The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 1009 - 988: Acupuncture (Monthly ticket extra 1 for August)

Chapter 1009: Chapter 988: Acupuncture (Monthly ticket extra 1 for August)

Bai Shan arranged a time for Manbao and Yin Huo, and the four met at Jishi Hall early the next day.

Shopkeeper Zheng welcomed them warmly, even brewing his best tea, and while Manbao was being treated, he took the opportunity to feel Yin Huo’s pulse.

Upon touching it, Shopkeeper Zheng couldn’t help but slightly frown and then looked at Yin Huo.

Yin Huo was well accustomed to such reactions. When he was very young, a physician hired by his father had said from behind a screen that his life would be short and that it would be difficult for him to survive. His body was weak, tonics were useless, and could even harm his health, so the physicians ultimately dared not leave any prescriptions.

Later, his father entered the palace and sought the help of Imperial Doctor Tan. Every other day, he had to take medicinal baths—that lasted over a year—combined with acupuncture before he could drink the medicine.

But he couldn’t take too much medicine; usually, he had to stop after a short period for fear of overtonification, which could lead to internal heat and possibly damage his health.

It was not until he turned thirteen that Imperial Doctor Tan gave him the final prescription and didn’t visit again. It was then Imperial Doctor Tan’s treatments, and his prescriptions didn’t change from one year to the next. Two years prior, they stopped changing at all. He found it odd and asked his grandmother, who simply said his health had improved and no longer needed constant adjustments.

He also felt his body was getting better, so he eagerly wanted to go to school. However, in the winter, he fell ill from just a slight exposure to the wind while returning late from dinner during the New Year.

In his delirium, he heard his grandmother and father saying, "We must at least preserve a single drop of our bloodline. Once he gets through this, we’ll start arranging a marriage. After nurturing the kidney essence and a couple of years, getting him a wife should ensure a continuation of our lineage."

From then on, he understood that the medicine brought to him daily was not for his own benefit but for his yet non-existent son’s.

Initially, he was defiant and secretly sought other doctors while out. Yet they proved to be even less competent than Imperial Doctor Tan, predicting he wouldn’t live past another couple of years.

Apart from Imperial Doctor Tan and his son, Manbao was the first to assert that he could live beyond twenty. Her prognosis was even longer than the father-son duo’s, so he chose to believe her.

Even if, in the end, she couldn’t cure him and he didn’t live to adulthood, he wouldn’t regret it. At least the medicine he was taking now was for himself, not for the phantom son.

Shopkeeper Zheng withdrew his hand, and his expression returned to normal. He smiled at Yin Huo, "Young Master Yin, you seem to be recovering well. I won’t disturb your treatment any longer."

Yin Huo listened to Shopkeeper Zheng’s feigned consolation, smiled, nodded, and then let him out.

Manbao, however, failed to detect Shopkeeper Zheng’s insincerity. She thought he was praising her, smilingly accompanied him to the consultation room’s door before turning to Yin Huo, "Let’s go, we’ll proceed to the inner chamber for acupuncture."

Yin Huo paused before asking, "How will you do it?"

"Do you mean the route of the acupuncture points? I’ll explain it to you as I go along."

"No," Yin Huo said, his face reddening, "I mean, do I, do I need to take off my clothes?"

"Yes, how can I do it without you undressing?" Manbao thought he was afraid and comforted him, "Don’t be scared, Bai Shan and Bai Erlang have both undergone acupuncture. You can ask them; it doesn’t hurt at all."

Yin Huo looked towards Bai Shan and Bai Erlang.

Both of them kept their heads rigidly still, refusing to nod.

Manbao got angry, "Are you saying that my acupuncture is painful?"

Bai Shan said, "Occasionally, the needle misses the point."

Bai Erlang added, "And then it bleeds a little."

"That’s because you all hadn’t grown up yet, many acupuncture points are different from adults’, so they were a bit difficult to find, but didn’t I figure it out later? I just pricked the wrong spot those three times."

"Once, I bled," said Bai Erlang.

Bai Shan exclaimed with grief and indignation, "I was pricked incorrectly three times!"

Yin Huo: ...

With all their commotion, Yin Huo felt less embarrassed, stood up, walked behind the curtain, and took off his clothes, revealing his frail back.

Bai Shan and Bai Erlang followed him in. One exclaimed, "You’re so pale."

The other said, "You’re too skinny, just bones showing. You must have absorption issues. Manbao, give him acupuncture to strengthen his spleen and stomach."

Manbao waved her hand dismissively at them, signaling them to step out, or else to stay quiet on the side.

She took the needles and said, "These have all been sterilized, you can rest assured, they’re especially clean. Come on, lie down."

Yin Huo lay down.

Manbao said, "In addition to your back, we’ll also prick your legs. You might feel sleepy in a bit. I can tell you about the pathways of the needles..."

This set of acupuncture techniques was improved upon by Manbao and Teacher Mo from the original ones, no, it should be said that many changes were made, it could totally count as a self-created set of techniques. She planned to prick every other day; in this way, maintenance could be assured as well as visible results.

As for where and when to do acupuncture after today, Manbao wasn’t worried at all. Such matters could be figured out; she thought it wouldn’t be too difficult, at worst, they could do it in the carriage.

After Manbao finished inserting the needles and explaining, she checked the time on her system, then started manipulating the needles and asked Yin Huo, "How are you feeling now?"

Bai Shan, who was sitting on another bed said, "He’s fallen asleep."

Manbao looked down at his face and realized he had indeed fallen asleep, breathing very softly.

Dark circles were still present under his eyes; it seemed the sleeping medicine bag she prescribed for him wasn’t very effective.

Manbao scratched her head and said, "It’s a pity, we’re doing this behind his family’s back. Otherwise, I could teach their doctor this set of acupuncture techniques so he could get pricked before sleep, he would definitely sleep well."

"You can’t always rely on acupuncture to sleep; it’s better to fall asleep on your own." Bai Shan saw Manbao gently cover up the area that wasn’t pricked and asked, "How confident are you about treating his illness now?"

After pondering for a moment, Manbao said, "Based on his pulse just now, he has been taking his medicine carefully. If he continues to follow my medical advice, living until twenty-four or twenty-five shouldn’t be a problem. As for a cure..."

Manbao held up two fingers and said, "Right now, I’m only this confident."

Bai Erlang sighed, propped up his chin, and looked at the person on the opposite bed, "It’s really pitiful. When he eats with us, he can’t eat this or that. His family doesn’t let him come out to play either; his life has been too suffocating, hasn’t it?"

Bai Shan glanced at him and said, "You suddenly have the leisure to sympathize with others now. You should think about how to talk at the horse track later so as not to seem too foolish."

Bai Erlang: "Zhang Jinghao came to me to apologize yesterday; it was you who didn’t let me forgive him. We could have settled this privately, and my reputation could have been preserved too."

"No, if word gets out, at most you’ll be called a bit foolish; more people will say you’re naïve and trust friends, they won’t think ill of you. But it’s different for Zhang Jinghao. If he continues to get away with this, who knows how many more people he will deceive in the future?"

Manbao nodded, "Right. And disclosing this matter benefits you too. From now on, everyone will know that your senior brothers and sisters are not to be messed with, and naturally no one will try to swindle you again."