Chapter 004: Rain Bell (IV)
The flame of the lantern made her eyes sore, and the dizziness caused by tinnitus made Ni Su stagger and lose her balance. Her knees went weak and someone grabbed her wrists.
The extreme coldness wrapped around her wrist from his fingertips, which was colder than ice and snow. Ni Su couldn't help but shiver all over. She managed to steady herself and raised her head, "Thank you..."
Her voice was taut from the cold, and her gaze met his face. Those eyes were as clear as dew and full of spring sunshine, but they were too cold, as cold as the fingers he had just withdrawn.
Just like the falling snow in midsummer, there is a mysterious beauty of withering.
The lanterns made the lacquered lotus tower shimmer, and his gaze followed it. The mountain wind blew the copper bells and he looked at the lotus tower, as if he had touched some distant memory. There was still no bright light in his cold eyes. He just turned his head and asked her, "Is this the Big Bell Temple?"
Ni Su felt very strange. She was about to open her mouth, but her pupils suddenly shrank.
Sparkling lights like stars and fireflies floated behind him. They gathered together one by one and gradually transformed into a hazy shadow.
“Brother!”
Ni Su lost her voice.
The shimmering light illuminated the man's pale and flawless profile. He glanced silently behind him, and the illusion shattered in an instant, and the crystal light was crushed into the wind and snow.
Large flakes of snow fell lightly, but were blown away by the mountain wind at the moment when they were about to land on him, and he was never touched by any snow.
Ni Su's sight also followed the falling snowflakes, the lights flickered, and she noticed that the silver thread embroidery on his cloak was floating on the clouds, flapping its wings as if it was about to fly.
The words on the edge of the cuffs flickered faintly.
Zi Ling.
"You..." It was cold and snowy. Ni Su didn't know where the copper basin she had just used had gone, but she could still smell the ashes and dust left in the mountain breeze. The chill embedded in the cracks of her bones was even heavier. She was afraid that she had seen it wrong, so she instinctively reached out to touch his sleeve.
This touch, however, did not feel real.
The cold wind passed through Ni Su's fingers, and she saw the figure of the young man in front of her, who had been gazing at her calmly, suddenly melt into cold mountain mist.
Disappeared.
Ni Su's hands froze in mid-air, numb from the cold. The snow was still falling, but the inky black sky showed signs of brightening.
The chanting in the mountain temple has stopped for a while.
The old abbot and the monks gathered outside the main hall, exclaiming in amazement.
"Why is it snowing for no reason?"
A young monk looked up.
"This is not a good sign," someone said.
The old abbot shook his head, chanted "Amitabha", and silenced their discussions, "Don't talk nonsense."
The young monk who was on duty at the temple gate today was annoyed by the strange weather. His monk's robe was thin and could not protect him from the cold winter weather. He was wondering whether he should go back to his meditation room to find a winter coat to wear, but he heard a knock on the door, which sounded hurried and panicky.
The young monk was startled and quickly opened the temple door and stuck his head out.
He had seen the female donor outside. She was the one who came to the temple to get the amulet not long ago. However, her hair was wet with sweat, her clothes were stained, and her face was pale.
"Donor lady, what's wrong with you?"
The little monk was stunned.
"Young Master, I want to find the old wizard who gave me the amulet." Ni Su was extremely cold, and his voice trembled slightly.
Although the young monk didn't know the reason, he still invited her into the temple.
"Has the temple's teachings stopped?"
Ni Su did not hear any chanting when he entered the temple.
"I originally wanted another cup of tea, but suddenly I encountered this amazing spectacle of snow covering the sky, so I ended it early." The young monk answered as he led Ni Su forward.
A cup of tea.
Ni Su couldn't move any further.
She clearly remembered that the old monk told her in the cypress grove that the temple's lessons would not be completed until dusk.
"Uncle Huijue, this female donor is here to see you."
When the young monk's voice sounded, Ni Su looked up subconsciously.
