Hearing Lu Ying misinterpret his intentions and act in the exact opposite manner, Lu Bing felt he might suffer another stroke—a storm upon a storm.
But after the stroke, Lu Bing was like an infant in a cradle—weak, pitiful, and unable to speak, completely at others' mercy with no way to voice his suffering.
He didn't trust Wei Caiwei, yet she had undeniably saved his life.
When Imperial Physician Song arrived upon hearing the news, he saw Wei Caiwei performing acupuncture to release blood and applying moxibustion. Lu Bing had clearly improved. Wiping sweat from his brow, Physician Song said, "This female physician handled it very well. If it had been any later, he might have been paralyzed for life."
Wei Caiwei, already unwell herself, had forced herself to treat Lu Bing, barely able to steady the needles. Once Physician Song arrived, she yielded her position, explained how she had just treated Lu Bing, then excused herself to rest in the adjacent guest room.
As soon as she entered the guest room, she was greeted by thunderous snoring—Wang Daxia had been sleeping soundly the entire time, completely unaware of what had happened next door!
How utterly exhausted he must be!
Not only that, Wang Daxia had shifted his sleeping position from lying flat to curling on his side, tucking his long, restless legs toward his abdomen. His entire body was coiled on the desk like a boiled prawn, resembling a fetus returning to the womb.
Lu Ying stayed by Lu Bing's side, watching Physician Song continue the treatment, leaving only Wang Daxia and Wei Caiwei in the guest room.
Seeing how uncomfortable Wang Daxia looked in his sleep, Wei Caiwei took a pillow from the Arhat bed, gently lifted his head, and replaced the brick-like "Great Ming Law" with the pillow.
Having been married to her late husband for over thirty years in her previous life, her concern for him had become instinctive. Seeing him in discomfort, she naturally thought of how to ease it and make him more comfortable, without considering anything else.
In his sleep, Wang Daxia's furrowed brow relaxed, and he nuzzled into the soft pillow. Worried he might push it off, Wei Caiwei stood behind the pillow, using her waist to brace it.
Wang Daxia reached back with both hands, grabbed the pillow, and hugged it to his chest. Without the pillow, his neck grew uncomfortable. In his dream, he mistook the desk for a bed and turned over, seeking a more comfortable position.
Just as Wang Daxia was about to roll off the desk, Wei Caiwei quickly pressed her hand on his shoulder. "Stop moving, or you'll fall."
Wang Daxia jolted awake, seeing a pair of delicate hands on his shoulder. Focusing his gaze, he found Wei Caiwei right beside him, close to his head.
He immediately sat up, clutching the pillow. "What are you doing? Are you still not over me?"
"I was just kindly replacing your pillow," Wei Caiwei pointed at the "Great Ming Law" on the bookshelf. "That was too hard—you might get a stiff neck."
Wang Daxia glanced around, tightening his grip on the pillow as if a maiden fending off a bully. "Where is Commander Lu? Why are we alone in here? A man and a woman sharing a room—how improper!"
He shot a look at the "Great Ming Law." "You clearly took advantage of Commander Lu's absence to get close to me under the pretext of changing my pillow! Confess—where did you touch me just now?"
"I touched your head," Wei Caiwei retorted, utterly exhausted, as she half-reclined on the Arhat bed. "Since we can't be in the same room, please leave. If you want to know where Commander Lu is, ask the guards outside. I'm too tired to explain anything to you.""You can't touch my head either." Wang Daxia returned the pillow to Wei Caiwei, "Why do you look worse than before? Has the medicine not worn off yet?"
Wei Caiwei replied, "I'm fine, just tired. Please leave."
After Wang Daxia left the room to inquire about the situation, Wei Caiwei lay on the Arhat bed, able to hear his surprised exclamations even through the window.
Wei Caiwei drank the medicine she had prepared herself and fell into a deep sleep.
At the entrance of the Imperial Guard Office.
Chen Jingji stopped the mule cart and placed a stool beneath the carriage, saying, "Miss Jiubao, we've arrived."
Li Jiubao, known as the "Flower of Machang Hutong," stepped down from the carriage holding a black earthenware jar wrapped in a padded sleeve, its contents unknown but clearly treasured.
Both were dressed in their finest clothes.
Chen Jingji wore his business attire—a lake-blue silk robe—while Li Jiubao was clad in a white silk blouse and a bright red horse face skirt, adorned with a pair of gilded copper lotus hairpins. Due to the harsh sunlight, she covered her face with a veil.
Approaching the gate, Chen Jingji addressed the guard, "Could you please inform Doctor Wei inside that we need to see her?"
The guard, noting their shabby appearance and suspecting they were poor relatives seeking favors, waved them away dismissively, "This is the Imperial Guard Office. If you're looking for relatives, go to her home."
"Sir, we're not Doctor Wei's relatives, just neighbors," Li Jiubao removed her veil and bowed to the guard. "Doctor Wei is known for her generosity. We were shocked to hear she was attacked by ruffians last night and fortunate that the Northern City Military Command patrol arrived in time. As commoners, we have little to offer, so we prepared a jar of chicken soup to help her recover. We went to her home first but found it locked. Learning she was at the Imperial Guard Office, we came here."
Revealing her lotus-like face, Li Jiubao's beauty proved disarming. The guard's attitude softened noticeably. "You came all the way from the northern city to the southern city just to deliver chicken soup?"
Li Jiubao nodded, "Exactly."
The guard said, "Open it and let me see."
