Chapter 222: Gloomy and Dismal
Xiu'er came over and asked the eldest wife to persuade her cousin. When the eldest wife heard that the second master was awake less and asleep more, she turned pale with shock before Zi Yue could finish her words and interrupted her:
"Jun'er is already like this, and you're still hiding it, you, you,..."
The eldest wife pointed at Ziyue with trembling hands and could not say anything. She only had this one son, and if anything happened to him, it would be like killing her. Xiu'er saw this and hurriedly advised:
"Aunt, don't blame Ziyue. Ziyue also listened to the old lady's instructions and was only thinking about your good."
After a long while, the first wife calmed down and said:
"You are still kneeling there, hurry up and get ready to go to Xiaoxiang Courtyard!"
In Xiaoxiang Courtyard, there was a gloomy atmosphere. Xiao Jun's three concubines and Hongzhu and others were waiting in the hall. The Second Master had only woken up once today and then fell asleep again. Even the usually flamboyant Concubine Cui looked listless at this moment, like an eggplant hit by frost. She suddenly felt as if the sky was about to fall. She stared nervously at the door of the east room. The doctor and the old lady were inside. She wondered if the old lady could save the Second Master's life by asking the doctor to come.
After the doctor checked the second master's pulse, he put his hand back on the bed. Just as he was about to speak, he heard the old lady beside him ask:
"Mr. Zhang, how is Jun'er's pulse? Is he in danger?"
"Old Madam, I found that Second Master's pulse is weak and his organs are frail. If you don't treat him, I'm afraid..."
The doctor said, shaking his head, and muttering to himself:
"Strange, when I came a few days ago, Second Master's illness was not serious and he just needed to recuperate slowly. But in the past few days, his condition has taken a sharp turn for the worse. What medicine has Second Master taken these days?"
"To be honest, sir, Jun'er hasn't taken any food or water since he woke up the day before yesterday, let alone medicine."
"That's it. A normal person would starve to death if he didn't eat or drink for a few days, not to mention that the Second Master is injured and needs to be recuperated. What the Second Master did is tantamount to suicide. If he wants to recover, he doesn't need a panacea, he just needs to be able to eat."
After the doctor finished speaking, he saw that the old lady was silent, so he sighed and said:
"The old lady will first let the Second Master eat some porridge. Once he can eat, I will prescribe some medicine to regulate his spleen and stomach. The Second Master will surely recover as before."
After listening to this, the old lady nodded in agreement. She thought that what the doctor said was absolutely right. Xiao Jun did not have a serious illness this time. He was just hungry. This grandson must be angry and was venting his dissatisfaction by going on a hunger strike.
Seeing the old lady nod, the doctor talked about some precautions and wrote out two prescriptions. He told the second master to recuperate for a few days and then use another medicine. Finally, he changed the medicine on the second master's hand before getting up to say goodbye.
After sending the doctor away, the old lady called Hongzhu and others in. Just as she was about to speak, the maid came to tell her that the eldest wife was here. The old lady hurriedly ordered someone to invite her in. Just as she finished speaking, the eldest wife came in with the support of Xiu'er and Ziyue. The old lady frowned when she saw Xiu'er, but seeing that the eldest wife looked weak, she didn't say anything.
The eldest wife came in and greeted the old lady. Hongzhu had already moved a chair over, and the eldest wife sat down beside the second master's bed.
After all, he is her own son. Although she did not hide it from the Second Master, when she saw the Second Master lying on the bed with a pale face and his eyes closed, looking like half dead, her arm, which had been somewhat swollen, became even more swollen. She grabbed the Second Master's hand and could not help but burst into tears:
"How come Jun'er has become like this in just a few days? I must have done something wrong in my previous life..."
"Don't be sad, wife. The doctor just came. Jun'er is fine. He just hasn't eaten for a few days. I feel the same way. If you are not feeling well, you should stay at home and take good care of yourself. Why did you come out? It will be bad if you keep going like this and develop a chronic disease."
"My wife is really worried about Jun'er."
The old lady sighed after hearing this, then she remembered what the doctor said, and turned to Hongzhu and said:
"Tell someone to make some porridge, thinner."
Hongzhu responded quickly, her lips moved, she wanted to say something but finally held it back, turned around and walked out.
After a while, Hongzhu came in with a little maid holding a silver plate with a bowl of porridge and two side dishes. She came to the old lady and said:
"Replying to the old lady, the porridge is ready."
The old lady looked at the porridge, nodded, and said:
"Help the Second Master up and feed him."
Hongzhu responded and hurried to the bedside with Hongxing. Ziyue had helped the eldest lady stand up and made room for the bed. A little maid hurried forward, moved the eldest lady's chair aside, and helped her sit down again.
Hongzhu and Hongxing called for a long time, and the Second Master finally opened his eyes. His eyes had long lost their former brilliance, and he looked at Hongzhu and Hongxing blankly. Seeing that the Second Master had woken up, Hongzhu hurriedly said:
"Second Master, the old lady and the first lady are here to see you."
After a long time, Erye finally reacted, moved his head, indicated that he understood, and asked Hongzhu to help him up. Hongzhu and Hongxing struggled for a long time, and helped Erye up and half leaned against the head of the bed, with a pillow behind his back. After Erye sat down, he looked around, and finally fell on the old lady. He opened his mouth for a long time, and finally made a sound, hoarsely said:
"Jun'er is unfilial and makes grandma and mother worried"
Seeing her grandson's dry lips opening and closing, making a sound like a mosquito, the old lady couldn't help shedding tears and choked up and said:
"Jun'er is a man, how can you be so irresponsible and so cruel, watching your mother and I sad, watching your mother worry about you despite her illness..."
