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Lu Man felt a deep sympathy for Wang Dawang and his wife, they wouldn’t have suffered if not for the little original Lu Man. She rewarded the couple with fifty taels of silver and some jewelry and cloth, allowing Mama Wang to accompany them home to rest.
She instructed Mama Wang to stay with them for a few more days and not rush back to work. Wang Dawang would be responsible for driving Lu Man’s carriage and handling all matters outside the second gate. Meanwhile, his wife would rest and recuperate at home temporarily, with Lu Man knowing that Mama Wang hoped for more grandchildren.
When Uncle Wang returned, Lu Man planned to have him purchase another property in the capital, either as her private asset or for Lady He to stay in the city.
Lu Man missed He Mingzhu even more and hoped she was safe and could return to the capital with the search party. However, with the vast distance in Shu Region, there was still no news of the search party.
As winter approached, on the tenth day, the first heavy snowfall arrived in the capital, accompanied by a sharp drop in temperature.
Dressed in a padded jacket and skirt, with a hooded cloak on top, Lu Man, accompanied by the chubby Jiang Jiu and Qichang, left Orchid Pavilion.
Jiang Jiu led Mama Guo and Lanzhi to the Evening Pavilion, while Lu Man took Qichang to the Crane Hall.
The four pairs of cotton slippers were ready, Jiang Jiu took two pairs to the second madam and her husband. Lu Man chose not to go, feeling that the second madam, though helpful, preferred solitude and didn’t like disturbances. She let Jiang Jiu go in her place. With today being a day of rest, the second master and the fifth young master should be present.
The upper rooms of the Crane Hall were very warm, with heated brick beds and charcoal braziers, resembling a room with central heating from her past life. It was good to have money, even in ancient times, while outside was freezing, the indoors remained warm as spring.
The Old Marquis glanced behind Lu Man and asked, “Where are Jiu and Pea?”
Lu Man replied, “Pea is getting wilder, he ran off last night and hasn’t returned home yet. Jiu went to the Evening Pavilion, and she’ll come over later.”
She then presented the cotton slippers she made for the elderly couple. Princess Changting’s pair was purple with the character for “good fortune” sewn on the front, while old Marquis’s pair was brown with the character for “longevity.”
Princess Changting loved them, immediately taking off her shoes and putting on the slippers, exclaiming, “Oh, they’re beautiful, warm, and convenient!”
Lu Man personally helped old Marquis Jiang remove his shoes and then placed the slippers on his feet. The Old Marquis was pleased and remarked, “Very comfortable, I like them. The character ‘longevity’ is large and well-written.”
Lu Man chuckled, “Grandfather, you’re getting smarter, noticing the good handwriting. This character was written by your great-grandson, he’s talented and writes beautifully.”
As they were chatting, members from the first, second, and third households arrived one after another. However, Jiang Jiu came with the second master and his wife, not Jiang Zhanyu. It was Jiang Jiu’s first time coming with his father and stepmother, and she was thrilled. Her cheeks were as red as apples, whether from the cold or excitement.
With more people, the recovery room couldn’t accommodate everyone, so they moved to the east room. There was a special chair for old Marquis in the east room, where he could sit comfortably for an hour without feeling uncomfortable.
The elderly lady showed everyone the slippers made by Lu Man, praising her creativity and craftsmanship, and noted the improvement in Jiang Zhankui’s handwriting. Noticing Jiang Zhanyu’s absence, she asked, “Where is Zhanyu? It’s getting cold, could he be feeling unwell again?”
Madam Lin explained, “Earlier this morning, he sent a maid to say he felt anxious and his legs were a bit swollen, so he wanted to rest a bit longer.”
Concerned, Princess Changting expressed, “Poor child, he struggles when the weather gets cold. If it gets worse, we might have to send him to Dingzhou to see Physician Gu.”
Madam Lin’s eyes welled up as she sighed, “My daughter-in-law mentioned him too, but he’s adamant about continuing his studies and doesn’t want to go…”
Princess Changting, with a somber expression, stated, “Education isn’t more important than one’s health. I’ll have someone talk to him.” After a moment’s pause, she added, “No, I’ll go talk to him myself later.”
Among all her grandchildren, Jiang Zhanyu was the most academically inclined, even more so than her third son, who had passed the imperial examinations. He was gentle in nature, but his health was a concern.
Suddenly, a vivid image of flowers hanging like purple bells on stems popped into Lu Man’s mind – the Angel’s Trumpets she and Jiang Zhanwei had seen in the mountains. Jiang Zhanwei had mentioned they were poisonous and had them in their flower room, calling them Angel’s Trumpets.
Oh my, that should be what was known as Foxglove in her past life, a highly effective treatment for heart failure. The plant typically grew in Europe in her previous life, later introduced domestically. Surprisingly, in this alternate historical setting, such plants already existed.
The digitalis extracted from Foxglove could treat various causes of chronic heart failure and certain types of arrhythmias, especially ventricular arrhythmias.
However, Foxglove is also a poisonous herb. If ingested directly and the dosage is not controlled properly, it can lead to poisoning and even pose a risk of death. Only by extracting digitalis from Foxglove can the side effects of the herb itself be managed.
In her past life, Lu Man hadn’t paid much attention to the process of extracting digitalis, possibly due to a lack of equipment for extraction. Nonetheless, there were still ways to achieve this. Western medicine typically involves purification, extracting the most useful components and removing impurities. In contrast, Chinese medicine emphasizes the balance of opposing forces or using poison to counteract poison. Sometimes, toxic substances are used in treatment, such as centipedes, but they are often combined with other herbs to neutralize their toxicity.
In her maternal family’s medical texts, there were many methods for balancing opposing forces and treating food or plant poisoning. Lu Man planned to look into these methods. Since Angel’s Trumpets were grown during this era and were highly toxic, there might be an antidote. She also remembered two methods from her past life to counteract Foxglove toxicity: one involved licorice and mung bean decoction and the other used Sophora flavescens decoction. However, these methods were not very effective for severe poisoning…
Just then, Princess Changting stood up to visit the Fifth Young Master, with Madam Hong and Madam Huang also showing concern for their nephew as elders.
Lu Man also stood up, saying, “Fifth Young Master often looks after the Eighth Young Master and little Jiu, as his sister-in-law, I should also visit him.” She gestured for the Zhankui and Jiu to accompany her.
Princess Changting nodded, advising others who wished to go, “It’s better not to have too many people, it might disturb him and not look good.”
Lu Man and Young Madam Han assisted Princess Changting to her bedroom, dressing her in a yellow brocade cotton jacket and a purple cotton skirt, adding a sable fur-lined cloak. Accompanied by the Second Master and Second Madam, the group left.
The heavy snow continued to fall, blanketing the ground, rooftops, and trees with snowflakes, creating a vast expanse of white. Several sedan chairs were waiting outside.
Since Jiang Zhanyu resided in the outer courtyard, which was further away, the masters and mistresses opted to travel by sedan chairs.