Chapter 46: Qingdai

A bowl of ordinary corn porridge—could it be the cause of this terrifying illness? Chu Mingxi frowned, a thoughtful expression on her face.

“Yes. That was the only bowl of porridge Grandmother ate by herself. None of us had any. Could it be related to this illness?” Brother Wen answered respectfully.

Chu Mingxi didn’t reply. She only said they would first go to the Wen house to check on the old woman’s condition and told Brother Wen to run to their rented quarters and invite Shopkeeper Yu and Doctor Tang over.

The sun was strong that day, the taste of summer growing thicker. In the Wen family’s small yard, two men were turning over the corn kernels drying on the ground. The women were already in the kitchen preparing the family’s lunch.

Old Lady Wen’s room still smelled of sour, spoiled air. Only one young daughter-in-law was inside, attending to her. Seeing Eldest Uncle Wen lead two beautiful women in, the young woman froze for a moment, then remembered they were the doctors she’d seen a couple of days ago and felt less nervous.

Chu Mingxi had them push the window open wider to examine the patient’s complexion in the sunlight. The yellow on the old woman’s face was even more pronounced—the gall bladder meridian was damaged. She reached out and pressed the patient’s abdomen. Even in her stupor, Old Lady Wen groaned in pain. The spleen was also affected.

This type of poison could seep into all five major organs, destroying everything, leaving no chance for recovery.

Shopkeeper Yu and Doctor Tang quickly arrived, Brother Wen following behind them. They watched as pulse pillows were taken from the medical kits and the pulse was taken once more. Shopkeeper Yu looked up at the Head Proprietor and, very slightly, shook his head.

Everyone in the Wen family then knew: there was no hope left.

Chu Mingxi asked which one was his younger brother’s wife.

The young woman who had been caring for Old Lady Wen in the room stepped forward. She introduced herself as Zheng. Perhaps afraid, she curtsied to the doctors, trembling slightly.

Chu Mingxi held her wrist gently, telling her not to worry. She then asked Shopkeeper Yu and the others to leave, keeping only Qingdai by her side to attend her.

With only the comatose old lady, herself, and two female doctors left in the room, Mrs. Zheng’s heart steadied somewhat. When the doctor asked her questions again, she was gradually able to answer.

On the day of the banquet, the old lady had perhaps been too happy and overeaten. The next day, when everyone was eating, she ate very little. By evening, after the children had all returned to their own rooms, the old lady came out, saying she was hungry. It happened that Mrs. Zheng was putting away the corn kernels crushed by the stone roller the previous day, so she asked if she wanted a bowl of corn porridge. The stove had fire in it, not yet extinguished.

The old lady agreed and sat down under the eaves to enjoy the breeze.

Mrs. Zheng made the porridge and brought it out, saying that even though it was warming up, standing with her head exposed to the evening air wasn’t good. The old lady praised her for being filial. She remembered this particularly clearly.

The porridge didn’t take long to cook, and it wasn’t much, just a small bowl. The old lady took a spoon and slowly finished it, spoonful by spoonful. Mrs. Zheng helped her wash up, supported her back into her room, and then returned to her own room to rest.

“In our village, when a family has a meal, everyone waits for the men to return from the fields and eats together. It was only that night, when Grandmother cried out that she was hungry, that I made a meal for her alone.” Mrs. Zheng recalled the events and finished her account.

Chu Mingxi paced two steps in a patch of sunlight within the room and said softly, “Do you remember which batch of corn kernels you used that day?”

“I do.” Mrs. Zheng nodded hastily. “It’s from our household. I mean, it’s from the batch our branch of the family is responsible for. That bag is still there, in the corner.”

Everyone was in the main hall, watching the three young women emerge. Mrs. Zheng walked quickly to the storeroom where the grain was kept. In the corner closest to the door was a sack of corn kernels, its top tied shut. There was also a smaller portion of crushed kernels in an old cloth bag, placed on a shelf. As a country woman, she had strength and carried the heavy sack of corn out by herself, saying, “There’s been a lot of rain this year. Whenever the sun comes out, we pour it out to dry. We’re just afraid it’ll spoil and become inedible.”

