Chapter 55: Su Mingxiu Falls Ill

Several days passed in the blink of an eye, and the Dragon Boat Festival arrived. The epidemic at the refugee camp had been brought under control, and there were no reports of anyone in the capital falling ill. People celebrated the festival as usual, joyful and carefree.

Jiang You’an had learned to make the Five Poisons Cakes and wanted to send some to Su Mingxiu. Taking advantage of a quiet afternoon, she went to the residence of Marquis Yong’an.

She was invited into the front hall, where Lady Su came to greet her, but Su Mingxiu was nowhere to be seen.

Lady Su smiled upon seeing her, though Jiang You’an could tell from her weary complexion that she was unwell.

“Madam, you look pale. Are you feeling unwell lately?” Jiang You’an asked.

Lady Su hesitated, opening her mouth to speak but then shaking her head.

Perplexed, Jiang You’an pressed gently, “Is it something you’d rather not tell me?”

Lady Su sighed deeply, “Well, you’re not an outsider, so I can’t keep this from you. Mingxiu… he’s ill.”

Jiang You’an was stunned and quickly asked, “Is it serious?”

Tears welled in Lady Su’s eyes. “The doctor said he contracted the epidemic. He’s been taking medicine these past days but shows no improvement; in fact, he’s getting worse. He didn’t want you to worry, so he kept it from you, but…”

Jiang You’an suddenly stood, her expression blank and stunned. “How... how could this happen?”

“Who can say? Maybe when he went out before, he came into contact with someone unclean. His constitution was always weak—how could he have withstood it?” Lady Su said, tears streaming down her face.

Jiang You’an’s heart burned with anxiety. “Madam, where is he? Please take me to see him!”

Lady Su shook her head. “He’s already infected. You shouldn’t see him, lest you catch it yourself…”

“No, I just want to see him. Seeing him will ease my mind. Please, Madam.” Jiang You’an’s face was earnest, on the verge of tears.

Seeing her insistence, Lady Su reluctantly nodded.

Jiang You’an was brought to the courtyard where Su Mingxiu stayed. She was given a coarse hemp garment and a veil to cover her face.

She gently pushed open the door and stepped inside, only to be met by a curtain of white gauze blocking her view.

She called softly, “Mingxiu?”

From behind the gauze came a coughing fit, followed by Su Mingxiu’s weak, hoarse voice, “Why have you come?”

“I came to see you.”

Jiang You’an stepped forward, reaching out to part the gauze, but Su Mingxiu stopped her.

“Don’t come closer! This illness is contagious.”

“I just want to see you; only then can I feel at ease.”

His tone was as gentle as ever. “Better not. I look terrible right now.”

Hearing this, Jiang You’an’s heart clenched. “How could that be? Young Master Su is as handsome as Pan An.”

Su Mingxiu seemed to chuckle faintly.

Jiang You’an asked, “How are you now?”

Silence fell behind the gauze.

After a long pause, Su Mingxiu’s voice returned. “You’an, I’m afraid…”

“Don’t say such hopeless things!” Jiang You’an hurriedly interrupted. “You will get better.”

“Listen to me first.”

Su Mingxiu coughed several times, as if drawing on his last strength to speak his final words. “If I don’t make it… I’ve asked my mother to adopt you as her goddaughter and to arrange a good marriage for you.”

Jiang You’an’s heart felt as if it were being ripped apart. She pressed her lips tightly, unable to speak, tears streaming uncontrollably.

She stared at the gauze curtain, softly sobbing.

After a while, she heard the sound of Su Mingxiu rising from his bed.

His footsteps were slow, as if it took him an eternity to reach her.

Between them lay a veil of gauze. Jiang You’an saw his thin figure cast upon it, but it felt like an impassable chasm separated them.

He asked, “Why are you crying?”

Jiang You’an wept harder, choking on her words, “You promised you wouldn’t leave me. Why are you saying this now? We promised to grow old together. How can you decide on your own to have me marry someone else? I’m telling you, if you really leave me, I will never marry another.”

Su Mingxiu sighed but coaxed her gently, “Alright, it was wrong of me to say those things.”

A palm pressed against the gauze from his side. In a soft voice, he said, “Don’t cry.”

Jiang You’an reached out too, placing her hand against his through the veil. She felt a faint warmth from his palm, which comforted her heart a little.

Sniffling, she pleaded, “Mingxiu, you must get better. I heard many who caught the epidemic have been cured. You will be fine.”

Su Mingxiu replied, “Okay, I will take my medicine properly and keep fighting.”

“Good. I will come see you every day.”

Hearing a faint “no,” Jiang You’an quickly interrupted, “You can’t stop me. Even if I can’t see you face to face, I’ll talk to you through the window.”

Su Mingxiu chuckled softly, “Very well.”

As Jiang You’an left the Marquis’s residence and stepped into her carriage, she burst into tears.

Qiulan held her gently, comforting, “Miss, please don’t worry too much. The Marquis’s residence will only give Young Master Su the best medicine. The virtuous are watched over by Heaven; he will surely be alright.”

Tears streamed down Jiang You’an’s face. “I just don’t understand why good people suffer so. The epidemic was contained outside the city; no one in the capital was reported ill. Why did he have to catch it? Even now, while so sick, he’s worried about arranging my future…”

She covered her face with both hands, tears continuously dripping through her fingers, her heart aching beyond words.

From then on, every afternoon Jiang You’an visited Marquis Yong’an’s residence. Su Mingxiu forbade her from entering, fearing she might catch the disease, so she stayed outside by the window, talking to him and sometimes presenting him with new paintings.

Three consecutive days passed, and Jiang You’an witnessed Su Mingxiu’s condition fluctuate. Though he always spoke to her cheerfully, she could tell he was forcing himself.

Several doctors were summoned to treat him, but none could say for certain whether Su Mingxiu would survive.

The Marquis and Lady Su grew gray-haired and weary, sighing constantly.

Jiang You’an greeted Su Mingxiu with a bright smile each day, but secretly, she cried countless times.

“Wasn’t it said that the Imperial Medical Academy had developed an effective remedy? Why hasn’t Mingxiu improved?” Lady Su asked, her face full of sorrow.

“That remedy works, but it acts slowly,” Jiang You’an replied sadly. “Besides, Mingxiu’s constitution is weak, so his illness keeps relapsing.”

Returning to the Lu residence, Jiang You’an tossed and turned all night, troubled and restless.

The next afternoon, she set out for the Marquis’s residence as usual.

Though her visits did little to aid Su Mingxiu’s recovery, she feared that if she didn’t come, she might never see him again.

She left the Lu residence and boarded her carriage, but just after passing a street corner, the carriage broke down.

Jiang You’an stepped down to find that the young stable boy had a broken wheel on the carriage and would need some time to fix it.

A sense of unease gripped her heart; it felt like a bad omen.

As she stood there lost in thought, she suddenly heard someone call her name.

“Miss Jiang.”

She turned to see Li Zhengfu leaning out from the window of another carriage, greeting her.