Upon entering, the Empress Dowager had been sitting calmly, not scolding Lady Xu nor speaking in favor of Gu Youyou. Now, upon hearing Gu Youyou mention how she almost died, the Empress Dowager uttered an "oh" and asked further, "Doctor Gu, is there such great risk to you when treating yourself?"
Gu Youyou replied to the Empress Dowager, "My illness was life-threatening, and thus the medicine was naturally extremely dangerous. If successful, I would survive; if not, death was all that awaited me. However, Your Highness need not worry, your ailment is in the leg and not life-threatening. If the treatment works well, you may be able to stand up and even walk a few steps after one month; if not, at least the pain will be lessened. But complete recovery is impossible. Whether to treat or not is ultimately up to Your Highness."
"Hmm, Doctor Gu speaks the truth," the Empress Dowager nodded and said, "Indeed, you are a bit braver than those Imperial Physicians in the Imperial Medical Bureau. They simply dared not treat me, claiming that my leg was incurable. You’ve put it well; I have come to terms with this leg issue a long time ago. Proceed with your methods. Whether it can be cured or not, I won’t blame you. You don’t have to take Lady Xu’s words to heart."
Lady Xu had not expected the Empress and Empress Dowager to highly regard a civilian doctor, which made her tremble with fury.
It was bad enough she couldn’t compete with these women for favor, but now she had been reprimanded by an insignificant medical maid today.
The Empress laughed, "Youyou really does resemble Minister Lin in temperament—bold enough to speak the truth without fear of offending others. I remember the Emperor once said that he admires Minister Lin for such traits, daring to say what others wouldn’t, daring to do what others couldn’t."
Upon mentioning the Emperor, the Empress Dowager’s face beamed with a smile, and she looked upon Gu Youyou even more favorably, "Exactly, Lin Xingyi is quite good, no wonder the Emperor favors him. He even praised him for being outspoken and a true gentleman."
Feeling snubbed, Lady Xu couldn’t say anything more about the medical maid given the curiosity of others, as it might displease the Empress and Empress Dowager.
As the Empress Dowager was seeking treatment, they all excused themselves.
Just as discussed the day before, Gu Youyou started by giving the Empress Dowager a leg massage.
The palace’s medical maidens were called over to learn from Gu Youyou.
The massage was not difficult; it was simply to smooth out the meridians in the legs, which had not walked for two years—one could learn it after just being taught.
Watching Gu Youyou perform acupuncture on the Empress Dowager, the medical maid bravely made an audacious request during the break.
"Doctor Gu, I find your set of acupuncture techniques truly exquisite. Cui Xilan takes the liberty of making a presumptuous request."
Gu Youyou put away the needles and said, "Could it be that Miss Cui wishes to learn this set of acupuncture from me?"
Cui Xilan showed a look of surprise and hurriedly said, "Xilan knows that this request is overstepping bounds. If it’s inconvenient, Doctor Gu, please pretend I never asked."
Gu Youyou smiled and responded, "There’s nothing inconvenient about it. Since you wish to learn, I shall do my best to teach you. Miss Cui’s aunt is a doctor in my medical hall; I hold a great deal of respect for Doctor Cui’s character."
Cui Xilan was beside herself with joy, having never expected Gu Youyou would agree to teach her these techniques.
One must understand that medical skills are among the most difficult to master within the techniques of various families. Each doctor has their own methods, typically passed down from master to disciple, from father to son, and they are not casually shared.
"Master! Please accept your disciple’s bow," Cui Xilan then bowed on the spot to Gu Youyou.
Seeing that Cui Xilan was more than ten years her senior, Gu Youyou was reluctant to take her on as a disciple. She hurriedly helped her up, saying, "Miss Cui, what are you doing? It’s merely a set of acupuncture techniques; I cannot accept you as my disciple."
"You won’t accept me as your disciple? Yet you’ll pass on the acupuncture techniques to me?"