Three days had passed since Cheng Jiao-niang had started seeing patients, and her courtyard remained as crowded as ever.
A lady lifted the curtain and stepped out, prompting the others sitting inside to quickly rise to their feet.
“Well? Did Lady Cheng prescribe any medicine?” they asked eagerly.
The lady shook her head, a trace of confusion on her face.
The others exchanged glances, their eyes filled with puzzlement.
“Again, no medicine? Then what did she say?” someone asked anxiously.
The lady shook her head once more.
“It’s the same as before,” the crowd murmured among themselves. “What does this even mean?”
Over the past few days, everyone who had come to see Lady Cheng had gotten their chance to speak with her. Full of hope, they poured out their concerns, whether about their children, spouses, or other family members. Lady Cheng had listened quietly, attentively, encouraging them to elaborate in detail. Yet, despite her serious demeanor, she said nothing in return.
No medicine prescribed, no diagnosis offered—what kind of consultation was this? Was she simply there to hear their idle chatter?
The group grew restless, their unease mounting.
“Which lady would like to consult next?” a maid asked as she lifted the curtain and stepped outside.
Upon seeing the maid, one of the ladies stood up.
“I’ll go and ask her,” she said, gesturing to the others to remain calm. “I’ll ask her directly and see what she says.”
The others nodded. Over the past few days, everyone had refrained from questioning Lady Cheng—partly out of respect for etiquette and partly assuming her silence was simply part of her medical practice. However, it was becoming clear that silence would no longer suffice.
The lady entered the side room, where she saw the figure of a young lady sitting before a low desk, seemingly engrossed in a book.
To be precise, it wasn’t a lady—it was a girl.
They exchanged polite bows before taking their seats.
“What are the symptoms? The patient’s age? Tell me everything in detail,” Cheng Jiao-niang said directly.
The lady, now familiar with the process, began speaking earnestly, explaining everything. When she finished, she noticed that Cheng Jiao-niang’s eyes were still on her book, leaving her unsure if she had been heard.
The room fell silent for a moment.
“Have you finished speaking?” the maid asked.
The lady nodded, her gaze fixed on Cheng Jiao-niang.
Cheng Jiao-niang gave a slight nod and returned the gesture of respect.
“Please, this way,” the maid said, rising to lead her out.
But this time, the lady didn’t obediently follow. Instead, she straightened her posture and remained seated.
“Lady Cheng,” she asked, “what medicine should my husband take?”
Cheng Jiao-niang raised her head and looked at her.
“I don’t know,” she said.
The lady was stunned, thinking she must have misheard.
“Pardon me? What did you say?” she asked again.
“I do not treat your husband’s illness,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied. “So, I don’t know what medicine he should take.”
What did she mean by that?
The lady stared at her, wide-eyed and utterly bewildered.
Upon hearing the news, everyone outside rushed into the room, surrounding Cheng Jiao-niang and bombarding her with chaotic questions. Sure enough, Cheng Jiao-niang calmly reiterated that she would not treat any of their cases.
“Lady Cheng, then all these days… were you just playing with us?”
“Yes, exactly! Aren’t you supposed to be a divine doctor?”
“Why can’t you treat these illnesses? They’re not even anything rare!”
The room was filled with a cacophony of anxious and frustrated voices.
Cheng Jiao-niang remained seated calmly at her desk, gently holding her book.
“It’s the rule!” the maid suddenly shouted, raising her voice to drown out the crowd’s questions.
“The rule? Sure, your rule is not to make house calls, so we came here ourselves. But now this—what else do you want us to do?” One lady, recalling the frantic days spent waiting here, could no longer contain her anger and shouted back.
“Exactly! My mistress’s medical consultations have always had rules. Didn’t you all know that?” the maid retorted, equally surprised by their reactions. “And that’s just the first rule!”
The first rule? There’s more?
The crowd froze, looking at one another in confusion.
“What’s the second rule?” someone asked.
The maid remained silent, and Cheng Jiao-niang stood up. Her large eyes, framed by her neat bangs, swept across the crowd.
“I do not treat anyone who is not at death’s door,” she said calmly.
The crowd was stunned for a moment, then burst into an uproar.
Not at death’s door, not treated?
