Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 99 Visiting the patient
By the afternoon of that day, not only did Chen Siyuan's high fever persist, but he also started talking incoherently.

Hongyu saw that the situation was not good and said, "Master, you are confused because of the fever." Glancing at Liu Wu'er, she saw that she was still frail. Hongyu felt unsure and said, "Go call Yunxiang."

Liu Wuer agreed and turned to look for Yunxiang. Hongyu then instructed Yunxiang, "Hurry up and go to the east wing to find the eldest lady. Tell her that the master has fallen into the water and has a high fever. He is now delirious. Please ask the eldest lady to bring the imperial physician to treat him."

Since the Rong Mansion hadn't offered a reward yet, neither had the small courtyard. However, Yunxiang had heard about it and figured the two rewards together were probably over four taels of silver. Naturally, she was convinced that Chen Siyuan was a good person and was afraid that he had forgotten to reward her because he was too distracted. So she turned around and ran: "I'll go right away!"

Yunxiang ran all the way to the east wing courtyard to find Miao'er, who then took her to see Madam Xing. When Madam Xing heard that Chen Siyuan had fallen into the water and had a high fever, she was immediately worried. Frowning, she sent Miao'er to fetch the imperial physician, then hurriedly asked, "Why are you so careless, brother?"

Yunxiang said, "It is said that a naughty boy set off firecrackers and startled the horse, so the master fell off the horse's back and fell off the Yinding Bridge. Fortunately, the master can swim, otherwise he would have sunk to the bottom -"

"How can you talk like that?" Madam Xing raised her eyebrows. Yunxiang raised her hand and slapped herself: "Speak, you said it wrong."

Mrs. Xing was so preoccupied with the little thief that she didn't bother to teach the ungrateful little maid a lesson.

He stood up and paced back and forth. When Miao'er came back, he hurriedly led everyone to the small courtyard at the back.

After a cup of tea, they entered the courtyard. The imperial physician Wang Jiren had already come in and was taking Chen Siyuan's pulse.

Mrs. Xing entered the west wing and said nothing until Wang Jiren stopped taking her pulse. Then she hurried forward and asked, "Doctor Wang, how is my nephew?"

Wang Jiren bowed and said, "Don't worry, Madam. Master Yuan simply fell into the icy water and caught a cold. I'll prescribe some medicine to induce sweating, and he'll be well in a few days."

Mrs. Xing breathed a sigh of relief.

Liu Wu'er finally had some good eyesight and hurried to prepare the meal with her writing brush. Doctor Wang went into the study in the eastern wing and wrote a prescription. He dried it and handed it to Hongyu, then instructed, "Eat light food these days... When I say light, I don't mean plain porridge with radishes and cabbage. I mean less oil and salt, and more fish and meat. Fish porridge is best. Avoid spicy food!"

"take note of it."

Wang Jiren was a servant of the Jia family, not a servant. Furthermore, among the three imperial physicians, this one was the most skilled, so Madam Xing politely sent him away.

"Please trouble Doctor Wang to go over there, Miao'er!"

Miao'er understood and quickly handed over two taels of silver. Mrs. Xing smiled and said, "Leave some for Doctor Wang to have tea."

Wang Jiren accepted it happily, then bowed and said goodbye while carrying the medicine box on his back.

Mrs. Xing sent her to the door and then returned. She went into the west room, sat on the kang with one leg sideways, and snatched Hongyu's handkerchief to wipe Chen Siyuan's forehead.

Suddenly, he felt something was wrong and quickly tried to make amends, "Poor thing, you've come from a thousand miles away. If I don't take good care of you, I'm afraid I won't know what to say to you when I see you one day."

Hongyu and the others hadn't noticed anything unusual. Hongyu just smiled and said, "Who in the mansion doesn't know that the eldest lady loves my master the most? Don't worry, eldest lady. My master has a miserable life and is always grateful. In the future, if the eldest lady gives you any orders, won't my master be at your service?"

