“How could there be such an oversight? Where did these wild dogs come from?” Xing Yuesen’s expression showed displeasure as he spoke with furrowed brows.
The servants immediately knelt down and said hastily, “Fifth Young Master doesn’t know, in the mountains surrounding the back hill, wild dogs often appear. These wild dogs are very cunning. They must have dug a hole from some corner to get in.”
After hearing this, the anger on Xing Yuesen’s face lessened slightly. He ordered them to stand and speak, asking, “How many guards went in to drive away the wild dogs?”
One of the servants answered, “In response to the Fifth Young Master, Guard Wang took three men with him.”
This Guard Wang was hired by the Xing family to watch over the estate. He had some martial skills. Xing Yuesen had seen him, tall and imposing with a muscular build, and quite difficult to forget.
Knowing it was him who went up the mountain to drive away the wild dogs, Xing Yuesen felt more at ease.
He turned to his friends beside him and explained the situation. “It seems we won’t be able to go to the back mountain to aid digestion. Let’s go to the tea room for tea instead.” He then sent servants ahead to light the incense burner in the tea room.
Xu Yi silently directed his gaze toward the back mountain. They weren’t close enough to hear any commotion.
He wondered if these wild dogs could be driven out of the estate.
Xing Yuesen nudged his arm, asking why he wasn’t moving.
Xu Yi shook his head and asked, “Are four people enough to drive away wild dogs? Don’t we need two more?”
“Brother Yi, don’t worry.” Xing Yuesen told him, “That Guard Wang can fight. With him there, nothing will go wrong.”
Since the estate’s master had said so, Xu Yi could only keep quiet.
By the time their group reached the tea room, servants were already waiting inside. Charcoal burned in the stove, and smoke curled from the incense burner above the low couch.
Xu Yi removed his shoes and stepped onto the tea platform in his socks, catching the scent of incense with an agarwood base burning in the burner.
“This incense is different, not like what you’ve used before.” Xin Shengyuan sat down and suddenly said to Xing Yuesen.
“Brother Xing, did you change incense?”
“No.” Xing Yuesen’s expression didn’t change. “My father had the incense maker create a new blend. He said he recently obtained a piece of premium agarwood and wanted to make several boxes of incense cakes to give as gifts. I happened to receive one piece, so I had a servant light it.”
Xu Yi touched his nose. “…”
As expected, it was sold to an acquaintance.
That piece of agarwood was less than half a jin and sold for dozens of strings of cash. Xu Yi currently had two and a half larger pieces of agarwood in his possession.
This premium agarwood was a rare commodity. Xu Yi didn’t know that Broker Huang, who’d helped him sell it last time, only regretted not asking which family’s servant that young man was. After Official Xing obtained the agarwood, he’d asked him several more times, but Broker Huang hadn’t been able to find anything that satisfied Official Xing.
At this moment, Xing Yuesen suddenly asked Xu Yi, “Brother Yi, this agarwood can ward off evil and calm the spirit. My father uses it frequently, could there be any problems?”
Xu Yi said, “Agarwood is warm in nature and enters the spleen, stomach, and kidney meridians. Using it just as incense is harmless. It can calm the spirit and relieve cold stagnation and qi blockage in the stomach. Smelling it can nourish both spirit and body. However, if made into pills for consumption, dietary restrictions are needed. Agarwood is acrid and warm, assisting heat. Those with yin deficiency and vigorous fire, or those with qi deficiency and sinking, need to take it cautiously. When taking pills, the diet should be mainly light.”
People of power and privilege these days loved taking supplements whether needed or not, this didn’t just appear in the Song Dynasty.
Starting from the Qin and Han periods, there was the health preservation silk manuscript “Ten Questions.” Not only did people love supplements, they also enjoyed taking medicinal pills. By the Wei, Jin, and Tang dynasties, this trend of dietary supplements became even more popular. By the Song Dynasty, there were even more elaborate methods for health preservation through food.
