Chapter 254 Disparity in Status
She gripped the wooden box tightly, her fingertips slightly cold, and felt as if something had gently bumped into her heart.
Back at her lodgings, Ye Wanning locked herself in her room. Insects chirped incessantly outside the window. She sat at the table, opened the wooden box again, and a delicate fragrance wafted out.
Recalling Pei Zhi's gaze at the entrance of the government office, his words "You haven't rested well," and his advocacy for the people of the neighboring city in the imperial court, she gradually became convinced that he was truly helping her silently.
But not long after, she shook her head again. The difference in their social status was too great; he was the prime minister of the court, while she was just a folk healer. There was simply no future for them.
She placed the wooden box beside her pillow and tossed and turned in bed. Her fingertips unconsciously traced the carvings on the box, as if touching the undisguised tenderness in his eyes.
The first time she received the heart-protecting pills from him, the tea she received outside the palace gates, and the note that read "A straight body casts no crooked shadow"... these images kept flashing through her mind, making her heart race.
That night, Ye Wanning barely slept. She only managed to fall asleep in a half-awake state as the night was about to end.
Her dreams were filled with Pei Zhi's image—he stood in the sunlight, smiling at her, and then handed her a piece of osmanthus candy…
Just as dawn broke, Ye Wanning was awakened by a knock on the door. Su Ning stood at the door, her expression panicked: "Sir, something terrible has happened! Zhou Hu's accomplice, Zhao Kun, has escaped with his men, leaving behind a message saying they want revenge on you!"
Ye Wanning's heart sank, and she immediately stood up from the bed: "I understand. Tell all the apprentices to be careful and pay attention to unfamiliar faces when making house calls."
She knew very well that Zhao Kun was not only Zhou Hu's brother-in-law, but also a man of the Jiangnan warlord. With Zhou Hu arrested, Zhao Kun would certainly not let the matter rest.
In the following days, Ye Wanning was extra cautious when seeing doctors.
That afternoon, a man dressed in coarse cloth came to the heritage center. He clutched his chest and said with a pale face, "My chest is hurting terribly, and I would like to ask Doctor Ye to treat me personally."
Ye Wanning asked him to sit down and reached out to take his pulse. As soon as the man's wrist was in her hand, she noticed that his pulse was steady and strong, not at all like the symptoms of chest pain, but rather it carried a hint of ferocity.
Ye Wanning's heart was filled with alarm bells, but she remained calm on the surface and said to Su Ning, "Su Ning, prepare the silver needles. This young master's pulse needs to be examined with acupuncture."
A cold glint flashed in the man's eyes as he nodded and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Doctor Ye."
Su Ning quickly handed over the silver needles. Ye Wanning took them, pretending to administer acupuncture, but suddenly twisted her wrist, and the silver needles pierced the man's pulse point.
The man reacted extremely quickly, dodging the attack while simultaneously drawing a knife from his pocket and slashing at Ye Wanning: "Ye Wanning, prepare to die!"
Ye Wanning was prepared; she dodged the blade and shouted, "Su Ning, close the door quickly!"
Su Ning rushed over and closed the door, and several apprentices also surrounded her, trying to force the man back.
The man was no weakling; he wounded the apprentice at the front with a single strike and then lunged at Ye Wanning. Ye Wanning only had silver needles in her hands, so she could only dodge and search for an opportunity to counterattack.
Taking advantage of the man's momentary lapse in attention, she inserted a silver needle into the back of his knee. The man's legs buckled, and he collapsed to his knees with a thud.
Ye Wanning seized the opportunity, snatched the knife from his hand, and tied him up tightly with rope.
"Who sent you?" Ye Wanning looked down at him.
The man clenched his teeth, his eyes filled with a fierce light, and refused to speak.
Just then, a commotion came from outside the door, and several men in black rushed in. The leader immediately shielded Ye Wanning and said urgently, "Doctor Ye, we are the Prime Minister's secret guards sent to protect you. Are you alright?"
Ye Wanning was stunned for a moment, then realized what Pei Zhi meant. He must have been worried that Zhao Kun would retaliate, so he secretly sent guards to follow her.
