Chapter 56 Agreeing to Treatment
When Aman woke up, it was already completely dark.
In the dimly lit room, only a single oil lamp emitted a faint light.
Aman's head was spinning, making it hard for her to tell where she was. She moved her weak and sore body and realized that her hand was being held by a pair of large hands.
Aman glanced sideways and finally saw the owner of the large hand.
It turned out to be the young master.
Aman subconsciously thought she was seeing things, and blinked, but the person in front of her did not disappear.
Aman only remembered that she was in the backyard with the young master and the others watching her flowers being knocked down by the rain. How did she end up in this place?
Where is this place? And how come you're here, young master?
He was still... holding her hand?
Aman's face felt a little hot, and she subconsciously moved her arm, which startled Fu Yunxiu, who was pretending to be asleep against the wall.
"You're awake." Seeing Aman open her eyes, Fu Yunxiu's usually cool eyes were filled with joy. "How are you? Is anything bothering you?"
Aman shook his head and looked around again. "Where am I? How did I get here?"
“This is De’an Hall. You fainted this afternoon?” Fu Yunxiu said.
Aman paused for a moment before remembering that there was indeed such a thing. No wonder her mouth tasted bitter; it must be because she had taken the medicine.
Seeing Fu Yunxiu staring blankly at her, Aman assumed he was worried about her health and smiled to comfort him, "I'm fine now, young master, there's no need to worry."
That being said, Aman's pale face and haggard expression did not lie.
“Aman,” Fu Yunxiu called out to her, his eyes filled with sadness, worry, self-blame, but even more so with gratitude and some indescribable emotions, “I’m sorry.”
Because her hand was still being held by Fu Yunxiu, Aman was somewhat distracted and didn't hear what he said clearly. She asked, "What?"
Meeting her questioning gaze, Fu Yunxiu didn't repeat himself, but said, "Didn't you want to massage me to relax my muscles and bones before? I think we can give it a try."
"Also, I'd like to try the treatment method that Elder Cheng mentioned."
"Really?" Aman's eyes lit up, and she instantly felt that most of her illnesses had been cured, but she quickly realized, "...You already know."
"Yes." Fu Yunxiu nodded solemnly.
"I didn't mean to lie to you," Aman instinctively tried to explain, "I was just thinking of finding someone... uh..."
Before Aman could finish speaking, Fu Yunxiu pulled her into his arms.
"No need to explain." Fu Yunxiu hugged her tightly. His arms tightened, as if he wanted to meld Aman into his very bones.
“You don’t need to explain anything. I was too cowardly. You’re right, I’m a complete coward.” Fu Yunxiu’s voice choked with emotion. “Aman, thank you.”
Thank you for being so careful to protect my fragile ego.
Thank you for enduring so much suffering and injustice for me.
Thank you for letting me know that I am not alone.
Thank you for wanting me.
“Aman, from today onwards, whatever you say, I will do,” Fu Yunxiu said.
Aman was held in his arms, her nostrils filled with the faint scent of pine from Fu Yunxiu, his warm breath on her neck making her eyes well up with tears. "Okay."
Aman reached out and slowly hugged him back.
At this moment, no words are needed; the best explanation is already given.
*
"I think I heard Man Ya's voice, but is she awake?" Old Cheng heard the sound from the outer room, and swaggered in with his pipe in hand, just in time to see the two of them embracing tightly.
"Oh dear." The old man, who had been a lonely man all his life, had never seen such a scene before. He was so frightened that he hurriedly covered his eyes with his hands and even dropped his pipe.
The heavy pipe fell to the ground with a thud, bringing the two people who were hugging each other back to their senses.
Aman's cheeks flushed bright red, and she huddled under the covers, leaving only her eyes peeking out, darting around nervously.
Fu Yunxiu, on the other hand, remained calm, coughed lightly, straightened his slightly disheveled clothes, and asked, "It's so late, why aren't you asleep yet?"
"I was worried about Man'er, so I got up to smoke a cigarette because I couldn't sleep. Who would have thought..." Old Cheng snorted twice.
While I was worrying and concerned, the two of them just hugged each other.
Judging from the atmosphere between the two, Old Cheng stroked his beard and said indignantly, "Looks like they've made up?"
Ah Man was so embarrassed that she couldn't speak, and could only nod repeatedly under the covers.
Fu Yunxiu felt a flush on his face from the teasing, but thankfully it was dark inside, so it wasn't noticeable.
