"Yes." Ji Wushang nodded, then looked at Doctor Cui and said, "Aunt, this is Doctor Cui whom I invited. He is willing to examine Second Sister and Fourth Sister!"
"Um."
"Where is my father?" Ji Wushang asked. "Isn't he at the manor?"
"Your father went to the Zhou residence, wasn't it because of the Third Miss's matter? Never mind, let's not talk about it now. Old sir, please come in." Aunt Xie then turned her gaze to Doctor Cui. "Doctor Cui, where do you practice?"
"Panyaoju is a small place, probably not even worth Aunt Xie's attention."
"Not at all, please, sir." Aunt Xie smiled as she listened, then looked at Ji Wushang. In her memory, this Doctor Cui should have visited this mansion many times, right? Could it be that he has some kind of relationship with the young lady?
Ji Wushang looked at her scrutinizing gaze, snorted coldly, but still smiled and said, "Auntie, is there something on my face? Is it worth Auntie looking at for so long?"
"No, that's not it." Aunt Xie smiled apologetically. "I think the eldest young lady is probably tired. Should she go back and rest? This old gentleman asked me to take her to see the second and fourth young ladies."
"No, thank you." Ji Wushang refused bluntly. "Auntie, please go ahead and do your work!" Ji Wushang said as she went inside. "Please, sir."
Doctor Cui nodded and then followed Ji Wushang inside, while Zhu'er and Tie Feng gave a perfunctory greeting to Aunt Xie before following behind.
Aunt Xie stood there, watching the direction Ji Wushang had gone, feeling quite indignant. Shouldn't her young lady at least give her some face in front of outsiders? What she just did made her feel ashamed.
Fine, I must endure it. I need to build a good relationship with her, so I'll just have to go along with her for now. Once I'm her wife, I can teach her a lesson later! Right now, what I need to do is put pressure on Ji Dingbei! Make him make sure he officially recognizes me as his wife as soon as possible.
Aunt Xie muttered to herself for a while before leaving.
Ji Wushang knew she would sulk, but he didn't care. He immediately took Doctor Cui to the plum garden, eager to try out his silver needles. Could turning Ji Meiyuan into his experimental tool be considered a form of punishment? If he drove her crazy, she might become unruly after marrying Nan Jinxue.
At first, Baoqi cried and made a scene, refusing to let Ji Wushang bring Doctor Cui to treat her, and even sent someone to inform Aunt Bai.
Aunt Bai was in a fit of anger at the moment, and her nose was bleeding quite a bit. It had just stopped, but when she heard the maid report that Ji Wushang had taken Doctor Cui to the Plum Garden, she started coughing even more, and the nose started bleeding again!
"Auntie, Auntie, how are you? Someone, quick, get a doctor!" Tianxiang was very nervous and came forward to take care of her. The maids and servants rushed over in a flurry.
Aunt Bai glared at them a few times, "You, get out of here!" As she spoke, she had no choice but to wipe her nose with a silk handkerchief, but all that came out was blood.
"Damn it, has the doctor arrived yet!" Aunt Bai roared. "If the eldest young lady wants to see a doctor, what can I do? Anyway, the second young lady is already a living dead. If she dies, just say that the eldest young lady framed her! Keep a close eye on the others!"
"Yes." The maidservant quickly left to avoid being sprayed with blood by Aunt Bai.
In the plum garden.
Ji Wushang coldly stared at Baoqi, "Get out of my way." This lowly servant was actually standing in front of him?
"Young Miss, this servant, this servant..." Baoqi didn't know what to do and stammered.
Ji Wushang slapped Baoqi across the face and roared, "You wretched servant, how dare you stop me? Do you have a death wish?"
"This servant wouldn't dare." Baoqi covered her face, tears welling in her eyes, but she had no choice but to walk aside. Just then, Ji Dingbei came in from outside and, seeing this, asked, "What happened?"
