The General's Delicious Wife Chapter 028: The sudden fever
After coming back from paying their respects to the ancestors, Xia Yue Chu has been busy cooking in the kitchen with Qin Zheng following by her side as an assistant.
Recently, his belief that Xia Yue Chu is an impressive person gets stronger and stronger. Though she is not educated, she is clear minded and wise.
Of course, the most notable is her outstanding culinary skills.
Qin Zheng has tasted a meal that Madam Wu has cooked previously, at that time he finds it extremely delicious. But after eating what Xia Yue Chu has cooked, he then realises that this is truly the depiction of the saying, the blue dye that is extracted from the indigo plant is even more blue than the plant itself*.
On top of that, he notices that these few days, Xia Yue Chu has been brewing something else that is not for Xue Zhuang to eat as she is brewing his medicine. He cannot help but to assume that it is what she is referring to when she says that she is finding a way to make a living, hence, he sticks by Xia Yue Chu's side even more.
"You better stop hindering me here." Xia Yue Chu turns around and almost clashes into Qin Zheng, putting the bowl of medicine into his hands. "I'm giving you the medicine to bring it in."
Qin Zheng laughs as he serves the bowl into the room. Soon after, his panicking voice can be heard coming from the room. "Big Brother, what happened to you?"
"What?" Xia Yue Chu enters the room.
"He was fine just now, why has he suddenly caught a fever!" Qin Zheng says anxiously. "Sister-in-law, you come and take a look, no matter how I call he doesn't respond."
Xia Yue Chu stretches her hand over to Xue Zhuang's forehead, indeed he is burning a high fever.
"He must have caught the chill from being up the mountains over an extended period." Xia Yue Chu sighs. "He had only just got better for a few days, we shouldn't have let him stay before the graves by himself for such a long time."
"Sister-in-law, what do we do now?" Qin Zheng is fundamentally still a child. At such a moment, he has lost his own judgement and can only look to Xia Yue Chu for directions.
"I'll watch over him, you go quickly loop up the cart and go into the city to invite the doctor." As Xia Yue Chu is speaking, she is already bringing over a basin of chilled water from the outside. Wringing a cloth and spreading it onto Xue Zhuang's forehead.
Qin Zheng rushes out in a hurry. Then Xia Yue Chu takes a few steamed cakes and chases behind him, letting him eat on the way.
Xia Yue Chu nurses Xue Zhuang. She eats her own lunch negligently and figures that when he wakes up it would be better for him to eat rice porridge, so she goes out again, grabbing two handful of rice grains and cooks the porridge.
The cold handkerchief on Xue Zhuang's forehead is simply like trying to extinguish a cart of firewood with a cup of water, it warms up not long after putting it on.
Xia Yue Chu continues to change that handkerchief, but she still feels that Xue Zhuang's temperature seems to have gotten higher ceaselessly.
Originally, his cheeks are only slightly warm, but now it feels as if it is heated enough to cook an egg.
Xia Yue Chu begins to fret, unable to sit still. If this goes on, the person will break down from overheating.
She mixes a portion of warm water, uncovers Xue Zhuang's collar and wipes him down on his front chest and back, his armpits and around his neck.
She wipes him again and again after a certain period. After the fourth or fifth round, his fever finally reduces a little.
Xue Zhuang's mouth moves, he seems to have something to say.
Xia Yue Chu moves closer to listen, only to hear him mumbling. "… sorry to you… Yue Chu…"
"Ai…" Xia Yue Chu's hand that is wiping him stops for a moment as she sighs softly.
.
Thankfully not long after that, Qin Zheng has brought Doctor Tang over, Xue Liang Ping also follows them in.
Upon observing Xue Zhuang who is flushed red in fever all over, the usual smile on Doctor Tang's face is gone instantly.
After monitoring his pulse, he sighs. "It was not an easy feat to cure the cold he caught previously, it is even better now, this is much fiercer compared to the previous time."
"What can we do now?" Xue Liang Ping asks worriedly.
"Grab some medicine to eat, first get the temperature down, the rest has to let him recuperate slowly." Doctor Tang finishes writing the prescription and hands it over to Qin Zheng and continues. "Seeing his condition, he appears to have released a deep burden suddenly, and evoked a chill into his body as he became relaxed. It looks dangerous but as long as he is being nursed carefully, he will get better quickly as well."
Burden?
Xia Yue Chu immediately recalls Xue Zhuang's crying figure before the tomb of Madam Xu.
"Releasing a matter of the heart is a good thing, he should eat medicine and get nourished if he is sick." Xue Liang Ping pulls out some money to pay for the consultation fee. "Many thanks to you Doctor Tang, we have troubled you again to come so far over here."
