Chapter 9 Madam Li

Chapter 9 Madam Li

The room was brightly lit, every candle ablaze.

Jian Ru was pressed against the side of the bed, anxiously craning his neck to see.

A man of about twenty-seven or twenty-eight sat by the bed, intently taking the pulse of the person lying there. He was handsome, with sharp, defined features, though a closer look revealed his clothes were incorrectly fastened on one side, a clear sign of his hasty arrival. At this moment, his brow was deeply furrowed, his expression troubled.

Beside him, an elegantly dressed, sharp-eyed elderly woman, Madam Li, leaned against the headboard, dabbing sweat from the patient's face with a handkerchief. Her eyes betrayed deep concern, and she sighed frequently.

Granny Jin stood nearby, offering quiet comfort.

These two were Li Jintong's elder brother, Li Jinfeng, and their mother, Madam Li.

Besides them, three young women also gathered around, their brows knitted in worry, occasionally whispering amongst themselves.

Behind them, Xiao Ning tugged at his sleeves, pacing back and forth with anxious sighs.

After the Second Young Master fainted, Jian Ru quickly dressed and rushed out to find help.

He had entered the household wearing a red bridal veil and was unfamiliar with the surroundings. Stepping outside into the dim light, he saw a small courtyard with a bare tree on one side and several dark rooms, unsure if anyone was inside.

Anxious, he stamped his feet, his heart pounding. There was no time to look around carefully. He called out, "Is anyone there? Xiao Ning, Xiao Ning, are you here?"

After just two calls, a candlelight flickered on in a small side room, and soon Xiao Ning rushed out, pulling on his outer robe.

Jian Ru hurried over, grabbing Xiao Ning's arm urgently. "Quick, go fetch Madam Li! The Second Young Master has fainted!"

Xiao Ning's face was tense as he acknowledged and hurried off.

Jian Ru returned to the room, closing the door to keep the cold air out, and went back to check on the bed.

The Second Young Master was breathing rapidly, sweat covering his forehead and face.

Jian Ru reached under the blanket to feel—in just that short time, the neckline of the person on the bed was already soaked with sweat.

Jian Ru quickly went to the wardrobe to fetch another set of the Second Young Master's usual inner garments and took a thin quilt from the trunk he had brought. Efficiently, he pushed aside the heavy blanket, swiftly removed the sweat-soaked inner clothes, and skillfully helped the unconscious person turn over. He used a cloth to wipe their chest, back, and even underarms. Once dried, he dressed them in clean clothes and covered them with the thin quilt.

After finishing this, he soaked a cloth in water, wrung it out, and placed it on the Second Young Master's forehead.

Then, he looked around, went to the table, poured a cup of water from the teapot, and was about to take it to the bedside to feed the unconscious person.

Just then, hurried footsteps entered the courtyard, and Xiao Ning called out from outside the door, "Brother Jian, Madam Li and Eldest Young Master are here!"

Jian Ru quickly set down the cup and opened the door.

Eldest Young Master rushed in with hurried steps, his robes fluttering, followed by Granny Jin supporting Madam Li.

Jian Ru stepped aside from the doorway. Eldest Young Master glanced at him, nodded, then entered the room and went straight to the bedside.

The others followed in a rush, sweeping past Jian Ru like a gust of wind. Only the last to enter, a young woman with a gentle and beautiful face, paused and gave him a reassuring smile.

After that, Li Jinfeng sat by the bed and began taking his younger brother's pulse.

After a short while, he released the wrist, checked the eyelids, and said thoughtfully, "The pulse is floating and tight, with fever. It's an external wind-cold condition."

Madam Li said, "After he fell into the water last time, we’ve been careful not to let him go outside to avoid catching a chill. Today, during the wedding, he was bundled up in several layers. He shouldn’t have fallen ill."

Li Jinfeng said, "It must be from exhaustion after a long day."

Hearing this, Madam Li snorted coldly and glanced in a certain direction outside the crowd.

Jian Ru had just met Madam Li's reproachful gaze when she already looked away, ignoring him.

Jian Ru understood—the wedding had exhausted the Second Young Master and made him ill, and now his mother blamed him. He remembered what Sun Yushuang had said about Madam Li’s dissatisfaction with him and felt somewhat upset and wronged. But with the Second Young Master ill, he couldn’t possibly argue with his mother at the sickbed, so he bit his tongue and remained silent.

"What should we do? Should we use the same medicine as last time?" asked a woman in her early thirties.

Li Jinfeng nodded and said, "Yes, the same medicine will do."

The woman said, "Alright, I’ll go prepare the medicine," and she hurried out, calling Xiao Ning to help.

The room fell quiet for a moment, with no one speaking.