Huijue, a fat man with kind eyes and dark beard, came over with a smile, chanted "Amitabha", and said, "The female donor has returned, but is there something wrong with the amulet?"
“Are you Huijue?”
Ni Su couldn't believe it.
Huijue was confused, and looked at the little monk, clasped his hands together, and said in a friendly manner, "I am Huijue."
"Female donor, didn't you just meet Master Huijue? How come you don't recognize him?" The young monk was a little confused.
Ni Su instinctively took one step back, two steps.
Her face turned even paler.
At this time, the sky became clear again. The Buddhist temple was ancient and majestic, and the sunlight shining on the eaves looked like gold.
No, totally wrong.
The one who handed her the amulet in the temple was the old monk with curly white beard. Whether in figure, face or voice, he had no resemblance to Huijue in front of her.
The mountain temple was filled with gods and Buddhas, but at this moment it could not give Ni Su any peace of mind. The snow, the temple, and the people were twisted into absurd and strange ropes that tightly strangled her throat.
Seeing that she was distracted, Huijue said with concern, "It snowed strangely today. It was so cold that it felt like the coldest time of winter."
He turned to the young monk and said, "Go and find a cloak for the female donor."
Just as the young monk was about to nod, he saw the female donor suddenly turn around and run away. He called out to her several times from behind, which made her walk faster.
"Today, not only are there strange snow monsters, but also strange people..."
The little monk touched his bald head and muttered to himself.
Heavy snow lasted for a day, and the entire Que County was covered with a layer of white. In teahouses, , and on the streets, many people were talking about this strange snow.
Ni Su fell ill as soon as he returned home from Dazhong Temple.
Her high fever wouldn't go away, and Mother Qian had to serve her at Cen's place every day and come to her courtyard to visit her from time to time. Every doctor in the Ni family clinic had come to diagnose Ni Su's illness, but the medicines they prescribed were all similar.
Mrs. Cen came to see the doctor once despite her illness. She listened to several doctors talking about fever-reducing prescriptions, but her sick, sallow and gaunt face showed no expression.
At night, when Cen heard Mother Qian say that Ni Su's high fever had subsided, she said nothing but breathed a sigh of relief, then opened her mouth and drank the spoonful of medicine that Mother Qian had scooped for her.
On the third day, Ni Su finally woke up. Xingzhu cried with joy. She wiped the sweat off Ni Su's forehead with an embroidered handkerchief and said, "Girl, are you thirsty? Are you hungry?"
Ni Su was slow to react, and shook her head after a while, "Where's mother?"
Her voice was very hoarse.
"Don't worry, young lady. Madam is feeling better now." Xingzhu brought her a bowl of hot tea.
In fact, Xingzhu couldn't go to Cen's courtyard. She only heard the old housekeeper say that Cen was able to get out of bed today, so she thought that Cen's illness had improved.
But after only one or two days of nursing Ni Su, Cen began to vomit blood.
If Ni Zong had not heard the news and came, and Cen was in a coma and unable to get up, Mother Qian would have had no choice but to come to Ni Su's courtyard, and Ni Su would probably still be kept in the dark.
"You haven't recovered from your cold yet. You have to deal with your second uncle and serve me these days. It's hard for you." Mrs. Cen watched Mother Qian take out the basin of water stained with blood. Her gaze returned to her daughter in front of her. She had just vomited blood and her voice was hoarse.
"Daughters don't suffer," Ni Su held Cen's hand, "it's the mother who suffers."
Cen twitched her lips, but that couldn't be considered a smile. She never liked to smile. "You should have secretly checked my pulse these days while I was asleep, right?"
Ni Su was silent. Just as she was about to stand up, Cen held her hand tightly.
"You don't have to kneel to me."
Cen's eye sockets were sunken, and she looked extremely tired. "I am not avoiding you to take medicine or see a doctor now. You have checked my pulse, and you know how many days my body can last."
Ni Su met her gaze, "Mother..."
