Chapter 15
Mrs. Sun was tidying things up on the side and overheard them. After Mrs. Gao finished showing Gu Jiu, Mrs. Sun sneakily sidled over, looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then lowered her voice and said, "Ninth Sister-in-law, show me too."
Gu Jiu also lowered her voice and asked, "What's wrong with Mrs. Sun? Are you feeling unwell?"
"Ahem," Mrs. Sun cleared her throat, a bit embarrassed. "It's just that, ever since I gave birth to my fourth child, I can't seem to control..."
Mrs. Xu pulled her aside, scolding, "You're going to die, saying things like that! Ninth Sister-in-law is still an unmarried young lady, how could she understand this?"
Gu Jiu smiled, understanding the issue they were referring to. It was a common problem for women who had given birth. "It's nothing, just urinary incontinence, right? I understand, I'm a Doctor, what don't I know?"
Mrs. Sun and Mrs. Xu looked at Gu Jiu in surprise. Mrs. Xu stuttered, "How, how did you know that's what we were talking about?"
Since Gu Jiu had guessed correctly, Mrs. Sun didn't feel embarrassed anymore and blurted out, "Yes, I can't even laugh out loud, and when I cough, I leak urine. Mrs. Zhang has the same problem."
Mrs. Xu awkwardly pushed her away, saying, "Just speak for yourself, why bring me into this? I'm perfectly fine!"
Gu Jiu explained, "It's nothing serious, it's just due to the pelvic floor muscles becoming loose after giving birth. The more children you've had, the more likely you are to develop this condition. For someone like Mother who has given birth to six children, seven or eight out of ten would have this problem."
Mrs. Gao: "Thank you for your consideration, but no need to use me as an example."
Mrs. Xu urgently tapped Gu Jiu, scolding, "How could you say that about your own mother-in-law? At least give her some face in front of your two sisters-in-law, you little rascal."
Gu Jiu completely missed the point of Mrs. Xu's distress and continued, "I'll teach you and the sisters-in-law a method. When you have nothing to do, practice pelvic floor exercises more often..."
Gu Jiu taught them the pelvic floor exercise method, then said, "Once we leave the old forest, I'll prescribe some qi and kidney tonifying herbs. Combined with the exercises, it should work."
Mrs. Sun nodded, unconsciously trying the pelvic floor exercises. Mrs. Xu saw what she was doing, her face turned red, and she muttered, "This one's a rascal too."
Gu Jiu added, "Mrs. Zhang, shall I also check your Peaceful pulse?"
That's how they referred to it in this era, right? According to the original owner's memory, whenever the imperial physician came to examine her grandfather, he would say this to her family members afterward.
Mrs. Xu paused, Peaceful pulse—it had been so many years since she'd heard that phrase.
She shook her head, clearing away some memories she shouldn't have, and smiled as she extended her wrist. "Then I'll trouble our Ninth Sister-in-law."
Gu Jiu placed her fingers on Mrs. Xu's Pulse location, but after just a moment, the smile faded from her face.
Mrs. Xu, Mrs. Gao, and Mrs. Sun all felt a pang of worry.
Mrs. Sun asked urgently, "What's wrong? Is there an issue with Mrs. Zhang's health? Ninth Sister-in-law, don't scare us."
Mrs. Sun was only in her early twenties, so she spoke directly without much tact. Her eldest and second sisters-in-law still treated her like a child and took good care of her.
The eldest sister-in-law, Mrs. Zhang, was the family matriarch, usually quite stern and busy with many duties. It was the second sister-in-law, Mrs. Xu, who often guided Mrs. Sun on how to conduct herself. So the sisters-in-law had a good relationship, and Mrs. Sun was genuinely concerned for Mrs. Xu.
Mrs. Gao's brow furrowed slightly, but she didn't seem anxious or flustered as she watched Gu Jiu's expression.
Instead, Mrs. Xu smiled reassuringly at Mrs. Sun, "Don't worry, I've been in good health. I don't have any headaches or fevers, so how could it be anything serious?"
The pulse Gu Jiu felt was slightly more excited than normal, but upon careful examination, it seemed regular again. She was still learning about pregnancy pulses before her reincarnation.
