Chapter 24 I'm hot...
Achan didn't immediately recognize the owner of the voice. She moved her hand and grabbed a piece of fabric. The fabric felt delicate to the touch and carried the coolness of the night, which lowered the temperature of her palm.
“I’m hot…” she mumbled.
Bai Xiuming glanced down at the sleeve that had been grabbed, then turned his gaze back to A Chan's face.
Because of the high fever, her cheeks were flushed, her almond eyes were half-open and hazy, and her lips were a luscious color, as if they were stained with the finest rouge.
Bai Xiuming reached out and placed his hand on her forehead, and was surprised to find that her face was very small, but only the size of his palm.
His palm was cold, and Achan sighed comfortably, but soon, the hand left.
Ah Chan reluctantly grabbed at him, but because she didn't have the strength to lift her arm, she could only grab his sleeve twice.
Bai Xiuming stood up and glanced around the room. There was no water or medicine here. If he hadn't come today, he might have found a corpse tomorrow.
He turned and walked out. Achan seemed to sense that the person beside her was leaving, and struggled to open her eyes: "Father, are you here to pick up Achan?"
The sound was almost inaudible even to herself, but Bai Xiuming stopped in his tracks.
"Where's Mother? Didn't she come? Has she abandoned Achan?"
"Feng Yang." Bai Xiuming spoke, his voice low, yet it reached Feng Yang's ears downstairs.
"grown ups?"
"Go and fetch a doctor."
Feng Yang paused for a moment, then turned and walked out.
Jiang Kai was still looking bewildered when he heard Bai Xiuming say to him, "Go to the yard and fetch a basin of water."
"Yes." Jiang Kai obediently went to fetch water.
When Feng Yang dragged the old doctor, who was soaking his feet at home, out of the clinic on the next street, Jiang Kai was standing at the door of Ji Chan's second-floor house, watching their magistrate fold a wrung-out handkerchief and place it on Ji Chan's forehead.
Jiang Kai felt increasingly uneasy. Weren't they here to investigate this person? Why were they taking care of the patient first?
The old doctor, carrying his medicine kit, was dragged all the way to Ji Chan's house. Looking at the pitch-black house, he almost thought he had encountered a villain.
He only breathed a sigh of relief after being forced up to the second floor, where a small light appeared in the dark room and he could see the patient's appearance.
He did remember this girl; it was rare to see someone so young and frail, especially since she was also beautiful, making her unforgettable.
The old doctor glanced quickly at the two remaining people in the room. One looked like a bandit, with fierce eyes and bared teeth.
The man standing by the window, on the contrary, seemed to be a noble young master from a prominent family, with an extraordinary bearing and demeanor.
I wonder what their relationship is with this girl?
Bai Xiu's cold gaze swept over him, and the old doctor snapped to attention, not daring to think any further. He put down his heavy medicine box, took out a pulse pillow, and went forward to take A Chan's pulse.
When the old doctor was taking pulses, the room was very quiet, with only the occasional crackling of the oil lamp.
After taking her pulse, the old doctor's furrowed brows did not relax. He said to Bai Xiuming, "This young lady must have not rested well for several days, which has depleted a lot of her vital energy. Moreover, her constitution is weaker than that of ordinary people, making her more susceptible to pathogenic factors, which is why her high fever persists."
Bai Xiuming asked succinctly: "How do you treat it?"
"I'll prescribe a medicine first. Go to my house and get a packet of fever-reducing medicine. Then, boil three bowls of water down to one bowl and drink it."
The old doctor gave very detailed instructions. Seeing that there was no paper or pen in the room, he simply dictated the prescription for them to confirm, and then took Feng Yang back to get the medicine.
He thought that getting the medicine would be the end of it, but Feng Yang refused to let him go and insisted on taking him back. He even gave him a silver ingot as a house call fee, which was a full five taels.
Left with no other choice, the old doctor left the money at home, comforted his family, and hurriedly went back with Feng Yang.
Feng Yang didn't do it for any other reason than to leave the old doctor behind so that someone could prepare medicine for Ji Chan; otherwise, he and Jiang Kai would have to do the work.
Jiang Kai could easily crush the medicine pot with a little force, so this task would most likely fall to him. And since he'd never been sick before, how could he possibly brew medicine?
This task wasn't difficult for the old doctor; he had been processing medicinal herbs since he was a child and was used to it.
Fortunately, Ah Chan had been sick before and had prepared a medicine pot and a stove for decocting medicine at home. The old doctor found the items and quickly began to decoct the medicine.
About fifteen minutes later, he carried a bowl of herbal medicine up to the second floor.
He first glanced at the two men guarding the door like gatekeepers, then at the dignified young master inside, before entering the room and giving the medicine to Bai Xiuming.
