Chapter 96: Don't Fear Offending a Gentleman, Fear Offending a Petty Person

"Go, go, go, all of you move aside, I was here first!" Amidst the pushing and shoving, one mama's voice stood out in particular, "I kindly told you all there was a miracle doctor here, and look at you, every single one of you has come rushing before me!"

"This officer, I am Crown Prince's Qi Mama," that Qi Mama's voice was extremely overbearing and tyrannical, "If I suffer from headaches or fever and cannot take good care of the Crown Prince, watch out, both of you will be punished for complicity!"

The two guards exchanged a glance, and just then Lin Jiaojiao walked out from the room with a beaming smile on her face, "Oh, isn't this Qi Mama from beside the Crown Prince? Is the Crown Prince feeling unwell? Where is the Crown Prince? Did he not come with you?"

As soon as Qi Mama saw Lin Jiaojiao, she smiled ingratiatingly: "The Crown Prince is very well, very well, he is doing his lessons now, and I, this old mama, had some free time, so I came to find you to take my pulse and treat my illness again."

"But I see Qi Mama is full of vigor, it doesn't look like you are ill and in need of treatment, does it?" Lin Jiaojiao took advantage of Qi Mama's words to put on airs.

In truth, it was not that she did not want to take the pulses and treat these palace maids and eunuchs—everyone, like Maidong, had their own hardships—but she was unwilling to treat Mama Qi in her heart; who told her to pinch Zhu Geer early this morning!

But Guo Shi had told her not to offend these people in the palace, "It is not the gentleman you fear offending, it is the petty person!"

Qingdai took over the work of rolling eggs and pushed her outward as well, "The wet nurse is right, and since the leader is Qi Mama, you can treat her illness while inflicting a little punishment..."

Lin Jiaojiao had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk out of the room.

That Qi Mama actually knew in her own heart that because she had pinched the Female Physician's child, the other party was not very willing to treat her.

She had already pinched him, so what could be done? Such a small baby, and not born of the Emperor, shouldn't have been brought into this Huang Gong in the first place; those who didn't know might even think this was a child the Emperor had with this woman outside, a bastard with impure blood!

But she had finally caught such a capable Female Physician; that pinch to the tiger's mouth had actually cured more than half of her dizziness!

So she went around telling everyone that there was such a Female Physician in the palace who could treat everyone!

With a group of palace maids and eunuchs coming over like this, she could naturally join in the commotion and demand that Lin Jiaojiao treat her.

Qi Mama thought that this Lin Guniang was not some noble mistress, so treating everyone wouldn't cost her a single hair.

Besides, Lin Jiaojiao had already pinched her back this morning, and her arm was still bruised, but she couldn't bicker with her about this anymore; if she bickered further, the other party wouldn't treat her.

Qi Mama stood outside the door and smirked, "The reason I look full of vigor right now is all because you pinched my tiger's mouth this morning, which stopped my head from spinning and my brain from swelling. Usually, my head throbs with pain and I feel all muddled. If you help me write a prescription and treat my illness, I will definitely put in a good word for you before the Crown Prince and have the Crown Prince reward you!"

Lin Jiaojiao looked at this plain-looking Qi Mama; she was wearing a brownish-red palace mama uniform, and the pearls and jade on her head, while seemingly inconspicuous, were finely carved—any one of them taken out would be a priceless treasure, showing that this Qi Mama had received quite a few rewards.

Since the person had already brought out the Crown Prince, there was no reason not to treat her.

"Fine," Lin Jiaojiao agreed reluctantly, and she signaled the two guards to help move the table and chairs into the courtyard, "Aunts and eunuchs, since you have all come today, please line up in order of age, and I will take your pulses one by one."

Once these words were spoken, the palace maids and eunuchs bowed their heads in praise and lined up in an orderly fashion; even though Qi Mama was not the oldest, she cut the line to be at the very front, waiting for Lin Jiaojiao to take her pulse.

Lin Jiaojiao sat on the stool with the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone prepared beside her, and she added, "It is just that my medical skills are not considered brilliant, and I cannot carefully diagnose every ailment, so I ask that you do not laugh at me."

