Chu Tianjiao had been living quite comfortably for the past few days.
The Imperial Physician sent by the Emperor diagnosed that she did not have rubella, but merely a pollen allergy.
Her so-called "cold" recovered at an astonishing speed.
The arrow wound on her shoulder had also scabbed over, and as long as she was careful not to touch it, it was no longer a major concern.
Chu Tianjiao went to the upper courtyard every day to pay her respects to Old Madam Chu, and once there, she would linger and not leave, carefully observing Old Madam Chu's health.
Old Madam Chu had always been fond of her eldest granddaughter, but after being made to exercise and having her eating habits monitored every day, she gradually became impatient.
"Jiao'er, shake your head!"
Chu Tianjiao obediently shook her head.
Today she had pinned a small, exquisite phoenix hairpin in her hair, with small pearls embedded in the tassels.
When Chu Tianjiao shook her head, the small pearls collided, making a faint sound.
Old Madam Chu, supporting her lower back with her hand and panting, leaned close to her and listened, then complained: "Listen to that sound, clanging..."
Before Chu Tianjiao could understand what she meant, Old Madam Chu instructed Nanny Li: "Xiao Cui, come help squeeze the water out of the young miss's brain, lest she comes to bother this old woman for no reason."
Nanny Li covered her mouth to stifle a laugh as she stepped forward to support Old Madam Chu.
Chu Tianjiao finally realized her grandmother was teasing her.
"Grandmother, if you want to be lazy, just say so. How can you scold me?"
Old Madam Chu, supporting her waist, was about to walk into the room, ignoring her complaint.
"This old woman can't take it anymore, I need to go lie down."
Chu Tianjiao followed her closely back to the room, and after Old Madam Chu sat on the couch, she went forward to massage her waist.
"Grandmother, you're only fifty this year, and you've always been healthy. How can you want to rest after just one set of Five Animal Exercises?"
"You know that this old woman is already fifty, with old arms and legs? You come here every day to force me to do these Five Animal Exercises, isn't that because water has gotten into your brain?"
In her previous life, Old Madam Chu had caught a cold shortly after Chu Tianjiao's grand wedding, and the illness came on fiercely, leading to her passing not long after.
Chu Tianjiao hadn't yet found the reason, so she could only try her best to make Old Madam Chu exercise more and strengthen her constitution, hoping it would have some preventive effect against colds.
"Grandmother, when you were young, you were someone who could carry a large sword into battle. How have you become so lazy now?"
"You've always taught me that martial arts skills cannot be neglected for even a day. Even if we women don't need to go to the battlefield, the Chu family is surrounded by dangers. Even as women, diligently practicing martial arts can at least strengthen our bodies and give us the ability to protect ourselves."
Old Madam Chu was left speechless by this speech, inwardly cursing:
"Usually when I ask the girl to study, she can't remember anything, but how is it that she remembers all the nonsense I used to fool her with? Now I can't even refute her."
While massaging Old Madam Chu's waist, Chu Tianjiao carefully probed: "Grandmother, do you really not have any discomfort in your body lately?"
She had been asking Old Madam Chu this question several times a day recently, and Old Madam Chu was too lazy to answer her now, closing her eyes and pretending not to hear.
Nanny Li helped answer: "The Old Madam is indeed in good health, it's just that as people age, they naturally become more fatigued. In the past, the Old Madam would practice some martial arts every morning, but for the past half year, she's been feeling aches all over her body, so she stopped."
Hearing this, Chu Tianjiao immediately became alert.
"Aches all over? When did it start? Have you found the cause?"
"What illness? This old woman isn't sick, stop trying to persuade me to drink those bitter medicinal soups."
Nanny Li explained: "The family doctor does come to check the Old Madam's pulse for safety every month, and has prescribed some tonics, but the Old Madam finds them bitter and hasn't drunk them."
Hearing this, Chu Tianjiao immediately grabbed Old Madam Chu's wrist and began to take her pulse.
Old Madam Chu, who had been pretending to sleep at first, felt Chu Tianjiao holding her arm to take her pulse and curiously opened her eyes.
"Girl, when did you learn medical skills?"
Chu Tianjiao couldn't very well say that she had learned a bit from Empress Jiamin, who came from a family of doctors and pharmacists, at the Imperial Ancestral Temple. So she lied and said she had recently found a medical book and was just trying out what she had read.
She didn't find anything else unusual, except that Old Madam Chu's pulse seemed a bit floating and tight.
Knowing that her own level of skill was too low to make any significant discoveries, and that the family doctor's skills were also ordinary, Chu Tianjiao hurriedly asked Nanny Li to take the Marquis of Liyang's card and invite the head of the Imperial Physician's Academy to come.
