Chapter 119 Leaving the Capital (Part 3) Dog. ...

Because Yu Qi was keeping an eye on him, Du Zhong was not allowed to go out and could only wait at home for Xiu Zhi to return. Unexpectedly, Xiu Zhi arrived before everyone else had gotten up the next day. She entered through the ceremonial gate. Du Zhong seemed to hear Xiu Zhi's urgent voice in his sleep, so he quickly got up and went to the front yard. Sure enough, Xiu Zhi was in the yard talking to Yu Qing while wiping away tears.

It turned out that her youngest son had fallen ill during the night, suffering from a high fever. Xiuzhi had cared for him all night without improvement, so she had to rush back before dawn to ask Yu Qi to treat him. However, Yu Qi had not yet taken his seat in the tent, and she felt uneasy, fearing that she might disturb his peaceful sleep.

A child's persistent high fever is quite alarming, so Yuqing quickly reassured her, "Don't worry, I'll go and talk to the master."

Yuqing went to the Second Courtyard. Du Zhong, wearing a fur coat, walked into the garden. He touched Xiuzhi's hand and found it was ice-cold. He frowned and asked, "In this cold weather, did you walk here?"

At this moment, Xiuzhi was filled with anxiety and didn't care about herself anymore. She just stared at the other side of the cave entrance and nodded haphazardly.

Du Zhong then tried to pull her along, saying, "Let's go to my room and warm up first. Even if Master wants to go, he'll have to get up and change his clothes."

Before Xiuzhi could answer, Yuqing walked down to the bottom of the cave entrance. Xiuzhi quickly left Duzhong and went over to ask, "What did Master say?"

“The master said to go, so I’ll go boil water for him to wash up now. You go to the street and hire a carriage.”

Xiuzhi had no time to talk to Du Zhong and ran out of the ceremonial gate in a flash. Du Zhong had no choice but to turn back to the second courtyard. When he got to the corridor, he saw Jiuli open the door and ask what was going on. He gave her a brief explanation and then quietly discussed with her going to the Cao family together.

Jiuli thought that if Yu Qi went to the Cao family at this time, he might say something hurtful. If the marriage didn't go through, that would be bad enough, but it would also embarrass Xiuzhi. So she nodded in agreement, told Du Zhong to go inside and change his clothes, and the two of them insisted on going to Chunshan Lane with Yu Qi.

Entering the main hall of the Cao family, they turned into the bedroom on the left and saw Xiuzhi's son, Gou'er, sleeping on the bed. His face was flushed, and a wet towel was draped over his forehead. He was half asleep and muttering nonsense.

Yu Qi took his hand and felt his pulse for a while, then said, "It's common for children to have high fevers, so don't panic. Zhong'er and Yu'er, go and boil the medicine we brought. Sister Guo, find a few handkerchiefs, wet them with warm water, and wipe his armpits every now and then. It's important to relieve his fever and cool him down first."

Grandma Cao asked anxiously from the side, "I heard that a high fever in a child can damage their brain. Is this serious?"

Yu Qi stood up and shook his head. "Old man, it's not easy to get brain damage from a fever. He only started having a fever last night, it's not that serious. But I think the child is a bit weak, so we should pay more attention to his diet and make sure he gets plenty of exercise."

The old lady nodded sheepishly, "Ever since his father passed away, this family of orphans and widows has had no choice but to eat well. Life only got a little better after his wife came to live with you, but it's not much better. We still have a lot of debts, and most of his wife's monthly salary goes towards paying them off."

Xiuzhi was standing in front of the bed taking the towel off the dog's head when she heard this. She couldn't help but turn around and glance at her, but quickly lowered her head again. Jiuli noticed the awkward look on her face and guessed that her mother-in-law's words in front of Yu Qi had embarrassed her.

After a while, Old Madam Cao invited Yu Qi to the main room for tea, while Xiuzhi led Jiuli and Du Zhong to the kitchen, found a stove and lit it, and then found a medicine pot and handed it to Du Zhong, smiling, "I'm really sorry, I was supposed to be serving you, but you have to brew the medicine when you come to my house." As she spoke, she went to the large stove to light a fire and boil water.

