Chapter 10 At a woman's age, could it be...?
As autumn transitions into winter, the first snow of winter will fall in Bianjing in a few days, and the weather will always be gloomy.
Yu Tan sat on the low couch, flipping through a book. The study was heated by an underfloor heating system, and a charcoal stove was placed near her, burning high-quality charcoal. There was no smoky smell, only a light woody fragrance.
She draped a thin Shu brocade quilt over her legs, feeling warm and comfortable all over.
In the afternoon, the study was lit up. Yu He'an was wearing only a thin, moon-white robe with bamboo leaf patterns embroidered on the collar, which was very elegant. However, the golden crown she was wearing was not appropriate. It would have looked even better if she had a white crane hair ribbon.
Yu He'an got up and put on his blue outer robe. Changming was out there, busy with something. Yu He'an tried to fix the collar of the robe several times, but it was always crooked.
Yu Tan put down the book, got off the low couch, and walked to Yu He'an. "Brother, are you going out?"
"Hmm." Yu He'an responded softly, looking down at Yu Tan's round almond eyes. "The Imperial Academy is hosting a lecture by the great Confucian scholar Kong Ren today. Master Zhao gave me an invitation, and I'm going to attend the lecture."
Kong Ren was a great Confucian scholar of his time. Even though Yu Tan had not entered the Imperial Academy to study, he was well-known for his reputation. In the court, there were countless upright officials who were his students, and even more scholars from all over the country wanted to become his disciples.
It seems that listening to the lectures was a pretense; Master Zhao intended to recommend Yuhe An to Kong Ren.
"Brother, be a little shorter." She stood in front of Yu He'an, straightening the collar of her outer robe. Her hair ornament was also a little crooked. Yu He'an was a head taller than her, and even when she stood on tiptoe, she couldn't reach him.
Yu He An bent his knees, lowering himself to be level with a jade disc.
She straightened her collar and noticed that Yu He'an was about to get up, so she placed her hands on his shoulders.
"Don't move."
Yu He'an then stopped what she was doing. She straightened the golden crown, tied her ponytail high, and her fingertips touched the skin on his neck, which was much warmer than hers.
Even though they were in the same room, she was wearing a padded jacket and skirt, wrapped in a thin quilt, and leaning against the stove, but she wasn't as warm as him.
The moment she touched him, she immediately withdrew her hand, the ends of her ponytail curling down onto her outer robe, blending with the gold thread embroidery.
"Alright, brother." Yu Tan suddenly took a big step back, his body tilted to the side and he fell straight to the ground.
Fortunately, Yu He'an reacted quickly and grabbed her wrist, forcibly pulling her back.
"Be careful, don't fall." Yu He'an lowered her eyes and loosened her grip. The glaring red marks left on her fair wrists coincided with the marks from a month ago. "Did I hurt you?"
"No." Yu Tan shook her head, her gaze falling on Yu He'an's right hand, where the burn had healed, leaving a large red mark, much more serious than hers.
Her body was pampered in the Marquis's mansion, and her skin was as white as snow, so that it would easily leave a mark if touched.
Yu He'an pursed his lips and remained silent.
"Really, it's nothing, it'll go away in a bit." Kong Yuhe'an didn't believe her. She raised her arm, and her light red jacket slid up a bit, revealing her wrist that had been pinched red. She gently rubbed it, and it immediately turned red in large patches. "Brother, look, it's really nothing, you should go now."
"If you want to stay at Fengxu Courtyard, then stay. Just tell them what you need. If you want anything today, you can take it."
After giving his instructions, Yu He'an stepped out of the study and left the courtyard with Changming. Yu Tan stared at Yu He'an's back in a daze, just in time to test her guess.
She leaned against the soft couch and closed her eyes. After an unknown amount of time, Changde quietly entered the room to add some fresh charcoal. She immediately opened her eyes.
"Did I disturb my wife?" Changde hurriedly put down the lid of the charcoal stove.
Yu Tan gently shook her head, knowing that her afternoon nap was over. "It's none of your business, I wasn't asleep."