Xia Yue Chu instructs Qin Zheng in a low volume. "Send Doctor Tang back carefully, after getting all the needed medicine, see also which shop sells Chinese yam and buy some back."
"Right right, cook some Chinese yam porridge for him." Doctor Tang bobs his head repeatedly when he overhears her, turning to Xue Liang Ping. "Da Zhuang's wife is a not bad one, she is sensible and knows how to care for others well."
Xue Liang Ping also bobs his head repeatedly when he hears that, what is said is true. He has the same thoughts as well.
Madam Zhou is leaning on the window in her own room, focusing on listening to what is happening outside.
Xue Yong is laying on his brick bed with one leg sloppily crossing over the other and cannot help but comment. "What is there to hear!"
Madam Zhou rolls her eyes at him and continues eavesdropping.
Until the sound of the ox cart leaving the house can be heard, she then returns to the brick bed. Nudging Xue Yong with with her toes, she whispers. "You say, why is there such a coincident. Just returning from the tombs and he became so sick to have lost his conscience?"
"What did the doctor say?" Xue Yong asks dully.
"The doctor says he caught a cold, but why do I feel that…" Madam Zhou stops at the mid-sentence and swallows back her words, hesitantly as if she dares not continue speaking.
"You this person, why do you only say half of what you want to say!" Xue Yong catches Madam Zhou's feet and tickles her. "Say it quickly!"
"Aiya, you don't tickle me, I'll say, I'll say!" Madam Zhou is afraid of tickles, so she pleads repeatedly. Then she sticks herself closer to Xue Yong and tells him in a voice that only can be heard by him. "I am saying, he couldn't have brought back home something unclean from the mountains, could he?"
Xue Yong shivers when he hears that and backs away a distance. Looking at Madam Zhou suspiciously. "You don't say such nonsense, it is strangely frightening!"
"You see, I didn't want to say so, but made me say it." Madam Zhou puffs up her cheeks and blames him. "When I said it, you get so fearful!"
Xue Yong jumps in quickly. "Who is fearful, I am legitimately a man of seven chi**, my masculine energy*** is so strong, will I be afraid of these things! I am only concerned about you, you are carrying a baby now, it is your most delicate period, there cannot be a speck of error."
At first Madam Zhou is elated to hear that, then she cannot help but worry.
"If really, something unclean has been brought back, it will not affect badly on our son, will it?"
Xue Yong is overwhelmed by anxiety instantly, losing all his drowsiness in this moment and crawling to get up.
"What to do then!"
Madam Zhou's eyes roll a few rounds in her sockets and comes out with an idea for him. "If not you go ask Mother about it, Mother has a lot more life experiences then us, surely she has a better solution!"
"That is for sure, I will go ask now." Xue Yong slips on his shoes and heads out.
Madam Zhou urges him from the back anxiously. "You don't go telling her that I told you to ask!"
"Rest assured, think I'm stupid!"
Madam Sheng has been feeling uneasy recently, her health has also been sickly, upon hearing what her son has said, she cannot help but run wild with her thoughts.
In the west wing room, due to Xue Zhuang's temperature that could not be lowered over a period, Qin Zheng and Xia Yue Chu both could not sleep well.
When the day is just about to brighten up, Xia Yue Chu is sitting on the edge on the brick bed with her back leaning against the attached trunk as the headboard, dozing off lightly. All of a sudden, she hears a sound of drumming coming from the outside and also a noisy ruckus that she cannot make sense of.
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Translator Notes:
*The blue dye that is extracted from the indigo plant is even more blue than the plant itself, meaning the student who was taught by the teacher has surpassed the teacher in their skills.
**Chi is the unit that Chinese uses to measure length. Typically, it is the length of one's foot. And in the Chinese anatomy, the proportion of a man's height to his foot's length should be seven to one. Therefore, the saying of 'legitimately a man of seven chi' is used to describe someone who is manly and well built. That's why, in the case of Feng Yong Yuan, there was an emphasized on how short he is, because he is out of that proportion, and it is very apparent to them.
***Masculine energy (Yang) and Feminine energy (Yin). The direct translation of Yang should be 'light' as in the sunlight, and Yin should be 'shadow' as in the shade. They are widely used terms in the Chinese culture, some used in the traditional Chinese medical aspect, some used in the Chinese religious context, specifically Taoism.
In this dialogue, it refers to their superstitious belief of the mythology and the supernatural. That the unclean spirits, be it ghosts or curses, are all connected to the dead and can only live in the shadows. Therefore, Man, in particularly, who are full of this Masculine energy that is similar to the light, they are able to dispel the negative attributes of these unclean spirits.
Translated by Yellow. Sep 2022.