Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 398: Treating an Illness to Change Your Mood
No news is good news, which is the biggest reason why Lao Xianyu has been able to stay alert these days. To be fair, he even hopes that the bigwigs in the court will continue to argue endlessly, and it would be best if they argue for ten or twenty years, and Xian Yunhe can just be imprisoned like this. After all, the final judgment of the court is nothing more than two results, either to approve Zhang Shou's disposal, or to overturn Zhang Shou's disposal.
If the ruling is overturned, Xian Yunhe will definitely be executed. There will be no other possible outcome.
If he agreed, he would be beaten with a full hundred sticks, and then exiled to Qiongzhou Prefecture with the sores from the sticks that he would definitely not have time to heal. Even if he had medicine to treat malaria like quinine, he didn't know whether it would be effective. It was still a gamble where life and death were determined by fate, and wealth and honor were in the hands of God.
So, although he looked relieved in front of Zhang Shou, when he returned to his shop on Shuishi Street, he walked with heavy steps and was in a bad mood. The only thing he was thankful for was that Xiao Huasheng was sent to Zang Hai to run errands because Zhu Er was already familiar with the situation. Therefore, he was not afraid of being seen with his dead face.
For the next three days, Lao Xianyu was in a daze. He had prepared everything that Zhang Shou told him to prepare, but he was unwilling to go out or open the shop. He couldn't even muster the energy to eat or drink. He was even like someone trying to cover his ears to steal a bell. He was even unwilling to go to the county government to inquire about the news, for fear that he would hear bad news.
One afternoon, when he was lying in bed drowsily, he suddenly heard the loud knocks on the door outside. He wanted to get out of bed to open the door, but when he moved his fingers, he found that his whole body was sore and weak. He finally struggled to get out of bed and put on his shoes, but his feet were staggering. When he reluctantly walked out of the door and into the yard, he was exposed to the sun and immediately felt a little dizzy.
At that moment, Lao Xianyu felt like a live fish that was taken out of the water and turned into a salted fish by the sun. His first feeling in the hazy state was whether he was going to die. After taking two more steps, he finally couldn't hold back and fell forward. He thought he would fall directly to the ground, but he was held firmly by a pair of hands.
It was not until someone grabbed his arm and shook it hard that he regained some consciousness.
When he looked again, he saw only a blur of light and shadows before his eyes, and it took him a while to recognize that it was Peanut.
"Uncle, uncle!" Seeing Lao Xianyu's red face and blank eyes, Xiao Huasheng was startled. He touched his forehead and found it was burning hot. Then he touched his hands and found them cold. His heart skipped a beat and he shouted in panic, "Sixth brother, Sixth brother, uncle is sick, he is sick!"
Old Salty Fish finally understood what he said. He grinned and was about to say that he was not sick, but he was almost shaken to death by Peanut. "Uncle, you must hold on! The imperial court has issued an order to approve Dr. Zhang's decision on Uncle Yunhe and the others, exiling them to Qiongzhou... Uncle Yunhe and the others don't know how to plant trees. What will they do if anything happens to you?"
As if someone had suddenly poured him a bowl of ice-cold well water in the middle of summer, Lao Xianyu shuddered. But just as he regained consciousness, he realized that the person holding his arm was none other than Ah Liu.
He didn't even have the strength to struggle, as Ah Liu carried him on his shoulders and took him out. His stomach was hit by Ah Liu's strong shoulders. Fortunately, he hadn't eaten much in the past two days, otherwise he would have vomited! When he got out of the door, he became even more crazy, because Ah Liu actually put him sideways on the saddle and galloped out.
When the horse finally stopped, he was dragged off the horse by Ah Liu like an eagle grabbing a chick. He was almost unconscious. He only vaguely felt that he was fed an extremely bitter medicine and his whole body seemed to be pierced by countless sharp objects. It was as if he had suffered an unprecedented cruel torture. After such a torment, he finally lost all consciousness.
When Lao Xianyu regained consciousness, he heard a very familiar voice in his ears.
"Is it really okay? Sixth brother, that's a full 100 strokes of the cane. I heard that if you're not careful, 30 or 50 strokes can be fatal! Moreover, the court has specially sent people to carry out the execution. Could it be that the emperor feels sorry for the eldest prince's suffering, so..."
"Don't think too much!" When Lao Xianyu heard those three words, he recognized that it was Xiao Huasheng and Ah Liu who were talking. Ah Liu was silent for a long time, and then he said a lot in one breath, "The young master said that if he wanted to kill him , he wouldn't have sent someone to execute him. The emperor must be afraid of beating him to death. The Imperial Household Department's assistant Lu Chan came here in person, it can't be just to kill people."
