bestfiction Chapter 226: The Mysterious Old Man
Chapter 226: The Mysterious Old Man
Chapter 226: The Mysterious Old Man
The doctor took her pulse and said, “Strange, the lady’s pulse is steady and there is nothing wrong. Please forgive my limited knowledge, I have no way to treat her.”
Lu Yu said, "Is there really no other way? Mei Qing hasn't been able to fall asleep for a long time."
"Young Master Lu, don't worry. Although I have no other choice, I know someone who is well-versed in astronomy and geography and can surely cure your wife. However, that man is arrogant and proud, and with this heavy rain, he probably won't come here with you easily. You'll have to visit him in person." The doctor wrote down an address for them.
"Thank you, doctor. Please come this way." Lu Yu went out to see the doctor off.
When she returned, Ji Meiqing was already ready to go out. "Let's go, before it gets dark, let's go find that expert. I don't want to spend another sleepless night."
Lu Yu, holding an oil-paper umbrella, helped Ji Meiqing onto the carriage. After getting on himself, he heard Ji Meiqing say, "Sigh~ I was thinking that it would be nice to stay home and sleep on a rainy day, but now I have to travel. This is really troublesome. I need to see what's wrong with me."
Lu Yu pulled her into his arms. "Don't worry, you'll definitely be able to sleep tonight. Didn't I tell you, this is a master?"
The two arrived at the address given by the doctor, but instead of a grand mansion, they found a thatched hut. Did all accomplished individuals prefer to live in seclusion? Ji Meiqing knocked on the door. "Is anyone home?" No one answered, so Lu Yu flung the door open and entered. "Hey, that's impolite," Ji Meiqing tried to stop him, but was already being pulled inside.
An elderly man, over sixty years old, spoke up, saying, "Who are you? What are you doing here? You barged in without my permission."
Ji Meiqing smiled sheepishly, "Grandpa, we meant no harm. I found this place by following a doctor's address. We knocked on the door, but no one answered. Because it was raining too hard outside, we came in by ourselves."
"Then what business do you have with me?"
"Old man, I've been having nightmares every time I try to sleep lately, which makes me very sleepy but afraid to sleep. Do you have any suggestions?" Ji Meiqing was afraid that Lu Yu would offend the man, so she stopped him from speaking.
Why should I agree to help you?
"Old man, I can give you any amount of money you want."
I don't like money!
Ji Meiqing hadn't expected his answer and was momentarily at a loss for what to do. She glanced around the old man's residence; there were many wine bottles. Ji Meiqing smiled slightly, "That makes things easier."
"Then, sir, what if I exchange it for something else?"
"what?"
"liquor!"
"Sure, if I'm interested, I'll treat you for free."
Seeing that the transaction was successful, Ji Meiqing asked Lu Yu to get the wine from the carriage. After all, it was a frequently used carriage, and there were bound to be many kinds of wine on it.
"Old man, this is peach blossom wine, pear blossom wine..." Ji Meiqing introduced it to him.
After the old man finished singing, he shook his head and said, "Although they all taste very good, I am still not satisfied."
Ji Meiqing had a sudden inspiration. "Old man, wait a moment, I have something I've got hidden away." This time, she didn't let Lu Yu get it, but went herself. Lu Yu guessed what she was talking about and followed her out.
Sure enough, what Ji Meiqing was holding was Yuqing Wine.
"Meiqing, are you really going to take it? This is a secret between the two of us." Although Lu Yu understood her, he still didn't want her to do it.
“Brother Lu, I wouldn’t have brought this out if there were any other way, but we have nothing else that can tempt him right now, so we have no choice but to try this.”
"Alright, the wine can be brewed again. You are more important than the wine. Go ahead, I was just blinded by greed." Lu Yu was genuinely concerned for Ji Meiqing, afraid that she couldn't be cured. If this old man could really cure Meiqing, then what was a mere jar of wine?
Ji Meiqing offered the Yuqing wine to the old man to taste, saying, "Good wine, good wine. I promise to help you with your illness."
"Really? Then, old man, what do you think?"
"I knew where your problem lay from the very first sip of this wine."
As Lu Yu listened, something seemed amiss, and he coldly said, "What do you mean? You mean there's something wrong with the wine!"
"Yes!"
"Are you getting senile? You drank, and I drank, so we're fine. Don't blame my drink just because you can't tell." Ji Meiqing tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to stop talking.
“Young man, I haven’t finished speaking yet, why are you in such a hurry? Didn’t you notice that we’re both men? The wine itself is fine, but the key is that it contains a plant that has a stimulating effect on women’s nerves. Normally, it wouldn’t be a problem, but since it’s been thundering and raining these past few days, its effect is amplified. The effect usually lasts for seven days.”
"Oh no! Does that mean I can't sleep for seven days?"
"Haha, silly child, since I have promised to treat you, I will definitely see it through to the end. But this wine will be my payment."
"Alright, then you shouldn't give this wine to anyone else. It's a secret between the three of us. It's a pity I can't drink anymore!"
"Why not? Everything in the world has its counterpart. Adding one more thing to this wine will not only eliminate this drawback but also make it taste better." The old man wrote down what they needed. "You can find it at the flower shop. It's also something that can help you sleep. Once you buy it, just make it like you would tea."
Ji Meiqing and Lu Yu said goodbye to the old man and went to the flower shop.
On the way, Lu Yu said to Ji Meiqing, "I'm sorry, I didn't expect this to happen."
"It's okay, it's not your fault. Besides, we've already found a solution, haven't we?"
After that, neither of them spoke again.
Because the old man's place was somewhat remote, it took them quite a while to reach the flower shop. By the time they got out of the car, the rain had lessened considerably. After buying their things, they hurried home in case the rain started to intensify again.
After all that back and forth, it was getting late. Lu Yu brewed some for her and watched her drink it before taking the food out. When he came back in, he asked, "Do you want to eat something? Otherwise, even if you recover from your sleep in the middle of the night, you'll wake up hungry." Ji Meiqing obediently ate some.
This time, Lu Yu didn't return after leaving. Ji Meiqing was exhausted from all the day's activities and hadn't slept for about twenty hours, so she lay limp on the bed, drowsy. She fell asleep quickly.
Lu Yu hadn't actually left; he was just guarding Ji Meiqing's door. He was worried that Ji Meiqing would still have nightmares at night. By the middle of the night, Lu Yu had fallen asleep outside the door. Fortunately, the rain had stopped by then.
The next morning, Ji Meiqing opened her sleepy eyes early. She had slept so well. She opened the door and instinctively shielded her eyes from the glaring sunlight. Glancing to her side, she saw Lu Yu asleep, sitting there. With a pang of concern, she knelt down and woke him. "Brother Lu, why are you sleeping here? What if you catch a cold?"
Lu Yu mumbled incoherently, "I was afraid this thing wouldn't work, and you had nightmares again in the middle of the night, so I wanted to stay here for a while, but I ended up falling asleep."