Mrs. Xing agreed with a smile. She thought to herself, "There are people serving each other, but it's hard to say who serves whom."

She looked at Chen Siyuan carefully again. The prescription had just been given and Yunxiang had gone to get the medicine. Chen Siyuan's body had just been wiped by Hongyu, and he seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

Mrs. Xing observed him intently and found that the little thief had lost his usual mischievous smile and playfulness. He was now quiet and quite, which was quite pleasing to the eye. She could not help but think that if they could spend every day together, asking him to brush her eyebrows at dawn would be a wonderful thing for her to do in the boudoir.

She knew that what she was thinking was just wishful thinking, so she couldn't help but touch her belly, hoping for good news in a few days.

Mrs. Xing lingered for a long time, waiting for Yunxiang to come back with the medicine. Hongyu then followed the doctor's instructions and boiled the medicine for Chen Siyuan to take. Seeing that it was getting late, she returned to the east wing in a daze.

There was no impenetrable wall in the Rongguo Mansion, and there was also Yunxiang, a little trumpet, in the courtyard. The news that Chen Siyuan fell into the water and caught a cold spread quickly.

In Lixiangyuan.

That day Baochai returned before the third hour and did not go to Rongqing Hall with Aunt Xue.

In the afternoon, Aunt Xue and Mrs. Wang closed the door and whispered to each other for a long time. Baochai was doing needlework with some maids in the outer room. Although she only heard sporadic conversation, she could guess what the two sisters were talking about.

The emperor's decree has been issued, and every family is building villas for visiting relatives. Yuanchun has just been promoted to the virtuous concubine, and the Rongguo Mansion is naturally unwilling to lag behind.

Normally, such a matter was a family affair, and the Jia family should have contributed both financially and physically. However, apart from the Ning and Rong families, the other six branches of the capital were mostly idle, with little to save.

The Ningguo Mansion held a grand funeral for Qin's funeral, keeping the body for 49 days, and spent money like water. Now I'm afraid all the money is gone.

Therefore, the Ning Mansion could not be relied upon, and the Rongguo Mansion had to find a solution on its own.

The Rongguo Mansion was a wealthy family, and even if they were frugal, they would need hundreds of thousands of silver coins to build a villa for the imperial visit. How could the Rongguo Mansion afford it at the moment? I was afraid that Madam Wang was interested in borrowing silver from the Xue family to make ends meet.

It is unknown what the two sisters talked about afterwards, but Aunt Xue was smiling when she came out, and Mrs. Wang also had a smile on her face, so it seems that the two of them had reached an agreement.

Baochai was no ordinary boudoir girl, so she couldn't help but overthink things. As the saying goes, "Even brothers settle accounts." So why would her mother simply use the family's money to support the Rongguo Mansion? She must have gotten permission from her aunt, Lady Wang.

What promise? It was the perfect match that the Xue family had always dreamed of.

But at this moment, Baochai felt upset when she thought of Baoyu... It's all Chen Siyuan's fault!
While she was pondering this, the maid Ying'er came in cheerfully and said, "Miss, that annoying guy fell into the water. I heard he's delirious now!"

Annoying?

Baochai blinked for a moment before realizing who Ying'er was talking about. She immediately frowned and lectured, "You were the one who said that?"

Ying'er stuck out her tongue and said, "That's right. If he hadn't come to provoke her, how could the young lady have fallen and been unable to see anyone for several days?"

"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll slap your hands!"

Ying'er suddenly fell silent.

Baochai asked again, "What's going on?"

Ying'er said, "I heard that he was going for a stroll in the lake, but when he reached the Yinding Bridge, someone threw a firecracker. The firecracker startled the horse and threw Uncle Yuan off the bridge into the lake below. Fortunately, there were many people on the bridge, so they pulled him out." "So that's how it is." Baochai muttered to herself, and suddenly the corners of her mouth curled up, trying hard not to laugh.

