Jiang Hu, upon hearing Matchmaker Wang involve his old mother, immediately jumped up and shouted:
“The one who bumped your belly and caused your miscarriage was Ma-shi! Don’t you randomly involve my mother!”
Seeing that there were only their own people in this inner room, he didn’t avoid the topic and straightforwardly said: “Ma-shi has quite a bit of private savings in her hands, and also a few silver accessories that were part of the Ma family dowry. Just dig those out and be done with it, don’t be too serious. Fifty taels of silver is indeed not little, but can it compare to marrying me and becoming my proper main wife? My family has no less than twenty mu of farmland. Just the yield from the land alone can sell for ten or so taels a year.”
“Peh!” Matchmaker Wang spat a mouthful of saliva right onto Jiang Hu’s face.
She sneered coldly and said: “Jiang Erlang, who are you trying to fool? Your family indeed has twenty mu of farmland, that’s not false, but all of it is grasped in your old mother’s hands.”
“Don’t say the yield can sell for ten or so taels — even if it sells for over a hundred taels, what does that have to do with Old Woman here? Would Old Woman be able to get a single copper coin?”
“Even if in the future your old mother dies, there’s still a sixteen-year-old boy in the family. The clan would never divide the farmland to this old woman, the stepmother.”
“Whether I marry or not, we’ll talk about that later. But these fifty taels of silver in compensation, Old Woman must get it into her hands. This is something I used the fetus in my belly to exchange for — don’t even think about swallowing it!”
Jiang Hu, seeing she wouldn’t let go, gritted his teeth and promised: “After the follow-up consultation, when I send you back, I’ll go home to gather the money!”
Jiang Chun, who had been watching this big drama for quite a while, spoke up at just the right moment:
“Second Uncle, yesterday during the big holiday, my grandmother ran to our house to borrow money and made my husband so angry he fainted, and even vomited blood.”
“This morning he woke up with a high fever and kept coughing non-stop.”
“Out of regard for my father, I won’t hold it against my grandmother. But if anyone from your family dares to come again to disturb my husband’s recovery, I will settle all accounts with you. You’ll compensate the five hundred and fifty wen I spent today!”
Jiang Hu let out a heavy breath from his nostrils and said nothing.
Qi Wenli, who had just walked in from outside, heard this and his brows twitched.
What kind of nonsense is this Jiang niangzi saying? There wasn’t a single true word in it.
But this was their Jiang family’s internal affairs — he couldn’t be bothered to get involved, and just pretended not to have heard a thing.
After entering, he first reached out and touched Song Shi’an’s forehead — then immediately got scalded by the heat.
At once, he turned and walked out again, raising his voice toward the rear courtyard: “Su Mu, is the medicine done brewing? Hurry up!”
From that side, Su Mu’s voice came faintly: “It’s done. Let me cool it with well water first, then I’ll bring it over.”
Qi Wenli let out a breath of relief and returned to the inner room, relaying to Jiang Chun: “The medicine is brewed, cooling with well water and will be brought right over.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Chun also let out a breath of relief: “Doctor Xiao Qi, thank you for your trouble.”
On the other side, Jiang Hu was not pleased and hurriedly said: “Doctor Xiao Qi, please quickly take a look at Lady Wang — her belly is in great discomfort.”
“Alright,” Qi Wenli answered good-naturedly and lifted his foot to walk over. Jiang Hu immediately stood up and gave up the chair.
“Coming, coming, the medicine is coming!”
Qi Wenli’s young servant, Su Mu, rushed in holding a bowl of pitch-black decoction.
Jiang Chun quickly stood up and reached out: “Give it to me.”
Su Mu placed the bowl into her hand and reminded: “I’ve cooled it with well water — drinking it now is just right.”
“Much obliged,” Jiang Chun thanked verbally. In this countryside place, extravagant habits like giving monetary tips weren’t the custom, so she didn’t take out her coin pouch.
She first placed the medicine bowl on the small table beside the bed, helped Song Shi’an sit up, then with difficulty reached for the bowl again and brought it to his lips, feeding him bit by bit.
Although Song Shi’an was delirious from the fever, the moment the bitter medicine touched his lips, his consciousness was sobered a little from the bitterness.
Realizing that this was a life-saving decoction, he strained to part his lips and arduously swallowed it down little by little.
The decoction moistened his dry and reddened throat — it was like being cut by a knife, hurting so much that his brows furrowed tightly, almost wrinkling into a 川 character.
But he still persisted in drinking the entire bowl of decoction clean.
Jiang Wan, who had gone out for some matters, happened to return at this time, holding an oil-paper package in his hands.
Seeing Jiang Chun holding an empty medicine bowl, he immediately handed over the oil-paper package and smiled: “Coming early is not as good as coming at the right time! Here — bought some preserved fruits for nephew-in-law, quickly stuff one into his mouth to sweeten it.”
Jiang Chun placed the medicine bowl back on the small table beside the bed, took the oil-paper package, picked out a piece of preserved fruit, and stuffed it into Song Shi’an’s mouth.
