Chapter 43 She is because of me

It seems that he is indeed sick.

The person is asleep, with a flushed face and a healthy complexion, but their lips are dry, their expression is listless, and their consciousness is blurred.

She deserved to be sick.

That single garment, soaked in the cool night air for so long.

He bent down, reached out a hand, and touched her forehead.

It's really hot.

She got sick because of me.

Liu Min felt very guilty.

He frowned, straightened up, and turned to the person next to him, saying, "Quickly, go and fetch a doctor."

"It must be a good doctor, not one who can fool people."

A servant has no right to speak to her master with her back turned. Even if she only answers "yes," she must turn around and face the person. After answering "yes" once, she must turn around again.

They're incredibly busy.

However, once she was out of the dark room, she wouldn't need to do anything anymore; someone else would take care of the errands.

“Go find Aunt Fang, who serves the madam, and tell her that our Shanlai girl is ill. Ask her to inform the madam.”

The little girl agreed, put down the broom, and hurried off.

Ziyu went back to the dark room and reported to Liu Min, "Young Master, someone has already been sent." There was a soft, murmuring voice, but it didn't seem to be directed at her. She couldn't help but lift her eyelids to look, and saw their young master sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning back, talking softly to the person on the bed.

The two kids actually look quite convincing.

Ziyu felt a pang of unease. These two were truly wonderful. Both beautiful, mutually attracted, and still so young. They had decades of life ahead of them, decades of companionship, decades of wealth and luxury… just like in the plays, childhood sweethearts, a perfect couple. Even if the young master had a wife in the future, this one was still different… She wasn't a bad person; she wasn't unhappy to see others happy. Of course, she was happy to see lovers united, especially since they were both servants, and unlike her, not born servants, but rather having endured hardship—quite pitiful…

But isn't she pitiful?

She has it tough too.

So we can't blame her. She's been a villain, so be it. As the saying goes, "Every man for himself, or the devil take the fall." That's what they say in the play.

Thinking this way, I felt much better and smiled. I ran around serving everyone, asking for water, a handkerchief, and ginger soup, complaining that the people were slow and the doctor was late, and jumping around in front of my master.

She made quite a commotion, but her master didn't even glance at her. He just stared intently at the person lying on the bed, noticing that her face was getting redder and she was in a daze, remaining silent for a long time...

Her heart ached; she was doing this for him… Why hasn't the doctor arrived yet? How much longer must she wait? Every extra minute she waited meant more suffering…

He couldn't wait any longer, he couldn't sit still, he had to do something for her, but what could he do? It seemed like he couldn't do anything, he stood by the bed, his mind blank, at a loss.

There was a noise at the door. Ziyu pricked up her ears and thought she heard a maid calling for her mistress. Her heart skipped a beat. She didn't care about what was going on inside and turned around to go outside. When she got outside, she saw that it was indeed her. She quickly bowed and greeted her.

Madam Yue still remembered Ziyu, and nodded with a kind smile as she looked at her.

This was a favor from her master, and Ziyu was overjoyed. She thought she should strike while the iron was hot and talk to her master, but before she could even open her mouth and utter a sound, her master turned his face away and quickly went into the house.

The room was dark, cramped, and simple. Madam Le, being a person of high status, usually wouldn't enter anything but bright and spacious rooms. But this time, she didn't care and stepped straight into the dark room without pausing for a moment. She didn't feel wronged at all and spoke to people in an extremely pleasant tone, "Why did you fall ill? Is it because the people here are not doing their job properly or are being negligent? I was really worried when I heard the news. I've already sent someone to invite Physician Qi. Lian Si, don't worry."

Whether it's urgent or not, I haven't told her yet, but since she's here, I can't just ignore her.

She spoke as soon as she entered, and Liu Min bowed and listened. Her words were addressed to him, so he couldn't ignore her. Besides, she was nominally his mother, and he should have gone to pay his respects to her earlier. It was inappropriate for him not to go, but for her to come instead. So he bowed and said in a low voice, "Thank you, Madam. You've worked hard. I was exhausted, so I got up late. It's already a great sin that I couldn't come to Yihe Hall to pay my respects to you. It's even more sinful that you've come all this way. I'm truly apprehensive."

He was determined to treat her as an outsider, so he refused to be lacking in manners in the slightest, to show that he would not offend her in the slightest. Madam Yue did not know his temperament. Seeing his respect, she thought that her son had no dissatisfaction or hostility towards her and that they would definitely be able to get along in the future. She was both happy and relieved at the time, thinking that she should add fuel to the fire and make sure he knew how much she cared for him.

"Don't say such things! Of course I know you're tired. This journey has been so bumpy, even adults would find it hard to bear, let alone you! It's so pitiful that you're so young and have to suffer like this, it breaks my heart! My child, we are mother and son, our bond is not measured by worldly customs. You are our family's only son, and we will rely on you to support the family in the future. Everyone hopes you will live up to our expectations, so we have you studying this and that at such a young age, treating you like you're made of iron... Although I love you, I also know what is truly good for you! It's just that I'm a woman, not very literate, and I can't help you with your studies, so I can only make up for it in small ways. My child, I know that you children all sleep too much and don't get enough rest. You have me in your heart, so what's the point of your morning greetings? I'd rather you save that time and sleep more! If mother and son want to see each other, I will come to find you!"

