Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1474: Chapter 1575: If You Don’t Accept It, Bet Again_1

Before they knew it, the time to settle the bet with Mao Xingcai and the others had come, and Bai Ruozhu swaggered into the Imperial Medical Hospital, deliberately glancing at the hourglass on the side and loudly exclaimed, ”Oh dear, three days have passed, and I wonder if the various noble ladies’ illnesses have been cured yet?”

Fuming, Mao Xingcai’s beard bristled as he glared at Bai Ruozhu and said, ”Stop speaking in riddles. We fell for your cunning schemes, woman. It’s our own oversight.”

”Mao Yanshi, it’s not that you were careless, rather you should say that your medical skills are lacking, which would be more appropriate at this moment. You’re too arrogant,” Bai Ruozhu replied with a grin, her gaze fixed on him. ”How could Mao Yanshi have forgotten our wager?”

With both shame and annoyance reddening his face, Mao Xingcai retorted, ”I am not one to renege on a promise, but you must tell me how to cure the poison. Otherwise, how could I admit defeat wholeheartedly?”

Bai Ruozhu, with hands clasped behind her back, paced a few steps around inside the Imperial Medical Hospital and, indeed, saw everyone eagerly looking at her, all waiting for her to unveil the mystery.

”Actually, that day, I only gave them a small punishment, so they would understand that no matter the reason, they must not delay the medical treatment of the Empress Dowager,” Bai Ruozhu explained with a laugh. ”So, how could I have poisoned them?”

”What do you mean? Then what caused the red rashes on them?” Mao Xingcai was visibly anxious. He truly could not fathom the answer.

”It was but a little medicine that makes one sensitive to pollen, and as it happened, that day each one of the noble ladies were adorned with fresh flowers in their hair, which is why they experienced an allergic reaction on their faces,” Bai Ruozhu said, indicating to her head. ”And such an allergy won’t last long, even if you didn’t treat it, they would naturally recover in a few days.”

Mao Xingcai pointed at her and exclaimed, ”If they could recover on their own, then why did you ask us to treat them? You were deceiving us!”

”I said they could recover on their own, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help them to recover earlier, right? You could have prescribed medicine to alleviate the pollen allergy, or boosted their immunity, and also you should not have allowed fresh flowers in their rooms, but did you do any of that?” Bai Ruozhu asked.

Mao Xingcai felt a chill in his heart. These past three days, the old Imperial Doctors had tried everything – blood analysis, topical applications, internal antidotes – but not only did they fail to neutralize the so-called poison, they even managed to offend the noble ladies.

How did he not realize earlier that it was not poisoning but a sensitivity to pollen?

Wei Pengbo was also livid, his face flaming red as he said, ”You are too cunning. If you had given us a few more days, perhaps we might have thought of a solution.”

”So if they recovered on their own, would that count as your victory? At your age, don’t you have any shame?” Hao Mu, who had come just to enjoy the spectacle, muttered softly on the side. Although she was the Empress’s personal palace maid, after all, she couldn’t openly insult the Imperial Doctors of official rank, so she could only mutter under her breath.

Bai Ruozhu laughed, ”It’s fair to admit defeat in a wager, so what, you don’t want to accept the outcome? Or are you still not convinced and want to bet again?”

Upon hearing this, Mao Xingcai straightened his back and declared, ”We’re not the kind to go back on our words, but it’s unfair if only you set the challenges, so this time we’ll come up with the challenge. If you can solve the problem we put forth, only then will it truly count as your victory.”

Clearly trying to back out of the deal, they made it sound so righteous that even the female physicians couldn’t stand to watch and showed signs of contempt.

Nevertheless, Bai Ruozhu didn’t bother to argue with them. Since they wanted to be utterly convinced, she would just have to deal with whatever they threw at her.

”Fine, state your challenge, but it can’t be something deliberately impossible, like making infertile people pregnant overnight, or enabling the blind to see, or making a mute speak instantly. I’m just a doctor, not an immortal,” Bai Ruozhu said loudly.

