Chapter 70 Riding Together
As dusk settled, Ji Yun and Meng Yutong opened their clinics, so Zhaoyutang's clinic hours ended earlier than usual today.
Just as dusk fell, the last patient had finished getting his medicine and left. The staff, unusually well-prepared, went together to the Qinglai Restaurant across the street for a simple meal.
Ji Yun and Li Jing did not go with the others. After finishing his consultation, Ji Yun briefly greeted everyone in the clinic and went straight up to the second floor to check on Li Jing's condition.
Li Jing's fever subsided and he felt much better; his illness had largely subsided. When Ji Yun came to find him, he was in the room playing with crickets with his servants.
Seeing that he was mostly alright and there was no need for him to linger at Zhaoyu Hall any longer, Ji Yun decided to take him away from the clinic. However, before leaving, Li Jing dawdled and made excuses to delay, taking almost half an hour before finally following Ji Yun out the door, looking back every few steps.
After seeing the two off, Zhaoyu Hall quickly returned to tranquility. Everyone swept and tidied as usual, and after putting away all kinds of medicinal materials and utensils, seeing that there was nothing else to do, they all went to bed early to recharge for the busy day ahead.
The lights in the courtyard gradually went out, leaving only the clear moonlight flowing quietly between the window frames and eaves.
At midnight, all was quiet. The small courtyard of Zhaoyu Hall was bathed in the moonlight, with only the occasional chirping of insects among the grass, which made the courtyard seem even more secluded, peaceful, and serene.
The newly planted pomegranate tree in the courtyard quietly unfurled its branches and leaves. In the soft moonlight, a few pomegranate-red buds could be faintly seen peeking out from among the green leaves, silently nurturing a vibrant life force.
In the small house in the northeast corner, a single lamp cast a dim, yellowish glow, outlining a slender figure on the window paper. Meng Yutong remained seated at her desk, her fingertips gently tracing the words on the pages of a book.
Having had a little free time these past few days, she carefully studied most of the book "Pharmacology." The annotations left by Ji Yun in red ink on the pages were detailed and comprehensive, and they often gave her a sudden sense of enlightenment regarding the understanding of medicinal materials and their properties, from which she benefited greatly.
She gazed at the ink characters; the brushstrokes were elegant and possessed their own unique character, each character was upright and well-structured, and within the small space of the characters, there was a deep-seated forbearance and restraint.
However, there are a few characters whose brushstrokes suddenly become unrestrained and free, breaking free from the invisible constraints and revealing a hint of unbridled arrogance.
Meng Yutong's gaze lingered on those words that she found quite unexpected, and she couldn't help but recall the events of the day.
Meng Yurou was not seriously ill; she had simply overdosed on the cold-natured beauty-enhancing soup, which damaged her spleen and stomach, causing diarrhea. It wasn't even an epidemic. Even without medication, she could recover on her own after a few days of rest and a light diet.
Although she is easygoing and doesn't bother with trivial matters, she is by no means a pushover.
She also has her own temperament and bottom line.
Therefore, she made a few alarmist remarks, exaggerating Meng Yurou's illness, and prescribed some bitter medicine for her to take, hoping that she could quietly recuperate in the mansion and avoid causing her trouble.
Furthermore, it has its advantages that she can stay at home peacefully. By going out less, she is less likely to catch the current diarrheal disease. With Meng Yurou's delicate body, if she were to catch it, she would probably find it difficult to cope.
This is why she tricked Meng Yurou today.
But Ji Yun, who arrived midway through her treatment, clearly identified Meng Yurou's symptoms, yet he calmly and naturally continued along with her, cooperating seamlessly with her. This was completely different from his reaction when he sternly refuted her for Sun Guifang's arbitrary prescriptions and overcharging.
Just like the words on his manuscript, those few characters that unexpectedly broke free from the framework and revealed their unruly nature are just like Ji Yun today.
It's as if they've quietly removed a mask they're used to wearing, inadvertently revealing a little-known side of themselves.
'Since you have acted this way, you must have your reasons. I trust your judgment, and therefore I am willing to assist you.'
Rather than believing that he would easily betray his principles because of this unfounded "trust," it's more accurate to say... perhaps the real Ji Yun is inherently such a free-spirited and capricious person.
When the thought flashed through Meng Yutong's mind, she felt that her idea seemed somewhat absurd.
She had been married to him for three years, and in those days and nights they spent together, he was always well-behaved, meticulous, and never made any mistakes.
Besides… Thinking of this, her cheeks flushed slightly in the dim light.
Except for that one matter, where he occasionally lost his composure, at other times, he was like a tightly packed, impenetrable structure built from rules and regulations.
This was also what she felt incredibly frustrated about in her previous life. It seemed that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't truly touch his heart even a little bit; it seemed that no matter how close she got and chased after him, she couldn't melt the layer of ice in his heart.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but sigh softly, shake her head, and clear her mind of the jumbled thoughts. What changes Ji Yun had undergone was no longer important to her at this point.
As night deepened, she closed her book and was about to get up, close the window, and go to bed when she suddenly heard a series of urgent knocks on the front door.
The knocking was clearly a deliberate attempt to suppress its force; it wasn't loud, but the rapid frequency revealed the anxiety in the knocker's heart.
A slight doubt arose in her heart, and she turned and walked towards the front hall. Who could it be at this hour?
As she opened the door a crack, the dim light from the lanterns outside immediately outlined a tall and slender figure, casting a shadow. She looked up and saw that it was Ji Yun.
