After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

After tucking Ning Shi in, Zhu Cuiwei wiped the fine beads of sweat from her forehead and hurriedly went out to Yang Qiniang's house, which was the nearest one.

Around noon, it was already noticed that Ning's complexion was a bit off; she was too pale, and her gait was somewhat unsteady.

At night.

Ning was delighted when she offered to cook dinner herself.

Soon, two dishes were ready. I tasted them and found they weren't as good as the young doctor's, but they were still acceptable. I pursed my lips and served them to the table.

Ning actually ate a bowl of rice and even praised her for doing a great job.

At this moment, she realized that Ning was truly ill.

She had been sick before, so she knew that you couldn't eat when you were sick.

Given Ning's usual temperament and appetite, if she were to cook, Ning would definitely eat several more bowls of rice than usual to praise her cooking, rather than just saying it and only eating one bowl.

Moreover, Ning Shi ate that mere bowl of rice with great difficulty.

She cleared away the dishes and said she was going to fetch a doctor.

Seeing that she couldn't hide it any longer, Ning smiled and changed the subject, saying that she was just too tired and would feel better after a nap.

She was skeptical, but after all, she was an outsider in this family and didn't know how to bring it up.

Around 9 PM, she was reading in her room with the lamp on when she heard vomiting outside. She rushed out and saw that Ning was pale and dry heaving, with vomit all over the floor, including bile.

Even at this point, Ning was still apologizing, struggling to get up, saying, "I'm too full, you go inside first, I'll clean up. Oh dear, it's so messy."

She rushed forward and grabbed the old woman, who was covered in sweat.

He pressed the woman back onto the bed, then ran back to his own room, brought out the quilt, and covered Ning with it.

I touched my forehead with my hand; it was burning hot, but my whole body felt cold. I had caught a cold.

Just then, a gust of wind swept in from outside, making the door of the main room creak.

She then realized that she had been sleeping in Ning's room for the past few days, while Ning had been sleeping in the drafty main room for so many days. No wonder she caught a cold.

After a moment of silence, she said with self-reproach, "From now on, I'll sleep in the main room."

Actually, there's not much time left. Once that young doctor who can write poetry returns from Nanjing, the Imperial Guards will be looking for him soon. At that time, we can take Ning back to our mansion and raise her.

Ning lay on her side on the bed, her face pale, and smiled, saying that she was silly. She had caught a cold not from sleeping in the main room, but mainly from losing money playing mahjong that day and cursing the God of Wealth for being a bad person. The God of Wealth got angry and fanned her, which caused her to catch a cold. Once the God of Wealth calmed down, she recovered quickly.

She could only nod helplessly, not arguing with the patient.

But the fact that I will sleep in the main room will not change.

That night, she overheard some things and learned why the woman wouldn't let Ning Nan, the young doctor, sleep in the main room, but instead slept there herself. Ning was worried that the young doctor would sneak into her room at night and ruin her reputation.

But she couldn't tell the truth: "Your son actually saw me naked a long time ago..."

With mixed feelings of anxiety, she gritted her teeth and knocked on Yang Qiniang's door repeatedly, calling out, "Qiniangzi."

Yang Qiniang was a light sleeper. Upon hearing Cuicui's words, she quickly put on a coat and went out to take charge of the situation.

First, they knocked on the doors of the neighboring houses, then sent someone to inform the village head, Li Baoxin, and also sent someone to inform Old Man Han. Although Old Man Han was just a schoolteacher, he knew some traditional Chinese medicine.

When Li Baoxin learned of this, he didn't hesitate. Despite the darkness, he drove his donkey cart out the door and called Sanzhuang along the way. Sanzhuang was still sleepy, and when he heard that Aunt Ning was sick, he almost lost a shoe. His mother and younger sister Xiaoqiu also got up and ran to Aunt Ning's house to help.

Three strong men held torches, and Li Baoxin drove a donkey cart. In the pitch-black night, an old man and a young man ran more than 20 miles to Hangezhuang to fetch a doctor.

A cold can be fatal; you can't afford to delay for even a moment.

They went to Hangezhuang to fetch a doctor and then drove them to Lijiacun in a donkey cart. The mountain road was bumpy, and the only way to get there was for Sanzhuang to run ahead and hold a torch to light the way.

The doctor kept complaining that "they're shaking so much my bones are going to fall apart," and Li Baoxin could only keep up a smile the whole way.

When we returned to Lijia Village, a glimmer of light was already appearing on the horizon.

Widow Ning was moved to the inner room by the crowd, covered with several thick quilts, and had already fallen into a deep sleep.

Mr. Han fed him some herbs, saying they were left by that kid from Ningnan.

The doctor initially scolded him, "Why are you feeding him random herbs!" But upon hearing that the man was a schoolteacher, his tone immediately became more polite.

After sitting down, he checked her pulse, murmured "hmm" a few times, and nodded his chin: "Her pulse is basically stable."

Yang Qiniang and the others immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhu Cuiwei was boiling water in the kitchen and served tea to the doctor.

Colds are difficult to treat and mainly require rest. When the patient arrives, the doctor already knows roughly what prescription to give, and the medicinal herbs are also placed on the donkey cart.

The doctor prescribed several doses of medicine, weighed them, and handed them to Zhu Cuiwei to decoct. "First, soak the herbs in cold water for half an hour, with the water level one inch above the herbs... Control the heat well, first bring it to a boil over high heat, then simmer it over low heat..." the old doctor instructed, stroking his beard.

"Wu Huo" means a large fire, and "Wen Huo" means a small fire. Her elder brother was in poor health, and she had been taking care of him since childhood. She was already very skilled at decocting medicine.

Li Xiaoqiu and Li Xing helped start a fire and clean the medicine pots.

She sat in the kitchen, fanning the fire with a small palm-leaf fan, while the medicinal herbs in the earthenware pot steamed.

She hadn't slept all night, but she was unusually energetic.

After the medicine was decocted, it was already broad daylight. They quietly woke Ning Shi up, and with the help of Yang Qiniang and Aunt Sanjin, they fed Ning Shi the medicine.

Sanzhuang stayed outside, then drove the donkey cart to the village head's house and dragged the old doctor, who had just slept for an hour, back over.

The old doctor sighed and vented his morning grumpiness while taking Ning's pulse.

"Hmm... don't worry... but you still need to rest and take your medicine properly..."

Seeing a rosy glow appear on Ning's sleeping face, Zhu Cuiwei finally breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Oh, Cuicui, go to sleep for a while! Don't stay up late... Your Aunt Sanjin, Sanzhuang's mother, and the others will take turns watching over you, don't be afraid."

As she spoke, Yang Qiniang pushed her into Ningnan's room.

"I'll sleep in this cramped room!" Yang Qiniang said, half-angrily.

Zhu Cuiwei's eyes were dark, she had been worried and anxious all night, her mind was on edge, and now that she had finally let down her guard, exhaustion seemed to well up from every part of her body.

She stopped insisting and slowly walked to the doctor's bedside, sat down, and took off her shoes after a while before lying on his pillow. The bed was hard.

Although it was a man's room, strangely enough, she didn't object. The room wasn't messy either; the pillows and blankets smelled faintly of soap.

Exhaustion welled up in her eyes. She covered herself with the dark gray quilt that the young doctor had given her, and her expression remained serene on her fair face.

"He'll be back today..." The thought suddenly popped into her mind. Her breathing gradually became steady, her lips parted slightly, and she finally fell into a deep sleep.

It was the perfect time of day, and the morning sun shone brightly through the window, casting golden rays onto the quilt, making Cui Cui feel even warmer.