Chapter 45 The muddy water turns out to be you

Because Chen Lianxiu had left the window open for fresh air when he came in the morning, the room was no longer so stuffy when he entered.

Nanny Zhang was feeding Mrs. Pei meat porridge. Mrs. Pei had no appetite at all and even had difficulty swallowing it. Nanny Zhang could only feed her and persuade her at the same time, but the effect was minimal.

Seeing Chen Lianxiu coming, Madam Pei simply didn't want to eat anymore. She pushed the bowl from Nanny Zhang's hand and turned her head away. "Doctor Yu is here. I can't hold on any longer and want to sleep. Just give me acupuncture."

She had clearly slept all afternoon, and it was just getting dark, yet she said she wanted to sleep again. She was afraid that Mrs. Pei was too weak to be acupunctured while she was asleep and would wake her up, so she came when she was awake.

Chen Lianxiu frowned. It seemed that the lady from the Pei family was suffering from a serious problem.

Chen Lianxiu walked over, took the bowl from Nanny Zhang, and whispered to Madam Pei, "How can you not eat? Madam, if you want to get better, you have to eat more. Otherwise, you'll just be stuffing yourself full of bitter and disgusting medicine. How can it compare to this delicious meat porridge?"

Perhaps because Shen Lianxiu was of the same age as her and was also a doctor, Mrs. Pei listened to some of what she said and took a few more bites from Shen Lianxiu's hand. When the bowl of porridge was almost empty, she said she didn't want any more.

Seeing this, Chen Lianxiu felt a little relieved. Sometimes, one is not afraid of physical illness, but mental illness is more difficult to treat, and there is no medicine to cure mental illness. Although the lady of the Pei family has a mental illness and half of her body is also burdened by it, she can still listen to advice, which means that she still has the desire to live.

When Chen Lianxiu was giving her acupuncture, she lay there silently, no one knew what she was thinking, her eyes were empty.

When the acupuncture was over, the maid brought the boiled medicine, but she said, "I don't want to drink it anymore."

Nanny Zhang said, "My dear wife, why don't you drink it again? This is Madam Yu's prescription. You've already taken it once before, and you were fine before. Why don't you drink it again?"

Mrs. Pei didn't say anything. She just covered her head with the quilt and started to sob. This time, no amount of persuasion could stop her.

Chen Lianxiu had no choice but to say, "Then you can wait until Madam wants to drink it and then heat it up." After all, it was only the first day, so he could only treat and persuade her slowly.

Fortunately, after Shen Lianxiu said this, Mrs. Pei soon stopped crying and fell asleep again.

Nanny Zhang was sweating profusely. She wiped her sweat while sending Shen Lianxiu back: "Please forgive Madam Yu. Our madam is still a little childish. She also wants to get better."

"It doesn't matter." Chen Lianxiu had seen many different kinds of patients over the years, so he didn't blame them. "Sick people are physically uncomfortable, so it's inevitable that their emotions will change. Once they get better, their temperaments will improve as well."

There was a maid waiting in the corridor. When she saw the two people come out, she came up with a lantern to light the way for them. Just as they were about to go to the east pavilion at the back, they saw the door of Feixiang Garden open and a person came in.

It was dark now, and only a silhouette could be seen vaguely. But from a distance, Shen Lianxiu could still tell that the person coming was a man. It was dark now, and men usually wouldn't enter the courtyard of the female relatives. Shen Lianxiu was a little panicked and said to Nanny Zhang, "Madam, didn't you say that the husband at home wouldn't come? How come..."

"No, no," Nanny Zhang waved her hands repeatedly and whispered, "This is our wife's biological brother, and he doesn't live in Feixiang Garden..."

Chen Lianxiu felt even more puzzled after hearing this. Why would the Pei family's wife's brother be in the Pei family? Was he staying at the mansion temporarily?

Nanny Zhang was about to continue explaining, but the person who came in walked quickly and quickly. Before he even reached them, he asked, "How are you today, sister?"

Before she could see who was coming, Shen Lianxiu only felt that the voice sounded familiar. Before she could recall it, he had already walked to the corridor. In the dim candlelight, Shen Lianxiu could see his face clearly.

It was the man who came to her house yesterday!

Chen Lianxiu resisted the urge to retreat, and the man seemed to have recognized her, taking the lantern from the maid's hand and shining it in front of her.

"So it's you." He smiled.

Nanny Zhang was confused and was about to ask, but he sent her away: "You go inside and take care of my sister. I want to ask Doctor Yu about my sister's condition."

"Although our Pei family cannot compare to those wealthy families, the garden scenery is quite good. Doctor Yu, are you interested in going out with me to enjoy the view and chat?"

Chen Lianxiu was already complaining bitterly at this moment. She couldn't figure out whether this man had known yesterday that it was her who came to Pei's house for treatment, or whether it was just a coincidence. But since he had already come to Pei's house, it was too late to say anything. Refusing would only arouse suspicion. She could only bite the bullet and agree to go with him to visit the garden.

After getting her consent, he smiled and explained, "My name is Pei Qian. The person living in Feixiang Garden is my sister, Pei Ruoyan. I've been away from home a lot lately. I only knew that my family had hired a female doctor to treat my sister's illness. I didn't know it was Doctor Yu from Baixi Village, otherwise I would have brought Doctor Yu here yesterday."

