Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 174 Sickness
“Sang Dian”.

Sang Dian was lost in thought when she was suddenly called out. Her heart tightened immediately, and she quickly looked at her husband.

Wang Yan said, "Let's scout ahead."

Sang Dian responded and strode forward.

The sky darkened and the wind picked up, but luckily the group had already reached the foot of the mountain.

"This is it." Xie Yuyan pointed.

In my previous life, Daming Prefecture built a blast furnace here. The imperial court had searched for several locations before finally settling on this place at the foot of the mountain.

"Clear this forest, and you can build a coal yard from here to Sanhe Village."

"The space is large enough that coking and iron smelting can be combined in one place."

"Having avoided the river and stayed far from the official road, it's good that the imperial court has sent more people to protect them."

"Even if war breaks out, as long as Daming Prefecture is safe, this iron smelting furnace will remain unharmed."

As Wang Yan listened to Xie Yuyan speak these things so familiarly, she realized that Xie Yuyan had considered everything very thoroughly. Perhaps... there was already an iron smelting furnace here back in her time.

As they were talking, the sky suddenly darkened, and a cold wind carried the scent of ice and snow.

Sang Dian pointed to a hut not far away: "There's a shack over there, a place where hunters rest temporarily. Young master and lady, go there and take shelter for a while. I'll go and bring the horse over."

The wind is blowing too hard; it'll be faster to ride away on horseback and avoid getting too cold.

Xie Yuyan wrapped Wang Yan's cloak tightly around himself and followed him into the thatched hut.

Wang Yan piled up firewood and lit a fire.

Xie Yuyan's cheeks flushed slightly from the wind, and Wang Yan regretted it for the second time, thinking he should have come at another time.

Two guards from the Yang family blocked the entrance to the shack, but the wind still blew in. Wang Yan walked over, squatted down opposite Xie Yuyan, and continued to add firewood to make the fire burn brighter.

Xie Yuyan gradually warmed up, and she looked up at Wang Yan.

The firelight reflected on his cheeks, casting a halo around them.

Xie Yuyan suddenly recalled that when he was a child, Wang Huai wore Wang Zheng's flat-winged turban and paced around the room in the same manner as Wang Yan, deliberately lowering his voice to pretend to be calm and collected: "Your Majesty, I think this is inappropriate."

She laughed out loud at that moment.

A saying circulated both inside and outside the imperial court: "It's not that we're afraid the emperor will stop holding court, it's that we're afraid of what Prime Minister Wang might do."

Although Wang Huai was later beaten up by Wang Zheng, who came looking for her, this was one of the few happy memories she had from her childhood.

Now, facing Wang Yan, she couldn't help but laugh again, but this time she only found Wang Huai's appearance ridiculous, not at all like Wang Yan.

"What are you laughing at?" Wang Yan looked up, his clear eyes meeting hers.

His solemn demeanor almost made her lose control again.

"It's nothing," Xie Yuyan said. "I just feel that hiding here... is truly unpredictable. Who would have thought that things would change so quickly."

He wasn't telling the truth. Wang Yan lowered his eyes: "You think I'm funny, don't you?"

Her bright eyes and cheerful smile clearly indicated a connection to him.

Xie Yuyan immediately asked, "My lord...where did you get this idea?"

One day, when we find solid evidence, she'll have no way to deny it. Wang Yan thought to himself, lightly brushing his robes aside: "Don't you see how pathetic you look?"

Wearing his cloak, he huddled there, looking thin and small. Where was the trace of his usual commanding presence?
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a hand reaching out to him, with long, slender, and soft fingers.

Wang Yan asked, "What do you want?" Xie Yuyan replied, "Give me a bronze mirror so I can take a good look at myself."

Caught off guard, a relaxed smile flashed in Wang Yan's eyes.

The fire dried Xie Yuyan's wet shoes, and the warm feeling made her temporarily forget the cold wind blowing outside, and she relaxed completely.

Not long after, Sang Dian brought the horse.

Sitting on horseback, Xie Yuyan shivered slightly. Today was really not a good day to go out; although he had warmed himself by the fire, he had been chilled to the bone in no time.

They finally reached the official road and changed to a different carriage. This time, Wang Yan did not ride with her.

After leaving the city, Sang Dian and the others came looking for her. Now that there was no need to discuss matters with her in the carriage, Wang Yan naturally wanted to ride back with them.

Xie Yuyan picked up the cat and leaned against the cushion, unable to suppress a laugh as she recalled the scene from just now. Even the clever Wang Hechun couldn't figure out what she was laughing about.
Wang Yan escorted her to Yong'anfang before leaving.

When Xie Yuyan returned to the Yang family, Mama Yu hurriedly instructed someone to prepare a soup to dispel the cold.

Looking at the cloak placed on the plum tree, Zhang could roughly guess who Xie Yuyan had gone to see.

"What should we do? After finishing here, we have to deal with that one too." Zhang touched Xie Yuyan's cheek with heartache.

After it warmed up, the area where the wind blew became scorching hot.

Seeing this, Zhang became even more worried.

Xie Yuyan comforted Zhang, saying, "You've just caught a chill; it'll be fine in a bit."

Unexpectedly, he caught a fever in the middle of the night. Fortunately, Zhang was worried and went in to check on Xie Yuyan's condition.

Zhang, who was struggling with the two children, sensed something was wrong when she heard Xie Yuyan's breathing. When she touched it, it was burning hot, so she quickly wrung out a handkerchief and placed it on Xie Yuyan's forehead. Then she instructed Mama Yu to quickly fetch a doctor.

In her dazed state, Xie Yuyan sensed someone enter the room and take her pulse. A short while later, Mother Yu brought her medicine to take.

Xie Yuyan felt dizzy and cold all over. It wasn't until dawn that her fever subsided a little.

Zhang brought over a bowl of hot noodles, and Yang Qin sat down by the bed, several pairs of eyes watching her eat.

"I'm fine," Xie Yuyan said, her voice a little hoarse. "I just need to rest."

Zhang touched her forehead and breathed a slight sigh of relief: "It really is the medicine sent by Wang... the registrar. It took effect after just two doses."

“Registrar Wang…” Xie Yuyan said, “How would he know?”

Mother Yu said, "Last night I went to fetch a doctor and happened to run into General Chen, who was patrolling the city. General Chen took me directly to the doctor. However, when we returned, we learned that Registrar Wang had arrived at our home first with Doctor Zhang."

Madam Zhang nodded: "He said he used to be a royal physician in the palace, and he brought only the best medicines. He refused to accept any consultation fee. It seems we can only wait until you are better before we go to thank Registrar Wang."

Wang Yanding heard the news from the patrolling soldiers, so he invited a doctor to treat her first.

Xie Yuyan put down her chopsticks, rinsed her mouth, and lay back down. No matter what... she would deal with everything after she had had enough sleep.

……

The weather in Daming Prefecture suddenly changed; a cold wind swept into the city, making it even colder.

This is why the clay stoves fired by the Xie family sell even better.

The clay stove was sold before it was even set up.

Looking at the bustling shop, Xie Chonghai felt as if even heaven was on their side. He'd heard from Liu's informant that Xie Yuyan was ill. He knew immediately that it was because the Yang family servants had been arrested, and the stress had taken its toll.

Xie Chonghai felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction, wondering if that woman would dare to be so arrogant again. After this incident, the Xie family's clay stoves would be renowned, and the Yang family and that woman's attempts to stop them would be futile.

(End of this chapter)