Chapter 99: Meeting the Princess

The maid said, “Your Highness, please do not worry. This woman is a female physician. She has just taken the county lady’s pulse and says there is no serious danger. Two doses of calming medicine should suffice.”

Only then did the Grand Princess notice that someone else was in the carriage. She fixed An Yi with a sharp gaze. “How old are you, to dare treat the sick?”

“Your Highness, ambition is not measured by age.” An Yi met her eyes without flinching, calm and composed.

The Grand Princess narrowed her eyes slightly. “Since you have studied medicine, you should know that treating illness and saving lives is no child’s game.”

“I was reckless. I beg Your Highness’s forgiveness. I shall leave the carriage at once.” An Yi lowered her eyes.

Seeing that An Yi was about to step down, the maid hurriedly said, “Your Highness, there is something else I must report.”

“Speak.” The Grand Princess frowned, her expression darkening.

“She identified the county lady’s old ailment. It seems she may know how to treat it.” The maid lowered her head.

“Oh? You know how to cure the county lady’s longstanding illness?” the Grand Princess asked skeptically.

“The county lady’s nausea is not some strange and incurable disease. It stems from weakness of the spleen and stomach, causing food to be brought back up after eating. Given the county lady’s noble status, many renowned physicians must have treated her, yet her illness has remained uncured. Instead, it has grown steadily worse, leaving her gaunt and her complexion dark and sallow. From the pulse I took just now, her condition is already severe. If it is not thoroughly treated soon, allowing it to drag on will inevitably lead to grave consequences,” An Yi said.

The Grand Princess had worried over her daughter’s prolonged illness for years. She looked An Yi up and down and found her neither obsequious nor arrogant. A thought stirred in her mind.

“看来 you do possess some ability. Tell me, how would you treat the county lady?”

“Your Highness, the treatment can be discussed later. The county lady is weak and has already been unconscious for some time. If she is not revived soon, I fear her body may suffer further harm. You should take her into the city at once and find a physician.”

“Are you not a physician yourself? If you revive the county lady, I shall allow you to treat her longstanding illness.” The Grand Princess spoke with the lofty air of someone bestowing a favor.

A flicker passed through An Yi’s eyes. She moved to the county lady’s side and asked the maid to support her. With one hand she pressed the point beneath the lady’s nose, and with the other she pressed the point at the back of her neck, secretly channeling inner strength.

A moment later, the county lady awoke.

“Rou Rou, how do you feel?” the Grand Princess asked anxiously.

The county lady, Kang Le, threw herself into her mother’s arms and cried, “Mother, Mother!”

“Good girl, do not be afraid. It is all right now.” The Grand Princess gently patted her daughter’s back and comforted her for a while. Then she raised her head and looked at An Yi. “You have revived the county lady. I keep my word. You may treat her. If you cure her chronic illness, I shall reward you handsomely.”

“Your Highness, I have not yet passed the physician’s examination and am not permitted to treat patients. I acted only because the county lady’s condition was dire. Now that she has regained consciousness, I can tell you how to treat her, and you may have the imperial physicians carry it out.” An Yi volunteered the explanation, lest the Grand Princess investigate later and punish her.

“I agreed to let you treat the county lady, and now you are afraid?” the Grand Princess sneered.

“It is not fear. The county lady’s illness cannot be delayed any longer. She cannot wait until I pass the examination before receiving treatment, which is why I made this suggestion,” An Yi explained.

“Those who have passed the physician’s examination have all failed to cure her. They are nothing more than dullards who have memorized medical texts. You need not take the examination. If you cure the county lady, I shall approve your passing it.” The Grand Princess had long since lost all faith in the imperial physicians. She had summoned many who had passed the examination to treat her daughter, yet none had been able to help.

“I shall not disappoint Your Highness.” An Yi was secretly delighted. Women were not forbidden from taking the physician’s examination, but since the founding of the Xu Dynasty, only five had attempted it, and only two had passed. Their medical skill was not lacking; the examiners had simply treated them with prejudice, setting all manner of unreasonable questions to ensure their failure.

“What is your name?” the Grand Princess asked.

“My surname is Luo. I am nineteenth in my family.”

“Luo Nineteen.” A sharp glint flashed through the Grand Princess’s narrow eyes. “You will accompany me to the residence at once and treat the county lady.”

“Yes.” The corners of An Yi’s lips lifted slightly. Once she cured the county lady, she would be connected to the Grand Princess. With this as her stepping stone, she could make the acquaintance of many more powerful nobles.

The Grand Princess did not share a carriage with the county lady. She instructed two maids to care for her properly, then stepped down.

An Yi followed and returned to her own carriage, where Fang Rong had calmly finished preparing supper as though nothing had happened.

After making a brief reorganization, the Grand Princess’s party continued on its way.

Li Guyu rode over and looked coldly at An Yi, who was sitting inside the carriage. “Follow them.”

An Yi had no choice but to eat supper in the jolting carriage.

Li Guyu and five guards followed closely behind. He was deeply suspicious of this female physician who had appeared so suddenly.

Half an hour later, An Yi entered the town inn with the Grand Princess’s party.

When a princess traveled, guards accompanied her and arrangements were made in advance. The moment they entered the inn, a sumptuous evening meal was delivered to their rooms.

An Yi was hesitating between following them inside and returning to her room to rest when Li Guyu made the decision for her.

“What are you standing there for? Go in and attend them.”

An Yi glanced at him and silently entered the room. She did not go to the table, however, but remained by the door, watching the mother and daughter eat. Li Guyu did not insist that she serve them. Clutching a saber, he stood two paces away from her, his expression impassive.

