In summer, one should wear gauze. Among the fabrics Madam Gu had given her, there was a bolt of purple gauze woven from wild nettle fiber, produced in Guangdong – light, breathable, and dyed in a remarkably true shade of purple, just the right hue.
Cheng Danruo had been transmigrated for years, yet this was the first time she had seen such lovely fabric, and she was even a little reluctant to have it made into clothes.
But since Lady Huang had spoken, make it she must, whether she wanted to or not.
The embroiderers worked overtime, rushing to finish a gauze jacket for her before the banquet – fresh and elegant. And since the jacket was purple, other colors would not pair well with it, so she chose a fail-safe white underskirt woven with dark patterned threads, where silver threads shimmered faintly, catching the wind and light, revealing a subtle air of refinement.
On the day of the banquet, Lady Huang also gave her a pearl hairpin, adding further luster to her appearance.
Cheng Danruo asked Zi Su to accompany her.
Lady Huang was quite pleased. Once in the carriage, she took Cheng Danruo’s hand and said solicitously, “You have always been sensible. If any young lady or miss should be naive and speak without restraint, do not take it to heart.”
Cheng Danruo nodded, translating in her mind: If any young lady or madam mocks you, hold it in, no matter what. Do not let it show on your face, and do not quarrel or cause trouble.
She understood perfectly.
The carriage wheels turned, and at last they arrived at Luxiang Garden.
The maids descended first, and immediately a respectable older maid brought over a low stool for them to step on. Then, a young attendant guided the coachman to park the carriage at the back street so as not to block the gate.
Following the older maid through the festooned gate, they were greeted by a lovely young maid who came forward, gave a slight bow, and welcomed them in to see the waiting Madam Gu.
“Here you are at last.” Madam Gu was dressed in a long honey-colored gauze robe, her arms adorned with a pair of emerald-green jade bangles that matched the jade hairpin in her coiffure – elegant yet quietly opulent.
She first exchanged a few pleasantries with Lady Huang, then took Cheng Danruo’s hand affectionately and said, “Dan-niang has come too. I specifically instructed Lan-niang to thank you in person.”
“You flatter me, madam.” Cheng Danruo bent her knees in a curtsey.
Lady Huang also said, “It was merely a small effort on her part, yet you make such a ceremony of it.”
“Lan-niang is the apple of my eye.” Madam Gu smiled and slowly led them inside to be seated.
The banquet today was not held in the main hall, but in the waterside pavilion by the lotus pond. Along the winding covered corridor, the air was filled with the delicate fragrance of lotus blossoms. Upon entering the pavilion, basins of ice were placed in every corner, sending waves of coolness toward them.
Once they were seated, maids immediately brought over chilled sour-plum juice, as well as a stacked tray of plums, melon, water chestnuts, and preserved fruits – all cut into small pieces and pierced with silver picks.
In the corner, an aloeswood incense clock was burning, its mildly bitter fragrance most pleasing.
The windows around the waterside pavilion had long been removed, and bamboo blinds were rolled up high, offering an expansive view. Now and then, a dragonfly would alight on the clear water, tracing ripples in circles.
How beautiful.
Cheng Danruo thought to herself – in her past life, such scenery could be enjoyed on any holiday for the price of a ticket. But here and now, only the wealthy and noble could behold such a tranquil and lovely scene.
Before long, the feast began.
Lady Huang chatted and laughed with the other ladies, remarking on how splendidly the lotuses were blooming, how rainy the year had been, and what fabrics were most fashionable in Jiangnan. Occasionally, they spoke of their children – one lady mentioning that her eldest daughter had been married for several years, another that her second daughter was betrothed, and so on.
Now and then, someone asked about Cheng Danruo, and she would briefly mention that she was a relative who had come to seek shelter. This drew sighs and compliments from the ladies. “You are such kind-hearted people.”
When the little theatrical performance by the pavilion began, Madam Gu called to her two daughters. “I’m afraid you’ll find the opera tiresome. Lan-niang, Lian-niang, take your young lady cousins and sisters for a stroll around the garden. If you wish to sail on the lake, just have them launch the boat.”
Going out for social gatherings – what fun was there in sitting through an opera with the elders? Naturally, it was far more enjoyable to chat and laugh with the young ladies. The misses promptly assented and delightedly went off to board the boat.
Cheng Danruo did not move, pretending instead to be absorbed in the opera.
But Madam Gu took notice of her and said, “Dan-niang has such a tranquil disposition – I truly find her endearing.”
