“I’ll need to check your pulse to know.”
Feng Qingsui replied.
Madam Wei extended her hand for the pulse reading.
After observing, listening, questioning, and feeling the pulse, Feng Qingsui smiled and said, “I can help you lose twenty catties in half a month, but you’ll need to be determined.”
Madam Wei, who had been unable to conceive for six years and was growing desperate, felt there was nothing she couldn’t endure.
Impatiently, she said, “Just tell me.”
“First, starting today, cut out all sugar—including candies, pastries, drinks, dishes made with sugar… as well as all fruits and refined rice and flour.”
“Second, no matter how many meals you ate before, from today on, reduce it to two meals a day. For each meal, eat vegetables first, then meat, and finally staple foods. Staples can include brown rice, wheat rice, or tubers, but no more than a fist-sized portion.” (Note: Everyone’s health, metabolism, and nutritional needs vary. Do not imitate fictional characters’ dietary adjustments.)
“Finally, walk briskly for two hours every day.”
Madam Wei was so shocked her eyebrows nearly fell off.
No sweets, only two meals a day, and two hours of walking every day?!
“You’re asking for my life!”
“Just prescribe me medicine. I can’t do these things.”
Feng Qingsui calmly replied, “Madam, I can prescribe you medicine that will make you have diarrhea for half a month and lose your appetite, which could also help you lose ten to twenty catties. But once you stop the medicine and resume your previous diet, you’ll quickly gain the weight back. Why go through such futile effort?”
“I assume you’ve tried this method before.”
Madam Wei: “…”
She had indeed tried it—losing ten or so catties only to gain it back, sometimes even more than before.
Her willow-leaf eyebrows instantly furrowed into wavy lines.
“Isn’t there any medicine that makes you lose weight and never gain it back?”
Feng Qingsui: “There is, actually.”
Madam Wei’s expression brightened for a moment before she glared at her. “And you’re keeping it to yourself?”
“Please hear me out first,” Feng Qingsui chuckled lightly. “This isn’t exactly medicine but rather a grafting technique. If you’ve seen people with tumors, you’d know that many tumors cause weight loss. Of course, some don’t just cause weight loss—they can also lead to death.”
“But we can choose tumors that aren’t likely to cause death easily, cut a small piece from them, make an incision on your body, and apply it there. If you’re lucky, you’ll grow the same kind of tumor.”
“These tumors will absorb a large amount of your nutrients, so no matter how much you eat, you won’t gain weight.”
Madam Wei: “？？？！！！”
Is this even human talk?!
Who would implant tumors in themselves just to lose weight?!
“You really are asking for my life.”
Feng Qingsui smiled faintly. “I just want you to understand that there’s no medicine that lets you eat without gaining weight—only illnesses that do.”
Madam Wei: “…”
“If you’re worried you won’t be able to stick to the diet and exercise, I can come and accompany you every day.”
Feng Qingsui encouraged her.
Madam Wei was somewhat tempted but also hesitant. “Wouldn’t that take up too much of your time…?”
“I’m just a widow. Besides mourning, I have nothing else to do. It’s only half a month, after all.”
Feng Qingsui added more persuasion.
“You can try it for a few days first, see the results, and then decide whether to stick with it.”
Madam Wei was finally convinced.
“Then I’ll trouble you.”
Having successfully achieved her goal, Feng Qingsui returned to Ji Fu with noticeably lighter steps.
During dinner with Madam Qi that evening, Feng Qingsui shared the news: “Mother, starting tomorrow, I’ll be accompanying the wife of the Rongchang Hou Shizi to help her lose weight, so I won’t be at the mansion during the day.”
Madam Qi was taken aback. “You’ll be going to the Rongchang Marquis Mansion every day?”
Feng Qingsui nodded.
Madam Qi’s brows furrowed so tightly they could crush a fly.
“The Rongchang Marquis Mansion is no good place…”
“Mother, I know,” Feng Qingsui said with a smile. “I’ll be careful.”
