Dongchun pouted with grievance. “It was the First Young Madam. That day, Third Miss asked me if I knew where the seal was. I said I didn’t and told her to ask you. Not long after Third Miss left, a maid from the First Young Madam’s quarters falsely accused me of stealing and dragged me into a dark room. They beat me severely, trying to force me to reveal where I hid ‘something.’ They never said it was the seal, but they kept trying to trick me into saying where it was hidden. When I wouldn’t talk, they kept torturing me, didn’t let me eat—only gave me water to drink. Miss, the Song family is terrifying. We have to find a way to leave, or they’ll swallow us whole and not even leave our bones behind.”
The First Young Madam—Han Qi.
In the original story, Han Qi was portrayed as someone gentle, never competing for anything, always pcing Song Huaizhang first.
But the one who wanted the seal wasn’t Han Qi—it was Song Huaizhang.
Ji Ping’an lifted Dongchun’s sleeve. The wound had scabbed over—hideous and angry red—but even through the thick, raised scars, one could still tell how deep and brutal the original injuries had been.
Damn Song Huaizhang!
Ji Ping’an gently stroked the scar on Dongchun’s arm, heart aching. “Dongchun, we’ll remember this. Someday, we’ll return it all—every bit of it.”
Dongchun shook her head. “No, Miss, let’s not take revenge. Let’s just find a way to escape.”
After everything she’d been through, she truly believed the Song family was far too dangerous. She and her mistress were nothing more than a piece of meat id on the Song family’s chopping block.
Ji Ping’an fell silent too.
Escape—she’d been pnning it from the very beginning.
But in this cursed pce, for a woman like her to escape the Song family… there was only one path: Marriage.
Where could she find a man who wasn’t greedy, who wouldn’t covet the Ji family’s assets, who wasn’t lecherous, who had little ambition, and was actually willing to live a peaceful life?
And according to the plot of the original story, this was still the early stage of the tyrant’s reign. As time passed, he would become increasingly cruel, eventually plunging the world into chaos. That was when Song Huaizhang would raise his banner, and followers would gather at his call.
In other words, in just a few years, the world would descend into turmoil.
So the man she married couldn’t just be virtuous—he also had to be someone who could survive a war-torn world.
The more Ji Ping’an thought about it, the more she felt such a perfect person simply didn’t exist.
Ji Ping’an sighed. “Dongchun, let’s stick to the sickly persona. From now on, we’ll keep some red dye on hand at all times. If the Song family dares to make things difficult, I’ll handle the coughing blood and fainting, and you handle the crying.”
Dongchun hesitated. “Will that really work?”
Ji Ping’an replied, “At the very least, until they get their hands on the Ji family’s fortune, they’ll need to pcate me. They won’t dare let me die. If they push me too hard and I die of illness, everything gets confiscated by the state, and they won’t get a single coin.”
“Yes, Miss,” Dongchun nodded firmly.
Since Dongchun’s injuries couldn’t touch water, Ji Ping’an had her wait outside while she bathed.
After changing clothes, Ji Ping’an and Dongchun packed a few garments and, according to their agreement with the Princess, headed to the pace.
Gaining the Princess’s trust was now top priority. Only then would the Song family have to tread lightly around her—and those beside her.
Just as they were leaving, they ran into Song Huaizhang.
He was tall, towering two and a half heads above Ji Ping’an.
He looked down at her and asked coldly, “Where are you going?”
Ji Ping’an answered with no particur warmth, “Replying to Eldest Cousin, before returning home, I promised Her Highness I’d help treat her illness.”
A flicker of surprise crossed Song Huaizhang’s eyes. “You can cure Her Highness?”
Ji Ping’an: “I happened to have seen a simir condition before and have some experience with it.”
In other words, yes—and she could cure it.
Song Huaizhang’s gaze shifted subtly. There was more weight in the way he looked at her now, no longer the condescension from before. He nodded. “Very well. If you cure Her Highness’s strange illness, she’ll surely be grateful. By then, you can be elevated to…”
He thought about how things still hadn’t been made clear between Song Huaiyu and Ji Ping’an, and swallowed the words “secondary consort.”