"Then why don't you let me see it!"
"The young master said that he didn't want to watch it, let alone you? This isn't a gratifying fight against corrupt officials, profiteers and evil gentry. You'll only get worried if you watch it. I also gave your uncle some medicine, so he can sleep a little longer. He used to brag about how great he was, but it turns out he was just pretending. If we hadn't gone that day, he would have died from the high fever and heatstroke!"
"Uncle really likes to hold on... Grand Master Ge said that he hasn't taken good care of his body over the years, and he just does whatever he wants with the good bones and muscles he has built since childhood. If he continues like this, he will lose at least ten years of his life! I will definitely take good care of him in the future and not let him ruin his body... But if I go to take care of Uncle, what about Uncle Yunhe?"
It turns out that he not only had a fever, but also had heat stroke? No wonder he felt so uncomfortable... How many years has it been since he was sick?
Old Salty Fish had this thought in his mind, and then he suddenly understood the conversation between Little Peanut and Ah Liu. Realizing that Xian Yunhe was going to be executed today, he subconsciously turned over and sat up, but in the end he only groaned.
The next moment, he heard a soft cry, followed by the sound of footsteps. Someone grabbed his hand and said something, and then a cool liquid flowed into his lips. He felt as if his eyes were cooled by something like ice for a while, and he couldn't help shivering. His eyelids, which had been drooping and unable to move just now, finally opened.
He struggled to open his eyes and looked around, and found himself lying on a large bed with a light blue gauze curtain hanging on the ceiling. Little Peanut was lying on the edge of the bed, his eyes were a little red and swollen, obviously he had been crying.
Behind Peanut, Ah Liu stood there calmly. When he saw him wake up, he pressed Peanut's shoulder and waved a finger at him: "What number is this?"
The old man was so angry that his nose almost got crooked. He cursed instinctively: "I'm not blind yet!"
As soon as he spoke, he realized that his voice was hoarse and his throat was burning with pain. It was not until Xiao Huasheng hurriedly fed him some liquid from the bowl with a spoon that he felt his burning throat instantly cool down. Then he saw that Ah Liu's finger was still standing in front of him motionlessly.
With no other options, he could only reluctantly say, "This is one!"
"Very good, how many is this?" Ah Liu added two more fingers, and when Old Salted Fish angrily said the word three, he nodded at Little Peanut and said, "It seems that the man is indeed awake. I will report to the young master, you keep an eye on him. Don't worry about the outside world, your uncle, Grand Master Ge, was able to save his dying uncle, not to mention Xian Yunhe."
"Mr. Zhu said that in the army, people would just hit with 100 or 200 sticks, but no one would die."
Hearing Ah Liu's words before he left, Lao Xianyu could only smile bitterly. He also knew that the military law was strict, and if one did not obey, he would be tied up and beaten with a stick. The previous dynasty even used whipping in the army, which was more likely to kill people! But no matter what, a hundred strokes of the stick would kill half of a person, just look at Master Jiang!
After being beaten with forty sticks, it is said that Mr. Jiang developed a high fever as soon as he returned home, and now he has been unable to get out of bed after more than a month of recuperation!
After watching Ah Liu leave, Lao Xianyu grabbed Xiao Huasheng's hand and asked in a low voice, "Is it really Grand Tutor Ge who treated me? There are so many doctors in Cangzhou City, how did Grand Tutor Ge get disturbed?"
Peanut suddenly felt guilty, and after a while he whispered, "Uncle, when I was taking you to see the doctor, I was anxious and scolded the doctors in Cangzhou City as quacks who were greedy for money... When you asked a doctor to treat me when I was a child, didn't the doctor deliberately write a very expensive prescription and extort a lot of money from you? I have a very bad impression of those doctors."
Old Salty Fish was at a loss for words. This happened so many years ago, and this kid was still brooding over it! He knocked on the door of a pharmacy in the middle of the night and almost tied up the doctor. It would be a miracle if the doctor didn't cheat him! He sighed helplessly, and then felt a sore throat again. After coughing twice, Peanut quickly fed him the medicine.
"This is the prescription that Grand Tutor Ge wrote for you after your high fever subsided. It contains various medicinal herbs such as monk fruit, honeysuckle, and silver dan grass. It is very effective in relieving heat and clearing the throat. Although you are fine for the time being, uncle, you still have to take good care of yourself. Don't think you are still young..." Little Peanut kept muttering to himself, and when he saw that Old Salted Fish was still staring at him, he finally felt even more ashamed.
