Chapter 121

Jiang Yanyi glanced at the woman. She was not in a good condition. Chu Chengmao, considering the difference between men and women, only dared to support one of her arms.

Jiang Yanyi said to Huo Jianjia who was following him: "Jianjia, go and help the girl."

Although Xue was worried about the child, she could not leave the girl alone at this time, and also ordered her maid: "Shiya, go and help."

Huo Jianjia looked small, but she was very strong. She almost lifted the whole woman by herself.

Jiang Yanyi asked Huo Jianjia to help the woman to give her some dignity. Otherwise, if she fainted here and was carried away by Chu Chengmao, there would be so many eyes watching in Shunkangfang. If she turned around and spread the news outside, it would be unclear between her and Chu Chengmao.

The woman knew Jiang Yanyi's intention, and gave her a look of gratitude, nodding slightly in thanks. The grace and cultivation she inadvertently displayed when she raised her hands and feet were not like those of a girl from an ordinary family.

Chu Chengmao also knew that his nephew was still waiting to see the doctor and couldn't delay. After Jiang Yanyi asked Huo Jianjia to support the girl, he took off the jade pendant from his waist and handed it to the madam: "I have to go out in a hurry tonight, and I don't have much money with me. You hold the jade pendant. I will send someone to exchange it for the jade pendant tomorrow."

The madam's eyes rolled and she cried: "Oh, Second Master Chu, it's not that I don't want to let her go. This girl... I spent more than three hundred taels when I bought her..."

Chu Chengmao didn't buy her tricks and sneered: "Even if it's three thousand taels, you can't argue with me tomorrow. You'll suffer the consequences if you delay this child's medical treatment!"

The madam then took back the tears that were shed in a pretentious manner.

After getting on the carriage, they headed straight for the nearby clinic.

The doctor was woken up in the middle of the night by a knock on the door. Because Chu Chengmao looked so ugly, he swallowed his dissatisfaction and complaints.

When taking Chu Nian'an's pulse, the doctor frowned tightly: "It's really a sin. How could a child who is only a few months old be burned like this?"

Chu Nian'an was wrapped in Xue's cold-proof hood. At this time, his body was not cold, but his whole body was hot. His whole face was red. He kept crying in pain, but because his voice was hoarse from crying before, he could only make a weak voice like a kitten.

"Doctor, please save my child." Xue didn't cry at all when she was in Shunkangfang. Now she saw Chu Nian'an seemed to be unable to breathe, and her eyes were red with heartache.

The doctor shook his head and said, "I dare not use medicine rashly on such a young child. I am afraid that the child cannot bear acupuncture. I can only think of a way to reduce his fever. I will write a prescription for medicinal bath later. When you go back, you should also give the child medicinal baths for a few days. In this severe winter, it is most likely for children to have recurring fevers."

There are many children who die of illness in childhood, and some have damaged their brains due to high fever. Xue, holding the child, could no longer maintain the dignity she pretended to be, and choked up.

It was just as Chu Chengbai thought. If she divorced Chu Chengbai in her current situation, her future would only be more difficult.

She originally just wanted to raise this child well. It didn't matter if Liu didn't like her. She just needed to please the old lady and build good relationships with her younger brothers and sisters at home.

But if something happens to the child, she will never be able to gain a real foothold in the Chu family in this life, and she will have no one to rely on in the future.

"Don't be sad, sister-in-law, Nian'an is a blessed man, and God will bless him." Jiang Yanyi saw Xue crying, and knew her difficulties, and felt bad.

Women of this era regard their fathers as the sky when they are girls at home, and their husbands as the sky after they get married. When they have children, they regard their sons as the sky.

Xue grew up here and was exposed to such ideas. Her temperament is much stronger and calmer than that of ordinary women. She can't go back to her parents' home, and her husband is not a good person. She can only pin her hopes on her children.

So Chu Nian'an's illness was such a big blow to her.

Xue choked up and said, "Ayi, I'm not as capable as you. I really don't know what to do now..."

"Don't worry, we'll listen to the doctor." Jiang Yanyi saw that Chu Nian'an had a fever and dry lips because he cried for too long. Whether it was an adult or a child, it would never hurt to drink more hot water to replenish the body's water during illness. So she asked Chu Chengmao to get some warm water for her, and asked the doctor to get a clean spoon to feed the child water little by little.

Chu Nian'an had been crying for too long and was so tired that he couldn't even close his eyes. When he felt the spoon coming over, he opened his mouth and moved towards the spoon. The originally fragmented crying sound turned into a fragmented humming sound.

