Cheng Jiao-niang looked at the crowd, her expression unchanged.
“I’m unwell, so I can’t treat anyone,” she said, slightly lowering her head in a polite bow.
Unwell?
Even the divine doctor who could bring people back from the brink of death could fall ill? Could the rumors in the streets be true?
But still, how could this be…
“Miss, Miss, my father… Please think of a way to save him! We have money, as much as you need, we can pay!” several people cried out.
As the noise rose, Cheng Jiao-niang said nothing.
“Didn’t you hear her?” the maid raised her voice, stepping forward to block the surging crowd. With furrowed brows, she scolded, “My mistress said she’s unwell and can’t treat anyone. She’s sick herself and has no way to help others. Take your patient away, quickly, and stop wasting time!”
Seeing that the lady cloaked in a cape at the back truly had no intention of stepping forward, the stunned crowd quickly erupted into noise again.
“Ah, such a ruthless heart!”
“Watching people die without lifting a finger!”
“The Zhou family really is heartless!”
“You Zhou people only help those with status! We’re no match for the Chen family or the Tong family, so you just leave us to die!”
Heartless? Watching people die without helping? What kind of nonsense were they thinking! And why was this suddenly tied to their Zhou family?!
Madam Zhou felt her blood pressure surge, and she started coughing violently.
Not treating, agreeing to treat—it was either one rule or the other. Not treating, treating, then stopping midway—it was enough to drive people mad!
And that girl—did she have no shame at all? How could she spout such things without batting an eye?
Ill? If she were really ill, she should have gone home to lie down and at least made it look convincing! Did she think everyone else was a fool?
What a menace!
“And then what happened?”
Old Master Chen asked, his tone carrying a hint of curiosity.
“In the end, there was no other choice—the family had to carry the patient out and find a medical clinic,” a servant recounted animatedly.
“Did they die?” a few ladies asked nervously.
Chen Dan-niang was even more on edge, not daring to blink.
“Almost,” the servant said. “Luckily, the family acted quickly and rushed the patient straight to the Imperial Medical Institute. Four imperial physicians worked for half a day and finally managed to save their life. They said it was a case of qi deficiency and blood stasis.”
Everyone present breathed a sigh of relief.
“See? It wasn’t a life-or-death situation in the first place. Lady Cheng wouldn’t have treated them—it didn’t follow the rules,” Chen Dan-niang said.
“Well, couldn’t it have been because the imperial physicians’ skills saved them?” one lady immediately retorted. “If that were the case, she should have said, ‘It’s not a critical case, so I won’t treat it,’ not ‘I’m sick, so I can’t treat it.'”
Chen Dan-niang was at a loss for words and, pouting, said no more.
“A doctor should have a heart like a parent, yet she really refused to treat them,” another lady said softly with a nod. “She herself said there were only two rules for not treating a patient, but now she’s saying she won’t treat because she’s sick. Isn’t she contradicting her own rules?”
“She said she’s sick and can’t treat anyone—what’s wrong with that?” Chen Shi’ba-niang replied. “Besides, she’s not even a doctor.”
That’s right, she isn’t a doctor.
The two women exchanged a glance, but…
“Even though she’s not a doctor, she can still treat illnesses,” one of the ladies said after a moment of hesitation. “Having the ability to help but choosing not to—that’s not benevolent or righteous.”
“But Lady Cheng is sick; even if she wants to treat, she can’t,” Chen Dan-niang said with a hint of grievance.
“Who would believe that?” The two ladies exchanged another glance and shook their heads.
Watching his granddaughters debate, Old Master Chen didn’t scold them. Instead, he listened with a faint smile.
Chen Shi’ba-niang let out a cold laugh, her gaze sweeping over her sisters.
“Now I understand why Lady Cheng doesn’t like to talk,” she suddenly said.
The statement left her sisters staring at each other in confusion.
“Because some people are impossible to reason with. You only believe what you want to believe and refuse to trust what she says,” Chen Shi’ba-niang declared.
The two sisters couldn’t help but sit up straight.
“Shi’ba-niang, what do you mean by that?” they said, displeased.
