Chapter 6: She is Wen Ru.
After leaving Wen Nianyue’s study, Fu Jizhou walked quickly with embarrassment. Zhu Sheng, who was left behind, passed through a long corridor and turned a corner before barely catching up to him.
Zhu Sheng hadn’t expected that after he entered the study to receive an order when Fu Jizhou came out, Fu Jizhou had already walked so far away. He had to jog to catch up.
“Young Master Fu… Young Cousin, please walk slower…” Zhu Sheng remembered Wen Nianyue’s instructions and changed his form of address halfway through. He bowed and then spoke, “The Mistress sent me to ask how you are finding your stay at Qingwu Courtyard, and if there are any personnel or items that need to be added… Currently, Qingwu Courtyard only has two young servants assigned, just 12 or 13 years old, which is certainly not enough. If Young Cousin is willing, please come with Zhu Sheng to the side courtyard, where you can choose suitable servants to attend to you at Qingwu Courtyard.”
While waiting for Fu Jizhou’s response, Zhu Sheng silently calculated in his mind what needed to be added.
Now that Fu Jizhou was no longer a guest staying for just a day or two, but for a long time to come, everything from the servants attending to him, to the gold and stone ornaments placed in the courtyard, to the precious flowers and plants, couldn’t be handled carelessly.
He also needed to make a trip to the estate’s accounting office. The new clothes tailored monthly and seasonally for Qingwu Courtyard, the books and ornaments added, the small kitchen in the courtyard, and the monthly allowance for Fu Jizhou’s expenses… all needed to be sorted out item by item.
Come to think of it, the East Mansion of the Wen family hadn’t had a male master for seven or eight years. Zhu Sheng felt secretly ashamed that he was somewhat out of practice and couldn’t sort things out clearly at the moment. He thought to himself that he should still go and ask Hua Ting later to avoid any mistakes.
The blush on Fu Jizhou’s face finally subsided after being cooled by the cold wind blowing through the rain. Seeing Zhu Sheng’s polite inquiries, he lowered his eyes and replied gently, “The guest follows the host’s arrangements. You can arrange as you see fit.”
Zhu Sheng nodded in agreement. As he was about to leave, he carefully instructed, “Young Cousin, Zhu Sheng will go make arrangements now. Please walk slowly. If Qingwu Courtyard is not yet properly arranged, the coming and going of people might accidentally bump into you.” After saying this, he casually called over two young servants and asked them to guide Fu Jizhou around the mansion to familiarize himself, and return to Qingwu Courtyard later.
Fu Jizhou was about to nod when he heard a commotion behind him. He turned to look towards the source of the noise.
Seeing his movement, Zhu Sheng also curiously looked over. The person leading the group was actually Hua Ting. Zhu Sheng was surprised for a moment, thinking that this saved him the trouble of going to find him. So he stood up straight and walked quickly over.
Hua Ting, who was talking to the mansion’s doctor, saw Zhu Sheng coming over and turned to reveal an extremely anxious face.
Seeing this, Fu Jizhou didn’t walk away but stood in place watching. He saw Hua Ting say something to Zhu Sheng, and Zhu Sheng’s brows furrowed tightly as well. They both headed in the same direction.
“Where does that path lead?” Although he had a vague guess, Fu Jizhou still asked the young servant standing nearby.
“In response to Young Cousin, it leads to Young Miss’s Hengxue Courtyard,” the slightly older servant looked up and respectfully answered, “The one following is the mansion’s doctor, Doctor Huang Yuqi. It should be her shift today. I heard her ancestors were imperial physicians, and back then the Mistress spent a fortune to recruit her.”
Fu Jizhou nodded upon hearing this, but after a while, he hadn’t moved a step. After Hua Ting and the others disappeared from sight, he suddenly spoke, “Take me to your Young Miss’s courtyard.”
After saying this, realizing he had spoken somewhat indiscreetly, he continued, “Your Young Miss might be ill. Let’s go over and take a look.”
The two young servants naturally had no objections and led him towards Hengxue Courtyard.
However, with each step, Fu Jizhou felt more and more uneasy. If Young Miss Wen was really ill, Hengxue Courtyard must be in chaos. He was neither a doctor who could treat and save people, nor a parent or sibling concerned about Young Miss Wen’s health. What was he going there for?