"Alright, since we can hug and cuddle now, I guess I feel much better. I'll go back to sleep now."
Old Cheng stood up with a chuckle. His teasing words made Aman blush from her cheeks to her neck, turning her into a boiled shrimp. She said angrily, "Grandpa."
Aman explained, "Young Master agreed to treat my leg, I was just excited."
"Oh, no need to explain, I understand, I understand." Old Cheng blinked, saying he understood, but he definitely didn't think so in his heart.
Looking at the affectionate expressions on their faces, who would believe they were just excited!
You could say it was a blessing in disguise; at least Aman's illness opened the brat's heart.
"You brat, since you agreed, don't give up halfway. If you dare to waste Man Ya's hard work, I'll beat you to a pulp."
*
Aman's fainting spell really frightened Fu Yunxiu. So even though Old Master Cheng said Aman was fine, Fu Yunxiu still forced him to rest for two more days.
Over the course of two days, Old Master Cheng prepared everything he needed to treat Fu Yunxiu.
Acupuncture and needle insertion do not require a large space, but fumigation, which involves both smoke and steam, requires a slightly more spacious area.
Although Fu Yunxiu's east-facing room was spacious, it was cluttered with too many things, making it difficult to work effectively.
After much deliberation, Old Cheng chose a back room in the steamed bun room.
The place was spacious and well-ventilated, and most importantly, it was close to the backyard. The waste from Fu Yunxiu's medicinal baths and fumigation could be directly disposed of in the backyard, saving people the trouble of carrying water back and forth.
After selecting the location, Old Cheng renovated the small room, the main thing being to set up a higher bed there, suspended in the middle, to facilitate the fumigation of the medicine.
With Mr. Cheng's preparations complete, it was Aman's turn to shine.
Although he had demonstrated it many times before, Aman still couldn't help feeling nervous at this moment.
Especially at this moment, Fu Yunxiu was lying naked on the bed, only covering his private parts with a small cloth.
Due to years of not walking, Fu Yunxiu's legs had severely atrophied. His legs were pale and weak, as thin and soft as two noodles, and it was even difficult to distinguish between his thighs and calves. This left Aman at a loss as to how to administer the acupuncture.
"Don't panic, stay calm." Although Fu Yunxiu had his eyes closed, he could hear Aman's breathing becoming more and more rapid, so he couldn't help but speak up to comfort her.
He opened his eyes, and his usually cold and indifferent eyes showed an unusual tenderness. "Just like usual, insert the needles as usual."
Aman glanced at him, her gaze inadvertently falling on his bare, lean chest, and she immediately blushed and looked away.
"Yes." She nodded emphatically.
Seeing this, Fu Yunxiu nodded and closed his eyes again. However, the tips of his ears were already so red they were almost bleeding.
"It's alright, I'm watching from the side, don't panic," Old Cheng said.
"Hoo!" Aman took a deep breath, calmed himself down, recalled his previous practice, and inserted the first needle into his knee.
A tingling sensation spread from his knees, causing Fu Yunxiu to tense up involuntarily, but he quickly relaxed.
He couldn't let Aman get distracted.
"That's right, continue."
Aman nodded and picked up the second needle.
The second needle is placed at the Hedingxue point, located above the knee, above the midpoint of the patella.
Aman calmed himself down and raised his hand to administer the acupuncture.
"Very good, the third acupuncture point, Yanglingquan acupoint."
Under Master Cheng's guidance, Aman quickly got the hang of it. Her hands became more and more steady, and her needlework became more and more accurate.
After all forty-nine needles were inserted, Fu Yunxiu's legs, starting from the groin, were covered with needles like a hedgehog.
Aman picked up the pills she had kneaded earlier, lit them, and circled them around Fu Yunxiu's legs.
When the silver needle is heated, its hollow structure creates suction, and soon, black blood flows out from the needle hole.
"Steamed buns, light the fire."
Seeing that it was almost time, Aman instructed Mantou to proceed to the next step.
The braziers containing herbs placed under the bed were lit one by one. The herbs had been soaked in water beforehand, and after being lit, the heat and smoke rose slowly. The perfect arrangement and soaking resulted in smoke swirling around Fu Yunxiu's legs, but not to the point of being choking.
Next, all that's left is to wait.
Master Cheng instructed Aman for nearly an hour, by which time Aman's back was so weak and his legs were so short that he could no longer hold on.