There were two possibilities for Mrs. Xu's pulse: either she had only been pregnant for a short time, so the pulse wasn't showing signs yet, or her menstrual period was about to arrive, which can sometimes cause a slight pregnancy pulse presentation.
Gu Jiu withdrew her hand and asked Mrs. Xu, "Has your monthly period arrived this month, Mrs. Zhang?"
Mrs. Xu paused, trying to recall when her last period was. Mrs. Sun, being blunt, piped up, "Mrs. Zhang was two days later than me last time, but I've already had my period this month while she hasn't."
With Mrs. Sun's comment, Mrs. Xu also realized and looked at Gu Jiu with a hopeful expression.
Mrs. Gao couldn't hide the joy on her face either as she leaned over and whispered, "Is Mrs. Zhang pregnant?"
Gu Jiu said, "I can't be completely certain yet. It might be too early to show, or her period might be arriving soon. Mrs. Zhang should still be careful for now."
Although Gu Jiu spoke cautiously, everyone felt there was an eight or nine out of ten chance Mrs. Xu was pregnant, and they couldn't help but smile.
Mrs. Gao specifically reminded Mrs. Sun, "Don't go blabbing about this everywhere and startle the children."
Mrs. Sun smiled, "You know I'm not a blabbermouth, right?"
Mrs. Gao gave her a sidelong glance. "Aren't you?"
Mrs. Sun fell silent, embarrassed.
Feeling envious of Mrs. Xu, she extended her hand towards Gu Jiu. "Ninth Sister-in-law, check me too. My fourth child is already six years old, but I haven't had any news since. See if there's something wrong with my body?"
Gu Jiu checked her pulse, which was easy to read. "Mrs. Sun, you have some womb coldness. You need to keep yourself warm, and avoid cold or chilled foods. Also, please take it easy with your husband when being intimate. Too frequent intimacy can lead to kidney deficiency and womb coldness."
Mrs. Gao, Mrs. Xu, and Mrs. Sun were all stunned by Gu Jiu's blunt words.
After a moment, Mrs. Gao tapped Gu Jiu's nose and said exasperatedly, "You, you...you unruly girl! You'll say just about anything, won't you? Don't go spouting nonsense like that again!"
Mrs. Xu covered her mouth, giggling. She thought to herself, "The usually quiet Third Brother and his wife are quite frisky in private!"
Mrs. Sun's face turned bright red as she covered it with both hands. "I want to die! Mother, can I kill Ninth Sister-in-law?"
Gu Jiu didn't understand. "Hey, why me? I'm not the one who caused your womb coldness. Shouldn't you want to kill Third Brother instead? Ouch ouch ouch..."
Mrs. Gao covered Gu Jiu's mouth, both amused and annoyed. "Don't you dare say another word!"
Gu Jiu pulled Mrs. Gao's hand away and said seriously, "But I'm a Doctor. In a doctor's eyes, any potential cause of illness must be clearly explained to the patient to prevent a recurrence. This isn't nonsense, it's a medical instruction."
"Still, you can't just blurt it out so brazenly. Next time, discretely advise the person in private and let them save face."
Mrs. Sun: ...
All sense of propriety was already lost, no need to preserve any face.
...
Not long after, the people searching for a water source returned, saying there was a clear stream not far to the west that could be used for drinking water.
Each family sent people carrying bamboo tubes, gourds, and other water containers to fetch water from the stream.
After getting water, the women began making fires to cook meals.
Gu Jiu was disgusted by not having bathed for days and felt filthy, so she wanted to go to the stream to wash up.
Mrs. Zhang, Mrs. Xu, and Mrs. Sun went to prepare dried rations for the next day. Gu Jiu asked Mrs. Gao, "Mother, I'm going to the stream to bathe and wash some clothes. Do you have anything that needs washing?"
"No need," Mrs. Gao instructed her. "The stream water is cold, a young lady shouldn't bathe in cold water. Just wash your hands and face. Have your Fourth and Fifth Brothers escort you so those ruffians from Dahu Village don't take advantage and cause any trouble."
She then told Xie Zhan and Fifth Xie, "Fourth and Fifth Brothers, accompany Ninth Sister-in-law to the stream."
"Okay," Fifth Xie agreed.
Xie Zhan glanced at Gu Jiu, not objecting.