Chapter 19The matter of Zheng Jingyu's lost jade pendant was dropped without resolution. After the end-of-month examinations in the fourth month, Yingniang was to prepare to go to Wuchang Prefecture with her parents. Feng Li planned to be away for three days, so three days' worth of changes of clothes needed to be prepared.Yingniang asked Feng Li, "Father, since Uncle passed the imperial examination, he's been studying at the academy in Wuchang Prefecture. Are we going to find him?""I wrote to your uncle, and he said he's already made plans with his classmates, so we'll stay at an inn when we get there." Feng Li felt deeply that his decision was the right one when he mentioned this.His younger brother had been lifted up by the whole family, yet he often neglected his family members and treated outsiders better instead. Whatever outsiders said, he listened to as if it were heavenly music, but when family said a word or two, he grew impatient. Once, Feng Li ran into Feng He and his classmates on the road, and Feng He didn't even greet his own elder brother.Not to mention that this time, though on the surface it was about watching the dragon boat race at the Dragon Boat Festival, in reality it was to help Mrs. Jiang regulate her health. Such an important matter, yet Feng He was only worried about not breaking his promise to his friends.Of course, the brothers usually had a decent relationship; it was just that his younger brother was poor at handling social niceties, was soft-eared, and couldn't distinguish between close and distant relations. In the future, if he had no son, he probably couldn't count on his brother either. If his brother married a formidable wife, even he himself might end up being controlled.So the most urgent matter was to first regulate his wife's health. If it could be improved, and if there was no danger to her body, then having another child would be good. If it couldn't be improved, then in the future when their daughter married, the couple could still support themselves.It was just that the doctors in Yunshui Town were mostly showy but not effective, their medical skills truly mediocre. He had gone to great lengths to learn that there was a highly skilled gynecological specialist named Doctor Yao in Wuchang Prefecture, so he was bringing his wife there specially for treatment. But he was also afraid his wife would feel burdened—if people found out, they might think Mrs. Jiang was anxious to have a child, and if she turned out unable to conceive, everyone would blame her.People in this world were truly strange—why were they so harsh specifically toward women?When men had even the slightest merit, they were praised to the skies, but when women failed at one thing, everyone criticized them.When Yingniang heard her father say this, she could only say, "In that case, the three of us playing together will be more relaxed anyway."Mrs. Jiang smiled and said, "You're only thinking about playing.""Mother, if you had to take exams every day and every month, you'd definitely want to rest too." Yingniang was indeed a bit tired, like a little bird in a cage, desperately wanting to fly out.Old Man Feng drove the cart to take them to the ferry crossing. The boat fare was three wen per person, and including the maidservant and page boy, it came to only a few dozen wen in total.Feng Li was saying to them, "Do you know why we don't travel by land? If we went by land, before we'd even walked ten li, someone would come out to block the road, throwing rotten wood in the middle of the path and demanding toll money. If you didn't pay, the whole village would come beat you. It's better to travel through more bustling areas—you spend more money, but you feel safer."It was Yingniang's first time on a boat. She went to the bow to look around, finding everything novel.On the river there were tall Gaoyao boats, ornately carved and painted pleasure barges, and reed-mat boats like theirs, which couldn't withstand rain and were therefore cheaper.On the banks, flowers were red and willows were green—it was the height of blooming season, utterly lovely.Feng Li took half a box of pastries they'd brought from home and offered them to the two boatmen, who had been taciturn at first but now began chatting with Feng Li.The weather was pleasant and warm. Mrs. Jiang listened to her husband talking with the men and watched her daughter return from the bow, then waved at her: "Sit still for a bit. In less than half an hour, we'll arrive at Wuchang Prefecture.""So fast?" Yingniang had thought they'd need to sit for at least half a day.Mrs. Jiang smiled and said, "The boat we're on is called a 'Double Flying Swallow'—I'm afraid we'll be there even sooner."Sure enough, in less than half an hour—in fact, in only two ke—they arrived at Pinghu Gate in Wuchang Prefecture. Nearby there was a cart shop with a sign reading "Carriages for Hire," and several wheelbarrows were placed in front of the shop for people to ride in.But Feng Li didn't rent a cart, saying only, "Wuchang Prefecture has too many people. Even having someone push you isn't cheap. Better we walk—it's not far anyway."Mrs. Jiang and Yingniang naturally listened to Feng Li. In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they arrived at the Huguang Provincial Administration Commission office. Feng Li introduced it to them: "This is where the provincial examination results are posted. I usually stay nearby. It's close to the government offices, and even the Prince of Chu's mansion is only half an hour from here.""Husband, let's stay at whatever inn you usually stay at," Mrs. Jiang said. She always felt somewhat constrained outside. In Yunshui Town she was the local authority, coming and going without fear, but in Wuchang Prefecture she always felt a bit intimidated.Feng Li laughed and said, "That won't do. Businessmen love to overcharge familiar customers. Let's go to the largest inn nearby, the Peng Family Inn, and stay somewhere decent."The Peng Family Inn was very large. Feng Li reserved an official room—the best accommodation—for the three of them. An official room meant a suite, furnished with tables and chairs, a wardrobe, a chamber pot, and a candlestand. Such a room cost three qian and eight fen in silver, plus a tax of one qian and eight fen, totaling around five qian.The banquet in the main quarters was different too, with sugar cakes, five kinds of fruit, ten dishes, and assorted nuts, and one could even hire a young singing girl to perform. Feng Li, being a proper man, wanted none of that.Yingniang noticed that the food served at the inn outside was indeed different from what they had at home. For instance, at home they mostly ate fish braised in soy sauce, or stewed fish heads, but here they served crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside ciba fish. It wasn't as salty and hard as cured fish, nor did it suffer from the problem of fresh fish where only the outside is flavored while the inside remains bland. This ciba fish suited her taste especially well.After the meal, Feng Li sent a servant to fetch Doctor Yao, and only then did Yingniang learn that her father had brought her mother here for treatment. Over the years, her mother had never conceived again. Every year when her grandmother came to visit, she would make remarks, and even her aunts and other relatives would gossip in private. Some suggested she go to the temple to make offerings and seek blessed talisman water, while others told her to take various pills.Fortunately, although Mrs. Jiang was anxious, she trusted Feng Li, who forbade her from taking such things. So on ordinary days, she only ate more nourishing supplements and never bought those talisman waters.Doctor Yao, however, made them wait a full two hours before arriving. Yingniang saw that he was about thirty years old, not at all like Doctor Ji with his white beard and immortal, otherworldly air. She thought to herself that the saying "achievement has nothing to do with age" must hold true—perhaps this Doctor Yao was quite good.Feng Li sent the servants away, and fearing his daughter might be taken out by someone, made her sit on a chair.Doctor Yao first asked Feng Li about Mrs. Jiang's condition. Feng Li said, "After my wife's first childbirth, she suddenly experienced dizziness and blurred vision, nausea and vomiting, and her mind would drift. At the time, we called a doctor, and the prescription he wrote is here."Feng Li took out an old prescription from his sleeve. Doctor Yao looked at it, then took Mrs. Jiang's pulse, and only afterward handed the paper back to Feng Li, shaking his head repeatedly. "In my view, the doctor who wrote this prescription believed it was a case of blood attacking the heart. But your wife's condition is caused by qi deficiency leading to collapse. After childbirth, a woman's blood is inevitably depleted, and with qi deficiency on top of that, she naturally cannot nourish a fetus. Therefore, one absolutely cannot treat the blood dizziness alone—one must greatly supplement both qi and blood.""It was too dangerous at the time," Feng Li sighed.Doctor Yao said, "I can see that your wife is fortunate to have an extremely strong constitution, otherwise she would have long since failed to cross this threshold of death."Feng Li, seeing that the doctor spoke with real insight, immediately asked, "Doctor Yao, seven years have passed now. How is my wife's condition? What further treatment does she need?"Doctor Yao took Mrs. Jiang's pulse again and asked very detailed questions.Mrs. Jiang said, "I've always had a fiery constitution, but now my internal heat is even stronger. Especially after nightfall, I always feel dry in the mouth and parched, as if I'm being roasted over a fire. The doctor we saw previously said I had yin deficiency causing internal heat, but the medicine he prescribed never seemed to help."Even though she felt embarrassed, this was Wuchang after all, and they didn't know anyone here, so Mrs. Jiang felt a bit bolder.After listening, Doctor Yao shook his head. "That's not it. You have internal heat in your bone marrow. That's why you haven't conceived…"The doctor spoke with great confidence and fluency, and Feng Li could tell there was real substance to his words. He had him write a prescription and immediately paid two taels of silver for the consultation fee, plus three qian for the sedan chair fare.That very evening, Feng Li went alone to the pharmacy and bought sixty doses of "Clear Bone and Nourish Kidney Decoction" according to the prescription.With the illness diagnosed and the medicine obtained, Feng Li and Mrs. Jiang felt greatly relieved. The next day, they specially took Yingniang to watch the dragon boat race. There were so many people in the provincial capital—a sea of humanity, so crowded one could barely move.Yingniang could only see a few teams rowing from afar, and after they finished, she couldn't tell who was who. Her father then took them to a nearby mountain to enjoy the scenery, and they played there for the whole day. Before returning on the third day, Yingniang bought gauze fans and handkerchiefs. Plain white gauze round fans cost three to five fen of silver each—not very expensive—and the silk handkerchiefs were similarly priced. But those with gold tracing, embroidery, or kingfisher feather inlay cost several qian of silver, much more expensive.Not to mention that Yingniang brought gifts for her classmates and improved her relationships with them all—meanwhile, Mrs. Jiang had been taking the medicine for two or three months. She had been skeptical at first and even complained to her husband: "That bitter juice cost us so much silver. Though my body has improved somewhat, if it turns out to be ineffective, wouldn't that be a waste of money?"Feng Li smiled and said, "You can sleep now after nightfall, and your internal heat isn't as strong as before. That's a good sign.""Husband, I—" Mrs. Jiang had some things she found hard to say.Why were her relatives always eyeing their household covetously? It was all because they had no son. Although Mrs. Jiang had a loving husband, their life was getting better day by day, and her daughter gave her no trouble, she still worried in her heart. In the future, when she and her husband grew old, what would become of their daughter? Her brother-in-law wasn't someone who could manage the household independently—he had passed the county examination but was already over twenty and never thought about earning money.Even if he eventually married, if he took a formidable wife, he probably couldn't even hold his own position in his own home. How could he possibly stand up for his niece?Mrs. Jiang's worries were something even Feng Li had no way to resolve.Yingniang also let out a sigh. In her previous life, when she first gave birth to a princess, she had been able to rise directly from a low-ranking concubine of the eighth rank, a Cairen, to a Jieyu of the fourth rank. It was only because the princess was taken under the care of Consort Shu that she had to endure it. In the end, after giving birth to an imperial prince, she leaped to the rank of consort and took her daughter back from Consort Shu.Many women suffered unfair treatment due to having no sons, and she could understand Mrs. Jiang's feelings.Fortunately, after the Double Ninth Festival mountain-climbing ancestral rites, Mrs. Jiang's menstruation stopped. When the physician was consulted, it turned out she was pregnant, and the entire household was overjoyed.

Yingniang