Chapter 4 The Amazing Lychee Garden (Part 4) Who is worthy of her? ...
In the stillness, Du Zhong's snoring gradually began. Jiu Li craned her neck to look into the west room and saw him lying sprawled on the mattress with the blankets piled up haphazardly to one side. It would be strange if he didn't get sick in such cold weather. She tiptoed in and quietly went in to tuck the blankets back in for him.
Yu Qi watched her actions silently, recalling the old lady's words before they came: "It's good to be in Nanjing. Perhaps we can find a good family and a good-looking person to settle Jiu Li's marriage."
Although he was twenty-eight years old, he had never been married, so he was somewhat lacking as an elder and not as thoughtful as the old lady. He had never planned on Jiuli's marriage, always feeling that it was a distant dream, and that she had grown up so quickly that it was truly unexpected.
Now that I'm trying to make a decision, I feel a bit lost. Who would be worthy of her?
A moment later, Jiuli came out, closed the door of the green gauze cabinet behind her, took off the turban on her head, and walked to the side to watch Yu Qi write the prescription.
They were all suffering from the same illness, but he prescribed several different formulas based on their severity and urgency. No wonder there were so many stoves for decocting medicine in the kitchen. He always used medicine in a strange and ingenious way, forming his own unique style. Moreover, although he treated people, he never showed any kindness, so people also hated him and called him "the eccentric doctor".
"Why did you agree to treat this illness, Minister Zhao?"
Yu Qi said, "Didn't you insist on coming?"
Jiuli put down the prescription, leaned over the edge of the table, and said, "I insisted on coming, but you never associate with officials. Why are you so entangled with this Vice Minister Zhao? And why are you willing to listen to his advice—did you know him before?"
Strands of her long hair hung on the paper, intertwined with the equally black strokes, making him inexplicably irritated. He raised his cold eyes and asked, "Why are you asking these questions?"
"Just asking casually." She was also sulking, straightening her back, her hair like a curtain being lifted again, revealing the candlelight behind her, which suddenly made people feel unaccustomed to the brightness.
Yu Qi sighed, "You know I treated his mother before."
Three years ago, Zhao, the Vice Minister, fearing to alarm the local officials, changed his name and took his family back to his hometown to pay respects to his ancestors. When they passed by the estate where the Yu family lived, Zhao's mother suddenly fell seriously ill. Zhao lied and said that he was a passing gentry and could afford to pay, so Yu Qi treated his mother.
I thought we would have no further dealings, but to my surprise, on the Lantern Festival this year, Minister Zhao came to the estate again, revealed his identity, explained his purpose, and promised to pay a hundred taels of gold for the consultation.
In the past, when he was still a nobody, Yu Qi would have been tempted by the hundred taels of gold. But now that his family is well-off, why should Yu Qi bother dealing with the officialdom that he has always disliked?
Jiuli only half believed this, but seeing that Yu Qi's attitude had softened and he was willing to say more, she couldn't help but take advantage of the situation, "I mean even more than three years ago, does that mean you two know each other? Does he also know my parents?"
In the silence, Yu Qi's expression grew cold. He walked over and opened a door. "If you insist on finding your parents, then go find them yourself."
He always hated her asking about her parents. Jiuli used to think, could she be someone he kidnapped? But upon closer reflection, it didn't seem likely. Kidnapping children always has a time to get rid of them. Who would risk their life just to earn a family business to raise her to adulthood?
Besides, in that hazy memory, although she had wandered with him for a period of time, she had never suffered from hunger or cold; it was he who suffered from hunger and cold to protect her.
Outside the door, the night rain was misty, and beyond the raindrops lay boundless darkness. She peered into the darkness and suddenly felt a lump in her throat. She wanted to cry, but she was too proud to admit it, so she stubbornly held her breath and straightened her neck, as if she were about to leave.
This wasn't the first time they'd argued like this. She knew he wouldn't really let her go, and he knew she wouldn't really leave. The faint mist seemed frozen in place. After a brief standoff, he closed the door again, walked back to the chair, and behind her, smiled silently.
He sat down, his expression softening slightly. "What does it matter where you came from? What matters is that you'll always be a member of the Yu family."
Jiuli didn't rush to turn around. Instead, she remembered to hold back her tears, smiled to herself, and then turned back with a pout.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Yu Qixian got up, intending to go out and meet with the doctors to check on the patients in each room. Before leaving, he deliberately went into the gauze-covered room on the east side. Through his blurry vision, he saw that on the bed, Jiuli, like Du Zhong, was sleeping in a disheveled state. Her clothes were still on, and half of the quilt was hanging off the bed, barely covering one of her legs, while the other leg was bent over and sticking out.