The little man in my heart was so happy that his face was smiling: You deliberately disgusted me! You pushed me to swing! You deserved it!
Ying'er blinked and asked tentatively, "Young lady...are you smiling?"

Baochai's face was stern, and she squinted her eyes and said, "Where are you smiling?" After a pause, she continued, "I was injured last time, and it was all thanks to the good medicine that Brother Yuan sent me. Falling into the water in winter must be a cold. I'll write a prescription, and you can send the servant to the counter to get some medicine, and then send it to Brother Yuan later."

"Oh." Ying'er responded in a muffled voice and went to handle it with a dejected look.

As soon as he left, Baochai could no longer suppress her laughter and burst out laughing with her handkerchief covering her face. As long as she thought of that guy being soaked to the skin, Baochai felt that the bad luck she had felt for many days had been swept away.

East Courtyard.

The second girl, Yingchun, came to Tanchun's room. They greeted each other and after they sat down, Yingchun looked as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Tanchun was puzzled and came over to ask, "Second sister, is there something on your mind?"

Yingchun glanced at the maids, and Tanchun immediately understood. She turned around and said with a smile, "You guys are chattering so noisy. Go to the side rooms and play. I want to play with my second sister."

Siqi, Xiu Ju, Shishu and others agreed one after another, chatting and laughing as they left the main room together.

After they left, Yingchun pulled out a scroll from her sleeve and frowned, "Third sister, did you also borrow this from...Brother Yuan?"

"Yes."

Yingchun unfolded the scroll, which contained a passage from Yushi Mingyan, titled "Jiang Xingge Reunites with the Pearl Shirt." Although the passage was full of twists and turns, it was not in accordance with etiquette.

In the novel, Wang Sanqiao marries Jiang Xingge. Initially, they are deeply in love, like a traditional wife. Later, when Jiang Xingge leaves home, Wang Sanqiao spends her days leaning against the window, missing him, becoming the woman longing for him in erotic poetry. Later, driven by loneliness, she has an affair with Chen Dalang, becoming a whore. When the affair is exposed and she is divorced, she attempts suicide, becoming a resentful woman. Finally, she rescues Jiang Xingge from danger, and they reunite...

Yingchun didn't know how to comment on it. The story was certainly interesting, but if her elder sisters-in-law Li Wan, Lady Xing, and Lady Wang saw it, it would definitely cause a big uproar.

Seeing she remained silent, Tanchun reached out and took the book to examine it. When she saw the part about her affair with Chen Dalang, her face flushed with shame. She spat, "Really? How could Brother Yuan have hidden such a filthy book?"

Yingchun said, "The vernacular books of the early Ming Dynasty are best because of their strangeness. Besides, only three or two of the stories in this volume are a bit unbearable, but the rest are all good."

Tanchun breathed a sigh of relief. She and Lady Wang were known for their loving mother and filial daughter, but in reality, they were always cautious and prudent, not daring to make even the slightest mistake. If this notebook fell into Lady Wang's hands, she would be punished, but she wouldn't want to bring trouble to her eldest brother Yuan, her second sister, and her fourth sister.

Tanchun quickly put the book away in her sleeve and said, "In that case, I'll return this one tomorrow."

Yingchun smiled and nodded.

Just then, the maid Cui Mo pushed open the door and came in. As she approached, she said, "Second Miss, Third Miss, we just heard that Master Yuan from the backyard fell into the lake after falling off the bridge. He's now running a high fever, and the First Madam has sent for the imperial physician to see him."

"what?"

The two sisters exchanged a glance, each one brimming with worry. As cousins, Yingchun and Chen Siyuan should have been closer. However, with her coming of age the following year approaching, Yingchun felt compelled to avoid the issue. Therefore, aside from the first time Tanchun persuaded her, Yingchun never dared to see Chen Siyuan again.