Mrs. Zheng’s husband was out working in the fields. Brother Wen, standing nearby, stepped forward to help pour out all the corn kernels.

Chu Mingxi lifted her skirt and crouched down to look at the dried corn on the ground, burnt to a deep red. She gently stirred the kernels, as if she were sorting through medicinal ingredients at home, a routine task.

Just as Mrs. Zheng had said, it had rained off and on throughout this spring. Despite being dried in the sun, the corn in the bag still carried a hint of dampness.

Shopkeeper Yu and Doctor Tang both gathered around.

Most of the corn kernels looked normal. Sifting through them, Chu Mingxi found a very small number with a muddy-yellow fuzz on them.

Brother Wen saw them too and pointed. “Those are moldy ones. But we’re always very careful. Every time we sun-dry them, we pick out these moldy ones and throw them away.”

The color of the fuzz was very close to the color of the corn itself; it would easily be missed if one wasn’t looking closely.

“If these moldy kernels aren’t picked out, after a while they can turn blackish-gray, and the fuzz grows longer. We would never eat them.” Brother Wen explained, then immediately asked his sister-in-law, “The porridge you made for Grandmother that day—there wasn’t any of this mold, was there?”

Mrs. Zheng quickly shook her head. “No, no. I picked out all the ones with fuzz and threw them away. This is the family’s food supply; I wouldn’t be that careless.” She turned and also brought over the small half-bag of crushed kernels.

The crushed kernels in the cloth bag didn’t reveal any clues. Still, Chu Mingxi focused intently on the corn with the yellow fuzz. She reached out, picked up a few kernels, and raised them to her lips.

“Eldest Young Miss!”

“Head Proprietor!”

Qingdai and Shopkeeper Yu both cried out sharply in alarm. Qingdai had already lunged over, snatched the corn kernels from her Mistress’s hand, and without hesitation, moved to put them in her own mouth. If there was to be a test like Shennong tasting the hundred herbs, then she would be the one!

“You must not!” With sharp eyes and quick hands, Chu Mingxi slapped the corn out of her hand.

A few kernels fell into the pile of corn on the ground, disappearing instantly.

This whole episode had the Wen household watching with hearts pounding in fear.

These doctors were all people who would risk their lives!

Chu Mingxi grasped Qingdai’s hand tightly, feeling both deeply moved and terrified by what had just happened. “I only wanted to smell them, not eat them.”

Qingdai caught her breath and shook her head. “It’s too dangerous. What if you inhaled something harmful even from smelling? Better I do it.”

“Silly girl.” Chu Mingxi sighed. “Then neither of us will smell them. Pick out a few of the fuzzy kernels. Let’s test them with a silver needle first.”

“I’ll do it!” Qingdai said, crouching down again.

Chu Mingxi knew she was still afraid—afraid she might try to do it herself—so she let her be.

Mold from dampness, naturally, would not reveal poison to a silver needle. Chu Mingxi had anticipated this result; it was merely a preliminary test.

Brother Wen brought water for the doctors to wash their hands.

Chu Mingxi had Shopkeeper Yu buy that entire sack of corn kernels. The Wen family said there was no need to buy it, they would gift it to them. Chu Mingxi insisted on paying.

By lunchtime, Chu Mingxi’s group returned to their rented lodgings. Lei Min had just finished feeding the horses and came around from the back of the house to take the large sack of corn kernels that Brother Wen had carried over.

After lunch, the members of the Imperial Medicine Hall gathered together. In the end, it was decided that Doctor Tang would stay behind. First, to oversee Old Lady Wen’s condition—a physician should do all that is humanly possible. Second, to record the pulse pattern of this illness in the case files for future reference.

Early the next morning, the group set off on their return journey to Peaceful Ease Prefecture. On the road, Chu Mingxi mostly leaned against the carriage wall, resting with her eyes closed. Qingdai knew well that this was her Mistress’s habit. When faced with a difficult illness, she became exceptionally silent, likely mulling over the right treatment in her mind.

