The room was filled with candlelight, as every flame had been lit, illuminating everything brightly.
Jian Ru was squeezed to the side of the bed, anxiously rising onto his tiptoes to look over.
A man in his late twenties sat at the bedside, concentrating as he took the patient’s pulse. He was handsome, with sharp, well-defined features, though one side of his clothing was fastened incorrectly, clearly something thrown on in a hurry. At that moment, his brows were tightly furrowed, and his expression was grim.
Beside him, an elegantly dressed elderly woman with sharp, alert eyes sat at the head of the bed, holding a handkerchief as she wiped sweat from the patient’s face. Worry was written all over her expression, and she sighed from time to time.
Aunt Jin stood nearby, softly trying to comfort her.
These two were Li Jintong’s elder brother, Li Jinfeng, and their mother, Madam Li.
In addition to them, three young women stood around the bed, all with tightly furrowed brows and worried expressions, occasionally whispering to one another. Behind them, Xiao Ning tugged at his sleeve, pacing back and forth with a long, troubled sigh.
After Li Jintong fainted, Jian Ru had quickly dressed and rushed out to find help.
He had entered wearing a red bridal veil, unfamiliar with everything. Once outside, in the dim light, he saw only a small courtyard: one bare tree on each side, and several surrounding rooms with their lights off, making it unclear whether anyone was inside.
Panicking, he stomped his foot and called out, heart racing, “Is anyone there?! Xiao Ning! Xiao Ning, are you there?!”
After only two calls, a candle lit up in a side room, and Xiao Ning soon rushed out, throwing on an outer robe.
Jian Ru rushed forward and grabbed his arm at once, shouting, “Quick! Go call the Madam! The Second Young Master has fainted!”
Xiao Ning tightened his expression, answered quickly, and hurried off.
As for Jian Ru, he returned to the room, closed the door to keep the cold wind out, and went back to the bedside.
Li Jintong was breathing rapidly, sweat covering his forehead and face. Jian Ru reached under the blanket to check him… within just that short time, the collar of his inner garment was already soaked through.
He quickly went to the wardrobe to fetch another set of Li Jintong’s usual inner clothes, and also took a thin blanket from the luggage he had brought. He efficiently pushed aside the heavy bedding, swiftly removed the sweat-soaked clothing, and, using careful technique, turned the unconscious man as needed. He wiped him thoroughly with a cloth across the chest, back, and underarms. Once he was dry, he dressed him in clean clothes and covered him with the lighter blanket.
After finishing this, he soaked a cloth in water, wrung it out, and placed it on the Second Young Master’s forehead. Then he looked around, went to the table, poured a cup of water from the teapot, and was just about to bring it to the bedside to feed the unconscious man.
At that moment, hurried and chaotic footsteps entered the courtyard, and Xiao Ning’s voice called from outside the door: “Young Master Jian! The Madam and the Eldest Young Master are here!”
Jian Ru quickly set the cup down and opened the door.
The Eldest Young Master was at the front, striding in quickly, his robe flaring behind him. Behind him, Aunt Jin supported the old Madam as she followed.
Jian Ru stepped aside to make way. The Eldest Young Master glanced at him, nodded slightly, then went straight into the room and headed directly for the bedside.
The others followed in a rush, sweeping past Jian Ru like a gust of wind. Only the last to enter, a young woman with gentle, refined features, paused briefly and gave him a reassuring smile.
After that, Li Jinfeng sat by the bed and took his younger brother’s pulse.
After a short while, he released Li Jintong’s wrist and lifted his eyelids to check him, then said thoughtfully, “The pulse is floating and tight, with fever. It is an exterior cold invasion.”
“Ever since the last time he fell into the water,” Madam Li said, “we’ve been careful not to let him go out in the wind, precisely to avoid catching a cold! He was also dressed in several layers for the wedding today… by all logic, this shouldn’t have happened!”
“He was likely worn out after a full day of exhaustion,” Li Jinfeng replied.
Upon hearing this, Madam Li let out a cold snort and glanced toward Jian Ru.
Only then did Jian Ru meet the old Madam’s reproachful gaze. But she had already withdrawn her eyes and stopped looking at him.
He understood immediately: they were blaming him for the illness caused by the wedding. He also recalled what Sun Yushuang had said about the Madam disliking him. He felt a little wronged, but since the Second Young Master was still sick, he couldn’t possibly argue with his mother-in-law in front of the bed. So he held it in and said nothing.
“What should we do? Use the same prescription as last time?” asked a woman in her mid-twenties.
“Yes,” Li Jinfeng nodded. “Use the same medicine.”
“Alright, I’ll go prepare it,” the woman immediately answered. She then left briskly, even calling Xiao Ning along to help.
The room quieted down for the moment.
Madam Li gently touched her youngest son’s blanket, then his clothing, checking for any dampness. Seeing everything was clean and dry, her expression eased slightly.
Just then, a young, clear voice suddenly asked, “Eldest Brother, will he be alright after taking the medicine?”
Everyone turned toward the voice.
They saw the new bride who had just entered the Li household standing in a corner at the foot of the bed, watching them intently. His face, half marked by a scar, could not hide his worry and urgency.
Li Jinfeng looked at him, seemingly surprised that he would speak to him so directly. After a brief pause, he answered, “He will wake up tomorrow. But the cold won’t recover that quickly. He should take this medicine for three days. After that, I will reassess whether it needs adjustment.”
Jian Ru visibly relaxed and said, slightly bowing his knees, “Thank you, Eldest Brother.”
“It’s nothing,” Li Jinfeng shook his head, as Jian Ru added, “He sweated a lot earlier. I was just about to give him some water.”
“He should drink more water,” Li Jinfeng nodded. “It will help reduce the fever.”
Everyone then watched as the thin, limping new bride moved quickly to the table like a gust of wind. Without any hesitation about being observed, he poured a cup of water, tested it himself, poured a second cup, and then limped briskly back to the bedside with it in hand. