Jiang Tang glanced at him, picked up a clean cloth, and wiped her hands: "Whether I can treat him depends on whether he has the good fortune to last until I prepare the medicine. However..."
She changed the subject: "I saved him, so you must pay my consultation fee."
The Guard felt his Master's breath on the bed gradually stabilize, and the undulation of his chest became more even, so the look he gave Jiang Tang became much more respectful.
He cupped his hands and bowed: "That is only natural! If you, young lady, can truly save my Master, Xi Sha will be eternally grateful. Please forgive my earlier offense."
Jiang Tang waved her hand, her tone casual: "It's no big deal. My brain doesn't have room for such things; I'd already tossed it aside."
As she spoke, she turned and walked to the bedside, pinched the end of a needle with her fingertips, rotated her wrist slightly, and deftly removed the needle.
At this moment, a sound of flustered steps came from outside the door.
An old man with a head full of white hair and a messy beard was dragged in, half-carried and half-pulled by another Guard.
The old man staggered to stand steady, leaning on a chair and panting; he looked as if he had been "carried" all the way here.
"Xi Sha, how is the Young Master?" The Guard who entered dropped the old man and went into the inner room himself.
Xi Sha pointed to Jiang Tang, who was in the middle of removing needles: "The Young Master suddenly fell ill just now, but thanks to this young lady's treatment, he has stabilized."
Seeing Nan Xuan enter alone, he inquired further: "Why are you the only one? Where is Doctor Meng?"
"He's outside catching his breath," Nan Xuan replied vaguely.
Xi Sha understood instantly; Nan Xuan must have heard that the Young Master had met with an accident and, in his haste, dragged Doctor Meng here, putting him through quite an ordeal.
Just as his guess settled, he saw Doctor Meng shuffling in tremblingly, one hand on the door frame and the other clutching his chest, blowing his beard and glaring at Nan Xuan: "You brat! Dragging this old man around, you nearly shook my old bones apart! If it weren't for saving the Young Master, I would have stuck you with a needle to keep you jumping around non-stop!"
"It's not too late to stick me now," Jiang Tang said, having just pulled out the last needle. She raised her hand to hand over the needle case, smiling in an open and honest manner. "Remember to use disinfection before using them again, otherwise, the poison on these needles will remain on him."
"Poison?" Doctor Meng, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, suddenly straightened up. His cloudy eyes widened, full of unbelievable shock, "Are you saying... the Young Master was poisoned?"
Nan Xuan and Xi Sha also crowded over instantly, all three of them wearing identical expressions of shock.
Over the years, besides the palace doctors, they had invited countless famous folk doctors, but they all only said the Young Master had a weak constitution; no one had ever mentioned the word "poisoned."
Even Doctor Meng himself believed that the Young Master's weakness was something he had brought from the womb.
Jiang Tang was the first doctor to say that Xiao Mingyuan was poisoned.
Jiang Tang tidied the needle case in a leisurely manner and explained without looking up: "Treading Cloud Miasma, a chronic poison. The nature of the poison is insidious and lies dormant very deeply..."
"It cannot be detected by a standard pulse check, as it specifically erodes a person's vital essence. He was poisoned while in his mother's womb, making it even harder to detect in him because the pulse and his weak constitution are almost indistinguishable."
After hearing this, Doctor Meng's hand, which was stroking his beard, suddenly paused. He closed his eyes to recall the details of checking Xiao Mingyuan's pulse over the years.
A floating pulse, difficulty in sinking his breath, fear of cold and wind... didn't that match exactly what Jiang Tang said?
He had previously only thought it was a congenital weakness and had never thought of "poisoning"!
After all, when the Ninth Prince was born, his breath was as thin as a thread, his face was red and purple, and he almost didn't make it.
Xiao Mingyuan on the bed suddenly moved, his eyelashes trembling slightly; he had long since woken up and was silently listening to their conversation.
Weak constitution? He wasn't weak at all; he just felt a bit floaty when he walked.