"Father, this lowly servant girl is actually trying to stop me! I brought Doctor Cui with me to see my second sister, but she actually tried to stop me from seeing her. I think this lowly servant girl has a death wish! How dare she be so presumptuous!" Ji Wushang pointed at Bao Qi and said angrily.
"Go down and accept your punishment!" Ji Dingbei said coldly. Ji Wushang had already told him that he would invite Doctor Cui to come and take a look. Now that the doctor had come, he didn't expect that a little maid would dare to stop Wushang. If it weren't for the fact that she had served Ji Meiyuan for many years, he would have kicked her out of the manor immediately!
"Please, sir, have mercy! My lord, I'm just worried about the second young lady. I'm so worried..."
"Worried that I'll poison her? Or that the doctor I hired would poison her? How ridiculous!" Ji Wushang sneered. "Would I poison my own second sister? I've already forgotten what happened before, Baoqi, I don't want to bring up the past." Ji Wushang's eyes were so cold that Baoqi shivered.
Ji Dingbei roared, "Get out of here right now!"
Immediately, Bao Qi stepped back to receive his punishment. In the room, only Ji Wushang, Doctor Cui, Ji Dingbei, and Ji Meiyuan, who was unable to move in bed, remained.
"Father."
"Go ahead and do it with peace of mind!" Ji Dingbei glanced at Ji Wushang, then looked at Doctor Cui. "I am truly grateful for your repeated troubles, sir. If you are willing to offer yourself, how about taking a job at my residence? All those doctors in the clinic need to be replaced."
Doctor Cui stroked his half-white beard, then cupped his hands and said, "Please forgive this old man for being too wild to shoulder heavy responsibilities. I hope the General will not blame me."
“Everyone has their own aspirations. I am truly grateful to the old gentleman for visiting my residence so many times to treat me,” Ji Dingbei said. Then he took out a gold ingot from his sleeve and was about to place it in Doctor Cui’s hand. Doctor Cui immediately declined, “I accept the general’s kindness, but please give this gold to more people in need!”
Ji Dingbei nodded in agreement, "I have offended the old gentleman."
Doctor Cui shook his head, but then said, "There is one thing I don't know if the General will agree to."
Ji Wushang nodded to Doctor Cui from an angle where Ji Dingbei couldn't see him. He knew that his medical skills would be discovered sooner or later, so he might as well say it now, otherwise it might cause some trouble later.
"Please explain further, sir."
"I have seen that the young lady is exceptionally intelligent and has keen observation skills. I intend to impart all my knowledge to her. I wonder what the General and the young lady think?" Doctor Cui asked solemnly.
Ji Dingbei was somewhat surprised upon hearing this, but then he turned around and looked at Ji Wushang. Ji Wushang looked at Ji Dingbei and nodded very seriously, "Father, I am very willing to learn medicine from Doctor Cui."
"Okay, quick, pay your respects to your master." Ji Dingbei nodded and pulled Ji Wushang over.
Ji Wushang then knelt before Doctor Cui and formally performed the three kowtows and nine bows, paying his respects with great ceremony. Doctor Cui was satisfied and stroked his beard, saying, "Today, I am joyful, truly joyful!"
"Haha, please wait a moment, sir, and then move to the pavilion for a snack and a few drinks," Ji Dingbei said with a smile.
"Thank you, General," said Doctor Cui. "In that case, I will check on the Second Miss's condition, and as for the Eldest Miss, my good disciple, I will come and help."
Ji Wushang glanced at Ji Dingbei, and seeing that he did not object, he immediately stepped forward and said, "Yes."
Ji Dingbei said, "Then we won't disturb you for now. If anything happens, just call for help."
Doctor Cui bowed and saw Ji Dingbei out, then turned to Ji Wushang and said, "Wushang, come here."
"Yes." Ji Wushang was overjoyed. He was finally going to "make his move" on Ji Meiyuan! Ji Meiyuan, don't blame me. If you are left with any lingering health problems, that's your fate!
