The Female Supporting Role Shows Out

Translator: NovelMultiverse| Editor: thornling

After arriving at the nearest village, Lin Dan had the driver wait at the entrance. She held her bell, walking and peddling her services, "Treating the sick! If any family has an illness, call me and I will come treat it. If I can’t cure it, I won’t take any payment."

The bell rang and she shouted all the way through the village. When the villagers saw that she was female, and also very young, they hesitated. But once they heard that if she couldn’t cure the illness, they wouldn’t have to pay, they finally tentatively called out to stop her. She didn't refuse anyone who came; whoever called, she would go to their house to treat the sick. If she met a rogue who wanted to take advantage of her, she would knock them out with a single slap, no need for extra words.

The villagers saw that she was formidable and did not look down on her as much as they did before.

Lin Dan looked at several patients in succession, all of which had minor illnesses, such as headaches and internal heat, which were not at all difficult to treat. She would prescribe medicine, and those who had time and money could go to the apothecary in the city to fill the prescription. If they didn’t have time or money, she would personally go to the mountains to collect the herbs, process and package them, and send them over the next day.

It was very costly to see a doctor and buy medicine. A random pack of herbs for treating colds would cost half a tael of silver, which was unaffordable for a common household. But Lin Dan only asked for a dozen copper coins, which was no different from giving it away for free. When the people in the village saw that she charged so little, they all came to see her whether or not they were ill. In any case, she said it herself, if she couldn’t cure it she wouldn’t charge them.

Lin Dan had expected this to happen, but she didn't mind. What she lacked most now was experience, and the accumulation of experience depended on continuously practicing medicine. The more people that came to her, the happier she was, so she would never turn them away. No matter whether you were sick, as long as she had the chance to take a look at your pulse, she would learn something.

The pulse of a healthy person was distinct from the pulse of an ill one; patients with the same symptoms might also have different pulses; yet patients with different symptoms might have the same pulses.* In the process of interacting with these people, she learned many things that she wouldn't learn merely by reading, and she also got a taste of the profound joy of being a doctor.

*Text originally read “patients with the same symptoms might also have different pulses; yet patients with different pulses might have the same symptoms,” which means the same thing.

When evening fell, she wrote down the names and addresses of several households before leaving, not fully satisfied. Due to inadequate preparation, she did not bring medicine with her, so she still had to bring it over tomorrow after filling each prescription. Fortunately, most everyone only had minor aches and pains, and could afford to wait. But from now on, she had to learn how to pick herbs herself, process them herself, and carry some commonly used medicine for emergency use. Otherwise, it would be like today: obviously, she knew how to treat the patients, but she didn’t have medicine for them to use and had to drag it out for another day and a half.

If she mastered massage and acupuncture techniques, she could treat people on the spot, even without herbs, instead of being restricted by place and time. Thinking of this, Lin Dan touched the silver needles hidden at her waist, a fire burning in her heart.

At the You hour,* the two guards punctually waiting at the west gate saw the swaying ox cart and let out a huge sigh of relief in their hearts. They had previously been duped by Lin Dan and forgotten everything. It was only after she left that they realized that in fact, they could have left one person to protect her and have the other search the city. They didn’t have to both leave at the same time. If something had happened to Lin Dan during this time, the general would never have spared the two of them!

*5 – 7 PM

"Miss Lin, I'll go with you tomorrow while Yan Zhao searches for the person, is that okay?" The head guard said after boarding the ox cart.

"Wouldn't it be a bit faster for two people to look?" Lin Dan looked out the window, paying no mind at all to her safety.

"If something happens to Miss Lin, we won’t be able to give an account to the General." the guard explained.

"Okay, but you have to find the person as soon as possible." Lin Dan knocked on the partition and shouted, "Driver, please stop for a bit! I want to buy something!"

"What do you want to buy? The two of us will help you." The guard immediately reached toward the purse around his waist.

"Buy that!" Lin Dan jumped off the ox cart, eyes shining.