Agarwood was not only a spice but also a health preservation product.
Additionally, Song people were fond of eating congee for health, with over a hundred varieties like bean congee, plum congee, True Lord congee, and River Spirit congee. Since agarwood could nourish the stomach, it was also added to congee to make health preservation porridge.
This agarwood needed to be ground with water into juice, with impurities filtered out leaving only the juice, then cooked together with rice along with dried tangerine peel, Chinese yam, and other ingredients. It was said this eating method could nourish the stomach and spleen, leaving people feeling energized.
Xing Yuesen said that after his father heard from the incense maker about these wonderful uses of agarwood, he invited the incense maker to stay at the mansion and personally prepare health preservation congee.
Xu Yi’s brows furrowed upon hearing this.
“All medicine carries some toxicity. Both this agarwood and dried tangerine peel are warming medicinal substances. Though their properties are mild, they still shouldn’t be consumed frequently.”
Xing Yuesen laughed helplessly and continued, “What can I say? He feels his stomach has been frequently uncomfortable these past few years and has become increasingly obsessed with these things.”
At an older age, stomach discomfort was common, perhaps due to declining stomach function. But without moderation in diet, the stomach couldn’t handle it and would show symptoms.
Xu Yi hadn’t seen the person and couldn’t make a definitive judgment.
Hearing Xing Yuesen’s concern, Tao Qinghao felt deeply touched. He muttered, “Those congees don’t even taste good. I really don’t understand why.”
His grandmother was the same, frequently inviting physicians to the mansion to check her pulse, and constantly switching to different health preservation medicinal soups.
Every time Tao Qinghao went to his grandmother’s quarters to pay respects, the strong medicinal smell was no less intense than at Xu Yi’s home.
He’d once mentioned Xu Yi to his grandmother, but unfortunately she didn’t believe that someone as young as Xu Yi could possess such remarkable medical skills. She only trusted the old physician who regularly visited the mansion.
But in his view, that old physician’s abilities couldn’t compare to Xu Yi’s at all.
“Sigh.” He sighed.
Xu Yi glanced at him and teased, “At such a young age, it’s not good to sigh so much.”
Tao Qinghao shook his head and said, “All people have worries. I am a person, so naturally I have them too.” He’d gotten philosophical for a moment, amusing even himself, and changed the subject to chat about other things.
He talked with Xu Yi about other interesting incidents they’d encountered these past few days.
“Xu Yi, have you been to the county school?” Tao Qinghao asked.
Xu Yi looked at him in surprise and nodded. Yesterday, when going to treat Instructor Fang’s son, he had indeed passed by the county school.
Tao Qinghao said, “These past few days, the county school has been holding lecture sessions that all students in the county can attend. Brother Xing, Brother Xin, and I went together to audit two sessions. Even our way of speaking changed, full of classical expressions. My father thought my studies were finally bearing fruit.”
Xu Yi: “…”
The other two: “…”
Xu Yi poured a cup of tea and sipped it, saying unhurriedly, “You attended twice and that’s all the insight you gained?”
Tao Qinghao laughed. He was very self-aware and said, “I’m ultimately not cut out to be a scholar. It’s my father who still dreams of having a son who’s a juren.”
He actually envied Xu Yi, free from family constraints, living freely on his own. Just the act of “abandoning literature for medicine” was enough to earn his admiration.
If only he could learn from Xu Yi and “abandon literature for commerce.”
Xu Yi didn’t know what he was thinking, or he’d have said a few words, whether studying medicine or doing business, neither was necessarily easier than studying classics.
“There is a road in the mountain of books, and diligence is the path; the sea of learning has no bounds, and hardship is the boat.”
Studying wasn’t something achieved overnight. If obtaining scholarly honors were truly that easy, would there be so many struggling students in this world?
“Since you’re studying, you should study properly,” Xu Yi said.
Tao Qinghao sighed again.
Well then, even Xu Yi was saying this. His father would be even less likely to give up on being a juren’s father.
