Chapter 2424 - 2398: The Second Type of Pox

Manbao wasn’t considering this at the moment. She was thoughtfully covering for Madam Tang and her sisters and had even found excuses for her apprentices.

Due to limited time, after finishing the acupuncture, she gave a new prescription to Wang Ruile and then got up to leave.

Liu Sanniang packed up the medical box and followed her out, and naturally, Madam Tang, smiling, wanted to see them off to the main gate.

Once outside the guest courtyard, it was Madam Tang’s domain, and she could speak freely with Zhou Man, "How is her illness?"

Manbao: "She’s overthinking too much. It’s okay, but if she can relax and recuperate, she’ll get better faster."

Emotions can be difficult to control, especially since they can’t completely break off relations yet, and many things can’t be done. So Madam Tang skipped this issue, "Did she see the letter?"

"She did."

Manbao reached into the left sleeve pocket and handed back the letter stained with Wang Ruile’s tears to her. Then she reached into the right sleeve pocket and handed two reply letters to her.

Liu Sanniang’s medical box had paper, ink, and pen for writing prescriptions, so Wang Ruile wrote a letter while getting acupuncture.

Madam Tang immediately opened the letters to read.

Manbao hadn’t read either letter. Although she was curious, these were personal secrets, and she wouldn’t peek. She asked openly, "Isn’t this your house? Why go through all this espionage? Can’t you just seize them directly?"

Madam Tang quickly finished reading the letter, and her expression remained calm as she said, "It’s not that simple. They’ve left people outside too. That old thing from the Ma Family sends their Xiaos to the front yard daily, but I’ve had people watching outside. Once we’ve figured out their people outside, it’ll be easier."

Manbao: "It feels like a battle between two countries."

Madam Tang snorted, "This is a battle between two countries."

As Madam Tang saw her to the carriage, Manbao pointed at Liu Sanniang and said, "I’ve spoken with her. In the future, when she does acupuncture, she’ll make them go out. You can communicate with her."

Madam Tang nodded and smiled, greeting Liu Sanniang, "Thank you in advance, Assistant Doctor Liu."

Liu Sanniang smiled, "Madam is too kind."

The Tang Family’s carriage took Zhou Man back to the imperial estate the same way.

In the afternoon, she had to visit patients with smallpox with Imperial Doctor Lu and also had to see the cows that hadn’t gotten smallpox yet, keeping her busy.

The Ma Family’s servants didn’t suspect anything. First, there was no change in Wang Ruile and her two servants; second, after being examined by Zhou Man, Wang Ruile’s condition showed daily improvement.

Even Aunt Ma knew that she stopped bleeding in just seven days and though her complexion was still pale after changing the medicine, the bluish tint on her face had faded somewhat.

Previously, she looked like a beauty near death, but now she had a breath of life.

Why did the Ma Family concede to let Wang Ruile come to the capital for treatment?

First, the Ma Family didn’t want to lose the marriage connection with the Wang Family; second, the fourth grandaunt from the Wang Family urged repeatedly and highly recommended it; third, Wang Ruile and her servants were very obedient in recent years, appearing completely submissive and no longer the rebellious way at the beginning.

Wang Ruile indeed fell seriously ill this time; though her servants did not know, the Ma Family had consulted several of Jizhou’s best doctors who all said she wouldn’t live long. Even if they could stop the bleeding, she didn’t have many years left.

If Wang Ruile died, the son would be a widower. What good wife could he marry the second time?

He only managed to marry Wang Ruile because of a fortunate match, so they didn’t want her to die.

With these instructions, Aunt Ma could comfortably stay at the Tang Residence, and currently the only one in the entire capital who could ask for Imperial Doctor Zhou was Madam Tang.

The errands outside had found out; now there were more than a dozen people hanging around the alley of the Zhou Residence, all asking for medical help.

Aunt Ma entered the inner room, pulled Wang Ruile’s quilt a bit, and with a smile, asked, "Madam, how are you feeling?"

Wang Ruile said, "A bit sleepy. Let me nap for a while."

Aunt Ma agreed with a smile, covered her properly with the quilt, and while doing so, felt around the bed to make sure everything was fine, then let down the bed curtains, and retreated quietly.

Imperial Doctor Zhou had said her body was badly weakened, so if she was sleepy, let her sleep. Upon waking, though, she shouldn’t lie down anymore; she could sit, or hold someone’s hand and wander around the room, or stroll in the courtyard when the wind wasn’t too strong...

If she could improve her spirits, then her vital energy would gradually grow, and she would recover in health.

Manbao returned to the imperial estate and quickly put the outside disputes behind her because she had just returned to her courtyard and hadn’t even sat down to sip a cup of tea when Imperial Doctor Lu rushed over, shouting, "Zhou Man, Zhou Man, Zhou Man——"

Startled, Manbao immediately set down her teacup and ran out, "What is it? What’s going on?"

Imperial Doctor Lu was very excited, "The cows have gotten smallpox; come and see!"

Upon hearing this, Manbao turned around, grabbed a mask, and quickly followed Imperial Doctor Lu to the cowshed.

In just one meal time, the five cows in a separate cowshed all broke out in smallpox, something they hadn’t noticed in the morning.

Imperial Doctor Lu had just discovered it and was full of surprise, saying, "Not many, though. Come take a look."

He parted the fur on the cow’s neck slightly, showing Manbao the two new spots of pox. He had seen so much smallpox over the past two years that he was sick of it, especially lately, so he was quite familiar, "How about it, it’s smallpox, right?"

Manbao nodded, "It’s smallpox. How many spots are there now?"

"No mistake, this is Cow Number One, just three spots."

Manbao: "... So few? If no more appear, how many cows would we need for smallpox inoculation?"

Imperial Doctor Lu: "... Imperial Doctor Zhou sure thinks far ahead, considering even this. But thinking too much is useless. We aren’t doing smallpox, it’s out of our control. Come, you and I will give them an examination and record the data."

They noted down exactly when the smallpox appeared and how many spots there were.

Imperial Doctor Lu sighed a bit, "We were meant to treat the royal family, but now we’re reduced to treating livestock."

Manbao meticulously examined Cow Number One from head to tail, and from tail to head again, confirming the two pox spots only on its neck before noting everything down in the notebook without looking up, "My father-in-law is an old doctor. In our area, whether it’s people who fall ill or cows, sheep, even sick chickens, can all seek his treatment."

She added, "In our area, treating cows is more profitable than treating people."

Imperial Doctor Lu: ... What’s there to be smug about?

Now he could treat livestock too!

The two of them examined the five cows and recorded the outbreak locations one by one, confirming the accuracy and then signing off.

Manbao pondered, "I felt earlier that their body temperatures weren’t very high."

Imperial Doctor Lu nodded, "That’s right, I remember from previous cases of cowpox. Initially, there’s always a bit of fever, even if not high fever, at least minor changes in temperature."

"I think that’s a good sign," said Manbao, "We should check again before dark, and feed them some good beans, as they need proper nourishment when ill."

Imperial Doctor Lu nodded, "Alright."