Chapter 47 Well done. "I never expected to see you here..."
"Please come this way, everyone. Please stay here for the next few days. This area is not safe, so please do not go out alone." As soon as they arrived, someone led them to this separate courtyard.
After dinner, Xiao Heng instructed, "Xingzhi and I will be going out on business tomorrow and will not be back until the day after tomorrow. You stay here and don't go out. Lu Yong and Lu Xiao will stay here and keep watch."
"Okay," Gu Xi replied.
It seems that Xiao Heng's purpose in having Bai Xingzhi accompany him was precisely this.
"After we return, I will go with you to find your senior brother."
"Aheng, I want to write a letter to my senior brother first, to tell him I'm here." Actually, he wanted to ask his senior brother if there was anything he could do to help.
"Okay, I'll find a messenger outside the door to deliver it to you later."
Xiao Heng and Bai Xingzhi left early the next morning, and when Gu Xi woke up, he was no longer there.
After breakfast, Gu Xi received a letter from her senior brother, Shen Yichen.
Her senior brother told her that he had been there for half a month, but the number of refugees was too large, the medicinal herbs were exhausted, and the number of patients was only increasing. Every day, people were dying because they could not be treated in time...
Gu Xi felt a heaviness in her heart upon seeing this. Suddenly, she recalled the crying child and the anxious expression of the woman from yesterday, which made her even more distressed.
She stood up from her chair and made a decision immediately.
*
"Young Madam, you really can't go out. If the Master finds out, he will definitely blame you," Lu Xiao said, trying to stop her.
"I'm going to save people!" she said firmly. "You're coming with me. Don't worry, if he blames you, I'll stop him. If he insists on punishing you, I'll fight him to the death!"
“This…” Lu Xiao hesitated.
"I promise I'll come back with you immediately if there's any danger!"
While they hesitated, Gu Xi had already led Zhu Yin and Cai Lian onto the carriage, which also carried the medicinal herbs they had bought along the way, which would come in handy now.
Just as the coachman was about to raise his whip, Lu Yong and Lu Xiao quickly got into the carriage and drove off with the coachman.
Having finally arrived at the thatched hut, Gu Xi hurriedly got off the carriage, and the sight that greeted her made her heart tremble.
The cries of reluctance, heartache, and despair were incessant.
A young, strong man was holding a woman with a pale, ashen face, and choked out that he had money to buy medicine.
Gu Xi recognized him; he was the man who had been waiting in front of the tavern yesterday.
And those women she saw yesterday, who were already bent over in pain, yet still didn't forget to beg for medicine for the baby in their arms.
The suffering before her was even more piercing than what her senior brother had described in his letter; her throat tightened, and her fingertips clenched until they turned white.
It was clearly the king of Qi who was warlike, yet it was the people of these small countries who suffered.
Having spent so long in the palace, she almost forgot the ambition she had once set. Having learned so many skills in Medicine King Valley, she should save more people, just as her master saved her and as her senior brother taught her.
A long queue had formed in front of the makeshift medicine shop in the distance. Gu Xi spotted Shen Yichen taking a patient's pulse at the table.
She strode towards him and called out, "Senior Brother!"
Shen Yichen looked up and stared at Gu Xi in surprise: "Junior Sister, you're here?! Quick!" He immediately added a table next to him and divided the queue into two lines.
Gu Xi sat down nimbly and began examining patients and writing prescriptions. During this time, Shen Yichen told her that most of these people had contracted dysentery, which had now spread, and that the medicinal herbs she had brought would be just what was needed to alleviate their immediate suffering.
As instructed, Zhu Yin and Cai Lian first brewed a large pot of medicine to treat dysentery, while Lu Xiao and Lu Yong moved the seriously ill patients to a suitable place and fed them the medicine.
With their help, after most of the day, the chaotic scene gradually came under control, and the patients who had drunk the herbal medicine were no longer so anxious and were waiting patiently.
Gu Xi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Worried that Gu Xi might be tired, Shen Yichen said to her, "Junior sister, let me take you to get something to eat first, and I'll also take you to meet someone. He's also from the capital; perhaps you two know each other."
Gu Xi then realized that she had forgotten to eat lunch and was starving. After comforting the patients who were still in line, she went with Shen Yichen.
Shen Yichen led her to another thatched hut nearby, where there were mostly women, children, and infants. She saw a man in white bending down and using a handkerchief to clean the filth from a child's mouth.
Shen Yichen led the way: "Junior sister, this way!"
Upon hearing the sound, the man in white subconsciously looked up, then froze in place, staring intently at Gu Xi, unaware that the handkerchief in his hand had fallen to the ground.
Gu Xi finally saw the man's face clearly and exclaimed, "Imperial Physician Mu!" She never expected to see Mu Yunqi here again.
Mu Yunqi snapped out of his daze at the shout. He smiled and walked toward her, but... his steps faltered.
Gu Xi couldn't help but cover her mouth, her gaze fixed on his slightly limping left leg. Was this injury sustained while he was in prison?
She wanted to reach out to help him, but she forced herself to hold back. Overwhelmed by guilt, she quickly looked away, unable to bear to look any longer.
Mu Yunqi approached her, clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, and called out, "Miss Gu... Miss Gu," he exclaimed, "I never expected to see you here."
“I guessed right, you do know each other!” Shen Yichen said with a hint of pride.
Gu Xi couldn't help but ask, "Physician Mu, your leg..."