…
While they chatted and drank tea in the tea room, Xuelian, as the only maid attending today, discreetly went to rest in the adjacent room to avoid suspicion.
The maid who led her to rest informed her that everything in the room could be used and told her to rest well.
“Thank you for telling me, sister.” Xuelian curtsied and spoke softly.
That maid didn’t dare accept her courtesy. This female servant was dressed differently from ordinary servants, wearing a pink silk flower in her hair and pearl and silver earrings, clearly a head maid at first glance.
“Sister Xuelian is too polite. We servants just follow the young masters’ arrangements,” the maid said. “There’s incense in the room, patchouli and pear fragrance. I won’t disturb Sister Xuelian’s rest. If you want to light incense, feel free to use it, the estate keeps it in regular supply.”
Xuelian thanked her again before gracefully entering the room and closing the door.
The side room wasn’t large. It had a bed, a small table, a wardrobe, a changing screen, and a vanity. On the vanity sat a vermillion lacquer box. She opened it to look, it was empty, meant for storing removed hair ornaments.
Xuelian removed her silk flower and hairpin, then loosened her collar to look at her neck. Seeing that the red blotches had all disappeared, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
That Doctor Xu was truly remarkable. No wonder every time Young Master Xin saw him, he’d pull them aside to talk endlessly.
She took out the prescription she’d brought and opened it, looking at the characters. She could only recognize a few easily identifiable words, the rest she didn’t know.
Even so, she still felt Doctor Xu’s handwriting… was actually better-looking than her young master’s.
Xuelian knitted her brows, just wondering how much silver would be needed to get medicine from the medical hall with this prescription.
As the young master’s head maid, her monthly wages were six hundred wen. Though it seemed high, she had to give respects to the senior servants, and during festivals, she also had to give the maids below her some benefits. After saving for so many years, she’d only accumulated a few strings of cash. This time, she feared it would all have to go toward medicine costs.
While Xuelian worried about medicine costs, a commotion arose in the tea room on the other side.
Guard Wang brought a wild dog to report to Xing Yuesen.
The wild dog had been beaten to death with clubs, blood dripping along the way.
Yet Guard Wang didn’t think there was any problem at all and brought it over for Xing Yuesen to see quite casually.
Xing Yuesen and Xu Yi remained relatively composed and weren’t frightened.
But Xin Shengyuan was different. Turning his head, he saw the wild dog’s large black eyes that wouldn’t close in death, and his vision went dark with fright.
“Why did you just bring it over like that!” Tao Qinghao immediately noticed his friend’s distress, stood up to block Xin Shengyuan’s view, and said with displeasure, “How inappropriate!”
Guard Wang said, “This wild dog is dead. I brought it for the young masters to see what it looks like.”
Wild dogs were common in the deep mountains, but it was rare to see packs of wild dogs this close to the county seat in the eastern suburbs.
Three wild dogs had entered the estate to steal poultry. The one they’d killed wasn’t large. The other two crafty ones, seeing they couldn’t win, had tucked their tails and run.
Tao Qinghao looked at him in shock. Couldn’t this man understand human speech?
“The wild dog you brought is disturbing to look at. Even if you wanted to show it to us, shouldn’t you have asked permission first before bringing it over?”
Guard Wang said honestly, “I didn’t think of that.”
Tao Qinghao was so angry he didn’t know what to say. He turned to check on Xin Shengyuan’s condition.
Xin Shengyuan had just been frightened by the sudden sight. Once he recovered, he was fine, shaking his head to say he was alright.
But the curiosity that would have made him want to know more in the past, today he didn’t want to know. He sat with his back turned at a distance, no longer looking at Guard Wang with blood on him.
“Fifth Master Yue, do you want this wild dog’s pelt or not?” Guard Wang couldn’t tell that someone in the tea room looked upset. He lifted the wild dog in his hand and asked, “This wild dog’s pelt, if skinned and cleaned, can sell for several hundred wen.”