“That is the only virtue this child possesses,” Lady Huang said modestly. “You flatter her too much.”
Madam Gu smiled and studied her carefully for a moment. Assured that Cheng Danruo was genuinely composed, she then said, “You go along as well. Don’t be restrained – go and enjoy yourself.”
Since she had spoken so warmly, Lady Huang naturally could not decline her kindness. She nodded toward Cheng Danruo and said, “Go on. It would be dull sitting here with us.”
Cheng Danruo gave a slight bow. “Yes, madam.”
She turned and followed the main party.
The young ladies flocked in groups toward the riverbank, where several small boats were already moored.
Gu Lan-niang had her younger sister take the lead, while she herself stayed behind to arrange everyone in turn, carefully separating the girls – who varied in rank, status, temperament, and age – into groups that suited each well.
From the expressions on their faces, it was easy to tell that the divisions were agreeable to all and had successfully avoided any petty frictions.
Only at the very end did the others notice that she had not boarded a boat herself. “Lan-niang, why aren’t you coming?”
“I suffer from seasickness, as does Sister Cheng, so we’ll sit this one out.” Gu Lan-niang smiled prettily. “In a little while, we’ll wait for you at the Chufang Pavilion and have some cherry cheese together.”
“You were born and raised in Jiangnan – it’s one thing not to know how to swim, but how can you claim to get seasick?” Her familiar girlfriends all laughed. “No, no, you must come aboard!”
Gu Lan-niang quickly pleaded for mercy. “Do let me off, sisters. The weather is so hot -if I get dizzy, I’ll be sick to my stomach.”
An older, more composed young lady chimed in, “Lan-niang is our hostess today – of course she cannot join us in our fun.”
“Oh, very well, let Lan-niang off then. But that one over there…” A rather willful girl, looking for some amusement, pointed her round fan at Cheng Danruo and hid her smile behind it. “Come aboard quickly – you’re the only one left.”
But Gu Lan-niang interjected, “That won’t do. You’re all going boating on the lake -surely you’ll allow Sister Cheng to keep me company? I really must thank her properly. Last time we went mountain-climbing, I twisted my ankle, and it was all thanks to Sister Cheng that she looked after me.”
With her saying that, the girl could hardly fail to recognize that she was being shielded. She gave a coquettish wrinkle of her nose, gave up on making sport of her, and said to her maid, “Quick, row the boat – I want to go over there and pick some lotus flowers.”
“Sister Liu is young and a bit mischievous.” Gu Lan-niang smiled, taking Cheng Danruo’s arm. “Sister Cheng, please don’t take it to heart.”
Cheng Danruo said, “I hardly deserve to be called ‘Sister’ by you.”
“You do, you do. Mother said that we owe it all to you that day.” Gu Lan-niang said, “The physician also said that tendon and bone injuries are the most troublesome to treat – if the bone had been set wrong, she would have been left with a limp for life.”
She stopped walking, bent her knees, and made a solemn curtsey. “Thank you greatly, Sister Cheng.”
Cheng Danruo stepped aside to avoid the gesture and said, “I am a physician – there is no need for such courtesy. Is this what you wished to see me about today?”
“So you have already guessed.” Gu Lan-niang smiled faintly. “It was Mother who instructed me, but it is rather a delicate matter.”
She explained at length: “We have a distant relative in the family who has been ill for quite some time and came to our house seeking help. She has also seen other physicians, but her ailment is inopportune and difficult to speak of openly, so it has been left lingering. Having heard that you are exceptionally skilled in medicine, we would like to ask you to take a look at her – if it would be convenient.”
To say it was not convenient would be tantamount to slapping the Gu family in the face.
Cheng Danruo did not take the polite words at face value. She nodded. “I can.”
“Sister Cheng, please come with me.”
Gu Lan-niang led her around the garden, through a moon-shaped gate, and into a small side courtyard. A maid of about seventeen or eighteen was already waiting inside. “Miss.”
“This is Zhen Zhu, who serves my mother.” Gu Lan-niang said. “For anything you need, you may instruct her directly.”
Cheng Danruo asked, “Where is the patient?”
“Miss Cheng, please come with me.”
In the inner room lay a woman, who struggled to sit up upon seeing Cheng Danruo arrive. “Are you the physician? The physician?”
“This is the wife of Zhang Wang.” Zhen Zhu gave a brief introduction, then said to the woman, “Whatever discomfort you have, tell this physician.”
