Chapter 1 — The Secret Behind the Face of the First Beauty

A Nuong is the most famous female physician specializing in treating gynecological diseases in the city, good at treating all kinds of incurable diseases of women, and is respected by everyone. When the Minister's wife heard her name, she immediately invited her to the palace to take care of her body. The woman went to the hospital for medical examination, but ended up having her clothes stripped off and thrown into the middle of the street. Finally, she was beaten to death by a riot. The butler of the Minister's Palace spat a wad of saliva onto the ground.

"This old prostitute really did it herself, daring to seduce our old Minister."

Everyone pointed at Ms. A's mangled body.

"Deserve it! Who knows how many other men she has seduced, but this time she touched an iron plate and was discovered by the Minister's Office!"

"Every day she pretends to be chaste and demure, but in reality she's so promiscuous. No wonder a woman like her can open a medical shop!"

"That's right. She's over forty years old and her skin is still so white. She doesn't look like a proper doctor!"

"Fortunately, I never sought her out for a medical examination. I almost let her seduce my man..."

When the medical shop's assistant rolled and crawled to report the news, I was drying herbs in the backyard. After hearing that, my mind immediately went blank, I couldn't even stand, my tears fell drop by drop onto the new outfit A Nuong had just sewed for me. At night, I disguised myself as a young man and quietly went to the cemetery to carry A Nuong's body back. It turned out that her body had long since been destroyed and was no longer intact. People had wrapped it in a torn mat and then thrown it into the wild so that wild dogs could compete to gnaw on it. Ah Niang loves cleanliness the most, she definitely cannot stand such filth. I carefully bathed her, combed her hair, changed her clothes, and then buried her properly. After that, I respectfully bowed my head three times in front of the grave, then left without looking back. I sold the medical shop, used money to bribe a nanny in the Minister's Palace, changed my name to Luc Chau, and became a very ordinary fire-making maid in the palace. The kitchen is in charge of all cooking and medicinal preparation in the palace. I secretly collected a few medicinal residues and realized that there were a few of them specifically used for women after giving birth. But the palace had never heard of any master carrying a thazi, otherwise the kitchen would have been told to take careful care and prepare more nutritious food. All my life I have been taught medical techniques by A Nuong. She picked me up from the infant tower and brought her up, devoted herself to nurturing me, hoping that in the future I would be able to inherit her robe and bowl, build a great medical clinic, and help more poor girls. A Nuong often said:

"In this world, women's lives are not easy. If we can help one person, let's help another person."

When she was young, she had a charming appearance and had countless suitors. There was once a rich merchant who spent thousands of gold just to marry her as his wife. He also promised to treat me as his own son, but Ms. A flatly refused.

"If I enter your palace, I can only study and serve you for the rest of my life. But if I stay at the medical temple, I can create blessings for many poor people. What is heavy and what is light, I know how to distinguish."

Therefore, she raised me alone and has always kept herself pure. How could he seduce that Minister with a big belly and big ears? I stared at the pile of medicine residue in my hand, gradually falling into contemplation. Phu The Minister taking care of his body is just an excuse. A Nuong must have discovered a shocking secret, that's why she was murdered. While the maid took the medicine to pass out, I quietly sprinkled a handful of finely ground rose powder into the medicine pot. That very night, the palace spread the news that the First Lady's body was bleeding continuously. In the palace, there was a strict order not to reveal this matter, anyone who disobeyed the order would have their tongue cut off and their eyes gouged out. I didn't show any expression as I thought to myself. Finally found the real reason why A Nuong lost her life. Recently, the maids in the palace have become increasingly white, everyone is radiant. The eldest lady sent someone to take me to Tay Ha Vien. In her hand she held a white pill, looking down at me from above.

"This beauty ring was made by you?"

I knelt on the ground, bowed my head respectfully and replied:

"It's a folk remedy from the slave's hometown. The slave made it to earn some money to send back to help the family."

"You are so poor, where will you get the money to buy medicinal herbs?"