The Empress Arrives: Rebirth of Concubine Hua

Chapter 24: Vinegar
Nian Shilan took a bath, changed her clothes, and was supported by Songzhi to go back to Jinglan Courtyard.

Nian Shilan had not slept all night, and even though she was only seventeen years old, she was exhausted.

The light yellow cheongsam she was wearing had been changed into the light green one prepared by Su Peisheng.

As he was walking, he saw a young eunuch running towards the front yard. Nian Shilan paused and turned back to walk towards the front yard.

Before she entered the yard, she heard the young eunuch reporting to Ulanara.

Someone at the door asked to see him, saying that he could try to cure the epidemic.

Ulanara was overjoyed and quickly asked Su Peisheng to welcome the person in.

Su Peisheng wiped his tears and ran out quickly, smiling. The prince was saved.

Soon, Su Peisheng was followed by a man in a green gown to the front yard, and behind the man was a little boy carrying a medicine box.

Ulanara exempted the man from the formalities and said with a smile, "Doctor, you are so kind. May I ask your name, Doctor?"

"No, no, thank you for asking. I am Wen Xianqing, a commoner, and my family has been practicing medicine for generations. I heard that the palace was in trouble, so I brought the ancestral prescription for epidemic diseases and added a few more herbs to it to see if I can help the palace."

The man cupped his hands and said respectfully and neither servilely nor arrogantly.

After saying this, he glanced at Nian Shilan beside him unintentionally, then quickly lowered his head.

Ulanara was overjoyed. She felt that God was helping her. The imperial doctors in the palace had racked their brains but were unable to cure the epidemic, but now this quack doctor could come to her door and treat it.

Moreover, she had heard of Wen Xianqing a long time ago, but she had heard that this person came and went without a trace, wandering around the world, not entangled with the secular world.

I didn't expect that I would come today.

He was on the list of quack doctors she sent out to find.

As she spoke, Ulanara urged Wen Xianqing to go and check on the prince's condition.

Wen Xianqing first glanced at the yard and frowned.

Seeing this, Ulanara asked hurriedly.

"Doctor Wen, is there anything wrong?"

Wen Xianqing bowed.

"There is indeed something wrong with it. Forgive me for being frank, but it is a rumor that boiling vinegar can cure epidemics. It is useless except making the house smell sour. It is also possible that the strong smell of vinegar may affect the patient's recovery." After hearing this, Ulanara was undecided.

This method of boiling vinegar to eliminate epidemics is a widely circulated method of treating diseases and also a method of prevention. How could Wen Xianqing say it is useless?

The several imperial physicians who were watching all looked at the leading imperial physician, Zhang.

Doctor Zhang snorted lightly, stroked his beard and spoke with dissatisfaction.

"This method of boiling vinegar to cure epidemics is well known to all children in the folks and has been widely spread for hundreds of years. Doctor Wen is so arrogant that he refutes this traditional treatment method that has been used for hundreds of years before he even starts treating the disease."

Wen Xianqing turned around, looked at Doctor Zhang, and bowed.

"This lord must be a royal doctor. As far as I know, vinegar is made from grains and does not contain any medicine. Vinegar is also quite corrosive and should not be consumed excessively. Boiling it like this and letting it spread around and be absorbed into the esophagus is actually bad for the body. Lord, you said that this method is known to the people, so you can just use the folk method to treat it. Why do you need my help?"

Wen Xianqing looked respectful, but he was not polite at all when he spoke.

Doctor Zhang was so angry that he was about to say something when Nian Shilan, who had been standing beside him for a long time, spoke.

"Since Doctor Wen says that vinegar is useless, what measures should be taken to prevent and cure the epidemic?"

Wen Xianqing looked at Nian Shilan, bowed and spoke.

"Thank you for your inquiry, Your Excellency. I think we should remove the stove for cooking vinegar and temporarily use mugwort and atractylodes to burn and fumigate various places in the mansion. I have found this method to be very effective in my medical practice. However, when using mugwort and atractylodes to fumigate, you should avoid pregnant women in the mansion."

After saying that, he stood quietly aside.

Nian Shilan looked at Ulanara and bowed.

"Please give me your advice, Madam. First, the master is still in a coma and has had a high fever for the past few days. He urgently needs effective medication. Second, the servants in the mansion are falling ill one after another. The virus is spreading too quickly. Why not try Doctor Wen's method first?"

Ulanara glanced at Nian Shilan and did not comment.

He just asked Doctor Wen to take the prince's pulse first.

Wen Xianqing then entered the house, followed closely by several imperial doctors.

Everyone wanted to see whether this quack doctor could really cure the disease.

(End of this chapter)