Chapter 458: Doctor
Chapter 458: Chapter 458: Doctor
Madam Gu’s face turned pale. How could her husband be back before she even had time to figure out how to salvage the situation?
She only felt a sudden gust of wind before she was sent flying like a kite with a broken string. A sharp pain shot through her back, and she cried out in agony.
"Is this how you throw a banquet when I ask you to?
"I’ve only just arrived and finally managed to make a bit of headway, but now it’s all ruined by you, you stupid woman!
"I told you to get on good terms with the madams of the various families, but instead, you’ve offended everyone.
"And now you’ve made such a laughingstock of us. How am I supposed to establish a foothold in Lingnan after this?"
He had just bought this courtyard and thought bringing the women of his inner residence over would stabilize his rear and help build relationships with the madams of other families. Yet, the moment this idiot arrived, she caused such a disaster.
With such a massive mess on his hands, he wondered how he was going to clean it up and explain it to the main branch of the family.
For years, he had been sucking up to the main branch and had only just managed to secure this position. If she ruined it, he would definitely not let her off easily.
"Husband, I don’t know how things ended up like this!
"It’s all the fault of these damn servants. They didn’t make adequate preparations, which caused me to panic..."
Seeing that she was still shirking responsibility at a time like this, Gu Yeshi walked over and kicked her again. "As the mistress of the household, you don’t even have this little bit of competence, yet you dare blame your subordinates!
"Do you think I’m stupid, or do you just have no respect for the Gu family?"
This stupid woman didn’t even stop to consider that the servants attending them were all sent by the main branch. Aside from keeping up appearances, they were there to help them establish themselves as quickly as possible.
He knew he only had himself to blame. He had thought that with a few experienced servants keeping an eye on things, matters like a back-courtyard banquet would be foolproof. He never expected such a blunder to occur.
Thinking of this, he turned to the old nanny standing nearby and asked softly, "Nanny Chen, was it the madam of the He Family who had the accident? How is she doing now?"
"Right now, we still don’t know exactly which madam it is. We haven’t been able to locate the servants attending her yet.
"The doctor has already administered acupuncture to her. She is fine for now, but she hasn’t woken up yet."
"What did the doctor say?"
"He is still inside treating her." Nanny Chen genuinely didn’t know the specifics. Fortunately, there was a medical clinic nearby, so the doctor arrived quickly. She had just come out to ask the madam for instructions, but she was met with a scolding before she even had the chance to speak.
"Then go check on them immediately. Tell the doctor that no matter what, he must wake her up."
"Mr. Jiu, I understand," Nanny Chen replied.
With that, Nanny Chen turned and went straight into the inner room. Seeing the silver needles covering the madam’s forehead and body, she couldn’t help but frown. She stepped forward and asked, "Doctor, does this madam have some hidden illness?"
The doctor’s eyes flickered. The newly arrived Gu family really were no good; they were trying to ruin a woman’s reputation.
Doctors like him had their bottom lines. Being a bit greedy for money was one thing, but they couldn’t joke around with a patient’s condition. "You really know how to joke, old woman. Mrs. Lin has always been considered quite healthy around here. I’ve never heard of her having any chronic ailments.
"She’s only like this because she was overly anxious. What exactly happened at your residence? How was she provoked?
"They’re just inner-courtyard women with little experience; they frighten easily."
Nanny Chen’s face changed. She sized up the doctor they had hurriedly pulled off the street, her voice turning a few degrees colder. "Do you know the identity of our Family Head?"
"What does your Family Head’s identity have to do with us doctors?" The doctor slowly began to withdraw the needles. "We practice medicine and treat patients seeking a clear conscience. I think I understand a bit now why Mrs. Lin ended up like this. Power and influence really are wonderful things."
"You’re just a lowly doctor. Aren’t you afraid...?"
"As you said, I’m just a lowly doctor. What impact could I possibly have?
"It can’t be, can it? Here in Lingnan, we don’t have things like silencing people with murder, and I wouldn’t know what big secrets you might be hiding anyway."
As the doctor spoke, he finished removing the last needle. Mrs. Lin, who had been unconscious, slowly opened her eyes and looked around in confusion.
"Mrs. Lin, you’re awake." Doctor Lan’s tone softened. "Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere? Are you still dizzy?"
Mrs. Lin looked at the somewhat familiar doctor, who was blinking at her, but she couldn’t immediately recall who he was. "You are?"
"I’m Doctor Lan from Heji Hall. It seems you suffered quite a shock to have even forgotten me."
Zhang County was only so big, and there were only a handful of doctors. Naturally, Mrs. Lin remembered Doctor Lan. His medical skills were excellent, and Heji Hall was known for treating everyone fairly. Whenever someone in her residence fell ill, they preferred to call for him.
"I’m so sorry, I was just a bit disoriented. What happened to me?"
"Have you forgotten what happened earlier?"
Mrs. Lin suddenly began to tremble. Seeing that she was about to have another episode, Doctor Lan quickly pressed down on several acupoints on her body and gently soothed her. "Relax... Relax... Everything is fine now. With me here, no one will hurt you."
After all, they were old neighbors, and he couldn’t let these outsiders bully their old neighbors.
Nanny Chen felt as though she was about to spit blood. Where did they find a doctor with such a foul mouth today?
She could only force a stiff smile. "Mrs. Lin, please don’t be nervous. You fainted at the banquet earlier and even started convulsing. Our banquet was disrupted, so we could only bring you to the back courtyard to rest while we sent for a doctor."
Doctor Lan looked at the old woman with a half-smile. She really was from a wealthy household; even at a time like this, she was still shifting the blame onto someone else.
Did she honestly think that just because she said it, it would become the truth?
When he had first entered the residence, he had run into the madams hurriedly rushing out and had overheard quite a bit. Piecing it all together was enough for him to grasp the general situation.
This old woman probably hadn’t experienced many major events either. She was trying to cover things up here, completely oblivious to the fact that the entire Zhang County likely already knew about it by now.
"I’m so sorry..." Thinking back to the panic from earlier, Mrs. Lin was at a loss and immediately began apologizing.
"Listen here, old woman. Don’t go too far. The patient cannot handle any more stimulation right now, or else I won’t be able to do anything if something else happens.
"With so many people present earlier, you don’t naively think you can just sweep this matter under the rug, do you?"
The attendant carrying the medicine box behind Doctor Lan was on the verge of crying from anxiety. He wondered what was going on with his master. Why was he talking so much today? Couldn’t he see the unfriendly glares these people were giving them?
The only person they knew in the room was Mrs. Lin; the rest were all strangers. With his master running his mouth and offending people like this, would they even be able to leave this place safely later?