Chapter 38 [VIP]

Chapter Summary: Fever.

The medicine should be drunk while it's hot.

Xie Xuan hesitated for a long time before finally calling out softly, "Madam."

Yu Jing was still half asleep when she heard the sound and opened her eyes with some difficulty. Seeing Xie Xuan standing by the bed, she thought she was dreaming. After a moment of clarity, she asked in a hoarse voice, "What's wrong?"

"The medicine is ready," Xie Xuan said, raising his hand to show Yu Jing the freshly brewed medicine he was holding.

"Okay." Yu Jing replied, trying to get up, but found that she had no strength at all.

Xie Xuan placed the medicine aside and gently helped Yu Jing sit up. Yu Jing leaned against the headboard; the medicine in her right chest must have taken effect, as she felt extremely hot. Xie Xuan sat down beside the bed, scooped up a spoonful of medicine, blew on it to cool it down, and then held it to Yu Jing's lips.

The room was filled with a strong, bitter, yet slightly warm, herbal aroma. When Xie Xuan brought the medicine to his lips, Yu Jing frowned slightly before drinking it. It was incredibly bitter, and Yu Jing's frown deepened unconsciously after drinking it.

"It's so bitter," Yu Jing murmured unconsciously. Xie Xuan glanced at the medicine. "Wait a moment."

Yu Jing watched as Xie Xuan placed the medicine aside, then got up and left. After a while, he returned, carrying a small packet wrapped in oil paper. He entered quickly, his movements hurried, and his clothes were damp and cold from the rain. He sat down on the edge of the couch, unwrapped the oil paper, and Yu Jing looked closely. Inside were several broken pieces of maltose. Xie Xuan habitually picked up a piece of candy and held it to Yu Jing's lips.

Yu Jing stared at the candy for a moment, then Xie Xuan, realizing something, blushed and put the maltose crumbs back into the oil paper.

The maltose crumbs were very small, and if Xie Xuan fed Yu Jing like that, Yu Jing's lips would inevitably touch Xie Xuan's fingers. Warm, moist lips touching his long, slender fingertips… In an instant, such a scene flashed through Xie Xuan's mind. Xie Xuan snapped back to reality, his ears turning quite red, and his breathing becoming somewhat erratic.

Yu Jing didn't think of anything else. Her mouth was terribly bitter, so she reached out and picked up a piece and put it in her mouth. The faint sweetness of the maltose spread in her mouth, and the bitterness subsided considerably. Seeing that there wasn't much candy left, Yu Jing said, "Give me the medicine."

"Okay." Xie Xuan didn't know what she was going to do, but she said so, so Xie Xuan did as she was told and handed the medicine to Yu Jing.

Yu Jing reached out her left hand and took the medicine bowl. It wasn't very big, and there wasn't much medicine in it; the bowl itself felt a bit rough. Yu Jing blew on the medicine to cool it down a bit, then tested the temperature, held her breath, and swallowed the entire bowl of medicine in one gulp. Xie Xuan quickly handed her some candy, which Yu Jing put in her mouth. The sweetness slowly spread, masking the bitterness.

Yu Jing lay down to sleep again, not knowing how long she slept, only feeling extremely hot all over, as if she were next to Laozi's alchemy furnace.

Yu Jing was resting, so Xie Xuan didn't want to disturb him. After taking his medicine, he left. As soon as he came out, he heard a "clattering" sound. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw Sun Jun chopping firewood under the eaves. It was already quite troublesome for them to live here, and they hadn't been given a single penny. Xie Xuan had rested for a while and eaten, and felt much better, so he went over and said, "Brother Sun, shall I do it?"

"No need," Sun Jun replied while swinging his axe. "You're injured and have been taking care of your wife. Go and rest."

Xie Xuan lowered his eyes and replied, "She's injured, I'm afraid of disturbing her."

Sun Jun chuckled upon hearing this, his laughter simple and honest: "You're so good to your wife."

"Of course," Xie Xuan replied, somewhat at a loss for words.

Upon entering the kitchen, Xie Xuan saw his older sister preparing vegetables. He wanted to help, but she quickly stopped him, saying, "You were just injured, and you must have been busy taking care of your wife last night and didn't get enough rest. Go and rest for a while."

"Okay." Xie Xuan had no choice but to agree. He wasn't familiar with the area outside and there was nothing he could do to help, so he had to go back. He quietly opened the door and went inside, leaning against the wooden table. He was indeed exhausted, having not slept all night. The room was quiet, with the sound of raindrops outside. He fell asleep in no time.

Xie Xuan was awakened by a knock on the door. There were two soft knocks. Xie Xuan opened his eyes, looked around, and it took him a while to realize where he was. His hands and feet were terribly numb. It took Xie Xuan a while to feel better before he got up and went to open the door.

The eldest sister stood at the door, carrying a steaming bowl of food. Xie Xuan glanced at it, but before he could speak, the eldest sister spoke first: "It's already past noon. I thought you must be hungry, so I brought the food over."

"Thank you!" Xie Xuan replied, reaching out to take it.

