Chapter 374: Wuer Coughing Up Blood
Chapter 374: Chapter 374: Wuer Coughing Up Blood
Qi Xiuwei’s heart pounded in her chest as she read.
She worried for Pei Yin’s safety.
Reading on, she saw that Pei Yin was worried about her too.
He had written a warning—
"Please be extremely careful when you enter the palace."
Qi Xiuwei was a little surprised.
’How did Pei Yin know that Grandmother wanted Father to arrange for me to enter the palace?’
But on second thought, she understood.
The Crown Prince would never agree to have any girl other than Shen Ningning serve as his female official.
So, if the Qi Family wanted to send her into the palace successfully, her father would certainly have to pull strings and call in favors.
’That must be how Pei Yin found out.’
She picked up her brush to write a reply, urging him to take care of his health as well. At the same time, an idea came to her.
「The next day, at breakfast.」
Qi Xiuwei took the initiative to bring up the matter of the plague.
"The palace is so unsafe right now. I can’t go in for the time being. What if I get sick?" she said, her face pale.
Mr. Qi nodded, his expression grave. "I’ve heard about this too. But since it’s not yet considered severe, the Emperor doesn’t want to cause a panic, so the news hasn’t been spread."
Mrs. Qi Sr., however, narrowed her eyes, her gaze sharp and shrewd.
She looked at Qi Xiuwei. "How did you find out?"
"I..." Qi Xiuwei parted her lips, then lowered her head, unsure how to explain.
Mrs. Qi Sr. slammed her hand on the table, furious. "You’ve been secretly corresponding with Shen Ningning again, haven’t you?"
She could only assume that news from the palace must have been leaked by Shen Ningning.
Qi Xiuwei froze. Before she could answer, her mother, Madam Yu, spoke up for her.
"Mrs. Qi Sr., although it’s not good for Wei’er to be contacting the Commandery Princess privately, the Commandery Princess’s warning is not without reason."
"What if Wei’er catches the plague and then comes back and passes it to you? How terrible would that be?"
The moment Mrs. Qi Sr. heard that, her expression changed.
She didn’t care what happened to others, but if she herself were to get sick, she would panic.
Madam Yu knew her mother-in-law’s personality well.
Sure enough, Mrs. Qi Sr. glanced at the bowed head of Qi Xiuwei and let out a heavy snort.
She said coldly, "Then we’ll wait a little longer. In the meantime, have more doctors come and prescribe her medicine. The most important thing is to nurse her back to health."
"I understand," Madam Yu said, lowering her head.
Qi Xiuwei secretly sighed in relief.
’Thankfully, the plague excuse will buy me some more time.’
「Half a month passed.」
The height of summer blazed, and the earth felt like a furnace.
The ancestral tomb in Xiangyun Village was almost complete.
Dong Sanhua’s well had also been successfully dug.
On the last day, Liu the Second said to Dong Sanhua with a hearty laugh, "Sister Sanhua, your food is truly amazing."
"Look, I’ve eaten at your place for just half a month, and the scars on my body are all gone."
He rolled up his sleeve, and when Dong Sanhua looked, she saw it was true.
His skin had regained its former luster.
She smiled gently. "It must be the good feng shui of Xiangyun Village that nurtures people."
"Isn’t that the truth! How else could a golden phoenix have flown out of your village!" Liu Laosan said, referring to Shen Ningning.
Liu the Second sighed. "We’d like to move here too, but I heard from my older sister long ago that Xiangyun Village is packed to the brim. There’s no more room to settle down."
"It’s a shame we brothers are both married. Otherwise, we’d definitely try to court you, Sister Sanhua. That way, we could stick around in Xiangyun Village."
Although Dong Sanhua was shy, she wasn’t the type to let others take advantage of her.
She covered her mouth with her hand, suppressing a smile, and said, "Well, you could always just acknowledge me as your big sister."
Liu Laosan burst out laughing, while Liu the Second, feeling he’d lost face, quickly said he wouldn’t dare.
At that moment, a carriage sped to a stop in front of the sweet soup shop.
