The Female Supporting Role Shows Out

Translator: thornling | Editor: thornling

Xue Boyong pulled his pant legs back down and picked up the teacup aloofly, pretending that this younger brother of his did not exist. Xue Jiming looked left and right, and, finding that the surrounding guards looked up at the sky, one by one, not the least bit concerned about what had just happened, immediately felt even more bitter. He clutched his chest and ran to the main courtyard to snitch to the old madam.

The old madam merely closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, saying nothing.

He then went to look for his mother, ratting on Lin Dan about the matter of her groping his brother's legs, and said with conviction: "Xiao Cao'er is a famous miracle doctor, but I’ve never heard her saying that those with injured legs need to be massaged. Lin Dan is trying to find an excuse to take advantage of brother and try to leech off of our Xue family. She’s willing to do anything for prosperity and wealth. Mother, whatever you do, you must not let brother marry her. Are you not afraid to lose Xue Mansion’s reputation? Has anyone ever heard of a woman engaged to the younger brother later marrying the older brother?"

Madam Xue laughed sarcastically: "Don't mention ‘Xiao Cao’er’ every time you open your mouth. I feel disgusted hearing it! Wu Xuancao obviously had the wheelchair, but she never even thought to mention it. Why would she tell you how to take care of Boyong's legs? If she really had the heart, she would never have required our whole family to bow to her and beg and plead three or four times. She would already have been considerate of you and taken the initiative to put down her resentment and come treat your brother. You love her to death, but she might not feel the same way. There is a saying that goes, love the house and its crow, hate the house and its crow,* you should have heard of it before? She hates me, hates your grandmother, hates Lin Dan, and hates your elder brother. How deep could her feelings for you be? On the surface, she claims to be magnanimous, yet she secretly holds grudges. It’s better to be cautious around this type of person. The way I see it, Lin Dan is a hundred times better than her. At least she dares to love and hate and say what she thinks. She would never have one attitude on the surface and another behind your back."

*This saying means that when you love something, you like the things that come with it as well; crow more specifically refers to birds that nest in the eaves of houses.

Xue Jiming also got a scolding from his mother, so he ran out of the house. Servants in the courtyard originally tried to chase after him, but they were stopped by Madam Xue: "No need to chase him. Let him go where he wants! This disappointment of a son made a mess and caused Boyong’s legs to become disabled. So let him go outside and experience some setbacks for himself!"

His stifled heart in a mess, Xue Jiming wandered around for a while, unconsciously arriving at Xuancao Hall. He stepped over the threshold and found an apprentice splinting a patient with a broken leg, so he pretended to unintentionally ask: "Do his legs still need to be massaged every day to prevent the muscles from withering?"

The apprentice smiled and waved his hands: "Massage? No, it’s fine if you just remove the splint after two months."

Xue Jiming nodded, his heart full of fury. He just knew that Lin Dan, that bitch, had been fabricating lies to take advantage of his brother!

The apprentice remembered the Xue family’s eldest young master and added: "Broken legs don’t need massages, but those who are paralyzed and bed-bound for a prolonged period need daily massages. Otherwise, their legs will become as thin as firewood, to the point where they become completely useless."

Xue Jiming's heart skipped violently, and he raised his eyebrows, pretending to be surprised: "Oh, there’s such a thing?"

"This is what Master told us. Master knows a lot. If sir has any questions, you can go find her."

Xue Jiming couldn't even squeeze out a fake smile anymore, saying deeply: "This is really something Xuancao said?"

"Yes, Master once treated a patient similar to the eldest young master; the wheelchair was also invented by Master at that time. The patient's legs were as thin as reeds, so Master personally massaged him, which was the only reason he got even a little better."

"Really? Then I'll go and ask Xuancao." Xue Jiming gritted his teeth and left after saying this, not even entering the inner hall to look for Xuancao. Since she had treated similar patients, she should’ve known all of these details long ago, but why didn't she say anything? Was it forgetfulness or intentional omission? If she forgot it, it showed that she didn't take his brother's condition to heart and was only going through the motions; if she deliberately concealed it, it showed that she still harbored hatred for the Xue Manor and didn’t actually want to treat him. Xue Jiming didn't dare to think any more about any of these two reasons; he could not accept either one.

—

The complications between Xue Jiming and Wu Xuancao did not concern Lin Dan at all. Every day, she got up early to massage and cook for Xue Boyong, and then went out to practice medicine. In the evening, she went to Fengtian province to help treat the youth. Her days were very busy.

The boy's name was Niu Dabao. He had been lying on the bed for three years, and his body was skinny to the point of being unrecognizable. After Lin Dan came, he was quickly nourished until he was white and plump, and his body and bones grew stronger by the day.

People in the village heard that Lin Dan was treating Niu Dabao's legs, so they all waited to see the outcome. They had never heard of a paraplegic being able to stand up again. This little doctor was too good at talking big.

Lin Dan didn't mind. She just continued to follow the treatment plan step by step. Finally, one day, she took out a set of gold needles and began to wipe and disinfect them one by one, slowly saying: "These days, I have been massaging you, which helps to circulate blood and disperse blood clots as well as clear your meridians. I also had you take medicine every day to nourish your essence and repair your marrow. Now, your bone foundation is strong, so you might be able to withstand my acupuncture method. This method is divided into two steps. First, with the Mingmen, Changqiang, and Jizhong points: cover with moxibustion* herbs and heat thoroughly. Second, with the Shenshu, Huantiao, Juegu points: using a stable and nurturing technique, insert the needles, leaving them in for three quarters of an hour. We will do this once a day for seven consecutive days, then see if we need to adjust the course of treatment. Do you understand?”

