Chapter 167 A Bowl of Herbal Soup
Meng Wan's words were like a stabilizing force, instantly silencing all the noise and chaos in the hospital corridor.
Lu Jingyan looked at his mother, whose eyes, which were bloodshot from grief and anger, finally regained a sliver of clarity.
He didn't waste another word on those so-called relatives, and immediately turned around to give orders to Gao Jianjun.
"Go, coordinate with the hospital to arrange a top-of-the-line isolation ward immediately, with all the best equipment. No one is allowed near me except my mother and me!"
"Yes!" Gao Jianjun accepted the order and strode away.
Lu Jingyan's decisive actions left the elders of the collateral branches looking at each other in dismay, daring not to utter another word. In the Lu family, as long as the main branch united as one, these collateral branches had no right to object.
Bai Shu wasted no time. She turned around, borrowed paper and pen from the nurses' station, and quickly wrote down a prescription. Her handwriting was elegant and powerful, possessing its own unique style.
She handed the prescription to Qin Zheng, who was already waiting nearby, and said in a very low voice, "Go to Tangdixuan, to the hidden compartment in my study, get the medicine according to the prescription, and deliver it as quickly as possible."
"Yes!" Qin Zheng took the prescription, nodded emphatically without even looking at it, and strode away.
That absolute trust and obedience made Meng Wan glance at him again.
Soon, a bright, clean, and fully equipped special care isolation ward was set up. Grandpa Lu was carefully moved inside.
Less than twenty minutes later, Qin Zheng returned, carrying a heavy medicine box, looking travel-worn and with fine beads of sweat on his forehead.
Bai Zhu took the medicine box, opened it, and a strange, indescribable medicinal fragrance instantly filled the air.
It wasn't the bitterness of ordinary Chinese medicine, but a refreshing and invigorating scent, as if the essence of herbs accumulated over thousands of years in deep mountains and forests. Just one whiff of it was enough to invigorate one's spirit.
Meng Wan stood aside, watching Bai Shu pick out medicinal herbs one by one from the medicine box. Some of the herbs resembled red coral, some were as white as jade, and others were pitch black with a faint glow; none of them were familiar to her.
In the small kitchen attached to the ward, Bai Shu didn't let anyone interfere.
Wash your hands.
Drug selection.
Put it in the pot.
Add water.
Her movements were fluid and effortless, without the slightest hesitation. Her focus and skill suggested she had performed this a thousand times. Meng Wan stood at the doorway, watching quietly.
She watched the girl named "Bai Zhu," watching how precisely she controlled the heat and how she managed the order of adding the medicine. She watched her delicate hands, which should have been used for playing the piano and painting traditional Chinese paintings, now controlling life and death amidst the swirling smoke.
This girl, unlike the one Jingyan described on the phone and the so-called "twin sister" in the documents, gave off a completely different feeling.
According to the information, Atractylodes macrocephala grew up in the countryside and was timid by nature.
But where was the slightest trace of timidity in her eyes? That composure and decisiveness was the demeanor of someone who had long held a position of power.
Meng Wan's gaze grew increasingly profound.
An hour later, a bowl of clear, fragrant medicinal soup was served.
Bai Zhu carried the medicine bowl into the ward.
“Aunt Meng, let me do it,” she said softly.
Meng Wan shook her head and took the bowl from her hands. "I'll do it."
Bai Zhu did not insist. She nodded, took a pillow, and carefully placed it behind Old Master Lu's head to help him maintain a more comfortable position for swallowing.
Meng Wan used a small spoon to scoop up a spoonful of warm medicine and carefully brought it to Old Master Lu's lips.
The medicine dripped slowly down his chapped lips.
The ward was quiet, with only the regular beeping of the monitoring equipment and the soft sound of a spoon hitting the rim of a bowl.
Lu Jingyan stood to the side, his tall frame taut like a string about to snap, his eyes fixed on the faint undulations on the electrocardiogram.
After feeding her a small bowl, Meng Wan's hand was steady, but her heart was in turmoil.
Just now, in order to adjust to a more comfortable position, Bai Shu reached out and held the rim of the bowl. Her sleeve inadvertently slipped up an inch.
It's that one inch of distance.
Meng Wan's pupils contracted sharply in an instant.