Li Jiubao lifted the lid. Peering inside, the guard saw glistening chicken soup with various rare mushrooms uncommon in the capital, emitting a unique fungal aroma that whetted the appetite.
These were the Tieling Xiangyashan Hazel Mushrooms Wei Caiwei had given Li Jiubao the previous day. Despite her poverty, Li Jiubao disliked being indebted. Upon hearing of Wei Caiwei's ordeal, she slaughtered a young rooster from her home, rehydrated the hazel mushrooms as Wei Caiwei had instructed, and stewed them together—just as Wei Caiwei had mentioned, this type of mushroom paired perfectly with chicken.
The guard explained, "I'm not trying to make things difficult, but this is a restricted area. Doctor Wei is under special protection by Lord Lu and Commander Lu, so she can't casually meet outsiders. I can deliver the soup for you, but you cannot enter."
Li Jiubao replied, "Then we'll trouble you, sir. My name is Li Jiubao, and this is Chen Jingji. Just mention our names, and Doctor Wei will know who we are."
The guard ordered someone to bring the earthenware jar inside. After repeatedly thanking him, Li Jiubao boarded Chen Jingji's mule cart to return home.
The jar of chicken stew with mushrooms was delivered to the backyard, where Wei Caiwei, having taken her medicine, remained in a deep sleep—leaving it in Wang Daxia's hands.Wang Daxia listened to the guard explain the whole story. "I know Chen the Agent—we became friends after a fight. But Li Jiubao... oh, I remember now, the Flower of Machang Hutong. I've heard of her but never met her in person."
Recalling the girl's beauty and gentle demeanor, the guard remarked, "Her looks truly live up to the name 'Flower'—quite extraordinary."
After verifying their identities, Wang Daxia cautiously fed a few slices of meat and mushrooms to a pigeon. Seeing the pigeon unharmed, he finally placed the dish on Wei Caiwei's dining table.
Wang Daxia trusted commoners like Chen the Agent and Li Jiubao, as they only sought basic sustenance. But how many hands had the earthenware pot passed through before reaching them?
Still haunted by the Zhou Xiaoqi incident, Wang Daxia remained overly vigilant, constantly fearing someone meant harm to Wei Caiwei.
Due to medication, Wei Caiwei didn't wake until dusk. Lu Ying stayed faithfully by her father's side, while Wang Daxia, finally well-rested, plucked a blade of grass in the shade to tease ants.
Wei Caiwei stood by the window watching fourteen-year-old Wang Daxia play with ants, his gaze innocent and pure like dewdrops on morning petals.
As expected, Wei Caiwei's heart softened again. She invited Wang Daxia to share dinner, placing the fragrant chicken stewed with Xiangya Mountain hazel mushrooms at the center of the table.
Feigning nonchalance, she said, "It's too hot to keep overnight. Let's eat it together."
Wang Daxia sipped the soup. "Hmm, this Eastern Depot Flower's cooking isn't bad at all. So fragrant."
Wei Caiwei thought: This is a dish personally prepared by the future Empress Dowager. In this lifetime, I actually get to taste it.
Still on medication, Wei Caiwei avoided greasy food and only ate a few hazel mushrooms. Wang Daxia nearly devoured everything himself—his growing appetite letting him polish off the chicken before soaking a bowl of rice in the remaining broth. He slurped down the softened rice without chewing.
Finally putting down his chopsticks, Wang Daxia leaned back contentedly. "When you return, give her a few more packs of hazel mushrooms." He added, "I'll come eat when she makes it again."
Wei Caiwei saw through his scheme immediately. "I gave one pack of mushrooms and received a whole pot of chicken soup. If I give her more, her family's chickens might go extinct."
Wang Daxia chuckled awkwardly without replying. With chicken stuck between his teeth, he went behind the screen to pick his teeth before the bronze mirror on the washstand.
Wei Caiwei needed his help. "Starting today, you're officially with the Embroidered Uniform Guard, right?"
"Of course." Wang Daxia tilted the toothpick in his mouth. "I didn't ask for this—Commander Lu insisted. I couldn't refuse his enthusiasm, so I'll try it out. If it doesn't work, I'll leave. It's not like I need this job to eat."
Wei Caiwei said, "Since you're with the Embroidered Uniform Guard now, I'd like to ask a favor."
Wang Daxia immediately grew wary. "We fought Zhou Xiaoqi together—that's life-and-death camaraderie. I should help you, but don't even think about me marrying you."
Chaste husband Wang Daxia.
Wei Caiwei replied, "I've told you countless times: my heart belongs only to my late husband. An old family friend is imprisoned in the Embroidered Uniform Guard Prison. I just want to speak with him."
Wang Daxia spat out the toothpick, rinsed with green salt, gargled and spat, then wiped his mouth with a towel. "Just a prison visit? No problem, I'll handle it. As long as you're not scheming for me."
Wei Caiwei said, "He's a death row prisoner named Ding Rukui."Wang Daxia was uneducated and incompetent. Moreover, he was only four years old during the catastrophe ten years ago and had no memory of it. Thus, he had no idea how formidable Ding Rukui's background was or how tricky this person could be. He said, "I'll go to the death row prison to find someone and repay the favor for this chicken soup."
Wang Daxia knew how to cozy up to people. He bought a few watermelons and gave them to the prison guards as after-meal fruits, thereby extracting the information that Ding Rukui would be setting up an altar in the courtyard tonight.
Author's note: Thank you for subscribing. There will be another update at 6:18 PM.
OpenNovel