At this time, the doctor and his wife also lit a few more braziers in the room. After making sure that the room was not cold, they untied Chu Nian'an's swaddling clothes and applied a towel soaked in cold water to Chu Nian'an's forehead, neck, armpits and groin.

Every once in a while, they put the towel back into the cold water, soaked it, and then twisted it and applied it. Jiang Yanyi and Xue also went to help.

After half an hour of hard work, Chu Nian'an's fever finally subsided.

The doctor prepared warm water for medicinal baths, saying that medicinal baths can force the cold out of the child's body and he will get better faster.

Chu Nian'an was small, so a wooden basin could be used as a bathtub for him. Jiang Yanyi and Xue were not strong enough, and it was okay to hold Chu Nian'an for a medicinal bath for a while, but their hands would be sore after a long time, so Chu Chengmao had to do it.

After Chu Nian'an finished the medicinal bath, Xue wrapped him up with a shawl. Not long after, he broke out in a sweat. Perhaps because he was no longer feeling uncomfortable, he was much quieter when he slept, only groaning occasionally, but his breathing was still heavy.

While Chu Nian'an was taking the medicinal bath, the doctor also checked the girl's pulse and said that she was too tired and had a weak constitution.

Chu Chengmao couldn't send the girl to the Protectorate immediately at night, so he asked her to rest at the Chu family for a night and said he would send her there in person tomorrow.

From the time they left Shunkangfang to the time they took the carriage back home, Jiang Yanyi didn't find a chance to ask Chu Chengmao about the girl's identity. However, Chu Chengmao seemed to have a string tightened around him since he met the girl.

After returning to the Chu family, Xue's heart was completely focused on Chu Nian'an, and it was Jiang Yanyi who arranged a guest room for the girl.

Jiang Yanyi turned back to ask Chu Chengmao about the identity of the girl, but when she went to find him, she learned that Chu Chengmao had gone out again with his men overnight.

Jiang Yanyi was very tired that night, but thinking about the identity of the woman and the purpose of Chu Chengmao going out in the middle of the night, she had no desire to sleep, so she simply waited for Chu Chengmao to come back in the front hall. This

wait lasted for an hour. After Chu Chengmao returned home, he learned that Jiang Yanyi was still waiting for him, so he went straight to the front hall.

"Is there anything that can't be asked tomorrow? Why do you have to wait until now?" Chu Chengmao's tone sounded like a reproach, but his words were caring.

The fatigue on Jiang Yanyi's face was obvious. She asked, "Second brother, why are you going out so late? What are you doing?"

Chu Chengmao said, "Go and clean up the tail to avoid trouble in the future."

Jiang Yanyi guessed that the tail he mentioned was probably those people in Shunkangfang who knew that they took the woman away.

If Chu Chengmao just wanted to warn those people not to leak the news, so as to avoid ruining the woman's reputation in the future, he would not have to rush over overnight. There must be some hidden secrets.

She hesitated and said, "That girl is..."

"She is the second girl of the Xie family in Sheng'an." Chu Chengmao said, his voice was low and slow, with a hint of hoarseness and not very obvious loneliness.

The second girl Xie, isn't she the girl who was engaged to Wu Hou's son Mu Xuanqing? After Mu Xuanqing died, the Chu family also went to ask for her marriage on behalf of Chu Chengmao, but she refused.

Jiang Yanyi couldn't figure out what the connection between her and Feng Shuo was, so she asked Chu Chengmao directly: "Why did she go to the Protectorate?"

Chu Chengmao shook his head: "I really don't know. She just said that someone was chasing her, and she had no choice but to hide in Shunkangfang in order to get rid of that group of people."

Although there are still many mysteries, at least the identity of the girl is known.

On the first day of the new year, the whole family had to get up early to pay respects to Madam Chu in the courtyard. Jiang Yanyi slept too late last night and got up almost with her eyes closed this morning. When she looked in the mirror, she found that there was a dark spot under her eyes and her complexion was not good.

I heard that Feng Shuo would come to the Chu family to pay New Year's greetings today. Jiang, who was usually too lazy to put on makeup, also put on three layers of makeup inside and outside, trying to cover up the dark spot under her eyes.

When she arrived at Old Madam Chu's courtyard, she was not too late, but still late.

Old Madam Chu could tell at a glance that Jiang Yanyi was not in good spirits, and asked with a smile: "How long did you play mahjong last night? Why are you and your sister-in-law so tired?"

Xue answered for Jiang Yanyi: "Nian'an had a fever last night, and Ah Yi happened to come to see Nian'an. He and I took care of Nian'an for a while, and went back late."

When Jiang Yanyi heard Xue say this, she knew that she was trying to hide the truth from Old Madam Chu.

