Chapter 428: Treating Illness

“As you wish.”

The old woman flicked her sleeve and rose.

“I’m old now. I can’t control you anymore.”

“Grandmother may continue enjoying your retirement in peace.”

“Fan Zhengwen!”

“Your grandson is here.”

“I do not care about the Fan Clan or any damned Fan Clan. I care only about myself. In however many years I still have left to scrape out a living, I want to know whether I can continue spending them this comfortably!”

“Your grandson knows. I have always known.

“Truthfully, with Grandmother’s abilities, you could live well anywhere.”

“I do not care about having halls full of children and grandchildren.”

“Yes.”

“But if every child and grandchild dies, then even if I still wear brocade and eat delicacies, life loses its human warmth.

“It stops being so comfortable.”

Children.

Grandchildren.

The Fan Clan.

To the old woman, they were merely ornaments in her life.

Yes.

With her abilities, she could leave the Fan Clan and still live comfortably.

But the quality of that life—especially the spiritual comfort of it—would inevitably decline.

She did not want that.

She was not some elder willing to sacrifice everything for the clan.

Just as when she married that man all those years ago she had been thinking only of herself.

“Grandmother, this is fate.

“A fate you cannot avoid.

“The Fan Clan has supported you for one full sixty-year cycle.

“At some point—you have to repay something.”

“You dare speak to me this way?”

“These are the words in your grandson’s heart.”

“I bore sons and daughters for the Fan Clan.

“I owe the Fan Clan nothing!”

“When a great clan stands at the height of its power, none of that matters.

“But once the clan’s strength begins to decline—everyone must possess the awareness to become firewood and throw themselves into the bonfire.

“Grandmother—you are no exception.”

“No one can force me to do something I do not wish to do.”

“Your grandson is not forcing you.

“I only hope Grandmother will stop pointing fingers where you should not.”

“Heh.

“I take back what I said earlier.

“You really do have a tiny bit of Tian Wujing in you now.”

“Your grandson thanks Grandmother for the praise.”

Fan Zhengwen raised his head and looked directly at his grandmother.

Then continued:

“Truthfully, Grandmother and I are the same.

“What we want is simply the life we desire.

“For that—we are willing to pay any price and ignore anything.

“Including family.

“With my abilities, even if the Fan Clan disappears—

“I can still find a bowl of rice somewhere.”

“Then what exactly is the Fan Clan to the two of us?

“In our eyes, has it really become nothing more than a chamber pot?”

“Yes.

“In your grandson’s eyes, the Fan Clan has always been eating rice out of a chamber pot.

“I’m stuffed.

“I want to change bowls.”

“As you wish.

“As you wish.

“As you wish!”

The old woman’s figure flashed and vanished into the room.

In an instant the temperature inside the courtyard plummeted.

Even the geothermal heat beneath the ground could not resist it in the slightest.

The flowers that had been blooming everywhere began showing signs of withering almost immediately.

Mystic Cultivators might not be strong in direct combat.

But their strange and mysterious methods truly defied ordinary imagination.

Fan Zhengwen brushed a little dust from his shoulder.

Then turned and left the courtyard.

...

Count Zheng did not go to the kitchen to find Liu Ruqing.

Instead, he returned directly to Qingfang Studio.

The poetry gathering inside Qingfang Studio had already ended.

The Twelve Phoenix Hairpins had all departed.

Without them, the courtyard suddenly felt much quieter.

Zheng Fan did not sit at the main table.

He settled onto a cushion beside a low tea table instead and slowly ate some dried fruit.

A short while later—

Fan Zhengwen arrived.

A smile on his face.

Once again the handsome middle-aged gentleman.

“Count.”

“Brother Fan.”

Fan Zhengwen sat down.

“The matter of renovating the imperial villa at Zhou County has already fallen to the Fan Clan.

“One detachment of the Count’s men will enter in disguise ahead of time.”

“Good.”

Zheng Fan nodded.

“The remaining troops will be divided into two groups.

“One will hide inside a Fan Clan warehouse in Zhou County to coordinate between the inside and outside on the day of the operation.

“The other will be positioned at a horse ranch at the foot of Qishan to receive you during the retreat.”

“You have gone to great trouble.”

“Count is too courteous.”

“Brother Fan came for something else?”

“I came to apologize to the Count.”

“There is no need.”

“The elderly become peculiar-tempered with age.

“I hope Count will not take offense.”

“Being able to speak with an elder is my honor.”

“Many thanks, Count.”