Jiuli smiled and sat down on the small stool. "Sister Guo, please don't be so polite. Today we are not master and servant, but doctor and patient. We usually accompany our uncle to treat patients and teach them how to decoct and take medicine."

Xiuzhi smiled awkwardly, but inwardly she was worried. Yu Qi usually charged slightly more for his consultations than other doctors, not to mention that he personally went to people's homes to see patients. She hadn't asked about the price yet, and she wondered how much the house call and medicine would cost in total.

Just then, Du Zhong walked behind the stove and quietly slipped her a silver ingot. She didn't want to accept it at first, but then she thought that the end of the year was just a month away, and she had to pay back some of the debts she owed before the year before last. Her own family also needed to celebrate the New Year, and expenses were high in the winter. Besides, as Yu Qi had just said, Gou'er's food and drink couldn't be neglected from now on, so where would she not need money? So she reluctantly accepted it and hurriedly looked at Jiu Li.

Fortunately, Jiuli was only fanning the small stove under the wall and didn't look this way. Only after fanning the fire until it was blazing did he get up, stretch, and say, "Du Zhong, I'm going to take a walk in the yard. You watch the jar."

Du Zhong naturally knew that she was intentionally avoiding him, so he smiled and came over to take the fan. After she left, he spoke privately with Xiu Zhi, "The New Year is coming soon, and there are many expenses at home. If you don't have enough money, just tell me and I'll get you some."

His expenses were not as high as Jiu Li's, and he could save a considerable amount of his monthly allowance. Xiu Zhi knew that he had two or three hundred taels of silver in his money box, and she often heard Yu Qing talk about how big their house in the Suzhou countryside was and how many servants they had. She was not without feelings for him, but at the same time, she felt that there was no possibility between them.

She smiled without speaking. Du Zhong saw the slightly sorrowful smile on her face and suddenly dared not tell her about Miss Bao's matter. Besides, it was not a good time right now; she was too busy worrying about Gou'er's illness.

He then comforted him, "Don't worry, the dog will get better soon. It's cold today, and children love to run and jump around. They sweat and get a fever easily when the wind blows. It's not a serious illness, so don't worry yourself too much."

Xiuzhi glanced at him sideways, feeling that his tone was somewhat dismissive. But she couldn't blame him; he wasn't her son, and even he himself was mostly like a child, so how could he understand the difficulties a mother faces when raising a child?

“I know I shouldn’t overthink it, but this child has been so thin and weak since he was little. I can’t help but worry if he’s even slightly unwell. I guess all mothers are like this, always having something to worry about no matter how cold or hot it is. I just hope that he will grow up strong and healthy, study hard, and pass the imperial examinations. That would be enough to make me proud.”

"You only care about the dog, haven't you thought about your own life?"

Her voice was so close to her ear. She turned her head and saw that he was already standing beside her. She could only smile awkwardly and ask, "What are you planning?"

"So you're planning to remarry?" Du Zhong held her hand from below and smiled, "I mean, marry me. Although my medical skills aren't very good, my master is right. I'll just do business and hire good doctors to run my practice in the future. Half of the Yu family's business will be mine in the future. If you marry me, I definitely won't let you and your child suffer."

Xiuzhi hesitated for a moment, wondering whether she should pull her hand away. He was hidden by the window, out of sight, but she still turned her head to glance out the window. The courtyard was empty and cold. Her mother-in-law was probably in the main room talking to Yu Qi. A thick curtain hung on the gate, so she couldn't see this side.

Oh, right, she also has a mother-in-law. Her marriage not only affects her and her son's future, but also involves the old lady. Over the years, some people have been asked to propose marriage, but when the old lady talks about her family's situation, she not only doesn't hide anything, but exaggerates. Like what she just said to Yu Qi in the house, it's nothing more than a way to scare people away.

You don't believe me?

Her cheeks flushed slightly at his question, and she glanced at him shyly without answering.