The two followed her line of sight and saw that Xuancao Hall was just across the street. A patient with a wooden splint on his left leg was sitting on a chair that had wheels on it and was being pushed forward by a petite woman. At the door, the woman turned and bowed toward the doctor who sent her out, looking extremely grateful.

Lin Dan pointed at Xuancao Hall and said, "That chair is very convenient! With it, I can push my brother to take a walk in the yard and maybe even take him out of the manor for a bit."

"What an ingenious device!" The two guards also showed pleasant surprise and walked over immediately.

"Is this type of chair for sale? How much is it?" Lin Dan opened her mouth to ask, urgency visible on her face.

"It’s you?" The two doctors recognized Lin Dan and sneered with disdain: “This chair is for sale to everyone who wants it, except for you! Hurry up and get lost!" Both of these people were Wu Xuancao’s apprentices. Back when Lin Dan wrecked the clinic, they had also been beaten until their heads were bleeding, so they had been holding a grudge for a while.

"You really won’t sell it to us?" The two guards pressed the hilts of their sabers and stepped forward.

"What, do you want to use force again?” Their master was already a well-known divine doctor; even the nobility in the imperial palace had to be respectful when they visited and requested her. What was a mere general? Thus, the two men were completely fearless, and instead opened their mouths to mock her.

Lin Dan didn't want to cause trouble for her brother. She took a closer look at that wheelchair and waved her hand, saying: "Let’s go, we’re not buying it."

"Miss, you really don't want to buy it?" The two guards were still somewhat unresigned.

"We’re not buying it, it’s just a chair with a bearing installed, fitted with wheels. We can casually ask any random craftsman in the city to do that. It's not some extraordinary item. Let's go, brother is still waiting at home. Who knows whether he ate his meals properly." Lin Dan had Xue Boyong on her mind and did not want to waste any time on these irrelevant people.

The two doctors had wanted to provoke Lin Dan on purpose, thinking that she would cause a disturbance, and that they could then ask the nobility in the palace to discipline her. But they didn't expect her to just take a glance and leave, even saying that she would get a craftsman to copy the wheelchair. This didn’t even count as punching cotton; it was more like jumping forward, only to be kicked down into a cesspit, extremely loathsome!

"How could you arbitrarily copy our product? Outrageous!" The younger doctor was so angry, his eyes turned red.

"How am I being outrageous? Your product is so simple, a craftsman with even the slightest bit of skill could make it at a glance. Since you’re not willing to sell it to me, why can’t I find someone to make one? It’s not like I’m going to take it out and sell it. I’m only using it for my own household. Am I hindering you in any way? Even if I don't copy it, this type of chair will be all over the streets in a few days. Don’t think too highly of yourselves and look down on the craftsmen in the capital." Lin Dan had just finished talking when a woman pushed a little chair with wheels on it and walked past. On it sat not a patient but an infant who had just turned one. The chair even had a ring-shaped board in the middle to prevent the young child from falling out. From the workmanship to the appearance, it was countless times more exquisite than the Xuancao Hall wheelchair.

Lin Dan's eyes brightened and she immediately ran up to the woman: "Excuse me, Miss, where did you buy this type of chair?"

The woman pointed west and said, "Fuji Carpenter Shop on West Street. There are chairs for both children and adults. The price is between one and five taels of silver. Young lady, you can go take a look."

"Thank you, sister!" Lin Dan turned her head and left, not even sparing another glance at the two doctors, who had smoke rising from their ears.

The two guards covered their mouths and laughed, then quickly caught up to her. If you compared the skill of spurning people, these two hairless youngsters were far worse than Lin Dan! If she didn't want to pay attention to you, she would even consider sweeping you with a glance to be a waste of her energy!

The two doctors originally wanted to hit Lin Dan's face, but didn’t anticipate that their own faces would turn around and become swollen. Even passers-by saw them make a fool of themselves; it was good enough that they didn’t faint from anger. They rolled up their sleeves and wanted to find that Fuji Carpenter Shop to settle accounts, but they were stopped by well-informed people: "Forget it, that shop has the Yuqin Prince’s mansion standing behind it. Even if you go, you will hit a dead end and even offend a prince with real power. Is it worth the trouble? Your wheelchair is simple to make; if it gets copied, so be it. It’s not like you depend on it to make a living."