Lifting the beaded curtain, one sees Ji Meiyuan lying on the bed, her eyes closed, her head wrapped in gauze, completely still. After a long while, one can finally see a faint, extremely weak breath.
Ji Wushang stepped forward to look at her, then, seeing that Doctor Cui was also examining her, asked, "Master, does she still have a chance to recover?"
"I'm about 50% sure," Doctor Cui said. "If you were to administer the acupuncture, I feel I'd be about 80% sure."
"Why? I've only just started learning, how could it be 80% certain? Shouldn't it be 10%?" Ji Wushang said somewhat embarrassedly.
Doctor Cui shook his head. "I never misjudge people, but let me ask you this: do you really want to save her? Saving her is tantamount to releasing a tiger back into the mountains!"
"Yes, I will save her." Ji Wushang smiled slightly. He intended to manipulate them all! Saving Ji Meiyuan was to restrain Ji Yinxue, drive her mad, make her anxious, and incite them to fight each other! Yes, he knew he would be in danger if they joined forces, but he wasn't afraid. He would only save her to seven-tenths of her capacity, letting her slowly suffer while she lived!
The most painful thing for a person is not death, not never waking up, not lying unconscious for a long time, but living a life worse than death!
The most painful thing is living a life worse than death. When you are in such a state, watching the people around you who love you disappear one by one in front of you, and you are helpless and unable to hold on to them, that is the most painful thing.
Ji Wushang knew this kind of pain; he had endured it himself, and from this day forward, he would never again suffer such pain, but would make them suffer it instead! He would make them understand what pain truly meant!
"Alright." Doctor Cui nodded, then took out everything from his small medicine box and arranged it neatly. "Wu Shang, you just take a good look at the diagnosis and treatment. Your teacher will be watching from the side."
"Thank you, Master!" Ji Wushang said, and immediately began his masterpiece.
Ji Wushang first took the pulse and then treated the patient, while Doctor Cui provided guidance from the side... Soon, an afternoon passed, and Ji Wushang was so exhausted that he could hardly breathe. However, looking at Ji Meiyuan, who had now become a hedgehog, he felt somewhat satisfied.
Doctor Cui wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve and looked at Ji Wushang, "You little rascal, you've truly surpassed your teacher!"
"She can wake up after seven days of acupuncture?" Ji Wushang could hardly believe it; he never thought he could actually control life and death with his silver needles.
"Hmm. From now on, I won't need to come to administer acupuncture. Your technique is very skillful, which has surprised even me." Doctor Cui stroked his half-white beard again. "If I go on a journey in the future, I won't have to worry about you being alone."
“Master, I don’t want you to travel around!” Ji Wushang smiled and turned his gaze to Doctor Cui. “I want Master to stay in this imperial city.”
"Silly girl, there are many things you don't know!"
"Then Master, please tell me what happened." Ji Wushang thought to himself that Doctor Cui and Nan Xuzong had a deep friendship, so Doctor Cui must know a lot about him. Sometimes he felt that Nan Xuzong was too mysterious, making him feel a bit distant from him. However, it seemed that he didn't want to let him understand, saying that he was afraid of getting hurt. But was that really the case? He didn't want to just be protected by him; he wanted to stand shoulder to shoulder with him in the face of difficulties.
"The time hasn't come yet," Doctor Cui shook his head. "The master will tell you later."
Ji Wushang knew that the "Master" he was referring to was Nan Xuzong, so he sighed and said, "Fine, if neither of you will tell me, I will find out."
"You should mind your own business," Doctor Cui said, but stopped mid-sentence. "Never mind. You'll know when the time comes."
"That same question again. I'm not asking anymore," Ji Wushang muttered.
"Haha, she's angry, the little one is angry." Doctor Cui laughed. Ji Wushang looked at his laughing face and shook her head helplessly. She should deal with the affairs of this manor first. Once she marries into the Marquis's manor, she will definitely know everything!