Seeing that she was a little shy, Du Zhong's heart stirred, and he stole a kiss on her cheek.

Suddenly, with a "plop," water overflowed from the medicine pot. He hurriedly went back to sit under the wall and kept putting medicine into the pot. Fortunately, at this moment, Old Madam Cao came in. She glanced at the two of them and went behind the stove to quietly instruct Xiuzhi, "I'm going to the street to buy some wine and meat. Don't let Master Yu leave. You must keep them at home for lunch."

Xiuzhi nodded, and then Old Madam Cao walked up to Du Zhong with a smile, curtsied, and said, "Second Master, you've worked hard." Du Zhong hurriedly stood up and bowed in return.

Last time, the old lady didn't address him properly, but this time she called him "Second Master," acting very humble, which made him feel uneasy and unworthy of the title.

Old Madam Cao came out, then lifted the curtain and went into the main room to curtsy to Yu Qijiu. "Master, Miss, please sit down. I'll go to the street to buy some vegetables. We'll have lunch here. Please don't mind that our place is dirty."

Jiuli found it very difficult to accept being called "Miss". Even Xiuzhi, who worked in their family, only called her "Miss". It was really shameful for someone of her age to be called "Miss". Moreover, their Yu family was just well-off, not an official family.

She quickly stood up and said, "Grandma, please don't be so polite. It makes us feel embarrassed."

"That's only right. I know the rules of doing things in a wealthy family. Our daughters-in-law work as servants in your household, and we family members are also indebted to your family. We should treat the master, young lady, and second master as masters as well."

Jiuli secretly recalled what she had just said to Gou'er at his bedside and deduced that she probably realized Du Zhong was interested in her daughter-in-law and deliberately belittled them to make people understand that she was "not good enough" for them.

After she left, Yu Qiyi chuckled softly, "I think you and Zhong'er are just indulging in wishful thinking. You may be interested, but they may not be. That's fine, it saves us from trouble."

Jiuli looked at him and said, "It's understandable that Old Madam Cao didn't mean it that way. She's the mother-in-law, her son is gone, and her daughter-in-law is no longer a member of the Cao family after remarrying. Naturally, she has to worry about who will take care of her in her old age. But people say that a widow has the right to make her own decisions. As long as Sister Guo is willing, there's no use in her stopping her."

"Don't forget, this child is a member of the Cao family. No one can stop Guo from remarrying, but she can't take her son with her when she marries. Would she be willing to do that?"

Everyone in the Yu family knew that this child was Xiuzhi's life, and she would give up anything for her son. Jiuli was speechless for a moment, and it was not a good time to persuade Yu Qi, since things were still uncertain on his end.

Just then, Jiuli heard Gou'er calling for his mother from the bedroom. She quickly got up and went in. Gou'er was just getting out of bed when he was startled to see a stranger. He shrank back into the bed in fright. "Who are you?"

"I'm a doctor, here to treat your illness. How are you feeling now?"

The dog looked at her suspiciously, tilting its head to ask, "Where's my mother?"

"Your mother is boiling water in the kitchen, she'll be here soon." Jiuli sat down on the edge of the bed, touched his forehead, then told him to lie down, tucked him in, and teased him, "What's your name?"

"My name is Gou'er (Doggy)."

"I'm asking what your full name is."

He didn't expect that after a while, his eyes would drowsily dart around, and he would shake his head on the pillow.

"You don't even know your own name?"

"My name is Gou'er (Doggy)."

Jiuli found it amusing at first, but then she slowly realized something was wrong. How could a seven or eight-year-old child not even know his own name? She quickly called Yu Qi in and whispered, "Uncle, could it be that he's really delirious from the high fever?"

"This high fever has only lasted for less than a day, it's not serious."

Yu Qi walked to the bedside and sat down. Gou'er quickly pulled the blanket over his face. He gently pulled the blanket down and carefully examined the child's expression. The boy was seven or eight years old, but his eyes and expression seemed excessively timid and dull, which was somewhat unusual.

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Author's note: Thank you for reading.