Shuse Jinjia

Old Madam Huo and Old Madam Pei went out to greet them together.

Xie Zhaotang, Li Qin, and the others were led to the dining hall by Tao Niangzi.

With so many people suddenly arriving, dinner was postponed.

Xie Zhaotang was starving, but she had to pretend to be a lady and wait patiently.

Prince Chen and his entourage went to visit Duan Chengyu and Huo Beiyu. By the time they finished their visit and came back, it was already 7 PM.

When Old Madam Huo arrived with Prince Chen and others, Madam Duan saw Xie Zhaotang and Li Qin and gratefully stepped forward to take their hands and thank them repeatedly.

"Fourth Miss, Miss Li, we've already heard from Bei Yu that it was you two who helped Doctor Qiu save Cheng Yu. From now on, you will be the benefactors of the Duan family, and I will definitely thank you properly later."

Pei Yun's expression had already turned sour when she heard Huo Beiyu say those words before, but she had calmed down now, though she still felt uneasy.

Why is Xie Zhaotang's presence everywhere?

How did she end up at the Huo family's estate? Was her rescue of Duan Chengyu a coincidence or a deliberate attempt to curry favor?

Seeing Madam Duan's grateful expression as she held Xie Zhaotang's hand, Pei Yun felt even more flustered.

Given Xie Zhaotang's status, it would be impossible for her to marry Duan Chengyu as his principal wife, but as a concubine, Madam Duan, who liked her so much, would certainly be willing to accept her.

She absolutely did not want to have another rival in love before she even got married!

"Madam, you are too kind. It was all thanks to Doctor Qiu who saved the lives. We were just helping out and don't deserve such a grand thanks from you."

Xie Zhaotang just wanted the food to be served quickly so he could eat, go back, wash up, and lie down.

Grandma Huo guessed that everyone was hungry, so she invited everyone to sit down.

Madam Duan sat at Xie Zhaotang's table and inquired about the process.

Xie Zhaotang had no say in this matter, so he listened to Pei Song, who was sitting at the next table, honestly recount the events.

It turned out that they went up the mountain and wandered too far before they ran into a herd of wild boars foraging for food.

When Pei Song first encountered a herd of wild boars, he was excited and wanted to hunt down the king of the wild boars to show off. He shot two arrows but failed to kill the king, which instead angered it, and Pei Song was chased after.

Huo Beiyu and Duan Chengyu stepped forward to help. The wild boar king was fierce and injured the two of them before they were finally killed with the help of everyone.

"It's all my fault. If I hadn't been so stubborn and listened to the young marquis, the young master and the heir wouldn't have been injured..."

Pei Song looked remorseful.

Prince Chen comforted him, "How can you say this is your fault? If I were in your shoes, I would have charged in to rid the people of this scourge of a wild boar king too..."

Prince Chen, also a military officer, was so excited by what he heard that he couldn't help but sigh, regretting that he missed this wonderful moment.

Lord Duan also said, "Wild boars are always a threat on the mountain. Although you encountered danger today, it is still a merit to have eliminated the wild boar king. The remaining wild boars and wolves will be wiped out when we bring a team over another day. After that, this area will be peaceful."

When the dishes were served, Xie Zhaotang saw that Old Madam Huo and Old Madam Pei had started eating first, so she followed suit.

The male guests ate and chatted, while she ate and listened.

After seeing that Old Madam Huo had stopped eating, Xie Zhaotang had also eaten about 70% full. The women at the table also stopped eating, and Old Madam Huo invited them to go to the flower hall for tea.

Xie Zhaotang quickly took his leave, saying that he had been thinking about home all day and wanted to go back.

Li Qin and Xue Jintong also took their leave.

Old Madam Huo thought the three of them were tired, so she asked Madam Tao to send a carriage to take them back.

Tao Niangzi's husband, Uncle Tao, had brought back the wild boar king that Huo Beiyu and the others had killed. Tao Niangzi gave each of them a few pounds of wild boar meat and packed a large basket of vegetables for each of the three of them before sending them back.

"Fourth Miss, the young marquis needs your help and will have Huo Ling come to you. Please don't leave Baohua Village these next few days!"