What kind of nonsense was this?
Was she joking?
Had she lost her mind?
The noblewomen in the courtyard surged like a tide into Madam Zhou’s courtyard.
At first, they had come out of curiosity to visit but left disappointed when they couldn’t meet her. Then, out of the blue, she announced she was accepting patients, and her warm attitude delighted everyone. They came in droves, thrilled and lively. But then she declared she would only see five or six people a day, leaving everyone anxious yet eager to wait their turn.
And now, out of nowhere, she was saying she wouldn’t treat anyone who wasn’t at death’s door!
In other words, all the effort they had put in over the past few days was for nothing!
From disappointment to joy, to excitement, to frustration, and now back to disappointment—was she just toying with them?
The room erupted into chaos. Even the normally composed and graceful noblewomen, after experiencing such an emotional rollercoaster, finally lost their tempers completely.
“…What do you mean by this?”
“…I’ve always called you Sister Zhou. Is this how a sister treats her younger sibling?”
“…Kang Jiu-niang, we’ve been close since childhood! But now that you’ve climbed up to the Chen family, am I nothing in your eyes anymore?”
“…How can you treat people like this?”
Madam Zhou had just taken her medicine and lain down to rest when the commotion erupted. The crowd of women barged in, shouting and arguing, leaving her completely bewildered.
What was going on?
What had happened?
After much chaos, she finally managed to piece together the situation from the furious noblewomen, and she was stunned.
“You must be joking…” she said, standing up.
“Joking? Yes, what a fine joke you’re playing on us—right during the New Year, no less! Do you think this is funny?” one of the women snapped.
“What does this have to do with me?” Madam Zhou said, pressing a hand to her chest.
“Your girl—how is it not your responsibility? Do you think it’s ours?” another woman shot back immediately.
See? The smiles had been reserved for that girl, but now Madam Zhou was left to deal with the aftermath.
Madam Zhou clutched her chest, coughing.
“If she refuses to treat you, go talk to her! Why are you venting your anger on me?” she said in exasperation.
“If there were rules, why not explain them clearly from the start? You deliberately let us make fools of ourselves for your amusement!” the women retorted angrily.
Rules? Madam Zhou’s head was spinning. When she finally understood, she was even more flabbergasted.
Refusing to treat anyone who isn’t at death’s door?
“I had no idea about this,” she quickly explained.
But at this moment, the furious women were in no mood to listen.
“Of course, you’re so powerful. Everything is your way. We practically begged to let you toy with us—serves us right, doesn’t it?” they said bitterly, refusing to hear another word. With an angry flourish of their sleeves, they stormed out.
Madam Zhou instinctively reached out to stop them but had no idea whom to stop. She coughed repeatedly and finally clutched her chest with a trembling hand.
“Quick, call the master back! This is a disaster!” she cried, collapsing onto the cushion.
Amid the sound of horses and carriages speeding away from the Zhou family’s gates, the bold, arrogant, almost foolish words spread like a tidal wave.
It was the quiet season of the New Year, a time of frequent visits and gatherings. Within the women’s quarters of various households, in gatehouses, and among the servants, rumors traveled faster and farther than usual.
Even the earlier tales of her miraculous treatment of Minister Chen’s father and her supposed encounter with an immortal couldn’t outweigh the absurdity of this statement.
What’s more, many had now seen Cheng Jiao-niang in person. Clearly a young girl, while not appearing foolish, she hardly seemed particularly clever either.
She had no formal training in medicine, so how could she dare to utter such words?
Talk of immortals and divine abilities might amuse the common folk and create a buzz, but among the noble clans, high-ranking officials, and the powerful elite, such claims were met with skepticism. They respected gods and spirits—but kept their distance from them.
“This Old Shan Zhou must have gone mad trying to get famous!”
“Isn’t it just one person cured? Now the Zhou family is acting so recklessly.”
“Speaking of which, the name ‘Old Shan Zhou’ has been around for quite a while. After all these years, there’s been no real progress. Maybe it’s time for a name change, like…”
“…Like ‘Old Fool Zhou’?”
“…Hahahahahahaha…”
Master Zhou slammed the table in front of him, causing the maids both inside and outside the room to fall silent and shrink back in fear.
