Chapter 57 Lu Zhaoruo suffers from tuberculosis and will not live past 100 days!
Lu Zhaoruo was carried back to her own courtyard.
Grandma Zhou walked quickly, lifting the hem of her skirt, as if a plague god was chasing her, afraid of catching the disease.
Lu'er was personally chosen by Lu Zhaoruo from the slave trader. Although she was timid, she still remembered her master's kindness. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, she secretly slipped out through the side gate to fetch a doctor.
Before long, the doctor from Xiangyun Medical Shop was invited over.
It was Dr. Liu, the doctor with gray hair.
Just as Dr. Liu finished taking the pulse, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside.
Zhang and Granny Zhou burst in with a flurry of activity.
"The Lu family!"
Zhang covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, a hint of disgust flashing in her eyes. "How dare you call a doctor without permission? Don't you need money for medical treatment?"
Before she could finish speaking, she heard Doctor Liu sigh deeply: "Madam, you should make preparations as soon as possible..."
"Prepare?"
Zhang's heart skipped a beat, then a secret glint of joy appeared in her eyes, "Could it be... that they're preparing for the funeral?"
Doctor Liu sighed, his tone grave: "Madam has tuberculosis, a very dangerous disease. Her excessive worry has depleted her yin energy, and now her condition is terminal..."
He paused, glanced at Lu Zhaoruo who was still coughing, and said in a low voice, "Even with proper care, she has at most a hundred days left."
Less than 100 days?
My son will be returning home soon, not even a hundred days old...
"My poor, wretched daughter-in-law..."
Zhang suddenly raised her voice and pretended to wipe the corner of her eye.
She turned and shoved Granny Zhou: "Hurry up and take him to Doctor Liu! Remember to give him a generous consultation fee!"
She was unusually generous this time.
Once the footsteps faded into the distance, Zhang could no longer contain herself. Her handkerchief trembled as she covered her mouth, and she let out a few strange, mocking laughs...
Blood tuberculosis?
It's truly a blessing from heaven!
She glanced sideways at the bed curtains and could vaguely see Lu Zhaoruo's curled-up figure, coughing and barely breathing.
A smirk played on his lips; he thought to himself, "This illness is truly cured; it even saves me the money for those fake herbal medicines..."
most……
He died before my son returned home.
She secretly prayed to Buddha—please, please let this go, don't let it drag on until Dalang comes back, or it will only bring bad luck!
"Dongrou..."
She deliberately dragged out her words, feigning concern, and said, "You must serve Madam with all your heart."
Dong Rou lowered her head, her voice unusually firm: "This servant will take good care of Madam and help her recover as soon as possible."
Rehabilitation?
Is it possible to recover?
Zhang almost burst out laughing, then quickly covered her twitching lips with a handkerchief and put on a sorrowful expression: "Zhaoruo, these past three years... you've really had a hard time."
Before she could finish speaking, she took several steps back, her embroidered shoes brushing against the threshold, ready to leave at any moment. "You just need to focus on recovering; you don't need to worry about anything at home anymore..."
Alright, that's what I've been waiting for!
Lu Zhaoruo forced herself to get up: "Daughter-in-law... still needs to give Auntie her morning greetings..."
"useless!"
Zhang interrupted sharply, then realized her mistake and quickly put on a wrinkled face: "Good child, you should lie down."
She glanced out the window, considering the valuables Gu Xian had sent, and her tone became even more amiable: "Now that we have enough to eat and wear, you can stop your embroidery business..."
Anyway, the more than a thousand strings of cash would be more than enough for her son to live on when he returned, so let this sickly woman fend for herself in the house.
They won't even give us a coffin!
Dongrou took in Zhang's sly look and was furious.
"Cough cough..."
A faint hissing sound came from the bed.
Lu Zhaoruo replied weakly, "Daughter-in-law...yes..."
Zhang glanced at Dongrou with disgust: "You just stay here and serve in this courtyard, don't go into the other courtyards."
She then put on a compassionate expression: "Your main task is to serve the mistress; you don't need to do the chores you used to do."
She was afraid that Dongrou had caught the disease and would pass it on to her.
Dongrou curtsied and said, "This servant understands and will stay by your side at all times."
Zhang nodded in satisfaction, then turned and quickly left.
Only after the footsteps completely disappeared did Dongrou slowly straighten up.
She turned to look at the bed, only to see that Lu Zhaoruo, who had been sickly just moments before, had already sat up and was wiping the bloodstains from the corner of her lips with a damp handkerchief.
"My wife..."
Dongrou quickly stepped forward, poured her a cup of tea to rinse her mouth, and said, "The old lady's behavior makes it seem like she'd love for you to die."
Lu Zhaoruo took the teacup, a cold smile playing on her lips: "Since she wants to see me sick, then I'll show her my illness."
She suddenly looked up, her eyes clear and bright, showing no trace of illness: "Three months from now, this charade should come to an end."
Dongrou's eyes reddened: "But, this servant just feels sorry for Madam. You served the Shen family so diligently for three years..."
Lu Zhaoruo rinsed her mouth and said, "I was too stupid these past three years. Consider it a lesson learned."
Dongrou: "But just now, what she meant was that she wanted to lock us in the room and not let us go anywhere."
"Silly girl."
Lu Zhaoruo gently tapped Dong Rou's forehead with her slender finger: "Think about it carefully..."
She leaned back lazily on the pillow. "From now on, you won't have to get up at dawn to set rules, you won't have to listen to those harsh words, you won't have to stay up all night embroidering those jobs to supplement the family income, and you won't have to manage the affairs of the household... You won't have to do any work either."
Dong Rou's eyes brightened even more, and she whispered, "Now that you mention it..."
Lu Zhaoruo pulled the brocade quilt up a bit: "Let's just sleep until the sun sets every day and take good care of our health."
She suddenly lowered her voice, "Once I'm full of energy, I'll settle things with that heartless man."
After saying that.
She closed her eyes contentedly, and a spring breeze blew through the bed curtains, bringing a wisp of floral fragrance—how refreshing!
…………
Zhang returned to her main courtyard, lifted her skirt, and rushed into the study. Before even knocking on the door, she called out, "My lord!"
Shen Qingshu's hand trembled as he held the pen, and the ink smudged on the letter.
He frowned, about to reprimand her, when he heard Zhang say with delight, "Doctor Liu just diagnosed that Lu has tuberculosis! He said she won't live past 100 days."
She clasped her hands together, fine lines forming at the corners of her eyes, "It's clear that my daily chanting of scriptures and worship of Buddha has truly brought forth divine intervention."
"really?"
Shen Qingshu put down his wolf-hair brush and asked.
"Absolutely true!"
Zhang stepped closer and said, "I specially asked Granny Zhou to give a generous reward and personally saw Doctor Liu out."
Shen Qingshu gazed at the remaining snow outside the window, lost in thought: "She fell ill during the New Year's holiday, but I never imagined it would be such a serious illness..."
"Pooh!"
Zhang's face suddenly turned cold. "That's because she's unlucky and has a lowly fate; it's her destiny to be punished by Heaven!"
After saying that, she eagerly nudged Shen Qingshu's arm, "My lord, quickly write a letter to Rong-ge'er to inform him of this good news, so that he can bring the new bride back with him. The child in the new bride's womb must be more than four months along, right?"
Shen Qingshu dipped his brush in ink again, and started a new line below the two characters for "family letter": "Your wife is seriously ill and I fear she will not live much longer."
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