In August, after two heavy rains, the days gradually turned cooler.
This season was indeed not suitable for farming, but it was good for brewing wine, gathering forage, and sorting and drying various medicinal herbs.
However, there was a bit of an awkward situation...
Xiao Jingnan's medical skills mostly came from his own long - term experience of being ill and a little bit he had learned from the military doctors when he was in the army. They were not very excellent.
And Li Wancin was an extremely motivated and serious student.
"Sir, you once said that when yin prevails, yang will be in trouble; when yang prevails, yin will be in trouble. When yang prevails, there will be heat; when yin prevails, there will be cold. But later you also said that extreme cold will turn into heat and extreme heat will turn into cold... This seems a bit contradictory, doesn't it?"
"Sir, you said last time that Atractylodes lancea can detoxify, but I saw in the medical book that it is used to improve eyesight."
"Sir, this prescription contains Pinellia ternata, Trichosanthes kirilowii, Fritillaria thunbergii, and Ampelopsis japonica. Doesn't this violate the 'Eighteen Incompatibilities' and 'Ten Taboos'?"
"Sir, do you really know medicine?"
...
Xiao Jingnan was left speechless and unable to say a word.
Later, he simply threw all his collected medical books to Li Wancin, appointed her as the deputy teacher, and let her lead the students to study on their own. Then he quietly carried his fortune - telling stall and went to the street to tell fortunes.
Li Wancin was originally a serious person. Now that she took on the responsibility of the deputy teacher, she became even more rigorous.
She began to study medical books seriously, led the students to go out to collect herbs, and asked around whenever she didn't understand something.
Fortunately, the students were all civilian girls, and they knew some kind - hearted itinerant doctors. After a while, they gradually enriched the medical courses in Zhaoyu Academy.
Li Wanming was very happy to see this.
It wasn't because of the improvement of the academy's courses, but because she finally saw her elder sister open her heart and was willing to go out and have a look.
Because of learning medicine, her elder sister had gradually become more cheerful and confident. She no longer always said that women should be gentle and obedient and not show themselves in public.
This was great!
This was exactly the effect Li Wanming wanted.
Let her elder sister see the outside world, and her ideas would naturally change.
However, there were also two unpleasant things during this period.
Li Wancin had sent people back to the Chen family twice to deliver relevant prescriptions and tonics to Chen Lin, but the people of the Chen family threw them out. They also said that they, a proper family, dared not take the things made by a woman who was being promiscuous outside.
Li Wancin heard this and shed tears secretly. She was sad for a long time.
The situation of the He family was the opposite. He Muhao once came to the door arrogantly and asked Li Wanmo when she would go home.
At that time, Wanmo was sitting in the room with her legs crossed, cracking melon seeds. She asked, "Go back for what? To let you lock me up as a crazy woman again?"
"Then do you plan to stay outside forever?" He Muhao asked in disbelief. "You're a married woman. Staying outside all year round. This, this, this... What does it look like!"
"What's wrong with it?" Li Wanmo spat out two melon seed shells. "I have food, drinks, and status here, and I don't have to watch others' faces. These days are the most decent days I've had in the past two years!"
He Muhao took a deep breath and scolded again, "You should go back with me right away. I can overlook your previous behaviors!"
Li Wanmo sneered and raised her eyebrows, looking at him half - smiling. "Oh? Which of my behaviors?"
"Just being disrespectful to your in - laws, beating and scolding your husband, not observing the virtues of a woman, being promiscuous, and having no upbringing..."
Li Wanmo suddenly stood up, and the long spear in her hand glistened brightly.
He Muhao shivered in fright and stammered, "What, what do you want to do? This isn't home... You're not going to beat me here, are you?"
"I'm promiscuous? I have no upbringing...?" Li Wanmo slowly walked forward, and the coldness in her eyes grew stronger.
"He Muhao, at the beginning of our marriage, you kept a mistress outside, and you were also on bad terms with the maidservants in the family. In the past two years, you've had affairs with countless women inside and outside the family. You've even had more than one illegitimate son! Have I ever said anything?"
"I'm innocent and behave properly. I've done nothing wrong in this world. Where do you get the nerve to say I'm promiscuous? I think it's you who is unworthy of being a husband!"
He Muhao half - opened his mouth and stubbornly said, "I'm a man. What's wrong with a man having three wives and four concubines?"
Li Wanmo looked at him and felt that she simply couldn't reason with this man. She waved her hand. "Get out. I have nothing to say to you."
But He Muhao still stuck out his neck and shouted, "You're a woman in the inner courtyard. You're so shrewd and rude. Your reputation is already ruined! Let me tell you, it's our kindness that the He family is still willing to take you back. If you don't believe me, just see. Without me, which man in the capital would dare to marry you?"
Li Wanmo didn't bother to waste any more words with him. She swept her spear horizontally. With a tearing sound, a two - finger - long cut was made on He Muhao's chest. He was so frightened that his face turned pale and he ran out in a hurry!
The reputation of the female martial arts instructor's bravery and combat prowess spread throughout the academy again.
The students all said that they must learn martial arts from the instructor well so that they wouldn't be bullied when they fought with their husbands in the future.
Only Li Wancin didn't think so.
She was worried about Li Wanmo for a long time at first, afraid that her younger sister would anger the He family like this and be divorced by her husband's family. Later, when she saw that the He family didn't take any action, she finally felt relieved. But then she began to feel sad for herself.
Wanmo was so domineering, but He Muhao still came to pick her up in person. And what about herself? She had thought so much about the Chen family, but the people of the Chen family not only didn't even show their faces but also threw out the things she sent...
Li Wancin couldn't figure it out.
After listening to her words, Wanmo said, "Elder sister, you're wrong."
"The so - called 'putting yourself in others' shoes' also depends on whether the other person has a heart."
"Sometimes people are just so cheap. The more you try to be nice to them, the less they take you seriously. If you kick them a few times once in a while, they'll be more obedient."
After saying that, Wanmo handed her silver - headed spear to Wancin. "Go, smash the Chen family and let them see how powerful you are."
"Me?" Wancin was greatly surprised and withdrew her hand as if she had been burned. "No, no, no... I... I can't. I'm too scared..."
"Is it that you can't or that you're too scared?" Wanmo smiled faintly and took back her spear. "Elder sister, you should always be brave. If you're always timid and hesitant, how will you know what you can do and what you can't?"
Her voice sank slightly. "Just like me. I always cared about father's official reputation before, so I locked myself in the He family's mansion and didn't dare to come out."
"If they hadn't scolded our little sister so harshly the other day, I might still not have dared to resist. But look, now that I've resisted and come out, I'm still living well, aren't I?"
"And our little sister has turned the capital upside down. Who would dare to say a bad word about her?"
After listening, Li Wancin slightly lowered her eyelids, lost in thought.
After this incident, she was in a slump for a long time.
Later, she never mentioned the Chen family again. Instead, she threw all her enthusiasm into medical research and gradually became famous in Yong'an Fang, becoming a well - known female doctor in the neighborhood.