Chapter 49: Making Things Difficult

  Hong'er trembled slightly at the sound of Er Nai's footsteps, and Zhen Shiniang added a dozen more precautions in her heart.

  "Has Mr. Jian gotten up?" Before she had even entered the room, Second Madam's bright voice had already carried in.

  Zhen Shiniang hastily stood up.

  A group of flower-like maidservants surrounded a stately and elegant beauty as she walked in.

  No need to guess, this is Er Hong's second wife.

  Zhen Shiniang slightly bowed her head and said, "Jian You has seen Second Madam."

  Hong'er on the other side also curtsied and said, "Please tell Second Madam that Jian Dafu has already had his breakfast and is waiting to go see Old Madame's illness."

  She glanced at Zhen Shiniang a few times, saw that she was wearing a coarse linen garment washed to a dazzling white, and a hint of disdain flashed in Erniang's eyes. Without sitting down, she stood there slowly and said, "Old Madame is waiting, let's go over as soon as possible after Jian Dafu has finished his meal." Then she turned around and walked out first.

  When she heard Wen Taiyi describe Zhen Shiniang as being incredibly talented, she thought to herself that she had to see it for herself. But when they met in person, Zhen Shiniang was just a shabbily dressed village woman. The second lady couldn't help but feel a little regretful about having personally come to receive Zhen Shiniang, and her interest in talking to her instantly disappeared.

  She was naturally calm and composed, so Zhen didn't mind, turned around and went to fetch the medicine box.

  Hong'er quickly picked it up with both hands, "What's in Dr. Jian's medicine box is really heavy."

  Zhen Shining smiled and didn't say anything.

  "...Drive them all out, get rid of every last one of them! What a load of nonsense about divine doctors - they're just a bunch of quacks!" As she arrived at Old Lady Xiao's bedroom, she saw the second wife enter, and Zhen Shiniang was just about to follow when a fine Qinghua porcelain teacup suddenly fell to the ground with a loud crash, and Old Lady Xiao's shrill curses came flying out.

  Feng Zhen's words startled Xiang'er, and she hesitated for a moment. She caught a glimpse of Hong'er's bright red face out of the corner of her eye, and only then did she understand the meaning behind Old Lady Xiao's subtle warning to her in the carriage yesterday, telling her to be extremely careful. Unconsciously, she let out a sigh, "Another troublesome one..."

  As a doctor, I am not afraid of patients with difficult-to-treat illnesses, but what I fear most is this kind of patient who does not trust doctors, makes unreasonable demands and refuses to cooperate with treatment, which can easily lead to medical disputes.

  There are six illnesses that cannot be cured, and arrogance is one of them. According to the teachings of our predecessors and past experiences, when encountering such arrogant and unreasonable patients, she should turn around and leave immediately.

  This time she came, not just for medical treatment, but also to help Jian Wu and Jian Wen advance their careers.

  With a slight pause at her feet, Zhen Shiniang calmly stepped into the house.

  It's been five years since she came here, and Zhen Shiniang has never entered the dignified and majestic mansion. She had already added caution to her heart, but when the second lady went in, she didn't tell her to wait outside. However, Zhen Shiniang didn't know that for someone of their lowly status as a folk doctor, even if they were invited to diagnose an illness, they still had to wait until the second lady went in and reported back before a maid would come out to lead them in.

  The second grandma was too lazy to talk to her, and as soon as she went in, she forgot to remind her. With the second grandma there, others naturally didn't dare to speak much. At this time, seeing her just walk in like that, the crowd outside the door were all stunned, Hong'er opened her mouth to call out but it was too late, she could only stare with wide eyes and cover her mouth.

  No one expected Zhen Shining to suddenly burst in, and the second lady was startled. "What a village woman who doesn't understand etiquette!" she cursed in her heart, thinking that the old lady's words had just been heard by her, and she came in with such a show of force, feeling a bit embarrassed on the surface.

  Zhen Shi Niang's status was even lower, now she was also one of the people they invited to their house, her tone was not polite at all, "The old lady is being tormented by illness, and has a bad temper, please forgive her, Doctor Jian." She smiled and introduced him to Xiao Lao Fu Ren, "This is the Doctor Jian that Wen Tai Yi recommended, he specializes in treating difficult and complicated diseases."

  Unexpectedly, the doctor was a woman. With a calm smile and an aura of serenity that seemed to pierce through the mundane world, she faced Old Lady Feng. The latter's irate emotions vanished instantly, leaving her momentarily stunned. After Second Madame had finished introducing them, she forgot what else to say, merely sizing up Zhen Shiyin with her eyes from head to toe.

  Seeing the old lady's hostile eyes, Zhen Shining smiled slightly, "I thought only children were afraid of injections..." Remembering that the word "injection" didn't exist in ancient times, Zhen Shining paused for a moment, "Afraid of drinking bitter medicine, it turns out adults are the same too." The old lady is like a child, needing to be coaxed and persuaded as soon as possible to accept the treatment plan, best using a gentle approach.

  Behind her back, she was scolded and hit. It would have been okay if it were a man, but surprisingly, it was a woman. The old lady originally felt a bit apologetic in her heart, but after hearing this, her face changed instantly, and she didn't even let her sit down. She pointed at Zhen Shiniang and asked sternly, "You first tell me, how do you plan to treat my illness?"

  This is somewhat unreasonable.

  Even a god cannot say what medicine to use or how to cure it, obviously intentionally making things difficult for Zhen Shiniang.

  Even Lian Er's mother-in-law changed her expression.

  Zhen Shining came from the folk, once spread out in the Zhong Tang Fu relying on power to bully people, Xiao Zhong Tang's reputation for a lifetime would be ruined. However, as a daughter-in-law, she did not dare to interrupt her mother-in-law arbitrarily, but looked at Zhen Shining with unease, and was shocked, "...can't tell, she's actually a profound person."

  That faint smile still hung on her lips, Zhen Shiniang's expression was calm and she slightly bowed to the old lady, "......I haven't planned on letting you examine me yet."

  The air was suddenly stagnant, and Zhen Shining could even hear the rough breathing of Old Lady Xiao.

  From the beginning, even Xiao Yu, who was a high-ranking official, treated her with utmost respect. But now, seeing this, Madam Xiao's face turned darker than ever before. Her anger suddenly turned to laughter, "Is this manor also one of your playgrounds?" Her voice was lower and more reserved than before, but it carried an extremely sharp edge.

  Slightly turbid old eyes suddenly shot out two sharp lights.

  The second grandma trembled, constantly giving Zhen Shining a look, hinting that she should quickly kneel down and kowtow to apologize, while thinking of how to plead for her to resolve the stalemate.

  "Madam, you misunderstood." Unexpectedly, Zhen Shi didn't kneel down. She slightly bowed and said, "I'm just a rustic woman who knows some simple remedies. How dare I enter the noble hall to diagnose Madam's illness? It was only because of the three visits from Xiao Zhongtang that I came, remembering his deep affection for Madam." Seeing Madam's furrowed brow, she changed the subject, "Just now, outside the door, I heard Madam accuse me of being a swindler. Innocently blamed, I was even more nervous and didn't dare to pretend to diagnose Madam's illness. Afraid that leaving would be disloyal to Xiao Zhongtang, I forced myself to come in and try. Now that I've seen Madam, my knowledge is shallow, and before taking the pulse, I really can't say how to treat Madam's illness. I've failed Xiao Zhongtang's trust, please allow me to take my leave."

  Having finished speaking, he bowed to Old Lady Xiao and turned around to leave.