Font Size:
Lu Man studied medicine in her past life. She spent five years in clinical medicine during college and pursued obstetrics in medical school. After graduating, she worked as an obstetrician for seven years. She personally welcomed hundreds of little lives into the world and adored her profession. To her, the first cry of a baby was the most wonderful melody in the world. However, when she went to the surgical department, she was mistaken for a surgeon who had accidentally killed a patient by the patient’s family.
She wasn’t very knowledgeable about neurosurgery, but she speculated that the old Marquis might have suffered intracranial damage or bleeding, a condition similar to a vegetative state in her past life. This illness often required cranial surgery even in modern times. In ancient times, surgery was almost nonexistent, and considering his old age, the chances of survival were slim.
If only the old Marquis were a pregnant woman. She would not only deliver babies but also perform cesarean sections and had a unique skill in correcting fetal positioning. However, cranial surgery, even in her past life with so many advanced medical instruments, was highly dangerous. Even if she were proficient in neurosurgery, it would be impossible to perform such an operation under these rudimentary conditions.
For the first time in her past and present lives, Lu Man regretted choosing obstetrics. If she couldn’t perform cranial surgery, she could have done something else. There were many patients with brain injuries, and she needed to broaden her knowledge.
But back then, her mother repeatedly urged her to choose internal medicine, saying that female doctors in internal medicine at least stayed clean. Surgery, although good, was too tiring due to the need for operations. Lu Man insisted on choosing obstetrics. Not to mention her mother, even her close friends said she was impulsive, dealing with ugly buttocks every day—what was good about that? However, obstetrics was still better than proctology, even ancient people had to give birth. But if there were problems with the rectum, it wouldn’t be as straightforward, and women knowing about proctology wouldn’t be of much use.
The more Lu Man thought about it, the more depressed she became. She didn’t know which way to go. If she couldn’t figure it out, she wouldn’t think about it. She would deal with things as they came. Currently, the old Marquis hadn’t died yet. Even if he died, she couldn’t do anything, she was now like meat on a chopping board, powerless against everything in the outside world.
She watched as the large red dragon and phoenix wedding candle on the high table was about to burn out, with droplets of wax slowly streaming down, solidifying into red icicles on the gilded lotus lampstand. The sky was getting brighter, and she fell into a daze and drifted off to sleep.
She woke up again, feeling hungry, and it was already broad daylight.
Instead of getting up, she stared blankly at the diamond-shaped window lattice, wondering what kind of scene lay beyond the window.
Not long after, Lu Ying entered carrying a bowl of medicine and exclaimed, “Third Young Madam is awake? Perfect, it’s time for your medicine.” Upon hearing Lu Man’s stomach growling, she added, “Hong Ling is fetching food from the kitchen.”
After finishing her medicine, Lu Man asked, “Did you all eat dinner last night?” Her voice was still hoarse, and her throat was sore, but much better than the previous night.
Shaking her head, Lu Ying replied, “It was chaos yesterday. Everyone was concerned about Third Young Madam’s condition.”
That meant they hadn’t eaten.
Lu Man inquired further, “Apart from the three of us in this courtyard, are there any other people?” In reality, she was more interested in knowing if Third Young Master Jiang, had visited.
Glancing back at the door, Lu Ying whispered, “Yesterday, this courtyard had nine servants: one head maidservant, two second-tier maids, two little maids, and four rough maidservants. After Third Young Madam’s mishap, they were all taken out and punished, accused of failing to serve the master properly, which brought great shame to the household. They haven’t returned, and I don’t know if they ever will. If it weren’t for making it easier to serve the master, both I and Hong Ling would have been punished more severely.” Finishing, she shrank her neck and added, “Now, there’s only Third Young Madam, me, and Hong Ling in this courtyard. Even the maid who tends the fire is gone. I had to go to the backyard to tend to the fire and prepare the medicine.”
Lu Man sighed inwardly once again, feeling that she had not only offended the King of Hell but also earned the hatred of even the lesser spirits.
Helplessly, she rose to her feet, feeling weak and needing to hold onto the bedpost to steady herself, while Lu Ying helped her change into her clothes.
Lu Ying assisted Lu Man in dressing, putting her in a pomegranate-red embroidered satin jacket and a light crimson pleated long skirt with red embroidered soft-soled shoes.
As she dressed her, Lu Ying kept muttering, “These were clothes, Third Young Madam cousin’s, elder Miss prepared earlier. Third Young Madam rushed into marriage and didn’t have time to prepare bridal attire. After Third Young Madam lost weight, her measurements would be similar to the elder Miss, so Old Madam Lu decided to use two sets of clothes prepared by the elder Miss. The rest of the clothes were bought from the embroidery shop… It’s so great to marry into such a wealthy family. The third Miss is so jealous, she’d love to marry in Third Young Madam’s place. When I saw Third Young Master Jiang, he was so handsome and even serves in the yamen, much better than the Young Master Chen Fei. The Young Master Chen may have a good appearance, but he’s not dependable, lacks ability, and the family is poor. How can he compare to Third Young Master Jiang? Third Young Madam can’t afford to make any more foolish mistakes. Offending the Princess and the Masters will only bring bad luck to Third Young Madam. When Third Young Madam goes to pay respects to the in-laws today, she must kowtow to the Princess and the father-in-law several times and properly accompany Third Young Master Jiang.”
The eldest Miss was only six months older than Lu Man and was already betrothed, set to marry next year. The third Miss was three years younger than Lu Man, and her mother had already started looking for a match for her. Only Lu Man was pitiful, as her stepmother didn’t care, and her father was distant. She had reached this age without being betrothed, leading her to be lured in by Chen Fei. Fortunately, the third grandson of the Princess’s household was willing to marry her, but she ended up causing a scene. Lu Ying regretted not knowing beforehand. Otherwise, she would have surely advised Lu Man not to associate with the Chen Fei, and Lu Man wouldn’t have fallen for him and made such a foolish mistake.
Miss Lu Yu, the eldest daughter of Lu Fangming, was only half a year older than Lu Man and held a high position among the daughters of the Lu family. She was the only one in the Lu family who was still somewhat favorable towards the original Lu Man. Occasionally, when Lu Man vent her anger on her grandmother, or when Mrs. Xiao Chen disciplined the original Lu Man, Lu Yu would intervene. She often reminded the original Lu Man not to raise her voice when scolding others, to leave a good impression, and so on. However, her attitude towards the original Lu Man was not particularly good. Even when she said kind words, it was with a stern face and a frown, coming across more as a lecture. Hence, the original Lu Man didn’t appreciate her and thought she was pretending to be good-natured, too meddlesome, and their relationship remained very distant.
Miss Lu Yuan, the third miss, on the other hand, was Lu Man’s half-sister from Mrs. Xiao Chen, twelve years old this year, and had always enjoyed bullying the original Lu Man. Not only did she bully the original mistress, but she also pretended to be the victim in front of Old Madam Lu and others. Half of Lu Man’s bad reputation was due to her. The original Lu Man despised her to the extreme but had no way to deal with her.
Lu Man inwardly sneered. After causing such humiliation to the Princess’s residence, there was no way she would be allowed to meet any potential relatives. Not immediately getting rid of her was already a consideration for the old Marquis’s sake…
She didn’t want to say much and let the little maid tidy her up. Listening to her muttering, she could glean more information.