Wang Yongxu saw that Cheng Danruo truly did not want to be thanked again, so she tactfully changed the subject. She chose an opening that could not go wrong. “Are you reading my grandfather’s poetry collection?”
Cheng Danruo looked at the miscellaneous collection on the desk and nodded. “The Minister’s poems are written very vividly.”
Wang Yongxu said, “My grandfather said, ‘True poetry lies among the common people.’ The airs, elegies, and hymns have been passed down through the ages, and all are sounds of nature. Therefore, style and true feeling – true feeling matters most. As long as it comes from the heart, it can be appreciated by both refined and common tastes.”
Cheng Danruo smiled and added, “There are also two short poems of yours in the appendix. I like them very much too.”
Minister Wang’s miscellaneous prose collection included an essay on poetry, with Wang Yongxu’s childhood works appended: one on a cat and one on goldfish, both possessing a naive and simple charm.
Wang Yongxu revealed a small smile. “Once I collect some more poems and lyrics, I will publish a poetry collection too.”
Cheng Danruo said, “I will wait and see.”
Wang Yongxu glanced at her, then suddenly smiled bitterly. “Sister, you truly are a person of feeling. But to tell the truth, I do not know what year I could fulfill this wish. My grandfather’s poetry collection included my works, and everyone merely laughs it off. If I were to print a poetry collection, it would certainly implicate the Wang family’s reputation.”
Nowadays, there were already few women who published collections of writings. If some works circulated outside, they were also jointly recorded with a husband, which counted as a fine story of the husband singing and the wife following, and literati were generally tolerant. But if a woman published a poetry collection on her own, it was inevitably talked about, especially for an unmarried woman, who would always make people feel she was not quite proper.
The more vicious ones would even mention her in the same breath as women of the pleasure quarters.
Wang Yongxu prided herself on her literary talent and also had the reputation of a talented woman, yet she was confined to the inner chambers and boudoir, still very far from truly having her poetry and writings spread abroad.
Cheng Danruo had always felt a layer of distance from the ancient world and did not dare rashly offer suggestions, so she only listened quietly.
Probably fearing that shallow acquaintance should not lead to deep words, Wang Yongxu stopped at the point and did not say more, then changed to another topic. “Where are you from?”
Cheng Danruo had no intention of hiding her origins and briefly told her life story.
Wang Yongxu was very surprised. She had originally thought that Cheng Danruo was a distant relative of Yan Hongzhi whose family had declined, and who had only then been taken in as a foster daughter. She had not expected that her entire clan had died out and that she was truly all alone.
“I was rash, bringing up painful memories for you,” she could not help saying. “And here I thought I was already ill-fated. I never imagined your experience was a hundred times harder than mine.”
Cheng Danruo held her teacup and waited for her to continue.
Sure enough, after hesitating for a moment, Wang Yongxu returned to the previous topic. “Do you not ask why I fell into the water?”
“If you want to tell me, I am willing to listen,” Cheng Danruo said. She had no habit of prying into others’ privacy. “If you do not want to say, I do not need to know.”
But Wang Yongxu said, “Actually, in the capital it has long been known to everyone. I have already…” She paused, then said, “At that time I had an episode, and only then did I accidentally fall into the water.”
When the conversation turned to illness, Cheng Danruo became alert and put down her teacup. “Epilepsy?”
Wang Yongxu sighed. “So you already knew.”
“I am a physician. I guessed,” she said. “Have you had a physician perform acupuncture?”
“I have. My grandfather specifically invited Director Tian to diagnose and treat me. He said it was caused by stagnant blood clouding the heart and openings. I have also taken medicine, but it has not improved. Sometimes when my diet is irregular, or I become extremely angry, or catch wind, it will flare up once or twice.”
Wang Yongxu said self-mockingly, “When I was ten, at the birthday celebration of the Marchioness of Changping, I was frightened by the gongs and drums on the stage and had an episode right then. Everyone in the capital knows that I…”
Cheng Danruo asked, “Did you have it from birth, or did it appear only after an illness? Has anyone in your family had it?”
Wang Yongxu was stunned for a moment. When others heard about this matter, most would offer comfort or sympathy. Why was she asking questions instead?
“Sorry,” Cheng Danruo said. “A physician’s habit.”
“It is no matter,” Wang Yongxu said, a faint hope rising in her. “This illness, can it be treated?”
Cheng Danruo said, “Epilepsy can be regulated and nursed, to reduce episodes as much as possible, and it does not affect childbirth.”