"That day, Sixth Brother said that Grand Tutor Ge's medical skills seemed to be very good, and it was not good to stay indoors studying mathematics for days, so he simply took you back to the county government office. Later, Grand Tutor Ge not only gave you medicinal pills, but also used acupuncture on you. He was so busy that he was sweating profusely. In the end, he scolded Sixth Brother and even Doctor Zhang was scolded..."
Old Salted Fish sighed deeply. He was the Imperial Preceptor, a veteran of three dynasties, and a member of the famous Ge family. Now he was condescending to treat a commoner like him. Who else could he scold if not Zhang Shou and his servant who had caused the trouble? He was willing to treat him, which was already very good. It showed that the old preceptor had a kind heart. But the next moment, Peanut muttered a few words, and he realized that he was completely wrong.
"Old Master Ge scolded Sixth Brother for carrying a patient with a high fever and heatstroke around in the hot sun. He almost tortured good people to death, let alone the patient. He scolded Dr. Zhang for not bringing out the good stuff in the capital, which forced him to go to Cangzhou and spend the whole day trying to interpret it. But Sixth Brother was sensible and knew to bring a patient to him to see, so that he could change his mood and it would be easier for him to interpret those theorem proofs..."
Lao Xianyu simply didn't know what to say.
If Xiao Huasheng said that Ge Yong immediately put aside everything to treat him wholeheartedly when he saw him as a patient, using the best medicine and the best methods, he might not be so surprised. Although it is rare to spend a lot of money to buy horse bones, it still exists. However, he only used it to change the mood of the old master who studied mathematics so hard that he forgot to eat and sleep and became obsessed. He felt subtle.
He even felt that Old Master Ge might think that this patient came at the right time, just in time to change his brain!
His helplessness and misery turned into laughter and tears. He finally pulled himself together and sat up with the help of Peanut. Although he wanted to know what was going on outside, since Ah Liu said so, he could only force himself to believe it even if he had doubts. He raised his hand and stroked Peanut's head, and whispered, "Qiongzhou Prefecture is too far, you shouldn't go."
"But..." Peanut suddenly became anxious, "Uncle Yunhe must have someone to take care of him!"
Before Peanut could continue to give reasons, Old Salted Fish laughed and rubbed Peanut 's head again. Then he said in a low voice, "Those seeds are good, I brought them back from overseas, but the actual planting was done by Cang Hai and his disciples. I didn't do anything. I know Qiongzhou Prefecture well. I will try to ask Dr. Zhang to let Yunhe and the others take the boat."
"Then, I will personally send them there by boat! If the court allows, I can lead people out to sea to the east of the sea. As for you, you can take Guan Tao to the capital. He is well versed in scriptures and knows how to farm. Compared to an old man like me, he is a more promising talent. And you are smart and capable, so please ask Dr. Zhang to take you in, run more errands, read more books and learn more things, so that you don't end up like me and Yunhe in the future!"
Peanut was stunned for a moment. He stared at his uncle in disbelief. After making sure that his uncle was not joking, he immediately shouted, "No, I won't agree! I'll go wherever you go!"
Seeing Little Peanut rushing out like a gust of wind, soon his crying was heard outside. Old Salted Fish sighed immediately, scratched his messy hair weakly, and his mood became depressed again.
Although Qiongzhou Prefecture is not a place with poor mountains and bad water, it is not a place suitable for children. Xian Yunhe deserved it. His uncle was negligent in discipline. How could he let Huasheng suffer this hardship? The little guy followed Zhang Shou everywhere. Zhang Shou never discriminated against or treated him harshly because of his origin. Ah Liu was also very kind to people. How could he not seize this opportunity?
That kid is too weak to practice martial arts, and he hasn't read many books. Only if he is influenced by Zhang Shou, he may have some prospects in the future!
Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly heard the crying of Peanut outside stop, and then someone's incoherent voice came: "Sixth...Sixth Brother? You...you're back? Outside... "
"Hey, why are you stuttering?" After just a short while, Ah Liu saw that Xiao Huasheng's eyes were red and swollen, as if he had cried again. He just thought that Xiao Huasheng was too excited after Lao Xianyu woke up, and maybe he was also worried about Xian Yunhe. He made a rare joke and then smiled at him.
"They have already been beaten and carried away! It should be just physical pain, not fatal. The young master, Old Master Ge and General Zhu are in the second hall. The young master will probably go down to check on the prisoner in a while. You can follow him as an attendant."