"If someone is willing to treat my illness, I should be burning incense in gratitude; how would I dare to laugh!"

"Exactly, exactly, I have had this toothache for over half a month; if you can reduce my pain by even a fraction, I will enshrine you and kowtow to you, Female Physician!"

Lin Jiaojiao took out two pieces of silk, one tied around her ears to cover her mouth and nose as a mask, and the other, thinner one, for taking pulses to prevent the transmission of diseases from anyone present.

She responded to the crowd: "Very well, I am only responsible for writing prescriptions; you will have to handle the gathering and decocting of the medicine yourselves."

At the same time, she did not forget to tell the guard to fetch a jar of high-proof liquor so she could wipe her hands for disinfection.

The first person to sit before her was that Qi Mama.

Lin Jiaojiao placed her hand on her wrist and began to take the pulse. In an instant, the crowd fell silent, each one stretching their necks from behind to watch how she took pulses and treated illnesses; even the guard, after bringing the liquor, lined up at the back, wanting Lin Jiaojiao to take his pulse as well.

"Qi Mama, your dizziness and head-swelling ailment is caused by an excess of liver yang," Lin Jiaojiao said after taking Qi Mama's pulse, "I can write you a prescription, but there are a few heat-clearing herbs in this formula that might cause you to experience symptoms of diarrhea..."

As soon as Qi Mama heard that taking the medicine would cause diarrhea, she was very unhappy, "Is there a prescription that won't cause diarrhea?"

"If you don't vent the fire, your headache will just keep coming back." Lin Jiaojiao said it with extreme seriousness, making it convincing.

Yet she knew clearly in her heart that there were other herbs that could be substituted, but thinking of the grudge of the pinch, she wouldn't be able to soothe the hatred in her heart unless she made Qi Mama have diarrhea for a while.

"How about this," seeing that Qi Mama was very reluctant, Lin Jiaojiao suggested, "Why don't you go to the Imperial Hospital and find an Imperial Physician to write you a prescription? Perhaps the Imperial Hospital has better formulas; after all, my medical skills are limited and cannot compare to those old Imperial Physicians—"

"Don't," as soon as Qi Mama heard Lin Jiaojiao tell her to find an old Imperial Physician, she hurriedly spoke up, "The Imperial Physicians only treat noble people; this old servant cannot get an appointment."

Having said that, she knitted her brows into a ball, waiting for Lin Jiaojiao to write her the prescription.

After Lin Jiaojiao finished writing the prescription and handed it to Qi Mama, she did not forget to remind her, "By the way, you still need to pinch and rub these acupuncture points every day—"

"Which acupuncture points?" Qi Mama was completely bewildered.

Seeing this, Lin Jiaojiao smiled and stepped forward, using ten-tenths of her strength to fiercely pinch her tiger's mouth and the nape of her neck; this pinch made Qi Mama let out a scream like a slaughtered pig!

Qi Mama wanted to break free, but Lin Jiaojiao pressed on the acupuncture points, making her afraid to move, and she could only let the tears of pain flow out: "It's killing this old servant! Ouch! Gentler! Ouch!"

Lin Jiaojiao then released her hands from pressing the acupuncture points, poured some liquor on her hands to disinfect them, and instructed with an extremely earnest expression: "Press and rub these acupuncture points with this much force a hundred times every day, and it will help you eliminate the symptoms of dizziness and vertigo."

"Good, good, good," Qi Mama clutched her Fengfu Point and Fengchi Point at the back of her head, which had been pinched sore, and stood up with the prescription; even through the pain, she did not forget to bow in thanks, "Thank you, Lin Guniang, thank you, Lin Guniang."

After Qi Mama got up and left, Lin Jiaojiao signaled for the person behind in line to come forward, "Next, may I ask, what is bothering you, Eunuch?"

"Jiaojiao, my toothache is terrible."

Hearing the familiar voice, Lin Jiaojiao suddenly raised her eyes and realized that the person sitting across from the table and stool was not some eunuch at all, but her former husband—Pei Aosong!