Chapter 228 Recovery
Mengxi returned to Xiaoxiang Courtyard at the request of the old lady and came to the second master's room. When she saw the second master's appearance, she felt a lump in her throat and stared at the second master silently. Seeing this, the old lady glanced at the eldest master and said:
"Xi'er is here. Stay here and accompany Jun'er. The master and I will go back first. If Xi'er needs anything, just tell me and I'll have someone send it to her."
Seeing the old lady like this, Mengxi hurriedly responded, sent the old lady away, turned back to the house, and saw Hongzhu and Hongxing following in. Mengxi asked:
"Where is the medicine that the master asked for from Yichuntang?"
"Replying to Second Madam, the eldest master has taken back three pills. He gave one to Second Madam at noon. There are two more pills left. They are all here. Second Madam, do you want to use them?"
As Hongzhu spoke, she took two exquisite small boxes from the table and handed them over. Mengxi did not take them. She looked at them and pointed at the remaining anti-nausea pill and said:
"Grind this medicine with water first and give it to the Second Master later."
"Second Madam, this..."
When Hongzhu heard that she was going to feed Second Master medicine again, she felt a little hesitant. In the past two days, the old lady had force-fed him water and medicine several times, and she had been tormented. Thinking of Second Master's miserable condition, she couldn't bear to see Second Madam continue to torment him. She wanted to speak up to dissuade her, but then she changed her mind and thought that Second Master would eventually die if he didn't eat or drink. She swallowed the words she was about to say and just stood there looking at Second Madam.
Mengxi saw it and knew what she meant. She didn't want to say more, so she just said:
“Go quickly!”
Seeing the second wife urging her, Hongzhu responded, turned around and walked out. Mengxi then told Hongxing to go to the kitchen to make some porridge, and make it thinner. Hongxing quickly responded and turned around and walked out.
After giving the order, Mengxi came to the second master's bed and sat down on the couch. The second master, who had been watching her, moved his lips when he saw her sitting down, as if he wanted to say something. Mengxi put her ear to the second master's mouth and listened for a long time, but could not hear a word clearly. She sighed that the second master had suffered this time, held his hand, looked at him and said:
"Second Master, you are too weak to speak now. Please don't speak for now. I will feed you some medicine first. We can talk after you get better."
Hearing Mengxi calling herself a concubine again, the Second Master's eyes suddenly lit up and he moved his head as if he wanted to nod, but unfortunately he couldn't muster any strength. His fingers moved restlessly in Mengxi's small hands, as if he wanted to hold those warm little hands back.
Seeing this, Mengxi sighed, stopped talking, and sat there thinking. Just as Doctor Li said, if the Second Master couldn't eat, medicine would be useless. The best way was acupuncture. But looking at the Second Master's posture, she knew very well that if acupuncture was used, the Second Master would be the first to become suspicious.
Mengxi was at a loss as to whether to use acupuncture or not, when she suddenly remembered that massage therapy could be used to treat vomiting. She might as well give it a try, and then use acupuncture as a last resort.
Thinking of this, Mengxi lifted Erye's hand upwards and pushed the Banmen acupoint first. After pushing for a while, she turned over her palm and started massaging near the Wailaogong acupoint. At this time, Hongzhu had dissolved the medicine, mixed it with water and brought it in, standing aside. Seeing this, Mengxi motioned for her to come over and help her turn Erye's body over, letting him lie on his side on the bed, and started massaging near the Tianzhu acupoint with his hands.
Mengxi often massaged the old lady's shoulders, and the second master had seen it. When he saw her massaging him, he felt a warmth in his heart. He didn't think about it anymore and closed his eyes with peace of mind.
After pushing for a while, Mengxi felt that it was about time, and signaled Hongzhu Zhixia to come forward. Several people helped the Second Master up, leaned him against the bed, and propped up his back with a pillow.
