CHAPTER 44: CHAPTER 44: CARE (2)

Liufu sidestepped out, Qiuyun turned her face and quickly put on a smiling face towards Tong Shen Zhi, saying, "I personally brewed some lotus seed soup in the kitchen. You’ve had a long day, First Young Master, please have some more." After speaking, she poured him a bowl without a care for anyone else, her gaze affectionately glued to Tong Shen Zhi’s face.

Tong Shen Zhi’s brows nearly knitted into a knot, and he stood up, flicking his sleeves, looking towards Xiqiu: "I’ll be next door, send someone if Sixth Sister needs me." With those words, he left without a backward glance, not sparing Qiuyun even a look.

Qiuyun’s cheeks turned crimson with embarrassment, her lips quivered for a long while before she finally stomped her foot and chased after him out the door.

Siliu rolled her eyes in disgust: "So frivolous! Staying in the inner quarters is really a waste of talent!" Chunyan had been walking with Shuixiang every day these past few days and finally learned what Qiuyun and Chunyu discussed daily when they went to Madam Wang. Initially, they only talked about things concerning women, then the topic shifted from the young masters in the manor to their masters, and Madam Wang took the opportunity to offer them advice on what kind of women men like, what techniques can keep a man’s heart, how to dress, and how to curry favor — sharing everything in detail.

When they heard it, the few of them clicked their tongues in amazement, exclaiming, "No wonder the First Master has favored Madam Wang for over ten years." Such methods, even the women of the brothels are no more than this!

"Stop it!" Sixing covered Siliu’s mouth, glaring at her: "The Miss is anxious, why do you care about her!"

Siliu immediately tightened her expression, stealing a glance at Sixth Miss, only to see her holding Tong Minzhi’s hand, lost in thought.

Liufu finally returned after a while, carrying a kettle of hot water in her hands, but there was no sign of wine. Xiqiu was just about to ask when she saw a glimpse of a man in a sky-blue robe walk in behind her. Xu Tianqing carried a jar of wine in one hand, his handsome brows slightly furrowed, and at first glance, he saw Xiqiu standing by the bed.

She was wearing a hibiscus-colored cotton jacket with a simple, plain overcoat in a matching hue, looking elegant and understated. Compared to half a month ago in the bamboo forest, she had gotten much thinner.

"Cousin!" Xiqiu’s soft voice made Xu Tianqing pause for a moment, retracting his gaze from her to smile slightly: "I happened to be passing by and saw Liufu searching the yard for spirits, so I remembered I had some and brought it over." He handed the wine to Siliu and asked, "How is Seventh Brother? Does he need anything else?"

Xiqiu’s gaze fell on the jar of wine, its seal still fresh and new. It was the famous "baodaozi" liquor from the Capital, not brought from Shandong. What was such wine doing stored in his courtyard?

"Thank you, Cousin!" For whatever reason, it wasn’t for her to ask, and Xiqiu said no more. She turned around and instructed Liufu to pour the wine into a teacup, then personally began to open Tong Minzhi’s clothes, intending to sponge his body to reduce the fever...

Suddenly, her hand was lightly stopped, Xu Tianqing’s gentle face was only an inch away from hers, his voice calm: "Wipe his body? Let me do it."

He said this, rolling up his sleeves without minding Xiqiu’s reaction, and moved aside the gauze to start sponging Tong Minzhi.

Xiqiu’s eyes flickered, but without refusing, she softly said, "Thank you!" and stepped aside. When Xu Tianqing finished, she handed him a teacup with wine.

Xu Tianqing raised his eyebrows in confusion, evidently not understanding why she was offering him wine.

"Use it to wipe his armpits, it helps with heat release!" She explained carefully about other parts and instructed Liufu: "Bring clean clothes." Liufu responded and went to fetch clothes.

Xuqing Tian held the spirits in his palms, his eyebrows slightly raised; this method of reducing fever was new to him. However, he knew Xiqiu had some medical knowledge. Even though the method seemed odd, it surely had some reasoning since she was so certain.

Several people busied themselves with towels and water for a while, changed into fresh inner clothes, and finally drew the gauze again as Xiqiu reached to feel Tong Minzhi’s forehead.

It was still burning hot, with no sign of reduced fever.

She sighed again, truly worrying breeds chaos... no method will take effect immediately.

In the flickering candlelight, her long eyelashes cast a shadow on her cheeks, leaving a layer of shadow. Xu Tianqing retracted his gaze and softly said: "The river water is cold in the spring. He must have caught a chill. When I was young and mischievous, I too fell into the water. My mother said I had a fever for three days, became delirious, and only fully recovered after half a month, yet now I’m perfectly healthy." Sitting by Tong Minzhi’s bed, he looked at Xiqiu: "Just cleaning the body once may not immediately be effective. I’ll stay here, you should rest for a bit too."

"I’m not tired!" Xiqiu looked at Tong Minzhi and shook her head with determination, her brows tightly knit together.

She had many doubts in her mind — why was he suddenly so worried, and why did he secretly drink himself into a stupor alone? She understood Tong Minzhi — though he appeared carefree, he was actually very sensitive. Did he discover something, or did someone say something to him that led him to do something so unreasonable?

She looked at Tong Minzhi’s uneasy sleeping face and felt heartbroken.

She mustn’t let anything happen to him; she wanted him to grow up healthy and happy!

She sat back down by the bed, holding Tong Minzhi’s small hand, suddenly remembering a childcare book she had read in her past life. It mentioned that a child’s fever could be reduced using certain massage techniques. She remembered some of the acupoints but was unsure if they would be effective. However, at this moment, any method was worth trying.

She immediately started and said to Siliu, "Go fetch the bottle of Osmanthus Oil that Lady rewarded me with." Siliu, accustomed to her occasionally strange ideas and actions, curtsied and responded, "I’ll go right away!"

Xiqiu had no heart to accommodate Xu Tianqing, sitting quietly by the bed and saying no more.

In a short while, Siliu returned with the oil: "Miss, what are you going to do? Let me do it. You’ve only just recovered a bit, you can’t tire yourself."

"I’ll do it myself!" Xiqiu poured the oil into her palms, rolling up Tong Minzhi’s sleeves: "Go heat some water, so we can wipe him again later!" She already moved to start massaging down the inner side of the elbow based on her memory.

"I’ll go fetch some charcoal." Sixing left the room, and Siliu took Sixing to fetch warm water. For a moment, the room fell quiet, leaving only the sound of Xiqiu’s somewhat labored breathing. This pressing consumed quite a bit of physical strength, and shortly beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

Xu Tianqing watched her with a touch of concern: "Take a break; let me do it." He moved to take over Tong Minzhi’s arm.

Xiqiu waved her hand, but inadvertently it was pressed by Xu Tianqing’s outstretched hand...

Both froze, Xu Tianqing’s mind went blank for a moment, the only sensation left was the thin, cold little hand in his palm. His heart suddenly tightened.

If she were a legitimate daughter, with her mother protecting her and a group of maids and old women following her, she wouldn’t have to worry or engage in such matters herself.

She was only twelve years old, yet she bore such a heavy burden...

His hand moved slightly, then suddenly found the palm empty, Xu Tianqing paused, hearing Xiqiu’s soft voice next to his ear: "Cousin, you should rest too. I’ll press a few more times, then it will be fine."