Due to her previous kidnapping experience, Wei Caiwei was extremely cautious, keeping her guard up. Even though it was people from Prince Yu’s mansion who came with Princess Consort of Prince Yu’s invitation card to fetch her, she still had the Lu mansion’s steward dispatch a team of guards to follow the carriage.

Having grown accustomed to the golden splendor of the Forbidden City, the dilapidation of Prince Yu’s mansion hardly seemed like that of a prince’s residence.

Emperor Jiajing’s disgust toward Prince Yu had begun from the prince’s childhood. However, all princes spent their childhoods in the Eastern and Western Five Palaces of Qianqing Palace, receiving the same treatment, so their days were still tolerable. But after princes married and had to move out of the Forbidden City to establish their own residences, Prince Yu’s days became difficult.

The Ministry of Revenue was responsible for distributing stipends to princes, princesses, and other imperial clan members. The one in charge of this money and grain distribution was none other than Yan Shifan, Yan Shilang.

Yan Shilang supported Prince Jing. The stipends he distributed to Prince Jing and other imperial family members were never delayed – he was swift and straightforward about it. But when it came to Prince Yu, Yan Shilang always found various excuses to delay payments, causing Prince Yu’s mansion to frequently face financial shortfalls.

Prince Jin, being favored, received not only his stipend but also salt certificates, imperial estates, imperial shops, and other wealth that Emperor Jiajing occasionally bestowed upon him. Noble Consort Lu also provided various subsidies, so when Prince Jin bribed Yan Shifan, he could casually offer a thousand taels of gold – he had money.

But Prince Yu had nothing besides his stipend, and even that was often withheld and delayed by Yan Shifan. His days were tight, making him arguably the poorest prince in Ming Dynasty history.

Prince Jing’s mansion was newly built, while Prince Yu’s mansion was an old prince’s residence left vacant after previous feudal princes had gone to their fiefdoms over a hundred years ago. Many buildings were damaged, but there had never been money for repairs, so Prince Yu simply sealed off those rooms too broken to inhabit and locked them up.

The sealed broken houses became a paradise for stray cats, and there were even fox dens and wild rabbit warrens, making Prince Yu’s mansion like a small zoo.

Comparing the two mansions, one could see how Emperor Jiajing’s favoritism was completely lopsided.

Wei Caiwei’s carriage entered the prince’s mansion through the west side gate. The guards at the entrance pushed open the doors and removed the threshold to let the carriage pass directly through. The red lacquer on the main gate was dull and lifeless, with patches peeling and flaking off in a mottled pattern like psoriasis. When the guards pushed the door, dried paint chips fell from the door’s vibration and were swept into the air by the northwest wind.

The roads in the prince’s mansion were full of potholes. As the carriage passed over them, it jolted severely. In places where the pits were too severe, they had been filled with crushed burnt coal. When strong winds arose, black coal ash blew everywhere and could never be swept clean.

Where the carriage passed, there were often walls supported by wooden posts. The walls clearly showed their age and swayed precariously in the west wind.

As Wei Caiwei passed by, she couldn’t help worrying that the walls might collapse and crush the carriage.

Upon reaching the back courtyard of the prince’s mansion, the Princess Consort’s main quarters were somewhat better.

The main quarters had been repaired just two years ago with money from the Imperial Clan Court to welcome the new Princess Consort of Prince Yu.

Prince Yu and his original wife Lady Li had been a loving couple with a son and daughter, but sadly their eldest daughter had died young two years ago.

According to protocol, a prince’s daughter should be enfeoffed as a commandery princess, especially since this girl was Emperor Jiajing’s first granddaughter. So Prince Yu personally requested that the Ministry of Rites and Imperial Clan Court bury his beloved daughter according to commandery princess protocols, but Emperor Jiajing refused, saying, “She was never formally enfeoffed, there’s no precedent, and using full ceremonies for one who died in infancy? That’s not right.” In the end, she was buried with half the ceremonies of a commandery princess.

With his daughter’s early death and such a shabby funeral, Princess Consort of Prince Yu grieved excessively and passed away as well. Not long after, their eldest son also died young.

