Chapter 96: Crisis Reappears
Cui Jian had gentle features, and a faint smile played in his eyes.
His lips moved as if he wanted to speak, but he only managed to utter a few broken, incoherent sounds, his voice rough and unpleasant, which even surprised himself.
Zhu Mingyue quickly got up to pour tea: "Brother Cui, you had a fever all night last night, and your voice is probably hoarse from the fever. Drinking some water will help soothe your throat."
Cui Jian tried to reach out, but found that he couldn't move any of his muscles; any struggle caused excruciating pain.
"Don't move," Zhu Mingyue slowly poured the warm water from the rim of the cup to Cui Jian's lips. The warm water slid down his lips and into his throat, and Cui Jian's throat bobbed eagerly as if it had been raining for a long time.
After finishing the cup, Zhu Mingyue took it away: "You can't drink anymore. There are still two bowls of medicine to go. You can't move right now, and it will be inconvenient to go to the toilet if you drink too much."
Cui Jian nodded slightly, indicating his understanding.
The room returned to its usual quiet.
The only sound was the occasional crackling of firewood from the stove in the kitchen. The two doses of medicine would take at least an hour to brew, so He An still had a lot to do. He'd practically turned a perfectly good acting manager into a steward; he felt guilty towards him for this, and would definitely give him a bonus once this was over.
"I'm sorry." Cui Jian's weak voice rang out, and it wasn't so hoarse, probably because he had moistened his throat.
"Is your throat feeling better?" Zhu Mingyue asked in surprise. He waved his hand and said, "There's nothing to apologize for. In the end, you didn't hurt me, did you? Besides, in that situation, I would have been more cautious too."
"You know?" Cui Jian twitched his lips self-deprecatingly. Indeed, that person went so far as to send troops from the imperial court to pursue him here, making such a big commotion that everyone outside probably already knows.
He looked quietly at Zhu Mingyue, his eyes filled with guilt: "I've dragged you into this."
Zhu Mingyue was very worried when she saw that he was overthinking things as soon as he woke up, but he knew nothing about it, so she could only comfort him: "I brought you back to where I trust you the most, and no one else knows about it. Don't overthink it, just focus on getting better."
There was a knock at the door. Zhu Mingyue turned around and looked: "The medicine is here. I'll go open the door."
He An stood at the door with a tray holding two bowls of medicine, a smile playing on his lips, seemingly in a good mood.
Zhu Mingyue came out and took the medicine: "What's wrong?"
"I'm happy that your benefactor has woken up." He An explained casually, but that wasn't really the case. He was just happy to hear that the shopkeeper didn't see him as a beast of burden but as a friend, and even the most trusted friend.
So, ever since the shopkeeper returned from Jizhou, he has become a hands-off manager, leaving everything to him and almost squeezing him dry. He must have felt that only he was trustworthy, otherwise why would he only exploit him and not others?
Moved, truly moved, He An suddenly felt full of strength, and could fight for Zhu Mingyue for another three hundred years.
"Shopkeeper, is there anything else I can do for you?"
Zhu Mingyue thought for a moment and said, "It seems like that's all. I won't be going to the shop or the restaurant for the next few days. Please keep an eye on things for me."
He An: "It's alright, it doesn't matter whether you go or not, shopkeeper."
It felt like this kid was seizing the opportunity to be sarcastic and sarcastic towards him again, but he was indeed a little guilty towards He An, so he said awkwardly, "Thank you for your hard work."
He An: "Hehe, it's not hard work. The shopkeeper can even give me more work."
Sure enough, he was being sarcastic towards him, Zhu Mingyue thought to himself. But he did have something to ask He An for, so he could only shamelessly go along with it and say, "In that case, please keep an eye on the movements of those officials in town for me."
“Okay,” He An readily agreed, “Be careful not to let anyone discover anything amiss in the village.”
After seeing He An off, Zhu Mingyue tested the temperature of the medicine and said, "Brother Cui, you can take your medicine now."
Cui Jian drank his medicine in a completely different way; he did it as if it were sugar water, without any sign of pain on his face. Zhu Mingyue was immediately filled with admiration, feeling that even taking out the candy she had prepared for him beforehand was an insult.
After drinking two bowls of medicine, Cui Jian's face showed embarrassment. He didn't say anything, but Zhu Mingyue keenly noticed his unusual emotions.
"What's wrong? Is it too hot?" He stepped forward to wipe the sweat from his forehead, complaining, "This damn weather is really hot. I'll wipe your body again with a wet cloth later."
Cui Jian shook his head, his tone somewhat embarrassed: "I need to relieve myself."
"Going to the toilet?" Zhu Mingyue almost forgot that Cui Jian had been going to the toilet since yesterday.
He hadn't been to the toilet at all. Even a normal person would be about to burst from holding it in, let alone someone who was injured.
"I'll go get you a bedpan. Just hang in there a little longer, and please don't pee."
Wishing Mingyue to run incredibly fast!
Cui Jian: ...
