Chapter 12: Medical Books

As soon as the words were spoken, Lu Man’s mind was flooded with the names of numerous medical books: “Shennong Bencao Jing”, “Huangdi Neijing Suwen”, “Shanghan Zabing Lun”, “Jinkui Yaolue”, “Qian Jin Fang”, “Zhenjiu Tujing”, “Liu Bu Yi Dian”, “He Shi Bencao Jing Yao”, “He Shi Fu Ji Zonglu”, and many more. Some she recognized from her past life, while others were entirely new to her.

Goodness, how did the original Lu Man have memories of so many medical texts?

Amidst her astonishment, Lu Man heard the senior imperial physician say, “What method do you suggest, Third Young Madam?”

When the senior imperial physician first entered the Imperial Hospital, physician He was still alive, and he greatly admired physician He’s medical skills and character.

Lu Man’s maternal ancestors were skilled in medicine. Despite their execution, their exceptional medical abilities remained undeniable. The He family was renowned in medical circles, with some serving in the imperial medical department in the previous dynasty. Therefore, Lu Man’s words not only convinced the senior imperial physician but also gained the attention of others.

Princess Changting urgently said, “Zhanwei’s wife, come and try the massage.” She instructed a nearby maid to observe and learn.

With this change in address from Princess Changting, everyone’s perception of Lu Man shifted.

Lu Man nodded and proceeded to massage the old Marquis, starting from his head down.

Body, joints, soles of the feet – Lu Man explained acupressure points and the appropriate pressure to the maid as she massaged.

In her past life, Lu Man had a close friend who was a surgeon. She sought this friend’s help but was mistakenly killed. The friend’s patient was a comatose individual who received full-body massages regularly.

Moreover, due to assisting a senior midwife at the hospital, she was taught a traditional massage technique for facilitating childbirth. Since then, she became intrigued by various massage techniques and learned multiple methods, including those for comatose patients.

Despite her frail body, the full-body massage took nearly half an hour, leaving her exhausted and drenched in sweat.

Not stopping there, she then instructed the maid to help the old Marquis perform several sets of sit-ups. Although it was not a graceful sight, Lu Man, feeling embarrassed, let the maid handle it.

After completing the set of movements, seeing a slight flush on the old Marquis’s face and another twitch of his eyebrows, the onlookers sighed in amazement.

Lu Man knew that the brief massage session just now couldn’t have had any real effect. The eyebrow and finger movements were purely coincidental. However, she couldn’t rule out the possibility of some supernatural force at play, perhaps some magnetic alignment between her aura and the old Marquis’s.

Lu Man continued, “Start with shorter sessions and gradually increase the duration. Ideally, one session should last for an hour, three times a day.”

Princess Changting looked at the senior imperial physician and asked, “What are your thoughts on this, Physician Fu?”

Physician Fu, visibly impressed, bowed and said, “Third Young Madam Jiang’s massage technique is truly remarkable. I believe it to be highly effective.”

Satisfied, Princess Changting nodded and instructed the maid learning the technique, “Did you hear that? Learn the massage well from Zhanwei’s wife.”

The maid quickly kneeled in acknowledgment.

Lu Man added, “Caring for comatose patients requires not only daily massages, turning, warm baths, occasional sunlight exposure, but also frequent changes in body positions. There are eight different positions…”

She shared some modern methods for caring for comatose patients and dietary suggestions, “Furthermore, it’s beneficial to engage in regular communication with the patient, discussing things he liked or significant memories, as this can aid in his recovery…”

Lu Man also observed the other women in the room.

Princess Changting, when not angry, appeared kind and gentle. Her hair had turned gray, but her face still retained a youthful glow, looking around fifty. Her attention was mostly on the old Marquis, filled with both worry and tenderness. At this moment, she seemed more like a caring wife than the long-standing authoritative princess. Dealing with such a princess should not be too difficult.

The Second Madam was strikingly beautiful, exuding an air of elegance and aloofness in every movement. Even nearing forty, she captivated attention but kept people at a distance. It was said that she enjoyed drinking and often composed beautiful poetry in a semi-conscious state. Lu Man thought to herself, amazed that the Dachun Dynasty also had its own “Li Qingzhao,” and she was her stepmother-in-law.

Young Madam Han, on the other hand, was charming, petite, and adept at being cute, earning affection from the elders. Even without causing resentment, just being blameless was enough to transform Lu Man into a wooden figure in front of this delightful sister-in-law.

The First Madam, Third Madam, and Young Madam Han all possessed above-average looks, exuding elegance and grace, typical of noblewomen.

These women were articulate and smooth in conversation, appearing to have a good relationship while also showing support for Princess Changting. However, the Second Madam was more reserved and spoke less, not quite fitting in with the others, which led to her not being favored by Princess Changting. Perhaps this disparity stemmed from the differences in character between intellectuals and traditional homemakers, making it difficult for them to connect.

After sharing all her knowledge about caring for comatose patients, Lu Man finally left Crane Hall, feeling relieved to be done with it all.

As they walked, Lu Ying had a wide grin, “Third Young Madam, I never dreamed you would come back unscathed after meeting Princess Changting.”

Supported by Lu Ying, Lu Man felt like she was walking on clouds, both from exhaustion and relief. She was also quite pleased as the situation turned out much better than she had anticipated.

She replied, “Well, not entirely unscathed. I got a face full of tea.”

Lu Ying raised her voice, “Princess Changting was quite charitable. She only splashed tea on you instead of throwing the cup. Third Young Madam is truly clever, having read the medical books left by maternal family she knows how to treat illnesses, even better than the imperial physicians.”

At the mention of medical books, Lu Man delved into her memories, recalling the numerous volumes in the room she once occupied. There were nine large boxes – one containing previous items used by the He family and the other eight filled with medical books left by her maternal ancestors.

Whenever young Lu Man felt mistreated and missed her mother, she would have the caretaker open the room and touch the items used by the He family. Mostly, she spent time reading the medical books in the boxes to pass the time.

The Lu family had hired a tutor to teach several girls how to read, hence the original Lu Man’s literacy.

Lu Man discovered that the original Lu Man had high intelligence but lacked emotional understanding. With exceptional memory, she could memorize the dense and complex medical texts after just a few readings. However, lacking medical knowledge and guidance, the contents of the books appeared meaningless to her.