The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 1010 - 989: Dormancy

Chapter 1010: Chapter 989: Dormancy

Manbao removed all the needles from Yin Huo’s body and saw that he was still asleep, lying there and sleeping soundly. The three of them simply didn’t call out to him. They found a blanket to cover him, then sat on another bed and chatted.

As Yin Huo gradually awoke in a daze, he heard hushed conversations near his ear. He blinked his eyes, unable to recall where he was for a moment.

He slightly lifted his head and realized he was lying face down. Following the sound, he looked up and saw Manbao, Bai Shan, and Bai Erlang together, raising their hands and greeting him with beaming smiles. "You’re awake."

Memories before falling asleep rushed back to Yin Huo. His face turned slightly red as he attempted to push himself up, only to realize that half of his body was numb.

As a doctor, Manbao guessed his condition at a glance. She had the courage to apply needles but was too shy to give him a rub, so she hopped off the bed and said to Bai Shan and Bai Erlang, "Rub him for a bit. I’ll step out."

Bai Shan and Bai Erlang jumped off the bed as well, extending their hands, cheerfully and confidently, "Don’t worry, we’re very experienced at this."

Yin Huo let out a startled yell, feeling a mix of shock, embarrassment, and anger, and attempted to kick the two away.

Having absorbed various medical knowledge through his time with Manbao, Bai Shan knew that this kind of numbness from sleep was a minor issue. For simple cases, just rub where it’s numb, and you’ll be fine. For more complex cases, pressing and rubbing several acupoints would suffice.

After making a bit of a ruckus in the room, Yin Huo dressed himself, rolled down his trousers, which he didn’t realize had been pulled up, and asked with flushed cheeks, "How long have I been asleep?"

"Nearly an hour."

"That long?" Yin Huo was a light sleeper; even the slightest noise in the room at night would keep him awake, and in summer, even the chirping of insects in the courtyard was unbearable. Yet, he had fallen asleep in the bustling medical hall, sleeping for so long...

Yin Huo listened to the occasional crying of children from outside, along with different voices speaking, the sound of chairs and stools being moved, and the shop assistant calling out...

In an instant, all these noises surged into his ears, so chaotic that Yin Huo furrowed his brows.

The thought that while he was asleep earlier, three people had been incessantly talking beside him led to a stunned query from Yin Huo, "Is my insomnia cured?"

Manbao peeked in from behind the curtain, asking, "Are you done being busy?"

Seeing that Yin Huo was fully dressed, Manbao boldly jumped in and heard his last question. Taking a moment, she replied, "Not really, the acupuncture just helped restore some of your vitality, so relaxing made it easier for you to fall asleep."

Yin Huo pondered, "Then what if I get acupuncture every day..."

"That won’t do. Whether it’s taking medicine or getting acupuncture, moderation is key. I have now scheduled you to get acupuncture every other day, for a month to start with, to observe your pulse before deciding whether to continue or to extend the interval," Manbao explained. "Treating an illness is like growing – faster isn’t always better. Growing too fast can be uncomfortable, and there’s a good chance that it will lack endurance, ultimately not achieving the same stature as someone who grows more slowly."

"This is the same with treating diseases; it’s like drawing silk, bit by bit, removing the source of illness. This way, it won’t have as much impact on your body. As you see, although I’ve stopped your warming medications, I’ve added two herbs that gently nourish kidney energy to the prescription, so you won’t feel too bad stopping Imperial Doctor Tan’s prescription abruptly."

Yin Huo nodded, acknowledging the lesson.

Imperial Doctor Tan and other doctors had never explained the reasoning behind their prescriptions to him.

Seeing that the three of them still showed no sign of leaving, Yin Huo inquired, "Weren’t you three supposed to meet someone at 9 a.m.? It must be time by now, aren’t you going?"

It was then that the trio remembered their appointment, their eyes widening slightly.

"You didn’t forget, did you?" asked Yin Huo.

Bai Shan, of course, couldn’t admit that the three of them had been so engrossed in their discussion about him that they forgot the time. So he coughed lightly and said, "No, not really. We just figured Zhang Jinghao wouldn’t be there on time either. He probably doesn’t even have the guts to go, so it’s alright if we’re a bit late."

While they said so, being late and possibly breaking a promise was not ideal. Consequently, the three hastily rushed out, grabbing their things and ready to run. They barely had time to leave a message with Yin Huo, "We’re taking off first. We’ll meet again later."

Yin Huo got out of bed, put on his shoes, and followed them out of Jishi Hall. Just as he raised his hand to speak to them, the three had already jumped into the carriage and sped off.

Yin Huo could only lower his hand and climb into his carriage, instructing Changshou, "Let’s go to the eastern suburbs’ horse track, too."

After a moment of surprise, Changshou responded, "Young master, the horse track is very chaotic; are we really going there?"

"Let’s just take a look. I’ve never seen a horse track before, despite my age."

Yin Huo hadn’t seen one, but Manbao and the other two had – there was a horse track on Qixia Mountain in Yizhou, where Ji Hao had fallen off his horse and gotten injured.

However, that horse track was only for riding and purchasing horses – it didn’t have a polo field. Thus, upon arriving at the front gate of the horse track, Manbao and Bai Shan were equally astonished.

Erlang, who had previous experience, became their guide. He pulled back the cart curtain to introduce, "The carriage can go straight in. It’s huge inside! There usually aren’t many people here for horse racing and polo, but on rest days, it gets extremely crowded."

The rest days for the court, the Imperial Academy, and all major academies were the same – two days off every ten days.

The holidays were also in sync, naturally making these the busiest times.

Seeing his familiarity, Manbao asked, "Did Zhang Jinghao tell you this?"

"Not at all, it was the other students who came with us," replied Erlang. "And the last time we came in, there were assistants guiding us all the way, offering snacks and tea, and even helping park the carriage. Huh, why isn’t there anyone to guide and park our carriage this time?"

Bai Shan and Manbao stuck their heads out to look at the other carriages that had come in with them and realized they too were driving in on their own, without any guidance.

The two exchanged a glance and before they could speak, Daji had already turned the horse’s head and followed the others to the parking area.

Someone here was managing the area; as Bai Shan’s carriage entered, an assistant came to direct them where to park. But that was all; after parking that carriage, he went off to attend to others and didn’t provide any of the guided service Erlang had mentioned.

Bai Shan and Manbao turned and silently regarded him.

Feeling somewhat sheepish, Erlang admitted, "There was such service when we first came."

Manbao remarked, "So now you see, you’ve been deceived right from the start."

Erlang hung his head, feeling disheartened.

After getting off the carriage, they only took valuable items with them, leaving the rest in the carriage. They took a tag from the carriage keeper, necessary for retrieving their carriage or if they needed to return to pick up something from it during their visit.

Even Manbao, who often had prejudices, couldn’t help but nod in approval, "They really have thought of everything."