Chapter 27: Discord?

After the medicine was ready, Jiang Lan brought a bowl of medicine to Jiang Shen's room, and Mr. Bai brought another bowl of medicine to Mr. Zimo.

"Brother, lie down and don't move. I'll help you." Jiang Shen struggled to sit up. Jiang Lan quickly put the medicine on the table and ran over to help him. Then she ran over to bring the medicine back and fed him.

"Brother, be careful of the heat." Jiang Lan blew gently on the spoon.

Jiang Shen said awkwardly, "I'll do it myself." He raised his hand with great effort, and just as he raised it a little, the spoon was put to his mouth.

"Take the medicine." Jiang Lan looked serious.

Jiang Shen was still a little embarrassed. Although they were brother and sister, there was a difference between men and women after all, so it was a bit embarrassing.

"If Third Sister had fed it to Big Brother, he would have drunk it long ago." Jiang Lan acted sad again.

Jiang Shen thought she had misunderstood again and opened his mouth to drink the medicine.

After lunch at noon, a man quietly came to the bamboo garden. Instead of entering through the main gate, he went around to the wall, moved a stone to put under his feet, and stuck his head out to look into the yard.

Seeing that there was no one in the yard, he walked around to the front. The two little boys in white clothes guarding the door saw him coming, bowed to him and called out "Mr. Xu".

Xu Wen asked the two if a young man had come by that morning. A child in white replied, "That's Master Jiang's younger brother. He came from home to visit the patient." Xu Wen glanced toward Jiang Shen's room and asked, "Has he left?"

The little boy in white shook his head.

Xu Wen also wanted to go in and take a look. A little boy in white clothes brought him a white towel fumigated with mugwort leaves. He tied it on his face and walked in.

Arriving at the door, he raised his hand and knocked. After a while, Jiang Lan came over to open the door. She looked at the stranger in front of her with some confusion, and then realized that the other person must be a student of the academy. After she closed the door and came out, she bowed to him and said, "My eldest brother has gone to bed. You can tell me if you have anything."

Although she tried her best to keep her voice calm, she had never practiced before, so her voice still sounded a little thin, like that of a girl.

A hint of suspicion flashed in Xu Wen's eyes, and his gaze moved from her eyes to her neck, making Jiang Lan feel a little uncomfortable. She bowed and prepared to go into the house.

"My dear brother, please stay."

Hearing the call of "brother", Jiang Lan got goosebumps. It was called too affectionately. She paused and turned around calmly.

Xu Wen glanced around again, as if afraid of being eavesdropped, and walked closer to whisper to her. Jiang Lan took two steps back to create distance, and Xu Wen stopped where he was, somewhat awkwardly.

"I've been taking care of my brother all morning, so it's best if you stay away from me."

Hearing this, Xu Wen did not move forward, fearing he might be infected. He then asked with concern, "I wonder if Brother Jiang is feeling better?" Jiang Lan replied, "Big brother, you are blessed by fate. You'll be fine."

She felt that the relationship between the other person and her eldest brother should not be that close. Although it was their first meeting, the impression he gave her was somewhat hypocritical and even a little vulgar. His eyes kept glancing at her face and neck intentionally or unintentionally. She was now dressed as a man, and she couldn't help but wonder if he had any fetish in that area. He might still be thinking about her eldest brother in his heart...

As soon as this thought came to her mind, she felt goosebumps all over her body.

"You should leave quickly. I still have to take care of my elder brother." Jiang Lan's tone became a little tougher when she thought that the other party had bad intentions towards her elder brother.

Xu Wen was a little embarrassed again. "Don't be angry, brother. I'll just say a few words and then leave."

"Then go ahead." Jiang Lan crossed her arms, looking like "if you have something to say, just say it."

Xu Wen glanced at the gate again and lowered his voice, "I came here to remind you to be careful of Brother Cui. He and your eldest brother have always been at odds. If you stay here, he might make things difficult for you."

When Jiang Lan heard the word "Cui", she became alert instantly.

"He is the eldest son of the general's mansion, and his mother is a princess."

It turned out to be Cui Yan, Cui Jingshu’s elder brother.

I heard before that he joined the army, and later I heard that he went to study.

The eldest son of the general's mansion did not show up at Mrs. Cui's 60th birthday. It turned out that he was also studying at Dongling Academy.

"Why are he and my eldest brother not getting along?" Jiang Lan asked.

Xu Wen told her about how Jiang Shen almost fell off his horse a few days ago. This was because Jiang Shen wrote an article that was better than Cui Yan's and was praised by the teacher. During the horse riding and archery class the next day, Jiang Shen's horse was knocked away by Cui Yan's horse and he almost fell off the horse. If he had really fallen off, he would have been seriously injured even if he didn't die.

"Are you telling the truth?" Jiang Lan asked, staring into his eyes. Xu Wen felt a little guilty under her gaze and said, "If you don't believe me, you can go ask someone else. You'll know whether it's true or not."

Jiang Lan pondered for a moment, "I understand, you go back first."

When she turned around and was about to go into the house, Xu Wen called her again and reminded her, "My dear brother, you'd better be careful recently. If you offend Brother Cui, you will probably end up like your elder brother." After that, he bowed and said goodbye.

Jiang Lan watched him walk out of the yard and only believed what he said half-heartedly. His intention was too obvious. He wanted her to cause trouble for Cui Yan. But if someone really had secretly tampered with her elder brother's illness, she would never let that person go!

After everyone left, Jiang Lan went to ask the two little boys in white at the door how her elder brother fell ill.

From the two people, Jiang Lan learned that it was the waiter of the restaurant who had delivered food to the academy who was infected. A few days later, Master Lin also fell ill. Only then did Jiang Lan know that Master Zimo's surname was Lin. A few days later, Jiang Shen also fell ill.

From the two, Jiang Lan also learned that Mr. Lin had always been in poor health. He would be sick for a few days every year when the seasons changed, and no one came to visit him. He stayed in the academy during holidays. The two guessed that he must be an orphan, and the dean also took special care of him, exempting his tuition and food and accommodation.

Jiang Lan thought that the restaurant was open for business, with many people and a lot of gossip. The waiters had to deal with so many customers every day, so the risk was higher. Young Master Lin was weaker than the others in the academy, so the risk was also higher. Her eldest brother and Young Master Lin were close friends, so they had more contact. One thing led to another, and the whole thing seemed normal...

In the afternoon, a little boy in white came over and said someone was coming to pick her up. Jiang Lan knew it was the housekeeper.

The butler waited outside the gate for about half a quarter of an hour before Jiang Lan came over. The butler took out a bundle from the carriage and handed it to her. He wanted to give her a few more instructions, but Jiang Lan said that she and her elder brother would be fine, and asked the butler to go back first.

"You want to stay here?" The little boy in white guarding the door was a little surprised.

Jiang Lan nodded. Before she left this morning, she had agreed with the housekeeper to send her some clothes in the afternoon, as she wanted to stay and take care of her elder brother.

"The academy has rules and does not keep guests." The little boy in white said sternly.

Jiang Lan said, "I'm not a guest. I'm here to help Mr. Bai. I was the one who made the medicine this morning."

The little boy in white couldn't think of any reason to refute.