◎Stay alert! Breathe with my rhythm◎

Just as Chu Yufu was about to step out, rain mixed with snow began to fall. Lan Zhu retrieved an oil-paper umbrella from inside the house, and only then did they leave. The ground was muddy and slippery from the mixture of rain, snow, and soil. Today, Chu Yufu wore a cream-colored skirt and jacket, so the two had to walk slowly, careful not to splash mud on her clothing.

When they reached the entrance of Cishou Hall, they ran into Madam Wu, accompanied by maids and older servants, moving in a large group toward them. Chu Yufu paused and waited for Madam Wu to approach, then politely greeted her: “Mother.”

Madam Wu nodded, her gaze flicking over the lunchbox in Lan Zhu’s hands. She was about to speak when a little maid came hurrying out from Cishou Hall, interrupting her.

“Madam!” The little maid bowed hastily, then turned to Chu Yufu. “Second Miss! What a coincidence! Old Madam has urgent matters to see you about!”

“Mother?” Madam Wu frowned, but the little maid didn’t explain, simply gesturing for them to follow as she led them toward the rooms.

As they neared the east wing, a wailing sound drifted from inside the room. Both Chu Yufu and Madam Wu froze.

Chu Yufu’s mind raced. Lu Jia’an was no delicate city lady who would cry over small matters. Yet she couldn’t recall any scene in the book where Lu Jia’an would be this upset. The crying was hoarse and heart-wrenching—what on earth had happened?

Madam Wu, knowing more than Second Miss, had just received word that her niece had suddenly fallen ill, leaving Cishou Hall in chaos. As her aunt, she naturally came to check on her. But what kind of illness could make such a little maid cry like this? And judging by the strength of the crying, it didn’t even sound like a typical sickness.

Before they could react further, the situation inside worsened. Lu Jia’an’s cries became frantic, mixed with a few sharp shouts. Old Madam Wei called out loudly: “Jia’an! Don’t scare Grandmother—”

“Someone! Quick, help—”

Chu Yufu pushed the door open and strode into the inner room. She saw her cousin lying on the large bed, convulsing, her face contorted in pain, eyes rolling, and her throat emitting rapid, gasping sobs. Old Madam Wei’s eyes were red as she held her hand, shouting her name.

Madam Wu followed, shocked at her niece’s condition. She instinctively stepped back, supported by Madam Meng.

The combination of convulsions, rapid breathing, and the hoarse cries immediately gave Chu Yufu a clear assessment—respiratory alkalosis! Emotional agitation, anxiety, or excessive stress had caused over-breathing, leading to alkalosis.

She pulled a handkerchief from her chest pocket, ran to the table, and soaked it in a teapot of tea. Pushing past Sang Lu, who stood frozen, she knelt by the bed and pressed the damp cloth over Lu Jia’an’s mouth and nose, restricting her rapid breathing. She shouted: “Stay alert! Breathe with my rhythm. Inhale when I say inhale, exhale when I say exhale. Come on, inhale, keep inhaling!”

She counted silently to three, then said: “Hold your breath.”

After counting five again, she instructed: “Now exhale, fully exhale.”

Lu Jia’an panicked and didn’t follow the instructions. Chu Yufu quickly pressed her thumb under the hollow of her collarbone to help her find a rhythm for diaphragmatic breathing. After a few rounds, Lu Jia’an’s convulsions slowed noticeably, and a flicker of clarity returned to her eyes.

Chu Yufu continued guiding her breathing with the handkerchief. Gradually, the room fell silent, leaving only the sound of her breaths. Everyone watched Second Miss’s actions with wide eyes. Half an incense stick later, Lu Jia’an stopped convulsing completely; her breathing steadied. Chu Yufu removed the damp cloth. She weakly murmured: “Se-Second sister…”

“My darling—”

“Miss! You scared me so much, sob—”

Hearing “Second sister,” Old Madam Wei’s soul returned. She bent over her granddaughter, weeping uncontrollably. Sang Lu’s knees buckled, and she fell to the floor. If anything had happened to Miss, how could she report to the master and mistress?