Shen Ningning’s small figure abruptly threw back the curtain and jumped down.
Her round face was stern as her little feet PITTER-PATTERED toward the back room.
As soon as she arrived, Aunt Yun immediately hung out the "Closed for the day" sign.
Shen Ningning made a beeline for the room where the staff lived.
Just as she was about to lift the curtain, the other employees stopped her.
"Boss, be careful! The doctor just came. He said Wuer might have the plague—it’s contagious!"
Shen Ningning’s small face was grave. "It’s fine. I’m not afraid."
With that, she untied her waterskin and a packet of Spirit Grass, handing them to Aunt Yun.
"Aunt Yun, take a few people and brew the Spirit Grass with my water, along with the medicine prescribed by the doctor. Make a soup and bring it over."
Aunt Yun took the Spirit Grass and chose three women to help.
Shen Ningning lifted the curtain and went inside.
Four people were lying on the large, shared sleeping platform.
There was Uncle Zhong, two slightly older shop hands, and the last one was Wuer.
"Boss, you’re here..." Hearing the movement, Uncle Zhong tried to push himself up.
Shen Ningning quickly raised a small hand. "Just keep lying down! I just came to see how you all are doing."
Uncle Zhong’s breathing was faint, and his entire body was burning hot and flushed red.
"The doctor just came and said it was the plague. But our symptoms are all mild. Only Wuer’s are a bit more severe; he’s already coughed up blood twice."
Shen Ningning glanced to the side.
As expected, Wuer was in a deep, feverish sleep, his small, milky-white face looking frail and pitiful.
She was puzzled. "How could the plague suddenly appear?"
"I don’t know either. Just two days ago, a woman collapsed at the entrance of our shop. We saw she was sick, so we helped her inside."
"Wuer poured her some water and talked with her for a bit. Just as we were about to go get a doctor, she ran off."
From that day on, Wuer started feeling unwell, but he didn’t want to trouble anyone, so he endured it without saying anything.
It wasn’t until Aunt Yun noticed him staggering when he walked and felt his forehead that she realized he had a high fever!
And from yesterday to now, Wuer had coughed up blood twice.
Soon after, Uncle Zhong and a few other shop hands also developed symptoms of high fever.
Shen Ningning had suffered from the plague before, so she knew how miserable it was.
Besides, the illness was vicious. Last time, it had taken the full efforts of the Divine Doctor Sima Han, plus treatment with her Spiritual Spring, for her to truly recover!
Aunt Yun came in carrying the brewed medicine.
She said to Shen Ningning, "Boss, you need to be careful too, recently. Besides us, several other places in the city have people who’ve caught the same illness."
The little girl furrowed her cute brows, her round face filled with seriousness.
’Could another epidemic be starting?’ she wondered.
Shen Ningning made a swift decision, telling Aunt Yun and the others to close the shop for five days to see how the situation developed.
From that day on, the little girl came every day to deliver Spiritual Spring Water and Spirit Grass, along with some fresh medicinal herbs.
Uncle Zhong and the other two older employees recovered quickly.
In just three or four days, their symptoms had almost completely disappeared, though they were still a bit weak.
Only Wuer was recovering very slowly. He was still coughing up blood, and his face grew more sallow by the day.
When Shen Ningning went to see him this time, he was somewhat conscious. He actually grabbed her hand and said through tears, "Sister Ningning, I don’t think I’m going to make it. I dreamed that my mother came to get me."
Shen Ningning’s heart clenched as she watched him.
She thought for a moment, then suddenly grabbed both of Wuer’s small hands and pulled him up.
"You still have a long life ahead of you! You haven’t enjoyed a single good day yet, how can you go with her? You tell her you’re not going!"
Saying this, Shen Ningning used a handkerchief to wipe away Wuer’s tears.
"Wuer, don’t be afraid. I’ll take you to get treated. I’m here for you!"
Immediately after, the little girl had Chen Ye help carry Wuer onto the carriage.
Just then, Xie Suzhi’s carriage stopped at the shop’s entrance. "Ningning, my dear daughter, Father has been looking all over for you!"
He walked over, looking rushed.