"The Fourth Miss Song in Tinglan Courtyard..."
Doctor Zhong frowned, his face turning a bit solemn. He let out a soft sigh, as if the girl had contracted an incurable disease.
Ji Lingchuan had no intention of prying into Song Yihuan's secrets. It was already extremely impolite of him. But upon hearing Doctor Zhong's sigh, his heart tightened, and he found it hard to breathe.
"What's wrong?"
Doctor Zhong hesitated for a moment, looking at Ji Lingchuan. He lowered his voice and reminded him,
"It's normal for a young and vigorous young master like you, but you should still moderate your sexual activities. That young lady had a miscarriage, which damaged her health and made it extremely difficult for her to conceive. Now that she hasn't fully recovered and has had sex again, she will keep having vaginal bleeding. If this continues, her body will become even weaker. In her condition, it's best to abstain from sex for a month."
"What did you say?" Ji Lingchuan was so shocked that he momentarily forgot to correct Doctor Zhong that he and Song Yihuan were not in that kind of relationship.
A miscarriage?
Extremely difficult to conceive?
Was Doctor Zhong talking about Song Yihuan?
How could this be possible?
Ji Lingchuan instinctively denied this thought, but before his eyes, images of Gu Yunzheng's repeated entanglements and provocations flashed, as well as her intimate gestures with a man on the street more than once.
Why not? She had told Gu Yunzheng in Lanfang Garden that she was the kind of woman who would climb up the social ladder and choose the best man to marry.
She was used to using her background and beauty to gain men's pity and love. Wasn't Gu Yunzheng hooked by her?
Ji Lingchuan clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms, forcing himself to maintain his composure.
"This matter concerns a young lady's reputation. Please keep it a secret, Doctor Zhong. If you leak a single word..."
Doctor Zhong bowed hurriedly and said, "Don't worry, Young Master. I will never tell anyone. If I break my promise, I'll accept any punishment from you!"
After seeing Doctor Zhong off, Ji Lingchuan turned around and returned to the Prince Ning's Mansion. He was originally heading towards Jingtao Courtyard, but when he came to his senses, he found himself on the way to Tinglan Courtyard.
He stopped in his tracks, his face as cold as ice. He immediately turned around and walked quickly towards Jingtao Courtyard. He didn't even respond when Fuzhou, Fuxing and others saluted him. He slammed the door shut behind him.
His chest heaving violently, Ji Lingchuan saw the jar of green plums on the antique shelf and suddenly burst out laughing.
Song Yihuan, good, really good tactics. This woman had been leading him around by the nose for so many days. He should have kicked her out of the Prince Ning's Mansion immediately when he saw her true colors with Gu Yunzheng in Lanfang Garden. Then there wouldn't have been so many things later!
He wouldn't have been bewitched by her, dreaming of being entangled with her again and again, indulging in her soft calls of "Young Master".
"Fuzhou!" he roared.
The next moment, Fuzhou pushed open the door and walked in. "Master, you called me?"
Ji Lingchuan looked coldly at the jar of green plums on the shelf and said, "That thing is an eyesore. Take it away. You can smash it or throw it away. Just don't let me see it again."
Fuzhou was startled by the anger in his words and quickly replied, "Yes, I'll do it right away."
Fuzhou stepped forward to take the jar down. Ji Lingchuan then said, "Also, find an opportunity to go to the bookstore and retrieve 'Yangshan Miscellany'. No matter how much silver that copyist spent to buy it, I'll pay three times the price to buy it back."
Fuzhou replied with a "Yes" and then carefully backed out with the jar of green plums in his arms.
Ji Lingchuan sat on the chair, raising his hand to rub his wrinkled brow. The anger and restlessness in his heart still couldn't be vented. He felt a dull pain in his shoulder wound, as if he had pulled it. The pain reminded him of how he got this wound and who had bandaged it for him.
"Fuzhou!" Ji Lingchuan called again.
