bestfiction Chapter 167: Going home
Chapter 167: Going home
Chapter 167: Returning Home
Ji Meiqing asked again, but no one came up.
"Don't you have any chili peppers?" she asked, her concern for Lu Yu's illness growing anxious.
"Chili peppers... what are they?" someone in the crowd suddenly asked. Ji Meiqing then noticed their blank expressions. She remembered that chili peppers were not a local product, but were introduced from India.
There is no Silk Road now, so chili peppers don't exist. Even if they did, ordinary households wouldn't have them.
She hadn't expected it, but then she thought that with so many elderly, weak, women, and children here, it was impossible that there wasn't a doctor. So she asked directly, and the person she looked at timidly pointed in one direction.
Ji Meiqing threw the silver in her hand directly at him. Seeing that there was a reward, the others were no longer afraid. Instead, they wanted to get closer to the money pouch on her waist.
She walked directly in that direction, and not far along, someone told her she had arrived. She stopped and looked at a house nearby, from which wafted the aroma of medicine; it was indeed the doctor's residence.
Having found the clinic, she went inside without saying a word. Pushing open the door, she found it dimly lit, with only a tiny, bean-sized light from the candles.
She went straight in and found a place to sit down.
"Is the doctor here?" she called out.
Suddenly, there was a sound from the corner. She turned around and saw an old man, probably in his seventies, walking over with a winnowing basket.
"What is it, young lady?" The hoarse voice sounded more like fingernails sliding across a blackboard, sending chills down one's spine.
Ji Meiqing suppressed her discomfort and explained Lu Yu's symptoms, then asked, "Does the doctor have any medicine?"
"Yes," he said, then slowly walked back. Hearing rustling sounds inside aroused her curiosity, but she suppressed it. When the doctor came out with the medicine, Ji Meiqing didn't ask any questions, simply tossed down the money, took the medicine, and left.
Lu Yu's illness couldn't be delayed, so she went back to the house and started preparing the medicine. She poured all the herbs into a jar and simmered it over a low flame.
She stared for a while before going back to check on Lu Yu. He had also gotten out of bed, wearing the same clothes he had worn the day before. He then tied on a robe, completely concealing his figure.
"Why are you up?" She went over anxiously, and because she wasn't tall enough, she could only stand on tiptoe to check the temperature on his forehead.
His body temperature was still alarmingly high. Looking at his lips, which were white from the high fever, Ji Meiqing poured him another cup of tea.
"Please sit down first. I'm preparing your medicine. We'll go back after you finish eating."
She said a lot, then looked at Lu Yu, while the medicine outside was slowly simmering. Ji Meiqing remembered and immediately ran out again.
The medicine was still simmering, filling the air with the aroma of Chinese herbs. Not wanting the medicinal effects to be diluted, she didn't open it.
The fire in the stove grew higher and higher, and Ji Meiqing went straight to Lu Yu's side after a while.
He was holding a teacup, seemingly lost in thought, when Ji Meiqing waved it in front of him a couple of times, and he finally snapped out of it.
"what happened?"
"What's wrong with you?" She glanced at him. "You seem distracted."
"I'm afraid you'll abandon me," Lu Yu said honestly.
Ji Meiqing blushed, unsure how to respond.
"You're quite adept at sweet talk. You must have said it many times."
"No, it's the first time." He denied it, his eyes sparkling but not at all. Ji Meiqing looked at him with some skepticism, then muttered, "I'll reluctantly believe you."
The two stayed for a while longer before Ji Meiqing went to check on things. The medicine was ready, and she used a cloth to hold it and brought it up, then poured it into a bowl and handed it to Lu Yu.
In just a short while, the room was filled with a strong bitter smell. Lu Yu looked at the dark, unappetizing Chinese medicine and unconsciously swallowed.
Ji Meiqing noticed this small gesture immediately. As if she had seen something strange, she looked at Lu Yu and laughed, "So you're afraid of bitterness!"
Lu Yu glanced at her, then looked at the soup.
"Who prescribed this medicine for you?"
"Doctor." She wasn't worried and didn't suspect anything, but seeing his worried look, she turned her attention to the bowl of medicine. "You don't suspect there's something wrong with this medicine, do you?"
Lu Yu handed the medicine back. "There's something wrong with the herbs. Do you still have the dregs?"
"Yes." She nodded hurriedly, searched the back for a while, but couldn't find the dregs of the medicine. The remaining medicine in the jar was gone, as if it had been washed.
Holding a medicine jar, she walked in with a somber expression. "The medicine has all been thrown away; there's no medicine left in here."
"Let's go quickly." He immediately got up and pulled Ji Meiqing away. Ji Meiqing followed him out of there.
People kept their distance along the way, and no one came near. They managed to leave the area safely.
They could leave this place if they continued walking, but Lu Yu was still injured and couldn't go much further. It was a desolate wilderness; they'd have to go back and get the people from those villages to help him.
He walked and stopped frequently, and the exercise made him sweat quite a bit. Ji Meiqing pulled him forward and led the way.
By the time they got back, it was almost night. Unable to enter the city, they had no choice but to return to their old village to rest.
Fortunately, when she left, she didn't move much of the things in the house. She changed the blankets and mattresses on the bed, and then helped Lu Yu lie down on it.
"I'll go boil some water, you should rest first."
She watched him lie down before feeling at ease enough to go out and find something to eat. It was late at night, and most of the village had already left. Fortunately, Li was still at home and hadn't left with the rest of the villagers.
Upon seeing Ji Meiqing, Madam Li was somewhat surprised. She quickly welcomed her in and, after a few moments of fuss, asked, "Why are you back so soon? Did something happen on the way?"
She was clearly a little nervous.
Ji Meiqing shook her head. "Lu Yu and I ran into some trouble and came back temporarily. He... is injured."
"Ah..." Li looked worried. Ji Meiqing knew what she was thinking, so she comforted her, "It's alright, they're alright."
"That's good, that's good." Li was relieved and asked about Lu Yu's condition. Ji Meiqing thought for a moment before asking, "Do you have any food here? I want to take some back to cook for Brother Lu."
"Yes, yes." She busied herself getting some vegetables from the back, then looked at Ji Meiqing and smiled somewhat awkwardly, "That's all we have at home."
"It's nothing, thank you." She took it, and then took out a few taels of silver from her pocket and put them in her hand, "Consider this as payment for the groceries."