Chapter 27
By the time the copper bell rang for the third time, the sunlight had already climbed onto the blue bricks in the center of the clinic.
Su Yan picked up the last needle, gently twirling his fingertip over the copper bell tied to its end. The bell's soft tinkling echoed, bringing the acupuncture session to a close.
His movements to remove the needle were even gentler than when he inserted it. He pinched the end of the needle with his thumb and forefinger and lifted it upwards very slowly. As soon as the needle tip left the skin, his other hand had already prepared a cotton ball soaked in mugwort water. He pressed it against the puncture site and rubbed it—the force was even lighter than when applying medicine.
"Alright, get up and move around a bit, don't stay stiff." Su Yan put the silver needles into the brocade box, the anger in his voice long gone, leaving only a lingering warmth as he muttered, "Remember to apply medicine to the red marks on your lower back, and take a half-hour medicinal bath tonight, and avoid cold water."
Su Zhelan lifted her head from under the pillow, the scar on the back of her neck turning pink from sweat. Hearing this, she obediently nodded: "I understand, Master."
He propped himself up on the edge of the couch, and as soon as his right leg braced against the ground, his knee trembled slightly. Su Yan, with his sharp eyes, reached out to help him, but saw that Su Zhelan had already steadied herself, though her fingertips were still clutching the pillowcase.
"Showing off." Su Yan snorted, but turned around and rummaged through the medicine box, pulling out a small porcelain bottle and handing it to Su Zhelan. "Muscle oil. Have them massage your back for you later. Don't try to do it yourself."
Before the words were finished, Gu Linzhao's voice came from outside the courtyard gate, mixed with the soft clatter of a bamboo basket: "Ayan, Zhelan, dinner's ready."
As Gu Linzhao lifted the curtain and entered, a faint aroma of rice wafted from the bamboo basket. "I just saw some yam porridge being cooked in the kitchen; I served Su Zhelan a thick bowl," he said.
He put the basket on the table, glanced at the medicine bottle on Su Zhelan's lower back, and looked at Su Yan, "Did you yell at him again?"
"I'm just teaching him a lesson." Su Yan shoved the brocade box into the medicine box, his tone harsh, but he reached out and took the bowl of porridge that Gu Linzhao handed him, pushing it towards Su Zhelan, "Eat it while it's hot, it'll hurt your stomach if it gets cold."
Su Zhelan held the bowl of porridge, the rim of the white porcelain bowl was warm. There were small pieces of yam in the porridge, and a handful of roasted sesame seeds were sprinkled on top, which was his usual favorite flavor.
He scooped up a spoonful, and the steam warmed his face. Mixed with the lingering scent of medicine in the clinic, he felt even warmer than usual.
Gu Linzhao sat down next to Su Yan, picked up a bowl of rice and a bite of pickled vegetables: "Sheng Chi just called Sheng Xuan to the front camp, saying that he was checking the grain and fodder accounts from the past few days. I reckon he'll be busy until evening."
He noticed that Su Zhelan kept glancing towards the door while drinking porridge, and added, "Xiao Qiyun was summoned by the Grand Tutor's men, who said that he missed class at the temple fair a few days ago and needs to make up for the missed annotations."
Su Zhelan hummed in agreement and lowered her head to continue drinking her porridge.
It turns out that neither Sheng Xuan nor Xiao Qiyun were there.
He had thought that once the acupuncture was over, he would hear Sheng Xuan loudly asking if it hurt. But seeing Xiao Qiyun calmly wiping his hands, he found the consultation room quiet and peaceful, with only him and his two masters remaining.
Su Yan barely touched his chopsticks, mostly watching Su Zhelan drink his porridge. When he saw that Su Zhelan's bowl was almost empty, he reached out to scoop more, but Gu Linzhao pressed his wrist down.
“Let him do it himself,” Gu Linzhao smiled and pushed the dish of pickles toward Su Zhelan. “He just had acupuncture, so he needs to move around a bit.”
Su Zhelan got up on his own and went to the table to add porridge. His right leg was slightly sore from the strain, and he subconsciously shrank back, only to see Su Yan watching his movements. The sternness in his eyes was gone, and it was as if he was confirming whether Su Zhelan could really stand up.
"Don't run around this afternoon," Su Yan suddenly said, his voice calm. "Have the medicine boy prepare the medicine and bring it over. I'll stay here and watch you during your rehabilitation, so you don't go out and run into those two boys making a ruckus again."
