high-end medical equipment, various antibiotics, special medication, and sterile operating rooms, her scalpel was completely useless.

When a patient came for treatment, she didn't even know what kind of disease they had without a B-scan or an x-ray. If she hadn't made a name for herself by sewing up wounds and won over Zheng Zhe, then relied on his medical skills to deal with patients, this clinic would have folded long ago.

Doing things with the title of "miracle doctor" on her head every day had long made her full of unease. She was extremely eager to learn Chinese medicine to make herself worthy of the name. After obtainingXing Lin Spring, her desire peaked in an instant. She had a vague intuition that as long as she could obtain Lin Chaoxian's inheritance and combine it with western medicine, she would definitely be able to create a new age of medicine in this backward era.

She had a lot of faith in herself, and at the same time looked down on Lin Dan even more because she didn't know how to use the treasures in her hand. Because only she knew, withoutXing Lin Spring, the inheritance Lin Dan had was the same as rubbish. Since that was the case, why not hand the entire inheritance over to someone who knew how to use it?

But now, Xue Boyong's legs, which were in perfect condition, were like a huge palm viciously slapping her, making her blush up to her ears and shocked beyond words.

"Your, your legs have completely recovered?" Her voice was extremely hoarse.

But Xue Boyong ignored her, pulled Lin Dan's wrist, and walked straight into the storefront. When he got inside, he took out a medical book he had tucked into his robe and handed it to Lin Dan: "This is a medical book I found at Wu Xuancao's place. It should belong to your family. All of the books that Xue Jiming lent out yesterday, I have helped you get back. They are now locked securely in Xiaofeng Pavilion. When will you start living in the clinic? When the time comes, I will have someone deliver you those books."

Lin Dan caressed the book cover, her eyes bright: "This indeed belongs to my family. Thank you, Brother!" Being able to find the missing part of the inheritance was truly a pleasant surprise.

"No need to thank me." Xue Boyong rubbed the little girl's head. After one day and one night of panic, he was finally able to slowly calm down.

Three days later, both the eldest princess and the little prince had mostly recovered from their illnesses. After taking medicine for a few more days to consolidate the recovery, they should be able to recover completely. Lin Dan checked the two's pulses, cut a few things from the prescription, and then told the maid to grab the herbs. When she was done, she prepared to leave and buy some furniture and have it delivered to the clinic.

Her newly opened medical clinic was called Xing Lin Spring. The signboard had already been made, blatantly hanging right in front of Wu Xuancao's eyes. As long as she lifted her head and saw it, she would think of that medical book and the inheritance that she had narrowly missed out on. One can imagine the flavor of the feeling in her heart.

Maybe she lost all consideration, or maybe she hated Lin Dan and Xue Boyong to the bone– she actually wrote the entirety ofXing Lin Springdown from memory and gifted it to Zheng Zhe, hoping that he could use his superb medical skills to understand the foundation of the Lin family and then impart it to herself. In this world, there were many smart people. Lin Chaoxian wasn't the only one; what he could come up with, others may not be unable to recreate.

After Zheng Zhe got the medical book, he locked himself in his room and studied it day and night. As for all of these things, Lin Dan still didn't know anything about it at the moment. She was currently pouring out the silver taels she had saved up onto the table, concentrating on counting them one by one. At this moment, there were loud sounds from outside the courtyard as if someone was chopping something with an ax, and then a wave of commotion.

"Did something happen?" She immediately went out to check the situation.

"It's nothing, the rabble next door just broke down our door." The maid named Yaozhu sneered and waved her hand.

Lin Dan walked out of the courtyard door, but saw a handsome middle-aged man aggressively rushing into the main courtyard, followed by two alluring and graceful women and a strong man with an ax. The middle-aged man raised his voice and shouted: "Li Tong, Li Tong, show yourself! All those years ago, you clearly gave birth to a daughter, so why did you pretend it was a male heir to deceive me? If you don't give me a clear explanation, I will go to the palace and report you! I'll tell them you muddled my Zhu family's bloodline, and also muddled the royal bloodline!"

The eldest princess sat on the main seat with a frozen expression and was about to scold the man, but Zhu Yimin, who was sitting next to her, exploded first, stripping off his upper garment without a second word, exposing his flat chest, and roaring: "What nonsense are you saying? Whether or not I'm a man, don't you have eyes to see? Mom, father is spouting off so much nonsense, I'm afraid he's gone mad. You should quickly find a doctor for him to check his brain!"

The man stared at Zhu Yimin's flat chest and was stunned, but the two concubines following him shrieked and hurriedly averted their gaze.

The eldest princess smashed a teacup and said coldly, "You're so audacious that you even dare to chop down Bengong's front door. It seems like you're tired of living! Come, catch him and tie him up with rope! These two concubines disrespected their superior*. Bengong wants them dragged out and severely beaten!"

They caught a glimpse of the little prince's naked chest.

After her words fell, she slowly stood up, pretended to wipe the non-existent tears in the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, and said sorrowfully, "Min'er is clearly a boy, but the Marquis somehow believes he is female. I'm afraid the Marquis ate the wrong medicine and lost his mind. Bengong will enter the palace right away and invite an imperial physician to take a look at the Marquis. Lock the Marquis in the woodshed lest he grab an ax and injure someone. Min'er, if the Marquis is truly seriously ill, this household will have to rely on you to support it, do you understand?"