On the inside of Bai Zhu's fair and jade-like left wrist, near the wrist line, there is a very small, light-colored red mole.
Like a grain of cinnabar, dotted on the snow.
Meng Wan's body stiffened abruptly. The hand holding the bowl trembled almost imperceptibly. A drop of medicine splashed onto the back of her hand, but she was completely unaware.
This location...
Su Wantang also has the exact same red mole in this spot!
She discovered it by chance when she was a baby, holding Wan Tang, who was still a baby at the time. She even joked that it was a mark made by Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, so that she wouldn't lose such a beautiful baby girl.
Wan Tang shyly withdrew her hand.
She hadn't even told Lu Jingyan this little secret!
How could this be... how could it be such a coincidence?
Twins? Is it possible for twins in the world to have the exact same mole, even in such a hidden place?
Meng Wan forcibly suppressed the turmoil in her heart. She lowered her eyes to hide the shock in them and continued to feed the medicine calmly.
But her heart was already in turmoil.
She began to observe Bai Shu's every move, intentionally or unintentionally.
When she saw Lu Jingyan pacing back and forth unconsciously because of nervousness, Bai Shu frowned slightly, didn't turn her head, and just said lightly, "Don't sway, it's making me dizzy."
That tone, that expression, that familiar rudeness...
Meng Wan's heart skipped a beat again.
Back when Wan Tang and Jing Yan were together, Jing Yan liked to pace back and forth whenever he had something on his mind, and Wan Tang would always say that about him. Word for word!
Then, as the bowl of medicine was about to be finished, "Bai Zhu" looked at the various data on the monitor that were slowly recovering, seemingly thinking about something. Her fair index finger unconsciously began to tap rhythmically on the bedside table.
"Tap...tap...tap..."
Meng Wan's breathing almost stopped!
This little gesture! This habitual tapping of the table when thinking! It's unique to Su Wantang!
If a coincidence is just a coincidence...
So, can two, three, or countless overlaps in details still be called coincidences?
Meng Wan felt an absurd idea, so ridiculous that even she found it unbelievable, growing and spreading wildly in her mind!
Finally, the entire bowl of medicine was finished.
And then, a miracle happened.
On the hospital bed, Old Master Lu's ashen face visibly regained a faint rosy hue. His previously faint, almost imperceptible breathing became much more steady and powerful.
On the monitor, the electrocardiogram, which was almost stretched into a straight line, was now beating happily at a stable and healthy frequency.
All vital signs are returning to normal at an incredible speed!
"This...this is impossible!" Director Wang, who was standing outside and saw everything through the glass window, was so shocked that he almost popped his eyes out.
This is nothing short of a medical miracle! No! It's witchcraft!
Lu Jingyan's heart, which had been in his throat, finally settled back into his stomach. He rushed forward and grabbed Su Wantang's hand tightly, his voice filled with the ecstatic joy of regaining what he had lost.
"Wantang..."
He blurted it out, then suddenly stopped, but it was too late.
Su Wantang patted his hand reassuringly, the familiar touch, with a touch of force, made Meng Wan's body tremble slightly again.
After doing all this, Meng Wan stood up and put the empty bowl aside. She didn't look at her father in the hospital bed, nor at her overjoyed son.
She simply turned around and looked deeply into the eyes of the girl before her.
Then, she pulled Lu Jingyan to a corner, away from everyone's sight.
Her eyes were filled with a complex mix of emotions: shock, inquiry, disbelief, and even a hint of anticipation that she herself was unaware of.
She stared into her son's eyes, her voice low but carrying an undeniable penetrating power.
"Jingyan, tell your mother, who...is she?"
Looking into his mother's eyes, which seemed to see through everything, Lu Jingyan knew that he could no longer hide it from her.
Or rather, from the moment he decided to let Wan Tang return to Beijing under the identity of "Bai Shu," he knew that he could not hide it from his mother.
He took a deep breath, a breath filled with relief.
He no longer concealed anything, and solemnly and clearly looked into his mother's eyes and said, "Mom, she is not Bai Shu's twin sister."
Meng Wan's pupils suddenly contracted, and she held her breath.
Under his mother's shocked gaze, he continued:
"She is Wan Tang."
"Su Wantang is not dead."
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