0131 The Golden-Clad Swordsman (Part 4)
Because of what was on her mind, Shu Fu didn't sleep well all night. The next day, before dawn, she woke up early, washed up quickly, and went straight to A Jian's bedroom.
This time, however, A-Jian seemed to be sleeping even more soundly. Shu Fu sat by her bedside and called her name three times before she slowly opened her eyes.
Seeing her bewildered expression, Shu Fu guessed that she was probably still asleep, so she sighed, stood up and poured her half a cup of weak tea.
"I'm sorry to wake you up so early. I wanted to take you out of the manor to find a doctor. If we get up late, people might notice."
A-Jian took small sips of tea, and after hearing Shu Fu's words, her eyes cleared.
She glanced at Shu Fu, then lowered her head and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry to trouble you, Miss. I don't know why, but I fell into a deep sleep again."
Shu Fu nodded, understanding her feelings, and therefore did not scold her further. She simply gently told her to get up and wash up. After she was all dressed, the two of them walked through the cool morning mist towards the back door.
Reaching the banyan tree at the base of the wall, Shu Fu tied up her skirt, nimbly climbed the tree, and then turned to look at A Jian: "Come quickly!"
A-Jian gave a heavy "hmm," stretched out her feet and wedged herself into the gap between the corner of the wall and the tree roots. She had only climbed a few steps up the tree when she tripped and fell down the damp moss.
"A-Jian—" Seeing her fall to the ground, Shu Fu didn't care about anything else. She immediately jumped down from the tree, took a few steps to her side, bent down and helped her up. "Are you alright? How did you fall down like that? Are you hurt?"
"Miss..." The maid's eyes welled up with tears, and two streams of tears rolled down her cheeks. "I didn't hurt myself, but my legs suddenly felt weak and powerless, it felt like... it felt like..."
She choked up, then cried even harder: "I'm afraid I won't be able to climb the tree anymore..."
Shu Fu was taken aback by what she heard and didn't know how to respond for a moment.
Seeing her distress, A-Jian secretly pinched her palm, forcing a smile to appear calm: "Don't worry, Miss. Perhaps I'm just tired. If I rest a bit these next few days, I might be fine..."
"No!" Shu Fu stood up and looked at her, saying, "I'm worried about you. How about this, even if it hurts a little, I'll go find a rope and carry you out, okay?"
A-Jian froze, staring blankly at Shu-Fu, tears finally bursting forth, large drops falling onto her neck, leaving it damp and cool.
Not long after, Shu Fu actually found a few ropes, the same ones that Zhan Yaoguang had used when she took her to tease Liang Zhiyan.
She carefully recalled how he tied the rope back then, and she imitated it and tied it almost exactly. In the end, she really carried A-Jian over the wall.
Although the process was somewhat arduous, and she slipped several times, she managed to stand in the world outside the wall.
Shu Fu breathed a sigh of relief and, while untying the rope, said to A Jian, "We're going to Master Rong's Pharmacy in the East Market. Although it's a pharmacy run by a Hu person, there's a physician named Meng who works there. His medical skills are superb. I'll take you there now. Can you still walk?"
A-Jian nodded repeatedly and hurriedly said, "My legs are a little weak, but I can still walk!"
Although she patted her chest and made a solemn promise, Shu Fu was still a little worried, so she went up to help her, and the two of them went to the East Market together.
The night sky was overcast and the ground was deserted. Just then, a knowledgeable junior official appeared, who was adjusting his clothes and hat and hurrying towards the city gate.
When the two arrived at the entrance of the pharmacy, they ran into a young apprentice carrying a medicine box, yawning as he leisurely walked towards them.
Shu Fu's eyes lit up. She told A Jian to stay where she was, then stepped forward and said to the man:
"Young boy, please wait a moment."
The young apprentice's ears twitched slightly, confirming that the young lady was calling him. He turned his face slightly to the side and said in a somewhat arrogant tone, "Young lady, please come later for your appointment. Our master stayed in the shop to read last night, and he probably hasn't woken up yet."
As he spoke, he placed the medicine box on the ground and began to remove the gate. Halfway through, a voice suddenly came from inside the shop: "Young man, is there a patient outside?"
Upon hearing this, the young apprentice's eyes lit up instantly. Without thinking twice, he shouted "Sir!" and ran inside in a few quick steps.