Madam Li touched the corner of her younger son’s quilt and felt his clothes, checking for dampness. Seeing that everything was clean and dry, her expression softened slightly.

Just then, a young, clear voice suddenly asked, "Eldest Brother, will he get better after taking the medicine?"

Hearing this, everyone turned to look. Jian Ru, who had just entered the Li family today, was standing in the corner at the foot of the bed, gazing eagerly in their direction. On his half-scarred face was unmistakable worry and anxiety.

Li Jinfeng looked at him, seemingly surprised by his boldness in speaking up. After a pause, he said, "He will wake up tomorrow, but the wind-cold won’t go away so quickly. He should take the medicine for three days first. I’ll check again after three days to see if the prescription needs adjusting."

Jian Ru’s expression relaxed considerably. He gave a slight bow and said, "Thank you, Eldest Brother."

Li Jinfeng shook his head and said, "It’s my duty."

Jian Ru added, "He’s been sweating a lot. I was just about to give him some water."

Hearing this, Li Jinfeng nodded and said, "He should drink more water. It will help reduce the fever."

Everyone watched as the thin, new spouse limped quickly to the table, patiently poured a cup of water to test its temperature, then poured another cup and limped swiftly back to the bedside, moving openly and without any fear of being watched.

Li Jinfeng stood up and made room.

Jian Ru then said to Madam Li at the head of the bed in a clear voice, "Mother, please make some room. I need to give your son some water."

At these words, those around looked surprised, exchanging glances.

Madam Li’s face darkened, her eyes scanning Jian Ru up and down as if she were about to lose her temper. Granny Jin, seeing this, quickly reached out and patted her shoulder soothingly. Madam Li snorted but stood up and moved aside.

Her children looked astonished once again. Jian Ru, however, paid no mind. Light on his feet, he stood by the bedside, set the cup down on a small table, bent over, slipped one hand under the shoulder and neck of the person on the bed, and supported the inner shoulder with his other hand. Without much effort, he half-lifted the unconscious person, leaning him against himself, and sat down against the headboard.

Then, he picked up the cup of water. With the hand supporting the Second Young Master, he reached around the neck and gently pinched the chin, causing the unconscious man’s lips to part. Jian Ru brought the cup closer, patiently feeding a little at a time. Seeing that the other could swallow, he continued feeding small sips.

When he finished and looked up, he realized the entire Li family by the bedside was staring fixedly at him.

Jian Ru paused for a moment but first carefully laid the person in his arms back down on the bed, covering him with the quilt. Then he removed the cloth from the forehead, rinsed it in the basin, wrung it out, and placed it back.

Li Jinfeng’s gaze swept over the cloth on his brother’s forehead, then the heavy quilt pushed aside, and the sweat-soaked clothes draped over the chair by the bed. He said approvingly, "Well done."

Jian Ru smiled somewhat shyly, as he was rarely praised.

Madam Li naturally noticed as well. Her eyes swept over those spots, then lingered on the scar on his left cheek and the slight limp in his leg. Her feelings were mixed, and she said irritably, "Alright, when Jin Hui finishes preparing the medicine, you can feed it to my youngest son. Tonight, have Xiao Ning stay in the room to help you."

Jian Ru, however, shook his head. "Let Xiao Ning rest. I can manage on my own."

Clearly unaccustomed to being contradicted, Madam Li was about to say something displeased when Jian Ru continued, "He can take over for me during the day tomorrow."

Madam Li’s expression tightened. She glanced at her unconscious younger son on the bed, thinking that she would have to rely on this new spouse in the future, and suppressed her temper. "Fine, arrange it as you see fit."

With that, she left.

Granny Jin followed behind her, turning back to throw Jian Ru a frustrated look over her shoulder, but Jian Ru avoided her gaze, stubbornly turning his face away, much to Granny Jin's annoyance.

After the old lady left, Li Jinfeng went over the night watch instructions and left with the two young women.

Shortly after, Xiao Ning brought the medicine back, mentioning the eldest lady had turned in too.

Xiao Ning was also sent back to his room to rest, as the child was still young, and Jian Ru worried that staying up late would keep him from growing tall.

Jian Ru blew on the medicine spoonful by spoonful to cool it down, then fed it to the Second Young Master like before.

He also fed him two spoonfuls of water to rinse his mouth.

Throughout the night, Jian Ru barely slept, frequently checking the sick man's temperature, often changing the cloth on his forehead, and changing his inner garments twice more.

By the early hours of the morning, when the sky was beginning to lighten, the Second Young Master’s temperature had finally completely subsided.

After being busy for most of the night, Jian Ru finally lay down on the bed and closed his eyes for a fitful rest.