Chapter 198 - 199: The True Intention
"Could you tell me the origin of this medicine?" the old doctor asked eagerly as soon as he stepped outside.
"...The apothecary." ’Guo Yurong has caused us trouble time and again, so borrowing his name for this should even the score a little.’
The old doctor immediately looked at Ancient Wen Heng with envy. "Young Master, you have a connection to the apothecary? I wonder, do you have any other medicines on hand?"
Afraid Ancient Wen Heng might misunderstand, he quickly added, "I won’t ask for it for free. I’m willing to purchase it from you."
Ancient Wen Heng shook his head. "It’s a rare item. I only came across a small amount by chance, and I just gave it all to that boy."
The old doctor immediately slapped his chest in frustration. "What a terrible waste! If that medicine was truly from the apothecary, even half the dose would have been more than enough to easily cure such a minor ailment."
Ancient Wen Heng said, "...Is there anything else?"
"Alas, it seems we were not fated to cross paths," the old doctor lamented with a wave of his hand. "If the patient is stable, you can take him home."
"I haven’t had a chance to ask, Doctor," Ancient Wen Heng said. "What exactly caused my nephew’s fever and fainting spell?"
The old doctor stroked his beard. "He’s caught a chill. If I’m not mistaken, it was caused by soaking in cold water for a prolonged period. During my examination, I noticed some of the skin on his hands and feet had peeled from being submerged."
Ancient Wen Heng glanced at the dazzling sun outside. "In this weather, a little cold water shouldn’t have caused this, should it?"
The old doctor shook his head. "While an occasional dip in cold water isn’t harmful—provided one has a strong constitution—it’s not an issue.
However, your nephew is not someone with a robust constitution. On the contrary, he’s rather frail. For him to soak in cold water on a winter night... isn’t that just asking for trouble?
Moreover, this condition didn’t just develop today. I’d estimate it began yesterday, but he let it drag on, which is why it became so severe."
A suspicion flashed through Ancient Wen Heng’s mind, but his expression remained impassive. He sincerely thanked the old doctor. "In your opinion, Doctor, could you prescribe a few more doses of medicine to help him recuperate?"
"I’ll prescribe some restorative medicine. Have him take it after the fever has completely broken." Being in business, the old doctor naturally wasn’t going to turn down a customer. He dashed off a prescription right in front of Ancient Wen Heng.
After paying for the medicine, Ancient Wen Heng instructed Hong Tianbao to wait until the patient woke up before returning. He didn’t spare Song Xiuyang a single glance.
＆
"How is he now?" Jin Qianqian frowned. ’We’re supposed to leave the day after tomorrow. This is really causing problems.’
Ancient Wen Heng understood her concern. "It’s not a major issue. Thankfully, I got that fever reducer and anti-inflammatory from you earlier. He should be fine now, but he hasn’t woken up yet.
Have you finished packing up our things at home?"
Jin Qianqian glanced at the few belongings left in the room, all of which they planned to leave behind. "Almost. Tomorrow I’ll prepare one more day’s worth of dry rations, then a quick tidy-up is all we’ll need."
Ancient Wen Heng noticed there were fewer servants in the courtyard today and couldn’t help but ask, "Where has everyone gone?"
Jin Qianqian smiled. "Since we’re leaving soon, I told them they could go out and buy anything they wanted to take with them today."
"That’s good," Ancient Wen Heng said. "Who knows when we’ll be back this way again.
What about you? Is there anything you’d like to buy? How about I take you out for a stroll?"
Jin Qianqian shook her head. Having lived here for several months, she had already restocked her personal "space." It was piled high with local specialties, along with plenty of seafood and other dried goods she had stored away.
"Looking at Lejia’s condition, do you think he’ll leave with us the day after tomorrow?" Jin Qianqian was actually willing to take them back. It would just make the journey more difficult, but at least they wouldn’t face complaints later on.
"He’s going, whether he wants to or not," Ancient Wen Heng said through gritted teeth. "I suspect he was trying to play the victim, but didn’t expect to actually get himself into this mess."
’Seeing that we were preparing to return home, Gu Lejia must have been hesitating for a long time; otherwise, he wouldn’t have delayed giving us an answer.’
’Causing such a scene now is just a gamble on my sympathy, as his own uncle. If I soften up, perhaps I’d entrust this estate to their care.’
’The distance is so great that we’d rarely be able to stay here in the future. It would be equivalent to making them the masters of this house.’
’Even if I didn’t let them live in the house, I’d still have to leave them some money to get settled, seeing him so ill. No matter how you look at it, they’d come out ahead.’
’He just didn’t expect to overdo it. Before he could even play the part of the pitiful victim, he’d already dug his own grave.’
"...?" Jin Qianqian looked at him curiously.
Ancient Wen Heng shared his suspicion. "He was probably trying to make us feel sorry for him, waiting for us to soften up."
Jin Qianqian said, "So Xiuxiang was in on it too."
Ancient Wen Heng took a deep breath. "Bringing these two back with us means we probably won’t have any peace at home."
Jin Qianqian patted his back. "Let’s just let things take their course. We have a clear conscience. If Sister-in-law wants to cause a scene, she won’t have reason on her side.
Leaving this ticking time bomb here is worse than taking it with us. Your decision is the right one.
I’ll have Housekeeper Fu rent another carriage. You should send two more servants to stand guard, just to make sure there are no more ’accidents.’"
Ancient Wen Heng nodded. "That’s a good idea."
＆
Gu Lejia woke up much earlier than expected. Not long after Ancient Wen Heng had left, he opened his eyes.
"Young Master Le, you’re awake," Hong Tianbao said, being the first to notice. He immediately walked over.
"Water," Gu Lejia rasped, his throat feeling like it was on fire. He managed to get the one word out before shutting his eyes again in exhaustion.
"Lejia!" Song Xiuyang cried, rushing over and grabbing Gu Lejia’s hand. "You scared me to death! If anything were to happen to you, I wouldn’t want to live anymore."
Hong Tianbao stood there holding the water, unsure whether to step forward or back. He could only remind her, "Lady Song, Young Master Le asked for water. Will you give it to him, or shall I?"
Gu Lejia gave her a weak look, his mouth opening as if to say something comforting, but no words came out. He turned his head and stared intently at the cup of water in Hong Tianbao’s hands.
Xiuxiang wiped away her tears and took the water from Hong Tianbao. "Could you please help me sit him up? I can feed him."
Hong Tianbao didn’t argue. He went over and gently helped the man sit up. "Young Master Le, here’s some water. Drink up."
After watching him drink the water and fall back into a deep sleep, Hong Tianbao instructed the two servants who had come along to stand guard. He himself hurried back to deliver the news.
"Lejia, what do you think your Seventh Uncle is up to?" Xiuxiang whispered, eyeing the two servants standing a short distance away. "He’s having people watch us now. He isn’t planning something bad, is he?"
After drinking some more water, Gu Lejia felt a bit more clear-headed. "Seventh Uncle isn’t that kind of person. Don’t worry. He probably just left them here to help take care of us."