When all was said and done, the two doctors didn't dare to offend the powerful. They stood at the door for a while before going back inside with their tail between their legs, to the amusement of the watching crowd.

—

Meanwhile, Wu Xuancao once again visited the Xue Manor.

After studying Xue Boyong's case, Zheng Zhe decided to treat the symptoms first, then gradually find a way to cure the root cause. So, he wrote some prescriptions to promote circulation, dissolve blood clots, and generally keep the body healthy. The patient could slowly take these; although it wouldn’t cure his legs, it could preserve his foundation.

Who knows what Wu Xuancao’s intentions were; for some reason, she volunteered to deliver the medicine. When Xue Jiming heard, he immediately rushed back from the barracks to meet her. Madam Xue accompanied her, probing about her son's condition while flattering her, her attitude completely different from two years ago.

Wu Xuancao absentmindedly responded to the two of them, until she walked into Xiaofeng Pavilion and her attention was roused.

"Brother, Xiao Cao’er personally brought you some medicine. Xiao Cao’er and Doctor Zheng are extremely skilled in medicine. After taking their prescription, you will quickly get better." As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, Xue Jiming started giving credit to the person on his heart.

Xue Boyong ate too much at noon and was reclining on the veranda to digest when he heard this. He opened his long and narrow phoenix eyes and glanced askance at Wu Xuancao. With just this one glance, Wu Xuancao's boiling heart completely froze over. She did not dare to face him at all.

"I already said, outsiders are not welcome in my Xiaofeng Pavillion." He said slowly and clearly.

Xue Jiming went red and said, "How can Xiao Cao’er be considered an outsider? We will be one family sooner or later – isn’t that right, mother?" This was him covertly forcing his family to declare their position; it could be seen that he wasn’t completely tactless.

Madam Xue gritted her teeth and nodded: "That’s right, we will all be one family sooner or later. Don't be so stubborn, Boyong. Let Wu Xuancao take another look at your legs again." The words hadn’t even fallen when she suddenly exclaimed: "Oh dear, why are you outside in such a thin garment? Aren't you cold? Where is Lin Dan, that damned girl? This is how she takes care of you?"

Xue Boyong frowned fiercely and said coldly: "Mother, in my courtyard, would you please refrain from calling Lin Dan a damned girl with every phrase. This is a silk-lined robe that she personally sewed for me. The lining of the jacket is made of silk, and is both thin and warm. Sitting in the cold wind, my face is still ruddy and my hands are warm, which you should be able to see. My three meals are personally cooked by her each day, and my inner and outer garments are personally sewn by her. This young lady was detained by me, a waste, in this courtyard, to labor all day. Shouldn't she be allowed to relax once in a while?"

Seeing that her son reacted so strongly, Madam Xue immediately apologized to him, saying that Lin Dan was a good child, mother jumped to conclusions, and so on and so forth.

However, Xue Jiming countered: "Brother, no matter how good Lin Dan is, that’s what she owes you, what she has to pay back to you. Compared to her, Xiao Cao’er is truly sincere towards you. In order to study your case, she didn't sleep well for three consecutive nights. As soon as she drew up a course of treatment with Doctor Zheng, she immediately rushed to deliver the prescription, lest she delay your treatment. She thinks of you and considers your treatment her top priority. Why can't you get rid of your prejudice against her? All of the blame should be placed on me; it has nothing to do with her. She pities the poor and sympathizes with the old; she’s charitable in thought and deed. There is no one who is better than her. "

After hearing these words, Xue Boyong showed no expression, but Madam Xue felt touched and looked at Wu Xuancao with incessant gratitude.

Just at this moment, Lin Dan walked in pushing a strange chair. Paying no mind to anyone else, she looked straight at Xue Boyong with a pair of shining eyes: "Brother, look what I bought for you!"

Xue Boyong's gloomy expression immediately cleared up and a light smile involuntarily hung on the corners of his eyes and the tips of his brows, softening his handsome and cold features.