His breathing was slightly disordered, and there seemed to be a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. His usually calm and composed face now clearly showed a rare hint of anxiety.
Meng Yutong was surprised. She opened the door a little wider and asked, "What happened?"
"Has Ji Ming ever come here?" Ji Yun spoke a little faster than usual, his gaze sweeping eagerly over the dimness behind her.
Meng Yutong shook her head blankly: "I haven't seen him in a long time. Why wouldn't he be in the manor at this hour? Why do you think he would come looking for me?"
“He had a nightmare the night before last, dreaming of some strange things, perhaps related to you, and he cried out that he had to come and find you, I…” Ji Yun paused, glanced at her, his eyes filled with complex emotions, and hesitated to speak.
"You didn't promise to bring him?" Meng Yutong deduced from his words, her heart tightening inexplicably. "So he ran away on his own? And now you can't find him?"
Ji Yun nodded, adding in a slightly stiff tone, "Not only that... When I comforted him the day before yesterday, I promised to bring him to see you yesterday. But these past two days, the clinic has been very busy. I was worried that his coming would only add to your burden, and I was also concerned that he might wander around and catch the epidemic, so I temporarily locked him in the room."
"Yunzhou rushed over to report that he was still inside before the evening's rest, but when he went to check again late at night, he found that he had somehow pried open the window bolt and sneaked out through the dog hole in the side gate... He has already searched all the places he usually goes, but to no avail. I am really worried that he might insist on coming to find you, so I came to bother you late at night."
After hearing Ji Yun's account, Meng Yutong frowned, as if she could no longer bear it, and glared at him, "How can you even deceive a child?"
A clear look of regret and self-reproach flashed across Ji Yun's eyes. "It was my oversight. Right now, I'm only worried about where he could have gone in the middle of the night, all alone."
“It’s pointless to pursue these matters now. I’ll go with you to search.” Meng Yutong spoke quickly and decisively. After speaking, she turned around and went back to the front hall. She picked up a brush on the table and quickly wrote down some numbers on a piece of paper. Then she neatly closed the door of Zhaoyu Hall.
She walked to Ji Yun's side, and Ji Yun first solemnly said "thank you," and then carefully told the servants in the mansion where they had searched: Ji Ming's school, the pastry shop he often frequented, and the homes of several of his close friends...
The two walked a few steps side by side, and as soon as they stepped out of the eaves of Zhaoyutang, Meng Yutong saw a reddish-brown horse tied under the old peach tree.
She suddenly stopped and looked up at Ji Yun: "Did you come on horseback?"
Ji Yun was slightly taken aback, but then understood what she meant and nodded, saying, "I am anxious and cannot wait for the carriage to be prepared in the manor. Besides, riding a horse alone will be more convenient."
He paused, a hint of hesitation in his voice, "However, it is improper for the two of us to ride together. Perhaps..."
As Ji Yun just said, he searched many places Ji Ming frequented but couldn't find him. He feared that if he went to look again, it would be in vain.
She recalled what he had just said: Ji Ming had a dream, and when he woke up, he cried and begged for her. At that moment, some secret thoughts arose in her mind.
Ji Ming wasn't the kind of child who didn't know his place and would throw tantrums. His insistence on seeing her in the middle of the night was likely related to the dream he had.
She gripped the dress at her side tightly. Would Ji Ming do the same thing as her...?
If that's the case, he could go to places beyond just the school and shops he usually frequents. There are also the places she took him in his previous life.
“In an emergency, we must act swiftly and find the person; there’s no need to be so formal,” Meng Yutong interrupted him, her tone calm yet firm. Even so, as she walked towards the horse, her posture visibly stiffened slightly.
Ji Yun gazed intently at her seemingly calm yet slightly tense back, and something subtle seemed to touch his heart. He composed himself and quickly followed, "Be careful, let me help you onto the horse."
He quickly caught up, stopped in front of the horse, and reached out to help her.
Ji Yun's palm was warm, and he gently supported her elbow, helping her to step on the stirrups and turn over. In the process, his fingertips inevitably brushed against the skin of her arm, and both of them paused for a moment before quickly separating, a faint sense of embarrassment and awkwardness filling the air.
As Meng Yutong awkwardly sat sideways on the saddle, Ji Yun nimbly flipped over and landed steadily behind her.
With limited space in the saddle, he had to lean forward slightly to control the reins, his chest almost touching her back, his warm breath brushing against her ear.
Meng Yutong's body tensed instantly, and she subconsciously moved forward half an inch.
Ji Yun seemed to realize the excessively close distance. After gripping the reins firmly, he tried to lean back as much as possible to leave some space.
Both men stared straight ahead, their backs ramrod straight, their postures stiff, as if they had turned into two stone statues.
After settling down, Meng Yutong took a deep breath and said, "Let's go to Qingleyuan in the western suburbs."
That was a place she often took Ji Ming to in her previous life. The child was physically weak and was often confined to the courtyard, but he was lively and active and longed for the outside world.
Since there was no one at home to play with him, she would often coax him. As long as he ate his meals obediently and rested on time, she would take him out for a walk to relax.
In late spring and early summer, Qingle Park in the western suburbs is a perfect place for kite flying, with lush grass and chirping birds. Every time she took him there, watching him run around with the kite string, sweating profusely and laughing heartily, her heart would soften.
He was always eager for more and kept pestering her to come again next time.
Recalling those memories, Meng Yutong felt a sudden pang of sadness. That child... could it be that, drawn by that dream, he went there guided by his hazy memories?
She dared not think too deeply about it, and only silently prayed in her heart: I hope nothing bad happens.
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