Wang Yongxu opened her mouth. She had not expected her to put childbirth on her lips.
“May I take your pulse?” This was Cheng Danruo’s first time meeting an epilepsy patient, and she was quite curious.
Wang Yongxu hesitated, then obediently extended her wrist.
Cheng Danruo carefully took her pulse and also looked at her tongue coating.
The tongue was dark purple, and the pulse was taut and unsmooth. She pondered and said, “This is blood stasis obstructing the brain collaterals, caused by trauma, right?”
“Exactly.” Wang Yongxu already had a degree of trust in her and explained in detail, “When I was young, my wet nurse was careless and dropped me to the ground. I heard that at the time there was nothing wrong, but later my mother discovered a swelling on my head, and only then did we know I had taken a fall.”
Cheng Danruo nodded. “What is done is done. Grieving over it is of no benefit. With regular acupuncture, staying away from water, sleeping early and rising early, and thinking and worrying less, there should be no major problem in daily life.”
Wang Yongxu gave a bitter smile. “Indeed. Thank you.”
The two tacitly skipped over this matter and talked about some foods of the capital.
After half an hour, as it was getting late, Wang Yongxu finally proposed taking her leave. Cheng Danruo escorted her back to the main courtyard, exchanged a few pleasantries with Fourth Madam Wang, and only then ended the day’s socializing –
When Wang Yongxu returned home with her mother and elder brother, she inevitably brought up the day’s events.
When Fourth Madam Wang heard the whole story, she could not help sighing. “I never expected she was actually an orphan girl. Her background is truly rather unfortunate.”
“I observed that although her manner is somewhat rough, she is an upright person,” Wang Yongxu commented. “She is not ashamed of practicing medicine, does not avoid speaking of her past, and shows no flattery or ingratiation either.”
Fourth Madam Wang asked, “From what you say, is she someone worth befriending?”
Given the Wang family’s way of handling matters, it was absolutely impossible for them not to repay a favor, but how to repay it required careful consideration. If she were a girl from a humble household, then the Wang family could prepare a generous gift, have Fourth Madam Wang take her as a foster daughter, and then seek prospects for her father and brothers. That would count as a very proper repayment.
But this would not work in Cheng Danruo’s case.
She was the foster daughter of the Yan family, and Lady Hong had also politely declined the Wang family’s intention. She had no father or brothers alive either, so there was truly no point of entry.
They could not just give money, could they? That would be too insulting.
“Mother, Sister Cheng is not hard to get along with,” Wang Yongxu said. “Even if she were petty-minded, for the sake of saving my life this time, I would still respectfully call her ‘sister,’ let alone that she is not a bad person. Naturally, I should sincerely befriend her.”
Fourth Madam Wang sighed. Debts of gratitude were not easy to bear, but for the moment she could think of no other way, so she had to say, “Since Master Zizhen could take her as a foster daughter, her character must not be poor. No matter what her origins are, we will treat her as a proper young lady.”
“Next month our family is holding a plum-viewing gathering. I will send her an invitation,” Wang Yongxu said.
Fourth Madam Wang showed a look of affection. “Fine, it will all be as you say.”
She had given birth to two sons and only one daughter. Yet it was precisely because of her own negligence in choosing a careless wet nurse that her daughter had been harmed in this way. Though the girl was so talented, her marriage prospects were difficult to arrange, and she was repeatedly mocked by others.
In the room, Cheng Danruo dipped her brush in ink and wrote Wang Yongxu’s case on paper, then recalled knowledge related to epilepsy and copied it below.
After coming to the Yan family and no longer lacking brush and ink, she had begun organizing medical cases. She did this without any specific purpose, only to gather and memorize the knowledge in her mind for easy reference and review.
“Miss.” Xi Que replaced her tea with hot tea and probed, “Did the Wang family’s young lady invite you to a banquet?”
Cheng Danruo asked, “What banquet?”
Xi Que said, “The Wang family has a plum garden with over a thousand red plum trees planted in it. Every winter they invite people to compose poems and admire the plum blossoms. All the prominent families in the capital attend. If you could go too, Miss, you would be able to make more friends.”
“No,” Cheng Danruo put down her brush. “Do you very much want me to go?”
“Since you are in the capital, young lady, socializing is unavoidable,” Xi Que said. Like Zi Su, although she might not be especially loyal to her, her own prospects lay with her, so naturally she hoped she would do better. “With someone guiding you, things are twice as effective.”