*Moxibustion is a type of treatment in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) where herbs are burned close to the skin’s surface. I took some translation liberties because the author’s description of the treatment is similar to moxibustion, even though she never used the term.

Niu Dabao didn't understand a single word, but he nodded and said, "I understand."

The doorway of his house was crowded with people, pointing at the gold needles in Lin Dan's hand and saying, "Look, this doctor is actually using gold needles. She’s truly well-off!"

"She’s far more than just well-off, she’s practically a millionaire! I heard that in order to treat Niu Dabao, she sent good rice and dishes, ginseng and deer antler every day. What is she after? Could it be that she took a fancy to Niu Dabao?"

The two guards standing guard at the doorway drew out their saber from their waist, their faces filled with anger. The crowd of people whose tongues were wagging immediately shrank their necks and fled as if there was a demon after them.

Mrs. Niu finally breathed a sigh of relief, no longer worrying that the villagers' gossip would drive the little doctor away.

Lin Dan didn't hear what the crowd said at all. She just concentrated on rubbing the moxibustion base single-mindedly. After rubbing, she put one on several key acupoints and lit them. When the youth felt that he couldn’t endure the heat anymore, she extinguished them and crushed the moxibustion base so that it stuck on the skin. She wrapped it with gauze and left it for eight hours.

After finishing the moxibustion treatment,* she took out the gold needles, supplemented them with internal energy, and plunged them into the key acupoints one by one, some of which were death points. Ordinary doctors would never dare to insert needles here, but Lin Dan was not afraid at all, her hands steady as a rock.

*Literally “Pill-Fire Heat Penetration Treatment”

The two guards standing at the doorway both knew martial arts and had some understanding of the acupuncture points of the human body, so they could not help wrinkling their brow upon seeing this scene. But it was strange – several death points had been punctured by gold needles, yet the young man was still lying on the bed, alive, without any abnormality.

Every time Lin Dan placed a gold needle, she would gently twist the end of the needle. When she finished piercing all the acupoints, dozens of gold needles quivered and let out a faint hum, as if they were alive.

"The needles keep moving, what's happening?" Mrs. Niu's eyes were round, her expression stupefied.

It was the first time the two guards had ever seen this type of phenomenon, so they could not help but take two steps forward, observing carefully.

"It’s nothing. After three quarters of an hour, the gold needles will naturally stop vibrating. Then I can pull them out." Lin Dan waved her hand, unconcerned. The energy she injected into the gold needles rammed into the acupuncture point, naturally causing the end of the needles to slightly tremble.

Mrs. Niu nodded again and again, half believing and half doubting. The two guards watched intently, not realizing that they had big beads of sweat dripping from their foreheads, as if they were even more nervous than the patient.

A quarter of an hour passed, and Niu Dabao didn't feel anything; after half an hour, he began to scratch the bed board restlessly; after three quarters of an hour, he finally opened his mouth, his heart filled with hope: "Mom, I feel pins and needles in my legs! I'm not dreaming, am I?"

"Dabao, where do you feel the pins and needles? Point it out so your mom can see." Mrs. Niu rushed over, but did not dare to touch her son at all.

Niu Dabao was lying flat, and he couldn't see his legs, so he could only raise his hand, pointing toward one spot and saying, "Mom, it’s prickling here, like there are ants under my skin. It's so painful." Even though it was painful, he had a smile in his eyes. It had been so long since he had any sensation in his legs at all.

Mrs. Niu took a closer look toward where her son was pointing; there happened to be a gold needle there. In other words, it wasn't that he was hallucinating out of expectation, but that Miss Lin's acupuncture was really effective!

Thanks be to the heavens, thanks be to the earth, thanks be to buddha, thanks be to Miss Lin! Mrs. Niu folded her hands together to worship, and then kowtowed to Lin Dan, choking with emotion, and said, "Dabao, you’re not dreaming, the doctor placed a needle where you feel the prickling. You must endure and not touch anything randomly!"

Niu Dabao's eyes flashed brightly, and he immediately stopped moving.

Lin Dan helped Mrs. Niu up, then took out a small notebook, carefully recorded her treatment methods, and asked what the patient felt in detail. From beginning to end, her face was tense. The more she came to this type of moment, the more sober and calm she became, lest something go wrong. Instead of adopting her ancestor’s treatment method as is, she made some additions and changes. Her method was a little radical and risky, but it worked quickly. She seemed to naturally be more steady, careful, and audacious than ordinary people. Even if there was no road ahead, she could use a machete to split open a path.

After three quarters of an hour, when the gold needles stopped vibrating one by one, she efficiently pulled them out, then prescribed a dose of yang-nurturing anti-coagulant decoction, told Niu Dabao to boil it with water and drink it, then drink the dregs. After seven days, it would be switched out with a new prescription.

"Seven days is one course of treatment. I have drawn up four courses for you. After I leave, Mrs. Niu, continue massaging his legs. Don't slack off." Lin Dan picked up the medicine chest and exhorted seriously.

"Thank you Miss Lin, thank you Miss Lin! Don't worry, I will do everything you say!" Mrs. Niu nodded again and again emotionally.

Lin Dan finally left, and the two guards following her looked at her straight back with reverence. When Miss Lin first said that she would cure the general, they thought she was casually saying that just to stay in the Xue Manor and continue in her extravagant lifestyle. But now that they look at it again, they realized how superficial and disrespectful their understanding of her had been!

What the general said about her was true. She was someone with a spine of steel who never spoke empty words, far more responsible than Second Young Master! In order to send her away, Madam Xue gave her five hundred taels of silver banknotes. She didn't spend a single penny of it on herself, spending it all on the general and other patients instead. If she was greedy for wealth, why would she have done that?

Second Young Master even snubbed such a good young lady. He was simply blind as a mole!