He hadn't been to the academy since Zhou Jing'an fell ill. He was very happy that Tao Fuyuan was willing to stay and tell him about what had happened at the academy during this time.
That evening, just as the two were engrossed in their conversation, they heard the sound of a carriage in the distance, followed by a knocking sound at the door.
He asked urgently, "Is Madam Ning here?! Madam Ning!"
Upon hearing the sound, Ning Huan hurriedly went out and opened the door, only to find that the person who came in was actually a shop assistant from Renjitang. Ning Huan remembered him because he often followed Si Yan around.
She frowned and asked, "It's so late, is something urgent?"
The shop assistant nodded: "Madam Ning, a patient has come to the clinic. The manager had no choice but to ask me to invite you over. I'm so sorry to come to you so late, but this is a matter of life and death, so I hope you won't take offense."
The noise was also heard in Zhou Jing'an's room. Tao Fuyuan came out and saw a servant leading a carriage and talking to Ning Huan. He quickly stepped forward and asked, "Has something happened?"
Ning Huan shook her head and said, "There is a patient at Renjitang in town whose condition is very critical. The manager there, Doctor Si, asked me to go and help."
Without time to explain further, Ning Huan hurriedly went back inside to tidy up and was about to leave. The four little ones, who had been awakened by the noise in the yard, looked at Ning Huan sleepily, unaware of what had happened.
"Mother, what happened?"
"Mother, where are you going now?"
Ning Huan hastily explained to them that she was going to the town's clinic to treat a patient, and then went to Zhou Jing'an's house to give him some instructions.
Zhou Jing'an asked in surprise, "Isn't Doctor Si's medical skills particularly outstanding? Why do we need you to go and help?"
In the afternoon, the military doctor kept praising his excellent surgical skills in treating his leg injury. But that evening, this same doctor came to ask Ning Huan to treat a patient.
Seeing Zhou Jing'an's puzzled look, Ning Huan explained, "Even the most skilled doctor has illnesses he can't cure. Nobody's perfect. Besides, with me here, it'll be easier for Doctor Si to discuss treatment strategies with someone."
Zhou Jing'an nodded, but still felt that something was off.
Ning Huan turned to follow the man into the carriage, but Tao Fuyuan called out from behind, "Sister-in-law, wait a minute!"
She looked at Tao Fuyuan with a puzzled expression, only to hear him say, "Jing'an was worried that it would be inconvenient for you to go to town alone so late, so he asked me to go with you so that I could look after you."
Ning Huan raised an eyebrow, wondering what Zhou Jing'an was up to. Originally, she wanted to ask Tao Fuyuan to go back, but time was of the essence, and every minute wasted was critical for the injured, so she had no choice but to nod in agreement.
After Ning Huan got into the carriage and left, she realized that she wasn't the only one who had been woken up. Almost half the village had heard the carriage and hurriedly got up to see what had happened.
Someone recognized Ning Huan in the carriage and wondered what had happened. Upon hearing this, the village chief rushed to Zhou Jing'an's house.
"Jing'an, I heard your wife was picked up by a carriage. What happened?"
A few villagers followed the village chief and whispered among themselves, "Why is there such a commotion in the middle of the night?"
"Could it be that he offended someone?"
"I don't think so. Why would they send a carriage to pick someone up after offending them?"
Before Zhou Jing'an could speak, the four little children beside him said, "My mother was taken away by the town's clinic. They said they wanted to ask her to treat patients."
"That's right, my mother is amazing! That man came to pick her up in a carriage!"
The little ones couldn't have been more proud and elated.
Zhou Jing'an nodded: "That's right. Renjitang just sent a clerk to pick up my wife. He said there's a patient in critical condition, and Doctor Si wants my wife to come and see what's going on."
The village chief was very surprised: "Doctor Si from Renjitang is so skilled in medicine, yet he still invited Jing'an's wife over. Could it be that Jing'an's wife is even more skilled in medicine than him?"
A villager chimed in, "So, Jing'an's wife is really that amazing?"
"I heard that last time, when the daughter-in-law of the Mao family was about to die, it was Jing'an's wife who saved her."
"I thought it was just a rumor, I never expected it to be true?"
Seeing that the villagers were getting more and more serious, Zhou Jing'an quickly explained, "That's not how it is. Even if Doctor Si's medical skills are very good, there are areas where he is not good at. Besides, my wife can also help give some advice when she goes over."
After speaking, Zhou Jing'an realized that what he said was the same as what Ning Huan had just explained to him.
Everyone agreed that there was some truth to this, and they all nodded in agreement. However, they still felt that Ning Huan's medical skills were truly remarkable.
The village chief asked with some concern, "But Jing'an, it's so late. Isn't it inconvenient for your wife to go to town alone? How about I find two villagers to go to Renjitang to keep her company?"
Zhou Jing'an thanked the village chief: "Thank you for your kindness, village chief. When my wife left just now, I asked my classmate to accompany her, so there's no need to trouble the villagers to go."
"It's so late, it's really not good to wake everyone up and trouble the villagers to come over."
Zhou Jing'an was right. Since someone was already with Ning Huan, the village chief didn't insist any further. After exchanging a few more words with Zhou Jing'an, he turned and left with the villagers.
Looking out the window, Zhou Jing'an recalled that when he had asked Tao Fuyuan to accompany Ning Huan to town, a sense of anxiety had flashed through his mind. Why wasn't he the one accompanying Ning Huan?
He looked at his legs and silently prayed, "Just a little longer, just a little longer and it will be fine."
On the carriage, Ning Huan saw that Tao Fuyuan looked a little tired and said somewhat apologetically, "Actually, you didn't need to come with me. You should have just stayed home and rested."
Tao Fuyuan shook his head: "Brother Jing'an was worried about you, so he asked me to come out with you, sister-in-law. Of course I agreed."
Ning Huan smiled awkwardly, but she knew in her heart that Zhou Jing'an was not worried about her. She wondered what had gotten into Tao Fuyuan tonight that made him come out with her.
The carriage arrived quickly, but Ning Huan only realized after getting off that this was not Renjitang, but Zuiyanlou.
She frowned and asked the waiter, "What does this mean? Aren't we going to Renjitang?"
The waiter gestured for them to enter, and as he led Ning Huan and her companion inside, he said, "This patient's condition is somewhat special, so the shopkeeper is treating him here. It was my fault for not explaining this clearly to Ning Huan."
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