The days passed uneventfully for a while. Then, the butler of the Governor’s Mansion rushed to Heming Medical Hall, specifically requesting Xu Hang to come.
Xu Hang took the medicine box and left, hurrying to the Governor’s Mansion.
The one who got into trouble in the Governor’s Mansion was not Wang Ronghuo, but his new concubine—Ruan Xiaodie. The concubine had only been in the mansion for a few days and was as beautiful as a flower. She was originally a pipa girl in a restaurant in the east of the city. Wang Ronghuo happened to pass by and took a fancy to her, so he forcibly took her back and kept her in the mansion.
However, this Pipa girl was very stubborn. She would bang her head against the wall and hang herself every other day, refusing to give in even if beaten to death. Wang Ronghuo probably really admired Ruan Xiaodie’s pretty face, so he always saved her and told people to take good care of her.
But people who want to die can always find an opportunity. This morning, Ruan Xiaodie drank a large bowl of aconite medicine soup while no one was paying attention. Now her hands and feet are cold, and her face is blue.
As soon as Xu Hang arrived, he was invited to Ruan Xiaodie’s room. Wang Ronghuo paced back and forth beside the bed with his hands behind his back, sweating profusely. When he saw Xu Hang, he shouted, “Quick! Quickly check and see if you can save her! If you can, I will make sure you become rich and powerful in Hezhou City in the future!”
Xu Hang stepped forward and took her pulse, quickly feeling it, then asked, “When did she drink it?”
“It’s only a stick of incense[mfn]It’s around 20-40min[/mfn].”
“Is there any mung bean soup in the kitchen?”
“Mung bean soup?” The maid Chun Xing widened her eyes.
“Is there or not?” Xu Hang asked as he used a golden needle to seal Ruan Xiaodie’s heart meridian.
Chun Xing nodded, “There, there is. The cook cooked a pot today.”
“Go and bring a big bowl over!”
Xu Hang spoke so urgently that Chun Xing both ran and crawled, and in a moment, she brought a large bowl over. Xu Hang took it and said to Wang Ronghuo, “Governor, please help the Madam up.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Ronghuo took a few steps forward, gently lifted Ruan Xiaodie up, and held her against his arms. Xu Hang pinched Ruan Xiaodie’s chin, gently exerted force, forcing her lips to open slightly, and forced the mung bean soup into her mouth and let it flow smoothly, forcing her to swallow it.
Ruan Xiaodie drank a lot while unconscious, some of which flowed down from the corners of her mouth because she had no time to swallow.
After Xu Hang poured everything down, he slapped her chest hard a few times. Ruan Xiaodie let out a loud cry, flipped over, and spat out everything she had drunk.
Chun Xing was quick to hand over the spittoon, and all the filth went into the basin.
When she had almost vomited enough, he gave her another bowl of mung bean soup. This time she was not forced to vomit but allowed to digest slowly.
At this time, Wang Ronghuo looked over again and saw that Ruan Xiaodie’s face looked a little better, her chest was heaving violently, and she was still dizzy, but her life was no longer in danger.
He let out a long sigh, helped Ruan Xiaodie calm down, and then laid her down on the bed: “It was a false alarm…” Then he asked Xu Hang, “She’s fine now?”
At this moment, Xu Hang felt her pulse carefully, “There’s no serious problem, but there is still some residual poison left. I will continue to give Madam acupuncture and prescribe a few more medicines. She will be fine if she takes them on time.”
“That’s good, that’s good. Sir, you really have a magic hand. Hmm, not bad.” Wang Ronghuo admired Xu Hang a little.
Xu Hang’s face showed no joy or happiness, he just concentrated on disinfecting the golden needles and said, “The acupuncture will take a long time, I need to calm down. Can the Governor clear the people?”
Wang Ronghuo waved his hand and sent everyone out, saying, “Alright, alright, alright, Sir, take your time. I’ll prepare some good food and wine for you in the front hall as a token of my gratitude.”
A huge crowd of people left immediately.
As soon as the red peach sandalwood door was closed and he heard the footsteps going away, Xu Hang pierced Ruan Xiaodie’s philtrum with a golden needle. Ruan Xiaodie’s petite body trembled slightly, her brows furrowed, and she let out a hoarse moan in her throat, then slowly opened her eyes.
She had beautiful almond-shaped eyes, but they looked a little dull at the moment.