Xing Yuesen felt a headache coming on and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Take it away, take it away. Do with it as you see fit.”
“Thank you, Fifth Master.” Guard Wang smiled foolishly and was about to leave carrying the wild dog’s corpse.
Xu Yi stood up and spoke out, “Your arm is injured.”
Hearing someone call him, Guard Wang stopped and saw it was the person who hadn’t spoken earlier.
He said, “It’s nothing, just a superficial wound. It’ll heal in a few days.”
“Could you let me take a look?” Xu Yi saw that half of his arm wound was covered by his sleeve, with only half exposed, he couldn’t see clearly how severe the injury was.
This dead wild dog was a type of gray wolf with mottled fur, long canine teeth, and a fierce, frightening appearance. As long as it was canine, teeth that ate raw meat carried bacteria to some degree. If a person was bitten, the wound could easily become infected.
Seeing he wanted to look, Guard Wang rolled up the sleeve on his injured arm to let Xu Yi examine it thoroughly.
“This wild dog didn’t hurt me badly. As soon as it bit me, I shook it off. Later I was just scratched by its claws. I’ll go back, grab some herbs to apply, and it’ll be fine.” Seeing how carefully this person was looking, Guard Wang couldn’t help but speak.
Xu Yi didn’t rush to answer him.
The “Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic” recorded: “Mad dogs, their saliva must not be approached.” Though this wild dog hadn’t gone mad, there was no guarantee it didn’t carry latent rabies.
There was no rabies vaccine available now for prevention, but some emergency measures still needed to be taken.
Xu Yi felt that compared to rabies, he was more concerned about this wound not being disinfected and becoming infected, leading to fever.
When ancient people developed fever from infection, the mortality rate was so high. Guard Wang had such a nonchalant attitude, if something really went wrong, regret would come too late.
“How do you treat wounds yourself? What herbs do you use?” Hearing that he would use herbs, Xu Yi asked him.
Guard Wang said, “There’s an herb called tiger palm grass. If you chew it up and apply it to wounds, it can treat injuries. In the past when I was injured, I always used it to heal.”
Xu Yi raised his eyebrows.
Tiger palm grass, also known as wind-seeing green or black-boned chicken, was slightly toxic and could treat scrofula nodules, malaria, rheumatic pain, and such. It could indeed treat bite wounds, though it was more commonly decocted and taken internally.
Xu Yi asked him how he knew about this tiger palm grass.
Guard Wang explained, “Once in the mountains I was bitten by a snake. They say where there are snakes, there’s an antidote. I randomly grabbed some medicinal grass, chewed it, and applied it to the wound. Unexpectedly, it healed…”
Later he took the herb to a medical hall to inquire about it, learned the herb’s name, and felt it was truly useful. From then on, whenever he was injured, he kept using it to solve the problem.
Xu Yi: “…” A very wild method indeed.
Toxic herbs, if not used carefully, could cause poisoning, mild cases causing dizziness and nausea, severe cases triggering various symptoms.
The fact that Guard Wang could keep using it by chewing and remain fine, his life force was quite strong.
Xu Yi said, “I’ll write you a prescription. In the future, don’t just use tiger palm grass. Use my prescription to clean the wound first, then apply medicine. It’s more reliable.”
Guard Wang’s thick brows furrowed. “Does it have to be so troublesome?”
Before he’d finished speaking, a cold snort sounded from the side.
“He tells you what to do, you do it. Why so much nonsense?” Xin Shengyuan was holding in frustration. Hearing Guard Wang’s words now, he became even more irritated.
Guard Wang looked up, only to be glared back at by Tao Qinghao blocking in front of him.
Puzzled, he moved over toward Xing Yuesen.
He asked in a low voice, “Fifth Master Yue, do you think I should listen to him?”
