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Upon hearing Liu Xin’s words, Lu Man’s expression turned as cold as water.
Those young troublemakers would surely remember the lesson learned and think twice before causing trouble for He Cheng again. She made a mental note of Song Ming’s actions.
Additionally, the Princess and the old Marquis boldly stood up for He Cheng in the palace, highlighting his relations and the support he had. Lu Man was immensely grateful for their actions.
She also appreciated the old Duke Xie’s involvement, although he could have stayed out of it, he chose to interfere, and Lu Man took note of his actions.
What disgusted her the most was Jiang Zhanxun, with a persistent fly buzzing around the house, an never-ending nuisance.
Lu Man commended Liu Xin for handling the situation well, promptly reaching out to Prince He. She not only refrained from blaming him but also rewarded him with ten taels of silver and gave each of the attendants who accompanied him that day two taels of silver.
Due to her anger, Lu Man had a restless night.
The next day, Lu Man woke up on time, had breakfast, and then brought some wild and mountain produce, along with a basket of fresh wild vegetables, to the Crane Hall to pay respects to the Princess and the old Marquis and to express her gratitude. After paying her respects, she planned to return promptly to refine the two suspected Night Yellow flowers, fearing the potency of the medicine might diminish if left unattended.
Jiang Jiu and Song Mo were still fast asleep, so she didn’t disturb them.
Before leaving, Liu Ya quietly informed Lu Man that the eldest Madam, Madam Hong returned.
Madam Hong had been sent back to her maternal home in November of the previous year for a six-month period, and it was time for her to return. Her self-imposed exile would likely have intensified her self-loathing. However, Lu Man was no longer afraid of her, having separated households and with the Princess overseeing matters, Madam Hong had learned her lesson and wouldn’t dare openly oppose Lu Man.
Upon reaching the Crane Hall, Lu Man was stopped by the Third Madam at the bedroom door. It turned out the Princess had caught a chill, was running a fever, had a headache, and was confined to bed. The imperial physician mentioned that the illness needed time to pass, and given Lu Man’s pregnancy, she was hesitant to allow her inside.
The Princess’s illness was said to have struck in the early hours of the morning, frightening the night attendant with her coughing. They quickly informed the men and fetched the imperial physician. Everyone was at her bedside, with the sounds of the men, eldest Madam, the Second Madam, and the eldest Young Madam all audible from inside.
Even from outside, Lu Man could occasionally hear Princess Changting coughing and humming softly, which filled her with deep concern. The elderly lady had always enjoyed good health and a life of luxury, thus, falling ill was particularly uncomfortable for her.
Upon the return of the medicine gatherer, Lu Man examined the prescription and was pleased to see “willow bark” listed. Willow bark was known for its pain-relieving, anti-inflammatory, and fever-reducing properties commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine for treating wind-chill illnesses.
Lu Man understood further details about willow bark, containing a substance called salicin that could treat various ailments. In modern times, scientists combined salicin with acetic anhydride in concentrated sulfuric acid to synthesize the miraculous drug known as aspirin.
Although ancient people were unaware of salicin, they knew willow bark could alleviate pain and reduce fever.
In this era without acetic anhydride, other methods were used to reduce the toxicity of salicin. The medicine Huang Ke Lai was precisely designed to neutralize toxins within the flower…
After comforting the Princess for a while outside, Lu Man turned back. She needed to hurry back to prepare the medicine. Those two flowers couldn’t be delayed any longer, and she also wanted to extract salicin to control the dosage, ensuring the Princess’s pain was alleviated without prolonged use.
Upon hearing that Lu Man stood at the door for a while before returning to Donghui Courtyard, the Second Master turned red with anger, restraining himself from lashing out.
The Marquis was also displeased, although the elders sympathized with her pregnancy and didn’t allow her into the bedroom, as a physician, she could’ve remained in the hall to offer advice.
A faint smile crossed Madam Hong’s face. She had grown wiser and understood that some things didn’t need to be said outright, someone would naturally reprimand her. Wasn’t the Princess fond of Lu Man? How could she not even pretend for the sake of her unborn child?
Lu Man encountered the old Marquis at the gate. He had just returned from outside, frustrated at being barred from seeing the Princess, so he went for a walk to cool off.
Upon seeing Lu Man, he vented his frustration, shouting, “My granddaughter-in-law is just like my son, up to no good. She goes out to play without me.” He then complained, “The Princess is sick, and they won’t let me see her…”
Lu Man didn’t want the old man causing trouble there, so she coaxed him to return to Donghui Courtyard with her.
At that moment, Jiang Jiu and Song Mo were up, and she sent Song Mo and the old Marquis to the West Courtyard to play together.
Meanwhile, Lu Man took the two flowers, plucked a leaf from the suspected Night Yellow flower, and went to the kitchen with Lu Ying, Little Xi, and Xiao Zhong, instructing others to bring a basket of willow bark.
In the rear kitchen, there were two stoves—one for the master’s meals and the other for the servants. Lu Man took over the master’s kitchen, which housed a large and a small stove. She led Xiao Xi to refine Huang Ke Lai on the small stove and instructed Lu Ying to supervise Xiao Zhong refining salicin on the large stove.
First, she washed the flowers and leaves, salt-cured them for fifteen minutes, crushed them, then boiled them in water in a pot, continually reducing the mixture…
Meanwhile, the servants brought the willow bark, and Lu Man instructed Lu Ying and Xiao Zhong to wash it, cut it into small pieces, soak it, heat it, boil it for two quarts of an hour, then filter the willow bark while hot, and continue heating and concentrating the solution…
During this process, He Cheng arrived, and Lu Man asked him to stay and help.
Seeing him hesitate, Lu Man reassured him, “Your sister already knows about that matter, it’s not your fault. Let’s finish making the medicine first.”
Observing the bruise on his face, Lu Man felt a pang of sympathy. Girls might be worrisome, but boys could be just as concerning. Fortunately, her brother had a good character, or she’d be even more worried…
As the solution from the suspected Night Yellow flowers condensed, it filtered into a pale yellow powder with a faint sweet aroma, just as described. Lu Man was close to tears of excitement, the plant was most likely Night Yellow flowers, almost one hundred percent certain.
Seeing Lu Man so thrilled, He Cheng asked eagerly, “Is this the Huang Ke Lai mentioned in the book?”
Lu Man smiled, “With a ninety-nine percent certainty, just one final step to go.”
Next, the large pot extracting salicin also yielded white crystals. They ceased heating, had some ice brought from the icehouse to cool the solution for more crystal formation.
These crystals were indeed salicin. Lu Man instructed He Cheng to transfer the salicin into a small porcelain bottle. Finding the name “salicin” too modern, she gave it a new name, calling it Salicylic Powder.
Lu Man then used honey and other ingredients to form the Night Yellow flower powder into pea-sized pills, making a total of twenty. If the plant was indeed Night Yellow flowers, these pills would be Huang Ke Lai. She couldn’t bear to test this medicine on her pet rabbit. If she weren’t pregnant, she’d be tempted to try it herself.