Yu Qi sighed softly, picked up the blanket, and covered her completely. Just as he was about to leave, a pair of eyes suddenly shone brightly in the semi-darkness, like the shimmering light on water in the moonlight.
"You seem to be able to sleep anywhere," he said, half seriously and half with a smile.
She was probably used to traveling with him since childhood, sleeping in inns, guesthouses, and dilapidated temples. But those memories were like shadows in a daze, vague and indistinct. However, she still had a deep impression of the warmth in his arms. He was a thin boy of fourteen or fifteen, with strong bones, but he was exceptionally warm.
Jiuli, still half-asleep, smiled and rolled over, clutching the blanket haphazardly to her chest. "It's not even dawn yet, and Uncle's already off to see patients for them?"
Yu Qi stood in front of the bed, his face not clearly visible, his dark silhouette giving off an oppressive feeling. "The food here is not good, you should get up early and go home to eat."
But she loved the hustle and bustle, thinking that eating with so many people would feel like a banquet. Besides, she'd been in Nanjing for so long, and Aunt Qing had been cooking for her all these years; she couldn't help but crave something new. So she sat cross-legged, holding her ankles, and said, "No, I'll have breakfast here before I go back. I ate dinner with Du Zhong in the kitchen last night, and it was quite delicious."
Little did she know that all the medicines and food in the Liyuan Garden were funded by the imperial court. The food was already very basic, and then it was skimmed off layer by layer from top to bottom, making it feel like charity from a porridge factory.
The food she saw yesterday was all extra supplements from other households. Du Zhong was different from the other people's servants. He had lost his parents early and had been learning his craft from Yu Qi since he was a child. Yu Qi didn't say it, but he cared for him and had taken care of him when he entered the academy, so naturally they ate much better.
Yu Qi said, "The people in the kitchen are not clean, so it's okay to eat here once."
“You and Du Zhong have been eating this for so many days and you haven’t gotten sick,” Jiu Li muttered. “Besides, it’s also saving the family some food.”
"Does your family lack food? There's no need for you to be stingy. Stop making excuses to stay here. This isn't a good place. Go back now."
Jiuli turned her head away and said, "It's just an epidemic, what's there to be afraid of? I've already taken the medicine you prescribed to prevent the disease."
Yu Qi sat down on the edge of the bed. "I'm not afraid of being sick, it's just that this place is a mixed bag."
"There's even less to fear if it's a mixed bag of people. Officials come and go frequently, and there are also yamen runners guarding the place."
He chuckled softly, "That's precisely what's terrifying."
"What?" Jiuli asked suspiciously, tilting her head towards him, her bright eyes scrutinizing his face. She lowered her voice, sounding furtive, "Uncle, do you dislike dealing with officials? Is it because you committed some kind of crime in the past?"
Yu Qi looked back at her. "Do I look like I've committed any crime?"
To be honest, given his temperament, he's not incapable of murder or arson. But it doesn't seem like it; we haven't heard of anyone investigating them over the years. She joked, "I guessed it, did you kidnap me?"
He scoffed, "You? What do you have that's worth kidnapping? All you do is eat and sleep, and you've cost me a lot of money."
Unlike other elders who often make such jokes with a mix of helplessness and indulgence, he is not used to making jokes. He is still young, so at first glance, people may only perceive his words as cold and ruthless. Those who do not know him may be hurt by such remarks.
However, Jiuli knew him well, and instead of being sad, she teased him, "Oh! You think I spend too much? Well then, send me off to my new home sooner so you can save a lot of money."
As soon as she finished speaking, she felt a little uneasy, her heart pounding wildly in the shadows. She couldn't quite put her finger on what she was afraid of, but she was always feeling uneasy. She glanced at his face, but in her drowsy state, she couldn't make out his expression. She only heard a brief silence, which was truly vexing and frustrating.
After a moment, he was still joking, "Sending you off to your wedding will inevitably require preparing a dowry, where will we save money?"
Jiuli smiled quietly, her lips pursed.
After a while, Yu Qi stood up and said, "Stop talking nonsense. This is not a place for you to stay long, nor is it a place for you to play. Go home early."
As the two sides reached a stalemate, someone outside knocked loudly on the window, speaking in a rather impolite voice, "Doctor Yu, it's time to go to the West Garden to take pulses. Tsk, if you don't lead the way, it won't count even if we go to see them. The government only listens to your diagnosis; we're just following along to make a show of it."