Why couldn’t she just stay quietly at home? Why must she venture into the households of the high and mighty?
Madam Qi wanted to ask her this.
But considering that Feng Qingsui might be afraid of staying cooped up at home, dwelling on thoughts of her late husband, and deliberately keeping herself busy, she couldn’t bring herself to voice the question.
Later, when Ji Changqing returned, she specifically had someone summon him.
“Mother, on such a cold night, you really shouldn’t leave supper for me anymore. You should rest earlier from now on.”
Ji Changqing’s voice arrived before he did.
Entering the hall, he saw no table set.
Where was his lovingly prepared supper?
Madam Qi shot him a reproachful look. “Who said I left supper for you? All those times before, it always went cold and had to be thrown away. I never saw you eat any of it.”
Ji Changqing: “…”
“I did drink the soup,” he felt the need to clarify. “And the sweet soup too.”
“Just one sip.”
“…”
They say memory fades with age, but how is Mother’s memory so remarkably sharp…
“Alright, enough excuses,” Madam Qi said impatiently. “I called you here to ask you to have someone keep an eye on your sister-in-law.”
Ji Changqing looked surprised.
Had Mother finally noticed something off about Madam Feng?
But then she continued, “She said she’ll be accompanying the wife of the Rongchang Hou Shizi to lose weight and will be staying at the Rongchang Marquis Mansion during the day from now on. I’m worried she might fall into someone’s trap.”
Ji Changqing: “…”
That woman falling into someone else’s trap?
More likely others would fall into hers.
She went to Princess Shouyang’s Mansion to treat an illness, and a renowned female physician died. Now she’s going to the Rongchang Marquis Mansion to treat someone—who knows who might die this time.
Though he grumbled inwardly, he replied obediently, “Mother, don’t worry. I’ll have someone keep an eye on her.”
Only then did Madam Qi feel reassured.
As if just noticing her son, she frowned at his thin clothing. “It’s so cold. Why aren’t you wearing more?”
Ji Changqing: “Mother, my winter clothes are a bit old…”
“Then get new ones.”
“When will you get them for me?”
Madam Qi rolled her eyes. “Are you waiting for me to make them? If you wait for me, the willow trees will have sprouted before they’re done. There are so many clothing workshops in the capital—can’t you go buy some?”
Ji Changqing: “…”
He sighed deeply. “Alright, I’ll go check the clothing workshops tomorrow.”
“Wait.” Madam Qi suddenly remembered something and turned to fetch a pair of gloves from her room. “Your sister-in-law made these and asked me to give them to you. I almost forgot.”
“Are these… made of wool?”
Ji Changqing took them with some surprise.
Wool could actually be spun into thread and made into fabric.
Madam Qi nodded. “Your sister-in-law said her teacher taught her. These gloves made of wool yarn are much softer and more flexible than those made of fur—they fit like a second skin.”
They were indeed much more flexible.
Ji Changqing tried them on.
It felt like he could even write while wearing these gloves.
What kind of person was Madam Feng’s teacher? A question arose in his mind. Someone who could say that a person dies twice, knew how to spin wool into yarn, and taught Madam Feng medical skills?
She didn’t sound like an ordinary woman.
Thinking of the news Shi An brought back from Wucheng, Madam Feng’s household registration indeed existed—there truly was such a person, abducted in childhood and only returning to seek relatives after both parents had passed away.
He harbored doubts.
Who could prove that the person who returned was the one listed in the household registry?
Human memory tends to blur. Even if neighbors claimed it was the same person, it couldn’t be taken as definitive proof.
If Feng Qingsui knew his thoughts, she might have given him a nod of approval.
Having been blind for ten years, she never relied on appearances to recognize people—she always relied on voices.
On the second day of accompanying Madam Wei to lose weight at the Rongchang Marquis Mansion, she recognized an old acquaintance by their voice.