The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 688 - 677: Decision (Wishing ’Huá’s Daughter’ a Happy Birthday)

Chapter 688: Chapter 677: Decision (Wishing ’Huá’s Daughter’ a Happy Birthday)

Shopkeeper Zheng took a look and exclaimed in surprise, "Chinese ginseng as the main ingredient?"

He paused for a moment before immediately opening a box, taking out a porcelain bottle, and saying, "This is a medicinal paste I just acquired; Chinese ginseng is its main ingredient. I was thinking about whether to send it to Ji to try, but it seems you have a prescription for oral medication as well. Can this be ingested orally?"

Bai Shan felt she had spent too long in the pharmacy and couldn’t help but lean out of the carriage window and shout inside, "Manbao, hurry up."

"Coming, coming," Manbao quickly turned back to Shopkeeper Zheng and said, "The properties of the medicine are also written on the paper. Just give the prescription to Doctor Ji; I still want to go play."

And with that, she ran off.

Shopkeeper Zheng reached out but failed to grab her, watching helplessly as she dashed out of the pharmacy, followed by the sound of commotion, "You’ve taken so long, you said it would only be a moment. Didn’t you see how many people were in line to buy Double Ninth cakes just now? I told Bai Er to get off the carriage earlier to line up."

Then another young voice responded, "You wish! Why should I line up while you get to sit comfortably in the carriage?"

Bai Shan: "I’m going to buy chrysanthemum wine, dummy. Don’t you know about division of labor?"

Manbao stepped in to mediate, "Alright, stop quarreling, let’s turn back now. There are so many places selling Double Ninth cakes."

"But theirs are the tastiest."

Listening to the voices of the trio fade away, Shopkeeper Zheng looked down at the prescription in his hand, bit his lip, turned to Gu and said, "You mind the shop; if Doctor Ji comes by, ask him to take over. I have to step out for a bit."

"Yes."

Shopkeeper Zheng thought for a moment, took the bottle of healing ointment too, and picked some precious herbs from the medicine cabinet, putting them in a basket before stepping out quickly.

Xiao Yuan brought the carriage around, and the two of them hurriedly set off toward the Ji Family.

Shopkeeper Zheng took out the prescription he had been holding to his chest and looked over it again and again, eventually lost in thought before putting it back against his chest. This was actually very risky, for it was a prescription he had never seen before.

But since he was not Young Master Ji’s doctor and unaware of his condition, whether or not to use it, and how to use it, would still have to be decided after consultation between Doctor Ji and Imperial Physician Fan.

If it didn’t work, Jishi Hall might have to bear certain wrath from the Ji family, but if it did...

Shopkeeper Zheng clenched his fist...

As he was deep in thought, the carriage suddenly swerved to the side and stopped, a burst of urgent hoofbeats whistled past the side of his carriage. Shopkeeper Zheng hurriedly lifted the curtain to look, and saw five riders swiftly turn the corner and disappear.

Just around the corner lay the Ji family’s front gate...

Shopkeeper Zheng hastily said, "Quickly!"

Xiao Yuan immediately urged the horses forward and soon caught up, but the people ahead had already vanished. The gate of the Ji family was wide open amid a bustling scene, with servants loudly announcing, "Second Old Master is back, Second Old Master is back, go report to Old Madam—"

Xiao Yuan immediately reined in the horses and asked back, "Shopkeeper...?"

Shopkeeper Zheng lowered his gaze in thought, then finally gritted his teeth and said, "To the side gate!"

"Yes."

It was easy for Shopkeeper Zheng to enter through the side gate, without anyone needing to report, because for the past three days, the herbs Ji Hao needed had all been supplied by Jishi Hall, and even the precious herbs he didn’t need, the Ji Family had stocked up on from Jishi Hall just in case.

Thus, he came often and, to make delivering prescriptions easier, almost without any obstruction, he went directly to Ji Hao’s courtyard.

Obviously, Second Old Master Ji, exhausted after returning home from his journey, had not yet made it to see his son, so it was still quiet here.

Shopkeeper Zheng handed the basket of herbs to a servant of the Ji family, then took out the prescription hidden in his chest and whispered, "Given by Manbao."

Doctor Ji immediately opened it to read, and after a moment, his eyes lit up. He turned around to go find Imperial Physician Fan.

Shopkeeper Zheng grabbed him and asked, "How confident are you?"

"Don’t ask me that now," Doctor Ji said: "The last thing I want to hear now is this question. It’s already the fourth day, and Ji Hao hasn’t woken up yet. The fever comes and goes, and it’s getting higher each time. Keeping him alive right now is already an achievement."

Shopkeeper Zheng then retracted his hand, "So we’re relying on a last-ditch effort. Is the Ji family aware of this?"

"Imperial Physician Fan and I brought it up last night."

Shopkeeper Zheng felt slightly relieved and then whispered, "Second Old Master of the Ji family has returned. Just do your best."

Doctor Ji sighed and went to find Imperial Physician Fan.

Doctor Chen and Doctor Ding also came by, taking turns to examine the prescription written by Manbao, then contemplating the properties of the medicine she listed before saying, "Looking at this, the Chinese ginseng is a treasure. But it hasn’t been well-known."

Imperial Physician Fan, however, mentioned, "The southwest is prone to dampness, and I remember the palace archives mentioning that there is a miraculous healing salve from the Yunnan-Guizhou area, with Chinese ginseng as its main ingredient."

"I’ve heard of that, too," said Doctor Chen: "But that’s for external injuries, and this prescription includes an oral potion as well."

Imperial Physician Fan, stroking his beard, laughed, "There are many medicines in this world that can be applied externally and taken internally. Just because we haven’t tried them doesn’t mean they don’t exist. I can see that the monarch and ministers are clearly identified in this prescription, and the properties of the accompanying herbs are well balanced. It’s obviously a well-developed prescription."

Doctor Ji nodded, "Whether a prescription is incomplete or complete, newly concocted or well-developed, it’s usually obvious at a glance."

Doctor Chen hesitated as all four doctors had to unanimously agree on each prescription administered. Noticing his hesitation, Doctor Ding quietly said, "Let’s give it a try. In the wee hours of the morning, Young Master Ji was burning up. The high fever has not fully subsided for now, and if it continues, even if we manage to save his life, the person will be ruined."

Doctor Chen then clenched his teeth and said, "Alright!"

He paused before adding, "Doctor Ji, I see there’s an acupuncture method on the back of the prescription, one for reducing fever too. Your disciple really is skilled at acupuncture; why not let her give it a try?"

Doctor Ji smiled and shook his head, "I’ve looked at it too, and the needle technique is not difficult. I can figure it out and perform the acupuncture myself. Let’s not call her. She’s a young lady, and she’s so young; I’m afraid she’ll get scared."

Doctor Chen & Dr. Ding: ... She wasn’t scared when it was a matter of life and death, and now that the patient is safely lying there, you think she’d get scared by performing acupuncture?

Both knew Doctor Ji’s concern, so they sighed and did not further insist.

They had already stayed at the Ji family home for four days with no indication of when they might return to their own.

After agreeing on the prescription, Doctor Ji rewrote it, handing the one he had copied to an old wet nurse of the Ji family, while keeping Manbao’s original tucked away in his chest.

He gave the old wet nurse the copied prescription and asked, "Have you found the Chinese ginseng? If it can’t be found in Yizhou City..."

The old wet nurse immediately said, "We have found it, at Baishan Hall, but it’s an intact piece of Chinese ginseng, not yet ground into powder."

"That’s even better." It wouldn’t do to buy a fake without knowing it.