"Girl, you've been acting so strangely these past few days. I'm perfectly fine, why call for the head of the Academy?"
Chu Tianjiao had to resort to wheedling: "Grandmother, I'm just starting to learn medicine and I'm not very skilled. I greatly admire the head of the Imperial Physician's Academy. I just took your pulse and have some doubts, so if you invite him here, I can ask him for some advice."
Old Madam Chu pouted reluctantly, "If you have questions, why not just ask the family doctor? Surely he can solve your beginner's problems?"
Chu Tianjiao signaled to Nanny Li with her eyes while hugging Old Madam Chu and acting coy.
Old Madam Chu's eyes gleamed with cunning as she proposed conditions:
"It's fine to call the head physician, but I won't drink any bitter medicinal soups. And you have to promise me that starting tomorrow, you'll properly study the military texts and not slack off..."
Chu Tianjiao helplessly agreed to a bunch of conditions, unable to help but sigh: only she could indulge her own grandmother like this.
Half an hour later, Royal Physician Wang, the head of the Imperial Physician's Academy, was led in with a genial smile.
After exchanging greetings and pleasantries, Royal Physician Wang began to take Old Madam Chu's pulse.
Hearing that Chu Tianjiao had read a medical book and insisted on meeting him in person to ask for advice out of admiration, Royal Physician Wang chuckled happily:
"Those little monkeys at my home refuse to study medicine even when I force them, I didn't expect the young miss to be interested in medicine. Very good, very good. So, what does the young miss think of the Old Madam's pulse?"
Royal Physician Wang was just joking, but Chu Tianjiao took it seriously.
She didn't dare to show off, but honestly reported that she found Old Madam Chu's pulse to be somewhat floating and tight, and was worried it might be a precursor to a cold.
Royal Physician Wang thought to himself: truly childish, daring to diagnose after just reading one medical book, not knowing the depth of her ignorance.
At first, Royal Physician Wang was quite relaxed. When he first entered, he had observed Old Madam Chu's complexion and felt there wouldn't be any major problems.
Since Chu Tianjiao said she felt Old Madam Chu's pulse was floating and tight, he also considered this direction. But the more he felt, the more alarmed he became, and the expression on his face gradually turned serious.
Old Madam Chu was also taken aback by Royal Physician Wang's expression and couldn't help but ask: "Could it be that this girl accidentally got it right?"
Royal Physician Wang stroked his beard and thought solemnly for a while before saying: "This old man truly didn't expect the young miss to have such talent, to be able to detect this latent chronic cold poison at such a young age."
"Cold poison? Not just a cold?"
Chu Tianjiao only remembered that in her previous life, Old Madam Chu had died of typhoid fever. At that time, no matter how many Imperial Physicians were sent from the palace to diagnose, including this Royal Physician Wang who had personally examined her, none of them had diagnosed poisoning. They had all unanimously said it was a cold.
How come Royal Physician Wang was now saying it was cold poison?
"Poisoning? I stay in my own courtyard every day, how could I be poisoned?"
Old Madam Chu was even more frightened.
Old Madam Chu was a first-rank titled lady, and her eldest son, the Marquis of Liyang, was still battling the Western Rong People at the border. Who in the Capital City would dare to poison her?
Royal Physician Wang felt this matter was very serious and must be reported to the current Emperor immediately.
"Old Madam, you have been poisoned with a very special kind of cold poison. Before the amount accumulates sufficiently, it will continue to lurk in your body, latent but not manifesting.
Once it erupts, it will turn into cold symptoms.
All pulse signs and symptoms will be indistinguishable from a common cold. By that time, even I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to diagnose it as poisoning rather than an actual cold."
Chu Tianjiao finally understood why in her previous life, so many Imperial Physicians had failed to diagnose poisoning.
"Royal Physician Wang, can this poison affecting my grandmother be cured?"
Royal Physician Wang said with a grave expression: "This poison must have been slowly invading the Old Madam's body. The amount accumulated now has not yet reached the threshold for eruption. First, we need to find the source of the poison to prevent it from deepening."
"As for detoxification, we need to find the source of the poison first. Only then can this old man formulate a targeted antidote based on the type of poison source."
Old Madam Chu immediately ordered a search of the upper courtyard where she lived.
Commonly used items were all brought before Royal Physician Wang to determine if they were poisonous.
When a jade pillow was brought before Royal Physician Wang, he examined it and said it was harmless.
Chu Tianjiao took the jade pillow and examined it. The pillow was smooth and lustrous, with a slight warmth to the touch. Surprisingly, it was made from a single piece of warm jade. Astonished, he thought to himself:
Grandmother has always disliked extravagance and would never spend a fortune on such a large piece of warm jade carved into a pillow. He quietly pulled Nanny Li aside and asked:
"Where did this jade pillow come from?"