Zhu Yimin got dressed and nodded repeatedly. After getting used to Lin Dan seeing and touching him, he already completely opened his mind. Wasn't it just a naked body? This prince will let you see your fill!

It was only then that the middle-aged man realized that the princess was serious this time. She was planning on imprisoning him on the grounds of insanity so that Zhu Yimin could inherit the title in advance. It was because he had too easily believed the information he had received that he broke down the door with great fanfare. Not only did all of the servants in the manor hear his ravings, but even the neighboring Ning* Prince Manor, separated by a single wall, probably heard it too. It would be impossible for him to redeem himself.

This is a title that means "peaceful."

He immediately went limp, hurriedly groveling to the eldest princess and begging for mercy for himself. The two concubines who had urged him on, he hated to the bone, so why would he care whether they lived or died?

The eldest princess understood that there was a traitor among her people. Otherwise, Xuanping Marquis, this trash, would never dare come and look for trouble this aggressively. Fortunately, she met Physician Lin and averted disaster, saving her son's title and even his life! Thinking of this, the eldest princess immediately went to the rear courtyard, personally expressed her gratitude to Lin Dan, and gave her a small jewelry box full of gold ingots. "Physician Lin, for your great kindness, Bengong can't thank you enough. This is a small token of my gratitude. Please accept it. In the future, if you have any request, Bengong will never refuse you."

Lin Dan opened the little box and said, "Your Majesty need not be so formal. This is the best repayment I could ask for. My medical clinic has just opened and there are still many things to be purchased. Your Majesty doing this is really like sending charcoal in snowy weather*. I have already drawn up the prescription, so you can just take it accordingly; there shouldn't be any issues. Since there are some things happening in the manor, I will take my leave now. In four days, I will return for a follow-up consultation."

An idiom meaning "to provide help in one's hour of need."

The eldest princess had to enter the palace and meet with the emperor, and also had to dispose of the traitors in her household, so she really had no extra effort to spare to attend to Lin Dan. If anyone in the manor had ulterior motives and deliberately offended her, it would not be good. Moreover, after three days of interacting, the eldest princess already had a very good understanding of Lin Dan's personality. She never spoke any flattery and was not very good at social interaction, but in everything she did, she was always calm and steady. She would never publicize a patient's secret illnesses; in fact, she would disdain to do so.

The eldest princess thanked her again and again, then personally sent her out of the manor. She then changed into formal court dress and entered the palace. Xuanping Marquis was locked in the woodshed, and no one responded to his shouting*; he was truly pitiful. Those little concubines and bastard children of his were much too scared to come over and check out the situation. They just hid in their rooms, trembling.

Literally, "Cried out to the heavens, but the heavens didn't respond; cried out to the earth, but the earth didn't do anything."

Lin Dan had always been proactive, and by the second day that she had returned to the clinic, she was able to open it for business. Opposite Xing Lin Spring was Xuancao Hall, where two miracle doctors were in residence; when a patient came, they would directly go across the street, too lazy to even glance at her signboard. But she was not anxious at all. She just sat in the hall, flipping through medical books and meridian diagrams. At meal times, she would go to the rear courtyard and cook. Her days passed in a very leisurely manner.

Xue Boyong came for breakfast in the morning, then went to the barracks to train; he came for lunch at noon, then took a short nap before leaving; he came for dinner in the evening, then sat down to chat with her about interesting things that happened during the day, and finally returned to Xue Manor. He had long ago become used to spending time accompanied by Lin Dan, and without her, everything in his life seemed to have no flavor.

Lin Dan is also very used to Xue Boyong's company. If he didn't come one day, or if he came late, she would even run over to the barracks to inquire about him, which made Xue Boyong unable to stop grinning in his heart. Once in a while, maybe one or two days, he would deliberately come a little late and wait for the little girl to come and find him. That feeling of anticipation and sweetness would stay with him for days.

The days passed in tranquility. Xing Lin Spring's business was desolate, but Xuancao Hall across the street became more and more prosperous. After Zheng Zhe came out of isolation, his medical skills greatly improved, and he joined hands with Wu Xuancao to treat a patient with a bloated abdomen. They cut open his belly and removed a sarcoma weighing more than ten catties* from his abdominal cavity, saving the life of someone who had been hanging by a thread.

More than 6 kg or 13 lbs.

After the news came out, the entire capital was shaken. The names of Zheng Zhe and Wu Xuancao spread all over the kingdom of Qin in an instant, and even the emperor heard about them and personally summoned them to meet him. Xuancao Hall became the first choice of patients for quite a while. Some foreigners even hurriedly traveled for consecutive days and nights to ask the two miracle doctors to treat them.

Suddenly one day, a woman collapsed in front of the door to Xing Lin Spring, and the man who was supporting her looked up at the signboard and shouted anxiously, "Wrong one, wrong one! This isn't Xuancao Hall, you must hold on a little longer!"

Lin Dan walked out the door and carefully checked the woman's pulse, but did not force them to stay. Instead, she pointed to the opposite side and said, "Xuancao Hall is on that side, just two steps away."

Zheng Zhe heard the commotion and had already run out. Seeing that the woman was really struggling to hold on, he diagnosed her on the spot. Passers-by hurriedly crowded around and discussed spiritedly, "Look, this is Miracle Doctor Zheng who removed a tumor by cutting open someone's abdomen! This madam is really lucky. She managed to get to Xuancao Hall before she died, so she will definitely be saved!"Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at Novel Multiverse – "NovelMultiverse dot com"

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