He repeatedly asked himself these questions in his heart but found no answer.
Due to the rain, the servants led Fu Jizhou through the covered corridors, taking a roundabout route that seemed to tangle Fu Jizhou’s thoughts into hundreds of knots.
“I’m going to retrieve the marriage contract,” Fu Jizhou finally thought of an excuse, feeling relieved, and quickened his pace.
The more chaotic it was over there, the better chance he had to take back that marriage contract in the confusion, right?
*
“Doctor Huang, what exactly is wrong with the Young Miss?” Hua Ting bent over, watching Doctor Huang take the pulse with eyes full of worry, his voice somewhat hoarse, “She was fine earlier, but around noon I thought she should at least get up for lunch, but we couldn’t wake her no matter what. The Young Miss doesn’t have a fever, but her face is as white as if it’s about to become transparent.”
Hua Ting’s description was a bit exaggerated, but Wen Ru’s complexion and lip color were indeed too pale. Her figure, which usually looked quite healthy, now looked like a weak kitten lying in the heavy blankets.
Hua Ting’s heart ached with worry.
Doctor Huang lifted off a layer of heavy brocade blanket before saying, “The Young Miss’s pulse is stable, her meridians are unobstructed without stagnation, and there are no signs of wind-cold illness.”
Hua Ting wanted to put the brocade blanket back on that she had lifted off. The Young Miss was clearly ill, and with the autumn chill and heavy dew, wouldn’t an extra layer be good?
“It might be due to daily exhaustion of vital energy, leading to insufficient blood and qi. She needs to rest well and nourish her spirit.”
Doctor Huang carefully examined Wen Ru’s eyes again.
The essence and yang energy travel upwards to the eyes to form the pupils (quoted from “Spiritual Pivot – Evil Qi Viscera Disease Form”). After her diagnosis, Doctor Huang concluded that Young Miss Wen was likely just slightly deficient in essence, yang, blood, and qi.
As she spoke, she got up and went to the outer room table to start writing a prescription.
Hua Ting followed closely behind her, lowering his head to watch Doctor Huang calmly writing the prescription, becoming more anxious: “Doctor Huang, will the Young Miss wake up after taking this dose of medicine? Are there any dietary restrictions to follow in the future?”
Doctor Huang thought for a moment and said, “Balance work and rest, don’t push too hard.”
In fact, she felt that Young Miss Wen simply lacked sleep, and the only abnormality might be her slightly pale complexion, but this wasn’t a big deal.
However, she would never say this out loud. She was too familiar with Hua Ting, who was always by Young Miss Wen’s side. She’d better write a nourishing prescription to let Hua Ting brew it and calm down.
Zhu Sheng stood to the side. His brow remained furrowed. Although Doctor Huang’s words and actions suggested there was nothing serious, who could truly be at ease when the Young Miss hadn’t woken up?
As he was pondering, a servant came over and whispered in his ear that Fu Jizhou was heading this way.
His expression paused slightly, feeling inexplicably relieved. Seeing that Hua Ting was still pestering Doctor Huang with detailed inquiries, he went out to greet Fu Jizhou himself, respectfully asking, “Young Cousin, why have you come here? The Young Miss is ill, and the people in the courtyard might not be able to attend to you.”
Fu Jizhou nodded slightly, his peripheral vision sweeping across the servants kneeling all over the courtyard. This scene indeed showed they couldn’t attend to others.
“I saw you all rushing about, and bringing a doctor, so I was a bit worried and came to see,” Fu Jizhou slowly followed behind him, stepping over the threshold of the main house in Hengxue Courtyard, “Is your Young Miss alright?”
“The Young Miss fell asleep for some unknown reason and couldn’t be woken up. The doctor has checked her pulse and written a prescription…” Zhu Sheng replied.
As he was speaking, Hua Ting pulled Doctor Huang out from inside, hurriedly walking towards the courtyard exit. As they brushed past Fu Jizhou and the others, Hua Ting didn’t notice at all. It was Doctor Huang who nodded in acknowledgment before hurriedly leaving.