She first looked at the ceiling of the bed in a trance, and then consciousness slowly came up. She stretched out her hand and looked for a while. Knowing that she was still alive, she instantly burst into tears in despair.
She was crying with her face covered when she heard a clear male voice: “You are still weak. Crying like this will hurt your body.”
Ruan Xiaodie turned her head and saw a man sitting at the head of the bed. She was so scared that she hid for a moment. After seeing the golden needle in the man’s hand and the medicine box at his feet, she finally understood: “You are… you are the physician? Cough, cough… you… save me?”
“I’m nothing near a physician. My last name is Xu. I just run a medical hall and know a little about the properties of medicines.”
“Why did you save me?!” Ruan Xiaodie was a little agitated, and her long nails were digging into Xu Hang’s sleeve.
“I’m a physician. Saving lives is my duty. Instead of thanking me, you blame me?”
Ruan Xiaodie’s breathing was unstable, but she still shouted angrily, “It’s my business if I want to die, you… why do you save me?!”
She was crying with tears dripping down her chin. She was shaking slightly and looked extremely resentful towards life.
“Death is easy, why is Madam so willing to sacrifice yourself?”
“Don’t call me madam!” Ruan Xiaodie felt like vomiting when she heard this title, “Here… I’m living a life worse than death…”
“Oh? At least now, the Governor seems to still care about the Madam. This is a good thing.”
Ruan Xiaodie laughed sarcastically and spat, “Humph… Are you going to persuade me to give up and compromise like those people did? Bah! You saved me today, but I can do something even more tragic tomorrow!”
She looked ready to die, not like an ordinary weak woman at all, but rather like a heroic woman.
Xu Hang sighed deeply and said, “Do you know what it means if you die?”
Ruan Xiaodie raised her head with tears in her eyes and looked at Xu Hang in confusion: “What?”
Xu Hang lowered his eyes and looked at her for a long time before he slowly said, “If you die, the Governor will be sad, feel sorry, and mourn for a few days. After a few days, you will return to dust, dust to dust, and the next woman like you will be sent to the mansion, live in the house you lived in, lie on the bed you slept on, and suffer the humiliation you suffered.”
“What does that have to do with me? I refuse to endure even a moment of disgrace from this shameless bastard who killed my father!”
“Then I’ll tell you something that has something to do with you.”
Xu Hang put away all the tools, took out a handkerchief from his sleeve, and gently wiped Ruan Xiaodie’s tears. “You despise him so much, yet you keep hurting yourself. When you reach the underworld, are you truly willing to cross the Naihe Bridge?”
Ruan Xiaodie frowned, puzzled: “You… what do you mean by this? Aren’t you the physician he hired? Why are you telling me this?”
She observed him closely and noticed that, only at this moment, a slight smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, making her realize he was no ordinary person.
“I’m a physician, but in some things, I’m the same as you. If it were me, I would definitely live longer than my enemies. Even if I ended up being reduced to a maggot in the mud, I would definitely hold on until the moment I personally sent those who harmed me to the grave.” Xu Hang said this in a decisive tone, and every word was like a pile of wood, nailing Ruan Xiaodie’s heart, leaving her stunned.
This small bedroom was inexplicably filled with a strange atmosphere at this moment.
Ruan Xiaodie was not an ignorant woman. She had understood Xu Hang’s intention. She slowly got up, her eyes became serious, and her voice was a little hoarse: “You… you also have a grudge against Wang Ronghuo?”
Xu Hang shook his head gently: “I just feel regretful; your youth is fleeting, and you shouldn’t be so delicate.”
Ruan Xiaodie pounded the bed angrily and gritted her teeth: “If I could kill him, I’d tear him apart with my own teeth! But… I hate that I’m not a man—I’m powerless to do anything.”
“There are no weak people in this world, only people without determination.”
Opening the medicine box, Xu Hang took out a small cotton bag from the bottom. The cotton bag was a bit worn and patched, and it didn’t look like something Xu Hang used at all.
He put the thing in Ruan Xiaodie’s hand and stared at her intently, like a fisherman who had put up bait and was waiting for someone to take it.
“I hope this ‘gift’ can give you, the Madam, a little more determination to live.”
Having said this, he left the room.
Ruan Xiaodie, who was in the bedroom with tears on her face, nervously and hurriedly opened the box, and a thin, bloody pipa string appeared.
She tightly grasped the cotton bag in her hand, with thousands of emotions overlapping in her eyes, which finally turned into a little bit of vitality, and she swallowed the breath in her throat.