"I'll be leaving now." Doctor Cui stopped laughing. "You should rest well here in this mansion for the next seven days."
"Yes." Ji Wushang said seriously, but then he thought of Ji Yinxue, "Master, do you want to go see Fourth Sister? Just to make a show of it. The doctors in the manor are all good-for-nothings, and they made Father angry for a while."
"You must have done this, right?" Doctor Cui said.
"I will not offend others unless they offend me; if they offend me, I will repay them a thousandfold."
"Okay! Let's go take a look, just like you said, to make a show of it."
"Thank you, Master!" Ji Wushang finally smiled.
Before leaving, Ji Wushang glanced at Ji Meiyuan, whose body was covered in silver needles, gave a cold smile, and then walked out.
Upon entering the hall, Ji Dingbei was waiting. He was leaning back in his chair, dozing off. Ji Wushang felt uneasy. To be fair, Ji Dingbei treated him badly, yet he still protected him in every way. However, to be fair, he always favored Aunt Bai and the others, while Ji Meiyuan and Ji Wuxia were clearly wrong, which he knew in his heart, but he didn't punish them much.
Sometimes I don't even know how to evaluate this father. If he wants peace in this household, he should handle things according to the facts.
"Fine," Ji Wushang sighed, then stepped forward and softly called out, "Father."
"Hmm." Ji Dingbei seemed to wake up from a deep sleep, then looked at Ji Wushang, "How is it?" Then he looked for Doctor Cui.
Doctor Cui stepped forward and said, “I have done my best. In about ten days to half a month, the second young lady should be better. However, I must say this beforehand: the second young lady will inevitably have some symptoms and suffer some pain. Alas, if she cannot bear it, I can let her sleep peacefully without any illness or pain.”
"No." Ji Dingbei stood up. "Thank you, sir. The most important thing is that she's awake. As for the pain, I believe she can definitely endure it. My daughters are no cowards!"
“Yes, that’s what I think too.” Ji Wushang stepped forward and said, “Father, as long as Second Sister can wake up, she can marry Second Young Master Nan, and our family won’t lose face. I also believe that Second Sister must really want to wake up.”
"Hmm." The General's Mansion's reputation is very important. If Ji Meiyuan can be cured, it may alleviate her pain in the future, and she can take it one step at a time.
"Please join me for a few drinks, sir," Ji Dingbei said with a smile, turning to Ji Wushang and saying, "Wushang, you should go and get some rest; you must be tired."
"Yes." Ji Wushang bowed and left.
Ji Dingbei then went to the pavilion with Doctor Cui to have a drink.
Back in the courtyard, I smelled a floral fragrance. Where did it come from?
"Thread!" Ji Wushang called out immediately.
"Miss!" Xian'er ran out from inside. "Miss, you're back."
"What's that smell? Why does it smell so good? Did a servant bring in some flowers?" Ji Wushang asked as he walked in.
"Miss, these are some flowers distributed by Steward Lin. Originally, I told you that you didn't like these flowers, but Steward Lin still sent people to bring them into the room." Xian'er said, pointing to some flowerpots in the room. Some of them were in full bloom, while others were still budding.
"What kind of flower is this?" Ji Wushang had never seen such a bright red flower before. The petals were large and the veins were clear, but something just felt off. As he got closer, the fragrance of the flower became even stronger.
"Take it out!" Ji Wushang was feeling a bit of a headache. "I'm allergic to these flower scents. If you bring them to me again, don't blame me for yelling!"
"Yes." Seeing the displeasure on Ji Wushang's face, Xian'er immediately called for someone, "Quickly, quickly move those red flowers away!"
But at that moment, Ji Wushang asked, "Did Steward Lin send someone to deliver it? Are there some in each courtyard?"
"Miss, they should be available in every courtyard, but the varieties may differ."