Chapter 17: Falling Ill
The moonlight was hazy and the frosty wind began to stir. The leaves next to the Xitong Courtyard had already started to fall sporadically, one by one, like small boats, swaying and drifting to the ground.
Tang Wu said she wanted to sit in the courtyard for a while longer because the night was beautiful, but Luo Ying could see clearly. Where was the beautiful night tonight?
Not only was the moon covered in mist, but not a single star could be seen. She actually felt that tonight’s moonlight was not as beautiful as the lamp lit inside the room.
“Is Madam waiting for His Highness?” Luo Ying asked quietly.
Hearing this, Tang Wu raised her head, not hiding anything, and replied with a smile, “Is it that obvious?”
It had been many days since she last saw him. Although she knew he was overworked with official duties and had no time for other things, she couldn’t help but worry, worrying that staying up all night like this would harm his health.
“The weather is so cold, why doesn’t Madam wait inside? His Highness is busy with the imperial examinations lately, and it’s possible he won’t return to the manor. And now that the Princess Consort has just returned, His Highness…” Luo Ying naturally found it difficult to say the rest.
Tang Wu was first stunned, then smiled as if nothing had happened, “It’s fine, I’ll just sit in this courtyard for a while longer. No one will see me.”
Before that coming-of-age ceremony, she had also dreamed of finding an honest man and living a simple, ordinary life. She didn’t seek great wealth; as long as she didn’t have to be a concubine and always be subservient, that would be enough.
But now that she had met him, she had changed. He was so good, so good that she was willing to be a well-behaved concubine, to serve him and his Princess Consort well.
Before the Princess Consort gave birth to a legitimate son, she would never have any ulterior motives. For her, this life was already a great step up, so she didn’t want to be a source of trouble, using messy schemes to make his inner court restless every day.
By the hour of Hai (9-11 PM), the northwesterly wind suddenly picked up, and it even started to drizzle.
Tang Wu watched Shuang’er and Luo Ying get ready to fetch an umbrella and quickly got up, saying, “You two don’t need to get busy. I’m going inside now.”
The two young maids smiled at each other and helped Tang Wu into the room.
Early in the morning, after Shuang’er finished tidying the courtyard, she saw that it was almost a quarter to Sishi (10 AM) and asked Luo Ying, “Sister Luo Ying, is Madam not awake yet?” Shuang’er felt that something was a little off. Even though the Madam liked to sleep in, she had never slept this late before.
“I just called Madam once, and she didn’t respond. She must still be sleeping. Wait, I’ll go call her again,” Luo Ying put down the old clothes she was about to take to the laundry room and turned to go into the room.
As soon as she went in, Luo Ying ran out in a panic. “Shuang’er, this is not good. I just went in and saw that Madam’s face was red, so I used my hand to check. Only then did I realize that madam had a fever. Her forehead is so hot you could boil an egg on it.”
“What? Madam has a fever?” Shuang’er asked anxiously.
“You go and inform the Princess Consort first. Just say that we just found out madam has a fever…” As she said this, Luo Ying paused and changed her words, “Just say that madam has been unwell and has had a fever all night and has fainted. I’ll get the wine that His Highness left from last time to wipe her body. Go, hurry.”
“Sister Luo Ying, if we say Madam has been burning up all night, the Princess Consort will definitely say we didn’t take good care of her and vent her anger on us. Will this… be okay?” Shuang’er said hesitantly.
“Don’t just stand there foolishly. We just found out that madam has been burning up until now, which is already a failure to take good care of her. If we can’t get a doctor, do you think the Princess Consort and His Highness will let us off? If something happens, fifty lashes would be a light punishment!”
Luo Ying thought that if she didn’t make the illness sound more serious, someone on the other side would definitely be negligent.
…
Fortunately, no one at the Jiao Yue Hall stopped Shuang’er. As soon as Shuang’er arrived at the Jiao Yue Hall and told them about it, the Princess Consort immediately sent someone to fetch Doctor Lu.
Doctor Lu had just arrived, and before he could catch his breath, Shuang’er pulled him in to take Tang Wu’s pulse.
“Has Madam been in contact with any outsiders these past few days?” Doctor Lu asked.
“Our madam stays in her courtyard every day and doesn’t go anywhere. What do you mean by that, Doctor Lu!” Shuang’er glared and raised her eyebrows.
The women in the inner quarters of the powerful and wealthy were most afraid of people saying that they were involved with outsiders. Such words usually sounded like a bucket of dirty water.
Doctor Lu saw the girl’s indignant look and couldn’t help but pat his forehead in annoyance. He knew he had spoken wrongly and explained, “I just took her pulse and found that Madam’s illness is very similar to a more serious cold that has been going around the capital recently. So I wanted to ask if Madam has recently been in contact with anyone who also had a fever. Coughs and sneezes count too.”
“Our Madam’s window wasn’t closed tightly last night. Are you sure it wasn’t from the wind, Doctor Lu?”
“An ordinary cold or flu would not cause a high fever that won’t go down, or even unconsciousness. I have been practicing medicine for many years and would not speak nonsense. I ask the two of you to please try to remember.”
