Chapter 290: The Right Remedy for the Illness

Yan Yu’s loud shout didn’t just bring out her own family—it drew the entire village.

The villagers were practically running to spread the news.

The scholar has returned!

Young and old alike came to see the commotion.

Village Chief Luo looked at him with rare affection, practically wanting to circle around him just to get a better look.

Several of the village elders were so excited they trembled.

The villagers couldn’t hide their joy either. Every face was lit with genuine happiness and heartfelt welcome.

Yan Huaiwen swept his gaze over the crowd and cupped his hands in greeting.

“Your kindness humbles me. I, Huaiwen, am deeply grateful. Now that I’ve returned home, you may all rest easy.”

Liang Manshan followed suit with a respectful bow. Though clearly tired, his spirits were high as he patiently spoke with the villagers—explaining the situation at Crouching Tiger, what they had been doing, and thanking everyone for their tireless efforts in gathering herbs from the mountains each day.

Village Chief Luo beamed. “Good, good. It’s good you’re back. That’s all that matters.”

Yan Huaiwen didn’t say much, but his expression was warm and his gaze kind. Even those standing too far to hear him clearly felt reassured just by looking at him, as if they had a solid stone tucked in their chest—heavy, but steadying.

At that moment, the backbone of Xiao’an Village had returned.

Seeing that her uncle couldn’t get through the crowd at the door, Yan Yu tugged Big Sis Daya along to prepare water and toiletries for him.

After chatting with the villagers for some time, Yan Huaiwen and Liang Manshan finally parted ways and returned to their respective homes.

As he stepped into the courtyard, he immediately noticed how much had changed since the day he left.

The yard had been leveled with plaster, walls now enclosed the space, a brick house stood completed, freshly fired tiles were neatly stacked along the eaves, smoke curled lazily from the kitchen chimney, and the backyard echoed with the clucking of chickens, the quacking of ducks, and the bleating of goats…

His heart finally eased, and with that came a wave of exhaustion, like a tide crashing in.

He walked slowly forward, drawing closer to his room with each step.

He could already hear the voices of his daughter and niece growing clearer.

“Xiao Er, did you find the robe I made for Dad?”

“Found it!”

“Put it here so Dad can reach it easily.”

“Big Sis, what are you doing with that melon rind?”

“Uncle and Big Brother aren’t home, so I’m giving it to Dad to scrub with.”

Yan Huaiwen paused mid-step.

Then he heard Xiao Er say, “We don’t have a big tub at home. Why not let Uncle wash up in the river? That’d be way more refreshing!”

Daya thought to herself that her father probably wouldn’t go. He’d rather carry water back and forth, one basin at a time.

Since they’d moved here, she’d never seen him bathe in the river like the other villagers.

“Wow, Aunt Rong is fast! The fire wall’s already burning. Big Sis, feel the wall—is it warm yet?”

“It’s a little warm. I’ll go check if Dad’s back.”

Daya stepped out of the room and bumped right into her father.

“Dad!” Daya’s whole face lit up with a smile. “The water’s ready. Hurry and wash up.”

“Alright.” Yan Huaiwen nodded gently, his voice soft and calm. “I’ll do it myself. Daya, I brought something for you and your sister. Bring her over later.”

Yan Yu came bounding out of the room, dragged along by her older sister, her face glowing with excitement.

She’d heard it all—Uncle brought them gifts!

She could hardly wait!

Daya went to the kitchen to help Madam Rong prepare lunch.

Yan Yu, meanwhile, crammed in a panic, reading and reciting from her books.

She’d just remembered that now that her uncle was home, he would definitely want to check her studies. With her older brother away and Uncle always going easy on Big Sis Daya, that left her squarely in the hot seat.

Li Xuemei had just seen Madam Cui off and was now comparing the copied prescription with her own handwritten medical texts.

Looking up, she saw her daughter’s anxious expression and couldn’t help but smile.

“Come here, sweetheart,” Li Xuemei called to her.

Yan Yu didn’t bother standing. She switched from sitting to crawling and zipped over to her mother’s side.

“Don’t rush to cram for your uncle’s test. Help me look at this first,” Li Xuemei said.

Yan Yu grumbled, “Easy for you to say. I was just happy a moment ago, now I’m panicking…” She glanced at the paper and blinked. “Huh? Mom, what illness is this prescription for? Why’d you copy it out separately?”

Li Xuemei explained what had happened with Madam Cui.

Yan Yu pouted. “No wonder Aunt always complains about Uncle. That was a pretty careless move. But if he felt okay leaving for a few days, then her illness probably isn’t urgent.”

Li Xuemei nodded. “That was my thought too. Look at the ingredients: Cornelian cherry warms the liver and stomach, dispels cold; schisandra nourishes the five organs and replenishes vital energy. Used with dried ginger, it helps reverse rebellious qi and is often used for heat-related conditions. Coltsfoot soothes the lungs, relieves coughing and phlegm… Most of these are for regulating liver qi and easing internal tension.

If it were a common illness, Physician Cui would’ve just said so. The fact that he was vague about it suggests it might be…”

“A woman’s illness?” Yan Yu had studied medical texts, especially the first volume they bought, which focused on women’s remedies. She was especially sensitive to this topic and caught on quickly. “No way, what’s so hard to talk about? And besides, Mom, Aunt’s still young. Isn’t she?”

“This has little to do with age,” Li Xuemei replied. “Look at her children—Da Gouzi and Xiao Gouzi are already quite grown. In this era, there aren’t many supplements or health products. Every childbirth takes a toll. People live frugally, eating coarse grains with little nutrition, barely any meat. They might look strong on the outside, but inside they’re depleted. That’s why people didn’t live long in ancient times…”

“Maybe it’s from stress and frustration too?” Yan Yu thought for a moment. “Aunt doesn’t say it, but she’s always worried about her family. Especially after hearing they’re all in Gufeng, and Gufeng’s in such a state… She must’ve gotten sick from bottling it all up. Otherwise, she was perfectly fine before.”

Li Xuemei agreed.

Many illnesses stem from anxiety and internal heat.

“I’ve been searching for a while, and I think this prescription… might actually work.” Li Xuemei wasn’t exactly an expert on the earlier volumes of formulas, but she’d copied, recited, and studied them carefully. In her spare time, she liked to ponder over such things, and could more or less match symptoms to prescriptions.

Especially after comparing the ingredients in Physician Cui’s prescription and checking each one’s medicinal properties.

“Let me see.” Yan Yu took the notebook and examined the page her mother pointed to.

“A treatment for suppressed qi in the chest of women…” Huh, it really did seem to match the symptoms.

Looking at the ingredients, quite a few overlapped with Physician Cui’s prescription. Of course, the formula in the Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold included even more herbs—two taels of ginseng alone. Yikes!

As she read further, Yan Yu suddenly understood. Oh! So that wasn’t the dosage for a single decoction. It was a pill formula, and it looked like it could make quite a lot of pills.

To be taken twice a day, with wine, twenty to forty pills per dose.

The pills must be quite small, mixed with honey to the size of a Chinese parasol tree seed.

Wait, how big is a parasol tree seed?

No, that wasn’t the issue here.

The real problem was that making this medicine was both time-consuming and expensive. Just looking at it, you could tell this wasn’t something ordinary folks could afford.

“Mom, it’s got ginseng, wine, and honey, not to mention all the other herbs. This isn’t a prescription, it’s a money trap,” Yan Yu muttered under her breath.

Li Xuemei sighed softly. “Didn’t we already know? Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold… lives up to its name.”

(End of chapter)