The Rise of a General's Daughter-in-Law Doctor

When Li Muxia, dressed in men's clothing, arrived at the residential area in the south of the city with his master carrying a medicine box, all he saw were rows of low thatched huts, with the occasional wooden house or two. These must be considered wealthy households in the area.

The people living in the south are mostly from poor families, and many of them are sick. However, they don't have enough money, so most of them choose to tough it out. Those who really can't tough it out have no choice but to accept their fate.

Bai Qingshi stopped a woman carrying a basket who looked like she had just returned from grocery shopping and asked, "Excuse me, madam, how do I get to the village head's house?"

The old woman looked Bai Qingshi and Li Muxia up and down, noticing that they were dressed neatly and cleanly, with medicine boxes on their backs. She lowered her guard and pointed them in the direction of the village head's house.

"Turn left at the next intersection, and the best courtyard is Zhang Lizheng's house."

The two thanked the old woman and followed the direction she pointed out.

Sure enough, of the houses that had come into view, only one was a wooden house, while the rest were thatched houses.

Upon arriving at the door, Li Muxia gently knocked. After a short while, she heard a response from inside: "Who is it?" The voice sounded like someone in their fifties or sixties, and it was loud and clear.

Li Muxia slightly turned to the side and approached the gate, speaking loudly into the house: "Is this the Zhang family's home? We are traveling doctors."

Upon hearing Li Muxia's words, the person inside opened the door with a creak, looked the two people outside up and down to confirm their identities, and asked with a hint of doubt, "I am the village head here. May I ask what brings you two here?"

Li Muxia also took a look at this village head, Zhang, who looked to be in his sixties with gray hair. He was wearing a gray cotton long gown and had a strong, upright posture, which showed that he was a hard worker. He had slightly dark skin and a tuft of white beard on his chin. Although his appearance was ordinary, he exuded a sense of authority.

Bai Qingshi cupped his hands in greeting to Zhang Lizheng and said, "Lizheng, I am a traveling physician, traveling around with my apprentice. We are passing through this area and would like to offer free medical services for three days. I hope you can make the arrangements. My apprentice and I will treat everyone free of charge."

When Zhang Lizheng heard that it was free, his eyes lit up. He thought that many people in their southern district were so poor that they couldn't even afford to see a doctor. Now that someone was providing free medical care, he had to make sure to keep the two great doctors here.

Zhang Lizheng immediately stepped forward excitedly, grasped Bai Qingshi's hand, and said with great joy, "Gentlemen, please come in."

As he led the two inside, he asked, "May I ask how you two doctors are addressed?"

Bai Qingshi replied, "My name is Shi Qing, and this is my junior apprentice, Xia Mu."

"So it's Doctor Shi and Doctor Xia. Please have a seat. Our home is simple, so please forgive any shortcomings in our hospitality."

Bai Qingshi and Li Muxia sat down and exchanged a few pleasantries with Zhang Lizheng before explaining the purpose of their visit.

Zhang Lizheng quickly found his four sons and had them set up a simple shed in his yard, placing a rectangular wooden table there as the venue for the free clinic. He also sent his three grandsons to each household to inform them that anyone with a sick family member could come to his house for a free clinic. He specifically instructed his grandsons to emphasize that the clinic was free.

Soon, people came to the door seeking medical treatment. The first one to enter was a young man with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and dark skin. He was a little cautious when he came in, but when he saw Zhang, the village head, he quickly called out, "Uncle Zhang, I heard that your family can treat illnesses. Is that true?"

Zhang Lizheng, who was talking to Li Muxia, heard the voice, turned around, saw the man at the door, and said with a smile, "Zhang Hu, come quickly, tell Doctor Shi and Doctor Xia if you feel unwell."

Seeing Zhang Hu walking over, she thought he was too slow, so she quickly took two steps forward and pulled Zhang Hu to sit on the stool.

Zhang Hu was a little hesitant at first, but when he looked at Bai Qingshi, he asked, "Really, it's free?"

Bai Qingshi nodded with a smile.

Relieved to receive a positive answer, Shi Tou broke into a simple, honest smile on his dark face.

After Zhang Hu was seated, Bai Qingshi gestured for Li Muxia to begin the examination. Li Muxia received her master's signal and asked gently, "What's wrong, sir?"

Seeing that both doctors were men, Zhang Hu felt reassured and began to speak: "I've recently developed a lot of small blisters on my lower back, and they're itchy and painful."

Upon hearing this, Bai Qingshi and Li Muxia's hearts skipped a beat. They exchanged a glance, both seeing the gravity in each other's eyes. They then looked at Zhang Hu, noticing that although he looked somewhat tired, he was still in good health.

Zhang Hu was startled when he saw the two men staring at him with serious expressions. He thought he had contracted some serious illness and panicked. His voice trembled as he asked, "Doctor, is my illness very serious?"

Upon hearing this, Li Muxia realized that his actions seemed to have caused panic among the patient, and quickly averted his gaze. This was understandable; given the limitations of ancient medical technology, if Zhang Hu had indeed contracted chickenpox or smallpox as he suspected, the consequences could have been severe.

Regardless of whether it was true or not, she had to reassure the patient at this moment. She said calmly, "Don't worry, I haven't treated you yet. Hold out your hand first, I'll take your pulse, and then I'll take a look at your affected area."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Hu quickly placed his left hand on the pulse pillow, and Li Muxia's chubby little hand also gently rested on it. This was her first time taking someone's pulse, and she was genuinely a little excited.

Feeling the pulse throbbing through her fingertips—a rapid but strong beat—Li Muxia told Zhang Hu to calm down and continued taking his pulse. After a short while, Li Muxia withdrew her hand, feeling much more relieved.

Seeing that quite a few people were coming in one after another, Zhang Hu was invited to a room that had been prepared in advance, and asked to take off his clothes so that Li Muxia could take a look at the affected area.

Li Muxia carefully examined the blisters on Zhang Hu's waist and was certain that it was just ordinary shingles. He remembered that it was called "snake encircling the waist" in folk medicine. He told his master about his diagnosis.

Meanwhile, Bai Qingshi was also observing Li Muxia. Seeing that she was not shy or awkward at all when examining Zhang Hu's waist, but rather very open and generous, he was even more impressed with Li Muxia.

After hearing Li Muxia's diagnosis, Bai Qingshi nodded with satisfaction and went outside to ask Li Muxia to write a prescription.

Li Muxia quickly wrote down two prescriptions and showed them to her master first.

Bai Qingshi took the prescription and glanced at it. One of the prescriptions read: Purslane 1.3 liang, Indigo Leaf 5 qian, Dandelion 5 qian.

The herbs on the prescription were all very common and inexpensive, and he understood Li Muxia's good intentions. He was even more satisfied with his little apprentice.

Of course, there are better prescriptions, but the medicinal materials are very expensive. Li Muxia also prescribes medicines tailored to the patients' living standards.

Bai Qingshi returned the prescription to Li Muxia and nodded to her.

Li Muxia then said to Zhang Hu, "Brother Zhang, here are two prescriptions, one for internal use and one for external application. I have written the preparation and usage instructions on the prescriptions. Just follow the instructions. If you use them every day, you should see improvement after seven days."

Zhang Hu took the prescription and thanked him repeatedly, then frowned and said, "But I can't read."