Then she smiled and said to Jiang Wan: “Uncle, you said you were going out for some matters, but turns out it was to buy preserved fruits for my husband? He’s not a child anymore, don’t spoil him.”
Jiang Wan scratched his head and gave a simple-minded smile: “In Uncle’s eyes, you two are still just children.”
Jiang Chun moved a chair over and had Jiang Wan sit down.
After Jiang Wan sat, he looked around the room, and only then noticed the situation on the bamboo bed to the south. His brows instantly knitted and he said with displeasure: “Erlang, how are you still entangled with Matchmaker Wang? Does my aunt know?”
Jiang Hu looked over at the voice and saw that it was his cousin Jiang Wan. He was first startled, then casually waved his hand and said: “Don’t concern yourself with my matters. Also don’t go before my mother and talk this or that.”
Jiang Wan was the future clan head, and by rights had authority over Jiang Hu. Upon hearing this, he stood up immediately, about to argue with him.
Jiang Chun reached out and tugged his sleeve, shaking her head at him.
Jiang Wan hesitated for a moment, then sat back down.
Jiang Chun picked out a preserved fruit and popped it into her own mouth. While chewing, she leaned a bit closer to Jiang Wan and lowered her voice: “My uncle wants to divorce my aunt and marry Matchmaker Wang as his proper main wife. But Matchmaker Wang won’t agree unless he gives her fifty taels in compensation. Otherwise, she’ll go to the county yamen and sue my aunt and grandmother. My uncle promised to go home and raise the money.”
Having said this, she summarized: “Evil people have other evil people to grind them down. Uncle, don’t get involved. Just let them… cough, torment each other.”
She nearly said “dog bites dog,” but recalling that Jiang Hu still carried the title of her actual uncle, she twisted her tongue in time.
Jiang Wan also didn’t want to get involved, but Jiang Hu was a clansman of the Jiang family, and the ones causing trouble were his mother and wife. If the two of them really got thrown into prison, it would bring shame to the whole clan.
However, what Jiang Chun said also made sense — for now, he would not meddle.
Matchmaker Wang, that shrewd woman, who was good at coaxing others, could certainly coax Jiang Hu into coughing up the money.
As for how the three of them would tear at each other afterward — that would be their own business.
—
After drinking the medicine, Song Shi’an fell asleep again and slept for a full half a shichen [2 hours].
When he woke, his entire clothing was drenched in sweat.
Whether it was due to the sweating or not, Jiang Chun felt his forehead and exclaimed in surprise: “It’s not so hot anymore. Doctor Xiao Qi’s medicine really hit the mark.”
But after the fever subsided, Song Shi’an’s body became even weaker — he didn’t even have the strength to sit up, and could only lie there like a useless person.
But his mouth had a sweet taste.
He vaguely remembered that after drinking the decoction, Jiang Chun had stuffed something into his mouth — whether it was sugar candy or preserved fruit, he didn’t know.
She had to keep watch over him, so she definitely didn’t have the time to run out and buy it — most likely it was Jiang Wan who bought it.
This paternal cousin uncle actually had a good relationship with Jiang Chun and her father. Far better than that cheap second uncle Jiang Hu.
Since Song Shi’an was already awake, it wouldn’t be proper to continue occupying the medical hall’s space. After asking Doctor Xiao Qi to help take his pulse once more, Jiang Chun planned to return home.
She took her father’s lined jacket and draped it over Song Shi’an, then skillfully picked him up in a horizontal carry and placed him in the back compartment of the mule cart. She followed him up and then tightly wrapped him in her embrace.
After returning home, Jiang Chun placed Song Shi’an onto the kang in the west room. Then she went to the kitchen to boil a pot of hot water.
She mixed a basin of warm water using Song Shi’an’s wooden basin, brought it into the west room, soaked a cloth towel in it until it was thoroughly wet, and then said to him: “Your clothes are soaked through. I’ll wipe your lower body and help you change into clean clothes.”
“No need, I…” Song Shi’an was greatly alarmed and hurriedly refused.
But just as the words left his mouth, Jiang Chun cut him off: “Just say it — can you wipe your own body or can you change your own clothes?”
Right now, Song Shi’an’s entire body was limp like a noodle — he could neither wipe himself nor change clothes on his own.
He was silent for a long time, then compromised and said: “Wait, wait… wait for Dad to come back, and let him help me wash and change clothes.”
This “Dad” — he really found it rather difficult to say.
Jiang Chun rolled her eyes at him and coldly snorted: “Dad went to Qingyan Town to buy pigs. He won’t make it back until nightfall. Are you planning to stay in wet clothes for half the day?”
Seeing him lower his eyes and remain silent, she threw the towel back into the wooden basin and huffed angrily:
“If you catch a chill and your wind-cold worsens later, don’t expect me to take you to see the doctor again!”
Song Shi’an took a deep breath and used all his strength to try and struggle to sit up. But after flailing around for quite a while, he only barely managed to lift his head an inch.
He closed his eyes in despair, then said in resignation: “You do it then…”
Jiang Chun immediately beamed with joy.