Chapter 562: Qing Dynasty Spirit Spring System (13)

But regardless, this counted as an unexpected joy.

The initial decision to go to the Taiyi Shu to study medicine was not aimed at the rewards of the Spirit Spring tasks.

With 3L of Spirit Spring suddenly added, Xie Yang instantly felt wealthy.

She added 1L to her bathwater and rewarded herself with a lovely Spirit Spring soak.

Soaking in a Spirit Spring bath during the scorching summer not only made the skin smoother and more delicate, but could also prevent prickly heat and reduce the possibility of sunburn.

While leaning comfortably against the side of the wooden tub, a sudden thought occurred to Xie Yang: since the Spirit Spring could effectively suppress prickly heat, why not use it to create a traditional Chinese medicine floral water?

Thus, after checking in at the Taiyi Shu the next day, she told Imperial Physician Chang about her idea.

Imperial Physician Chang encouraged her to give it a try.

Before this, the floral water used by the nobility was only for fragrance and lacked the efficacy to repel mosquitoes, stop itching, or suppress prickly heat.

"However, your task before the noon break remains to familiarize yourself with acupuncture points and practice acupuncture; this is the basic skill of studying medicine and must not be neglected. After the noon break, I will not assign you any tasks, so feel free to try out your whimsical ideas."

Imperial Physician Chang encouraged her, but he did not relax his instruction.

In his view, she was intelligent and quick to learn everything, so she should not waste a large amount of time on miscellaneous matters.

But her concept was quite good; if she could truly extract essential oils from relevant plants to make an anti-itch and anti-prickly heat floral water, it would be a benefit to the people. Once promoted, it would surely be more popular than mosquito-repellent ointment.

After all, it smelled good, had the added benefit of clearing prickly heat, and had many ways to be used: it could be applied directly or dripped into water for bathing.

Having received the support of Imperial Physician Chang, Xie Yang spent every afternoon tinkering with a purely traditional Chinese medicine version of floral water.

She selected mint, mugwort leaves, dahurian angelica, cloves, daisies, and Honeysuckle as the main ingredients, supplemented by forsythia, borneol, and Dandelion.

After extracting the essential oil using physical distillation and attempting to add the Spirit Spring in different proportions, she finally selected the best ratio that smelled the best and had effective results—the anti-itch and anti-prickly heat floral water was finished!

"Your Majesty, this is the floral water presented by the Taiyi Shu, said to be a supplement to the mosquito-repellent ointment. Dripping a few drops when bathing can prevent those itchy and stinging little red bumps on the body. I heard it was concocted by Haiyin Gege after pondering for several days. Imperial Physician Chang and the others have all taken some back for their grandchildren to use, and they all praised the results."

Liang Jiugong presented the floral water sent by the Taiyi Shu before Kangxi.

He had also obtained a bottle and planned to take a bath and try it out when he was off duty.

Every summer, the prickly heat on the bodies of people like them who served others was almost constant; the previous batch had not yet faded before the next batch emerged.

Liang Jiugong mused that if this anti-itch and anti-prickly heat floral water could really make the red bumps on his body less stinging and itchy, and prevent them from frequently recurring after fading, he would buy it to keep on hand no matter how expensive it was.

Kangxi had ice buckets to serve him wherever he went, so he did not have to worry about patches of prickly heat, but occasionally a few would pop up on his neck, chest, or abdomen.

Hearing this, he curiously picked it up to examine it, even pulled out the stopper to smell it, and said with a smile: "It seems that girl from the Fourth's household is doing quite well at the Taiyi Shu."

More than just well, it was like a Fish in water.

Ever since Xie Yang figured out the floral water, she, who was already popular at the Taiyi Shu because of the mosquito-repellent ointment, had now become the darling often mentioned by the old imperial physicians.

Even their beloved disciples had to stand aside.

Fortunately, these disciples were all older than Xie Yang; the youngest were in their twenties or thirties, old enough to be her father.

