Volume One, Chapter 10: Administering Medicine Properly

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When Ye Jianxun received news from Lin Mu, he was riding horseback in the outskirts, chasing someone. Recently, he had captured a key informant and subjected him to severe interrogation, but unexpectedly, the man proved unyielding and revealed little information before being rescued. Ye Jianxun pursued relentlessly, the two riding one after another until they reached a cliff’s edge.

“Don’t run. Your wife and daughter are in our hands now. If you dare to escape, they’ll all be sold to the Mooningale House,” Ye Jianxun shouted loudly.

“If you release my wife and daughter, I will reveal the hiding place of the city defense map,” the man said.

Ye Jianxun didn’t expect him to give in so easily—this was no good sign. Sure enough, after saying, “It’s hidden in the home of a farmer surnamed Zhang in Huangjia Village, East Suburb,” Zhang Li cracked his whip, leapt toward the cliff’s edge, and vanished instantly into the abyss.

Before Ye Jianxun could recover, Lin Mu arrived in a hurry on a swift horse, calling out, “Young Master, bad news! The Young Mistress is coughing up blood and has fainted.”

They hurried back to the Falling Rain Garden. At that moment, the Xu family physician was attending to her in the bedchamber.

“Physician Xu, how is the Young Mistress now?” Ye Jianxun asked in a low voice, a trace of tension barely concealed.

Physician Xu frowned. “The Young Mistress suffers from liver qi stagnation and emotional distress. The qi and blood have attacked her heart, causing her to cough up blood. I have prescribed several herbal remedies to soothe the liver, relieve her depression, and ease the blood stasis.”

“Qi and blood attacking the heart?” Ye Jianxun glanced at Bishui and asked coldly, “What did the Young Mistress do before she fainted?”

Bishui had already put away the blood-stained letter without reading its contents, hiding it in a corner. She dared not let the Young Master discover the Young Mistress’s secret admiration for the Eldest Young Master; she must keep it safe.

Bishui recited the prepared excuse, “It’s all my fault, Young Master. Today, while out, I heard some unpleasant rumors and told them to the Young Mistress. She was distressed, so…”

“What rumors?” Ye Jianxun pressed.

Bishui lowered her head and whispered, “Outside, people say the Young Mistress is scheming and jealous of her elder sister, that she manipulated matters to snatch her sister’s marriage, and that’s how she gained her current status.”

Indeed, when Bishui went out to fetch the letter earlier, she had overheard these rumors but chose not to mention them, unwilling to add to the Young Mistress’s troubles.

Ye Jianxun’s brows knitted deeply, his tone sharp with anger. “How could the outside know about the substitution marriage?”

Striding toward the outer room, he instructed Lin Mu, “Send people to investigate who’s spreading these rumors.”

A lotus-colored figure flashed through his mind—she had deliberately tossed a note to him that day, likely trying to sow discord.

He snorted coldly, adding, “Focus the investigation on the young ladies of the Dingyuan Marquis’s household.”

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Returning to the bedchamber, the physician had left, and Chunwu had gone to the kitchen to prepare the medicine. Only Bishui remained inside.

Bishui gently wiped Mei Lingxi’s face with a warm cloth, her expression full of worry.

Ye Jianxun approached the couch and asked, “The physician said the Young Mistress is emotionally blocked. You’ve served her for so long—do you know what saddens her so deeply?”

Bishui thought back over the past four years of the Young Mistress’s plight, tears welling up. “Young Master, the Young Mistress was brought to the Marquis’s mansion at thirteen. I was assigned to serve her then.

The Marquis boasted outside about recovering a treasure, but upon returning home, he treated the Young Mistress as invisible, never a word of care.

The Marchioness appeared to dote on the Young Mistress, but all her necessities were tightly controlled for the Second Miss.”

At this, Bishui’s tears fell. “The servants played favorites and schemed behind her back.

For example, the Young Mistress always feared the cold, yet the coal sent to her in winter was the worst quality, causing incessant coughing and eventually a chronic cough.

Fortunately, after coming to the Wang residence and using top-quality silver-thread charcoal, and with the physician’s careful care, the cough hasn’t returned.”

Ye Jianxun clenched his fist, suppressing his fury. “If that’s the case, why did the Young Mistress agree to the substitution marriage?”

Though emotional, Bishui carefully avoided mentioning the Tianhua Temple matter. “The Young Mistress seems indifferent but is actually deeply sentimental. After all, she owes her upbringing to the Marquis’s household…”

“Hmph,” Ye Jianxun’s eyes flashed with killing intent. “Owing them? After being raised like that, what gratitude is owed? Revenge would be more fitting.”

Bishui wiped her tears and glanced at the furious Young Master, thinking, He’s angrier than I expected; it seems he truly cares for the Young Mistress. Her heart swelled with joy.

At that moment, Chunwu returned with steaming herbal decoctions. She helped Mei Lingxi sit up and attempted to feed her the medicine, but Mei Lingxi clamped her mouth shut, spilling the medicine over herself without drinking a drop.

Bishui sighed, “Let me try.”

Usually, she was skilled at administering medicine to the Young Mistress, but today it was no use. After several futile attempts, she glanced helplessly at Ye Jianxun.

Ye Jianxun caught her pleading look, hesitated briefly, then rose and searched a desk in the bedchamber. After a moment, he picked up a book and approached.

Bishui glanced at the book’s title, The Legend of Hongfu, and was slightly shocked. This was the Young Mistress’s favorite storybook, one she often read. How could the Young Master know?

Before she could ponder further, Ye Jianxun handed her the book and said, “You read.”

Could this really work? Bishui scratched her head and, following his advice, began reading aloud.

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Ye Jianxun sat on the couch, supporting Mei Lingxi comfortably in his arms. Then, he scooped a spoonful of the decoction and fed it to her. Remarkably, Mei Lingxi obediently opened her mouth and drank.

Bishui and Chunwu stared wide-eyed in disbelief, secretly thinking the Young Mistress was indeed extraordinary.

Soon the bowl was empty. Chunwu took it away. Bishui put down the book and asked, “Young Master, how did you know this storybook is the Young Mistress’s favorite?”

Ye Jianxun glanced at her and said flatly, “I don’t know. I just saw she’d read it before and thought I’d try.”

Realizing she had overstepped, Bishui bowed her head, asking no more.

That night, Mei Lingxi stirred awake, her throat dry and parched. She sat up but felt weak, her voice faint, “Water…”

Realizing her voice was too low, she cleared her throat and raised her tone, “Bishui, please bring me some water.”

No sooner had she spoken than a cup of warm tea passed through the dark blue bed curtains before her. Assuming it was Bishui, she took it and sipped slowly.

The water soothed her dry throat. When she looked up to return the cup, she realized the figure before her was not Bishui.

It was a tall, slender man.

“Young Master?” At this hour, only Ye Jianxun could be in the bedchamber.

“Yes, it’s me.” Ye Jianxun, likely awakened by the noise, sounded hoarse from just waking.

He set the cup back on the table and returned to Mei Lingxi’s side, asking, “Do you feel any discomfort now?”

Mei Lingxi shook her head. “Much better.”

Ye Jianxun said no more, instead retreating to the nearby couch, turning on his side to lie down.

Mei Lingxi was puzzled. The Young Master usually slept in the study—why had he returned to the bedchamber and even chosen the small couch?

Could it be that he intended to watch over her?