Tao Niangzi explained.

Xie Zhaotang nodded. Huo Beiyu was probably worried about Duan Chengyu's injury recurring.

She brought meat and vegetables home, asked Aunt Xia to keep some of the vegetables she didn't have at home, and gave the rest to the neighbors next door.

Aunt Shen had already heard about Huo Beiyu and Duan Chengyu being injured by wild boars, and asked Xie Zhaotang what happened.

Exhausted, Xie Zhaotang briefly recounted what had happened. After Aunt Xia boiled some water for him to wash up, he went to bed.

I don't know how long I slept, but I was woken up by someone.

"Fourth Miss, wake up. Miss Huo Ling is here to see you. She says that Young Master Duan has a fever and needs you to go and check on him."

Xie Zhaotang opened his eyes and saw Aunt Xia whispering by the bedside.

Xie Zhaotang turned his head and saw that Xie Tiantian was sleeping soundly, so he said in a low voice, "I'll get dressed and go out."

She put on her clothes and tiptoed out.

Huo Ling lowered her voice and said, "Fourth sister, thank you for your trouble. Physician Li and Chief Physician Luo have already returned. My eldest brother said that one guest should not trouble two hosts, so he did not keep them."

Xie Zhaotang nodded, knowing that Huo Beiyu probably didn't want to expose Duan Chengyu's injuries, and this was also a cover-up for himself.

She followed Huo Ling out the door. Huo Ling had come on horseback, and she helped Xie Zhaotang onto the horse first before getting on herself.

"Hold me tight... You need to learn to ride a horse as soon as possible. I'll give you a horse later, then I won't have to teach you anymore!"

Once Huo Ling had settled in, she rode off at full speed.

They soon arrived at the Huo family's estate. The estate gate was wide open, and the two rode directly to Huo Beiyu's courtyard before stopping.

Huo Ling jumped off her horse and helped Xie Zhaotang down.

When the two entered, Xie Zhaotang saw that there was an extra bed in the room, and Huo Beiyu was sitting on the bed, looking like he hadn't slept all night and was keeping watch over Duan Chengyu.

Doctor Qiu was sitting by the bed. When he saw Xie Zhaotang come in, he said anxiously, "Fourth Miss, Young Master Duan has developed a high fever. I have already given him medicine, but the fever will not come down, so the young marquis asked you to come."

Huo Beiyu looked at Xie Zhaotang.

Xie Zhaotang quickly said, "Let me take a look first..."

She walked over, and Dr. Qiu stepped aside.

Xie Zhaotang first took Duan Chengyu's pulse, then stepped aside to let Doctor Qiu untie Duan Chengyu's bandages.

She moved the oil lamp over and carefully examined the wound. Seeing that there was no redness or swelling around the wound, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"The wound isn't infected; this is probably just his body's stress response. Don't worry, I'll adjust the prescription and give it to him again."

Xie Zhaotang brought his box, took out a packet of wound medicine, mixed it with rice wine, and asked Doctor Qiu to re-bandage Duan Chengyu.

She took another packet of fever reducer, adjusted the dosage to make a decoction, and fed it to Duan Chengyu with a spoon.

"Doctor Qiu, please fetch some wine and rub it on Young Master Duan's armpits, palms, and soles... This will also help reduce Young Master Duan's fever..."

Huo Beiyu watched as Xie Zhaotang explained the principles to Doctor Qiu.

She was probably woken up from her sleep, and before she could even get dressed, her long hair was simply tied into a ponytail, looking simple and neat.

After Xie Zhaotang finished speaking, Huo Beiyu said, "Fourth Miss, don't go back. Go and rest in Huo Ling's room. It will be easier to find you if anything comes up."

Xie Zhaotang nodded, and just as she was about to leave, she remembered Huo Beiyu's injury and asked again, "Are you running a fever?"

The wild boar carried a lot of germs. Although she had cleaned his wounds with alcohol, the alcohol the Huo family found was only strong liquor and not enough to sterilize him.

"Since you're already here, let me take your pulse too!"

She walked over, sat down next to Huo Beiyu, took his hand, and placed her slender fingers on his wrist.

Huo Ling, watching from the side, widened her eyes in surprise...