"Young master, the medicine has cooled down a bit, so you can feed it to him directly."
Bai Xiuming frowned slightly, but still reached out and took the medicine bowl.
Seeing Ah Chan's weak appearance, he didn't waste any more words trying to get her up. Instead, he sat down on the edge of the bed and scooped her up with one hand.
Achan leaned her soft body against Bai Xiuming, her head resting on his broad shoulders, her messy black hair falling over him, but she wouldn't open her eyes even once.
"Open your mouth."
Achan wrinkled her delicate little nose; she smelled the medicine and refused to open her mouth any further.
Finally, Bai Xiuming could no longer bear it. He pried open her mouth with his left hand and poured the medicine down her throat with his right.
Ah Chan whimpered twice, but her slight struggles had no effect.
Fortunately, although his movements seemed rough, they were quite measured, and he fed the medicine slowly. Achan was forced to keep swallowing the bitter medicine, and soon the whole bowl of medicine was gone.
Bai Xiuming handed the bowl to the old doctor standing to the side and released his grip on A Chan's hand.
As soon as her hand loosened, Achan sniffed, as if she had suffered a great injustice, and began to sob and shed tears.
Bai Xiuming expressionlessly placed her limp body back on the bed, letting her continue crying.
"When will the fever subside?" Bai Xiu asked the old doctor beside him, accompanied by A Chan's sobs.
"The medicine will take effect in at most half an hour."
Bai Xiuming nodded: "Please wait another half an hour."
The old doctor readily agreed: "Of course."
The medicine prescribed by the old doctor worked very quickly. In about fifteen minutes, a thin layer of sweat appeared on Achan's forehead, and her body temperature dropped slightly.
Before the doctor could even breathe a sigh of relief, her temperature rose again, even higher than before.
The old doctor had never seen such a situation in his many years of practice. He stepped forward to take Achan's pulse again, but there was not much change in the pulse. His medicine should be effective.
After a while of struggling, the old doctor was sweating profusely, but Achan's temperature still wouldn't come down. The crying, which had stopped, started again.
Bai Xiuming pinched the bridge of his nose; even in his illness, he still couldn't forget to cry.
The old doctor bowed to Bai Xiuming with a look of shame, saying, "Young master, I have done my best, but my medical skills are limited and I am powerless to help."
Bai Xiuming did not make things difficult for the old doctor, but only instructed Feng Yang: "Send the person back."
Feng Yang nodded and left with the old doctor.
The doctor was sent away, and Jiang Kai thought his master finally didn't want to go through with it anymore. But then something suddenly flew towards him, and he caught it with lightning speed—it was a token.
The token is entirely black, with a coiled dragon on it, and the character "明" (Ming) in the center of the dragon.
This is the token of the Ming King.
"My lord?" Jiang Kai asked, clutching the token, puzzled.
"Go to the palace and fetch the imperial physician. Go quickly and return promptly."
Even though Jiang Kai wasn't usually one to use his brain, he felt something was amiss. However, he would never disobey his superior's orders, so he had no choice but to take the token and leave.
Everyone had left, and Achan was no longer as well-behaved as before. She reached out to grab Bai Xiuming's sleeve, but instead grabbed his wrist: "Waaah, I'm so hot, waaah..."
The small hand covering her wrist was noticeably warmer than usual. Seeing that she was about to lean her whole body closer, Bai Xiuming grabbed A Chan's hand in return.
A cool sensation traveled from their clasped hands, and Achan's body temperature gradually decreased.
Bai Xiuming was using his internal energy to forcibly suppress the heat within her body; this method could only treat the symptoms, not the root cause.
Once his inner energy leaves Achan's body, her body temperature will rise again, but at least it will give his ears a brief rest.
On the other side, Jiang Kai activated his inner energy and rushed to the palace as quickly as possible. He used the Ming King's Decree to knock on the palace gate and took away a night-duty imperial physician from the Imperial Medical Bureau.
The news reached the ears of the emperor as soon as the imperial physician left the palace.
Not only the emperor, but anyone in the capital with even a spies knew about this. After all, opening the palace gates in the dead of night was a serious matter.
At first, everyone thought something had happened to Prince Ming, but the imperial physician did not go to Prince Ming's residence.
Then everyone remembered that Ming Wang's adopted son also had a token, so Bai Xiuming must have gotten into trouble.
Before they could even be happy, the imperial physician was not taken to Bai Xiuming's residence, but was instead taken directly to Changpingfang.
Those who received the news were very curious about who lived in Changpingfang, that could make Bai Xiuming make such a fuss.
The imperial physician who was invited was surnamed Huang. He came from a family of imperial physicians. From his great-grandfather to his father, they had all worked in the Imperial Hospital. Even the less favored princes in the palace might not be able to get him to treat them.
