No way out
The raindrops under the eaves are like beads, continuous and endless.
Lin Zhong turned around and gently closed the door.
He and Duoyujin walked a few more steps outside, and only stopped after making sure that Mr. Lin in the house could not hear their conversation.
Lin Zhong said with a worried look on his face: "Doctor Xu, please tell me the truth. How many days does my master have left?"
Manyujin sighed softly, "Less than three days."
Lin Zhong had already prepared himself mentally, but he didn't expect the deadline to be so close. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no sound came out.
"Just follow Master Lin's lead these days. I have some patients to see later, so I'll be leaving now."
After saying this, he raised his hand, opened his umbrella, and walked straight into the rain.
The white clothes fade away, and the rain is like tears.
Lin Mao looked at the backs of many people going away, and didn't know what he was thinking about. He walked to the corridor and called a maid.
"Go tell Seventh Aunt that the Master wants to see her."
The maid lowered her head: "Yes."
......
It rained all night last night. When Yan Qing woke up early in the morning, he opened the door and felt a cool breeze on his face, which made him instantly awake.
Dan Ye hurriedly put her coat on Shi Yanqing, muttering, "Madam, you should put on a coat before going out. The temperature has dropped in the past few days, and it's colder in the morning than at other times. What if you catch a cold in the wind?"
"Yesterday, when Liu Niang came back from shopping, she said there were a lot more people with colds and coughs on the streets. Madam, you should pay more attention..."
Shi Yanqing was nagged for almost a quarter of an hour, and she felt a little headache. Finally, she made repeated assurances to Dan Ye, and finally she was able to have some peace and quiet.
Yunshui County has entered autumn, and although the temperature has dropped, it is not very low. You just need to wear an extra coat than in summer.
Shi Yanqing was going to visit Liu Anan today. After breakfast, she returned to her room and changed into a long dress with embroidered purple flowers, a cloud silk cape, and her hair was tied up in a bun with light purple pearl hairpins.
It took me almost half an hour to get dressed.
By the time Yanqing and Danye got off the carriage, it was already 9:00 in the morning.
The gates of the Lu Mansion were closed, and moss from the corners of the walls spread out onto the stone steps. Because it had just rained, anyone walking on them could easily slip and fall.
Shi Yanqing walked to the door with an umbrella and knocked on the doorknob.
After a while, the door was opened from the inside.
A maid in her early twenties opened the door slightly, leaving only a small gap.
"Who is outside the door? What's the matter?"
Tan Ye stepped forward and replied, "My master is the wife of the county magistrate. I met your wife on the street the other day and came to visit her today."
The maid behind the door was Tao Ye. She had also met Shi Yanqing that day, so she was no longer suspicious and opened the door on one side.
The door was opened, revealing a haggard face with red eyes.
Shi Yanqing suddenly felt something was wrong. She said, "It's raining today, so we shouldn't have come to visit. But I have nothing to do at home, so I thought that your wife and I would hit it off right away, and we could chat and relieve boredom together."
Tao Ye pulled the corners of her lips together as if to smile, but that smile looked really bitter.
"I'm so sorry. My wife is not feeling well today and is not suitable to see guests. Please go back, Madam Shi."
Shi Yanqing frowned. It had been less than three days, and Liu Anan's health condition had become so bad?
She looked at Tao Ye's red eyes, with tears faintly appearing in them, and sighed in her heart.
If he directly told the maid that he was a doctor and could cure Liu Anan, he was afraid that she would not believe him for a while, and it might even alert the person behind the scenes.
"In that case, I'll come back another day." Shi Yanqing nodded, turned and left.
When Tao Ye saw the carriage leave, she closed the door and ran quickly into the house.
"Madam, shall we go back home next?" Tan Ye asked.
Shi Yanqing shook his head and said to Qingjiu who was driving outside: "Let's not go back to the mansion yet, let's go to the county government office."
If she went to the house alone, the host would not see her. Then she would go to Zhou Hanzhang for cooperation and go to Liu Anan through Lu Tong.
Just hope everything is in time.
The Lu Mansion is not far from the county government office, about a quarter of an hour away.
It was raining, and the yamen runners who were guarding outside the gate stood inside. Although they were not wet, they could still feel the coolness of the rain.
Since the new county magistrate took office, they no longer dare to be lazy when on duty every day as before. Although there are more rules now, the treatment is good.
No one gossips or complains in private anymore.
When Shi Yanqing arrived, it was time for the gatekeepers to change shifts.
When they saw Shi Yanqing get off the carriage, they recognized who she was and hurried out to greet her.
"Madam, it's raining today, why are you here?"
Shi Yanqing walked under the eaves, closed his umbrella, and said with a faint smile: "I have something to ask your master. Is he in the government office now?"
The yamen runner nodded. "Your Excellency didn't go out today. When I came here, I saw County Magistrate Lu and Chief Secretary Bai walking into your room. They were probably discussing something."
Shi Yanqing nodded: "Then I won't disturb you from guarding. I'll go find him myself."
After she finished speaking, she turned to look at Dan Ye and said, "I'll be out in a moment."
After all, this is the government office, so it’s not easy to bring them in. We can only let them wait outside.
