Zhu Changle took out all of her medicinal pouches again, examining this one and that one, knowing full well that none could be used for her elder brother. Still, she sought some comfort, as if merely looking at these medicines gave her a sense of security.
Qiuli crouched down beside her, picking up and examining each one. Turning to look at the child who was barely holding back tears, he could only take out a small porcelain bottle from his own pocket and hand it to her. "It's for strengthening the constitution. Not as good as the Restoration Pill, though."
Zhu Changle's eyes lit up, and she snatched it quickly as if fearing he might change his mind. "Can we use it now?"
Qiuli shook his head. "It can be used when the body is at its weakest after the fever breaks."
Strengthening the constitution when the body is at its weakest - that made sense!
Zhu Changle tucked the medicine bottle into her bosom, patting it, and then generously pointed at the pile of medicine bottles in front of her. "Take your pick, you can have any you like."
Qiuli raised an eyebrow, circling his fan around the pile. "All of them?"
"All of them."
"You're getting the short end of the stick. Zhiqing's medicines are priceless."
Zhu Changle shook her head repeatedly. "The old monk once said that medicine is only priceless when used on the right person. So, I'm trading these medicines I can't use right now for one that can help my elder brother. I'm not losing out."
Qiuli looked at the casually scattered medicines and suddenly smiled. Zhu Changle was actually quite good at calculating. She always used the simplest but most effective methods to solve problems, and only cared about what she considered a loss or gain, not taking others' standards as her own.
That's why she had many sources of happiness, and many things could make her happy.
Taking out the medicine bottle he had previously taken from her, Qiuli shook it, not saying much, but his meaning was clear.
Zhu Changle chuckled and quickly gathered up all the medicine bottles. Qiuli was so easy to fool, he didn't actually take a single bottle! These were all painstakingly acquired from the old monk, it would have been heartbreaking to lose them all!
"I'll have the old monk make some special medicine for your throat later." Standing up, Zhu Changle gave Qiuli's shoulder a friendly pat, which smoothly turned into pulling him aside. She had heard the sound - the doctor had arrived!
Zhu Maonian was just feeling touched by his youngest daughter's concern for his eldest son when he looked up to see her standing close to a man. He had to bite his back teeth to keep from speaking out. Although he often advised his wife not to be too strict with their youngest daughter, this...
Seeing Xu Zheng carrying the doctor on his back, Zhu Maonian couldn't help but glance again at the two still standing together, feeling that he might need someone to advise him as well.
"Doctor Tang, thank you for your trouble."
Tang Ming had just steadied himself and was about to reply to the county magistrate when someone cut in, "Doctor Tang, please quickly examine my elder brother."
Seeing that words weren't enough and she was about to reach out and pull the doctor, Dingding, showing great perceptiveness, substituted for her action. Hadn't he seen his newly acquired father's face darkening?
Zhu Changle was naturally oblivious to such nuances. She followed and crouched at the bedside, staring at the doctor as he took the pulse. Tang Ming simply closed his eyes, thinking to himself that it was a good thing he had experienced great storms in life, otherwise being stared at like this might have made it impossible to read the pulse accurately.
"The young master's physical condition is too weak, he should avoid overexertion. It's not necessarily a bad thing that the symptoms have manifested now." Tang Ming chose his words carefully. Zhu Changle, hearing the first half, already knew what the second half would be. She quickly had Lady Li present the prescription. "Doctor, please take a look at this prescription. Can my elder brother use it now?"
Tang Ming was a man who recognized quality. After a single glance, he immediately stood up. "This prescription is marvelous. May I ask whose hand it came from?"
"It was jointly prescribed by Imperial Physician Huang from the capital and Doctor Liu from the Imperial Western Hall."
Doctor Liu from the Imperial Western Hall was renowned, with an extremely high reputation in the medical field. Tang Ming handed the prescription back with both hands, saying, "This old one cannot write a better prescription than this."
Zhu Maonian immediately asked, "Doctor, do you mean this prescription is suitable for my son's current condition?"
"Yes, however..."
Zhu Changle was dying of impatience. "Speak quickly, don't leave half your words unsaid."
"Yunbei is impoverished. This old one has most of the medicines in this prescription, but I'm afraid two ingredients might not be found in all of Yunbei." Tang Ming glanced at Zhu Maonian, leaving the rest of his words unsaid, but Zhu Maonian understood. These two unavailable ingredients were not impossible to find.
Zhu Changle didn't care about these twists and turns. Hearing there were no other issues, she immediately urged, "Doctor Tang, please help prepare the medicine. We have all the ingredients at home."
They even brought all the medicines with them? As expected of people from the capital, truly wealthy and generous, Tang Ming thought to himself. However, he didn't hesitate in his actions, picking up his medicine box and following along.
Zhu Changle glanced at her elder brother. Perhaps the doctor's words had reassured her, as now her brother's breathing seemed somewhat steadier. But when she touched his palm, it was still burning hot.
She didn't harbor any false hope. Standing up, she pushed her father towards the door. "I'll watch over him here. You go back to your room and rest. Take Mother with you too. Don't force yourselves, you're both getting on in years, you need to accept it."
Zhu Maonian immediately gave her a smack. "Say that in front of your mother."
"I wouldn't dare!" Zhu Changle cowered shamelessly. Leaving the room, she wasn't surprised to see Granny Liang waiting outside. "Grandmother is still vigorous, but she needs to rest well too. Granny Liang, please tell Grandmother that elder brother is fine now, just waiting to take his medicine! Everyone should go rest quickly."
"Yes, miss."
Watching them leave, Zhu Changle let out a long sigh and returned to the room. "Why are you all still here?"
Dingding clicked his tongue at her. "Use and discard, how heartless."
"Why keep what's no longer needed?" Zhu Changle ignored him. "Little Bottle Cap, are you leaving tomorrow?"
"Yes."
"Alright then." Zhu Changle hugged her and nuzzled against her. "Come back soon when you're done, okay?"
"Mm." Lan Ping patted her back. "I'll leave at dawn."
"I won't see you off."
"Mm."
Zhu Changle sighed, nuzzling against Little Bottle Cap a few more times to comfort herself. How she wished she could go out and play too! But she had to stay here. At least until Yunbei was firmly under her father's and elder brother's control.
Lan Ping couldn't bear to see her unhappy. "I'll be quick."
"It's fine, I have Dingding to keep me company. You take care of your business."
"Now I'm useful!" Dingding grinned. "Zhu Changle, be nicer to me, or I'll leave too!"
"Go ahead, who's afraid of you! I'll just go tell on you to the old man, see if he doesn't beat you."
"Is tattling all you know how to do?"
"I also know how to bully you."
"..." This was so unreasonable that Dingding turned and left. He couldn't compete with Zhu Changle in shamelessness, he'd lose for sure.
Qiuli followed closely behind.
Lan Ping closed the door and whispered, "Don't trust him too much."
Zhu Changle sat down by the bed, taking a handkerchief from Zuo Qing and placing it on her elder brother's forehead. Her voice also softened, "I've carefully analyzed myself."
"Oh?"
"I realized that I actually don't have anything worth scheming for. From my family's perspective, my father and elder brother are the targets, there's nothing to gain from me. From the martial arts world's perspective, not many would dare to scheme against me. Who wants to invite a fierce god to their doorstep? Hehe, Master's notorious reputation has many benefits."
Zhu Changle giggled secretly. "Qiuli surely can't be after me for my cuteness! Don't worry, don't worry! Don't think too much."