Having lost his son, daughter, and wife, Prince Yu was heartbroken and requested that Princess Consort of Prince Yu be buried with the full ceremonies befitting a prince’s consort. But Emperor Jiajing refused, not even allowing Princess Consort of Prince Yu to use the term “hong” (the special word for a prince’s consort’s death), changing it to the ordinary “gu” (deceased), and hastily conducted the funeral. Just five months later, Noble Consort Lu, using the reason of continuing the bloodline, forced Lady Chen on Prince Yu as his second wife.

The new Princess Consort of Prince Yu was to marry into the family, requiring renovated quarters to welcome the new bride. But Prince Yu was still immersed in the grief of losing his wife, son, and daughter, walking like a living corpse. He had no money and no mood to renovate new rooms.

Seeing that the imperial family would lose face, yet Prince Yu remained indifferent – having endured such shabby funerals for his beloved wife and daughter, he had become disheartened and no longer cared about matters of appearances. After all, the embarrassment wouldn’t be his alone; the entire imperial family would be embarrassed together. With this attitude of letting things fall apart, the Imperial Clan Court provided money to renovate the main quarters and barely managed to hold a wedding ceremony.

The main quarters had been renovated only two years ago, so they were still acceptable, though details still revealed signs of decay. The gold threads on the silk curtains with “flowers blooming in wealth” patterns had lost their luster, appearing neither new nor old, looking grayish and dull.

On this dusty, hazy day, doors and windows were tightly closed. Princess Consort of Prince Yu, Lady Chen, sat on a luohan bed. The room was heated with red luo charcoal, and several pots of narcissus flowers were placed for seasonal decoration, though the narcissus hadn’t yet budded and looked like scallion shoots.

Princess Consort of Prince Yu wore casual jacket and skirt, with her hair loosely arranged in a round chignon secured by a single golden hairpin with dangling ornaments. Princess Consort of Prince Yu had a gentle, harmonious appearance – clearly someone with a soft temperament who was easy to manipulate. Otherwise, Noble Consort Lu wouldn’t have “carefully selected” her back then.

Li Jiubao, on the other hand, was adorned with pearls and jade ornaments all over her head, alluringly beautiful, dressed in gold and silver, sitting in full splendor on an embroidered stool beside the luohan bed.

What a pair – the virtuous wife and beautiful concubine.

Wei Caiwei bowed, “This commoner woman pays respects to Princess Consort and Li Xuanshi.” Xuanshi was the lowest rank among a prince’s mansion’s secondary wives. All nine beauties sent to Prince Yu’s mansion held the rank of xuanshi; only through childbearing could they elevate their status.

However, even though xuanshi was the lowest rank, their status was still much higher than that of commoners like Wei Caiwei, so Wei Caiwei needed to bow to Li Jiubao as well.

Princess Consort of Prince Yu pointed to a small stool beside her, “Doctor Wei, please sit. I’ve long heard of Doctor Wei’s excellent medical skills – even Noble Consort Shang in the palace specifically requests Doctor Wei to enter the palace. Today I’ve invited Doctor Wei to the prince’s mansion hoping you could prescribe some tonic formulas to regulate my body.”

Princess Consort of Prince Yu had been married into the prince’s mansion for two years, but her belly had shown no signs of activity. While she spoke of regulating her body, she was actually seeking to conceive.

Wei Caiwei took Princess Consort of Prince Yu’s pulse and examined her eyes and tongue, then said, “Princess Consort’s body is healthy and you’re in your prime youth – there’s no need for tonics. However, you seem to be troubled by excessive worrying and restless nights. This commoner woman will prescribe a formula for nourishing qi and calming the spirit to help Princess Consort sleep.”

Princess Consort of Prince Yu raised her willow eyebrows, “Doctor Wei is truly a divine physician – you can even diagnose that I sleep poorly.”

Wei Caiwei thought to herself: If I were in your position, with no money in hand, a husband who’s a hands-off manager only concerned with quarreling with his father, not managing any household affairs, forcing me to support this dilapidated family – even the cleverest wife cannot cook without rice. I’d also be too worried to sleep.