"Alright, if you're awake, get up! I'm still waiting to verify my results and collect my money to go home," Jiang Tang said, having been sharp-eyed enough to notice he was awake.
Xiao Mingyuan slowly opened his eyes, the depths of his pupils still carrying a bit of the haziness of just waking up.
Xi Sha and Nan Xuan quickly stepped forward, carefully helping him sit up and placing a soft pillow behind his back.
Doctor Meng could no longer hold back; he walked quickly to the bedside and reached out to place his fingers on Xiao Mingyuan's pulse.
As soon as his fingertips touched the pulse points, his eyes lit up. He held his breath for a moment, then let go, stroking his messy beard with a face full of amazement: "Wonderful! The Young Master's pulse is now much more steady and strong; there will be no problem with him living another twenty years."
"Is him living another twenty years enough to make you this happy?" Jiang Tang raised an eyebrow from beside them, her tone teasing, "Don't you hope for your Young Master to live a long life?"
Doctor Meng suddenly looked up at her, his lips trembling slightly, his eyes full of disbelief: "This poison... could it be that you, young lady, can cure it?"
He had practiced medicine for decades and had read countless medical books, but he had never even heard of a poison like Treading Cloud Miasma.
He was once the Head of the Imperial Hospital, and after retiring, he had stayed by the Ninth Prince's side to delay his illness.
He had originally thought that Jiang Tang could only use acupuncture to temporarily slow the toxicity; he hadn't expected her to have such confidence at such a young age.
"I can cure it, but the medicine needs to be prepared, and I can't make it in a short time. You also said he has twenty years to live, so let's just wait." Thinking about it again, she added, "My family is so poor we're about to run out of food, so hurry up and give me the money for the vase and the consultation fee; I need to go home."
"May I ask what the consultation fee is?"
Although Xiao Mingyuan's face was still pale, his eyes were much clearer.
He looked at Jiang Tang, his gaze filled with inquiry and a trace of imperceptible surprise.
The young lady in front of him, wearing patched clothes, not only understood medical skills but also spoke so directly and honestly, without any of the restraint that ordinary people showed when facing him.
Her medical skills were likely far above Doctor Meng's. To have such ability at this age, he wondered who her master was.
This time, Jiang Tang held up a finger again. Thinking of the price Xiao Mingyuan had called out earlier, she decided to say it herself: "One hundred taels."
As soon as she finished speaking, Xi Sha, Nan Xuan, and Doctor Meng all widened their eyes, their faces full of disbelief.
"Do you think it's too much?" Jiang Tang didn't know the fee standards of this era.
The three of them shook their heads quickly.
Jiang Tang couldn't guess: "Since it's not too much, why are you staring?"
It was too little...
Their Young Master's life was worth a lot!
Hmm... was it too little, and she wasn't happy?
Should she add some more?
She coughed lightly and, feigning composure, added: "What I said was just the consultation fee. The treatment fees for the acupuncture and pressing the acupoints just now haven't been calculated yet. We have to take it one step at a time."
Xi Sha and Nan Xuan were both stunned; could consultation fees be broken down like that?
This young lady's way of thinking was like a merchant's, which was quite different from ordinary doctors.
"Young lady, you calculate it, just give me a number," Xiao Mingyuan said, finding it quite novel as it was his first time hearing of such a thing.
Jiang Tang thought for a moment and gave a number: "Three hundred taels."
Xiao Mingyuan gave a look to the Shopkeeper, who had the least presence on the side. The Shopkeeper understood instantly, bowed, retreated, and turned to go downstairs.
At this time, Xi Sha took out the ten thousand taels for the vase from his pocket and handed it to Jiang Tang.
Ten banknotes of one thousand taels each; Jiang Tang felt her heart jumping out of her chest. This was ten thousand taels!
If she were selling seafood here, she wouldn't even dare to imagine it; she probably wouldn't make ten thousand taels in a lifetime.
✦✦✦