Zhu Sheng stopped in his tracks, explaining to Fu Jizhou with a helpless expression: “This is just how Hua Ting is. At this moment, he’s in a rush to get medicine and brew it for the Young Miss, so he has no attention for anything else. I hope Young Cousin won’t take offense.”
“It’s fine.” Fu Jizhou naturally didn’t mind. Although he had only briefly encountered Hua Ting a few times, Hua Ting’s care for Young Miss Wen was too obvious. With such an attendant, Young Miss Wen must be very well taken care of.
As they were talking, Fu Jizhou was led to the inner room, where he immediately saw Wen Ru lying quietly on the bed.
Although they were betrothed, they weren’t married yet. Zhu Sheng had brought him in because he showed concern for his Young Miss, but it was absolutely impossible to leave him alone in the Young Miss’s bedroom. So he silently lowered his eyes and hands, standing to the side to keep watch.
As soon as Zhu Sheng retreated to the corner, Fu Jizhou’s heart immediately started beating nervously again.
Step by step, he approached, and Wen Ru’s face gradually came into view. Perhaps because he already knew she was ill, Fu Jizhou felt she was covered in a frail sickness. The baby fat on her cheeks had thinned, her pale face small and huddled weakly in the brocade blankets on the bed, looking very pitiful.
How had she become like this in just a few hours?
Fu Jizhou felt very helpless and unconsciously moved closer, even raising his hand, wanting to touch her paper-white face.
Seeing his movement, Zhu Sheng was about to speak up to stop him, but unexpectedly, Fu Jizhou’s sleeve was suddenly grasped by a delicate, slender white hand.
Fu Jizhou was startled and instinctively pulled back, but Zhu Sheng quickly stepped forward to stop him, looking together at Wen Ru lying there.
They saw that the person who had been sleeping so quietly just now was now curled up with her eyes closed, hiding the sleeve she had grabbed under her blanket, murmuring, “Mine… won’t let go…”
Zhu Sheng clearly heard his Young Miss’s voice and somewhat awkwardly glanced at the completely stunned Fu Jizhou.
“The Young Miss might be waking up. Young Cousin, please watch over her here for now. Zhu Sheng will go find Hua Ting and Doctor Huang to come back and take another look.”
Fu Jizhou looked up at him. The servant’s meaning was for him not to pull his sleeve back, right? What could he do but nod?
Zhu Sheng quickly went out, his expression much more relaxed.
However, things weren’t so optimistic on Wen Ru’s side. Her head felt like it was about to explode with pain. At first, she thought she would just gain a bit more of the original body’s memories to make future actions more convenient. Who knew that after falling into a deep sleep, the memories from the book suddenly changed face, becoming the host instead of the guest, constantly enticing her to become the real Wen Jinyi. This feeling was as if she could only be accepted by this world if she became Wen Jinyi.
Due to Wen Ru’s unusual movement, Fu Jizhou’s attention immediately shifted from his grabbed sleeve to Wen Ru’s small face, which was almost crumpled into a ball. For some unknown reason, Wen Ru suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, her beautiful brows furrowing tighter and tighter as she mumbled softly. Fu Jizhou leaned in to listen and heard her whispering “uncomfortable” over and over again in a voice as thin as a thread.
Fu Jizhou couldn’t bear it and simply sat down on the edge of the bed, using his other hand to gently touch her forehead. There was no fever, only cold sweat.
Could she be trapped in a nightmare?
“Miss Wen…” Fu Jizhou couldn’t help but gently push her, and as he called out, he switched to her full name, “Wen Jinyi, wake up, Wen Jinyi…”
Who is Wen Jinyi? Am I Wen Jinyi?
Wen Ru’s mind was very muddled. She grasped the sleeve in her hand even tighter and began to tremble slightly all over.
At this point, Fu Jizhou had completely forgotten about the marriage contract. He hurriedly pulled over the extra brocade blanket to cover her, hugged her over the blanket, and continued to call her anxiously, “Wake up, Wen Jinyi.”
So heavy, can’t breathe, and also, don’t call me Wen Jinyi, I’m not Wen Jinyi.
As her thoughts settled, a veil of confusion was suddenly broken through.
Wen Ru came to her senses and lifted her heavy eyelids to look at the boy who was bending over her with concern, her long lashes trembling slightly.
He had called the wrong name. She was Wen Ru.
