Chapter 39
Ning Shiyu jumped up from the armchair and eagerly snatched the purse from Zhu Qing's hand.
Upon seeing the embroidered pear blossom purse that Fu'er often wore, her previously dim eyes suddenly brightened as if starlight had fallen, and her slightly furrowed brows relaxed.
This wasn't the first time Fu'er had written to him.
Several years ago, Ning Shiyu spent months planning and running around for her uncle's return to the Northwest. Every time Granny Yu brought Ning Shiyu something...
Fu'er would secretly slip him a letter.
Repeating those same questions, 'Young master, where have you gone?'
'Young master, why haven't you returned yet?'
"Please take good care of yourself, young master. Last night I dreamt that you brought me lots of food."
Such as these.
Each time Ning Shiyu received those few words, it would greatly relax his tense and tired nerves.
Just like now, after many days of running around and being busy, I finally find solace.
After waving the three men away, he opened the letter and began to read it carefully.
Seeing the familiar handwriting, Fu'er's face immediately came to mind.
This time, the text was still short, and it said that she was in much better health and had started making incense.
Seeing this, Ning Shiyu's heart, which had been filled with worry for many days, finally settled down.
In the letter, Fu'er also mentioned having a dream about the aborted child.
Although it wasn't explicitly stated, Ning Shiyu knew that Fu'er still resented him.
Thinking of their child who was not meant to be together, Ning Shiyu felt a pang of pain in her heart.
The following content mentions the shop that Ning Shiyu found for her, but she herself did not want to move there, so she shouldn't blame the nanny and the others.
Her words revealed her estrangement from him.
Ning Shiyu felt both guilty and helpless.
I don't know how to heal the rift between us and go back to how things were before.
The fingertips gripping the edge of the letter turned white involuntarily.
Some dared not look down.
But the thought that even though she was angry with him, she still wrote him a letter gave him a secret thrill.
She told me to take care of myself and also gave me a prescription.
I know she has a very good memory; she can usually remember anything she's seen if she wants to.
I guessed that Fu'er was worried that he had fallen ill in Lingnan.
Then Ning Shiyu reached into his purse and pulled out a peace charm and a sachet.
His eyes were bright, and the excitement welling up in them slowly softened.
All her unspoken worries were hidden in these details.
Ning Shiyu felt a lump in her throat, and her eyes welled up with tears of joy.
With a slight smile, she immediately put the amulet into a sachet and hung it on her waist, as if it were a precious treasure.
Then bring it close to your nose and greedily inhale the scent.
Feeling the lingering scent of Fu'er.
After so much time, the smell is long gone.
But Ning Shiyu was unwilling to let go, and lingered on the memory for a long time.
It seemed that only in this way could he alleviate his longing and concern for Fu'er.
After a long while, he finally hung the purse back on his waist.
He then instructed Mu Li, who was outside the military tent, "Go and summon Doctor Qu."
"Yes, I'll go right away."
Doctor Qu and another doctor, Doctor You, were the doctors from Lingnan that Ning Shiyu brought with him.
Dr. Qu previously worked at the Imperial Medical Academy for several years and was highly skilled in medicine.
Although Dr. You is a folk doctor, he is skilled at diagnosing and treating difficult and complicated diseases.
It is probably only Ning Shiyu who has the ability to meet their conditions and invite both of them to Lingnan at the same time.
Because the two had stayed in the Southern Territory, they were quite familiar with the medical conditions there.
After arriving at the southern border post, he took a good look at many of the soldiers.
Ning Shiyu's decision to bring two people with him was truly a wise one.
Doctor Qu was brought to the military tent and listened to Ning Shiyu read out the prescription written in Fu'er's letter.
After a moment's thought, he asked with delight, "How does Young Master know the prescription for treating malaria? This is a prescription from the Imperial Hospital in the past."
"I've heard before that if a prescription isn't complete, one shouldn't prescribe medicine haphazardly."
"That's good, young master has finally found them all."
Ning Shiyu couldn't believe it and asked again, "Are you sure it's a prescription from the Imperial Hospital?"
Dr. Qu smiled and said, "I am quite certain that this is a prescription written by Dr. Zhang in previous years for treating malaria."
"After he passed away, the prescription was lost."
"I never expected that you, young master, would find me. This is wonderful."
"I went to the city with Dr. Qu a few days ago. The plum rains have been going on for a while, and many clinics are seeing malaria patients."
"No matter how experienced the doctors here are, they still need to take several doses of herbal medicine. People with severe illnesses simply cannot survive that long."
"The doctors prescribed roughly the same medicine, and the quinine in the prescriptions was expensive, so ordinary people couldn't afford it."
"Now that we have this prescription, we can lower the price to the usual level."
Ning Shiyu's expression changed, and he asked curiously, "How is the prescription from Physician Zhang different from the one prescribed by the doctor from the Southern Border?"
After Dr. Qu finished copying, he explained, "Prefect Zhang used inexpensive Artemisia annua and Dichroa febrifuga."
"If these two herbs are used alone, the efficacy is unstable and they are prone to causing adverse reactions such as vomiting."
"This prescription from Dr. Zhang can address both issues, and it will be effective after just one or two doses."
Ning Shiyu was also extremely excited, and suddenly remembered that he had fallen seriously ill not long after arriving in Lingyang.
His maternal uncle then sent Zhang Yuanpan to examine his illness.
I just don't know how Fu'er knew about this prescription.
A sense of pride welled up within me.
His daughter was naturally intelligent, especially with a good memory; few could match her in memorizing texts.