Physician Huang didn't want to come, but when Jiang Kai asked at the Imperial Medical Bureau who had the best medical skills, the other junior physicians all pointed to him, so he was forcibly brought here.
Physician Huang was carried by Jiang Kai all the way until he was put down outside Ji Chan's house.
Fortunately, he had been practicing the family's health-preserving exercises for many years. Although his cultivation level was not high, his physique was good, and he did not vomit.
With his feet firmly on the ground, Physician Huang rebuked Jiang Kai with a stern face, "This is truly an insult to scholarship."
“Our Commander is inside, Physician Huang, please.” Jiang Kai ignored his words and pushed open the door.
When everyone arrived at the door, Physician Huang reluctantly stepped inside.
Upon reaching the second floor and meeting the legendary adopted son of the Ming King, Physician Huang straightened his clothes and stepped forward to bow: "This humble official, Huang Yao, greets Lord Bai."
With a slight shift of his gaze, Physician Huang saw that the woman's hand on the bed was being held in Bai Xiuming's palm.
He only glanced at it and dared not look again. The reason he could remain a royal physician in the palace was because he was blind and deaf, so that he could live a long and healthy life.
Bai Xiuming didn't stand on ceremony with him and stood up to make room for Physician Huang. He then said, "She has had a persistent high fever. We consulted a doctor and got some medicine. Her temperature dropped slightly after taking the medicine, but it quickly rose again."
As the two let go of each other's hands, the chill in Achan's body gradually dissipated, and she became restless again.
Physician Huang was used to seeing patients like this, so he didn't take it seriously. He quickly took Achan's pulse and then asked someone to bring over the dregs of the medicine that had just been boiled.
Physician Huang examined the dregs of the medicine, compared them with Achan's pulse, and said to Bai Xiuming, "The doctor you invited is quite skilled, and there's nothing wrong with the medicine. It's probably because this young lady's constitution is too weak to absorb the medicine. How about this, I'll administer acupuncture to lower her fever first."
As he spoke, Physician Huang took out a set of silver needles from his bosom and, taking advantage of Ah Chan's whimpering, quickly stuck needles all over her hands, feet, neck, and head.
Ah Chan, who had been rolling around in bed, immediately became quiet. Even though she was so sick that she was not fully conscious, she still felt pain.
Every now and then, Physician Huang would remove a needle, and beads of blood would continuously roll down. After more than half an hour, all the needles were removed, and Achan's body temperature finally dropped, and she stopped being noisy.
During the acupuncture treatment, Physician Huang fed her two pills he had prepared. The medicine was so bitter it made one's scalp tingle. After Ah Chan took them, her unfocused pupils shrank.
"Alright, be careful not to let her catch a cold. She shouldn't have a fever tonight. We can give her another acupuncture treatment tomorrow morning," he said as he packed up his silver needles.
Then, as if remembering something, he looked up at Bai Xiuming and asked, "Lord Bai, did you just use your inner energy to suppress the heat in this young lady's body?"
"yes."
"This young lady's meridians are blocked, so this method is not suitable for frequent use."
"I understand."
Physician Huang glanced at Achan again and gestured for Bai Xiuming to go out with him.
Bai Xiuming walked out, and the two went down to the first floor. Huang Taiyi then spoke again: "This humble official does not know what the relationship is between this young lady and you, sir, but her health is extremely poor. If she has such a high fever a couple more times, it may shorten her lifespan."
It seems that no matter how long Ji Chan lives, it has nothing to do with him.
But he didn't explain; he only asked, "Can it be cured?"
Physician Huang shook his head: "I can't think of a treatment method for the time being. Her body is too weak, and many tonics cannot be used because she is too weak to tolerate them."
The best approach now is to take good care of her, avoiding overexertion and exposure to cold. She should maintain a cheerful mood, avoid staying up late, and pay close attention to her diet, drinking plenty of hot soup and avoiding cold foods.
After saying that, he added, "Oh, by the way, she might experience a lot of pain when she has her period, so she needs to be extra careful."
Physician Huang rattled off a bunch of taboos, which gave everyone a headache. Jiang Kai, who was standing at the door upstairs, started rolling his eyes. Such a difficult girl to raise; thankfully, she wasn't from their family.
Bai Xiuming listened quietly, his expression remaining unchanged.
After finishing his long speech, Physician Huang continued, "Even if she is well cared for, this young lady will probably only live for another twenty or thirty years."
"Do you know what caused her body to be so weak?" Bai Xiuming finally spoke.
Physician Huang shook his head, then hesitated and said, "Her body is unusually weak. It's not poisoning; rather, it seems like she's been cursed, as the legends say."
He had only heard of curses, but had never seen them in person. Such things could only be handled by cultivators; he couldn't cure them.
