Chapter 589 Green Tea Meets Straight Man
Fu Jinrou wore a long green dress with a darker embroidered bodice. The collar and lapels were decorated with light green flowers, making her look elegant and refined.
When she saw Fu Laiqing, she smiled softly and her eyes fell on Xiao Yan and Cao Dejiang.
Fu Jinrou bowed and said, "Greetings, Uncle, and Duke Dingguo."
Xiao Yan simply nodded as a greeting, but Cao Dejiang smiled slightly when he saw the little girl his sister loved so much: "Are you going out?"
Fu Jinrou said softly, "Today is the full moon of the young master of the third branch of the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion. They invited my great aunt to come over, but she was called into the palace by the Empress Dowager when she woke up early. So, my aunt, my cousin Qiaoqing, and I had to go to the Marquis' Mansion to offer our congratulations."
Fu Laiqing poked his head in nonchalantly: "You went with your mother and Qiaoqing, so where are they? Why are you the only one back?"
Fu Jinrou's smile faltered, and she lowered her eyelids slightly while pinching the handkerchief. When she raised her eyes again, her voice was lowered: "My cousin is familiar with the ladies of the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion, and my aunt has something to say to those ladies, so it's not convenient for others to hear. I feel a little unwell, so I came back first."
When Cao Dejiang heard this, the smile on his face faded a little. Just as he was about to say something, Fu Laiqing next to him frowned.
Fu Laiqing said directly: "Why are you feeling unwell again? Maybe you caught a cold. Have you seen a doctor?"
Fu Jinrou: "...Not yet, it's nothing serious." She stirred her handkerchief: "I saw Qiaoqing coughing this morning, so I wanted to stay and wait for her, but I'm not familiar with the ladies in the Marquis' Mansion, so I don't understand what they say..."
"You just arrived in the capital, so naturally you're not familiar with them. Qiaoqing is close friends with the other girls in the Cheng'en Marquis's mansion. Whenever they get together, they're always talking about rouge and powder or hairpins and ornaments, chattering away so that no one can get a word in."
Fu Laiqing was merciless when he complained about his cousin, but anyone could hear the intimacy in his words.
"Ever since she was little, she's been as healthy as a calf, never sick. I remember when she was little, she'd occasionally cough, drink some hot soup, and soon she'd be back to being full of life. No other girl in the Xu family could compare to her in health."
"As for you, your great-uncle and his family didn't mention you were unwell in their previous letters, yet you've been sick several times since arriving in Beijing. Every time, you've been taking medicine all the time. How can you compare to Qiaoqing? If you're not feeling well, don't stand here in front of the door. Go back and rest. I'll send for a doctor right away."
Before Fu Jinrou could speak, Fu Laiqing turned to the maid beside Fu Jinrou and said:
"Ying'er, why don't you help the girl into the mansion?"
Fu Jinrou: “…”
Xiao Yan originally had a cold face, but when he saw the young lady of the Fu family who appeared out of nowhere clutching the handkerchief tightly, and her smile almost broke even though she tried hard to hold it together, he looked at Fu Laiqing with a puzzled look.
A soft laugh escaped from his throat, and Xiao Yan turned his head: "Take my card and go get the imperial physician. Long-term illness can easily lead to premature death, so don't let the disease develop into a chronic disease."
Fu Laiqing was immediately delighted when he heard this: "Can we really invite an imperial physician?"
"Really? Have someone from your house take the sign and go find Doctor Sun. He'll come over."
Xiao Yan asked Tian Qing, who was driving, to remove the sign of Jiyun Lane and give it to Fu Laiqing.
Fu Laiqing smiled brightly upon hearing this. The Fu family's status allowed them to hire an imperial physician, but that was Old Madam Fu. Moreover, under normal circumstances, a family like theirs would not easily hire an imperial physician, for fear of owing a favor and being gossiped about.
The Imperial Medical Bureau was originally the royal medical bureau, and the imperial physicians there were all waiting on behalf of the palace. Not everyone was worthy of having an imperial physician "help out". For someone like Fu Jinrou, she would have no right to have anyone from the Imperial Medical Bureau come unless it was a matter of life and death, let alone the Imperial Physician Sun who was the deputy judge.
Doctor Sun is good at internal medicine, so it would be best if he could treat Fu Jinrou.
Fu Laiqing quickly took the sign and expressed his gratitude: "That's great, thank you, Brother Xiao. Jinrou is very weak and gets sick every now and then. My grandmother always worries. It would be great if we could ask Doctor Sun to treat her."
As he spoke, he waved to the people at the door:
"You, it's you. Come here quickly, take the sign of Duke Dingguo's Mansion and go to the Imperial Medical Bureau immediately, and ask Imperial Doctor Sun to come and examine this girl."
The servant respectfully took the sign and turned to leave.
Fu Laiqing: "Jinrou, that's great. Go back and rest. The doctor will be here soon."
Fu Jinrou: “…”
His fingers were almost pinched and he almost called Fu Laiqing an idiot!
He is obviously the son of an official, from a noble family, and he spends every day in the muddy water of the capital. He was also raised by the Cao family. Logically, he should be meticulous and quick-witted, and he should understand the ways of the world best and see through the "metaphors" she said and what she wanted to express.
But why is Fu Laiqing so clueless? Who wants to call a doctor?!
Unfortunately, Fu Laiqing didn't give her a chance to speak at all. He urged Ying'er to help Fu Jinrou go in quickly. When he saw Fu Jinrou's eyes were red when she left, he led Xiao Yan and Cao Dejiang towards the mansion and said:
"Jinrou is really too weak. She was fine yesterday, but she's sick again today. Looking at her, I'm afraid she's in great pain. Her eyes are red. I wonder how worried grandma will be when she hears this."
"But the clan is really something. They clearly have plenty of money, so why can't they take care of a girl? I don't know how they raised Jinrou in the past. How could she become so sickly at such a young age? She doesn't look sickly to me, so how could she be in such poor health?"
She gets sick every now and then. Even the most pampered girl in the capital wouldn't be like this. Could it be that this was the reason why Fu Jinrou's marriage in Lingnan went wrong?
“…”
Cao Dejiang walked aside, listening to Fu Laiqing mumbling. He tried to hold it back, but in the end he couldn't help it and slapped him on the back of the head.
Fu Laiqing stumbled and almost bumped into the door frame, and he almost bit his tongue while muttering. After he stood firm by the door, he covered his head and grimaced in pain.
"Uncle, why did you hit me?"
"Beat your brain full of tofu dregs."
“???”
Fu Laiqing's face was full of confusion, as if asking "What did I do again?" He had no idea why his uncle beat him for no reason.
Xiao Yan, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but laugh out loud when he saw him looking so stupid.
Cao Dejiang glared at him angrily.
How come Xiao Yan, this cunning guy, is not his grandson? Fu Laiqing is an idiot!
After Mrs. Fu went to the palace to see the Queen Mother in the morning, she has been depressed since she came back.
When she heard from the servants that Cao Dejiang and Xiao Yan had arrived, she asked someone to invite them in. She saw that her eldest brother had a gloomy face, and Fu Laiqing, who was following behind them, was dejected.
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