A life of two souls traveling through time

Chunying, a village woman, got better under Siyao's treatment and was able to do some light work in the fields in just a few days. Aunt Zhen, who often helped Chunying's family, was delighted to see Chunying become more energetic day by day and praised the medical skills of this foreign girl. She also asked Siyao to go with her to the town to see a patient.

Si Yao would definitely not refuse the offer to practice medicine, not to mention that she now owed Yingmen a high-interest debt and she urgently needed to go out to diagnose patients and make money.

"The Lin family is a well-known wealthy family in this area. Mr. Lin is kind and generous, and everyone respects him. His second wife, Mrs. Lin, is young and pretty. She is the youngest daughter of the shopkeeper Bai of Baiyunzhai, a bookstore in the town. Coincidentally, my brothers from my mother's side are distant relatives of his family. After hearing about this, I felt relieved." In the early morning, when it was dawn, Aunt Zhen took Si Yao to the town on foot. On the way, Aunt Zhen had nothing to do, so she kept talking about the patient in the town: "It is very glorious and respectable for a girl from a small bookstore to sit on the position of the mistress of the Lin family! It's a pity that she has a short life! After two years in the Lin family, she has not been able to give birth to a child to gain a foothold in the Lin family, and she even got stupidity, which made her parents worried! Fortunately, Mr. Lin is kind-hearted and loves his new wife very much. Since she fell ill, he has been looking for doctors and medicine everywhere and has never despised her. Although she is stupid now, she is still a dignified Mrs. Lin!"

"Mrs. Lin is young, so how old is Mr. Lin?" Si Yao was silent for a moment, then asked.

"There is a full twenty-year age difference between the two. I remember that the girl from the Bai family was less than eighteen when she got married. Now, Mr. Lin is forty years old." Aunt Zhen took out a handkerchief from her sleeve, wiped the saliva from the corner of her mouth, and continued.

"How could her parents agree to this marriage?" Si Yao couldn't help but frown, shaking his head and sighing.

"Even though they are an old and young couple, who wouldn't want to marry into the Lin Mansion? Not to mention becoming the main wife, even as a concubine there would be people scrambling to get in. Let's talk about her Bai family. The bookstore's business used to be good, but I don't know why it has been so bad in recent years. Later, the shopkeeper Bai got addicted to drinking and gambling, and owed a lot of money outside. He was even more eager to let his daughter marry into the Lin Mansion!" However, in the face of Si Yao's sigh, Aunt Zhen laughed and said indifferently.

That's it!

Si Yao didn't say anything else, but sighed again in her heart for the young girl.

The two of them unknowingly arrived at the small town. Aunt Zhen took Si Yao to Baiyunzhai to find the Bai family first. When the old lady Bai learned that it was the doctor who came to treat her youngest daughter again, she muttered a few words and then personally led them to the Lin family.

The Lin Mansion on the west side of the town is very majestic, with a vermilion lacquered gate with gilded door knockers, blue bricks and grey tiles, and flying eaves and brackets. It is luxurious and elegant.

Si Yao followed the Lin residence's housekeeper and Old Madam Bai into the backyard, while Madam Zhen was left in the front yard by the servants waiting.

"The master just went out and he may not be back until the evening. I'll have to trouble you, old lady, today." The housekeeper of the Lin residence led the way and said respectfully to old lady Bai.

"After all, you're here to see my daughter, you're too polite, housekeeper." Old Madam Bai looked haggard and responded absentmindedly.

Afterwards, the housekeeper did not reply. Si Yao followed the two silently, taking in the scenery of the mansion. On the way here, she learned from Aunt Zhen that the Lin family had three generations of nobles. Although the descendants of the Lin family have no achievements, the reputation of their ancestors is still there. Mr. Lin often helps the village to fund bridge repairs, manage charity granaries, and help the government coordinate conflicts among villagers. He is highly respected by people from all over the country. However, such a kind-hearted person's home is so quiet and lifeless, which makes Si Yao incredible.

"My daughter is mentally ill. Sometimes she sleeps for days without waking up, and sometimes she sits for days without sleep. She even hides things at home. She becomes absent-minded after saying a few words in front of others, and she sobs and murmurs incomprehensible words behind others. She has been like this for more than a year. Countless doctors have been found for her, but none of them can cure her. Alas, we, as her parents, have raised her with great difficulty, but we didn't expect that she would be so useless at such a young age!" In the room, Si Yao was taking the pulse of the patient who had fainted on the bed. Old Madam Bai, who was sitting beside her, wiped her tears and sighed. At the end, a trace of resentment of disappointment in her eyes flashed, but it disappeared in a flash and she lowered her head to wipe her tears again.

"Is the patient's menstrual period normal?" Si Yao listened to the old lady Bai's sobbing complaint, and turned his gaze to the haggard face on the sickbed. He suddenly felt mixed emotions, and the words that came out of his mouth were like a layer of frost.

When Mrs. Bai heard the doctor's sudden cold tone, she was startled. After a moment's silence, she sighed, "My daughter has stopped having menstrual periods for half a year."

"Women's diseases usually come from physical weakness, cold accumulation or qi stagnation. Mrs. Lin's disease is caused by phlegm and qi in the chest and abdomen, which is mostly caused by insufficient marrow, lack of nourishment of the soul, and long-term depression. To treat the disease, you must replenish the body fluids first, and then use the medicine after the body fluids are replenished."

After checking the pulse, Si Yao stood up and walked to the table to write down a prescription. There were only three herbs on it: wheat, licorice, and jujube. She handed it to a maid and said to Madam Bai, "Take this prescription today. I'll come back tomorrow."

"Thank you, Doctor Siyao." Old Madam Bai also stood up, sent Siyao out of the room and asked the housekeeper to see him off.

"Girl, is there a cure for Mrs. Lin's illness?" After leaving the Lin Mansion, Aunt Zhen asked.

"Auntie, I can't say for sure." Si Yao turned her head and smiled faintly at the old woman beside her. It was obvious that Mrs. Lin's illness was caused by a heart disease. If the heart disease was not cured, even if the mental illness was cured, there was no guarantee that she would develop another disease in the future.

Seeing that Si Yao didn't want to say more, Aunt Zhen didn't dare to ask any more questions. She just smiled awkwardly and said nothing more. The two of them walked out of the town in silence all the way when they suddenly heard crying and shouting coming from a house at the entrance of the town. There were already a dozen people gathered at the door of that house, talking a lot.

"Oh, what happened?" Aunt Zhen also came forward curiously to ask, but soon she shook her head and sighed, saying repeatedly: "What a pity, what a pity!"

"What's wrong?" Si Yao, who was waiting in the distance, asked when she saw Aunt Zhen coming back with a look of regret.

"The girl in his family is stubborn and strong-willed. Now she is over 29 years old but still doesn't want to get married. Her parents and clan elders are all helpless. I heard that yesterday the official personally came forward to betroth the girl to a widower who is ten years older than her. The girl naturally didn't want to marry. The official also said that if she refused to marry, her parents would have to be caned on her behalf. The girl didn't want to implicate her parents, nor did she want to succumb to coercion, so she hanged herself last night!"

Hearing this, Si Yao's fingertips suddenly clenched the strap of the medicine box, and she looked back at the family again. The grief-stricken crying was still echoing in her ears, and she felt her throat tighten. Perhaps in the eyes of others, that was stubbornness, but in her eyes, it was the last bit of dignity of a trapped beast.

This cannibalistic world is an abyss from which countless women cannot escape.