The Pearls - RUYI

Chapter 31 - Unlikely Friends

"Don't wander around too much," Delun said, bringing in Ruyi closer to kiss her forehead. "The wedding might have happened, but it's going to take time for either side to start trusting one another again." 

"You too," Ruyi replied, "Be careful." 

If there was one thing Ruyi wanted to do while she was at the Qing Palace, it was to visit their infirmary and learn about their medical practices. After packing her parchment and glass bottles, she made her way to the medical wing with Meilin's directions. 

She knocked lightly on the door, peering through the open window nervously. The infirmary was busy with both medics and patients, most likely still dealing with the aftermath of the battle. 

A young man looked up from his patient, a woman who was heavily pregnant. Ruyi bowed and smiled brightly at him. "Hello, I'm Ruyi. I'm a medic from the Song Empire." 

The infirmary went quiet. The medics stopped what they were doing. The patients eyed her with curiosity. 

The young man walked up to her. His eyes were kind, a warm brown. "We know who you are," he said. "I'm Zhangwei. I'm the head doctor here." 

"You're so young," Ruyi said, in both surprise and admiration. He smiled sheepishly, looking into the room at his subordinates. "We all are," he replied. 

He was right. As Ruyi glanced around the room, many of the medics were young, some younger than her. "We lost quite a few of our more senior medics in the last battle. We've been training up some younger assistants ever since." 

Ruyi's smile slipped off her face. "I'm sorry." 

He nodded in appreciation. "So, come here to steal all our secrets?" He asked, though from his smile Ruyi knew he was joking. 

"I thought we could learn from each other."

He invited her into the infirmary, introducing her to the other medics. She expected animosity or wariness, but instead, they greeted her with kindness. Perhaps it was the shared experience of working in medicine, the feeling that they had not been on opposite sides of the war, but rather, fighting the same battle to save their people.  

She approached one young medic who was assisting a kitchen hand who had dislocated his shoulder. He was groaning in pain, squeezing his eyes shut. The medic put his hands on the patient's arm, preparing to relocate the joint. 

"Wait!" Ruyi stepped forward, and the medic stopped immediately. He was nervous, sweating. Judging by his age, it also seemed like it was his first time performing the procedure. 

"Make sure his arm is straight," Ruyi said, "Like this." She met the patient's eyes, to make sure he was comfortable with her doing the procedure. He nodded, panting out shallow breaths. "Do it."

She applied force and felt the joint roll back into place. The patient groaned in both pain and relief. 

"Now, keep it in a sling, and give him something for the pain." 

When she turned back to the young medic, he was looking down at his shoes. 

"What's your name?" Ruyi asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. He finally met her eyes. He couldn't be older than twenty. They really were training up the young. 

"My name is Zimo, miss." Ruyi 

"It's alright, Zimo. You'll learn more and more procedures as you go along. But next time, if you're ever unsure of the procedure, make sure you double-check it with someone who knows it," she said. "I'll write down all the steps for you, how does that sound?" she asked. 

"Thank you." 

Before she could say anything else, a young girl, barely ten tugged on Ruyi's skirt. She was propped up on her bed with a pale face and sweaty forehead. 

Ruyi crouched down to be at eye level with her. "Yes, what is it, little one?" Ruyi asked, pushing back baby hairs from her round face. 

"Is it true that you saved The Black Wolf?" She said, her shining eyes full of excitement. 

"The Black Wolf?" Ruyi asked, looking up at Zhangwei for some help. 

Zhangwei laughed. "That's what we call General Lang over here. He's quite famous." 

Ruyi's lips spread into a grin, she would have to tell Delun that when she got back. 

"I see. Well yes, I did," she replied and felt her heart burst with tenderness at the little girl's bright smile. 

"He must have fallen in love with you," she said, "You're his hero." 

Ruyi broke into laughter. "Well, you might be onto something, sweetheart. He's my husband." 

The women around the little girl all gushed at the information, and they bombarded her with more questions about her relationship with Delun. It was an odd feeling, to feel like they had known each other for a long time. She showed Zhangwei some of her herbal experiments, and he was able to provide his ideas for how to improve them. They exchanged recipes and procedures, laughed about their crazy stories as medics in the field. Despite being in the Qing Palace, the infirmary was a safe haven of sorts. Free of any political agenda. They were there only to serve and to help. In the infirmary, she was one of them.