は徐の診察を手際よく行いながら、「なんとまぁ」と眉をひそめた。
「節々に熱が籠っているな、こりゃあ痛いだろうに。
はうつむいて沈黙している。
図星なのでばつが悪いのだろう。
「根性があって我慢強かったんだろうが、それが逆に仇になったな。
「いや、だって......」
陳から諭されるように言われ、徐は反論しようとするが、再び黙る。
はその様子に、先だって陳から聞いた話を思い出した。
「徐さん、もしかしてお身内にも風湿病の方がいらっしゃったのですか?」
雨妹の問いかけに、徐はしばらく言おうか言うまいかと悩んだ挙句、口を開く。
「......風湿病だったのかはしらないけど、昔に伯母が手の節が異様に腫れて、祟られていると道士に言われて都を追い出されたと聞いたよ」
「なるほど、身近に間違った前例があったんですね」
雨妹はこのあんまりな話を聞いて眉が下がる。
やはり、身内に謂れない迫害を受けた人がいたのだ。
「この手の口伝えの偏見は、本当に根強いなぁ」
陳も頭が痛そうな顔でそうぼやく。
――前の冬のインフルエンザ騒動だって、呪い説が結局消えなかったもんねぇ。
この国の人たちにとって、医者よりも道士の方が身近で頼るべき存在なのかもしれない。
道士を頼る人たちは、医者のことを得体のしれない草を食べさせる詐欺師くらいに思っている可能性もある。
雨妹と陳が二人で頷き合っている所へ、徐は恐る恐るといった様子で尋ねた。
「あの、この娘に言われて半信半疑だったんだけど、本当にアタシが悪いことをしたから祟られたんじゃあないのかい?」
これは風湿病という病気で、早めに薬を飲んで治療にとりかかれば治るものだ」
「そうか、病気なのか、そうかい......」
徐は「やはり祟りだ」と言われる可能性を恐れていたのか、ここまで聞いてやっと表情を和らげていた。
――徐さんって、本当に悪いことが重なっちゃったんだなぁ。
風湿病だって、もしかすると恋人の死という出来事に襲われなければ、教坊にすすめられるままに半信半疑ながらも医者にかかったのかもしれない。
そしてそうなると、雨妹は気になっていることがある。
「徐さん、もしかして痛いからって関節を動かさないようにしていませんか?」
そう、徐は他者から祟りと指摘されるのを恐れて隠してばかりが続き、動かさないままでいたりしないだろうか?
「ああ、まあ、そうだね」
「動かさないのはマズいなあ」
これを聞いた陳がそう零す。
その場を凌ぐにはいいかもしれないが、病気の対処としてはそれを続けていてはいけない。
「動かさないままでいると関節が動かなくなっちゃいますので、痛みが和らいでいる時にできるだけ動かしましょう」
雨妹はそう言って、前世に病院でやっていたリュウマチ体操を実践しつつ教えた。
そして関節が熱を持っている時は濡らした布などで冷やして、そうでない場合は身体を温めると良いと助言する。
「つまり、関節が熱を持っていない時には沐浴が効果的です。
雨妹からの講義に、徐が「なるほど」と目を見開く。
「ここのところ痛くてすっかり沐浴がおっくうになっていたんだけど。
どうやら沐浴が生活の中で障害になっていたらしい。
しかし沐浴をしないのも外聞がよろしくないので、無理をしていたようだ。
「風湿病は痛い時と痛くない時の波がありますから、これをまず知りましょう」
Chen skillfully examined Xu, and he knit his brows.
"Goodness. I can feel the heat in your joints. This must be very painful. Are you enduring this all this time?"
Chen pointed out, and Xu nodded while with downcast eyes.
He probably hit the bull's eye, so she must have felt awkward.
"Your tolerance is pretty good and you have the grit, but it backfired this time. We have medicine that can help if you're in pain, you know? Besides, these hands are the tools of your trade, aren't they?"
"No, that's because..."
Xu was about to rebut Chen's scolding, but she just fell silent again.
Yui Mei recalled the story that she heard from Chen as she looked at them.
"Miss Xu, is there perhaps someone in your family who also suffered from feng shi?"
Yui Mei asked. Xu looked like she was conflicted on whether she would answer or not, but she chose to speak eventually.
"...Not sure if it's feng shi or not, but the joints of my granny's hands had been strangely swollen. I heard that the Taoists claimed that she was cursed, and she was driven out of the city."
"I see, so there was a precedent for that mistake among the people familiar to you."
Yui Mei grimaced when she heard her reply.
Apparently, somebody from her family had been unjustly persecuted because of this condition.
"This old wives' tale of prejudice is quite deeply rooted, huh."
Chen looked extremely bothered while muttering this.
'Even the curse stories from the previous winter's influenza didn't disappear in the end, too.'
Taoists were far more familiar to the citizens of this country compared to physicians, so they probably think that it would be better to trust them rather than the doctors.
There was also the possibility that those who put their faith in the taoists thought that physicians were quacks who wanted them to eat unknown weeds.  Humans were beings who believed whatever they wanted to believe, after all.
Chen and Yui Mei were nodding to each other in understanding, when Xu timidly inquired about her condition.
"Ahm, I'm still half dubious about what this girl here told me before, but is it true that I'm not cursed because I did something wrong?"
"You're completely mistaken, you know? This is an illness called feng shi, and if you drink medicine as early as possible and have yourself treated, it's possible to recover."
"I see, so it's an illness... I see..."
Xu must have been scared of the possibility that her being cursed would be confirmed. She finally looked relieved after hearing his words.
'Miss Xu, you've been suffering from a lot of bad things..'
Perhaps, if she hadn't been burdened and shocked by the matter regarding the 'death' of her lover, she probably went to the physician by recommendation of the Jiaofang despite her doubts.
If that was the case, then Yui Mei was bothered by another thing.
"Miss Xu, are you perhaps refraining from moving your joints because of the pain?"
Did she want to continue hiding her condition while not moving out of fear that other people would point her out as being cursed?
"Yeah, well, that's right.?"
"It'll be bad if you don't move them."
Chen muttered when he heard her answer.
It might have been a good method to endure the pain, but she couldn't continue doing that as her way of coping with the illness.
"Your joints will become stiff if you remain inactive, so please move them as much as you can while the pain is being calmed down."
Yui Mei said, and she then demonstrated the rheumatism therapy exercises that they used to do in the hospital she worked at in her previous life.
She then cautioned Xu to cool her joints with a wet towel if she felt them heating up, and she also told Xu that it would be good if she were to warm her body otherwise.
"In other words, a warm bath is effective if your joints aren't inflamed. Please observe your condition, alright?"
Xu's eyes widened as she listened to Yui Mei's explanation.
"I had been struggling with baths because of the pain. I see, so I made a mistake with the timing, huh."
Apparently, bathing had been the most challenging part of her daily life.
However, if she didn't bathe, her reputation would be affected, so she still pushed herself to do it.
"Feng shi come in waves; there are times when it is very painful, and times when it isn't, so we have to know your pattern, first."
Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace
百花宮のお掃除係～転生した新米宮女、後宮のお悩み解決します。
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/housekeeper-of-the-hundred-blossom-palace/
Fantasy Romance Shoujo Slice of Life
Adapted to Manga Ancient China Complex Family Relationships Different Social Status Female Protagonist Imperial Harem Love Interest Falls in Love First Reincarnated in Another World Royalty
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n4104ev/
黒辺あゆみ