Mengxi then sat back on the couch, took the medicine from Hongzhu, scooped a spoonful, and passed it to the second master, saying softly:
"Second Master, this is the medicine that the eldest master specially went to Yichun Hall to ask for. It is said to be very effective in stopping vomiting. Second Master, try drinking it, maybe it will get better."
Xiao Jun was already suffering from vomiting, and when he saw that he was asked to drink something again, he dodged as if by reflex.
"Second Master..."
Mengxi had never called him so gently before. This soft call caused ripples in Erye's desperate heart. Her heart was soft after all. When she thought of this, she opened her mouth unconsciously and drank it obediently.
Mengxi fed him two more mouthfuls and saw that the Second Master's face became painful, as if his stomach was churning again. She hurriedly handed the bowl to Hongzhu and reached out to press the Second Master's abdomen through his shirt.
After a while, the Second Master's expression relaxed, his stomach seemed to let out a sigh of relief, and he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
Mengxi continued to rub the Second Master, signaling Hongzhu to feed him the medicine with her eyes, and said:
"Second Master, try to use some more."
Hongzhu felt relieved when she saw that the Second Master didn't vomit, and she started feeding him again according to Second Madam's instructions.
After feeding him like this for nearly half an hour, he finally got half a bowl of medicine in. After a half-hour break, he fed him another half bowl of porridge.
Seeing that it was almost done, Mengxi ordered people to take the things away and gave the whole Yangxin Pill to the Second Master to swallow. Perhaps the anti-vomiting pill just taken worked, and this time it went smoothly and the Second Master did not have much reaction.
Seeing the tired look on Second Master's face, Meng Xi said:
"Second Master, you just used medicine, it's not easy for you to lie down now. Please hold on for a while, I will change the medicine for your hand."
Seeing Erye nod, Mengxi unwrapped the bandage on Erye's right hand. When she saw it, she couldn't help but gasp. When she left, the wound on Erye's hand had already shrunk and showed signs of healing. She never thought that it would get worse again in a few days.
Although the doctor changed the dressing every day, the second master had not eaten or drunk anything for several days, and his body had no nutrition supply, so the wound naturally began to rot again.
Looking at the wound on Erye's hand, Mengxi sighed. As the saying goes, the fingers are connected to the heart. It would be very painful to treat such a deep wound on the hand without anesthesia. Unfortunately, there were no injectable anesthetics in ancient times. Erye was in current condition and could not take it orally. It seemed that he could only endure it.
She looked up at the Second Master. The last time she cleaned his wound, he was in a coma and she didn't think it was a big deal. But this time, facing the awake Second Master, Meng Xi really couldn't bring herself to do it.
After hesitating for a long time, he said to the Second Master:
"The wound on your hand is a little rotten. I will clean it for you. It may hurt. Please be patient."
The Second Master had just drunk some water and porridge, and with the effect of the Yangxin Pill, he was now somewhat energetic. After hearing what Mengxi said, he opened his mouth and said:
"Don't be afraid, Xi'er, just clean it up."
Listening to the mosquito-like voice of the Second Master, Mengxi nodded, turned away, not daring to look at him, and only loudly instructed Hongzhu to prepare a towel and put it in the Second Master's mouth.
He then ordered Zhixia and Zhidong to prepare everything, and started cleaning the Second Master's wound like last time.
Finally, she finished cleaning, re-applied medicine, and bandaged it. Then she looked up at Erye, only to see that his forehead was covered with sweat and his teeth were tightly clenched. Perhaps he was afraid of disturbing her, so he didn't say a word and just endured it.
Seeing this scene, Mengxi couldn't help but be shocked by the Second Master's perseverance. She looked at Hongzhu and the others, only to see that including Zhixia, they all turned their backs and did not dare to look at the Second Master.