"In our family, girls are not allowed to have such ambitions," Mrs. Cen leaned against a soft pillow, her chest rising and falling as she spoke, "Your father has beaten you and punished you, but you are so stubborn that you refuse to give in even when you are in pain or suffer."
"I know. It was Lan'er who taught you."
When Cen mentioned Ni Qinglan, her pale lips showed some soft curve.
"...You know?"
Ni Su murmured, stunned.
"If it weren't for Lan'er who used all her knowledge to teach you, how much could you have learned by stealing from the clinic? Your father was wary of you like a thief." Cen was so sick that he had no strength left. When she mentioned these things, she became a little more energetic. "Since he was sixteen years old and treated He Liushi's illness, and He Liushi jumped into the river and died, your father forced him to study. He took you with him and taught you secretly. One time, he taught you to recite the recipe of a soup, and I was outside the study door."
Ni Su originally thought that she and her brother had kept the secret well. Her family only knew that she had been punished by her father for failing to learn medical skills secretly, but she didn't know that her brother had been teaching her.
She never expected that Cen, who had always opposed her studying medicine, had actually discovered the secret between her and her brother long ago, but did not expose it in front of her father.
She was not Cen's biological daughter, but Cen had never treated her harshly. She adopted her as her own daughter and raised her as her own daughter. However, Cen always had a cold face and spoke little. There was a kind of natural distance that blocked her from getting close to anyone. Therefore, although Ni Su respected and loved her since she was a child, she could not be as free as Ni Mizhi and Liu, the mother and daughter.
In fact, Cen was not just treating her like this, but because of her personality, she was difficult to approach. Even with Ni Qinglan, the relationship between this mother and son was dull.
"Has your brother ever told you why he, a young man, wanted to get involved in gynecology?"
"No." Ni Su shook his head in a daze, and couldn't help thinking of the cypress forest in Dazhong Temple and the thin young man in a dark cloak.
She briefly saw Ni Qinglan's shadow in the strange light behind him.
Mrs. Cen sighed slowly, "He is a filial child. I have had some hidden illnesses since I gave birth to him. They were nothing serious at first, but over time, the illness has become more serious. You also know that most doctors in this world are not familiar with gynecology and disdain gynecology. Your father is the same. I don't want to tell him about my problems."
"But this disease is getting harder and harder to bear. One time, I was really in pain and was seen by Lan'er. He was still a child at that time. I couldn't bring myself to talk to my own son, but he was stubborn and I refused to tell him. He wanted to find his father to diagnose me. I had no choice but to tell him that his father couldn't cure my disease."
"But he was so concerned that he went out to find a medicine woman and secretly brought her back to treat me."
In today's world, gossips and six grandmas are absolutely the lowest class of people. The medicine lady is one of the six grandmas. Most of them sell medicine to women with hidden diseases in the countryside. They have no proper reputation and are despised by people.
At a young age, Ni Qinglan ran to the village alone to find a medicine lady to diagnose Cen.
"Your mother was a miserable woman. She gave birth to you but failed to raise you," Cen said calmly as she mentioned the gentle and submissive woman. "She had a difficult labor when giving birth to your brother, and there was nothing your mother-in-law could do. Your father couldn't bear to see your mother and your brother die, but he didn't know anything about gynecology, so he threw away the etiquette and went into the room, but he couldn't save their lives."
Cen looked at Ni Su and said, "You were very young at that time, and you cried miserably. Lan'er bought you some sesame candy but it didn't work to comfort you."
"Ah Xi,"
Cen said, "Your brother was willing to risk the doctor's disapproval, first for me, and second for you. He couldn't bear to see me suffer from my hidden disease, nor could he bear to see you suffer from the loss of your mother. Because of you and me, he has this rare compassion for women in the world, so naturally he couldn't bear to see other women suffer from hidden diseases."
Unfortunately, the first time Ni Qinglan actually diagnosed a woman was also the last time.
"He was determined to do this, but he was not tolerated by others."