Shen Lianxiu could only pretend to laugh shyly a few times.

Even though he didn't know that it was her who came to the Pei family, it was true that his words were strange yesterday. The fact that she didn't tell Zhou Linjin in the end didn't mean that her doubts about him had dissipated.

There is another thing. This is the Pei family. At first, they only said that they were here to see the lady of the Pei family. After Shen Lianxiu took her pulse, he found that she had a miscarriage, so he naturally thought that she was the lady of the Pei family. But now according to what Pei Qian said, this is not the case. Pei Ruoyan is the daughter of the Pei family. No wonder Nanny Zhang said that no young man would come to live in Feixiangyuan.

It is unlikely that an unmarried woman would have a miscarriage, so does that mean Pei Ruoyan left her husband's home?

Chen Lianxiu wasn't really interested. After all, the most important thing right now wasn't the gossip about other people, but Pei Qian himself. She herself had no desire to know about these private matters.

Pei Qian took her to a waterside pavilion near Feixiang Garden and sat her down. The maids and servants immediately served them tea and snacks, and stood by with their hands hanging down. The presence of other people made Shen Lianxiu feel a little more at ease.

After taking a sip of the fragrant tea, Pei Qian asked, "What does Doctor Yu think of my sister's illness?"

Chen Lianxiu was extremely wary of Pei Qian. Naturally, she didn't dare to tell him what she had said to Nanny Zhang that day. She only spoke to him with the key points: "Madam is still young, and her foundation is damaged. I can't guarantee her recovery. Let's try to recuperate first. If Pei Langjun is not satisfied, then we should find someone else to help. Don't delay Madam's recovery."

"Is that so?" Pei Qian said with a wry smile, "Doctor Yu, you've just arrived and you're already saying such unconfident things. I was actually hoping Doctor Yu could cure my sister!"

Chen Lianxiu was shocked, but she couldn't help but reply: "I was just saying that. Since the Pei family has paid for the consultation, I will do my best to treat my wife, no matter what is reasonable or emotional. Mr. Pei can rest assured about this."

Pei Qian glanced at her with a smile, "Doctor Yu, why are you so diplomatic and reserved?"

"I'm a widow, so I have to be careful. Besides, I can't make any promises. No doctor would say that," said Shen Lianxiu.

Pei Qian nodded, took a few sips of tea, and then asked her, "Doctor Yu, do you think there's something strange going on in my family?"

It would have been fine if he didn't say it. Once he mentioned it, Shen Lianxiu's hair stood on end. It wasn't for anything else, she wasn't interested in knowing what was so strange about the Pei family, but just because of what he said.

"You must be wondering, why is my sister still at home when she clearly had a miscarriage?" Pei Qian didn't wait for Shen Lianxiu to speak and continued, "You might also guess that my sister is just staying back with her parents for a while, or maybe she's divorced, right?"

He looked at Shen Lianxiu, who had nothing to say and could only smile awkwardly.

Fortunately, it was not about anything else, but about Pei Ruoyan.

Pei Qian said, "Actually, neither of those are true. Ruoyan has never been married. In other words, she's still an unmarried young lady."

"Mr. Pei," Chen Lianxiu interrupted him hurriedly, "You don't need to tell me this. I'm just a doctor. Treating patients is my job. This has nothing to do with me."

"Mrs. Yu is indeed a decent person. She's not even interested in these private matters. Well, I was just being overly suspicious. I originally thought that Mrs. Yu would find it strange and ask around. But since it's bound to be known anyway, I might as well tell it myself. In that case, I, Pei, beg Mrs. Yu to keep this secret and save some face for my sister and the Pei family."

"Don't worry, Pei Langjun, I won't tell."

After saying this, Shen Lianxiu could no longer sit still and just wanted to go back quickly. Because of what happened yesterday, no matter what Pei Qian did or said, she was suspicious enough in her eyes. Her brain was like a stretched string, and she was afraid that if she continued talking with Pei Qian, the string would become tighter and tighter until it broke.

But before Shen Lianxiu could say anything, Pei Qian had already stood up and said, "I'll be leaving now. Madam Yu, please make your own way. If there's anything wrong with my hospitality, please forgive me."

Pei Qian walked very quickly and left as soon as he finished speaking.

Chen Lianxiu continued to sit in the waterside pavilion for a while, and her palms were wet with cold sweat unknowingly. She should not have come to the Pei family if she had known earlier. But if she asked to leave immediately, Pei Qian would definitely be suspicious. Besides, she had already come here, and Pei Ruoyan was innocent after all. Although the Pei family was rich and could find other doctors, Chen Lianxiu herself could not go back on her word. She had already received half of the medical fee from the Pei family, and she could return it, but as a doctor, she could not get over the hurdle of abandoning Pei Ruoyan like this.

Now I can only hope that I am really overthinking it.

It would be best if Pei Qian had no problems, as she was just being too suspicious. However, if Pei Qian really had problems, Shen Lianxiu also hoped that she would never wade into this muddy water.

Pei Ruoyan was cured early, the medical fee was collected, and she left here.