Gu Linzhao chuckled softly beside him: "You're just being stubborn. Just now you even asked me to add more angelica and goji berries to the medicinal bath, saying it would replenish your qi and blood."
Su Yan glared at him, but her ears turned red: "Mind your own business."
Su Zhelan held the newly added bowl of porridge, standing in the sunlight. The aroma of medicine mingled with the sweet fragrance of rice porridge. Su Yan's mutterings and Gu Linzhao's laughter intertwined, like cotton wool softened by the sunlight, gently settling on her heart.
So this is what it feels like to be reminded to eat and to take care of your injuries.
As he bent down to scoop the porridge, the corners of his lips subtly curved into a smile. The porcelain spoon touched the bottom of the bowl, making a light, crisp sound, as if echoing the wind sweeping past the window.
Before leaving, Gu Linzhao cleared away their dishes and chopsticks. As he carried the bamboo basket away, he turned back to remind Su Zhelan, "Don't rush your rehabilitation. Your master is watching you. You won't be able to slack off."
Su Zhelan had just finished his second bowl of porridge and was sitting on the edge of the couch, stretching his ankles. Hearing this, he looked up at Su Yan—the latter was leaning over the table, flipping through medical books, his profile gleaming in the sunlight, his fingers lightly tapping on the "meridian diagram," as if pondering something.
"Come here." Su Yan suddenly looked up, pushed the medical book aside, and pointed to the low stool in the center of the consultation room. "Practice knee bending first, let me see how you exert force."
Su Zhelan obediently walked over, steadied herself against the wall, and slightly bent her right knee. Just as her knee reached a 30-degree angle, she heard Su Yan click his tongue: "Wrong. You're not using your core strength; you're relying entirely on your knees. Trying to limp again?"
He reached out and pinched Su Zhelan's waist, pressing lightly with his fingertips: "Here, hold it still. Don't let your knees buckle inward, rotate them outward by half an inch, yes..." Su Zhelan was jolted by his touch, instinctively tightening her lower abdomen, and her right leg indeed became more stable, but fine beads of sweat quickly appeared on her forehead.
"Slow down, no one's rushing you." Su Yan let go of her hand, turned around and dragged a soft mat from the corner of the wall, placing it next to Su Zhelan's feet. "Step on it, shift your weight to your left leg, lightly touch the ground with your right leg, and feel the power coming from your ankle." He then moved a bamboo stool and sat opposite her, his gaze fixed on the curve of Su Zhelan's knee as if measuring with a ruler. "You didn't slack off on the medicine I asked you to apply before, did you? Look, the redness and swelling have gone down a bit."
"I wasn't slacking off," Su Zhelan replied softly, slowly adjusting his posture on the soft mat. His right leg tendon was taut, like a string about to snap. He bit his lip, trying to hold on a little longer, but Su Yan saw right through him.
"Alright, take a break." Su Yan handed over a water glass, his tone stern. "Who are you trying to impress? Your leg bone has just healed, and the tendon adhesions haven't fully loosened yet. You can't last more than 15 minutes at a time. Pushing yourself too hard will only tear it again."
When he took the water glass, his fingertips touched Su Zhelan's hand, which was as hot as if he were holding a small charcoal stove. "Sweating profusely again? There's plum juice in the medicine box, help yourself."
Su Zhelan sat down with her water glass in her hand, watching Su Yan pull out a yellowed drawing from a medical book, on which was drawn a cross-section of the kneecap.
“See this? This is the most delicate part. If you don’t apply the right force, it will be worn out,” Su Yan tapped the blueprint with his fingertip. “You have to learn to use your hips to drive your legs, like this…” He stood up to demonstrate. When his right leg was slightly bent, his waist and abdomen rotated gently, and his knee did not wobble much. “Remember this feeling. Don’t just use your knee to push against the wall.”
By the time the sunlight reached the windowsill, Su Zhelan had already practiced three times. On his last knee bend, he tried to follow Su Yan's instructions, first tucking in his waist and abdomen, then slowly rotating his hips, and his knees actually became more stable.
"It's alright." Su Yan rarely relaxed his tone, but he immediately added, "But don't get complacent, you're still far from being able to walk normally." He got up and added a piece of charcoal to the medicine stove. "That's all for this afternoon. Go lie down for a while. Someone will bring the medicine later."
