“Alright, alright, I won’t laugh then.”
Xu Ping’an suppressed the laughter in his heart and poured a cup of tea for Zhao Pingzhi.
“Brother Zhao, since you’re here, your family head must already know about this. There’s something I’d like to ask you to relay for me.”
Zhao Pingzhi quickly held the cup with both hands, and after it was eighty percent full, he took a sip and put it down, looking at Xu Ping’an.
“What message does Mr. Xu have?”
“Regarding your young lady’s illness, I won’t charge a single cent, but I ask for two things. Firstly… this matter must not be spread outside.”
Zhao Pingzhi nodded.
“When I came, my master had already instructed me that this matter is known to you, me, the young lady, Xiao Jing, and the master. Besides us, absolutely no one else.”
“Good. Secondly, please tell your master that I am just an ordinary physician, seeking neither fame nor fortune, only wishing to live out my life in this rural village.”
Zhao Pingzhi solemnly agreed.
“I will certainly write a letter and convey these words. Sir, you are noble and elegant, seeking neither fame nor fortune. This is something I, Zhao Ping… have rarely seen in my life. I am impressed.”
“Not at all, I just dislike trouble.”
“What is Old Zhao talking about with the mister?”
As that pretty voice sounded, Li Yu’er walked out of the room.
“Young lady.”
“Sir, there’s no need to be so polite. Just treat me as a friend.”
“This…”
“Is Sir perhaps afraid?”
Upon hearing this, seeing a hint of slyness in Li Yu’er’s eyes, although he knew this was a verbal provocation, her frank demeanor made it impossible to feel any aversion.
“I didn’t expect Miss Yu’er to have such a little trick. In that case, I will humbly accept. Please.”
Li Yu’er sat directly on a chair and looked at Xu Ping’an.
“Sir, although it’s not urgent, I still want to hear how you plan to treat… cough cough cough~”
Suddenly!
Li Yu’er stiffened halfway through her sentence, her face instantly turning pale, followed by a violent cough. Several drops of dark red blood clots flowed from the corner of her mouth.
Seeing this, Xu Ping’an frowned slightly and quickly reached out to grab Li Yu’er’s wrist.
At this moment, he no longer cared about the etiquette between men and women.
He joined three fingers and placed them on her pulse, three inches up.
Xu Ping’an’s face changed drastically.
“What did Miss Yu’er eat yesterday!?”
“Ah?”
Zhao Pingzhi looked confused by the question. At the same time, Xiao Jing came out of the room and also heard Xu Ping’an’s words.
“Miss, she, she didn’t eat anything strange. It was just the pastries she usually likes to eat. Yesterday, Miss had a good appetite and even drank two bowls of porridge.”
Xu Ping’an took a deep breath and checked her pulse again.
His heart sank.
Li Yu’er’s pulse had been quite bad before.
Her Nine Yin Severed Meridian had almost completely cut off her vitality, and she was barely holding on by external forces.
Now, the vitality she had been supplementing from outside her body was rapidly dissipating.
She… was poisoned!!
“Miss Yu’er, please forgive my rudeness.”
There was no time for further explanation.
With her Nine Yin Severed Meridian constitution, no vitality in her body, and now a potent poison, ordinary medicine was completely ineffective.
Xu Ping’an abruptly stood up, scooped Li Yu’er into his arms, and strode towards the house.
This scene stunned Zhao Pingzhi and Li Jing.
Suddenly realizing what was happening, Xiao Jing’s face turned pale, and she rushed forward to block Xu Ping’an.
“What are you doing to my young lady!!”
“No time to explain! Brother Zhao, please watch the courtyard for me. Xiao Jing, come inside and help!”
Li Yu’er, throughout this, couldn’t utter a single word.
Blood continued to drip from the corners of her mouth, but her eyes were fixed on Xu Ping’an, her pupils reflecting his determined face.
Without any wasted words, before Xiao Jing could fully react, Xu Ping’an performed a footwork maneuver, his figure flashed, and he kicked open the door to the west room, placing Li Yu’er on the bed.
“Xiao Jing, take off her clothes! Quickly!”
“Ah?! This… how can this be? My young lady isn’t married yet! If her pure body is seen by you, what will she do in the future?!”
Xu Ping’an frowned at her words, his gaze solemn.
“Then you weigh it now: which is more important, your young lady’s purity, or her life!”
After speaking, he no longer paid attention to Xiao Jing, turning to the medicine cabinet behind the screen.
He pressed a switch, opened the secret compartment of the medicine cabinet, took out a small box, and from it, retrieved a ten-thousand-year-old snow ginseng.
Ginseng is an excellent thing.
Especially aged ginseng.
In the past, if a woman’s constitution was poor during pregnancy and childbirth, a few slices of hundred-year-old ginseng placed in her mouth could replenish vitality and strength.
However, ordinary families didn’t have such resources.
Walking out from behind the screen, he saw Zhao Pingzhi standing outside the door.
Without a word, he handed over the ginseng.
“Slice it all. Keep the fibrous roots. The cutting board is there, hurry! Also, boil a pot of hot water!”
Zhao Pingzhi took the box, utterly bewildered.
Upon seeing the completely snow-white ginseng inside, he was almost beyond comprehension.
Xu Ping’an lit a candle, then looked up to see Zhao Pingzhi still dazed in place, and couldn’t help but yell:
“What are you standing there for?! Go!!”
This furious shout, like the roar of a dragon and tiger, instantly jolted the previously dazed Zhao Pingzhi awake.
“Ah! Yes, I’m going, I’m going!!”
Zhao Pingzhi almost instinctively straightened his back, hurriedly taking the ginseng to the cutting board.
He picked up the knife to slice it, then heard Xu Ping’an’s voice.
“Each slice one fen thick. Put all the roots in a bowl. When the boiling water is ready, pour it directly over the roots!”
“Yes!”
Zhao Pingzhi now understood the urgency of the situation.
He didn’t know why he was slicing this thing, but the man was an expert, and he could only obey.
Seeing Zhao Pingzhi begin to slice the ginseng, Xu Ping’an finally returned to the room.
He looked up to see Xiao Jing’s conflicted face and Li Yu’er lying on the bed, half-dead.
“Why haven’t you taken them off yet?!”
“I… I…”
Xiao Jing was now on the verge of tears.
She looked at Xu Ping’an, then at her young lady.
Societal norms and her deep concern left her at a loss.
Xu Ping’an immediately understood.
He handed the candle to Xiao Jing, came to the bedside, and looked down at the speechless Li Yu’er.
“Miss Yu’er, the situation is urgent. I will only say this once, listen carefully. You are poisoned. Previously, your life was forcibly maintained by external medication, but now the toxins have invaded your organs, and all the vitality supplied by those medications has been consumed. If you want to live, you must listen to me.”
“If you agree, blink twice. If you don’t agree, blink once.”
Li Yu’er, lying on the bed, immediately blinked twice.
Xu Ping’an breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Xiao Jing.
“Your young lady has agreed. Quickly!”
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