"Alright, you can take care of the rest, Man'er. My old bones are about to fall apart, I need to go and rest."
Aman saw Old Cheng out and then went to the kitchen to boil a pot of water in preparation for Fu Yunxiu's bath later.
Back in the hut, Mantou was intently watching the fire.
"how's it going?"
"Young Master seems to be asleep," said Mantou.
Aman glanced at it and confirmed it was true.
Fu Yunxiu's eyes were closed, his face flushed from the heat, but his brows were furrowed, indicating that he was not feeling well.
Indeed, with those needles stuck in her legs and having to be fumigated with medicine in the sweltering heat, it certainly wasn't very comfortable.
Seeing that Aman looked exhausted, Mantou said, "Why don't you go and rest too? I'll take care of things here."
"No," Aman covered his hand and yawned. "The heat for fumigation is very important. It can't be too high or too low, and other medicinal materials need to be added during the process based on the reaction of the silver needles."
It sounds a lot like grilled meat skewers.
Mantou muttered to himself, but didn't say it aloud. He admired Aman even more. It was only his first day, and he had only been watching the fire, yet he found it both boring and incredibly long.
Aman endured day after day, even while administering acupuncture to herself.
He felt inferior to such perseverance and willpower.
Aman was focused on Fu Yunxiu's leg condition and didn't notice Mantou's admiring gaze.
Two hours later, Aman removed the needles.
Mantou served Fu Yunxiu a bath, while Aman returned to her room to wash the used silver needles and soak them in boiling water in preparation for the acupuncture treatment the next day.
After getting everything ready, Aman washed her face before stepping out of the room.
At this moment, Fu Yunxiu was already dressed and pushed to the pavilion by Mantou.
Seeing her come out, Old Cheng's face lit up with joy, and he waved to her, "Come on, we've been waiting for you."
Aman walked into the pavilion. On the stone table were eight exquisite dishes, as well as a sweet soup that Aman loved very much.
"This was sent by the people from Cuiyun Tower on my behalf, to celebrate your first real medical practice. Please have a taste."
Of the four stone benches, only the one next to Fu Yunxiu was empty. Aman walked over and sat down, her gaze falling on Fu Yunxiu's face. Instantly, the image of him completely naked flashed into her mind.
Her face flushed red instantly.
Old Cheng poured her some tea and was startled to see that she was as hot as a boiled shrimp. "Oh dear, what's wrong? Have you developed a fever again?"
As he spoke, he reached out to take Aman's pulse.
Aman was already extremely shy, and after he said that, he almost lowered his face to the bottom of the table.
He stammered, "It's nothing, it's just a little...hot."
"Really?" Old Cheng was somewhat skeptical. After all, Aman had just recovered from a serious illness, and today had been a full three hours, which was more tiring than physical labor.
“I’m really fine.” Aman looked up. “See, I’m perfectly fine.”
Old Cheng carefully examined her face, and after confirming that there was no problem, he nodded, "Alright, let's eat then!"
After Old Master Cheng started eating, Aman picked up her chopsticks and was about to serve Fu Yunxiu some food when he took her bowl first and ladled her a bowl of sweet soup.
"Try it, I ordered it specially, see if it suits your taste."
A steaming bowl of sweet soup was placed before him. Aman, smelling the sweet aroma, was slightly surprised. "Young Master?"
Putting aside the fact that it was quite ambiguous for a man to personally serve soup to a woman in front of so many people, even according to the hierarchy of elders, the young master should have given the soup to Old Master Cheng first.
Sure enough, Old Cheng also sensed something was wrong, twirling his beard and humming, "This is indeed different. I, this old man, have been treating you for many years, and the number of times I've let you personally prepare soup can be counted on one hand. Truly, the world is going to the dogs!"
Despite saying that, there was no dissatisfaction in his tone, but rather joy and satisfaction.
Mantou listened intently, and couldn't help but grin.
From that day at the clinic, he noticed that the atmosphere between the young master and Aman was a bit off. After hearing what the apprentice doctor at the clinic said, he became certain of what he had in mind.
The young master's life has been too bitter. Having such a lovely person like Aman by his side is a kind of compensation from heaven for his suffering.
Moreover, the young master has always been cold and aloof, and acts cautiously. His decisions must be the result of careful consideration.
Now, with Ah Man by his side, the young master's leg is gradually being treated.
Everything seems to be moving in a positive direction.
Hehe, that's great!
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