The county lady slowly drank her porridge and ate chicken. After two pieces of meat and half a bowl of porridge, her stomach began to rebel. With a series of retches, she vomited up everything she had eaten.

“Your Highness, I would like to use acupuncture to stop the county lady’s vomiting. May I have your permission?” An Yi stepped forward.

The Grand Princess knew that acupuncture could cure illness, but it left needle marks. Members of the imperial family were not permitted to bear even minor wounds upon their bodies. Yet seeing her daughter pale and miserable, she felt her heart ache. After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded.

An Yi took the county lady’s pulse. “Please remove the county lady’s shoes and socks, and roll her trousers above her knees.”

Li Guyu turned away.

The maid obeyed.

An Yi inserted needles into the points at the inner ankle, inner wrist, back, and lower leg, gently twisting them. The imperial physicians’ skills were not poor; it was merely that men and women were subject to different proprieties, and they could not insert needles through clothing. That was where a female physician had an advantage when treating female patients.

After the time it took to burn a stick of incense, the county lady stopped belching and exclaimed happily, “Mother, it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

The Grand Princess’s gaze toward An Yi changed at once. “Miss Luo, please sit.”

An Yi took a seat. “Your Highness, this is only temporary relief. The county lady’s illness requires acupuncture combined with medicine.”

“Good, good. So long as you can cure her, I shall reward you generously.”

“Treating the sick is a physician’s duty.” An Yi’s eyes shifted faintly, and she smiled with quiet restraint. There was only one word’s difference between “generous reward” and “handsome recompense,” yet it revealed how greatly the Grand Princess’s attitude had changed.

Night deepened. An Yi did not lie down to sleep. She stood beside the bed, gazing at the moon hanging in the sky like a silver hook, her eyes growing ever more profound.

Tomorrow, they would reach the capital.

The small town lay only half a day from the capital. Early in the afternoon of the next day, the carriage entered the city. An Yi lifted the curtain and looked outside.

Though history had changed, the founding emperor of the Xu Dynasty had still built the capital on a magnificent scale. Three concentric walls separated the imperial city, the inner city, and the outer city.

The outer city held the residential and commercial districts, divided into a checkerboard pattern by eighteen broad avenues. Its design was orderly and exact. The inner city was where high officials and aristocrats lived, and ordinary poor people could not enter or leave freely. As for the imperial city, where the Son of Heaven resided, it was an unreachable realm for the people of the outer city.

The carriage rolled onward through the inner-city gate and arrived at the Princess’s Residence. An Yi had already learned that the Grand Princess’s title was Lan Yi, and that she was the full younger sister of the reigning emperor. The county lady’s title was Kang Le; her surname was Qing, and her given name was Rou.

The Princess’s husband, Qing Ke, was descended from a line of famous generals and had been one of the meritorious men who helped the current emperor ascend the throne. The couple had a son and a daughter. Their eldest son, Qing Xi, was eighteen that year and served in the army, returning home once every three months.

After Lan Yi and her party entered the inner residence, Li Guyu went to Qing Ke’s study in the outer compound.

“Mu Chen has returned. Was the journey uneventful?” Qing Ke asked, setting down the military treatise in his hands.

“On the way back to the capital, the Princess encountered a young woman who claimed to be a physician. She brought that woman back to the residence to treat the county lady,” Li Guyu replied.

Qing Ke’s brows drew tightly together. “You have worked hard. Go back and rest.”

Li Guyu bowed and withdrew.

Qing Ke rose and went to the rear residence to see the Princess. Standing outside Lan Garden, where she lived, he said to the old woman guarding the gate, “Go announce me.”

Lan Yi had only just returned when her husband arrived without invitation. Delighted, she instructed a maid to let him in.

The couple exchanged greetings. Lan Yi put aside all princely airs, personally poured tea for Qing Ke, and sat down opposite him.

Qing Ke took a sip, set down his cup, and said, “Your Highness, I heard you brought an unknown woman back from the road.”

“Do not listen to Mu Chen’s nonsense. What do you mean, unknown? She has both a name and a surname.” Lan Yi knew that Li Guyu was Qing Ke’s trusted aide, so he must have been the one to report the matter. She simply had not expected him to act so quickly.

“Having a name and surname does not mean they are genuine.”

“Enough, enough. Must you be so suspicious of everyone? Rest assured, I will have her watched closely. She will not be allowed to harm Rou Rou.” Lan Yi had witnessed An Yi’s acupuncture and was unwilling to miss the chance of curing her daughter’s chronic illness.

“You stayed at Mituo Temple for so many days. Did you meet Master Yuqing?”

“I did. I also asked him for blessed protective charms and prayer beads. Tomorrow I shall take them to the palace for Mother and Elder Brother the Emperor.” Lan Yi had taken Qing Rou to Mituo Temple, renowned for its thriving incense, to burn offerings and pray. She had also sought blessed charms from Master Yuqing, a revered monk who had emerged from nine years of secluded cultivation. She hoped that the Buddha, whose power knew no bounds, would bless Qing Rou and hasten her recovery.

After chatting for a while, the maid Shaoyao returned from arranging An Yi’s quarters. Qing Ke then rose and went back to the study in the outer compound.

“Your Highness, Miss Luo has settled into Autumn Refreshment House. I assigned Red Mandarin and Purple Mandarin to serve her there,” Shaoyao reported.

Qing Rou lived in Quiet Serenity Court. To make it easier for An Yi to treat her, Princess Lan Yi had arranged for her to stay in Autumn Refreshment House, not far from Quiet Serenity Court. Red Mandarin was quick-witted, while Purple Mandarin was meticulous. Officially, they were there to serve An Yi; secretly, they were there to keep watch over her.