Chapter 23 Jade Rabbit enters the house openly and honestly. The man is really sick and weak.
After a comfortable sleep, Alice felt refreshed and stood in the gentleman's yard again.
The honeysuckle flowers on the wall have quickly withered, the small brown petals hidden among the green vines and inconspicuous, and the fireflies have long disappeared. Last night's wonder seems like an illusory dream.
Adrian Moran, who had been standing by the window all night, noticed the lady downstairs at the first moment.
What's this young lady doing here again? She always pops in like this...
My mind, which had seemingly calmed down, was once again stirred up with a slight ripple.
The man gently pulled the curtain beside him to hide his figure.
Unexpectedly, the lady downstairs was extremely perceptive. She noticed the noise, looked up and waved at him with a smile.
How could she be so nonchalant? As if nothing had happened last night. The man paused, pursed his lips, glanced at the woman, who looked unchanged, and slammed the curtain shut, obscuring her smiling face.
He turned his head and saw a wicker rabbit on the bedside table.
After watching for a moment, Adrian Moran moved his body, which had been standing stiffly all night, to ring the bell.
Alice was complaining in her heart about the awkwardness and stinginess of a certain gentleman, when she suddenly heard the servant John cry out from upstairs: "Sir!"
Then there was a chaotic dragging sound.
What's going on? She frowned and quickly walked up the stairs.
The door that was damaged last night had been repaired, so Alice had no choice but to raise her hand and knock on the door.
Boom boom boom——
No one answered.
She kept knocking impatiently.
A hoarse sigh from a man upstairs came: "It's Miss Alice Bennett."
Then came the sound of servants hurrying down the stairs, and the second half of the sentence he didn't hear: "Go and ask her to leave."
Creak—the door opened.
John's somewhat flustered face was visible through the door.
"What's wrong with your husband?" Alice asked as she came in and went upstairs.
"The gentleman suddenly fainted." After last night's incident, John, who considered Alice his future mistress, spilled the beans. "He was stiff and trembling all over. I put him to bed and hurried downstairs to open the door. I've seen your medical skills many times before, so I'll leave him in my care, Miss Alice."
As he spoke, John pushed the half-open bedroom door open completely and led Alice in.
The gentleman on the bed was covered with a quilt, revealing the thin corner of his priest's robe. His face was flushed and his eyes were half closed. He looked even sicker than the last time he caught a cold.
As Alice approached, the man bit his lips harder, as if trying to suppress something. The contrast between his bright red lower lip and the pale upper lip became increasingly stark.
She put her hand on the man's forehead, and he shuddered slightly. Then, as if he could no longer hold it in, his whole body began to tremble slightly in the quilt.
But he still bit his lips so tightly that they were about to bleed.
Alice moved the man's hand from his forehead to his equally hot cheek and patted it gently: "Let go."
Finally letting go, Adrian Moran opened his eyes, and there was a hint of grievance in his blue eyes that he himself had not noticed.
Bang--
Before the owner of the mansion could say anything, the servant who witnessed this scene was so frightened that he panicked and tripped over his master's shoes beside the bed.
"Your servants are so clumsy." Alice glanced at the man on the bed and said directly to John, "Go to my shop and ask the clerk to get some medicine. Take one pound each of atractylodes, dried ginger, liquorice, siler, schizonepeta, and peeled magnolia bark. [1] Remember that?"
"I remember it." John nodded repeatedly and walked downstairs, repeating the transliterated name.
Alice had taught Anna and Annie how to identify the Chinese medicinal herbs stored in the store some time ago, so it wouldn't be a big deal to let John go and get the medicine.
After arranging the medicine, she sat down on the edge of the bed, shook the quilt and put it back on, wrapping Adrian Moran in it. She then reached into the quilt, grabbed the man's clenched fist, and pried it open.
"Why are you holding it in?" Alice held her torn hand, unconcerned. "You're sick, so if you tremble, you tremble. If you're in pain, you scream. It's no big deal."
"Miss..." The man's voice was weak.
"Mr. Adrian, please don't say anything. Don't worry about why I came here. Just lie down and don't think about anything."
She sat by his bed, calling his name, but forcing him to ignore everything and think about nothing.
The man tried hard to open his eyes, tilted his head slightly, and then spoke: "Miss, I may have contracted the plague from preaching yesterday. You should go back first."
Epidemic? He wasn't even sick last night, which means he wasn't ill then. Given his physical condition, he should be able to handle it. What on earth had this man done to himself to be so seriously ill now?
Alice touched the cold bed and thought of the tired look on the man's face when she saw him by the window just now.
"Mr. Adrian, you didn't stay up all night, did you?" Why did the monks have to be so desperate when it came to this kind of thing? It was clearly consensual, but they were so hypocritical. Alice curled her lips in dissatisfaction.
Looking down at his pitiful appearance, I was a little surprised.
Before, it was just a promise to Jane, but now she really couldn't bear it: "Sir, who can't stand it, I won't do that kind of thing to you again before I get your consent. Don't think too much." If he is gone, where can she find someone so suitable?
She touched his face tenderly, much more gently than last night. She had to treat her treat-and-toy well, and it would be best if he gave himself to her willingly.
