Ye Chaoxi politely declined.
Doctor Xue was not discouraged. He had originally planned to leave after seven days, but now he decided to stay at Tinglan Garden to observe Ye Chaoxi's treatment process. Her use of medicine and acupuncture always broke with convention, using different combinations and acupoints, which was worth learning from.
However, he didn't have much hope of curing Xie Qinglan. For the past month, he had been prescribing medicines that promoted blood circulation and removed blood stasis, and he also hoped that acupuncture could clear the meridians and restore their function, but the effect was barely noticeable.
After the acupuncture, Zhuo Qing had already brought the medicine back.
Ye Chaoxi didn't plan to take it to the main kitchen of the mansion to brew. Instead, she set up a frame in the courtyard and brewed the medicine herself. When brewing the medicine, she put the detoxification pills and recovery pills into the medicine pot together.
Xie Qinglan still has residual toxins in her body, and she needs to take detoxifying pills for a period of time.
After the medicine was decocted, Xie Qinglan didn't say anything. She picked up the medicine and drank it all in a few gulps, her thick eyebrows furrowing slightly. "So bitter."
Then he turned his face toward Ye Chaoxi, as if waiting for something.
Ye Chaoxi took out a candied fruit and held it to his lips, "Have a candied fruit to sweeten your mouth."
Xie Qinglan ate it without hesitation.
Zhuo Qing, standing to the side, stared wide-eyed, utterly bewildered. For the past month, the young master had been taking medicine every day, never afraid of the bitterness, and had no need for sweet things like candied fruit. How could he suddenly develop a liking for sweets?
...
The bride must return to her parents' home three days after the wedding.
Early on the third day, Ye Chaoxi boarded the carriage alone and returned to the Earl's residence.
Xie Qinglan had a leg injury and was blind, making it inconvenient for him to go out, so Ye Chaoxi didn't invite him.
She had no particular affection for the Pingchang Marquis's mansion and simply bought some gifts along the way.
The two daughters of the Marquis of Pingchang got married on the same day and returned to their parents' home on the same day.
When Ye Chaoxi returned to the Earl's Mansion, Ye Muling and Meng Wenjin had already arrived. Laughter filled the main hall, creating a harmonious atmosphere.
As soon as she entered the main hall, the laughter and conversation inside immediately ceased.
Ye Muling glanced behind her and, seeing no one, exclaimed, "Oh! Sister, why did you come back alone? Didn't your husband come with you?"
"Wenjin got up very early this morning to prepare for our homecoming!"
Ye Muling covered her gloating smile with her handkerchief. In her previous life, she had also returned to her parents' home alone, losing face completely. Some gossipy women always liked to use this incident to mock her.
Xie Qinglan was practically dead; how could she possibly go out? It was Ye Chaoxi's turn to bear all of this in this lifetime.
Ye Chaoxi's expression remained unchanged as she calmly explained, "He's not able to go out; it's just a homecoming visit. I can come back by myself."
Ye Muling sneered inwardly, then turned to look at Meng Wenjin, only to find him staring intently at Ye Chaoxi, his eyes filled with amazement. She secretly pinched his arm in frustration.
Meng Wenjin winced in pain, withdrew his gaze, and gave Ye Muling a reproachful look.
Ye Muling was furious.
The past three days since marrying Meng Wenjin have not been as pleasant as she had imagined. Meng's family has a difficult mother-in-law who wakes her up early every morning to establish rules, serves her tea and water, and waits on her to go to bed before she can go back to her room. There is also a sister-in-law who likes to be sarcastic and unpredictable.
Meng Wenjin was not considerate of her either, always siding with his mother and advising her to be patient and listen to her.
If it weren't for the hope of a better life and a noble title in the future, Ye Muling would never have been willing to endure all this!
Ye Chaoxi glanced around and saw that everyone in the main hall was present, so she had someone distribute the gifts she had bought.
A set of writing implements was prepared for his half-brother Ye Xu, while a whip was prepared for Ye Zhuo.