"Ah Xi, I should actually thank you. When he was young, he was overwhelmed by rumors and gossips. He was forced by your father to give up medicine and pursue literature. Your courage to support his ambition is probably the only comfort in his heart over the years."
Listening to Cen's words, Ni Su recalled what she and her brother had said in the ancestral hall on a rainy night many years ago.
"Mother, when you are well, I will go to Yunjing to find my brother."
Ni Su said softly.
"Why wait? The people we sent to Yunjing still haven't received any news, you might as well go now."
"Mother?"
Ni Su looked up in astonishment, then shook her head, "How can I feel at ease if I leave you behind and go to the capital now?"
"How can you and I feel at ease when we don't know whether your brother is alive or dead?" Mrs. Cen started coughing. After a long while, she broke free from Ni Su's hand that was gently stroking her back and called Mother Qian in.
"Ah Xi, I asked you to kneel in the ancestral hall because your father has never done anything wrong to you. In his heart, you are as important as Lan'er, but he has his reasons. You disobeyed him and the rules of his Ni family. You should kneel in front of him and his ancestors."
Cen touched her face and said, "Don't blame me."
Ni Su's eyes were hot, and she knelt down, "Mother, I have never blamed you, I know you treat me well."
"Good boy."
At this point, Cen couldn't hide her tears. "You also know that I only have a few days left. You might as well go find your brother for me instead of staying with me. Your father earned a good reputation before he died. The plaque sent by the county government is in our house. Your second uncle has not dared to shamelessly rob our first wife's wealth in recent years because of me, a chaste woman. But now your brother's whereabouts are unknown, and they also know that I am not in good health. Once I pass away, how can you, a lonely girl, defend against your second uncle's wolfish ambitions?"
"Without a male heir, those people outside wouldn't care about his affairs. Because you are a daughter, there is no reason for the Ni family to let you inherit the family business. Even if he goes to the county magistrate to reason with him, he has a legitimate reason and can just marry you off casually."
Cen glanced at Mother Qian, who immediately understood and took out a small box from the cupboard and opened it in front of Ni Su.
Although the box is small, it is filled with Jiaozi.
"The day you went to the Big Bell Temple to get the amulet, I asked Mother Qian to sell all our farmland and fields, and pawn all my dowry and jewelry, in exchange for this money so that you could use it to support yourself when you go to the capital."
A sneer appeared on Cen's haggard face, "We can't let Ni Zong bully us in everything. If he wants to take over the Ni family's medical clinic business, then he can do it, but he can only dream of these fields and properties."
"Mother……"
"You listen to me."
Ni Su opened her mouth when Cen interrupted her forcefully, "If you really want to do good for me, then leave as soon as possible and don't let your second uncle plot against you. Go find your brother and bring him back, and then we can legitimately take back our clinic. Even if Ni Zong is reluctant, he must handle my funeral in a dignified manner. As for these servants in the house, once I'm gone, Mother Qian will send them away for me."
Mother Qian didn't say anything, but she couldn't help wiping her tears with the edge of her sleeve.
After saying these words, Cen seemed to have used up all her strength. She did not allow Ni Su to say another word. She closed her eyes and said calmly, "Go, I'm tired."
Ni Su held the box in her hands, suppressing the soreness in her nose. She stood up and, supported by Xingzhu, walked to the door. The midsummer sunlight was bright and hot, shining on the threshold.
"Ah Xi."
Suddenly, she heard Cen's voice behind her.
Ni Su turned around, but the bed curtain blocked her view. She stood at the threshold and could not see Cen's face clearly. She only heard her say, "This is a very difficult path. There are many petty-minded men in the world. Are you afraid of being alone?"
Women who pursue gynecology are often no different from the lowest class of women.
Ni Su's tears, which she had been holding back for a long time, fell out in a cluster. She stood in the sunlight, her shadow falling quietly. She looked at the person behind the pale blue bed curtains and answered clearly:
"Mother, I'm not afraid."