Fuzhou returned to Ji Lingchuan's room again. He was even still holding the jar of green plums in his arms.
"Put the thing back," Ji Lingchuan said in a deep voice.
Fuzhou responded with an "Okay" and carefully put the jar back in its original place. Looking back and seeing Ji Lingchuan looking in pain, he kindly asked, "Then, should I still go to the bookstore to retrieve 'Yangshan Miscellany'?"
"No need," Ji Lingchuan threw a money bag at him. Fuzhou caught it clumsily.
"Tomorrow, you take this silver to the bookstore owner.
"No matter how much the copyist has copied, no matter how much the bookstore owner charges her per book, double that price. I'll pay the extra money. Ask the bookstore owner to keep it a secret and not spread the word."
Hearing Ji Lingchuan's words, Fuzhou widened his eyes in shock.
Their young master was so generous to a copyist he had never met? It was really strange!
After Fuzhou left, Ji Lingchuan looked at the jar of green plums and closed his eyes tightly.
Doctor Zhong came to the Prince Ning's Mansion in a sedan chair and left in one too. The sedan chair jolted as the bearers walked. Doctor Zhong recalled Ji Lingchuan's suddenly changing expression and wondered in his heart if he had done a bad thing out of good intentions.
Ji Lingchuan and Miss Song didn't seem to be in that kind of relationship? It was his fault. He had told others the patient's privacy without asking clearly.
"Doctor Zhong! Doctor Zhong, please wait!"
Suddenly, a voice called out from outside. Doctor Zhong came back to his senses and shouted, "Stop the sedan chair."
The sedan chair stopped and landed gently. Doctor Zhong lifted the curtain and looked out.
He saw a familiar figure standing outside, looking at him out of breath.
Doctor Zhong's expression softened, and he nodded. "Fourth Miss Song, it's you."
Song Yihuan tried to calm her heartbeat and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She smiled at Doctor Zhong. "I thought Doctor Zhong couldn't have gone far, so I chased after you. Fortunately, I caught up."
Doctor Zhong asked, "Does Fourth Miss Song have anything else to ask?"
Song Yihuan said somewhat shyly, "Doctor Zhong felt my pulse and wrote a prescription for me just now, but I don't know where the prescription has gone. Could you write another one for me?"
Because of what had happened just now, Doctor Zhong felt a bit guilty towards Song Yihuan. He said, "It's no trouble at all. There's a teahouse up ahead. Let's go there and sit for a while. I'll write another prescription for you."
Song Yihuan smiled. "Thank you, Doctor Zhong."
Inside the teahouse, Song Yihuan and Doctor Zhong sat in a corner of the main hall. Doctor Zhong picked up his pen and carefully wrote the prescription on the paper. After the ink had dried, he handed the prescription forward. "Fourth Miss Song, you must keep this prescription well this time."
Song Yihuan glanced at the prescription and then put it in her bosom. She nodded. "I won't lose it again this time. Thank you, Doctor Zhong."
Doctor Zhong packed up his things and was about to leave. Song Yihuan thought for a moment and called out again, "Doctor Zhong!"
"Is there really no other way to treat my younger brother's heart disease?"
Doctor Zhong paused for a moment, stroking his beard and smiling. "Coincidentally, the young master also asked me this question just now."
The young master? Ji Lingchuan?
Song Yihuan was stunned. She didn't expect Ji Lingchuan to be so concerned about Xuan'er's health and to have privately asked Doctor Zhong about it. A warm current quietly flowed through her heart.
Doctor Zhong said, "I also told the young master just now that I'm really helpless about your younger brother's heart disease. But there's a doctor in the countryside called 'the Carefree Divine Doctor'. He may have a way. You can try to find this person. However, this person may be hard to trace."
Song Yihuan's expression was firm as she replied, "No matter what, I have to try. Thank you, Doctor Zhong, for telling me this!"