The woman glanced at Cheng Danruo, seeming to doubt her skill, but said nothing more. She spoke with shame, “It’s not really a serious illness, it’s just…”
She hemmed and hawed, unable to bring herself to say it.
Cheng Danruo was no stranger to such patients. “May I lift the coverlet and have a look?”
The woman flushed crimson with embarrassment. “Can’t you just take my pulse?”
“Having a look will give me more confidence in my diagnosis,” Cheng Danruo said. “We are all women here – there’s no need to be shy. Or would you rather tell me where the trouble lies?”
The woman hesitated, truly unable to speak of it aloud, and only said, “I’m afraid I might frighten you, miss.”
“I am a physician.” Cheng Danruo looked toward Zhen Zhu, who stood by with her hands at her sides. “Open the window to let in more light, then wait in the courtyard and come back in a little while.”
Zhen Zhu, clearly well-trained by Madam Gu, immediately propped open the window and withdrew to stand guard outside the door.
Only then did Cheng Danruo approach, lift the coverlet, and take a look.
Thankfully, it was no strange venereal disease – it appeared to be uterine prolapse, with part already faintly visible.
She asked cautiously for confirmation: “Where exactly do you feel unwell?”
The patient mumbled vaguely, “My lower back aches terribly. It’s uncomfortable when I relieve myself, and my belly feels heavy and dragging, as if something is falling out.”
Cheng Danruo nodded and asked for specifics, “How many times have you given birth?”
The woman replied, “Six times.”
“Did you do heavy labor right after each birth?” she asked. “Spread your legs, bear down, and let me see the severity.”
The woman did as she was told.
The cervix was outside the body while the uterine body remained inside – moderate stage, but with some inflammation already present.
“Have you seen a physician?” she asked.
The woman said shamefacedly, “I consulted a midwife and took some medicine, but it did no good. This kind of ailment – it’s really not something one can show to a doctor.”
“It’s a common condition,” Cheng Danruo said. “Yours is not the most severe case, but it is already quite advanced – it has come out. With the prolapsed part exposed outside, it gets chafed often and is also prone to invasion by pathogenic influences.”
The woman asked, “Can it be cured?”
“It can be treated with acupuncture,” Cheng Danruo said. “I will also prescribe a formula for fumigation and washing.”
The woman asked, “Do I not need to take medicine orally?”
“It would be best to take some warming and qi-lifting tonic formulas,” Cheng Danruo said. “Can your family afford it?”
The woman said gratefully, “We have a modest amount of savings at home, so taking some medicine is no trouble.”
“Then that would be for the best.” Cheng Danruo did not ask why, if the family had savings, she still had to do heavy physical labor right after childbirth.
She rose and called for Zhen Zhu to come in. “Paper, brush, and needles.”
Zhen Zhu replied, “Yes.”
The items arrived promptly – clearly, they had been prepared in advance.
While Cheng Danruo was inserting the needles for the woman, she instructed Zhen Zhu to record the prescriptions. “For the fumigation and wash – Sophora flavescens, Cnidium monnieri, Phellodendron bark, smoked plum, and gallnut – decoct in water, first fumigate, then wash. For the qi-tonifying formula, use the Buzhong Yiqi Tang: Astragalus, roasted licorice, ginseng, Angelica sinensis (body), tangerine peel, Cimicifuga, Bupleurum, and Atractylodes.”
Zhen Zhu was literate and quick with calculations. In no time, she finished writing and handed it to her for review. “Miss Cheng, please take a look.”
“Correct,” Cheng Danruo said as she inserted the needles. “It would be best to have a physician perform acupuncture regularly – improvement should be seen after a few sessions. If that is not convenient, massage the Qihai and Guanyuan points for the duration of one quarter-hour, and regular massage of Zusanli can also help – do you know where Zusanli is?”
The woman shook her head.
“Brush.” She reached out her hand.
Zhen Zhu quickly handed her the brush.
Cheng Danruo lifted the woman’s trouser leg and marked several acupoints with ink, then instructed, “However, these can only help with recuperation. To prevent recurrence, it would be best not to bear another child in the coming years. If you do give birth, you must not do heavy work immediately – you need to rest in bed to recover properly.”
The woman nodded gratefully. “I will remember everything.”
She seemed to want to say more, but then caught sight of a little maid peeking through the bamboo blinds, apparently with something to report.
Zhen Zhu went out and asked in a low voice, “What is it?”
The little maid leaned in and whispered, “Sister Fei Cui from Fifth Miss’s side told me to tell you…”
