Hong Mei led Yun Jiao to the second courtyard, pulling her into a room.
Inside the room, a young lady dressed in silk was sitting by the window, resting her chin in her hands in a daydream.
There was also a maid working on some needlework under the light.
The maid quickly put down her work and stood up when she saw someone coming, and the young lady by the window also turned around.
The maid greeted them and promptly went to pour tea, while Hong Mei drew Yun Jiao over with a smile and said to the young lady, "This is the Doctor Gu I told you about, who saved my life."
The lady got up, looked Yun Jiao up and down, and smiled, "Oh, so young."
Hong Mei pointed to the young lady and said, "This is my cousin, Qing Lan, who came from the county town to attend the banquet. She’ll be staying here for a few days."
Yun Jiao smiled at her, "Hello, Sister Qing Lan."
Qing Lan reached out and touched Yun Jiao’s face, "You’re so pretty."
"Are you really capable of treating illnesses at such a young age?"
Yun Jiao just smiled.
After some casual talk, Hong Mei made an excuse to leave.
The maid got up and closed the door.
Qing Lan pulled Yun Jiao to sit on the couch.
She seemed to have something that was difficult to talk about, her expression was hesitant.
After a while, she bit her lip and whispered in Yun Jiao’s ear, "I have a close friend who’s about to get married."
"But she has a problem, her feet sweat easily, and, and there’s a smell."
Qing Lan blushed all over after speaking.
Yun Jiao understood, it’s the classic ’I have a friend’ scenario.
Qing Lan continued, "She’s worried that after getting married, her husband will dislike her. I wonder if Doctor Gu has any remedies for her condition."
Yun Jiao thought for a moment, "This is simple. There’s no need to take a pulse. Do you have paper and pen here? I will write a prescription for your friend."
Qing Lan quickly signaled the maid to go to Hong Mei for paper and pen.
Soon, the maid returned with pen, ink, and paper.
Yun Jiao started grinding the ink slowly while pondering.
By the time the ink was ready, she had come up with the prescription.
After writing the prescription, Yun Jiao said, "This condition is hard to completely eradicate; it’s a matter of constitution. However, with proper care, it won’t typically cause any odor."
She pointed to the prescription, "Boil the herbs and soak the feet in the decoction."
"Soak once every three days, and after three to five times, it will be good for one or two months."
"If it recurs, just boil them again for soaking."
She pondered, "If this seems too troublesome, there’s a simpler way."
"Find cockleburs in the wild, or buy them from an herbal shop, and boil them for a foot soak as well."
"When next spring comes, pick their leaves and put them in the shoes, and even in summer, feet won’t smell."
Qing Lan was very pleased to have gotten these remedies.
Being a lady, having this condition made her shy to see a doctor. If it hadn’t been for her cousin Hong Mei speaking highly of Doctor Gu’s skills and being a fellow lady, she wouldn’t have dared to ask for the introduction.
Qing Lan bowed to Yun Jiao, "Thank you very much on behalf of my close friend."
Yun Jiao smiled, "You’re welcome."
"Well, Sister Qing Lan, I shall take my leave now."
Qing Lan quickly gave the maid a look.
The maid brought over one or two pieces of silver and slipped them into Yun Jiao’s hand, "This is the consultation fee from the close friend of our family’s young lady. We hope Doctor Gu..."
Seeing the maid stammering, Yun Jiao straightforwardly said, "Don’t worry, young lady. We are all women, naturally, I won’t speak of such matters outside."
"Moreover, I am a doctor. I will always keep patient confidentiality when it comes to ailments."
Qing Lan was completely relieved and instructed the maid to see Yun Jiao out.
When they reached the front courtyard, they saw the banquet was already over, and Hong Mei came over quickly and said, "Doctor Gu, it’s dark now, I’ll ask Ah Jin to escort you home."