“She said she’s sick and can’t treat anyone. Why don’t you believe her? Instead, you make baseless assumptions,” Chen Shi’ba-niang sneered. “All this talk about benevolence—it’s not her benevolence you’re talking about; it’s your own. You’re using your own idea of benevolence to criticize her harshly. On what grounds?”
The two ladies flushed red, wanting to argue but finding nothing appropriate to say.
“Grandfather,” Chen Shi’ba-niang continued, turning to the smiling Old Master Chen, “if it hadn’t been for the time you and Lady Cheng met in the ruined temple, and if she hadn’t treated you then, do you think she would have come this time when you fell ill and Uncle traveled all the way to Jiang Nan to invite her?”
Seeing his granddaughters looking at him, Old Master Chen sat up straight.
“Of course,” he said, taking a deep breath, “she wouldn’t.”
He seemed to imitate her slightly, as if the lady’s demeanor and voice were vivid before him. It was like the time when, in response to his question about how her past treatments compared, she had replied, “It was cheaper back then,” in a way that was both exasperating and amusing.
It seemed sharp, perhaps even heartless, yet also upright.
What is, is—no pretense, no deceit, no flattery, no pandering.
“Grandfather, would you resent her for it?” Chen Shi’ba-niang asked. She then quickly added, “Assuming you knew she could save you.”
Talking about others is one thing, but if such a situation were to happen to oneself?
All the granddaughters were watching Old Master Chen closely. Chen Dan-niang, still young, didn’t fully understand the argument her older sisters were having, but she understood the word “resent.” Her small face tensed up, and she anxiously looked at her grandfather, unable to resist grabbing his arm for reassurance.
“If it were me, the first thing I would ask myself is, what meaning does such resentment hold for me?” Old Master Chen said. “Will harboring this resentment somehow cure me?”
“Obviously not,” Chen Shi’ba-niang replied.
The other sisters nodded in agreement.
“So, blaming others is easy, but it’s meaningless. Instead, it’s better to reflect: why did I encounter this situation? It’s not because she refused to treat me, but because I didn’t follow her rules. It’s not because she couldn’t treat me, but because I was ill to begin with—that’s why I suffered. Understand the cause and the effect; discern what leads to what,” Old Master Chen said with a smile, his gaze sweeping over his granddaughters of varying ages. “Therefore, I hope that in all you do, you hold yourselves accountable first and foremost.”
“‘If your actions are unsuccessful, always look within. When one’s conduct is upright, the world aligns with it,'” Chen Shi’ba-niang recited.
Old Master Chen smiled and nodded.
“Though you are daughters and will not pursue officialdom to serve the world, you will become wives and mothers, cultivating yourselves, managing your households, supporting your husbands, and educating your children,” he said. “Always remember not to waste your efforts on things without meaning.”
The granddaughters promptly stood and bowed.
“Thank you, Grandfather, for your guidance,” they said respectfully in unison.
Old Master Chen nodded with satisfaction.
“And another thing,” Old Master Chen said with a smile as something came to mind. “You just asked me a question, so now I’d like to ask you one. If it were you, and someone offered twenty thousand guan for treatment, would you do it or not?”
Twenty thousand guan was no small amount.
The ladies exchanged glances.
That sum was enough to serve as a dowry for a middle-class household’s daughter. Even the largest dowries in the capital, for the wealthiest families, rarely exceeded one hundred thousand guan.
To claim such an amount wouldn’t be tempting would be a lie—it would be difficult for anyone to remain unmoved.
“So, beyond seeing the rules and the notion of benevolence, you also need to consider restraint,” Old Master Chen continued. “And you must understand the art of weighing choices.”
The women bowed once more and voiced their assent.
“When you return, copy Mencius: Li Lou Part I and Teng Wen Gong Part II ten times each. I’ll have your tutor test you on it,” he added.
The ladies bowed in acknowledgment, then rose and prepared to take their leave.
Chen Shi’ba-niang lingered, trailing behind the group. Just as they reached the doorway, something struck her, and she abruptly stopped and turned back.
“Grandfather,” her eyes gleamed with understanding, and she lowered her voice as she spoke. “Wasn’t your question missing one condition? That the illness can actually be cured?”