Yu Tan took a few steps out of the study and was surprised to see Lan Xin, who was guarding the door.
Lanxin already knew that Yutan had secretly come to the study to sleep, and lowered her voice: "My lady, you woke up so early today."
With Yu He'an not around, she couldn't fall asleep at all.
Yu Tan coughed lightly: "Go to the west of the city."
Yu Tan fears the cold, and although it is only early winter and the Lesser Cold has arrived, she has already wrapped herself in a snow-white cloak embroidered with plum blossoms braving the snow. The light red inner skirt adds color to the winter scene.
As soon as she stepped outside, a cold wind blew against her face. She quickly put on the woolen hat on her cloak. When she looked up, the weather had become even more gloomy, with dark clouds looming overhead.
The snowstorm is likely to arrive earlier this year than in previous years.
"Did you bring an umbrella when you went out, brother?" Yu Tan turned to ask the servants of Feng Xu Courtyard.
Changde shook his head.
Before leaving home, Yu Tan brought an extra umbrella.
The carriage steadily moved towards the west of the city. Lanxin closed the carriage window, warmed a hand warmer, and handed it to her. "My lady, you usually don't leave the mansion once winter arrives. What's the matter that you're in such a hurry today?"
Yu Tan hugged the hand warmer; thankfully, it wasn't too cold. If she ever left the Marquis's mansion, she would head south to find a place without winter, "to see Doctor Xue in the west of the city."
Lanxin's eyes widened: "Wife, you're not feeling well again..."
Yu Tan pursed her lips helplessly. Over the years, whenever there was the slightest disturbance, they would be in chaos, but she would have long since become no different from a normal person.
She tapped Lanxin's head: "Can't you hope your wife gets better... I don't look sick at all..."
Lanxin complained, "Why did you go to Doctor Xue? Other doctors could be invited to the Marquis's residence, but Doctor Xue is too proud. The Marquis's residence invited him several times but he refused."
Yu Tan tapped Lan Xin's head again: "Your head only holds grudges and doesn't understand anything else."
It turns out that this Dr. Xue treats everyone equally; ordinary people and noble families are no different in her eyes. Her medical skills are also exceptional, and she can't keep up with all the patients she sees, so she no longer makes house calls…”
"My wife." Lanxin covered her head.
"Hahaha, you used to hit me back when you were little, but you don't dare to hit me now." Yu Tan laughed, leaning back. Seeing that Lan Xin was actually going to get close and hit her, she raised an eyebrow and stared at her, "How come you dare to do it now?"
Amidst their playful banter, the carriage came to a steady stop, and the driver knocked on the carriage.
"My lady, we've arrived at Doctor Xue's clinic in the west of the city."
Yu Tan fastened her cloak, stepped off the carriage onto a low stool, and felt the cold wind hit her face, blowing even harder.
She lifted the curtain to protect against the wind and stepped into Huichun Hall.
Two Boshan incense burners stood by the door, burning mugwort inside, filling the entire main hall with a rich mugwort aroma.
On the walls of the main hall, there are human meridian charts hanging on the left and right, and a picture of the medical sage Bian Que on the right. Below that is a medicine cabinet.
In the very center sat an ancient medical table, behind which sat a woman of about thirty years old. She had beautiful features and a serene demeanor, and wore a gray-blue jacket. Her fingers were on the woman's wrist, taking her pulse. This was the renowned Physician Xue of Bianjing.
It was freezing cold, and with snow approaching, there was only one woman seeing patients at Huichuntang. She was dressed in a light gray jacket and skirt, with a plain hairpin in her hair, and her age was not clear as she had her back to the main hall.
Doctor Xue looked up and pointed to the side. She nodded to Doctor Xue and waited by the medical table. She wanted to get closer to the incense burner to warm herself, but she was annoyed by the smell of mugwort, so she could only stomp her feet lightly.
After taking the woman's pulse, Doctor Xue frowned, sighed deeply, and lowered his eyes, his tone full of regret as he asked, "Why did you wait until now to come? Do you have pain in your lower abdomen and chest, or do you sometimes feel weak in your limbs?"
