Ink Burns

Chapter 36: Doubtful Ridicule

After Shan Yue finished everything, he covered his face with his sleeves and quickly retreated to a corner, curled up on his knees and wept softly. He caught a glimpse of the scene from the corner of his eye——

For example, Cheng Xingyu tiptoed to avoid the bloodstains and leaned forward to feel for Master Cheng's breath, but was frightened and fell to the ground on the bricks;
For example, Duan squatted beside the body of Master Cheng, with blood all over her head, and slapped Master Cheng in the face with all her might, crying as she did so.

For example, the doctor came stumbling over with a medicine box slung across his shoulder, felt the pulse, opened his mouth slightly and turned to look at Duan: "Are you still going to prescribe medicine for the master?"

There is room for maneuver in asking.

What medicine is there to prescribe if the person is dead?

Duan had changed her clothes now. The swelling on her face was still there, but the bleeding on her head had stopped at least. "Open it, why not? The master has always been kind and fat, and he likes to eat fatty meat. I have tried to persuade him many times but it didn't work. Tonight, he suddenly stood up and fell to the ground. Dalang and I have a woman, a child and a young son. We are so scared that we specially asked you, Doctor Cao, to make the decision."

Doctor Cao bowed repeatedly with a friendly attitude: The Cheng family is a major customer, and all the top medical clinics in Songjiang Prefecture buy their medicinal materials from here. The Cheng family also considers personal relationship when selling medicine. If you live nearby, they can give you any difficult or rare medicine. If you live far away and have not served the men of the Cheng family well, the Cheng family will not supply you with medicine at all, and Shennong Hall will not recognize your prescriptions or dispense medicine. No matter how strong your medical skills are, if you can't prescribe medicine, how can you treat people?

Fortunately, he has always had a good relationship with the Cheng family. As a fellow villager and old friend, he not only treats the illnesses of the men and women of the Cheng family, but also the minor illnesses of the girls who come and go in the embroidery building.

He basically knew all the secrets of the Cheng family, including the death of his uncle's daughter a few days ago.

The person had been dead for several days, but the medicine soup was still simmering in the room.
When Master Cheng died, he would probably do the same thing - if the old man died, wouldn't the young master still be standing? The son would take over the Cheng family's monopoly on the medicinal materials business, so why would he offend the next head of the family?
Doctor Cao readily followed the advice and wrote down a prescription for Mrs. Duan: "Master, being fat is most afraid of stroke. If the blood and qi flow upwards together, it will cause a great fainting, and a fainting will lead to sudden death. If the qi returns, the patient will live, otherwise he will die. Take the medicine for three days. If the qi returns, the patient will live, otherwise, Madam, please accept my condolences."

The door of the main hall was wide open, and Duan covered her eyes and sobbed.

As soon as Doctor Cao left, the main hall remained sealed off.

The body of Master Cheng had been moved to the bed by all forces. Huang Qi had been beaten unconscious by Master Cheng with ten boards. Duan Shi had no one by her side, so she had to call Huang Zhi: ".Go find some ice everywhere, and bring all that is in the cellar." After a pause, she continued: "Send some gold wound medicine to Huang Qi in the stable. Whether he can survive depends on his fate."

Seeing Huang Zhi's confused look, Duan sighed, and lamented that there was no one around her who could be used, so she simply blocked the main hall completely, and no one could enter or leave. She lowered her eyes to look at Shanyue who was huddled in the corner with an unclear look, and waved to Huang Zhi to take Shanyue to the inner hall.

Somehow, the fear that Cheng Xinghe felt due to his father's murder gradually dissipated, and he felt a deep sense of fatigue. He yawned loudly and said to his mother, "Mom, I'm so tired. I need to take a rest." Then he turned around and fell asleep on the narrow bed among the flowers.

Duan spent the whole night trying to keep up his strength and clean up the mess.

A hint of pale sky rose in the sky, and Duan gently woke Cheng Xinghe up: "Da Lang——"

Cheng Xinghe said sleepily: "Mom? Is it dawn?"

Duan touched Cheng Xinghe's forehead lovingly: "Are you up yet? You still have things to do today."

Cheng Xinghe wiped his eyes and gradually came to consciousness. What happened last night? He smashed his father's head and his father died. Cheng Xinghe was panicked for a moment, but he immediately calmed down and asked the question he had always wanted to ask: "Mother, whose son am I?" Cheng Xinghe looked at Duan with burning eyes.

Mrs. Duan didn't expect her son to ask this question first. She was a little surprised and turned away with shame: "Whose son can you be? You don't even believe your mother?"

Cheng Xinghe said nothing, but his expression was anxious: "I have been different from him since I was a child. He is fat and big-eared, but I am elegant and polite; he is rude and upright, but I am gentle as jade! Mother, please tell me! He is gone, I protected us mother and son! I should know who my father is! If Lord Liu is my father, I must study hard, why should I spend money to donate to an official to seek his favor! If I have a good family background, I can hold my head up higher in front of your daughter-in-law!"

Mrs. Duan frowned, "Lord Liu is a man of integrity. How could I let his child call a man like Cheng Daxing his father for so many years? Isn't this an insult to Lord Liu? Lord Liu, a man of integrity like pine and cypress, cannot fall into this dirty quagmire! He has been an official all his life. Now that he is getting older, how can I let him lose his integrity in his later years? Don't say these words again!"

Duan was angry.

Cheng Xinghe slowly loosened his hand and looked at his mother with complicated eyes. In the blink of an eye, all the emotions disappeared.

Mrs. Duan sighed, her head still buzzing, and she said anxiously, "The most urgent thing now is to cover up the news of your father's death. I have already collected the medical records of Doctor Cao yesterday. Tonight, a white cloth will be hung in the main hall to announce the death. Go buy a decent coffin now. I'm afraid that all the elders of the Cheng family will come to your father's funeral. You must keep an eye on it and don't let your second uncle and that bastard get ahead of them."

Duan explained everything one by one, and didn't notice that when she said "your father" extra, Cheng Xinghe's eyes darkened a little.

After Duan finished speaking, she thought for a moment, frowned and said, "What should He do then?"

Cheng Xinghe was puzzled: "He? What happened to He?"

Duan couldn't explain it. She always felt that something was strange last night, but she couldn't tell what was strange. One step followed another, one link connected to another, as if there was an invisible hand behind the scenes controlling everything and pushing everything into an abyss of no return.

Cheng Daxing has always had a violent temper, but he has never lost his temper as indiscriminately as he did last night. For so many years, he has always known about her relationship with Lord Liu, but he has never doubted Cheng Xing's background.
Last night was like a well-planned drama, with everyone doing their own job and playing their own role, and singing out the final ending bit by bit.

Is it a coincidence?

One coincidence is a coincidence, two coincidences are a clue, three coincidences are the truth.

Duan looked at the rosewood partition with hibiscus and butterflies that separated the inner hall, and said hesitantly, "I think something is wrong with He. She seems to have said nothing, but it seems that she has said everything at the key point. No, no, she is secretly guiding your father."

Cheng Xinghe didn't want to hear "your father" again, so he immediately interrupted her, saying sarcastically, "Mom, you think too highly of this little girl."

　There is one more chapter, which will come later.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)