Second Marriage

Translator: tarararawr

Chapter 8 Part 1

Xiao Youning’s sickness came like an avalanche. She faintly woke up after receiving an injection from the doctor. Her fever was so high that the corners of her eyes were stained red.

The medicine prescribed by the first doctor had already been boiled. Yuan Guo helped her sit up and fed her small mouthfuls of the medicine.  Her nose was sore.

“Young Miss, you must get better soon. We still need to find out more information about the Master and Young Master.”

The usually fierce maid cried as she spoke, and her tears fell on her clothes.

Xiao Youning knew she was scared.

Even though it had already been a few days from the troubles they encountered to their journey of running away, she knew her own strength from when used to practice riding horses at home. She was mentally and physically exhausted these days; and was making herself breath despite the pain.

Yesterday, the Second Branch’s guards gave her the heaviest blow. Her last breath was crushed, so naturally she was going to fall ill.

“I’ll get better soon.” She smiled weakly and her eyes refused to admit defeat.

It was only a sickness. She’ll get better soon.

But Xiao Youning did not know that her stubbornness would produce an even more terrible consequence. She fell asleep again after drinking the medicine, and the fever was more intense than before.

The doctor took the money and promised to wait at the inn in case anything else happened. But in the end, it became a thorny situation.

He gave the feverish Xiao Youning another injection, but this time she did not quickly wake up and even started talking nonsense.

The doctor lifted the needle, and pressed his palm against her forehead. He withdrew his hand like he had really been burned. Afterwards, he turned around to pick up the medicine box.

“This is not good! It’s burning too intensely. I’ve never seen a fever that intense! My medical expertise is not proficient enough. I can’t cure it!”

The doctor spoke as he went straight to the door.

Yuan Guo immediately followed, but saw that he had gone to the next room. He knocked on the door and stuffed the money into Jian Yin’s hand. “This lord, I am returning the money to you. I am afraid I cannot treat this patient. Please ask someone more wise than me to treat her!”

After that, he ran as fast as he could.

Jian Yin looked down at the money in his hand. His eyebrows furrowed into three lines. “What the hell?!”

When he looked up, he saw Yuan Guo standing at the doorway with a blank expression. Her eyes were red and her face was covered with tears.

When Jian Yin saw that the fierce maid had cried, he felt inexplicably awkward.

The doctor was invited by him, and the money was paid by him. He obviously tried his best.

“Go and invite some other doctors.” Ye Shen’s voice came from behind him.

Jian Yin was startled by his Master who was walking without a sound. He hurried to get out of the way.

Ye Shen did not say much. He stepped across the doorway and went past Yuan Guo, who was still staring blankly in the hallway. He went straight into the room where Xiao Youning and Yuan Guo stayed in.

The structure of the room was the same as his room. A screen engraved with a mountain and river scenery separated the room. There was a square table and four chairs in the outer room; and there was a canopy bed and a yoke-back chair next to it in the inner room. The only thing that was different from his room was the little girl talking nonsense on the canopy bed.

Ye Shen heard her murmuring words like “father” and “brother” before he got closer.

He walked up to her. The way the dark curtains were hung blocked his view. He pushed the curtains aside. The curtain’s copper hook knocked against the bedpost, and made a beautiful ding sound.

The little girl on the bed with the fever had red cheeks like begonias blooming in April. However, the burning color was taking away her life.

“Father…”

Xiao Youning murmured again unconsciously.

When Ye Shen remembered what he heard from the doctor, he hesitated for a moment. Then, he pressed his hand against her cheek with the back of his hand.

It was really burning hot, like how he felt when he was holding a cup of boiled tea.

How can she be so ill? Last night, it was obvious that she was calm and capable of scheming. 

At this moment, Ye Shen heard footsteps coming from behind him. Without looking up, he said, “Go and get some water from the well. Then ask an inn employee for wine, and mix it with the water. Bring it to wipe her body.”

Since the medicine concoction was useless, they could only use this crude method. In the palace, imperial physicians used this method to reduce fevers.

Yuan Guo heard him. She turned around and ran out.

Ye Shen was about to withdraw his hand, but the unconscious Xiao Youning suddenly grabbed his sleeve.

“Brother!”

She cried out. Ye Shen wanted to pull her hand away, but realized that she was clenching his sleeve very tightly and he could not pull away.

“Brother, you don’t want Ningning?”

The little girl tugged at his sleeve and began to cry. Ye Shen saw tears seeping out from the corners of her closed eyes. This time, he didn’t know whether he should leave or not. He could only stand by the bed.

And it was a scene that made him feel like it was familiar.

Many years ago, she seemed to have tugged his sleeve and called him “brother” in this same way. At that time, she was still a small child. She was wearing thick winter clothes, and she was plump like one of the children next to Guanyin1.

Ye Shen’s face was expressionless as she tugged on his sleeve. He glanced at the scars on his index fingers that were like two rice grains. He pursed his lips into a straight line, and used his other hand to slowly pull her fingers away.

As a result, he touched the tips of her thin white fingers. Her hand was like a vine twisting around. She went from pulling his sleeve to holding his hand.

The girl’s hands were soft and slender. She used her strength to hold his hand. Her temperature and touch transmitted to his palms. Ye Shen felt like he was holding a piece of tofu between his fingers.

As long as he used a bit of strength, the piece of tofu would break in his hand.

It was like the waist he had lifted last night. It was slender and could not be fully grasped.

Ye Shen’s dark eyes narrowed slightly. He heard the sound of anxious and stumbling steps come from behind him.

He suddenly jerked his hand away and took a step back.

 

Footnotes

Guanyin is also known as the Goddess of Mercy. She’s generally regarded as a protector of women and children. Wiki