Madam Wu and Madam Meng exchanged shocked glances—Second Miss had literally pulled Lu Jia’an back from death’s door! They could see clearly that, with the breathing she had just been doing, Lu Jia’an wouldn’t have lasted long.

“My hands… my chest feels numb…” Lu Jia’an weakly murmured, her voice rough.

Everyone panicked again. Chu Yufu grasped her wrist and pressed the Neiguan point, helping to settle her qi and calm the reversed flow.

Lu Jia’an had already been weakened by a mild cold in the past two days, and the recent ordeal left her exhausted. As the acupressure relieved her discomfort, she involuntarily closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.

Chu Yufu noticed Old Madam Wei trembling as she reached out to check her granddaughter’s breath. She whispered comfortingly: “Grandmother, Cousin is fine. She’s just tired. Let her rest a while.”

Old Madam Wei withdrew her hand, pounding her chest with the handkerchief, tears dropping onto the quilt. Yang Mama quickly stepped forward to soothe her and asked the question everyone in the room wanted answered: “Second Miss, what exactly happened to Cousin?”

“She had a fainting episode. She cried too violently, causing the lungs to lose proper function, the ancestral qi to weaken, and the circulation of heart blood to be impeded. This stirred the liver wind internally, disrupting nourishment to the tendons and vessels, resulting in convulsions, chest tightness, and numbness.”

Chu Yufu knew they wouldn’t understand respiratory alkalosis, so she explained it in terms of traditional Chinese medicine. Seeing their confused faces, she added: “In short, her emotional agitation made her breathe too rapidly. Normally, we might take 160 breaths in the time of a tea cup, but Cousin Jia’an took 300 breaths—her system couldn’t handle it.”

“So that’s why you covered her mouth and nose to stop her from over-breathing,” Madam Wu realized.

“Yes.” Chu Yufu withdrew her hand and covered her cousin with the quilt.

Old Madam Wei hadn’t taken the maids’ words seriously before, but at this moment, having seen Second Miss’s actions save Jia’an, there was no reason left not to believe. Her voice trembling, she asked, “Xiao Fu, look again at your cousin. Do you know what’s happening? I heard you treated a maid with the same illness the other day.”

It was near dusk, and with the poor weather, the room was dim. Yang Mama instructed the maids to light all the lamps, while she herself carefully held a candlestand and brought it close to the bed, illuminating the bed curtains.

Only then did Chu Yufu notice that her cousin’s face and neck were covered in dark pink-red rashes, extremely alarming. She leaned in with the candlelight to examine more closely, pulled back her cousin’s clothes and sleeves to take a look, then placed three fingers on her pulse, feeling carefully for a while, and said, “The maid had wind rash before. Though both are red rashes, your cousin’s case is different.”

Old Madam Wei’s heart sank. Before she could speak, Chu Yufu continued, “It looks like an allergy—an ‘itch rash.’ Did your cousin eat anything unusual today?”

All eyes in the room fell on Sang Lu, who nervously twisted her fingers together and recalled carefully: “Miss… today she only drank some medicine prepared by Doctor Zhang.” She then pulled out the prescription left by the doctor from her bosom and handed it to Chu Yufu.

Chu Yufu examined the prescription and gently shook her head. “This is a common prescription for treating wind-cold, called Xiao Qinglong Decoction. The herbs are ordinary. Your cousin probably used it before—she wouldn’t be allergic to it.”

“Then I guess it’s nothing else…” Sang Lu said, struggling to recall more, her expression troubled.

Old Madam Wei suddenly spoke: “This noon, I specifically had the small kitchen prepare a Gastrodia Pigeon Soup. Did Jia’an eat it?”