“Miss Gu, I am no longer a physician. I am older than you. If you don’t mind, please call me Brother Mu. I broke my leg a few days ago while picking herbs on the mountain. Brother Shen has already examined it for me. It will recover in a while.”
"Really?" Gu Xi looked at Shen Yichen with hopeful eyes.
Shen Yichen looked at Mu Yunqi suspiciously. When did he say that? His leg was clearly incurable!
But when he saw Mu Yunqi's pleading eyes, he coughed lightly and said, "Really? Don't you trust your senior brother's medical skills?"
Gu Xi breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. He knew that Mu Yunqi probably said he broke his own leg so that she wouldn't feel guilty. Fortunately, his senior brother could heal him, which made her feel better.
When Mu Yunqi saw that her brows and eyes had finally relaxed, the bitterness in his heart suddenly eased, and even the hidden pain in his legs seemed to have lessened.
He knew she loved that man; he had seen her lose her appetite because of him. He didn't want her to develop a rift with that man because of her guilt towards him.
The three of them sat down and chatted about their recent lives while eating.
It turned out that Mu Yunqi had arrived here only a few days earlier than her, while Shen Yichen had arrived earlier than them.
"Senior brother, how is Master now? Has he asked about me?" She hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye to Master before entering the palace, and she wondered if he would blame her.
"It's the same as always; he knows you've entered the palace. I've been away for a long time, and it's been quite a while since I've seen him."
After a brief chat, the three of them went back to their respective clinics.
Gu Xi and the others did not return to the villa that day. They only slept for a while in the carriage at night, and continued to work after getting up.
Fortunately, the patients who took the medication experienced relief, which made Gu Xi feel much more at ease.
Meanwhile, Xiao Heng and Bai Xingzhi searched for two days and finally arrived at the location of the bandit leader on the morning of the second day.
This bandit leader was originally one of the generals of those small countries. After being expelled from the country, he established his own power base and stationed himself in this area.
This was also the purpose of their trip: to hope that these bandit leaders would submit to the imperial court and be used by him. Bai Xingzhi had a certain reputation among the people and could persuade them to submit.
"Brother, my surname is Bai. I met your leader Sun many years ago. I have come to pay my respects today. Please announce my arrival," Bai Xingzhi said to the bandit guarding the gate.
The bandits exchanged glances, turned and entered the camp. A moment later, a man with a full beard came out, a curved knife at his waist.
"Who wants to see Brother Bai?!" Leader Sun looked at the newcomer with surprise, then burst into loud laughter, "I never expected it to be you who wants to see me!"
Sun, the leader, welcomed the man into the camp, and Bai Xingzhi explained his purpose to him.
“Back in Qingzhou, if it weren’t for your advice, Brother Bai, I wouldn’t have become the commander. I’ve heard about your character. Although I don’t trust that dog emperor,” he glanced at Xiao Heng unintentionally, noticing his deep eyes narrowing slightly, as if there were cold pools in them, “if you, Brother Bai, can vouch for my brothers and lead them on the right path, I would be more than willing.”
"only......"
Bai Xingzhi put down his teacup and asked, "But what?"
"But my brothers have recently fallen ill with some kind of disease, and they're suffering from vomiting and diarrhea to the point of being in excruciating pain. Now that they've heard there are doctors in the city providing medicine, they've all rushed there."
"We should wait until this illness is cured before discussing the matter of surrendering," Chief Sun continued.
Xiao Heng and Bai Xingzhi fell silent upon hearing this, seemingly pondering whether Chief Sun's words were a feigned refusal or a genuine statement.
Upon seeing this, Chief Sun slammed his hand on the table and stood up: "You don't believe me? I'll take you to see for yourself!" With that, he walked out of the camp.
Xiao Heng and Bai Xingzhi then followed.
Sun, the leader, led his men across the earthen slopes and valleys, and after half a day's trek, they arrived at a few simple thatched huts.
"This is it!" Chief Sun said, taking a big gulp of water.
Xiao Heng frowned. Wasn't this the place where she had insisted on getting off the car yesterday?
He was about to step forward when he suddenly paused in his breathing. He saw Gu Xiwei standing under the thatched shed, carefully wiping the corner of a child's mouth. She must have just given him medicine, as her plain dress was stained with medicine and dirt.
Seemingly sensing that someone was watching her, Gu Xi turned her head and looked over. When she saw who it was, her eyes lit up, and she waved happily, calling out to him, "Aheng!"
Xiao Heng strode towards her.
Bai Xingzhi also saw her and stopped in his tracks.
Gu Xi put down what she was holding and ran towards Xiao Heng. Just as she was about to pounce on him, she stopped, remembering that there were many people around, and asked, "Aheng, what brings you here?"
Xiao Heng gently pulled her into his arms, frowning as he asked, "What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to stay in the villa and not come out?"
Gu Xi sniffed his scent and replied, "I was just sitting idly in the villa with nothing to do, and I was thinking about these patients, so I came to check on them."
She missed him after not seeing him for a day.
Gu Xi felt a little embarrassed and struggled to get out of his arms, asking nervously, "We're running out of medicinal herbs here, so I brought some from where we're from. Will you blame me?"
Xiao Heng stroked her face, wiping away the dirt, and said, "You did a good job."
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Author's note: I've been writing every minute after get off work, thankfully it's the weekend! [laughing and crying emoji]
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