On New Year's Eve, such a ridiculous thing happened in the family. It was not auspicious or not, but I was afraid that Old Madam Chu would be so angry that she would pass out on the spot.

Jiang Yanyi nodded in agreement with Xue's words.

When Mrs. Chu heard that her great-grandson was ill, she was really anxious and asked, "Has the fever gone down?"

Mrs. Xue said, "My grandson's wife has been watching over Nian'an all night, and he doesn't have a fever anymore."

Mrs. Chu was originally dissatisfied with her great-grandson's illness, but when she saw Mrs. Xue's haggard face and heard that she had taken care of the child herself all night and then disappeared, she said that the child had a wet nurse to watch over and asked her to pay more attention to her own body.

Mrs. Liu, who was standing by, looked strange and a little uneasy.

Old Madam Chu looked around and didn't see Chu Chengbai. She couldn't help but ask Mrs. Liu, "Why didn't you see Chengbai?"

Mrs. Liu said embarrassedly, "Brother Bai is sick. I was afraid that he would pass the disease to you, so I didn't let him come."

When she said this, Chu Changping's face was very ugly. Jiang Yanyi guessed that Chu Changping already knew the ridiculous things Chu Chengbai did, but didn't want the family to have an unhappy New Year because of Chu Chengbai, so he didn't tell the old lady.

Old Madam Chu told Mrs. Liu a few words to take good care of Chu Chengbai, and the family started to have breakfast.

The glutinous rice dumplings cooked in the kitchen were the size of pearls. The white and soft dumplings were placed in a white porcelain bowl with a golden ruyi border. They looked very beautiful. Sugar and fermented glutinous rice were added, and they tasted soft, sweet, and had a faint aroma of wine.

Jiang Yanyi drank a few sips of the sweet soup, and his stomach warmed up. The fatigue in his body also disappeared a lot, and he felt satisfied.

The side dishes were a dish of mixed three shreds, a plate of salted duck eggs, and a dish of smoked goose breast and spiced basil.

Jiang Yanyi thought the other dishes were average, but the duck eggs were well pickled, with orange yolk and lots of oil. They tasted salty and appetizing, and served with sweet and sticky small dumplings, she didn't feel sick at all.

After breakfast, Jiang Yanyi learned that Chu Chengbai was indeed at home, but he didn't have a cold, but had broken several ribs and couldn't get out of bed.

Chu Chengbai said that it was she who instigated the maid to beat him, but Chu Changping didn't believe it at all. Chu Chengmao said that he was angry at Chu Chengbai's behavior and beat her, so the name of beating Chu Chengbai fell on Chu Chengmao.

But Chu Chengbai was indeed a mess, and Chu Changping didn't blame his son at all.

The real head of the Chu family now is Chu Changping. He has planned to send Chu Chengbai to a farm in the country after the New Year, saying that he would cultivate his character, but this is no different from a disguised expulsion. Old

Master Chu is too old to take care of things, and Chu Changping is getting tough. Master Chu can't do anything about him, so he just said that if Chu Chengbai goes to the country, he will go with him.

Last night, Xie Chuji proposed to go to the Protectorate. Jiang Yanyi is now engaged to Feng Shuo, so Chu Chengmao has to understand why she wants to go to the Protectorate.

After breakfast, he went to see Xie Chuji. Compared with the wolf yesterday, Xie Chuji, after washing up, has become the talented woman who was once famous in the capital.

Chu Chengmao did not enter the house, but just watched her from a distance in the yard and asked, "Are you feeling better?"

Xie Chuji knelt down and bowed to him under the eaves: "Thank you very much for rescuing me yesterday, Second Young Master Chu."

She was a gentle beauty, but her eyes revealed a stubbornness and coldness that was completely different from her gracefulness.

Hearing the change in her way of addressing him, Chu Chengmao smiled and said nothing.

Xie Chuji saw the disappointment in his eyes and lowered her eyes in embarrassment.

Chu Chengmao said, "If you want to go to the Protectorate, you have to tell me who you are going to see."

Xie Chuji uttered three words: "King of Liaoning."

Chu Chengmao's eyes changed slightly: "Why are you looking for him?"

Xie Chuji pursed her lips, as if she was unwilling to say more.

Chu Chengmao said, "He is engaged to my sister. If you don't tell me the reason, and I send you there without hesitation, what will my sister think?"

Xie Chuji had just arrived in Xizhou and didn't know that the Chu family and the Liaonan Palace had such a relationship. After hearing what Chu Chengmao said, she finally relaxed: "I found evidence to vindicate the Mu family."

Her voice was low and trembling, and she lowered her eyelids to hide the wetness in her eyes.