Xing Yuesen: “…”
How had he not known before that this Guard Wang was so simple-minded? For a moment, he didn’t know what to do with Guard Wang either. If he reprimanded him, he’d just made a meritorious contribution driving away the wild dogs. If he didn’t reprimand him, it would appear he as the master couldn’t manage his servants well.
While he was in a dilemma, Xu Yi smiled and said, “You should listen to me. I’m a physician, I won’t harm you.”
“You’re a physician?!” Guard Wang was shocked.
He opened his mouth and said incredulously, “I’ve never seen a physician your age.”
Xu Yi: “Now you have.”
Xing Yuesen spoke up, “Guard Wang, follow his arrangements. The consultation fee and medicine costs will come from me.”
He was afraid that if he didn’t speak up, Guard Wang would say even more things that would give everyone headaches.
Sure enough, after hearing that Xing Yuesen would pay, Guard Wang no longer objected. He smiled foolishly and said the physician was working hard.
The others said nothing more. Every time they watched Xu Yi treat illnesses and injuries, they found it magical.
Xu Yi needed paper and brush to write a prescription. Xing Yuesen immediately called for a servant to prepare them.
Soon, a servant came over with brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
Xu Yi sat on a stool. Seeing them curiously gather around, he said, “For dog bites, mild cases can use mugwort, coptis, dandelion, and other medicines pounded and applied to the wound. They can reduce inflammation and detoxify, preventing the wound from becoming red, swollen, and festering. I’ll also prescribe a honeysuckle decoction to be taken internally, the therapeutic effect will be faster.”
As he spoke, he picked up the brush and wrote down the prescription.
The medicine chest he’d brought today happened to contain the honeysuckle decoction formula. However, for medicine to apply to the wound, freshly picked was best.
Hearing that Xu Yi wanted to go to the back mountain to see if there were any herbs that could be picked, Xin Shengyuan and the others all became interested.
“Xu Yi, I want to go with you.” He’d never dug up medicinal herbs before.
If Xin Shengyuan wanted to go, Tao Qinghao naturally had to follow. He said, “Xu Yi, you always go up mountains to dig herbs, but we’ve never seen it. This time, why don’t you let us come along?”
Xu Yi said “alright,” then told them to change out of the silk wide-sleeved robes they were wearing.
While they went to change clothes, Xu Yi gave Guard Wang a simple wound cleaning and bandaging.
Before long, the group had changed into traveling clothes, all wearing tight-fitting short jackets, and huffed and puffed as they followed Xu Yi to the back mountain.
Guard Wang didn’t dare let a group of young gentlemen go to the back mountain alone and insisted on coming along.
The back mountain of the estate wasn’t truly wild mountains, it was a slope face about ten meters high. The path up the mountain was paved with bluestone steps.
They passed through the steps and reached the top of the slope. Looking down, they could see the pavilion where they’d had hot pot for lunch, as well as the small stream beside it.
Guard Wang said, “Just a few dozen more steps and we’ll reach the place where I fought the wild dogs with the others.”
“That close?” Xu Yi was surprised.
In other words, while they were eating hot pot, those wild dogs that had snuck in were watching them from just dozens of meters away.
If the wild dogs hadn’t gone to steal poultry, they might have ambushed them when they came up to the back mountain.
“That’s right. These wild dogs are wild and untamable, quite a few crops in the surrounding area have been trampled.” Guard Wang said.
Xu Yi asked him, “Did you find the hole where the wild dogs got in?”
Guard Wang said, “I sent two guards to check.”
Xu Yi offered advice, “You can follow the traces of where they came in and track backwards, no need to search blindly.”
Guard Wang’s body shook. “Good idea!”
The others: “…”
They’d been so shocked by the wild dog’s corpse that they’d forgotten about this.
However, they were here to dig up medicinal herbs.
Xu Yi described to them what form the herbs they needed to dig took. Among them, mugwort and coptis leaves were similar, the former slender, the latter more like cilantro leaves.
Looking carefully, one would feel the two were quite different.
Before long, Xu Yi spotted a mugwort plant.