Tanchun was young, so she didn't have such concerns. Furthermore, Chen Siyuan was kind and amiable, and his actions were straightforward, which greatly pleased the young girl. She was always left behind when she made a mistake, and Tanchun couldn't wait to visit Chen Siyuan every two or three days.

Yingchun frowned and said nothing, so Tanchun said, "I'll ask Fourth Sister to go and take a look together. Second Sister will go back first."

"Ah."

Yingchun returned to her own room, while Tanchun found Xichun and left the East Courtyard, heading straight for Chen Siyuan's courtyard. The two younger children sat for a short while, then, seeing Chen Siyuan unconscious, returned with a heavy heart.

That day, Chen Siyuan only got up late at night to eat some fish porridge, and then fell asleep again.

As the saying goes, illness comes like a mountain falling and goes like a thread being pulled out. I slept until the next day.

Hongyu nursed him through the night without taking off her clothes. Although Chen Siyuan still had a slight fever, it wasn't as scorching as it had been the day before. Seeing him regain consciousness, Hongyu couldn't help but clasp her hands together and say, "Amitabha, may the Bodhisattva bless you, Master, you're finally awake. I didn't dare sleep a wink last night, fearing something might happen to you."

At that time, there were neither fever-reducing drugs nor antibiotics. Countless children had caught colds and died. Chen Siyuan saw that the child was frail, so wouldn't Hongyu be worried all night?
Chen Siyuan sat up slightly, stretched his limbs, and reached out to touch Hongyu's slightly haggard face. He said, "Thank you for your hard work. Ahem... you should go and rest. I'll let Wu'er come over. Oh, and have Yunxiang sew a few masks to cover your mouths and noses to prevent you from passing the disease on to you."

Here is a brief description of what a mask is.

Hongyu said angrily, "Master, you're still thinking about us! Servants are always afraid of passing illness to their masters, how can it be the other way around?"

Chen Siyuan said, "You are the only ones around me. If you all get sick and die, won't I be the only one left?"

"Master is always right." Hongyu couldn't resist and had to obey his orders. She continued, "Yes, yesterday the eldest lady brought Dr. Wang to see Master. Afterwards, Miss Bao sent Ying'er to bring some medicine. The third and fourth ladies also came to visit."

Chen Siyuan nodded, thinking that Sister Bao was quite reciprocating, but he wondered if she was secretly delighted.

Suddenly, Liu Wuer came in and said, "Sister Hongyu, is the master awake? The maid outside said that someone named You Sanlang is here to visit."

Third Sister You is here too?
Chen Siyuan sighed, covered his mouth and nose with the quilt and coughed twice, then ordered: "I think I should make a mask for myself first. Find me a handkerchief first. I know You Sanlang, Hongyu, please bring him in for me."

Hongyu responded and hurried to the back door to greet him.

Liu Wu'er stood there for a while before she remembered and quickly handed her handkerchief to Chen Siyuan.

In a moment, Hongyu, with a look of suspicion on her face, invited Third Sister You, dressed as a scholar, into the room. Third Sister You, anxious, trotted all the way to the warm room. She glanced at Chen Siyuan and her eyes reddened. "Damn you, naughty boy! You almost killed Brother Chen! Are you okay now? Do you have a fever?"

As he spoke, he reached out and touched Chen Siyuan's forehead. Seeing that he had a handkerchief covering his mouth and nose, he frowned and asked, "I don't smell anything strange. What's wrong with Brother Chen?"

The female voice, calling him "Brother Chen" all the time, made Hongyu and Liu Wu'er's hair stand on end. The two girls looked at each other and suddenly realized that the person who came was a Xibei!
Chen Siyuan, who was lying on the kang, asked, "Where does that strange smell come from? I'm just worried about passing my illness on to others."

Third Sister You's expression suddenly became even more emotional. She thought to herself, Brother Chen is so ill, yet he's still worried about me... I guess he must be thinking about me all the time.

(End of this chapter)