Mengxi stood up and took out the towel from Erye's mouth. Just as she was about to ask Hongzhu to get a handkerchief to wipe Erye's sweat, she saw Erye's face twitching and he seemed to be about to vomit again. Mengxi was so frightened that she hurriedly threw the towel aside, and with one hand she vigorously massaged Erye's Tianzhu acupoint, and with the other hand she gently patted Erye's back, saying:
"Second Master, please relax, it's okay, it will be fine in a moment"
Hongzhu was also shocked and screamed:
"Second Master, Second Master, how are you..."
It took Erye a long time to suppress the stomach discomfort caused by the severe pain. Seeing Erye calm down, Mengxi breathed a sigh of relief Just as she was about to take her hand off Erye's shoulder, Erye held it. Seeing the affection in Erye's eyes, Mengxi's heart trembled. For the first time, she did not pull her hand away, letting Erye hold it and slowly raising it to her lips.
His hand fell down weakly before it reached his lips. Erye's eyes were full of regret as he stared at Mengxi silently.
The slight tremors coming from her hand made Mengxi's heart beat wildly. Seeing the Second Master staring at her, she quickly turned her head, took the handkerchief from Hongzhu's hand, and gently wiped the sweat from his forehead.
…
Under Mengxi's meticulous care, the Second Master's health gradually recovered. The Old Dowager and the First Master both came to see him and were amazed at the Second Master's miraculous improvement, especially the Old Dowager. She was now convinced that Mengxi was the Second Master 's benefactor. Therefore, Mengxi's origin as a concubine's daughter became a source of worry for her and a thorn in her heart, tormenting her every day. She felt a dull pain in her heart whenever she thought of it, but she dared not to pull it out easily and had to treat Mengxi with kindness every day.
In short, the old lady’s mood can be summed up in one word: pain but endurance!
To Erye, these days were the happiest time since his wedding. Although Mengxi still refused to stay in the upper room and refused to get too close to him, she cooked for him and prepared three meals a day, just like she did on their wedding day. This filled Erye's heart with infinite tenderness. Ever since he had the strength to speak, he tried to ask Mengxi for a promise to stay, but Mengxi always changed the subject and talked about other things, only asking him to take good care of his health and not to think about anything. This made Erye happy but also filled with uneasiness.
Mengxi's occasionally furrowed brows and often absent-minded eyes made Erye feel that the happiness before his eyes was like a mirage, not solid at all. He wanted to have a good talk with Mengxi about their problems, but was always led away by Mengxi. Looking at the alienation in Mengxi's eyes, he did not dare to force it. He was afraid that he would shatter this beauty with his own hands. He just treated Mengxi kindly every day and carefully nurtured this rare harmony between them, hoping that this beauty would last forever.
…
The maids had all gone out. The eldest master was wearing a middle-length coat and sitting cross-legged on the bed. The eldest mistress was half-kneeling behind him, massaging his shoulders and saying:
"Master, you should think of some solutions as soon as possible. Second Madam's illegitimate daughter is against the ancestral teachings. It is not a solution to just drag it on. Jun'er is not young anymore. He will take over the position of the head of the family sooner or later. What will we do then?"
The master closed his eyes and thought for a while, then said:
"Mother has promised Jun'er that she will not force him to divorce Xi'er because of her status as a concubine's daughter. Xi'er is a gracious and generous person, and is indeed a good daughter-in-law. In the future, do not mention the matter of a concubine's daughter in front of mother again."
"Master, Jun'er is already trying to save her before anything happens . If we delay this any longer, who knows what will happen."
"Don't argue about what mother has already agreed to. Jun'er really doesn't want to be the head of the family. Forget it. We still have Yun'er. We can't take Jun'er's life."
"master!"
After hearing what the master said, the first wife screamed. The master also jumped, opened his eyes suddenly, turned around and looked at the first wife. The first wife also stopped what she was doing, sat aside and said:
"Master, it's not that I don't want Third Master to take over as the head of the family. Third Master has been lazy since he was a child. He has taken exams for several years but couldn't even pass the examination for a scholar. He is illiterate, so how can he be the head of the family? If he really takes over as the head of the family, sooner or later he will ruin the family business!"