Wei Caiwei wrote the prescription. Princess Consort of Prince Yu pointed to Li Jiubao, who had remained silent with a accompanying smile, and said, “Li Xuanshi is Doctor Wei’s old acquaintance – I heard you were even neighbors. You old friends reuniting must have much private conversation to share. Li Xuanshi, take Doctor Wei to visit your courtyard and have a chat. It’s getting late, almost dinner time – please have Doctor Wei stay in the mansion for a meal.”

Wei Caiwei hadn’t expected Princess Consort of Prince Yu to be so understanding. She hurriedly expressed her thanks – she indeed had matters to discuss with Li Jiubao.

Princess Consort of Prince Yu said politely, “Don’t mention it. The prince’s mansion only has simple food and drink – I’m afraid it will be inadequate for Doctor Wei.”

Li Jiubao and Wei Caiwei took a sedan chair to the west side courtyard of the main quarters – an exquisite quadrangle courtyard that was small but very quiet.

Wei Caiwei was secretly surprised, because in her previous life, Li Jiubao had only moved here after giving birth to her first son. Before that, she had been crowded into one courtyard with over ten other xuanshi from the prince’s mansion, each having only one small room and one maid to serve them – even landlords’ daughters lived more comfortably than they did.

In this life, how had Li Jiubao moved here early?

The two entered the room. Li Jiubao dismissed the servants and spoke privately with Wei Caiwei, “To be honest, when Princess Consort asked Doctor Wei to prescribe peaceful tonic formulas for her body, her intention wasn’t really about that – she has a favor to ask of Doctor Wei.”

Wei Caiwei was startled, “Don’t tell me she wants to borrow money from me?”

Prince Yu’s mansion was notoriously poor.

This single remark made Li Jiubao burst into laughter, “How could that be? She’s not asking Doctor Wei to lend money, though it is indeed related to money. Prince Yu’s mansion is large with many expenses, but hasn’t had any income for several years. When we nine beauties were sent to the prince’s mansion, Princess Consort had to furnish nine rooms and host a banquet, but could only manage this celebration by secretly pawning a set of gold-inlaid ruby headpiece jewelry.”

Wei Caiwei was even more shocked, “How could Princess Consort tell you such face-losing matters?”

Li Jiubao said, “With New Year approaching, another large sum will be needed for the festivities. Princess Consort is truly at her wit’s end and has a favor to ask of you and me. She had to swallow her pride and tell me the truth, saying that since I’m now a member of the prince’s mansion, I inevitably must worry about the mansion’s expenses and should join her in finding solutions to weather this difficult time.”

Wei Caiwei helplessly spread her hands, “It’s because the Ministry of Revenue has delayed Prince Yu’s mansion’s stipends that the mansion has fallen to such straits. But I’m merely a female physician – how can I influence the Ministry of Revenue?”

Li Jiubao said, “Princess Consort heard that Doctor Wei is on good terms with the palace favorite Noble Consort Shang, and she knows that Noble Consort Shang and I shared a room during the selection process. She also learned that Doctor Wei now lives in Lord Lu’s house and has… good relationships with Commander Lu, Centurion Wang, and others. So she wants to entrust Doctor Wei to use Lord Lu’s and Noble Consort Shang’s connections to get the Ministry of Revenue to release the overdue silver and rice.”

Li Jiubao pointed to the small courtyard, “I just moved here the day before yesterday. Previously, I was crowded with the other eight xuanshi in one courtyard, one room per person. Sometimes when attending to… intimate duties, the movements were loud enough that neighboring xuanshi could hear. Actually, the prince’s mansion has plenty of rooms, but they’re all too old and damaged to inhabit.”

“Princess Consort favors me because she wants to use Doctor Wei’s connections to ask the Ministry of Revenue for the overdue stipends.”

Li Jiubao pointed to her hair ornaments and silk robe, “These are Princess Consort’s jewelry and clothing, lent to me for receiving guests. They must be returned in the evening. And this red luo charcoal in the room – Princess Consort is frugal and normally only uses ordinary wood charcoal, only switching to expensive red luo charcoal when receiving guests to maintain appearances.”