Fan Zhengwen immediately rose.

He bowed and took his leave.

He had arrived hurriedly and departed just as quickly.

Truthfully, he had come only to patch over what had happened earlier.

After Fan Zhengwen left, A’Ming walked inside.

“Master, did something happen?”

Zheng Fan shook his head.

“Not really.

“I only just learned that the Fan household actually has a Mystic Cultivator living inside it.

“Fan Zhengwen’s grandmother.

“She seems to possess some real attainment.”

“Sounds like she isn’t of one heart with the Fan Clan?”

“A refined egoist.”

A’Ming laughed when he heard that.

“Sounds almost like one of us.”

“Exactly.

“Heh.

“I never realized before how irritating people like us are.”

“Heh.”

A’Ming laughed.

“Still, Fan Zhengwen should be able to stabilize the situation.

“There probably won’t be much trouble.

“Next, we simply wait.

“If we carry the princess home, this trip should count as enough to report back to the Marquis of Jingnan.”

“I wonder what the Chu princess looks like,” A’Ming said.

“Probably not as beautiful as Liu Ruqing today.”

“Oh?

“If even a vampire like you thinks she’s beautiful, then she must truly be something.”

“This subordinate’s meaning is that Master need not hesitate.

“How many years does a man truly have?

“When pleasure comes—one should enjoy it in time.

“Most importantly—

“Siniang isn’t here right now.”

“I’ve lived cleanly for too long.

“Now I’m a little fastidious.”

A’Ming replied:

“A little dirt never killed anyone.”

“Alas, A’Ming.”

“Yes, Master?”

“You really are not suited to playing pimp.

“Promise me.

“Next time, don’t force yourself like this.”

The previous Madam Ke had also been brought over by A’Ming.

A’Ming nodded.

“How much wine is in the cellar?”

“So much I can’t finish tasting it.”

“Then treasure the opportunity.”

“I will, Master.”

At that moment, He Chunlai entered.

He reported:

“Count, Miss Liu Ruqing has come to deliver mung-bean soup.”

Iced mung-bean soup.

In the middle of winter.

The mismatch was certainly strong.

But drinking the soup was secondary.

One only needed to look at the person carrying it.

The moment Liu Ruqing entered—

A’Ming and the others automatically scattered.

“Uncle, Grandmother ordered me to bring you mung-bean soup.

“I’ve delivered it.

“But Qingfang Studio is not a heated hall like Grandmother’s courtyard, so it is enough to leave it here as a gesture.”

“Miss Ruqing truly knows how to care for people.”

“Uncle is teasing me.”

Zheng Fan picked up a spoon and took a mouthful.

If he had eaten iced dessert in the middle of winter in his previous life, he would probably have suffered diarrhea.

But this body had been tempered for years.

It was no real problem.

Liu Ruqing sat nearby.

She seemed hesitant.

“What is it?” Zheng Fan asked.

“Uncle...

“My younger brother used to be healthy.

“But over the past several years, his body has grown weaker and weaker.

“We invited many physicians, but none managed to restore him.

“The First Master and Grandmother both said Uncle’s medical skill is profound, so I...

“I...

“I...”

Asking someone for help was already difficult.

More so when the person was a strange man she had only met for the first time today.

And Zheng Fan’s presence continuously radiated a pressure Liu Ruqing found hard to endure.

So the longer she spoke the more her voice began to tremble with tears.

Finally, in a moment of desperation, she cried:

“Uncle~~~!”

Hiss!

Count Zheng suddenly felt the bowl of iced mung-bean soup before him was no longer enough to “cool him down.”

“Fine.

“Bring him here tomorrow.

“I’ll take a look.”

“Thank you, Uncle~~~”

“We’re family.

“No need to be courteous.

“Oh, right.

“Your grandmother also said your qi and blood have never circulated properly.

“She asked me to examine you too.

“After I finish checking your brother tomorrow, come back here.

“I’ll prescribe you two formulas.

“You brood too much.

“It has turned into qi deficiency and depressed your heart channels.

“Right now it does not look serious.

“But if you continue leaving it untreated—it may eventually become a grave illness.”

“Uncle, you’re so kind.”

“Only proper.

“Only proper.”

Without realizing it—

Liu Ruqing’s face had already begun to turn red.

Like ripe fruit.

Giving off an aroma that made the mouth water.

...

On the roof—

A’Ming sat in the middle, drinking wine.

Chen Daole sat on one side.

He Chunlai on the other.

