Ah Cai's wife led the two back to the main room, found Liu Xu a new quilt, and let her rest in bed for a while.
"Young lady, please rest here for a bit. I'll go back and get you some clothes."
They were in such a hurry that they didn't even put on their cloaks. In this border town's weather, you really need something to keep out the wind.
Huan Lü had just returned to the corner gate of Fengyue Tower when she saw He Yi preparing to knock on the door.
"Mrs. He is here."
The young girl didn't knock; she simply pushed open the side door and went in, waving to He Yi behind her as she spoke.
"Mrs. He, please come in quickly. There's no one to look after the little girl this afternoon."
A blast of warmth wafted in, warming her icy body slightly. Seeing the busy maids inside, she asked...
What happened?
"I don't know what they're serving today, it's not right, and the girls in the building are all having stomach problems."
Huanlu led He Yi to the backyard and pointed to the main house, saying...
"Little girl should be in the main room. I'll go call her for you."
He Yi slightly changed her clothes
Thank you, young lady.
Huanlu gently knocked on the main room door a few times and whispered from outside.
"Aunt Cen, Ya Dan's mother is here."
Cen's mother had just come out of the outhouse a short while ago and was sitting on the bed massaging her legs to help the blood flow back to the body. Normally, if she had diarrhea like this, she would have been too weak to get up long ago. Today, apart from the numbness in her legs, she felt perfectly fine and even felt much better.
Huo Xiaolong pressed his little hand against Cen's mother's leg. The doctor was already in the front hall. The little girl tugged at Cen's mother's sleeve and said...
"The doctor has arrived, let's go see him."
Mrs. Cen smiled
"You've been worrying about me for days on end. Don't worry, it's nothing. It'll be fine once the older girls finish using the restroom!"
She picked up the little dumpling and pushed open the door.
"Mrs. He arrived just in time today. There's a lot going on upstairs, so I'll trouble you to look after her for a while."
"It's my duty, Madam, you're too kind."
He Yi's every word and action was observed by Cen's mother, who knew perfectly well that the couple must have come from a wealthy family in the capital, but she didn't say anything.
In the capital, you could smash three wealthy and powerful families out of a single brick. They might be illegitimate sons or daughters, or relatives from all walks of life, all connected by blood.
Mother Cen put the little girl down on the ground, and the two of them, each holding one of their beloved children's hands, went to the front hall.
"Dr. Gu, you've come all this way today. I reckon you won't be able to leave the brothel all afternoon."
Mother Cen teased, watching the maids bustling about in the building.
The old doctor was already in his fifties, and his beard was streaked with white. He stroked his beard and said...
"No problem, no problem. Zhao Kai invited me today, how could I not come and tease him a bit?"
Zhao Kai was also running to the outhouse, but there were too many girls in the building, and both the front and back yards were occupied, so he had to go to another single waiter's house on duty to borrow one.
The old man took out a pulse pillow and gestured for Mrs. Cen to place her hand on it.
One incense stick has burned.
Doctor Gu remained silent, his expression suggesting he was deep in thought. Huo Xiaolong was frantic; what if the water was poisonous? He wondered where the spatial dimension had come from.
"Grandpa Gu, how are you?"
The little dumpling asked softly, afraid of disturbing the old man taking her pulse.
At this moment, Zhao Kai returned with the waiter and hurriedly went to the front hall to wait for Doctor Gu to speak.
"Bring your hand over again, and I'll take a look at it too," Doctor Gu gestured to Zhao Kai.
Zhao Kai hurriedly did as instructed, rolling up his sleeves and letting the old doctor take his pulse.
After a while, Doctor Gu stroked his beard and asked...
What did you have for lunch today?
"I didn't eat much, just the usual roast suckling pig, chicken stew with mushrooms, and a few vegetable dishes."
The old man checked Zhang Mama's pulse again. She was in charge of the meals at Fengyue Tower, so she would naturally have to pay if something happened.
"You must have taken some highly nourishing and detoxifying tonics at noon to be like this."
Zhang's mother and Cen's mother looked at each other and both shook their heads.
"Dr. Gu, there really isn't any."
"The detoxification effect is extremely significant, so significant that only about 50% of the toxins remain in your body," the doctor said, looking at Cen's mother.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Kai was overjoyed and quickly stood up to give Doctor Gu a deep bow.
"Are you telling the truth? Why don't you take another look?"
Cen's mother was in poor health, her face always pale. The fact that she had residual poison in her body wasn't hidden from the residents of the building; most knew about it. Doctor Gu prescribed medicine for Cen's mother every two weeks; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she was currently relying on medication to prolong her life.
Even so, Dr. Gu asserted that Cen's mother would not live past forty.
Doctor Gu's real name was Gu Shilin. He came from a family of physicians and, in his youthful exuberance, had roamed the land, earning a reputation for exceptional medical skills. As he aged and could no longer travel the country, he settled in a border town. Life in the border town was tough. Before Doctor Gu arrived, Pingyang County had only one small clinic, and the doctor was only mediocre. If someone fell seriously ill, they had to go to the provincial capital—only the wealthy could afford that. Most families were poor. What could they do? They could only stay home, eat and drink well, and wait to die.
The middle-aged man glanced at Zhao Kai.
"You still don't trust my medical skills?"
Zhao Kai quickly smiled apologetically.
"How could I dare? You see, I'm just worrying too much. Please take a closer look, take a careful look."
While feeling the pulse, Doctor Gu pondered and asked...
"What did you guys eat for lunch? Something that can clear away lingering toxins? If you don't show me this stuff, I'm not leaving today!"
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