When he came out again, the room was lit by candlelight, and his arrogant expression had vanished. He bowed respectfully to Shu Fu.
"The young man's tone was quite offensive just now, please forgive him, young lady. Our doctor would like to invite you in, saying he is willing to open the door early to see you."
Shufu turned around and pulled Ajian inside, leading her in.
Upon entering, Shu Fu was met with a worn-out table with a jumble of medical books on it. She stared at it for a while before finally catching a glimpse of a withered, white, spiky beard through a gap in the books.
His white beard twitched from side to side, and it took him a while to finally emerge from his sea of books. He glanced ahead with his squinty eyes and said directly, "The young lady in the light green dress, come forward. Let me take a look at you."
Shu Fu glanced down at her smoky pink dress, clearly recognizing that this Doctor Meng was calling for A-Jian. He could tell who needed medical attention with just a glance; perhaps he really did have some skill.
She breathed a sigh of relief, gently nudged A-Jian, and followed half a step ahead.
A-Jian sat down on the small stool by the table, hesitated for a moment, and then placed her wrist on the pulse pillow.
"I'm not afraid to tell you, sir, that I'm perfectly healthy. The reason I've come to see you is because I've been feeling excessively sleepy these past few days..."
Doctor Meng nodded and lowered his hand to take the pulse.
Shu Fu stood to the side, paying close attention to his expression. She saw that after he fumbled around for a while, his relaxed expression suddenly became serious, and he even sat up a little straighter.
Shu Fu was extremely nervous and couldn't help but ask, "Sir, what happened to my sister?"
Doctor Meng frowned, examined her several more times, and then cautiously said, "Your sister has been poisoned."
"What?" they both exclaimed in surprise.
"Calling it poisoning is a bit serious. It's more like being poisoned by a drug. This drug is colorless, odorless, and harmless; it just makes people a little lethargic. Even if you don't come to me for treatment, you'll naturally get better after you stop taking the drug for a while..."
As he spoke, his gaze swept over the two young ladies: "Judging from your attire, both of you are quite well-dressed, so your families must be of distinguished lineage..."
He suddenly stopped talking at this point.
But Shufu vaguely understood what he meant.
Although the inner quarters of the Shu family were not exactly intimate, they were still polite and respectful to each other. She had never seen any dirty tricks since she was a child, but there were always families in the capital who were not picky, so she knew more or less some secrets.
Could it be that something like this could happen in her own home? But what's the point of administering this non-toxic poison, even if it were given?
Shu Fu found it all unbelievable. She went through everyone in the house and vaguely sensed something was amiss.
But there is one point of doubt—
She and A-Jian practically lived together, so how come A-Jian was the only one in trouble while she herself was completely unharmed?
A-Jian had obviously thought of this as well, and hurriedly said to Doctor Meng, "Sir, please take a look at our young lady. She stays with me every day, and we eat and sleep almost the same way. Is our young lady alright?"
Doctor Meng asked Shu Fu to sit down again. This time, he only took her pulse for a moment before his brows relaxed: "I don't know why, but this young lady is fine."
A-Jian breathed a long sigh of relief and said "That's good" several times.
On the way back to the manor, Shu Fu said to A Jian in a serious tone, "According to what Physician Meng said, the medicine can only be mixed into food. From now on, you don't need to eat the food in the manor anymore. I will find a way to go out and buy it for you every day."
A-Jian's nose tingled, and she felt like crying again. She held back her tears and said, "Don't worry about me, Miss. I'll be fine after a couple of days of rest. It's just that I'm not very useful these days and can't go to Xiangji Temple. I don't know when Madam Liu from the Liang family will be there. What if I'm late and they figure out an auspicious day and come to propose marriage?"
Shu Fu smiled and was about to offer words of comfort when, just as she turned a corner in the alley, she heard a faint, heavy sound behind her.
The two turned around and saw a trolley gliding by, its window half-open, creaking in the wind, and a figure vaguely visible.
The person had light eyebrows and pale lips, with a lot of white skin on their face. They sat in the car, but seemed almost invisible, so indifferent that it was almost impossible to notice them.
However, it was this very face that struck Shufu like a thunderbolt in her heart.
She stood there, watching the carriage drive out of Chang'an City, her heart filled with trepidation and a jumble of emotions.
—That was Liang Zhiyan's mother, Madam Liu.
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