Back at the Imperial Medicine Hall, Chu Mingyu came out happily to greet them. Chu Mingxi smiled and touched the hair on her sister’s shoulder before heading back to her room. Yining followed and reported that hot water had been kept ready, asking if the Eldest Young Miss wished to wash up first.

Chu Mingxi, slightly weary, said, “Yes.”

Yining looked at Qingdai. Qingdai pursed her lips and shook her head. Yining then understood that this trip had likely not been very successful.

Young maids carried hot water in, filling the large bathtub, then filed out again.

Chu Mingxi sat in the bathtub, letting Yining wash her hair. Steam rose and swirled, making one feel drowsy. She closed her eyes and asked, “Where is Qingdai?”

“Eldest Young Miss, I’m right here.” Qingdai had already quickly washed and changed, and was now tidying her Mistress’s clothes outside the bathhouse. Hearing her name, she walked around the screen and entered the bathhouse.

Chu Mingxi opened her eyes, saw that she had changed into a clean dress, and nodded. “Go tell them that the sack of corn kernels has developed mold and is absolutely not to be eaten.”

“Yes.” Qingdai answered and went out to deliver the message.

That evening, the two sisters sat opposite each other at dinner. On the table again appeared the dish of dried bamboo shoots they had eaten before. Chu Mingyu ate with cheerful delight, but Chu Mingxi picked up a piece with her chopsticks and examined it carefully.

“Sister, what’s wrong? Is there something off about this dried bamboo shoot?”

At home, their mother strictly enforced the rule of no talking during meals. But once out here, Chu Mingyu had tossed those rules to the back of her mind.

“There’s nothing wrong.” Chu Mingxi placed the bamboo shoot into her bowl and sighed. “I just remembered that Yining mentioned early on that here, during winter, fresh fruits and vegetables are extremely scarce. Every household dries and stores food. If it’s not dried thoroughly and develops mold, it can very easily cause illness.”

“Is the illness in Chen Prefecture also caused by mold?”

“Although I can’t be one hundred percent certain yet, it’s about eighty to ninety percent likely.”

“Oh…” Chu Mingyu seemed to understand but not quite. Watching her sister eat in silence, she felt glum too. But her nature was always to be restless, so she began thinking of ways to cheer her sister up.

“Right, Sister! The day of the temple fair, I think I saw Brother-in-law!”

“Mm?”

Seeing her sister actually look up at her, she giggled, a look of a successful scheme on her face. “I knew that mentioning Brother-in-law would cheer you up!”

Chu Mingxi said nothing and put the piece of dried bamboo shoot she’d been holding into her mouth.

Chu Mingyu said, “Really, I did. I saw him from a distance. But he seemed very busy and was walking really fast. Sister, is Brother-in-law also in Peaceful Ease Prefecture? Does he know you’re at the Imperial Medicine Hall? Why hasn’t he come to see us for so long?”

“He has matters to handle. It’s inconvenient for him to come.” Chu Mingxi placed a slice of Kung Pao chicken into her sister’s bowl. “Eat your dinner properly. Don’t ask too many questions about grown-up affairs.”

“Grown-up affairs? How much older is he than me? Not even two full years!” Chu Mingyu held up two fingers to demonstrate. Seeing her sister’s stern look as she glanced at her sideways, she obediently put her fingers back down. Then, with an honest face that was actually begging for a beating, she said, “But the generational seniority is there. I understand. He’s my own brother-in-law, the husband of our Imperial Medicine Hall’s Eldest Young Miss. No one is allowed to speak ill of him.”

Chu Mingxi put down her chopsticks.

Chu Mingyu jumped up. “I’m full! Sister, enjoy your meal!” At the doorway, she turned back. “Eat more. Don’t get too thin; if Brother-in-law sees, his heart will definitely ache!”

“That little monkey!” Chu Mingxi rubbed her forehead, getting a headache from the aggravation.