A mother's love is so deep!

Liu Min felt very uncomfortable after hearing this. His own mother and son were nothing special, yet Madam Le treated him so well; he should truly be grateful. But he was ungrateful, unwilling to accept her kindness. What was worse, he only kept his reluctance to himself, not saying it outright, which only encouraged her to continue treating him well. He had made her waste her efforts; it was truly shameful. Anyone with a conscience would feel guilty.

They can't even say the right things.

The person on the bed suddenly uttered a muffled murmur, which sounded quite painful and immediately drew everyone's attention.

Liu Min thought she was about to wake up, so he hurriedly leaned over to check on her. Seeing that she still had her eyes closed, he became anxious and even shook her, shouting, "Wake up! Wake up!"

I can't wake him up; he doesn't make a sound at all.

How could this be? The flesh under his hands was as hot as charcoal; he was going to burn it! He became even more anxious and chaotic, using all his strength in his hands, recklessly, as if he didn't care even if he shook the person to pieces just to wake them up.

His frenzied appearance was truly frightening.

Fortunately, as soon as she finished shouting, the people outside responded, yelling, "They're here! The doctor's here!"

They quickly invited him in, and the partition doors were all opened, so the dark room was no longer dark. After exchanging a few polite words with Madam Le, Physician Qi sat down on the stool in front of the bed and began to perform his medical skills.

As soon as the doctor arrived, Liu Min calmed down and stood aside, neither arguing nor making a fuss, though his chest heaved violently.

As soon as Physician Qi withdrew his hand from taking her pulse, Liu Min hurriedly asked, "How is she?"

Having inquired along the way, Physician Qi knew this was the young master of the Liu family. Seeing that he had questions, he dared not be disrespectful, rose from his seat, and cupped his hands in greeting. "Miss, you've only caught a chill. The weather has been cool lately, and external pathogens have invaded, causing an imbalance of yin and yang. It's not a serious illness, but you're weak and have insufficient qi and blood, so even though it's a minor ailment, it can flare up quite badly. However, there's no need to worry. After taking two doses of medicine, you'll be fine." As he spoke, he reached for paper and pen.

Ziyu, being perceptive, quickly invited the person to sit down in a side room outside, and brought out a pen, ink, paper, and inkstone to have someone write out a prescription.

Physician Qi wrote a prescription in no time, saying, "Eat this, and you'll be better soon."

Once the prescription was written, Madam Le ordered her servants to fetch the medicine. After giving the instructions, she exchanged pleasantries with Physician Qi. Once she had said enough, she sent someone to escort Physician Qi out.

As soon as Physician Qi left, Liu Min returned to sit by the bedside.

As for Madam Yue, since Liu Min was her good son, she only thought that he was a good child who valued loyalty and righteousness. She didn't think that he didn't respect her. As long as she was willing, she was the most considerate person in the world.

Still standing, she comforted her, "Alright, don't worry too much. The imperial physician said it's not a serious illness, and she'll get better with medicine. It's just a pity for her; she'll have to suffer these next few days..." Because of Liu Min, Madam Le still valued Shanlai highly. But no matter how much she valued her, she was still just a maidservant. Compared to Liu Min, she was nothing. Madam Le genuinely cared about Liu Min.

“She’s sick, so she can’t stay here anymore. If she passes on her illness to you, it will be terrible. Logically, she should leave and only come back when she’s better. But she’s someone who cares about you, so she should have more dignity than others…” Madam Le smiled. “Let’s find a place to settle her in the manor. Hmm… there are two rooms in Plum Blossom Pavilion, let’s move there!”

That's to be expected; that's exactly what Ziyu was waiting for, which is why she specifically told Madam Le, hoping that Madam Le would kick them out. But Liu Min wasn't too willing.

She became like this because of him. He simply couldn't let go. If she was by his side, he could still take care of her, but if she went to Plum Blossom Village... who knew where Plum Blossom Village was! Without anyone to watch over her, she wouldn't even be able to get a drink of water!

But Madam Yue, his stepmother, has already said what she meant; if he doesn't listen...

But Shanlai was very important to him. She was sick, and he couldn't ignore her. He couldn't risk her life.

The words of refusal were already on the tip of her tongue when suddenly an old voice said, "Madam has a kind heart and is willing to take pity on her. It is her good fortune. I thank you on her behalf! Madam, I am a useless person. I am grateful to Master and Madam for not disliking me and keeping me in the mansion. I feel ashamed! I really don't know what I can do to repay Master and Madam's kindness. Now that I have an opportunity, I can't let it pass. Let her live with me for the time being. I will take care of her and fulfill Madam's kind heart!"