"In that case, Doctor Qu, you should try it immediately. If it works, then spread the prescription."
"This is good news for the people of the Southern Territory."
"Yes, I will go and test the medicine right away."
Although this Judge Zhang had passed away many years ago, Ning Shiyu still had some impression of him.
Born into a noble family in Chang'an, he possessed the skills to help the world, but he placed great importance on hierarchy and etiquette.
Let alone ordinary people, even concubines of low social standing in the palace couldn't persuade him to come.
He was extremely arrogant and had a bad temper; he was unwilling to take on any disciples.
Now that he is no longer alive, we can use his prescriptions to do good deeds for the people.
This is all thanks to his silly, lucky girl; he'll definitely reward her handsomely when they get back.
Chang'an Ningfu.
That evening, after returning from the municipal government office, the second maternal grandfather of the Ning family hurriedly summoned his mother and his third brother.
The Ning family had previously benefited from the care of Ning Shiyu's father, and both brothers had secured jobs in the Chang'an government.
Ning Er served as the City Assistant in the City Office, responsible for the comings and goings of merchants in the market and the collection of market taxes.
The official position may not be high, but one can still make a lot of money off the system.
This is much better than Ning San's situation at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
Back when General Ning and his wife were still alive, these two brothers often took advantage of their elder brother and sister-in-law's reputation to gain many benefits.
However, the two brothers showed no regard for their elder brother and sister-in-law's relationship, disregarded the persecution of their elder brother by the Cui family, and turned to the Empress for help.
Since the passing of General Ning and his wife, the Ning family, which had been disgraced and now enjoying a period of prosperity, has lost all respect for the two Ning brothers.
Things became increasingly difficult in Chang'an.
Among the younger generation who wanted to turn their lives around through officialdom, there wasn't a single one; they were all mediocre talents who were neither good enough for high positions nor good enough for low ones.
To save face, Old Madam Ning had to use all her savings to send her two good-for-nothing grandsons to study at the academy.
These years have become increasingly difficult.
That's why Old Madam Ning repeatedly tried to take over Ning Shiyu's family property.
After gulping down a cup of tea, Ning Er finally spoke, "Mother, I heard some news about my elder brother at the market today."
"This news will also allow us to obtain a considerable amount of money from Yu'er."
Ning San's eyes lit up. "Really?"
Ning Er's eyes were filled with certainty as he laughed loudly, "It's true."
The mother and her two children tried many methods, but failed to get even a single copper coin from Ning Shiyu.
When she suddenly heard about another good idea, Old Mrs. Ning was somewhat skeptical.
"Making a fuss, listening to impossible news again, just to give people false hope."
Ning Er smiled and said, "Mother, don't worry, this news is definitely not unfounded."
"Did you all know that your sister-in-law also gave birth to a nephew?"
Upon hearing this, Ning San immediately lost interest. "So this is what you mean. I thought it would be some good news."
"It's no secret. The child is gone. Why are you bringing this up?"
"Third brother, look at your impatient nature. If you were really gone, I wouldn't have mentioned it."
"Today I met a drunkard in the market. He is the same person who came to Lingyang with my elder brother to search for him all those years ago."
He said that our nephew was not dead, but the maidservant who was with our sister-in-law was dead.
“Our nephew is still alive.”
Both Grandma Ning and Ning San looked on in disbelief.
The three of them, Ning and his companions, were the first to react, thinking, "How can you take the words of a drunkard seriously?"
"Everything he said is correct, so it must be true."
Old Madam Ning knew Ning Shiyu's shrewdness. Even though her two uncles were both in their forties or fifties, they couldn't match half of Ning Shiyu's cunning.
He immediately disagreed, saying, "Your older brother sent people to look for it back then, but he couldn't find it. Where do you think you can find it?"
"Even if you try to deceive Yu'er with fakes, in the end, you'll all be wasting your time."
Ning Er said firmly, "Mother, this time we won't look for fakes, we'll look for real ones."
"As long as we can find the real nephew, Yu'er, that miser, will obediently give up half of the family property, and then we'll have it too."
At this point, Ning San also began to have second thoughts, saying, "Yu'er has been searching for this all these years, and he hasn't found it either. How can we possibly find it?"
Ning Er smiled mysteriously, "Third brother, don't worry, I'm confident this time."
Seeing that Ning's mother and Ning San did not believe him, Ning Er then told them what had happened after his elder brother and sister-in-law got into trouble, which he had heard from the drunkard.
General Ning had official business to attend to at the time and could not stay long.
He then left a few people from his own residence to continue the search.
Just as the group had found some clues, the Princess and General Ning passed away.
When the group heard that their master had offended Prime Minister Cui, they, based on hearsay and wild speculation, assumed that the princess's residence would be raided.
They dared not return to Chang'an to report, and after dividing the silver that General Ning had left for the steward, they dispersed.
The drunkard then used the silver he had been given to settle down in Lingyang and start a small business.
Later, after his wife found a lover, she ran away with all the money in the house and his son.
The drunkard had no choice but to return to Chang'an to stay with his brother. He often drowned his sorrows in alcohol and became known as a drunkard in people's eyes.
No one believed what he said.
Today, he passed out drunk at the entrance of the government office in the market. Ning Er ordered his men to carry the drunkard away.
The drunkard heard someone addressing him as Lord Ning, grabbed Ning Er and said it was retribution, and then blurted out these old stories.
Madam Ning and Ning San were moved upon hearing this.
He immediately asked, "So what clues did they find back then?"
"Our nephew was adopted by a fisherman couple in Lin'an."
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