When the eldest wife heard this, she burst into tears. Xiu'er beside her also started wiping her tears, and her rosy eyes became red again. Even the old lady could not speak any more at this time, and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. The maid beside her hurriedly persuaded her in a low voice.
At this moment, Xiao Jun seemed to have no strength to speak. After listening to his grandmother's words, he opened his mouth for a long time and uttered a sentence from his throat:
"Jun'er is unfilial..."
The following words could no longer be heard clearly.
Seeing the Second Master like this, the old lady knew that he didn't have the energy, so she stopped complaining and said directly:
"The doctor just came to check on Jun'er. He has not eaten for a few days, which is why he is so weak. Hongzhu just cooked a bowl of porridge. Jun'er, eat some. With food in your stomach, you will have more strength."
After hearing what the old lady said, the second master shook his head. The old lady saw it and said decisively:
"Jun'er doesn't want to eat. If he keeps leaning like this, even an iron man can't stand it. Hongzhu, serve the Second Master a meal."
After hearing the old lady's unquestionable tone, Hongzhu understood that the old lady wanted her to use force. Although she couldn't bear to do so, seeing the look on Second Master's face, this was the only move she could make. If she let Second Master continue to make trouble, she would only end up dead.
She hurriedly responded and turned around to take the bowl handed to her by the maid. With the support of Hong Xing, the Second Master began to force-feed him spoonful by spoonful. Although the Second Master didn't want to eat, he was too weak all over and had to be fed a bowl of porridge by the two maids. Seeing that the Second Master had eaten, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they could eat, they were glad.
Hongzhu turned around and handed the empty bowl in her hand to the little maid, then reached out to take the handkerchief and wiped the porridge grains from the second master's mouth. As she was wiping, she suddenly saw the second master's body move, his mouth opened, and he vomited out all the porridge he had just eaten. The violent vomiting made the second master's body spasm, and in the end he couldn't vomit anything, and he was still retching for a long time. Hongzhu and Hongxing were so frightened that they ignored the vomit all over them, and hurriedly supported the second master, patting his back with their hands, and shouted in panic:
"Second Master, Second Master, are you okay?"
After a long time, Erye finally stopped retching, and fell weakly on the bed, gasping for breath, his face as ugly as a ghost.
The old lady who had just breathed a sigh of relief was already shocked. She had originally thought that the Second Master was just going on a hunger strike out of spite, but now she realized that he simply couldn't eat.
If this continues, the only thing waiting for Erye is "death!"
The Second Master stopped tossing and turning, and the room became quiet. The old lady's face had lost all color, and she managed to control herself with great difficulty, and shouted towards the door:
"Someone, go and call the master, please ask for Doctor Li, quickly, quickly."
The usually calm old lady's voice was trembling at this moment. A maid had already responded and ran out.
"Jun'er, what happened to you? How did you become like this?!"
The eldest wife finally came to her senses, having long forgotten her identity. She screamed and rushed to the bedside, but was supported by Ziyue and Xiu'er, who persuaded her in fear. With the eldest wife's scream, everyone seemed to have just woken up and immediately became a mess.
The old lady who had just calmed down finally couldn't help it and shouted:
"Shut up!"
The old lady's loud shout seemed to have sucked all the air out of her body, making it hard to breathe . No one had ever seen the old lady lose her temper like this before. Everyone in the room was so frightened that they fell silent and dared not make a sound.
Seeing that things had finally quieted down, the old lady glanced at the eldest wife. She wanted to scold her, but when she saw her expression and the room full of maids and old women, she finally held back.
The eldest wife also calmed down at this time. When she met the old lady's blaming eyes, she realized that she had lost her composure. Although her heart was still in pain, she did not dare to take another step forward. With Zi Yue's support, she sat back and said no more.
Seeing the eldest wife sitting down, the old lady ordered:
"Come here, clean up for the Second Master. Hongzhu and Hongxing, you should also go and change your clothes."
After the old lady finished speaking, she helped the secretary to stand up and gave up the couch. Xiao Xia and Xiao Yan, who came after hearing the news, moved the second master from the bed to the couch. Several maids had already brought water and started to clean up.
The third master, who had come in at some point, helped the old lady who had stood up to sit on the chair and said:
"Grandma, it seems that my second brother really can't eat. Although we have found Doctor Li, it will take time for him to come out of the palace. Yichuntang is close to the Xiao Mansion, and the medicine there is unparalleled in the world. Grandma, why don't you go and ask the old shopkeeper of Yichuntang to come over first? Although his medical skills are not as good as the God of Medicine, he is also very famous . It will always be good to have him come to the mansion to take a look."
After hearing what the Third Master said, the old lady nodded and said:
"Yun'er is right. Doctor Li is so used to seeing patients that he forgot about Yichuntang when he was in a hurry. Yichuntang's medicine is good and has been famous in Daqi for the past two years. Someone, come here!"
When Xiao Yun heard the old lady calling for help, she quickly said:
"Grandma, wait a minute. Yun'er heard that Yichuntang never makes friends with the rich and powerful. Over the past year, although father has made many efforts, he has not been able to get in touch with Yichuntang. It's okay to buy medicine, but to hire someone, you can't just find a servant. You have to find someone with status. After all, the power of Yichuntang is comparable to that of our Xiao family."
"Yun'er is right. Okay, let's have Steward De go there in person!"