“We nine xuanshi don’t even burn charcoal braziers normally, only burning the cheapest coal in the heated brick beds. Day and night we sit on the beds to keep warm while doing needlework. The prince’s mansion can’t afford embroidery women, so all needlework is done by Princess Consort leading the household staff. It’s been over a month now without monthly allowances being distributed, but we don’t dare ask Princess Consort about it.”

Wei Caiwei listened in stunned amazement: I knew Prince Yu’s mansion was poor, but I didn’t know it was poor to this extent!

Wei Caiwei asked in a low voice, “Princess Consort wants to use you to get money for urgent needs – how does Prince Yu treat you?”

Li Jiubao shyly lowered her head, “The previous Princess Consort of Prince Yu passed away two years ago. His Highness still cannot forget his first wife, keeping all of the former princess consort’s belongings in his front study, often looking at them in remembrance. He won’t even let the current princess consort enter. As a mere concubine, I have even less of a foothold. It’s just that my appearance is somewhat better than others, so I receive some favor.”

Li Jiubao was being rather modest. Prince Yu was still immersed in grief from losing his wife, daughter, and son and rarely favored his consorts. Among the prince’s mansion’s concubines, she could be considered as receiving “abundant favor.”

Li Jiubao wasn’t optimistic about her situation, “Serving with beauty – how can that last long? Fresh for a few days, but if there are no offspring, I fear I’ll be cast aside.”

Wei Caiwei quickly comforted her, “You’re only sixteen – don’t be anxious. Having children at this age would be hard on you, and the children would be fragile too. First take care of your health. In a couple years, there will definitely be good news.”

Children with poor health who die young – it’s better not to have them at all.

Wei Caiwei took Li Jiubao’s pulse and discovered she had depleted qi and blood with deficiency in her lower dantian. She asked, “Don’t you often have cold pain in your lower abdomen during menstruation, sometimes so severe you can’t bear it?”

Li Jiubao nodded repeatedly, “Exactly so, especially when the weather is cold and I have to wash vegetables, dishes, and clothes in cold water – it becomes very painful. However, most girls from Machang Alley are like this. We’re not so delicate. When the pain is severe, we endure it and it passes. No one would see a doctor for this.”

Li Jiubao came from humble origins. Her mother died early, and she handled all household chores alone.

Wei Caiwei said, “Your womb is cold and deficient – it’s not easy to conceive at this time.”

Hearing this, Li Jiubao’s face turned ashen.

Wei Caiwei inquired about her menstrual cycle and learned that her period was coming soon this month. She quickly had Li Jiubao lie down and used moxa sticks to perform moxibustion on her Qihai, Guanyuan, Zhongji, and Qichong acupoints (Note 1).

After the moxibustion, Wei Caiwei prescribed He Shou Wu pills for her to take dissolved in warm wine during each menstrual period, saying, “From now on, five to ten days before each menstrual period, I’ll come to perform moxibustion once or twice for you, and your periods won’t be so uncomfortable. Physical depletion doesn’t happen overnight, and recovery also takes time – you must be patient.”

After treating Li Jiubao’s condition, Wei Caiwei said, “Regarding getting money from the Ministry of Revenue, I’ll go back and discuss with friends to think of solutions. However, my words carry little weight, so I dare not make any guarantees. If this matter can truly be accomplished, your days in Prince Yu’s mansion would be somewhat easier.”

Wei Caiwei comforted the discouraged Li Jiubao, though she herself was quite pessimistic about it: Yan Shifan is a greedy money-grubber. Sending him money is easy, but extracting money from his hands is harder than ascending to heaven!

Author’s Note: Note 1, from Tan Yunxian’s “Miscellaneous Words of a Female Physician,” section on infertility. The He Shou Wu pills are also from this source.

Yan Shifan glares with his one eye: I heard someone wants money from me?

Wei Caiwei: Me, the female protagonist, pay up!

This chapter comes with 100 red packets. Wishing everyone a pleasant weekend – be happy!