The Vicious Empress's Scum Wife (GL) - Chapter 014
Chi Bao was panting, and Lin Yanran didn’t hesitate to pull out ten large coins and hand them over: “Thank you for your trouble, brother. Please sit down and rest.”
Chi Bao’s sweat-streaked, dark-red face immediately broke into a genuine smile. He awkwardly rubbed his large hands: “This, how can this be?”
Lin Yanran simply stuffed the money into his arms. Chi Bao, grinning, gratefully thanked her, secretly clutching the ten coins. He was also very observant and quickly brought a chair for Doctor Zeng to sit on.
Lin Yanran then went to brew some tea.
The middle-aged doctor, who had been woken up in the middle of the night and hurried there overnight, finally had his scowling face improve somewhat.
“Where is the patient?” he asked, taking a sip of tea and putting on airs.
Lin Yanran said, “Doctor Zeng, please rest for a moment. I’ll go check.”
She entered the main hall, closed the door, and went into the room.
To her surprise, Qin Mingyue was already sitting up, leaning against the headboard, her face pale and drawn, her eyes closed.
Lin Yanran anxiously stepped forward: “Why are you up?”
Qin Mingyue showed no reaction, her expression with closed eyes frighteningly calm.
From this calm expression, Lin Yanran sensed an indescribable determination and tragic solemnity.
She swallowed her overflowing concern, quickly calmed down, and quietly asked, “The doctor has been brought back. Can I let him in to examine you?”
Qin Mingyue suddenly opened her eyes.
She looked at Lin Yanran but said nothing.
Her eyes were deep and still like water, devoid of hatred and anger, but that profound, bottomless gaze made Lin Yanran even more anxious.
Lin Yanran felt uneasy.
In the courtyard, Doctor Zeng had already grown impatient and called out, “Hey, did you or did you not call me to come here overnight? If you want a consultation, quickly call the patient. Don’t delay my return to the city.”
“No need to see him. Tell him to leave.” Qin Mingyue’s tone was extremely somber, filled with the oppressive tension of a storm gathering.
Lin Yanran urgently said, “You have a high fever. How can I be at ease if you don’t get checked?”
Qin Mingyue’s gaze suddenly sharpened, staring directly at her: “If I die, wouldn’t that suit your intentions perfectly?”
Lin Yanran was silent for a moment, then softened her tone: “I know you’re angry. At the time, I was desperate, and I truly had no better way…” She quickly stopped herself, daring not to continue, because anger began to flare again in the eyes fixed on her.
After a long silence, she said, “If your fever has broken, you don’t have to see the doctor. But, I must check your forehead.”
She spoke with forced courage, then quickly added: “No matter how much you hate me, you should cherish your own body. You absolutely cannot take risks with a high fever.”
Her words were earnest and sincere, so much so that even Qin Mingyue, still in a fit of anger, felt her concern.
But to make her compromise again was utterly impossible.
The two stared at each other in silence.
Lin Yanran slowly extended her hand, tentatively moving it towards Qin Mingyue’s forehead. She moved very slowly, fearing Qin Mingyue’s reactive movement.
Qin Mingyue kept her gaze fixed on Lin Yanran, her eyes as sharp as knives, carving away at Lin Yanran’s courage.
Even when Lin Yanran’s palm rested on her forehead, those eyes remained aggressively fixed on her.
Lin Yanran let her hand linger for a moment, then lifted it and placed it on her own forehead to compare.
Qin Mingyue continued to stare at her, like a ferocious yet terribly wounded beast that would lash out and hurt someone if it sensed anything amiss.
Lin Yanran’s heart remained suspended in anxiety.
After repeating this three times, she finally felt relieved. She quickly withdrew her hand, not even looking at Qin Mingyue again.
“The fever has broken. You rest well. I’ll go dismiss the doctor.”
“Last night, you only ate six glutinous rice balls, and after a night of high fever, your body desperately needs nourishment. You must eat something.”
With that, she walked out.
Qin Mingyue’s somber eyes quickly flashed with a hint of hatred.