Instead, he said, “A woman ought to be gentle, humble, frugal, and obedient. After marriage, you must respect your husband as your master and never gossip or sow discord between husband and wife. Understand?”
Ji Ping’an clenched her jaw.
Understand my a**.
She forced a smile. “Thank you for the reminder, Eldest Cousin.” She absolutely would not take it to heart.
Without another word, she sidestepped Song Huaizhang and left, boarding the carriage.
Watching her leave, Song Huaizhang massaged his temple. This cousin of mine… seems rather rebellious?
Ji Ping’an fumed as she climbed into the carriage. The male lead is even more annoying than when I read the book.
After over half an hour on the road, the carriage arrived at the Princess’s residence.
As soon as Yan Xishan heard she had arrived, he came out to greet her. “My young friend, I’ve been waiting a long time.”
Ji Ping’an smiled and nodded, following him to the Princess’s resting chambers to take her pulse.
The pulse was floating, rapid, and choppy.
Exactly as described in the medical records Yan Xishan had given her.
Ji Ping’an immediately began acupuncture, and after one incense stick’s time, wrote a prescription.
Yan Xishan studied it closely, frowning at times, pursing his lips at others—clearly perplexed.
Cuiyun, the maid attending the Princess, asked, “Doctor Yan, is there a problem with the prescription?”
Yan Xishan stroked his beard. “I can mostly understand Miss Ji’s intent. Her Highness’s illness stems from emotional trauma and liver qi stagnation, which has depleted her blood and energy. She’s also taken too many medicines over the years, weakening her qi and damaging her pulse. The lead frost corroded her internal organs, causing a foul odor and further weakness. So, my young friend first used Zhenwu Decoction to warm the kidney yang and reduce bloating, followed by Six Gentlemen Decoction to regute qi and strengthen the spleen. This prescription builds upon that foundation, replenishing deficiencies and removing internal stasis. But this part here, the yellow wine and leeches…”
He turned to Ji Ping’an with a respectful bow. “May I ask your reasoning?”
Ji Ping’an replied calmly, “In Jin Gui Yao Lue by Zhang Zhongjing, it’s written: *‘Moisten to relieve dryness, use worms to stir stasis, unblock to remove obstruction…’”
Yan Xishan blinked. “Jin Gui Yao Lue? And Zhang Zhongjing—is he a renowned physician?”
Ji Ping’an: “…”
Oh right.
This is a fictional era—there probably isn’t a Zhang Zhongjing.
She thought for a moment. “Roughly, it means: when blood congeals and won’t flow, no herb can clear it—you must use blood-feeding insects to break it down.”
The line actually comes from Lantai Guifan by Xu Dachun of the Qing Dynasty.
Ji Ping’an wasn’t sure if she was quoting it correctly, but odds were this world didn’t have that book either.
This was her cheat code—knowledge from beyond this world.
Yan Xishan remained skeptical.
Ji Ping’an went on, “Yellow wine, when heated, and leeches both work to dispel blood stasis. Her Highness’s abdominal swelling kept recurring because the underlying blood stasis hadn’t been cleared. Only by removing it completely can further treatment work. These two will expel the decaying material and stagnated blood within Her Highness’s body, and when that’s done, even the odor she exhales will lessen significantly. Once that’s cleared and her system is properly nourished, the scent can likely be eliminated within a month. However…”
“However what?” the Princess, having heard about removing the foul odor, could no longer hold back.
____
Transtor Xiaobai:
《金匮要略》(Jin Gui Yao Lue) – “Essential Prescriptions from the Golden Cabinet”: A cssic Chinese medical text written by Zhang Zhongjing (circa 150–219 AD). It focuses on internal medicine, especially chronic and complex diseases, and is one of the foundations of traditional Chinese medicine.
Zhang Zhongjing (张仲景) – Known as the “Hippocrates of China,” he was a legendary physician of the Eastern Han Dynasty. His works, including Jin Gui Yao Lue and Shang Han Lun, id the groundwork for clinical TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine).
《兰台轨范》(Lantai Guifan) – “Standards of the Imperial Medical Bureau”: A Qing Dynasty medical reference by Xu Dachun (徐大椿), a respected physician. This work covers diagnostic standards and treatments used in the Imperial Medical Bureau, blending cssical TCM with more empirical methods.