The guard handed over a piece of beautiful jade: "This is the Prime Minister's personal jade pendant. He said that wearing it can ward off evil spirits and ensure your safety."
Ye Wanning took the jade pendant; it was icy cold to the touch. Upon closer inspection, she saw an exquisitely carved Pixiu on it, the very same one she had seen in the palace before.
Clutching the jade pendant, her heart ached with a mixture of emotions. Pei Zhi was always like this, going to great lengths for her behind her back.
Ye Wanning suddenly realized that Zhou Hu was not just a local thug; he was also connected to the Prince of Jiangnan. This matter was probably not over yet.
"Thank you for your hard work," she said to the guards. "Hand him over to Magistrate Wu and interrogate him carefully to see if he will reveal anything about the princes of Jiangnan."
The guard responded and hoisted the bound man away. The man shouted in mid-air, "I was sent by Lord Zhao Kun! You've angered His Highness the Prince of Jiangnan; you won't have a good end! Surrender if you know what's good for you!"
Zhao Kun? The Prince of Jiangnan? Ye Wanning's heart sank. Sure enough, Zhou Hu was just a small fry; there was a much more powerful figure behind him.
She straightened her back, gazing at the distant, rolling mountains. Having been drawn into this turmoil, she had never been afraid. She was determined to get to the bottom of this and ensure the people of the neighboring city could live in peace.
After dealing with the assassin, Ye Wanning first comforted the frightened villagers, and then continued to treat and administer acupuncture to the waiting patients.
"Sister Ye is so calm and composed!" a villager exclaimed. "You not only know how to treat illnesses, but you also give us courage. You are such a thoughtful person!"
The next morning, as the morning mist just began to rise above the entrance of the Heritage Center, Ye Wanning and Su Ning set off for a free clinic in Licun.
A few days ago, during the free clinic, Grandpa Zhang from Licun repeatedly told her that most of the elderly people in the village suffer from rheumatism, and that the pain is so bad on rainy days that they can't get up at night. He told her to prepare more medicated oil and acupuncture needles.
She specially asked her apprentice to prepare a decoction to dispel dampness in advance, planning to send it over when the weather was fine.
The mountain path was steep and slippery after the rain, and one could easily fall. Su Ning, carrying the medicine box, followed behind, panting, "Sir, how much longer? This road is too difficult to walk on!"
Ye Wanning turned around and helped her adjust the medicine box, wiping the sweat from her forehead: "We'll be there soon, just past that ridge. If you're tired, we can rest for a bit."
Su Ning straightened her chest: "No need, the villagers are still waiting for us, let's go!"
After walking for nearly an hour, the two finally saw the outline of Li Village in the distance.
Grandpa Zhang and a dozen villagers were already waiting under the old locust tree at the village entrance. Their figures were particularly eye-catching from a distance.
Upon seeing Ye Wanning, Grandpa Zhang, leaning on his cane, hurried over to greet her: "Dr. Ye, you've finally arrived! Grandma Wang was in so much pain yesterday, crying all day, and she's been hoping you'd come to give her acupuncture."
Ye Wanning followed him into the village and set up a stall in the threshing ground. Not long after she opened her medicine box, a group of people gathered around, some supporting elderly people, some holding children, all talking at once about their illnesses, in a chaotic yet orderly fashion.
She first took the pulses of several elderly people who were in severe pain, and then skillfully administered acupuncture. Before long, the elderly people said that their pain had lessened, and smiles appeared on their faces.
Just then, a man dressed in a gray short-sleeved shirt walked over, clutching his stomach. His face was deathly pale, cold sweat poured from his forehead, and he staggered, almost unable to stand from the pain.
"Dr. Ye, please save me..." He leaned against the stone mill in the threshing ground, sweating profusely from the pain. "It hurts so much, it feels like knives are twisting inside my stomach, I'm going to die..."
Just as Su Ning was about to step forward to help him, Ye Wanning raised her hand to stop her and gave her a wink.
Su Ning put down the silver needles in her hand and said to the man, "Please sit down first, my husband will take your pulse now."
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