Cheng Danruo said, “If people invite me, I will go. If they do not, that is perfectly normal too. Great kindness is like enmity. When there is a debt of gratitude, it is instead harder to make friends.”
Xi Que looked disappointed.
“Let us not talk about this for now,” Cheng Danruo said. “I have a list. Can you find someone to buy these for me?”
Xi Que was a servant born into the household, and her mother was Lady Hong’s dowry maid. This small matter was no difficulty for her, so she agreed and said, “What do you want to do, Miss?”
Cheng Danruo said, “Medicine.”
What she relied on to establish herself was medical skill, but she lacked clinical experience, and now had nowhere to practice cases. It just so happened that she had previously obtained some incense utensils and had already become quite practiced in using them.
She could try making some simple medicines.
“There are not many things: arcae concha, borneol, and goat fat,” she said. “Also get me some small jars.”
Xi Que did not understand why, but wrote them all down.
She worked efficiently. Three days later, she had obtained them.
Cheng Danruo tried making chilblain ointment. It was also simple.
“Calcine arcae concha thoroughly, grind into powder, elutriate with water and grind until fine, add borneol, grind together into fine powder, melt goat fat by boiling, mix and blend into an ointment.”
The little white mice were the young servant girls in the courtyard.
As the weather gradually turned cold, they all had chilblains on their hands, and the chilblains had begun to ulcerate.
She gave each of them a small box, told them to apply it every day, and called them over at noon to check one by one whether it was effective, recording the results in an experiment log.
The effect was not bad, but for chilblains that had not ulcerated, it seemed not quite suited to the symptoms.
So she then made chilblain medicinal liquid, whose main ingredients were safflower, alcohol, and camphor.
Cheng Danruo decided to try purifying alcohol.
She looked through the Xiangpu and found a record called “Dashi water,” namely rose hydrosol. A little was applied daily to the edge of the ear, used exactly like perfume.
She took it to ask Yan Hongzhi, and he said there was indeed such a thing. In the past it had been an imported item, but after the Song dynasty there were also domestic imitations, though none used the original rose, that is, Damask rose, and mostly used local flowers.
Cheng Danruo said, “For distilling floral dew by steaming, there should be a specialized vessel. What does that thing look like?”
Yan Hongzhi roughly described it, and also said it was a wine vessel, often used in distilleries to make baijiu.
Cheng Danruo was convinced. So now there were magnifying glasses and also distillation apparatuses. Could it be that China was simply too refined and elegant, and that was why it was so much slower in modern medicine?
“I want a set of this kind of apparatus,” she said. “I also want something modeled after crystal spectacles. I would like to ask you to help me find someone to make them.”
After hesitating a moment, she added, “I am willing to pay one hundred taels.”
Yan Hongzhi raised an eyebrow. “How much savings do you even have? How is this thing worth one hundred taels?”
Cheng Danruo breathed a sigh of relief. “That is good.”
Yan Hongzhi said, “For crystal items, I have a familiar shop. Bring the drawings and have them make it to order. As for the floral dew steaming apparatus, that is more difficult. The equipment in distilleries is large and clumsy, and what you girls use at home is rather uncommon.”
She immediately said, “I can draw one. If it can be custom-made, all the better.”
As she spoke, she had already spread out paper and could hardly wait to add water and grind ink, preparing to draw.
Making the distillation apparatus was not difficult. The heat source did not need an alcohol lamp, and a thermometer could not be made, so she temporarily ignored that. The key was the flask and the condenser tube.
To keep the flask from exploding, it absolutely had to be in the shape of a distillation flask so that it would be heated evenly. As for the condenser tube, since there was no water pump, she adopted the condensation style of a ground still for distilling liquor, using an ice bucket on the outer layer.
Conveniently, in winter ice and snow were everywhere, so there was no worry about lacking raw materials.
The principle of distillation was not unfamiliar to the ancients. When Yan Hongzhi saw it, he only praised, “It looks much more compact.” He also looked at the workmanship and felt it was not difficult, then casually asked, “I will get it made for you later. Are you planning to alter a floral dew formula?”
Cheng Danruo shook her head. “To make medicine.”
Yan Hongzhi’s face was speechless, as if all the romance had been utterly spoiled.
“No,” he waved his hand. “You cannot get the reward for nothing. Before the new year, you must blend one fragrance. When you have succeeded, then I will give you what you want.”
Cheng Danruo had originally felt embarrassed to get the distillation apparatus for nothing, so upon hearing this she immediately agreed, “All right.”