Her fever had subsided, but her body was still weak. The shame of being stripped naked and touched all over by Lin Yanran gnawed at her proud heart like a venomous snake.
She couldn’t face such a reality. Harboring hatred, resentment, pain, and indignation, among other emotions, she closed her eyes.
Two tears quickly slid from the corners of her eyes, seeping into her hair and disappearing.
She trembled painfully, her lips quivering, letting out unheard sobs.
“Empress Mother, your child’s purity has been defiled by a villain. Your child… Empress Mother!”
Lin Yanran rushed back into the courtyard, repeatedly apologizing to Doctor Zeng: “I’m sorry, my wife is afraid of strangers, and her fever has already broken. Thank you, Doctor Zeng, for making the trip. This is a small token of my appreciation; please accept it.”
She painfully pulled out a qian of silver and handed it over.
Doctor Zeng immediately flared up. He stood up from the stool, his face displeased, glaring at her.
“Are you trifling with this physician? This physician was called out of bed in the middle of the night, rode a rickety mule cart, bumping along for two hours to get here, and you dare to treat me like this?”
“I’m telling you, if there’s no explanation, I will definitely report you to the Physicians’ Guild in the county town!”
Lin Yanran scrutinized him. This was an old physician, seemingly in his early forties, wearing a faded blue cloth gown. His cheeks were gaunt and sunken, and his goatee was sparse, making him look utterly shabby.
At this moment, his face red and neck thick, he glared at her, as if he wouldn’t give up until she provided an explanation.
Lin Yanran immediately deduced that this person was doing very poorly in Shimen County, living a difficult life, with no money and no work. His medical skills probably weren’t very good either.
His current fussing was merely to swindle more consultation fees.
Chi Bao, who was still resting on the steps, was startled and quickly came to mediate: “Doctor Zeng, don’t be angry. Yanran’s wife really was sick, otherwise she wouldn’t have sent me to fetch you in the middle of the night. Now you don’t need to consult, and Yanran has already paid the consultation fee… Isn’t that quite convenient? Shall I get the mule cart to take you back?”
He secretly glanced at the qian of silver in Lin Yanran’s hand, filled with envy.
One qian of silver, that was a full hundred large coins!
Lin Yanran secretly chuckled. Brother Chi Bao was truly a good helper. So, she pretended not to understand, looking at Doctor Zeng: “That’s right, Doctor Zeng. Now that my wife’s fever has broken, there’s no need for Doctor Zeng to examine her. This qian of silver is my token of respect for Doctor Zeng’s hard journey. Is Doctor Zeng still unsatisfied?”
Of course, Doctor Zeng was unsatisfied!
Since he was mistakenly diagnosed and his medical hall was smashed last time, he hadn’t received a single consultation for a full month. His family was so poor they couldn’t even make ends meet. His wife, furious, had taken their child back to her family home. He was counting on this one job to earn a sum!
Who knew this countrywoman would suddenly not want him to consult, and only give him a mere qian of silver for his trouble!
*How outrageous!*
He puffed out his mustache and glared, angrily saying, “This physician has traveled a long distance. How can I give up halfway? If your wife is truly sick, this physician, with a benevolent heart, should naturally diagnose and prescribe medicine. Otherwise, if word gets back to the county town, what will become of this physician’s reputation?”
She had already said she didn’t need his consultation and had given him travel expenses, yet he still wanted to diagnose and prescribe medicine? Wasn’t this utterly shameless?
Lin Yanran blinked: “Doctor Zeng, my wife’s fever has subsided. There’s really no need for a consultation. Besides, medicine is inherently toxic. Since the fever is gone, we naturally wouldn’t dare to take medicine indiscriminately.”
She had already seen that this physician was incompetent. Even if Qin Mingyue’s fever hadn’t broken, she wouldn’t have dared to let him examine her.
Doctor Zeng’s face was full of disdain. He puffed out his chest and said, “What nonsense! If it’s a high fever, how can it get better without medicine?”
Lin Yanran was getting a little impatient. She casually said, “I used a secret family recipe to help my wife break her fever, no need for Doctor Zeng to trouble himself.”