Su Zhelan slowly moved back to the bed, supporting herself against the wall. Just as she lay down, she heard Su Yan muttering beside the table, "Have the medicine boy bring over that new pair of knee pads later, made of cotton..." His voice grew softer and softer, mixed with the rustling of turning pages, as if he was afraid of being overheard.
The candlelight in the consultation room flickered, casting the shadows of the porcelain bottles on the medicine cabinet onto the wall. Su Zhelan lay on the couch, her breathing even and clear like cotton wool soaked in water. She must have been exhausted from her afternoon rehabilitation, for she didn't even notice the soft sound of Su Yan unscrewing the cap of the liniment.
Su Yan paused, holding the cotton ball, and looked down at the faint red bruise on Su Zhelan's lower back—it had been a glaring red in the daytime, but now it had faded to a light pink under the candlelight, like rouge soaked in warm water.
He applied some liniment, and as soon as his fingertips touched it, Su Zhelan's eyelashes trembled, and a muffled groan escaped her throat, but she didn't wake up; she just buried herself deeper into the pillow.
"Silly child." Su Yan chuckled softly, lightening the pressure in his hands as he rubbed the ointment thoroughly into the skin. The aroma of the ointment mingled with the scent of mugwort in the clinic, creating a more tranquil atmosphere than during the day.
With a creak, the wooden door was pushed open a crack, letting in the cool night breeze.
Shengxuan's silver armor brushed against the door frame with a soft creak. He stopped as if burned and lowered his voice, "I...I came to take a look."
Su Yan looked up, the candlelight flickering with a hint of amusement in his eyes: "It's almost 11 PM, Second Young Master, have you finished with the grain and fodder accounts?" He tossed the cotton ball into the copper basin, the sound of water clear in the quiet. "If you had come any later, Ze Lan's medicine would have been applied."
Sheng Xuan's ears turned red instantly. She walked a few steps to the bedside and her gaze first fell on Su Zhelan's sleeping profile—her eyelashes were still covered with fine sweat, which shone like scattered stars in the candlelight.
He shuffled his feet, afraid of startling anyone, but stubbornly argued, "The accounts at the front camp were a mess. It took me ages to sort them out, otherwise I would have arrived much earlier."
"Oh?" Su Yan raised an eyebrow, putting some liniment into the medicine box. "What about Xiao Qiyun? Has he finished annotating his military strategy?"
"The Grand Tutor has kept him in his study," Sheng Xuan's voice softened, his gaze fixed on Su Zhelan's hand clutching the pillowcase. "He said the annotations were written carelessly and he has to rewrite them three times before he's allowed to leave." He paused, then suddenly leaned closer, asking in a whisper that only the two of them could hear, "He... was he tired from rehabilitation today?"
Su Yan glanced at his taut shoulder armor, amused inwardly, but deliberately said, "Isn't that right? He's so boastful, insisting on practicing a few more times, and we couldn't stop him."
He wiped his hands, got up and walked towards the door. "Alright, the medicine is applied. You can keep an eye on it. I'm going back to my room."
As he reached the door, Su Yan suddenly turned back, the candlelight casting a faint shadow on his temple: "Oh, right, the knee pads are on the table. Remember to have him wear them tomorrow morning."
The wooden door closed gently, leaving only the crackling of the candlelight in the consultation room. Sheng Xuan moved a bamboo stool and sat by the couch, using the light to look at Su Zhelan's sleeping face—the scar on the back of her neck was mostly covered by her hair, and the small section of skin that was exposed looked smooth and delicate in the warm light, unlike the hideous scar she had during the day.
He reached out, his fingertips almost touching Su Zhelan's hair, then abruptly pulled back, his Adam's apple bobbing. The wind outside the window swept past, carrying fallen leaves, and the scent of medicine mingled with the boy's breath, creating a reassuring atmosphere.
"Fool, doesn't he know how tired he is?" Sheng Xuan muttered under his breath, but picked up the knee pads from the table and gently placed them next to Su Zhelan's pillow. They were double-moon white cotton knee pads, with neatly sewn edges, and still had a hint of warmth from being sun-dried.
The candlelight flickered again, casting his shadow on the wall. He stood motionless like a boy guarding a treasure, until a small spark from the wick startled him into raising his hand.
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