"We don't have any at home, so we'll have to make do!" Zhu Mingyue rushed in, panting, carrying a clean wooden basin.
Then I saw that Cui Jian had turned his head away at some point, and I could only see the tip of his bright red ear.
Shy? You're about to burst, how can you be shy? Zhu Mingyue couldn't quite understand Cui Jian's thought process, but he respected him. After all, his older brother Cui looked like a noble young master, and probably had never experienced peeing in bed.
But he still had to persuade him, because wetting the bed would be troublesome, and he would have to move Cui Jian away and change the bedding. "Brother Cui, don't be shy, I'll hold the basin for you, just be careful not to pee crookedly."
After he finished speaking, he saw that the tips of Cui Jian's ears visibly turned even redder.
Cui Jian's voice was muffled: "You go out, I'll handle this myself."
Zhu Mingyue stood still, saying, "Brother Cui, you can't move around right now. It would be bad if you aggravated your wound."
He went to the bedside and spoke kindly to Cui Jian. Seeing that Cui Jian seemed to have finally given in, he began to help him take off his undergarments.
He could feel Cui Jian's whole body stiffen. After a series of pattering sounds, Zhu Mingyue disposed of the basin.
Er Ya stood by the well, tilting her head to watch him wash his hands. Zhu Mingyue flicked Er Ya's bird head and sighed, "Patients are really hard to take care of!" Who would have thought that his original college entrance exam goal was nursing at Kyoto Medical University? After taking care of Cui Jian, he finally gave up this obsession that he couldn't fulfill in his previous life.
Cui Jian became withdrawn after urinating. When Zhu Mingyue brought rice porridge into the room, he was still in the same posture, his body stiff as a stone sculpture.
"Brother Cui, it's time to eat." Zhu Mingyue knelt on one knee on the edge of the bed and reminded him, "I added eggs and vegetables to the rice porridge, which are easy to digest. You can eat some lean meat in a few days when you feel better."
Cui Jian subconsciously turned his head away. Zhu Mingyue thought he was disgusted by her dirty hands, so she quickly explained, "I washed my hands, they're very clean. And..." He then muttered softly, "I'm supporting you, why are you complaining?"
Cui Jian became even more withdrawn, saying, "I didn't show any disgust."
After saying that, he opened his mouth in despair and let Zhu Mingyue feed him porridge.
She only ate half a bowl before saying she was full and resolutely refused to eat any more.
A bowl of porridge and half a bowl of water, the more he ate, the more he urinated. Zhu Mingyue knew what he was thinking and frowned: "Brother Cui, your knife wound needs sufficient nutrition to heal as soon as possible."
"So what if you pee? I don't mind, so don't overthink it." The spoon made a crisp sound as it hit the bottom of the bowl. Zhu Mingyue raised an eyebrow, deliberately provoking him: "Or is it that Brother Cui is really shy?"
Cui Jian remained silent.
Zhu Mingyue suddenly found it funny. The seriously injured Brother Cui was completely different from the Brother Cui he knew before, who seemed to be able to handle anything with ease and composure.
The previous Brother Cui was also very nice, but he always seemed aloof. Although he treated people like a warm breeze, his attitude was actually distant. This one in front of me is much more lively, more human, and also... funnier.
Zhu Mingyue stopped feeding him porridge and leaned against the headboard, her shoulders shaking from trying not to laugh. "Brother Cui, don't be shy. It's actually quite big. Back in high school, the guys in my class didn't use the toilet properly. They were always comparing their breasts when they were bored. If you ask me, what's the point of comparing? You should show them off. It will definitely make them feel so inferior that they'll give up this bad habit on the spot."
At this point, Cui Jian not only became withdrawn, but even cracks appeared on his expressionless face.
After a long pause, he managed to squeeze out a few words through gritted teeth: "Vulgar and rude."
Zhu Mingyue suddenly realized that she had revealed her past life. Fortunately, Cui Jian was in a state of extreme shock and did not seem to be curious about the unfamiliar words Zhu Mingyue used, such as high school and class.
He nodded in agreement, expressing complete agreement with his view: "It is indeed quite vulgar."
"Ahem," Cui Jian coughed twice more, his tone somewhat agitated: "Have you also...competed with them?"
Seeing him cough like that, Zhu Mingyue realized she had gone too far with her teasing and quickly replied, "I'm not going to compare these things with them, it's pointless. Besides, what's the point of comparing them? Will they change size or not?"
Cui Jian nodded solemnly: "You're right. Our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents, and we don't need to compare ourselves with others. From now on, never associate with such vulgar people again." It was as if they were trampling on his values.
Zhu Mingyue smiled. Those classmates weren't bad, but it was true that he couldn't get along with them. Boys in their adolescence like to imitate adults in society, and they smoke and drink together.
These were things he couldn't do. He spent all his free time studying and working part-time to earn money. His mind was full of thoughts about supporting himself and getting into his dream university. He was like an extremely unsociable outsider in his class.