Bai Xiuming was slightly surprised, but still nodded: "Understood, thank you, Physician Huang."
"You're too kind, Lord Bai."
Acupuncture will be administered tomorrow morning, and there are no extra guest rooms at Achan's house for her to rest. Bai Xiuming ordered Feng Yang to take Physician Huang to an inn to stay.
After seeing Physician Huang off, he returned to the second floor, where Achan had already fallen asleep peacefully.
In fact, after developing a fever, Achan seemed to enter a semi-introspective state. The fox inside her was just as uncomfortable as she was, tossing and turning in pain.
The chains on the fox had been shaking and making a jarring sound until just now, when one of the chains wrapped around the fox's left foreleg suddenly broke.
Achan watched helplessly as the black chains transformed into incomprehensible symbols, exploding across the sky before vanishing into the void. The instant the chains broke, her body felt as if it had become lighter.
She stared blankly at everything happening in the inner world, and the shackles binding her body simply disappeared.
Achan then realized that her sudden fever might not just be due to illness, but was related to the missing chain.
But what exactly did she do to cause all of this?
Ah Chan tried hard to think of what could be considered special recently, which was helping Kobayashi and sending her into the cycle of reincarnation after she took her revenge.
From other people's perspectives, what Achan did was not a good thing. Could it be because of this?
She couldn't be sure, but it was at least good news for her.
Those shackles that had inexplicably appeared on her body didn't seem as difficult to remove as she had thought, so at least there was still hope.
Achan was very happy, but her body was so tired that she couldn't make any extra reactions.
After the chain shattered, the state of inner vision also disappeared, and Achan's consciousness gradually sank into a dream.
The next morning, when Doctor Huang came to give Achan acupuncture, she still hadn't woken up.
As evening approached, half the sky was bathed in the crimson glow of the sunset, and Ah Chan finally opened her eyes.
She slept for too long and was woken up by hunger.
The room was quiet. Ah Chan lay on the bed for a while, stretching and twisting, before finally deciding to get up and make something to eat, otherwise her body might not be able to hold on.
When she propped herself up on her arms and sat up in bed, she realized that there was someone sitting in her room.
Bai Xiuming remained seated by the window, calmly watching her. He also took in the sight of her twisting into a pretzel shape.
"What...what are you doing here?" Achan stared wide-eyed, pulling the blanket she had pushed aside in front of her as she looked at him warily.
You were sick last night.
Ah Chan vaguely remembered that during the most painful time yesterday, it seemed that someone was really by her side.
She had always thought it was a dream, because she felt that the person accompanying her was her father. It turned out it wasn't a dream, and the person accompanying her wasn't her father, but Bai Xiuming.
"Did you also call a doctor for me?" Achan asked tentatively, a lingering bitter taste in her mouth.
She seemed to recall a few more fragments; Bai Xiuming seemed to have given her medicine.
"Um."
Bai Xiuming did not mention last night, nor did he tell her about the imperial physician.
Achan had no idea that after last night, because the palace gates were opened in the middle of the night to summon the imperial physician, she would come into the sight of many people.
"Bai Xiuming, thank you." This was the first time Achan had called him by his name, and she thanked him very solemnly.
"No need. I had something to ask you. I just happened to run into you last night."
Achan immediately guessed why Bai Xiuming had come to see her. She had already made preparations, but she didn't expect to suddenly fall ill.
"My lord, the food has been delivered." Feng Yang's voice came from downstairs.
Bai Xiuming got up and walked out. When he reached the door, he said indifferently, "Get dressed and come down for dinner."
While Achan was tidying herself up upstairs, Feng Yang had already placed the food he had brought all the way from Mingjing Division and the hot porridge that the adults had specifically requested on the table.
This porridge was personally cooked by the head chef of the Mingjing Division. It was simmered for more than an hour until the rice grains popped open, and a layer of rice oil floated on top, smelling extremely fragrant.
"Did something happen at the yamen today?" Bai Xiuming glanced at Feng Yang from head to toe, noticing a small bloodstain on his left ear, and asked.
“A scout said he might have spotted a snow needle snake. My men gave chase, but it escaped again.”
They left a cut on his ear when they escaped.
As he spoke, he frowned: "Recently, the Snow Needle Serpent has been frequently appearing. I believe that someone behind the scenes is trying to mislead us."
Just then, footsteps sounded, and the two people sitting at the table turned their heads at the same time.
Achan walked slowly down the stairs. She did not tie her hair up, but instead braided it and let it hang down in front of her. Her light green jacket and skirt embroidered with orchids made her look even more pitiful and charming after recovering from her illness.
Feng Yang glanced at her briefly before quickly looking away, but Bai Xiuming kept staring at her.
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