The dishes weren't anything fancy—stir-fried cabbage, mapo tofu, and a small bowl of braised pork—but they looked delicious. Xie Xuan immediately felt hungry and thought he'd call Yu Jing to feed her first. He walked to the couch and lifted the curtain. Yu Jing was lying on it, her face flushed, her forehead covered in fine beads of sweat. Xie Xuan was startled. Without thinking, he reached out and touched her temperature with the back of his hand; she was burning hot.

"Madam," Xie Xuan called softly.

"Mmm." Yu Jing let out a soft, unconscious moan. Xie Xuan grew anxious, hurriedly pushed open the door, and called out, somewhat unsteadily, "Brother Sun!"

"What's wrong?" Sun Jun heard the noise and came out of the room. It was raining today, and they were supposed to go hunting, but the rain made it inconvenient, and Xie Xuan and the others were there, so they didn't go out.

"My wife seems to have a fever. May I ask where the doctor is here and if we can ask him to come and take a look?" Xie Xuan was really panicked. He had seen many wounded people in the army with festering and suppurating wounds. Some wounds were not deep, but once a fever developed, they became serious.

"Fever? How could he suddenly have a fever?" Sun Jun asked in disbelief, but his actions didn't stop. He stood up, walked to the door, picked up his still-wet raincoat and straw hat, put them on, and turned to Xie Xuan, saying, "Go back and keep a close eye on things. I'll go and invite them."

"Okay." Xie Xuan replied, watching Sun Jun walk out in the rain. At this moment, the gratitude in his heart was beyond words.

"I'll go fetch some well water. It's cold; you can wring it out with a cotton towel and wipe her down," Li Yun said, standing up.

"I'll go," Xie Xuan replied, then took the copper basin and cotton towel and headed towards the well in the courtyard. He drew a bucket of well water, soaked the cotton towel in it (the well water was much cooler than the stream water), and carried the water into the house.

Yu Jing was burning up and felt dizzy. Suddenly, a cool sensation on her forehead made her feel much better.

Seeing that Yu Jing's brow had relaxed a bit, Xie Xuan quickly removed the cotton towel from her forehead and put on another one. He continued changing towels until there was a noise at the door. Xie Xuan turned his head and saw Sun Jun enter, followed by a middle-aged man dressed in gray clothes, very thin and pale, carrying a large wooden medicine box on his shoulder. The medicine box looked heavy, and he seemed to be struggling to carry it, even breathing softly.

"Old Wu, hurry up and take a look," Sun Jun quickly called to the doctor. Old Wu moved a little faster, but he still looked slow. Xie Xuan was anxious, but he didn't dare to urge him.

Old Wu walked to the bedside, glanced at Yu Jing first, then turned to look at Xie Xuan before lowering his hand to take Yu Jing's pulse. Xie Xuan watched as Old Wu's hand touched Yu Jing's, hesitated, and ultimately said nothing. Treating the illness was the priority; everything else was secondary.

Xie Xuan stared intently at Old Wu, already tense and worried, now even more so, his heart pounding faster than ever.

"Old Sun said she was wounded by an arrow?" the doctor asked.

"Yes," Xie Xuan replied quickly.

"Is the injury deep?"

"Not deep, about half a finger deep."

"Has the wound been cleaned up?" the doctor asked.

"It's clean now. I even applied the wound medicine I got from you last time," Li Yun replied.

Old Wu pondered for a moment, then opened his medicine box and took out something wrapped in cloth. He unfolded the cloth, and Xie Xuan saw a row of silver needles gleaming inside.

"I'm going to give her acupuncture to bring down her fever. Go and get the candles," Old Wu instructed Xie Xuan.

"Okay." Although Xie Xuan didn't quite believe him, there was nothing else he could do at the moment, so he turned around and took the candle.

Old Wu pulled out the needles, heated them over the candle flame for a while, then spread out Yu Jing's hand, found the acupoints, and slowly inserted the needles.

Yu Jing lay there, half asleep, feeling a throbbing pain in her fingertips. She instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but something held it down, preventing her from doing so, so she gave up.

Her vision was blurry, but slowly, it cleared up. She seemed to be on a long corridor, and it was raining outside. In a pavilion in the distance, she could see two people sitting. Yu Jing looked closely and realized that the people sitting in the pavilion were Xie Xuan and the Third Princess of the West Sea.

Yu Jingxin tensed up and called out.

"Thank you, Xuan!"

Xie Xuan was standing nearby holding a candlestick. Hearing Yu Jing call his name, he looked down and saw that Yu Jing's forehead was covered in sweat, his face was pale, and he was murmuring his name. He had encountered this several times before; Yu Jing was calling his name unconsciously. He felt as if something had pried open his heart, and it loosened somewhat.

After Yu Jing called out, she felt her body gradually relax. She slowly opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Xie Xuan. He was wearing coarse cloth clothes and holding a candlestick in his hand. The candlelight was a bit dazzling, and Xie Xuan's face was clearly visible behind the candlelight, with distinct features.

Yu Jing regained consciousness for a moment, realized the current situation, felt relieved, and fell asleep again.

"Doctor," Xie Xuan called out in a flustered manner.

"It's nothing," Old Wu replied calmly, then slowly pulled out the silver needles one by one.

"Go and decoct another dose of the medicine I gave you this morning and give it to him. Come back to me tomorrow and get two more doses," Old Wu said as he heated the needles and put them back in his cloth bag.

"Okay," Xie Xuan replied.