Inside, Madam Zhou’s coughing grew more intense.
“I told you, I told you! You wouldn’t listen!” she shouted, her voice trembling. “She’s deliberately trying to ruin our family! We can’t survive in the capital anymore!”
While speaking, she urged the maids.
“Pack up, pack up! We’re leaving immediately and returning to Shan-zhou!”
The maids, of course, didn’t dare actually start packing. They knelt on the floor, trying to persuade and comfort her.
“Does she still think of this place as her home?” Master Zhou shouted, kicking over a flower stand.
“Do you think she sees this place as home?” Madam Zhou yelled from inside, followed by another violent coughing fit. “She sees it as an enemy!”
“Where’s that wretched girl? Call her here!” Lord Zhou roared. “Call her here!”
A maid hurriedly ran out, only to return in a panic shortly after.
“She… she won’t come,” the maid said, trembling.
That wretched girl!
Master Zhou was so enraged that he leaned back, pacing around the room, and grabbed the sword hanging on the wall.
“What use is she if she’s such a disaster?” he shouted as he stormed outside.
Frightened, the maids inside knelt, clutching their arms and legs to block his way.
Zhou Liu-lang kicked open the door, causing the maid inside to startle.
“Sixth Young Master,” the maid quickly smiled and stood up. “I was just about to tell you, my mistress is going out. Please prepare the carriage.”
Zhou Liu-lang, who had intended to scold her, was momentarily caught off guard by her words.
“Cheng Jiao-niang, come out here!” Zhou Liu-lang shouted, looking towards the curtain.
Seeing Zhou Liu-lang’s expression, the maid, who had been smiling, immediately turned serious. She didn’t speak, and unlike other maids who might have shown fear or worry, she simply took a few steps back and stood by the curtain.
Behind the curtain, light footsteps were heard. The maid raised the curtain.
Dressed in her usual plain outer robe and plain skirt, with her long hair flowing smoothly, Cheng Jiao-niang looked towards Zhou Liu-lang.
“Are you crazy?” Zhou Liu-lang shouted.
“No,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied, taking a step forward.
“Not crazy? Then why are you speaking nonsense?” Zhou Liu-lang gritted his teeth. “No treatment for non-fatal cases, what kind of rule is that! You’re making things up, deliberately causing trouble. Can you at least come up with something convincing?”
Cheng Jiao-niang looked at him, her lips curving into a slight smile.
“Don’t you know my rule?” she asked.
“How would I know? I’m not an idiot!” Zhou Liu-lang sneered.
Cheng Jiao-niang continued to look at him.
“Don’t you have Ban Qin?” she said slowly.
The sudden mention of “Ban Qin” made the nearby maid freeze for a moment, almost responding out of habit.
“You, go ask, am I the kind of person who makes things up and speaks nonsense?”
Before anyone could answer or inquire, Cheng Jiao-niang continued, slowly stepping forward while looking at Zhou Liu-lang.
“You, go ask, am I someone who doesn’t follow the rules?”
“I, Cheng Jiao-niang, act properly and stand upright. I do not treat patients in their home, and I do not treat non-fatal cases. If any of this is a lie—”
Cheng Jiao-niang said as she stood right in front of Zhou Liu-lang.
The still-developing young man found that, in front of this girl on the verge of blooming, his visual advantage was almost nonexistent.
“May I be struck by thunders!” Cheng Jiao-niang said, each word punctuated sharply.
Along with this statement, Zhou Liu-lang could almost hear rolling thunder in his ears. He involuntarily took a step back. When he came to his senses, a fleeting expression of embarrassment and anger flashed across his taut face.
Cheng Jiao-niang had already turned around and was heading out.
“Cheng Jiao-niang, aren’t you afraid this will escalate?” Zhou Liu-lang gritted his teeth and shouted.
Cheng Jiao-niang paused, glanced back at him, and the corner of her mouth curled slightly.
This was the only expression this lady seemed to have, but Zhou Liu-lang didn’t feel the slightest pleasure from it.
Her face was stiff, her eyes lacked any trace of a smile, and instead, they seemed to send a chill down his spine.
“I only fear… that things won’t escalate enough,” she said.