The others in the Imperial Medical Hospital nodded to themselves, agreeing that indeed doctors are not omnipotent, and demanding such things would be impossible for them too.

Mao Xingcai stomped his foot and said, ”What kind of person do you take me for? I’m simply asking you to treat Consort Lv’s stomach ailment, something you’ve seen her for before. That wouldn’t be bullying, right?”

”Mao Yanshi, how could you do this? You know that Consort Lv refuses to be treated, right?” Wei Tianzhen couldn’t help but exclaim.

Mao Xingcai glared at her, ”If there were no challenges at all, then what would be the point of making a bet?”

Bai Ruozhu snickered, ”The difficulty for Mao Yanshi doesn’t lie in Medical Skills, you really outdid yourself with this one. Besides, everyone knows that stomach disorders can’t be cured overnight, and without proper treatment, they’re prone to recurrence. Are we supposed to bet on this for several months?”

”I’ll give you seven days. As long as Consort Lv has no obvious pain and can eat normally, that will suffice,” said Mao Xingcai.

”Agreed, but ’normal eating’ refers only to soft, digestible foods, and she must avoid raw, cold, and spicy food,” Bai Ruozhu was now much more cautious, to avoid any wordplay trickery.

”Good, it’s a deal. I shall wait and see,” Mao Xingcai’s look of shame and annoyance vanished, replaced by sheer smugness. He seemed as though he was about to witness Bai Ruozhu’s defeat.

Bai Ruozhu gave him a smile and said, ”Alright, I’ll take my leave now.”

Mao Xingcai stuck his head out to watch her leave, then his laughter shook his whiskers as he whispered to Wei Pengbo, ”Just watch, she’s definitely heading to the Hanlu Palace, and she’ll come back with her tail between her legs.”

Jiu Sheng left, holding back laughter; he remembered that just yesterday Bai Ruozhu claimed to have a clever plan. It seems these old men might be in for a disappointment again.

Meanwhile, Bai Ruozhu instructed the female physicians, ”Continue with Consort Xu’s treatment today, and Wei Tianzhen, you’re responsible for the massage.”

”Yes,” Wei Tianzhen responded, but then quickly asked, ”Your Excellency, aren’t you going to see Consort Lv first?”

Bai Ruozhu shook her head with a smile, ”No hurry. A melon forcibly twisted off the stem is not sweet; the same goes for treatment. If a patient is reluctant to be seen and won’t cooperate, any treatment would be in vain.”

Following behind, Hao Mu asked curiously, ”You’re really not worried?”

”Not worried. You’ll understand in time. Besides, even if I lose, it will just be a draw, so what’s there to fear?” Bai Ruozhu laughed like a sly fox. She was just saying this rhetorically; was she really going to lose?

”Indeed.” Hao Mu let out a sigh of relief after hearing this, and the other five female physicians also relaxed. These past few days, they had learned a lot following Bai Ruozhu, and had truly come to admire this Chief Doctor with an excellent temperament and integrity. Thus, they did not want Bai Ruozhu to leave, nor did they want the Female Physicians Institution to be abolished.

Bai Ruozhu went to see Consort Xu in the Hanlu Palace and also gave her homemade eye Medicine Liquid to the Nanny beside her. The Nanny kept thanking her, smiling so wide she couldn’t close her mouth, and whispered, ”The headache of our consort is much relieved, and she looks more spirited. Even His Majesty came by last night.”

A gleam flashed in Bai Ruozhu’s eyes as she asked quietly, ”His Majesty spent the night here with Consort Xu?”

The Nanny nodded, ”Yes, this is certainly a joyous occasion, and it’s all thanks to Your Excellency Bai’s blessings.”

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Today, the number of monthly votes has dropped a lot from yesterday. Could it be that everyone feels Mouka’s updates are too slow? Sob sob, I’m begging for the minimum monthly votes~