When Doctor Zeng heard the words “secret family recipe,” his small eyes lit up. He immediately adopted an aggressive tone: “You’re talking absolute nonsense! I’ve been a physician for thirty years, starting as an apprentice, and I’ve never seen anyone able to break a fever with a secret family recipe! If you don’t provide proof, I will definitely report you to the Physicians’ Guild!”
Lin Yanran didn’t know what the Physicians’ Guild was, but she understood that this person wanted to extract her secret family recipe.
Her face immediately darkened. She shot a look at Chi Bao.
Then she clenched her fist, ready to punch him: “Are you leaving or not? If you don’t leave, I’ll pluck out all your whiskers and smash your teeth! I don’t need your consultation, and I’ve already paid for your trouble, yet you’re still pestering me here. Do you really think I’m easy to mess with?”
Chi Bao immediately stepped in to stop Doctor Zeng, pulling him towards the door: “Doctor Zeng, please don’t provoke Yanran. She’s on good terms with the first and second bosses of the Yuanbao Gambling House in Shimen County. If you really anger her, she’ll definitely beat you until you’re picking up your teeth from the ground!”
Doctor Zeng finally became frightened. But he hadn’t accepted the qian of silver from Lin Yanran just now. How could he be willing to leave now?
As he was dragged to the main door, he suddenly grabbed the doorframe and wailed.
“Villain! You’re bullying this physician! This physician will definitely report you to the Physicians’ Guild!”
Lin Yanran was so exasperated she actually laughed. Her eyes darted around, and she suddenly had an idea. She walked over and said, “Seeing that you truly have a benevolent heart, how about this: I’ll give you a copy of my ancestral secret recipe for free. Take it back and try it, then you’ll know if it’s real.”
“However, this ancestral secret recipe of mine has been passed down for centuries, and it’s priceless. I’m only giving it to you to resolve your doubts because of your sincerity. But you must never reveal it!”
Doctor Zeng secretly glanced at her, seeing her half-smiling, as if she could see through all his thoughts. He couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
He rolled his eyes and said, “How can a secret recipe be easily tried? If it poisons someone, aren’t you harming me?”
Lin Yanran ignored him. She walked back into the house, tinkered for a bit, and then handed him a bamboo tube.
“Wine?” Doctor Zeng immediately smelled it.
Lin Yanran said profoundly, “This is medicinal wine brewed with my ancestral secret recipe. You only need to rub it on a patient with a high fever, and their fever will break. However, Doctor Zeng must remember, this is a single serving, and it’s only effective for breaking fevers.”
Doctor Zeng held the medicinal wine, sniffing it wildly with his nose, his small eyes darting around.
Lin Yanran, of course, knew what he was thinking.
She had just gone inside and found the leftover dregs from brewing medicine for Qin Mingyue. She casually grabbed a dozen or so medicinal herbs, ground them into powder, and then threw them into the wine.
Not to mention that this charlatan physician wouldn’t be able to identify them, even she herself would have a hard time distinguishing the herbs within.
He would never, even if he racked his brain, realize that the alcohol was actually what was doing the work.
Doctor Zeng was still unwilling. Lin Yanran snorted, threw the qian of silver to him, and then gave Chi Bao a meaningful look.
Chi Bao immediately dragged him out: “Hurry, hurry! Yanran is always generous. If she regrets it later, she’ll take the money back.”
Doctor Zeng was startled. He quickly clutched the medicinal wine and the qian of silver, running away as if fleeing for his life.
Lin Yanran closed the main door and sighed heavily: “What a difficult person!”
Out of her one tael, six qian of silver, she gave Chi Bao twenty coins and the quack doctor one hundred coins, leaving her with only one tael, four qian, and eighty coins.
Although Qin Mingyue’s fever had broken, her body was very weak. She would definitely need to take some medicine to stabilize her condition.
*Where would the money come from?*
She walked to the kitchen, contemplating while cooking.
She had deciphered the Cooling Pill, but without connections, she couldn’t rashly use it, otherwise it would only invite trouble. And there was nothing valuable in her home to exchange for money…
*I’ve got it!*