Chen Daole said:

“I think when a man takes a wife, he should choose a virtuous woman.”

Here, “virtuous” meant more than merely gentle and capable.

It also meant a clean family background.

As a descendant of the Chen Clan, even after his household had fallen into decline, Chen Daole still retained his own pride.

He would never consider marrying a widow.

“Heh...”

A’Ming laughed once.

Then asked:

“You look down on widows?”

“No...

“No.

“I only mean...”

He Chunlai spoke:

“I have heard people say widows are actually a bonus to our Count?”

A’Ming replied directly:

“Not a bonus.

“That is the entry requirement.”

He Chunlai and Chen Daole very tacitly lifted their cups and drank.

Neither dared continue the subject.

They were newcomers, after all.

They were not like A’Ming one of the old hands who could casually joke about the Count.

Liu Ruqing left.

But her fragrance remained.

Zheng Fan scraped the bowl with his spoon.

He gathered the last of the mung-bean soup together.

Scooped up the final spoonful.

And ate it.

That night—

Count Zheng slept exceptionally well again.

...

The following morning, Liu Ruqing arrived early.

Today she wore something slightly more solemn.

A purple padded jacket with a white fox-fur scarf.

Proper.

Yet without losing her natural charm.

Unfortunately—

Count Zheng had slept far too well these past two days inside the Fan Residence.

Liu Ruqing waited for half an hour after arriving.

And Count Zheng still had not gotten out of bed.

Now she became anxious.

Great households had countless rules.

Even married women returning to visit their natal families had regulated times for leaving and returning.

Everything was recorded.

If they waited much longer she would not be able to leave the residence today at all.

With no other choice, Liu Ruqing walked to the door.

Then called:

“Uncle~~~!”

At last, Count Zheng woke.

...

Inside the Fan Residence, Zheng Fan could come and go freely.

Fan Zhengwen was an elegant man.

His original intention had been to build a good relationship with Zheng Fan.

So he had turned his own residence—and even the women living inside it—into an extraordinarily refined hunting ground for Zheng Fan to enjoy.

No excessive enthusiasm.

But absolute freedom.

Even so, when Zheng Fan prepared to leave, a steward personally summoned a Fan Clan carriage for him.

A very large carriage.

With Fan Clan guards opening the road ahead and escorting it from behind.

Liu Ruqing herself did not possess the status to summon such a carriage.

The carriage she had originally called was detained by the Fan Clan steward instead.

The explanation was simple.

The physician was an honored guest of the Fan Residence.

The master had ordered that his safety be protected.

Liu Ruqing had no choice.

She entered the larger carriage together with Zheng Fan.

The interior was spacious.

But there was only one seat.

Even the corners had been specially designed.

Only one person could sit inside openly and comfortably.

Anyone else entering could only kneel at that person’s feet.

Count Zheng entered first and sat down.

Then Liu Ruqing came in.

Zheng Fan did not rise to display gentlemanly manners.

This age did not particularly value such empty gestures.

It preferred beasts allowed to run openly.

More importantly—

Zheng Fan also understood perfectly well that Liu Ruqing would never dare sit while making her “Uncle” kneel.

The carriage started moving.

Liu Ruqing knelt at Zheng Fan’s feet the posture originally intended for a maid.

Count Zheng sat upright with impressive dignity.

Though from time to time he naturally lowered his head to look at the beauty before him.

At this point, Count Zheng gained yet another new understanding of the luxury of great wealthy households.

Details.

Details.

Details.

Look at these damned details!

Liu Ruqing’s younger brother, Liu Zhong, lived inside a small rented residence.

Liu Ruqing had helped rent it for him.

Normally, he studied at a Fan Clan private school.

The carriage stopped outside the residence gate.

The accompanying Fan Clan guards immediately vaulted over the walls and entered.

They seized the female servant inside.

And the old gatekeeper.

Liu Ruqing froze.

Zheng Fan could only reassure her:

“These men are overreacting.

“Release everyone.”

The servants were released.

Liu Ruqing still knew her younger brother’s health mattered most.

The more importance the Fan Clan placed on Zheng Fan the more it proved, in her mind, that Zheng Fan must be an exceptional physician.

This woman genuinely did not know that the man she had knelt before for the entire journey understood absolutely nothing about medicine.

The prescription he had written most often in his life was:

**Drink more hot water.**

Because the gatekeeper and servant had been controlled first, nobody inside had announced their arrival.

Liu Ruqing and Zheng Fan simply walked straight in.

