If Li Qingchen had woken up at this moment, Wei Shuwan would have been extremely embarrassed. Fortunately, he only protested briefly before returning to silence.
In the quiet night, the sound of the vase falling to the ground had already woken Zi Qiao and Miao Xiang. Now, the two of them put on their clothes and slippers and came over. As soon as they entered the inner room, they saw the light and knew that Wei Shuwan was awake. They asked anxiously, "Miss, are you alright?"
Wei Shuwan turned around at the sound, and the two maids just walked around the screen. First they saw their young lady sitting by the bed, and then they saw the man lying on the bed.
Both maids were startled, and Ziqiao dropped the lantern in her hand. Her round eyes darted between her mistress and the motionless man.
Wei Shuwan stood up and explained, "He is my benefactor."
She even called him "benefactor" to justify her next move: "You've come just in time, quickly help me save him. Ziqiao, go get the wound medicine, Miaoxiang, go get the ginseng slices."
The two maids, having calmed themselves down, quickly followed Wei Shuwan's instructions and busied themselves with the task.
Wei Shuwan stuffed the ginseng slices into Li Qingchen's mouth. She learned this from a storybook, where a general was shot by an arrow and his life was hanging by a thread. The imperial physician then instructed him to hold ginseng slices in his mouth to prolong his life.
Afterwards, Wei Shuwan and two maids worked together to apply medicine to Li Qingchen, bandage his wounds, and then gently placed him back on the bed.
They thought this would at least keep him alive, but in the middle of the night, Li Qingchen suddenly developed a high fever. Wei Shuwan had no choice but to keep applying cold compresses to his body to lower his temperature. Basins of cold water were brought in and then poured out one by one. This went on until dawn, when Li Qingchen finally recovered from his high fever and his brows relaxed.
"Miss, you've been up all night. Your health is important. Why don't you go to the side room and rest for a while? There are servants and Miaoxiang here!" Ziqiao whispered, trying to persuade her.
Wei Shuwan was truly exhausted. While Ziqiao and Miaoxiang had managed to get some sleep for the first half of the night, she hadn't rested at all. So she nodded and went to the side room for a short rest. Ziqiao and Miaoxiang stayed behind, continuing to take turns watching over the person in bed.
As dawn broke, footsteps approached. Zi Qiao assumed it was her young mistress waking up, but upon hearing the voice, she was dumbfounded:
"Third sister, the sun is already high in the sky, you're not up yet, are you?"
It was the voice of the Fourth Sister, Wei Shuyao! And judging from the noise, she had already entered the inner room…
Zi Qiao's heart leaped into her throat. She blamed herself for not thinking things through. She only thought that the matter of the Little Qiao Chuan Prince in Fu Qu Xuan should not be exposed. This morning, she arranged for all the servants in the inner courtyard to go to the outer courtyard. However, she did not expect that the Fourth Miss would come. She did not even announce her arrival along the way.
Just as Zi Qiao was about to go out to stop her, she heard her young mistress's voice: "Fourth sister, what brings you here at this hour? Today is your birthday, and I heard that you've hosted a banquet for many guests in the front yard?"
When Wei Shuyao saw Wei Shuwan come out of the side room, she felt slightly strange, but she didn't think much of it and walked towards her, saying as she went, "Third Sister, are you blaming me for not inviting you? Actually, it was Grandmother's wish, and I couldn't disobey her."
Even through the screen, Zi Qiao knew that the Fourth Miss had come to show off, but the young lady stopped her in time, and Zi Qiao's heart finally settled down.
Normally, Wei Shuwan wouldn't have given in to Wei Shuyao, but today was Wei Shuyao's birthday, so she had to show her some respect. Also, with Li Qingchen present, she didn't want to cause trouble. Therefore, she ignored Wei Shuyao's sarcastic remarks, simply went to the dressing table to get the birthday gift she had prepared that morning, and handed it to her without even a word of blessing.
Wei Shuyao accepted the gift and, seeing that the box was carefully wrapped in colorful brocade, asked, "What did Third Sister give me?"
Wei Shuwan shook her head: "I don't know."
"How could I not know?" Wei Shuyao smiled. "Sister, are you trying to be mysterious?"
"I really didn't know. I just asked Ziqiao to prepare it casually." Wei Shuwan's answer was both sincere and awkward.
Wei Shuyao's face paled several shades, and she cursed a thousand times in her heart, but she still had a smile on her lips. Anyway, she didn't come here today for Wei Shuwan's gift.
"Third sister, I know that Grandmother's decision to confine you to your quarters today was somewhat unreasonable and inevitably made you unhappy. But you also understand Grandmother's meaning; she wants me to get together with Young Master Du as soon as possible..."
Halfway through her sentence, Wei Shuyao stopped speaking, feigning modesty, her cheeks flushed, and she turned away, twisting her handkerchief.
Having said that, Wei Shuwan understood. Wei Shuyao had come all this way specifically to remind her again not to steal her thunder in the front yard today.
Actually, she wouldn't have gone anyway, since there was still this burden in the house, how could she dare to leave the courtyard? Thinking this, Wei Shuwan glanced sideways at the screen.
"I probably won't go to the front yard today, so I wish Fourth Sister and that Young Master Du a speedy marriage." After saying that, she put on a standard yet distant smile, which was full of the intention to see her off.
Wei Shuyao didn't like staying here anyway, so after getting a definite answer, she went back to the front yard contentedly.
The commotion from the front yard soon reached Fuqu Pavilion, with the incessant sounds of string and wind instruments preventing Wei Shuwan from taking a nap at noon. Looking at the person on the bed, he was so disturbed by the noise that he could not rest properly, his brows furrowing and his eyelashes trembling.
Wei Shuwan reached out to test his forehead temperature; it was so cold! She then touched his hands, which were also as cold as ice.
High fever is certainly terrifying, but hypothermia is even more terrifying. Many people survive high fever but not hypothermia. Wei Shuwan then recalled that Li Qingchen had said the arrow that struck him was poisoned, and wondered if it was this poison that caused the injury.
So he took the arrow from his person, carefully wrapped it in a handkerchief and put it away, then turned around and said, "I have to go to the Sheng residence."
Now that we've decided to save him, we can't let his condition worsen. The physician in the Sheng family is not only highly skilled, but he also studied many common poisons when he was a royal physician, so it's the perfect person to ask him for help.
*
In the front courtyard's flower hall, Madam Meng and her daughter Wei Shuyao sat together, carefully observing Du Xun, who was reciting poems with others not far away.
"This Young Master Du is truly a dragon among men!" Madam Meng was extremely pleased.
Seeing her eldest son, Wei Chengxu, approach, Meng pulled him aside and said, "Give me this opportunity to test that Young Master Du for your sister."
Wei Chengxu said "yes" and took the initiative to approach Du Xun to strike up a conversation. The two talked about poetry and painting and then about beautiful women. Wei Chengxu took the opportunity to ask, "I wonder what kind of woman Brother Du is fond of?"
Du Xun was taken aback at first, then said somewhat shyly, "This...this requires us to get along well."
"Is there anyone here who shares a rapport with Brother Du?"
Du Xun did not answer, but his slightly flushed face and the irrepressible upturn of his lips seemed to provide the answer.
Wei Chengxu was feeling quite pleased, thinking that his younger sister's fate was sealed, when he saw Du Xun suddenly look out the window with a bright, clear light in his eyes.
Wei Chengxu curiously followed his gaze and immediately spotted Wei Shuwan, wearing a peach-colored cloak, walking past in front of the flower hall.
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