Furthermore, she was the only female disciple at the Taiyi Shu and a young mistress of the Beile Mansion; barring any accidents, she would likely be titled a princess and sent far away to the grasslands for a political marriage in the future, so there was no conflict with their prospects, and naturally, there would be no feelings of jealousy.

On the contrary, they were happy to have an additional fellow apprentice of noble status; if they maintained a good relationship, it would be a help in the future.

Thus, Xie Yang's days at the Taiyi Shu were incredibly carefree.

She also got to know Imperial Physician Chang's granddaughter—a cute little girl only one year younger than her.

Although Pei Lan was only nine years old, she had started her education at three, and after six years, she could already recite over three hundred "Rhymes for Herbal Formulas" and was quite familiar with the distribution map of human acupuncture points.

It was just that previously, hindered by the fact that the Taiyi Shu was full of men, she did not come often, and when she did come occasionally, it was to help fan the flames while her grandfather boiled medicine or stewed medicinal meals.

Now that Xie Yang was there, the little girl was willing to run to the Taiyi Shu every day. In the morning, she studied medical theory and practiced acupuncture with Xie Yang, and in the afternoon, she followed Xie Yang to tinker with various medicinal pills and formulas.

Accidentally learning that she was also learning self-defense martial arts from her older brother at home, Xie Yang felt a stir in her heart:

"Pei Lan, I once found a page of a Martial Arts Secret Manual in an old medical book; it says it is only suitable for women to practice. Would you like to practice it with me?"

"Okay, okay! Sister Haiyin, I also practice martial arts with my brother. I'll teach you, and you teach me."

Just like that, during their free time in the afternoon, the two little girls found a quiet corner, blowing in the cross-breeze, and began to practice the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden Technique.

"Sister Haiyin, is this the powerful kung fu that all the heroines of the jianghu practice?"

"Yes! As long as we persist in practicing every day, we will definitely be able to master the divine art!"

"Okay! Then I will get up at 3:45 AM from now on and never sleep in again."

"……Isn't that too early?"

"Not at all! It's only two quarters of an hour earlier than I usually get up."

"……"

Xie Yang was speechless.

If someone two years younger than her was so diligent in practicing, what reason did she have to be lazy?

Rise up!

The two little girls taught and supervised each other, and their enthusiasm for practicing was even higher than for studying medicine.

When Imperial Physician Chang found out, he stroked his gray beard and found it incredibly amusing.

He just assumed it was their childish nature; they must have found a page of yellowed martial arts moves somewhere and thought it was a Martial Arts Secret Manual revered by people in the jianghu.

If Martial Arts Secret Manuals were so easy to obtain, the old books in pawnshops would have been sold out like crazy.

It was most likely written for fun by a previous owner of the medical book and tucked into the pages.

However, seeing them in such high spirits, Imperial Physician Chang did not interfere much, treating it as a way for them to relax, as long as it did not delay the homework he assigned.

This day, it was Imperial Physician Chang's turn to be on duty in the palace, so Xie Yang had to get up early to follow her convenient father into the palace.

Having been informed in advance, Defei ordered the small kitchen to prepare a sumptuous breakfast, looking forward to the arrival of her granddaughter.

These days, although Xie Yang had not come in person, she had occasionally had her convenient father bring Defei some scented balms and floral water she had concocted at the Taiyi Shu; some were suitable for cleaning hands and washing faces, others for bathing and skincare. In short, the effects were much better than ordinary scented balms.

After using them for a period of time, the over-forty-year-old Defei, whose skin had been sagging day by day despite all kinds of maintenance, seemed to have returned to the best state she was in when she was in her twenties.

Kangxi, who had not stayed overnight at Yonghe Palace for a long time—and even when he came, he would only sit for a while and leave—had been flipping her tablet for several nights in a row recently.

Defei returned the favor by preparing a table of dishes her granddaughter loved to eat.