"I'm not upset..." He murmured, not knowing how to explain his unwise behavior last night. He simply closed his eyes. His mind relaxed and he fell asleep. The sound of even breathing soon filled the bedroom.
It wasn't long before John returned with the medicine. Alice took the appropriate amount of each herb and, as usual, pounded it with a jade pestle in the kitchen, creating Xiaofeng Sanxue Pills, a formula specifically for the man's epidemic. She planned to wait until Adrian Moran woke up and had lunch before giving it to him.
She had nothing to do, so she rummaged through the man's things in his bedroom. But there was nothing much to write home about, except for the clothes in the closet, there were few personal belongings.
She was sitting on a chair with her chin in her hand, staring at the owner of the room, and making 108 secret recipes for eating. Unexpectedly, Anne came to report that Elizabeth had returned to London, and Jane asked her to go back and persuade her.
"Jane, it's hard to imagine how someone as nice as you could be so hateful." Alice could hear Elizabeth's angry accusations from downstairs in the apartment.
Who is this talking about? Although Lizzie is not as gentle and kind as Jane, she rarely expresses such genuine and direct emotions. She is half a disciple of Mr. Bennett, and she can laugh and use joking witticisms to cover up any problem.
"How could someone so arbitrarily judge your feelings and ruin your marriage, yet still believe they did nothing wrong simply for their friend?" Elizabeth said with dissatisfaction. "Now they're simply admitting they made a mistake in their judgment and underestimated your sincerity."
"Of course, what I find most incomprehensible is how someone could belittle a woman's background, the family she cares about, and trample on her dignity, yet at the same time hope for a true love and a happy marriage?" Elizabeth grew increasingly agitated. "Jane, didn't you hear the way he assured me that I would agree? He kept saying how difficult it was for him to make this decision, as if it were an honor for me just to ask if I was willing?"
Is this referring to Mr. Darcy? He finally couldn't resist proposing to Lizzie? But—how did he even interfere with Jane and Mr. Bingley's relationship? I originally thought it was just Miss Bingley getting in the way, and since she couldn't achieve her goal by doing so, I didn't take it too seriously. Why is there Mr. Darcy behind this?
Alice seemed to be ignited by the anger in Elizabeth's belly.
She stepped into the apartment, smiled, and hugged Elizabeth, pretending not to hear those words that humans shouldn't hear. She only asked, "Why are you back so soon after Christmas?"
Elizabeth, still angry, took the trouble to repeat to her beloved sister what she had said several times to Jane.
"Mr. Darcy is so arrogant." Alice came to this conclusion after hearing the whole story.
Elizabeth was right. She immediately replied, "Yes, he underestimated Jane, and he also underestimated me and my family."
"Alyssa!" Jane's voice was low, but her tone was strong, expressing her disapproval. It was clearly because she, as the person involved, had failed to successfully persuade Elizabeth, and had asked Alice to come back and try, but the more they talked, the more they fanned the flames.
"Jane," Alice said unconvincedly, looking at Elizabeth's fuming expression, "One of the main reasons Mr. Darcy was so reluctant to propose to Elizabeth was because he looked down on our pharmacy. As a gentleman who owns half of Derbyshire, he thinks it's just a small-time venture, completely incomparable to the factory business inherited by Mr. Bingley. It won't make us a rising aristocrat, and will only further degrade the status of a young lady from a country family. Even if we have accumulated some reputation in high society, it still means nothing in his eyes."
"Elizabeth, Jane, why don't we let this gentleman see how far our pharmacy can go and how much wealth and fame we can earn? Can we compete with him?" Alice said this shocking statement in a casual tone.
"Elisa, it's just a pharmacy. How can it compare to Mr. Darcy's family-owned land?" Elizabeth was shocked by the idea and regained her composure. "Perhaps it would be easier to expect him to squander his fortune."
Jane also widened her eyes, feeling unbelievable at her sister’s growing courage: “Alyssa, how is this possible?”
"Mr. Meryton Jones's request to sell the Refreshing Cream in his shop has given me an idea. Perhaps we don't have to limit our pharmacy business to this shop in London," Alice replied. "Even across such a large area of Europe, not just England, why can't we make a fortune comparable to Mr. Darcy's?"
Jane was speechless. Elizabeth, reassured by this, became interested in the game of surpassing Mr. Darcy's wealth. "Everyone at the gatherings always says that Lydia is the bravest of the six of us sisters, but everyone at home knows it's you. Alyssa, what are your ideas? I'm really looking forward to seeing the expression on that arrogant gentleman's face when he's outdone." Her words clearly treated Mr. Darcy as a demon who must be defeated on the road to financial freedom.
Alice didn't care whether the fire she lit would kill the love Mr. Darcy prayed for. After all, whether he was worthy of Elizabeth's love depended on his sincerity and hard work. After all, Elizabeth didn't need him.
She also had some selfish motives. Hidden in this wealth plan was an important step to pry open the defenses of Adrian Moran, that stubborn gentleman.
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The author has something to say: [1] The prescription refers to the Shenxiao Woxue Decoction in the Standards of Diagnosis and Treatment of Typhoid Fever.
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