Listening to Xichun's report, Mo Lixia nodded thoughtfully. Whether in ancient times or the modern era, marketing strategy remained paramount. Attract customers with small trinkets and the foot traffic will naturally lead to sales.
Leng Xue shook off her somber mood. "Enough of these annoying thoughts. Li'er, Mochen, today I'll cook for you personally. We'll have a grand meal! I even have some aged plum wine stashed away."
"What? Sister-in-law drinks alcohol?" Mochen cried out, his eyes wide with shock before Lixia could even react.
"And why shouldn't I?" Leng Xue replied with a mock-serious squint.
"The ancient sages said that a woman should follow the 'Three Obediences and Four Virtues', and she should—"
"Stop right there!" Leng Xue felt a headache coming on. She stood up and gave Mochen's forehead a playful flick. "You little sprout, you've only been at school a few days and you're already trying to lecture me? If your Sister-in-law followed those 'Virtues,' I would have starved to death long ago."
Lixia watched Mochen with a frown. Has he been brainwashed after just a few days at the academy? She truly needed to consider the pros and cons of him being a residential student.
"Xichun, take them to the backyard," Leng Xue instructed. "I'm going to whip up a few signature dishes."
"Sister-in-law, you don't have to trouble yourself," Lixia said. "Don't you still have embroidery to finish?"
"There's time. Xichun, go on."
The Master's Legacy
In the backyard, shaded by two lush silk trees (Albizia), Lixia sat in an octagonal pavilion. However, her mind kept drifting to the Kirin Pharmacy. She stood up abruptly. "Xichun, Mochen and I need to step out to the Kirin Pharmacy. Tell Sister-in-law we'll be back shortly."
"Is Miss feeling unwell? I can go for you," Xichun offered.
"No, I need to go personally."
The pharmacy was only a few storefronts away. Lixia, Mochen, and their retinue soon stood before a three-room-wide shop. Above the door hung a black plaque with gold-leaf lettering in formal clerical script: Kirin Pharmacy.
Columns on either side of the entrance bore vertical plaques: "Pills, Powders, and Ointments" on the right, and "Decoctions, Potions, and Infusions" on the left.
The shop interior was spacious but had an air of neglect. A young clerk was dozing off against the medicine cabinet. At a long table sat an elderly man with a wispy white beard, his trembling hand holding a medical text. This was likely Dr. Chai, the senile doctor Xichun had mentioned.
The Medical Emergency
Before Lixia could approach, a commotion erupted in the street. A brawny man burst into the shop, charging straight for Dr. Chai.
"Dr. Chai! Please, save my daughter!" The man grabbed the old doctor's collar in desperation.
"Stop! Unhand me!" the doctor barked. "Speak clearly! An old man like me can't handle such rough treatment!"
A woman followed behind, clutching a wailing child. The man cried, "A few days ago, my daughter scraped her arm. We thought it would just scab over, but instead, it turned into this massive abscess! She won't stop crying from the pain!"
Dr. Chai pulled back the child's sleeve. The wound was horrific—rotting, oozing pus, and surrounded by hard, inflamed tissue with a white, fluctuating center. After checking her pulse, the doctor sighed.
"If this had been treated early, it would be a minor matter. But in this summer heat, it has become Abscess Heat Toxin Syndrome. The toxins have blocked her meridians and stagnated her blood flow. Medicine won't work now. She needs surgical debridement—to have the rotten flesh cut away and the bone cleaned."
"What? Cut her flesh? She's so small!" The father fell to his knees, kowtowing until his forehead bled. The mother hugged the child and wailed.
"Kowtowing won't help," Dr. Chai said helplessly. "It is the only way. Furthermore, I am too old. Look at my hands—they shake too much to perform such a delicate operation."
The couple was paralyzed with despair. "We've been to every clinic! The head doctor at Jishi Hall is out of town... in all of the Capital, you are our only hope!"
"There is nothing I can do," Dr. Chai lamented. "If only my Master were here... he could have cured this in an instant."
"My Master can cure this little girl," Mochen's voice rang out, clear and steady, cutting through the weeping in the hall.