Fever (repair)
Lin Xu then said, "Granny has served me for a long time and is always so considerate, which makes me very grateful. There are a lot of jewelry and ornaments piled up in the storeroom, most of which are not used. I think the gold and rubies are quite large, so why don't we give them to Granny and the senior maids? Whether we keep them or make them into jewelry and headdresses, they will be very beautiful."
Granny Qin waved her hands repeatedly and said with a smile, "I'm an old woman, what use do I have for those things? Thank you for your consideration, Miss. Zhu Ling and the others are all in the prime of their lives, so why not give them the gifts?"
Seeing that Granny Qin insisted on refusing, Lin Xu had no choice but to order the gold and silver to be made into jewelry. He also selected several large and dazzling rubies and emeralds and distributed them to the servants in front of him. Zhu Ling, Rong Wei, Qing Mo, and Nong Yu each received one.
The girls initially refused to accept the jewelry, but being young and vain, they couldn't resist the allure of beautiful pieces and eventually happily accepted them.
Having received generous gifts and rewards, everyone was overjoyed. After they all withdrew, the hall returned to silence. Lin Xu put down the porcelain bowl in her hand and glanced at Fang Xing standing in front of the door.
She wore a rose-colored, diagonally-fastened jacket, and her oval face was free of makeup, adorned only with a pair of tiny kingfisher feather earrings. She was clearly a dignified woman, yet she stood there with an air of solemnity.
Lin Xu then gently waved his hand, signaling Fang Xing to come to his side.
“If you like those jewels and ornaments, I may reward you with some. But as far as I can tell, you don’t seem to care about them during the days you’ve served me.”
Fangxing gave a blessing.
"Madam is indeed very observant. This servant truly does not care about these material possessions."
Seeing Lin Xu looking at her with scrutinizing eyes, Fang Xing continued to explain, "When I agreed to obey the master of the house, I received a considerable reward."
He is, in a way, an honest person.
Lin Xu couldn't help but curl her lips into a smile. Come to think of it, the Zhou family had been in business for generations, accumulating wealth that would last several lifetimes. And this was only the publicly known accounts.
In the past, some people jokingly said that although the Great Yu Kingdom is currently stable, if it were to go to war with an enemy country in the future, and the national treasury were to be depleted, the Zhou family alone could support the court's military supplies for ten years.
Everyone knows the Zhou family is incredibly wealthy, yet Zhou Weikan possesses the very essence of a gentleman, lacking even the slightest shrewdness typical of a merchant. No wonder that in her past life, after news of her marriage to Zhou Weikan spread, she was repeatedly envied and plotted against by a host of noble ladies.
She couldn't help but think back to that rainy teahouse, where Zhou Weikan seemed to be shrouded in weariness as he casually said that doing business was not his true intention.
She didn't understand then, and that doubt has never dissipated now—
What exactly is this "true nature" he speaks of?
Upon closer reflection, she realized that she didn't even understand Zhou Weikan's likes and interests.
In her past life, she and he almost became husband and wife, yet she knew nothing about the man who was about to share her bed. Perhaps, this is what people mean when they say that they were ultimately just not meant to be.
She didn't want to think about it anymore, so she looked at Fangxing and said softly:
"Regardless, you saved my life that day. I should be thanking you properly. Whatever you want, or whenever you want to regain your freedom and leave this place, I will..."
Fangxing nodded gently again.
"It is my duty to stay by your side, and my heart is at peace as long as you are safe and sound. I have no other wish."
Having said all that, there was no point in trying to persuade him further. Lin Xu could only sigh.
"Since that's the case, then so be it. But from now on, when you work by my side, you must not have any disloyalty, nor cause any trouble. Otherwise, no matter who your master is, I will not let it go easily."
Fangxing nodded. After thinking for a moment, Lin Xu picked out a string of high-quality mutton fat jade bracelets inlaid with gold from her dressing case and forcibly stuffed them into Fangxing's hand.
"Please accept this bracelet. It was made by my family before I was of marriageable age, and it's a little tight now. Since you saved my life, you can keep it for future use if needed."
As the two were talking, Dou Yanxun, who had finished bathing, walked in.
Fangxing, being perceptive, served tea and quickly withdrew. The sandalwood incense in the hall had almost burned out and was soon dissipated by the faint, lingering scent of cypress emanating from Dou Yanxun's body after his bath.
He did not tie up his hair with a hairpin, and changed into a new moon-white casual dress. When the two returned, it was already past 3 PM, but they had no appetite because they had been caught in the rain, so they specially told the kitchen not to serve any food.
Dou Yanxun walked to the hibiscus couch, lay down on his side, and relaxed completely. He let out a long sigh, his profile was particularly hazy in the candlelight, and even the weariness at the corner of his eyes became indistinct.
In the wisps of smoke, his expression seemed to have dropped all its guard. Gone was the nonchalance he had maintained during the day, and gone was the thoughtfulness he always showed when he was with her.
