Chapter 2 The Next Day
The next day, Bai Sheng went to the Grand Princess's residence as agreed to treat the skin condition of the mysterious woman.
Granny Wu, after hearing Bai Sheng's description of the woman's condition, was worried about her going alone and decided to accompany her to take a look.
Upon arriving at the Marquis Han's residence, Bai Sheng first asked for the Grand Princess's permission to have her master participate in the treatment, assuring that her master would keep it confidential.
The Grand Princess was not only not angry but even happier. With the master of the Bai family in charge, the chances of a cure seemed even greater.
Granny Wu was also greatly shocked after examining the patient. Her disciple was truly audacious, daring to take on such a severe case.
Granny Wu looked at Bai Sheng, her lips sealed but her eyes conveying a silent scold.
Bai Sheng playfully stuck out her tongue at her and mouthed, "I'm confident."
The Grand Princess, sitting to the side, saw that the two had finished examining the patient and eagerly stepped forward, asking, "Doctor Wu, Doctor Bai, have you thought of a treatment method?"
Granny Wu had a somber expression and remained silent. Bai Sheng, however, said, "Grand Princess, I believe a skin graft method can be used."
"Skin graft?" the Grand Princess was surprised, having never heard of such a treatment.
Granny Wu's eyes also lit up. Her disciple's treatment concepts were truly novel, and she often found herself inspired.
Bai Sheng nodded. "Yes, we can transplant fresh, healthy skin onto the patient. First, my Rong Xiu Gu worms will nibble away the dead skin on the surface, and then fresh skin will be covered over the new flesh, allowing it to grow. However, as the patient needs transplants all over her body, and each transplant requires a recovery period, a significant amount of skin will be needed, and it will take a considerable amount of time."
"This method is feasible, but where can we find so much fresh human skin?" Granny Wu frowned.
The woman lying on the bed suddenly spoke in a hoarse voice, "I only need my face healed quickly. The other parts are not urgent and can be done slowly."
The Grand Princess glanced at the woman and said, "Then let's focus on healing her face first. Can it be done before the end of March?"
"If it's just the face, it's absolutely no problem," Bai Sheng replied. "For the face, it's best to use facial skin for grafting, but we cannot disfigure someone else's face. Therefore, skin from the thighs and inner arms can also be used as a substitute."
"Will grafting facial skin result in faster and better recovery?" the Grand Princess asked.
"Yes, that is indeed the case," Bai Sheng answered truthfully.
"Then let's use facial skin. Under generous rewards, brave men will emerge. I will pay a thousand taels of gold for a piece of facial skin. I believe someone will be willing to part with a face," the Grand Princess's eyes glinted with a hint of ruthlessness.
Bai Sheng and Granny Wu exchanged a look. Bai Sheng said sternly, "Grand Princess, as I will be using Gu techniques to treat the patient's face, if you resort to forceful means to peel off someone else's facial skin, not only will I suffer a backlash from the Gu, but even if this patient's face is healed, it will not last long and will revert to its original state. Therefore, even with generous rewards, it must be entirely voluntary, and coercion is absolutely forbidden."
The Grand Princess looked at Bai Sheng and said sincerely, "Doctor Bai, rest assured. I will write a letter of commitment in front of you and your master, sign it, and affix the Grand Princess's seal. I will ensure that the skin donor is completely willing and guarantee she will receive the thousand taels of gold. The commitment letter will be in triplicate: one for me, one for the donor, and one for Doctor Bai."
Bai Sheng glanced at Granny Wu, who still harbored some concerns.
Bai Sheng thought for a moment and said, "Then let's proceed as the Grand Princess suggests."
The Grand Princess immediately ordered several young girls to be brought over, along with a chest of gold. After Madam Cai conveyed the Grand Princess's intentions, all the young girls willingly agreed to become donors.
The girls felt that with a thousand taels of gold, they would never have to worry about money again. Even if their faces were ruined and they couldn't find a husband or love, it wouldn't matter. With money, they wouldn't need to rely on men. If they wanted children, they could buy a strong and handsome man to father several with them.
Therefore, when one is poor, a face is important. But when one has money, even if they are tragically ugly, they can still live a carefree life.
With too many volunteers, the Grand Princess had to choose a young girl with a rounder face and good skin.
In front of everyone, she presented the thousand taels of gold and the letter of commitment to that girl.
After the time for the skin transplant was set, Bai Sheng and Granny Wu returned home.
Granny Wu said, "Sheng'er, even though the Grand Princess has repeatedly promised and given the donor a thousand taels of gold, if she breaks her word, you will suffer a backlash."
"If the Grand Princess breaks her word, the patient's face will also be ruined. I see that the Grand Princess has very unusual feelings for this patient. She likely wouldn't do that," Bai Sheng mused. "Besides, the Grand Princess has given me what I wanted, so I naturally must keep my promise and help her cure the patient no matter what."
Granny Wu sighed softly. "Alright, do what you want to do. Remember, no matter what happens, you have your master."
Bai Sheng's eyes welled up, and she hugged her master tightly. "Thank you, Master. You are so good to Sheng'er!"
"You're just sweet-mouthed," Granny Wu chuckled, patting her back.
Seven days later, Bai Sheng completed the facial skin transplant for the Grand Princess's patient. Now, they just had to wait for the slow recovery.
According to the Grand Princess, the Great Xia Kingdom was going to host the Ten Thousand Dynasties Grand Gathering at the end of March, where envoys from many surrounding countries would come to participate and engage in political, economic, and cultural exchanges with Great Xia.
Bai Sheng felt this was a good opportunity to promote her products. She therefore instructed the various workshops to hire more workers and increase production, intending to sell her products abroad. Especially to those foreigners with blonde hair and blue eyes, whose body odor was rather unpleasant; perfumes would surely sell well.
One day, Bai Sheng was inspecting work at the lingerie workshop in the Lu residence when Lu Yun burst in like a cannonball.
The female workers were startled and quickly covered the small undergarments they were sewing.
Bai Sheng stepped forward and patted his head, chiding, "This is a production site for women's clothing. Men are not allowed in."
"Sister-in-law, I am a boy, not a man! Quickly come out with me, I have something important to tell you!" Lu Yun said, grabbing Bai Sheng's hand and pulling her outside.
They ran all the way to the lotus pond before Lu Yun stopped. He looked panicked, his forehead covered in sweat, and he was panting heavily.
"Little Yun, what happened?" Bai Sheng had never seen Lu Yun so flustered and took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
Lu Yun's face was filled with terror. He looked up at Bai Sheng and asked, "Sister-in-law, where is my brother?"
"Your brother has gone out on business, Little Yun. What happened? Tell me!" Bai Sheng urged.
Lu Yun wiped the sweat from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve and asked with wide eyes, "Sister-in-law, do you believe in ghosts?"
"Ghosts? Did you see a ghost?" Bai Sheng asked in surprise.