Ye Xu looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old and had not yet fully grown up. He sat quietly in the corner, and was obviously very happy that he would receive a gift as well. He was the son of an illegitimate child in the family and was not favored by his stepmother. He often went hungry and cold, let alone had a good set of calligraphy.
He wanted to study hard but didn't even have a decent pen.
He held the box, his eyes filled with gratitude, "Thank you, elder sister!"
Ye Zhuo opened the box, glanced at it, and said with disdain, "Why did you send me a whip? I don't ride horses!"
Ye Chaoxi smiled and said, "Jade must be carved to become a useful object. I gave you the whip to spur you to study hard so that you can inherit the Earl's mansion in the future."
When you lose everything at the gambling den in the future, the Pingchang Earl and his wife will have a handy tool to beat you.
Ye Zhuo curled his lips, thinking to himself that Ye Chaoxi was really ignorant. He didn't need to study; he could inherit the title of Earl of the Manor simply by growing up properly.
The gifts Ye Chaoxi prepared for the Earl of Pingchang and his wife were quite conventional: a bracelet and an ornament, which were impeccable.
Ye Muling said sarcastically, "Sister, not only did your brother-in-law not come with you, but the gifts he prepared for your return visit were also so shabby? The Marquis's mansion is so wealthy and powerful, and this is all they've prepared for you?"
“When I married into the Meng family, although they didn’t have the wealth of a marquis’s mansion, they were willing to spend money to prepare a return gift. The things I gave were better than yours. This isn’t a matter of spending money or not, but a matter of sincerity.”
"It seems that the people in the Marquis's mansion don't value my sister at all?"
As Ye Muling said this, her heart ached terribly. The Meng family was so poor that the only gifts they had prepared for the return visit were a few chickens and ducks and some dried cured meat. How could she have the face to give them as gifts?
In the end, she paid for the return gift out of her own pocket, using money from her dowry. It cost nearly a thousand taels of silver, and her mother nagged her for a long time about wasting money.
Now that she saw that Ye Chaoxi had only given her this worthless gift, she ridiculed Ye Chaoxi without any politeness.
Ye Chaoxi smiled and said, "A small gift carries great meaning, and even a large family business should be frugal. If, like you, my sister, you bought a new house with your dowry as soon as you got married, no amount of dowry would be enough to cover the expenses."
On the second day of their marriage, Zhuo Qing went to get medicine and happened to witness the Meng family moving house in a grand manner. When she returned, she casually mentioned this amusing incident. Ye Chaoxi immediately guessed that Ye Muling had paid for it.
The Meng family is really living off their wives.
"What? Ling'er, you bought a courtyard house as soon as you married into the family?" The Madam was shocked.
Courtyards in the capital are not cheap. It's customary for men to buy courtyards after they've earned money. There's no reason for a woman to buy a courtyard for her husband's family to live in after she gets married.
The aunt sensed something was wrong, as if she had been gnawed on by some bloodsucking creature.
"How did you know?" Ye Muling frowned. "I thought living in the alley was too crowded and noisy, so what's wrong with buying a courtyard? It'll be a quiet place, which will make it easier for Wenjin to prepare for next year's imperial examination."
Meng Wenjin quickly stepped forward and assured her, "Mother-in-law, don't worry. After I pass the imperial examination and become an official, I will buy a larger courtyard and make sure Muling won't be mistreated! This courtyard will still be her dowry, and she can do whatever she wants with it."
With Meng Wenjin's guarantee, Madam Bo sighed. What could she do now that the purchase was already made? She could only hope that Meng Wenjin would pass the imperial examination next spring and have a bright future.
Earl Pingchang cleared his throat. "Alright, it's almost noon, let's eat."
...
Tinglan Garden.
Xie Qinglan came out of the study but didn't see Ye Chaoxi. Logically, she should have woken up by now.
His gaze fell on the tightly closed west wing, and he asked Zhuo Qing behind him, "Has Madam not gotten up yet?"
Zhuo Qing scratched his head, "Madam is returning to her parents' home today, she's probably having lunch by now."
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