It was just growing a bit small with very tender leaves. Xu Yi thought about it and didn’t pick it.
They headed toward the orchard to the side. At this point, Xing Yuesen and the others finally understood why Xu Yi had told them to change clothes.
If they’d really worn silk wide-sleeved robes, without exception, they’d be torn and soiled.
Though they wouldn’t feel bad about ruining an outfit, what could be avoided should be avoided. Otherwise, when they returned home, they’d likely be lectured by their elders.
After walking for a while and approaching the estate’s perimeter, Xu Yi found two coptis plants in a corner.
Beside him, Xin Shengyuan happily called out, “Xu Yi, look, is this the dandelion you mentioned?”
Xu Yi walked over and said, “This is bitter sowthistle.”
“Not dandelion?” Xin Shengyuan was a bit disappointed and said in confusion, “But it also has yellow flowers, and the leaves are extremely similar to what you described.”
Xu Yi pointed to its stem to show him. “Dandelions grow on a single stem, but look at this bitter sowthistle, it has many branches. That’s one difference.”
He also indicated for Xin Shengyuan to look at the flower that had grown. Breaking it open, the fluffy ball inside was made up of small fibers, another difference from dandelions.
After this analysis, the differences between the two became clear.
Xing Yuesen sighed. “Among the thousands upon thousands of medicinal herbs, many are similar. To distinguish them clearly requires considerable discernment.”
“It’s truly exhausting.” Tao Qinghao squeezed his sore, numb thighs. They’d been up here less than half a shichen, and he was already tired and flustered.
Fortunately, they found all the remaining herbs they wanted to find. While the sky hadn’t yet darkened, they planned to take a shortcut down.
Guard Wang led the way in front, while Xu Yi brought up the rear. As they walked, Xu Yi suddenly called out, “Look at that.”
The group stopped and looked where Xu Yi was pointing. They saw a concealed hole in the weeds by the outer wall.
“!!!”
They were shocked. The wild dogs had come in through here?
But there didn’t seem to be any traces around. If Xu Yi hadn’t been walking carefully and discovered it, it would have been easy to miss.
“It seems these wild dogs have been here more than once.” Xing Yuesen’s expression darkened slightly.
Few people came to the estate, so it was only natural for the servants guarding it to be somewhat lax. But if problems arose, it couldn’t be settled with just a few reprimands.
For the rest of the journey, Xing Yuesen didn’t say a word. After returning to the tea room, he had Guard Wang take the medicine to treat his wound, then had a servant summon the steward in charge of the estate to see him.
When the master wanted to question servants, outsiders like Xu Yi and Xin Shengyuan weren’t suitable to remain in the tea room.
Xing Yuesen arranged for servants to receive them and guide them to change clothes and rest.
Xu Yi didn’t rest. He went to Guard Wang’s quarters.
Guard Wang’s quarters were in the servants’ courtyard, a separate small compound. Upon entering, there was a main room, while the sleeping chamber inside was separated by a hanging curtain.
The furnishings were simple, a rough wooden table and stools, a cleaver hanging on the wall, and a few earthen jars in the corner. There were no other items to be seen.
After entering, Guard Wang said to Xu Yi, “Doctor Xu, please sit. I’ll go process the wild dog first.”
Xu Yi watched him take the knife and head outside.
He was silent for a moment.
He’d followed along to treat Guard Wang’s wound, but this person had left him alone in the room.
Xu Yi pinched the bridge of his nose and called out, “Were you a hunter before?”
Guard Wang was surprised. “How did you know?”
“I could tell.”
Whether it was going up the mountain or his methods of handling the wild dog, it was all very similar to Zhang Tiegou.
Guard Wang admitted, “I used to hunt frequently, but since coming to the estate, I haven’t gone hunting anymore.”
After speaking, he asked somewhat worriedly, “You won’t report me to Fifth Master Yue, will you? After coming to the estate, I really haven’t hunted again!”
Xu Yi: “…I won’t.”