But Cui Jian was just too easy to tease, and his serious demeanor was also quite amusing. He pursed his lips and decided to tease him one last time and then stop: "Don't associate with them, associate with Brother Cui, Brother Cui's... is bigger."
Cough cough! Cough cough cough—
Cui Jian started coughing violently again, his face turning red. His complexion, which had been pale due to blood loss, looked much better.
Zhu Mingyue was filled with regret and never dared to be so sarcastic again. She hurriedly pressed on his wound, afraid that his coughing would tear the already scabbed wound open again.
Cui Jian was thoroughly exhausted after being tormented by him, and fell into a deep sleep once again.
"Tsk, being too serious isn't good either, he gets teased easily." Zhu Mingyue shook her head and got up to cover him with a thin blanket.
Five days later,
Cui Jian has finally recovered most of his energy. Although he still cannot make large movements, the good news is that the wounds on his body have not become infected and have begun to heal, which is a good sign.
After Zhu Mingyue finished applying the last bottle of wound medicine to him, she said to Cui Jian, "Brother Cui, I have to go out tomorrow." In the small Shangyang County, wound medicine is a scarce commodity, especially the one he bought, which is said to have been developed by a family of imperial physicians. It is expensive and available in limited quantities.
Fortunately, it really works; although it cost money, the results were remarkable. Even with such a deep wound, it never became infected, and the shallower areas have already scabbed over, just waiting to fall off.
Cui Jian knew that he had gone out to buy medicine. He An had come by the day before yesterday and said that the imperial officials were still searching and were about to turn Shangyang County upside down. He An was very worried when he said this, and it was not hard to see that he was uneasy about the potential risks of taking in Cui Jian.
This was the first time Zhu Mingyue had stepped out of the Xie family's house in the past few days, and she still felt a little dazed as she walked onto the streets of the county.
As he was walking toward the pharmacy, a group of government officials suddenly rushed out and pinned a middle-aged man to the ground as they passed by him.
"Sir, spare my life! Sir, spare my life!" the man cried out in terror, clutching the unfilled medicine bottle, drawing the attention of passersby.
"Stop talking nonsense and take us to your home."
Zhu Mingyue sensed something was wrong and was about to leave this dangerous place when a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder. He immediately felt like he was being targeted by a venomous snake, and his hair stood on end in fright.
He turned his head, feigning composure, and met a somewhat familiar face.
"Manager Zhu, it's been a long time!"
Zhu Mingyue smiled faintly: "You're joking. Didn't we just meet a few days ago?"
"Manager Zhu is quite handsome. I've missed you for several days and went to Mingyue Restaurant to catch up, but the waiter said you haven't been back since you left that day. I wonder if something happened to you, Manager Zhu?"
Zhu Mingyue clenched her fists tightly, but her face remained calm as she smiled and said, "It's really unfortunate. I sprained my ankle the other day and had to stay home for a few days before I was able to go out today."
"Oh?" The official laughed wickedly. "Manager Zhu must be confused. The road to Mingyue Tower doesn't pass through here."
After saying that, his gaze drifted to the pharmacy not far away, and he said meaningfully, "Or perhaps..."
Zhu Mingyue frowned and interrupted him, her tone becoming displeased: "I'm going to the pharmacy."
"I just sprained my ankle, and it hasn't fully healed in days, so I thought I'd come to the pharmacy to see a doctor. I don't know why you're being so aggressive, sir." His little face was flushed red, and he looked very aggrieved. "I don't know what you want to do. What kind of criminal you're arresting has nothing to do with me. I just came to see a doctor to get my foot checked. Is there no law in Shangyang County anymore? Do I have to be humiliated and interrogated like this just to go to a pharmacy?"
The official's wicked smile faded slightly, and he immediately stepped aside, saying, "Manager Zhu, please don't be angry. It's just a routine inquiry."
Zhu Mingyue glanced at him and limped past him.
"etc!"
They had only taken a few steps when they were called back again.
Zhu Mingyue bit her lip tightly, then suddenly let go after a moment, turned around and asked in a good-natured manner, "What is it, sir?"
The officer raised his chin: "Take a look at the feet."
Zhu Mingyue: ...
He pulled up his trouser leg, revealing his ankle, which was still swollen, and his face turned unusually cold.
The officer suddenly laughed: "Since Manager Zhu has injured his foot, he should not walk around on the street recently. He should rest and recuperate."
Zhu Mingyue didn't give him a friendly look this time; she just nodded, turned around, and went into the pharmacy.
For such a naturally suspicious person, excessive enthusiasm or deliberate flattery will only arouse suspicion.
Upon entering the pharmacy, he deliberately spoke loudly, "Doctor, my foot injury has not healed for several days. Do you have any medicine that can help?"
He bought two doses of herbal poultice and left the house with a carefree expression.
He did not go home immediately, but stayed at the shop in town for half a day.
At the alley entrance, several people huddled together. "Sir, Zhu Mingyue hasn't returned home. Should we continue to follow her?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