Shuang’er thought about it and felt that no one in the room had these symptoms, so she shook her head.
At this moment, Luo Ying suddenly interjected, “I remember now. Yesterday, we had the bedding in our room changed. The one who came in to change it was called Cui Zhu from outside. I remember clearly. After she just finished changing the new bedding, she accidentally dropped and broke madam’s teacup. At that time, she was apologizing and coughing. Madam took pity on her and didn’t punish her. Afterward, she lingered in the room for a while.”
Doctor Lu listened to this and said, “Then it’s possible. This cold is particularly severe, and it’s easy to get infected if you’re not careful. You should call that Cui Zhu here. I have to confirm it before I can prescribe the right medicine.”
In a little while, Luo Ying had brought Cui Zhu to Doctor Lu. Cui Zhu’s face was sallow, and she had been coughing ever since she came in. Doctor Lu covered his mouth and nose with gauze, reached out to feel her forehead, and said, “This is the symptom.”
“Then what should we do?” When listening to a doctor speak, it was always like this. As soon as Shuang’er heard the word “severe,” she became anxious. Sure enough, Shuang’er looked like she was about to cry.
“Don’t worry. Although Madam’s condition is not good, it’s not life-threatening. I’m short one ingredient for the medicine I have here, so I’ll have to go to the pharmacy on Yong’an Street to get it later. You should first seal off this courtyard and burn some vinegar to fumigate it to prevent cross-infection and delay the illness. Also, Madam has a fever and will naturally feel cold. Remember to add two more blankets for her to cover up with,”
Doctor Lu instructed.
Luo Ying listened to Doctor Lu’s words and immediately took action.
First, she told the young servant outside to go and get the medicine quickly, and then she went to the kitchen to get a basin of vinegar and started to heat it over a fire.
But she waited and waited, and the young servant just didn’t come back.
How could it work with one ingredient missing? Shuang’er was sweating with anxiety. And the young servant had also taken the prescription with him. If they wanted to send someone else to get the medicine, they would have to ask the doctor again.
But Doctor Lu had to go to another place to practice medicine soon.
After all this trouble, Tang Wu had already started to talk deliriously from the fever, sometimes calling for His Highness and sometimes for Jiuniang.
Even with her eyes closed, she looked pitiful.
Her forehead was covered with beads of sweat, and she kept burrowing into the blankets as if covering her with a few layers wasn’t enough.
Luo Ying sat beside the bed. She scooped up the medicinal soup with a spoon, blew on it, and then brought it to Tang Wu’s mouth to feed her.
Tang Wu’s mouth was tightly shut, and Luo Ying was in a panic. Having no other choice, Luo Ying had to forcefully hold her chin and use the spoon to pry open her lips. She tried several times, but each time, just a little bit of the medicine went in, and it all flowed out again.
If the fever continued like this and she couldn’t take the medicine, she was really going to fall seriously ill. Luo Ying knelt on the ground helplessly, murmuring, “Why don’t we go and kneel at the Peaceful Years Hall to get His Highness to come over?”
“But Madam has told us before, no matter what happens, we are not allowed to go and find His Highness on our own. We can’t break the rules. And Madam has a contagious illness, so even if His Highness knew, he couldn’t come in person,” Shuang’er said.
“At a time like this, what rules are we still following? If that young servant doesn’t come back with the medicine tonight, are we just going to keep waiting!” Luo Ying stood up, not caring about the rules anymore.
Luo Ying ran recklessly to the front of the Sui’an Hall.
Because Tang Wu usually didn’t allow them to go to the Sui’an Hall, the servants there didn’t recognize them. She was stopped outside before she could even enter.
Luo Ying had no choice but to shout loudly a few times at the entrance of the Sui’an Hall. She kept it up until the people from the hall were about to get physical, which finally brought out Chief Steward Cao.
Luo Ying quickly explained the situation.
“His Highness is still in a meeting inside. Wait outside for a bit. When His Highness comes out, he will make a decision for your mistress,” Steward Cao also knew that the person in the Xitong Courtyard was quite favored, but the people inside were from the Ministry of Justice, and he couldn’t interrupt their conversation just because a concubine was ill.
Upon hearing this, Luo Ying felt a pang of sadness. Today it was her mistress who was sick. If the Princess Consort were sick, would anyone in this manor be so negligent?
Luo Ying waited for a full half an hour before she saw the Prince of Ying.
“How is she now?” Prince Ying asked with a frown.
“Madam’s fever is very serious. Her body is scalding hot. The medicine prescribed by Doctor Lu is missing one ingredient that hasn’t been bought back yet. I felt that we couldn’t wait any longer, so I first decocted the main ingredients for Madam, but no matter how I fed her, Madam wouldn’t swallow it,” Luo Ying said.
After hearing this, Prince Ying’s frown deepened even more.
In his previous life, people in the palace were constantly getting sick.
But as soon as he went, every single one of them would be able to get up.
So later, he had become completely deaf and blind to the feigned illnesses of the women in the imperial harem.
But what about her?