The woman froze for a moment, then nodded, her voice weak and feeble: "I just arrived in Bianjing. Before that, I was stuck in the countryside and went to see a doctor a few times, but they couldn't figure out what was wrong, so I didn't take it seriously... But these past few months, I've felt something was off, so I thought I'd come and get it checked out again."
Her voice was gentle and pleasant, just like that of a kind and gentle elder in the family. Yu Tan frequently glanced at the woman, and after looking at her several times, she felt that even the woman's back view was extremely beautiful.
Doctor Xue scribbled on the medicine slip, remained silent for a long while, then turned the woman's wrist and carefully took her pulse again, his tone regretful: "I can't cure her, I can't cure her, and I doubt anyone in this vast city of Bianjing can cure her either."
Yu Tan stared at the woman, feeling only regret. If she could afford to help her with some of the money needed for treatment, she would be willing to lend a hand...
The woman seemed unsurprised and gently patted Doctor Xue's hand to comfort him, "I did sense these things, Doctor, you don't need to blame yourself. I came here just to ask how much time I have left... I still have some unfulfilled wishes, which must be fulfilled before I can leave without any regrets."
Doctor Xue put down his pen and gave the woman a deep look. "It will take at least three months, and at most half a year."
The woman, having received her answer, stepped aside contentedly: "That's enough. No matter how big Bianjing is, it can be traversed in three months. You'll eventually see the person you want to see."
"I'll go get some medicine. These medicines can only relieve the pain and delay the pain for a while, but they can't cure the problem."
Doctor Xue had already gotten up to get the medicine from the medicine cabinet. The woman wanted to refuse, but the words stopped in her mouth. Half an hour later, three large packages of medicine were wrapped in paper and tied tightly with string. They were handed to the woman. She took the medicine and was a little at a loss. She took out her purse and started to gather money.
He said gratefully, "Thank you so much, doctor."
"My lady, it's your turn." Doctor Xue looked up in the direction of Yu Tan. "Do you have any ailments?"
Yu Tan strolled over to the medical table, sat down with a hand warmer in her arms, and Doctor Xue scribbled a few more strokes on the medicine note. After a while, he looked up and was stunned when he saw Yu Tan's appearance. He then turned to look at the woman from before.
Xue Shen's eyes widened, his mouth gaped open, and his face showed unconcealed astonishment. His gaze kept shifting between her and the woman.
She followed Doctor Xue's gaze and saw the woman counting the money in her purse. Her exposed fingers were thin and rough, and her figure was similar to Yu Tan's. As if sensing their gaze, the woman raised her head.
Her delicate features were unadorned, her eyebrows resembled distant mountains, and her almond-shaped eyes were gentle. However, her beautiful eyes had lost their luster, and several fine lines had appeared at the upturned corners of her eyes, giving her the appearance of a beauty who had suffered greatly.
Yu Tan clutched her chest, her heart pounding wildly.
The upper half of the woman's face was almost identical to hers.
What could this woman be to her?
The woman was close in age to her mother.
Shock, heartache, panic—her heart was overflowing with too many emotions. She couldn't even tell whether she was more happy or sad; she hadn't figured out her feelings yet.
The woman had already turned her face away, avoiding their gaze.
"Dr. Xue, I've left the consultation fee on the drawer. Thank you very much." The woman curtsied and then turned to leave.
When she first met the male protagonist, she could tolerate it to some extent and not investigate his background. But now that she has met a woman who looks so much like her, she absolutely cannot tolerate it.
Given the woman's age, could she be her mother?
She wanted to get to the bottom of it.
A note from the author:
Thank you, Jiu Jiu, for the spoiler from Obliviate! [starry eyes][starry eyes][starry eyes]
It's so nice to see old friends! [fireworks]
Thank you Zhang Evasion and Yunmengze Chunjin Daoban Yuanzhi Qiushiyu for the nutrient solution. [Milk Tea][Milk Tea][Milk Tea]
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