Lin Xu's fingertips twirled the cover of "Six Secret Teachings," a book she had read several times. Just as she was about to speak, she saw him staring blankly at the ceiling and slowly say...
"As you can see, I'm only close to Dou Zhen among the people in this mansion. It's because she once saved my life."
Lin Xu was taken aback, a ripple of emotion spreading through her heart. After a moment of silence, she carefully chose her words before speaking. "Oh? When was that?"
Dou Yanxun coughed lightly, covering his mouth, and continued, "I didn't grow up in the Dou family. Or rather, I was kicked out when I was young."
He slowly turned his head to look at her. His expression was indifferent, as if he were talking about something completely unrelated to him.
"Bai Shi disliked my birth mother and me. After my mother died, a fortune teller came to the mansion and said that I was born with a lonely fate, with a destiny of conflicting year pillars, which would first bring misfortune to my mother, then my father, and then my siblings. My father had no choice but to obey Bai Shi and send me to the border. I was gone for eight years."
He coughed several more times, and only after his breathing had calmed down did he continue:
"Bai claimed she was sending me to 'heal my wounds,' but I had no real injuries. The northern frontier was desolate and cold; she simply wanted to force me to die there. Several uncles lived there, but seeing my loneliness, they never treated me kindly. I lived like that, almost left to fend for myself... When I was seventeen, I fell seriously ill and almost died there. It was my third sister who wrote me letters and constantly persuaded my father, and only then did he remember that he had a son like me."
A chilling coldness crept into Dou Yanxun's eyes, but the corners of his mouth curled up in a mocking smile.
"So if it weren't for Dou Zhen back then, I probably would have died on the northern border and turned into a handful of dust."
Lin Xu felt overwhelmed by indescribable emotions and didn't know what to say for a moment.
This was the first time Dou Yanxun had so clearly told her about his background, and all words of comfort seemed utterly inadequate. She opened her mouth, but for the first time felt tongue-tied, unable to think of anything to say.
She could only step forward, bend down, and reach out to touch his shoulder, but she saw Dou Yanxun slowly close his eyes, his dark eyelashes trembling gently in the light and shadow.
"After I got back, the first thing I did, do you know what?"
Lin Xu had heard Zhao Qi talk about Dou Yanxun's background and how he was ostracized from the mansion before, but he did not know the specific details.
She gently shook her head, but then realized that he had his eyes closed and couldn't see her movements, so she whispered, "I don't know."
“I used all my connections and searched the entire capital city of Mu to finally find the place where the Taoist priest who took the money was. I discovered that he was just an imposter and had even married and had children. I tortured his whole family for three days and three nights before he died.”
Lin Xu's outstretched hand froze in mid-air.
"That's why I said that having that Taoist priest spread rumors is not the best course of action."
Lin Xu looked somewhat dazed and remained silent for a long time, only gently stroking his shoulder.
He spoke so frankly about his past, how he had suffered so much humiliation over the past decade, yet he only mentioned it briefly with the phrase "living on his own."
When he talked about tormenting the Taoist priest's family for three days and three nights, he spoke very casually, as if he were not talking about a matter of life and death, but just a casual chat between husband and wife.
Lin Xu lowered her gaze to his face, mostly hidden in shadow, a complex mix of emotions welling up within her, yet she could only interpret it as advice. After a long silence, Lin Xu spoke slowly:
"Thank you for the reminder, my husband. I will be more careful this time."
The two had been exposed to the cool breeze during the day and had walked for a long time in the downpour. As night deepened, they both became very tired. Although she had a thousand thoughts churning in her mind, she could only tell herself that thinking too much was useless, and soon she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
She had countless fragmented and blurry dreams. Half-asleep, she felt a burning sensation behind her. At first, Lin Xu was still dreaming and didn't pay attention, but soon she was awakened by a series of labored coughs beside her pillow.
Dou Yanxun coughed incessantly. Taking advantage of her drowsiness, she groggily reached out to touch his forehead, but the moment her fingertips touched it, she was startled. It was burning hot!
Now she was truly awake. She couldn't help but shout loudly, and soon the maid who was guarding the door rushed over.
Both Nongyu and Rongwei looked worried. They lit the candlestick on the side table and saw that Dou Yanxun was indeed burning up. He had developed a high fever at some point and seemed to be quite delirious.
Lin Xu was startled. He grabbed a light purple cotton shawl and casually draped it over himself before calling someone to fetch a doctor from outside the mansion.
The Dou family's enormous mansion never had a physician on staff. Whenever there was an emergency, they had to patiently wait for a doctor to arrive from outside, which often took up a lot of time.
Lin Xu sighed inwardly and glanced back at Dou Yanxun lying on the bed. His eyes were slightly closed, and he was probably in a lot of pain. He coughed every now and then, and even his usually fair face turned flushed. He looked like he was about to have a fever.
There's no room for further delay...
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