Sang Lu, reminded by the old lady, gasped and hurriedly said, “Yes, yes! Miss usually doesn’t like these things, but this time, thinking it was Old Madam’s intention, she ate it. She said it had a strong herbal taste—bitter and pungent…” At this point, she noticed Yang Mama signaling her and realized Old Madam Wei’s face had turned grim. She quickly lowered her head and covered her mouth.

At that moment, Yang Mama returned from Jinma Street, bringing back Doctor Zhang, who had been there around noon. The people at the bed moved aside to give way.

Doctor Zhang was an elderly man with graying beard and a robust frame. He carefully examined Lu Jia’an’s face, felt her pulse, and confidently said, “Wind-cold has invaded. What did the young lady eat today? Most likely food intolerance caused the exterior to be unprotected, allowing wind-cold and dampness to lodge in the skin.”

The same conclusion!

Everyone in the room instinctively glanced at the white-dressed girl standing quietly in the corner. Old Madam Wei asked, “She ate the Gastrodia Pigeon Soup at noon. Could it be because of that?”

Doctor Zhang stroked his beard: “It’s possible. To be safe, any dishes she ate today should not be repeated in the near future. Do not worry, Old Madam. The rashes look serious, but are not fatal. I will write a prescription. If she takes it, she will recover soon.”

Old Madam Wei asked, “Will these marks on her body fade?”

“Of course,” Doctor Zhang nodded.

Seeing his assessment matched Chu Yufu’s exactly, Old Madam Wei exhaled deeply, her heart settling, muttering Amitabha, and repeatedly thanked Doctor Zhang.

Only then did she notice her hands and legs had gone weak, her whole body felt powerless, her heart raced, and her head spun. Doctor Zhang, preparing to follow the servants to the outer room to prepare the prescription, noticed her pale, unwell face. He grasped her wrist and pressed for a few seconds, urgently instructing the maids: “Quick, help Old Madam onto the couch.”

Madam Wu hurriedly sent the maids and older servants to assist. Doctor Zhang took silver needles from his medicine kit and inserted them at points such as Baihui, Fengchi, and Neiguan, then addressed everyone: “Old Madam’s emotions were too intense just now. The liver qi rose excessively, and relaxing suddenly caused imbalance. I will prescribe a warming tonic to help Old Madam recuperate. She must avoid stirring up liver fire again.”

Madam Wu nodded repeatedly. After a quarter of an incense stick, Doctor Zhang removed the needles, collected the prescription, handed it to the servants, and personally escorted Old Madam Wei to the door of Cishou Hall.

Back in the corridor outside the wing room, Madam Wu peeked in. In the dim candlelight, Lu Jia’an was still asleep, the bed curtains half-closed. Old Madam Wei was leaning against the couch with a thin blanket over her legs. Second Miss crouched beside the couch, helping her drink water.

Madam Wu withdrew her gaze, holding Madam Meng’s hand and whispered, “…Yesterday’s tribute order for Old Madam included five taels of top-grade Gastrodia, right?”

Madam Meng replied breathlessly, “Yes. It came from the northern village last month. Since Lady and Old Madam had a recent disagreement, I added top-grade wild Gastrodia to this month’s order.”

A smile appeared in Madam Wu’s eyes. “Well done.”

The Lu household girl couldn’t handle Gastrodia—truly a rural body unsuited to fine ingredients. Fate had dealt her back. She had been insolent, eaten from the Chu household, ungrateful, and even gossiped to Old Madam. Now, retribution had arrived! And that old shameless woman, who humiliated her in the mansion, finally got what she deserved!

Her gaze then fell to the couch-side girl, curiosity flickering in her eyes. “Speaking of which, Second Miss usually doesn’t seem very clever…”

Madam Meng replied, “Mistress, you don’t know. Some people may not appear smart, but they excel at one thing. I have a distant cousin, not very clever since childhood, but her hands are extremely skilled; her embroidery is lifelike.”

Madam Wu found this reasonable, nodding: “True.”