Then he heard him say, as if to someone else, "Look at this attitude. If you didn't know better, you'd think he was a physician from the Imperial Medical Bureau. But he's just a country doctor. He's young, so how skilled could he be? He only managed to cure Vice Minister Zhao's mother's illness by chance. He just got lucky and actually thinks it's his own skill."
Yu Qi ignored him, but Jiu Li felt a surge of anger rising in her heart. She thought that although Yu Qi was young among the doctors, he had never made a mistake in diagnosing patients by taking their pulse over the years, which she had witnessed firsthand.
She felt indignant on his behalf, her face falling. "Who is so disrespectful as to speak to you like that?"
"Xu Qing is a famous doctor in Nanjing."
“These days, anyone dares to call themselves a famous doctor, and he’s still below you. Otherwise, why doesn’t the government promote him to be the leader?” Jiu Li said with disdain. “Why don’t you teach him a lesson?”
Given Yu Qi's usual temperament, he would inevitably have to make this person suffer some hidden losses. However, things are different now. He only hopes that this illness will be cured as soon as possible so that he can sever ties with the official.
He ignored her and continued to tell her, "Get up and wash up quickly. Since you've been insisting on doing business in Nanjing, you should help Uncle Fengqiao with the opening of the shop."
After speaking, he went to the west room to wake Du Zhong, gave him a few instructions, and then went out to meet the doctors.
Du Zhong tidied up the two bedding beds on the floor, took a candle and went to the outer room. Someone had already brought an iron pot on the floor, which still had half a pot of hot water left. He emptied the basin that Yu Qi had used to wash, poured out a new one, and carried it into the east room to tell Jiu Li to wash her face. "Grandpa, I've become your servant girl!"
Jiuli then stretched and got up, saying, "I'll serve you tomorrow."
"Who would dare ask you to serve them?"
She squatted on the ground washing her face, muttering complaints about how expensive it was to wash her face.
"It's cheaper at home, why did you insist on coming here?" Du Zhong put the candlestick on the ground, yawned, and gathered her long hair together, holding it in his hand. "Go back now, I'm annoyed by you!"
Jiuli hastily wiped her face and got up, then put on her turban again. "Why didn't you send a washbasin stand?"
"You think you can settle down here? Even if you are willing, the owner of the lychee orchard is not. If it weren't for the government intervening, they wouldn't be willing to lend out the land."
"This garden is huge! It's probably twice the size of our house!"
Speaking of home, Du Zhong chuckled, "Last night I dreamt that you were arguing with your master and packing your bags to run away from home."
Jiuli laughed and said, "Now that I've left home, you're the young master. Anyway, your uncle never married and has no children. After he passes away, the Yu family's business will naturally be yours. Tell me, isn't that what you're planning?!"
Du Zhong ignored her and urged her to cover her face so he could take her back.
She came out after tidying herself up, still wearing a face mask, and tilted her head slightly furtively as she said to Du Zhongxu, "Speaking of dreams, I think I had a dream last night too. In the dream, there was a woman crying."
"Everyone says there are ghosts in this garden. Could it be a female ghost visiting my dreams? Hmm, that doesn't make sense either. The child who died in this garden was a girl. If anyone should be crying, it should be a girl crying, not a woman. I think you're just making this up!"
She looked at her with disdain, "I wouldn't make up a lie for you, would I make money lying to you?"
Du Zhong also looked down on her with disdain. "Anyway, I don't believe you. Even if there is a female ghost, what would she do in your dream? She has no grudges from the past or any enmity with the present. If she's going to enter someone's dream, it should be a man's dream. Aren't there stories in those supernatural tales about replenishing yang by absorbing yin energy?"
Jiuli raised her hand and pretended to pat his head twice, saying, "This child has really grown up; he's even thinking about women now."
"Get out! Stop touching my head like you're touching your son."
The two walked into the garden, bickering. The rain had stopped sometime last night, and the ground was dry, but it was covered with scattered, unfamiliar wildflowers, which looked rather desolate.
Amidst the cold mist, Jiu Li was startled to see several constables rushing towards her, thinking they were there to arrest her, as unauthorized personnel were not allowed to enter or leave the Lychee Garden at will. However, the constables didn't even blink, and they dashed past her in a flash.
"What happened? Why are they running so fast?" Jiu Li stopped and looked in the direction where the constables had gone.
"Could someone have died of illness?" Du Zhong also looked around.
"Let's go take a look?"
He shook his head vigorously, "It's more important to send you home first, so that Master won't punish me."
A note from the author:
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Thank you for reading.
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