After passing through the front hall and the garden, Shi Yanqing entered the courtyard where Zhou Hanzhang worked.
Shi'an was guarding outside the door, staring at the puddle on the ground in a daze. The moment Shi Yanqing appeared, he immediately looked up, his eyes as sharp as a sword, and then relaxed.
"Madam, the master is discussing matters with his colleagues inside. Please go to the side room and wait for a moment." Shi'an bowed.
Shi Yanqing nodded and walked into the house on the left.
There are many landscape paintings hanging in the house, and if you look closely, you will see familiar faces in the bridal chambers of Beijing.
Walking behind the screen, there was a small couch with bedding on it. It should be where Zhou Hanzhang rested.
At the head of the bed, there is a small wooden table with paper, ink, brush and inkstone neatly arranged on it.
Apart from this, there is nothing else in the house.
Shi Yanqing couldn't find a table or chair, so he had no choice but to lift up the bed and sit on the wooden board of the small couch.
She walked around outside and got a little wet from the rain and some mud splashed from the puddles.
Sitting directly on the bedding is still not very clean.
Shi Yanqing originally thought so, but after sitting for a while, she moved her body.
After a while, she moved again.
Finally, she stood up, bent down to swing the bed back, and sat directly on the soft bedding.
When the time comes, just ask Danye to bring some clean bedding to replace it.
Thinking of this, Shi Yanqing smiled slightly with his eyes curved.
When Zhou Hanzhang walked behind the screen, he happened to see this smile. His heart skipped a beat and he stopped where he was, stunned for half a second.
After he reacted, he coughed lightly, attracting Shi Yanqing's attention.
"Is the discussion over?"
Shi Yanqing asked casually.
She didn't get up but continued to sit.
Zhou Hanzhang didn't say anything and just sat next to him.
"No. There are too many things to discuss this afternoon."
Hearing this, Shi Yanqing nodded, but did not continue the conversation. Instead, he directly stated his intention.
"I didn't see Liu Anan today. According to what her maid said, I think her condition has worsened and she's in danger now."
"If I go straight to their house and tell them I can cure it, they probably won't believe me. Hanzhang, do you think it's okay to tell Lu Tong about this?"
Shi Yanqing asked.
Zhou Hanzhang rested his palms on the quilt, his palms sunken downwards, and his skin touched Shi Yanqing's cloak.
He raised his hand and rubbed his cloak, thinking for a moment before saying, "Okay."
During this period, he had been handling official business with Lu Tong and had some understanding of Lu Tong. He would often mention his wife during breaks, and it was not difficult to tell from his words that he was a man who loved his wife.
Seeing that Zhou Hanzhang thought it was okay, Shi Yanqing also had no doubts.
She pulled out her cloak and stood up. "Then go tell him now. Otherwise, it will be too late and things will easily go wrong."
Having said that, he prepared to go out.
Zhou Hanzhang quickly grabbed her clothes and said, "Just ask Shi'an to call him over. Let's rest here for a while."
Since he came to Yunshui County, he has been very busy, leaving early and returning late. It is not easy to spend time with his wife, so he should cherish it.
Shi Yanqing had no idea of his little thoughts. Although he didn't want to leave, he didn't sit down either.
She walked to the wall and looked at the paintings hanging there and asked.
"Do you like landscape paintings?"
Zhou Hanzhang said lazily, "I prefer figure paintings. These landscape paintings are from my grandfather. When I was a child, I was slow at memorizing books, so to encourage me, my grandfather would give me a painting every time I memorized a book."
"He also said that if I collected ten paintings, he would take me out to play outside the academy for a whole day. With such a carrot hanging in front of me, I naturally memorized the lessons faster."
Shi Yanqing hadn't expected such a story behind the painting. Curiously, she counted the landscape paintings in the room. Twenty-one paintings? Twenty-one books?
"These are the only things hanging in the room. The rest are in Qingshan. I didn't bring them out." Zhou Hanzhang guessed what Shi Yanqing was thinking and explained in time.
Shi Yanqing reacted as he spoke. She walked back to the small couch, still worried about something: "County Magistrate Lu should be here. Let's go out."
The two of them walked out of the side room together and into the main room. Lu Tong was already sitting at the desk, busy processing the documents on it.
He heard movement at the door and looked over.
When he saw Shi Yanqing, a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes.
When Shi'an went to see him, he only said that Zhou Hanzhang had something to do, so how come the county magistrate's wife was also here?
"Your Highness, Madam." County Magistrate Lu stood up and saluted.
Zhou Hanzhang stepped forward, extended his hand to help him stand up straight, and said in a friendly tone, "Don't be so polite in the future."
After Shi Yanqing entered the room, he turned around and closed the door.
She waited until Zhou Hanzhang helped Lu Tong up before she walked over.
"County Magistrate Lu, actually, it's not Han Zhang who wants to talk to you today, but I have something to say to you."
Lu Tong was puzzled: "I wonder what's the important matter, Madam?"
Shi Yanqing turned his head and looked at the tea table: "Let's sit down first. What I want to talk about today is related to your wife. I hope you don't think I'm talking nonsense after listening to it."
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