Well not quite straight in.

The residence was not very deep to begin with.

“Younger Brother.

“Younger Brother.

“Elder Sister came to see you.

“Younger Brother.”

Liu Ruqing knocked on the door.

At this hour, her brother’s bedroom was still tightly shut.

She immediately worried that his health had worsened again.

Her anxiety rose sharply.

But suddenly there came movement inside.

Then the sound of a cup falling and shattering.

Liu Ruqing’s face changed immediately.

She thought some villain had broken into her brother’s room.

Count Zheng stepped forward at once.

One kick.

**Bang!**

The bedroom door flew open.

Good lord.

Two men were sitting opposite one another inside.

One was a thin young man.

His brows and eyes carried a faint resemblance to Liu Ruqing.

As for the other—

“Mingyan?

“Why are you here?

“Why are you...?”

Liu Ruqing cried out in shock.

The second young man was named Fan Mingyan.

A son of the Fan Clan’s Third Branch.

Even Count Zheng felt surprised.

He had only come out this morning accompanying Liu Ruqing to examine an illness.

And somehow he had stumbled upon this little scene of Jin-style refinement.

Apparently there really was a reason Liu Zhong’s health was poor.

Liu Ruqing became furious.

And humiliated.

Furious that her younger brother would secretly do something like this.

Humiliated because the other party was actually a young man of the Fan Clan.

The emotions struck her all at once.

Blood surged upward.

Liu Ruqing coughed out a mouthful of blood.

Her body toppled backward.

Count Zheng reacted quickly.

He caught her.

Liu Zhong saw his elder sister being held by an unfamiliar man.

He immediately stepped forward.

But Count Zheng’s gaze hardened.

He glared at the boy.

Liu Zhong trembled violently.

Already weak in both legs and body he simply collapsed onto the floor.

Count Zheng lifted Liu Ruqing completely into his arms.

Then ordered the men beside him:

“Back to the Fan Residence.”

...

The return carriage ride was even more comfortable than the journey out.

Zheng Fan sat.

Liu Ruqing lay in his arms.

The carriage swayed.

Naturally, there was some unavoidable contact.

The particular pleasure of it might not compare with the torrential downpour over Mount Wu but it possessed the delicate charm of a small bridge and flowing water.

The funniest part was that Count Zheng discovered Liu Ruqing had actually already awakened.

She had only fainted from anger.

She was not suffering from any grave illness.

But first she had exposed the shameful affair of her own younger brother directly before “Uncle.”

Second the position she was lying in now was simply far too embarrassing.

So Liu Ruqing kept her eyes shut.

And continued pretending to be unconscious.

How could details like that possibly escape Count Zheng?

He deliberately refused to expose her.

Instead he found the entire situation even more entertaining.

At that moment, the carriage suddenly stopped.

“Make way!

“This is a Fan Clan carriage!”

“What is so impressive about a Fan Clan carriage?

“Do you even know what noble person sits inside ours?

“Get lost!

“Move aside immediately!”

Zheng Fan frowned slightly.

The argument outside was ruining his mood.

He lifted the carriage curtain and said to one of the guards:

“We give way.”

Forget fighting over something as meaningless as the Fan Clan’s prestige.

Given Zheng Fan’s current identity inside Chu he should not be making trouble recklessly anyway.

...

At that moment, inside the carriage opposite them—

“All right, all right, Elder Sister Mi.

“Let them go first.”

“How can that be allowed?

“Why should we—”

A coachman outside called back:

“Miss, the carriage opposite has given way.”

The woman immediately smiled.

“Heh.

“At least they know what’s good for them.”

As she spoke the woman took the hand of the lovely young girl beside her.

Then smiled:

“Good little sister, you really need to change that temper of yours.

“Otherwise, once you marry over there, how will you stop yourself from being bullied?”

“I know, Elder Sister Mi.”

“All right, all right.

“You think I’m nagging now, don’t you?”

“No.

“Of course not.”

Because the Fan Clan carriage opposite had yielded their carriage began moving again.

“Good little sister.

“Your status belongs to you.

“Once you marry into someone else’s household, they may not dare bully you openly.

“But behind your back—who knows how they’ll torment you?

“You still need to harden yourself first.

“From the very beginning, do not yield even an inch.

“Establish your rules with them.”

“Elder Sister Mi, I’m not even married yet.

“You’re making me embarrassed talking about all this.”

“I know, I know.

“Alas.

“Who told our Princess to have such thin skin?”

[End of Chapter 428]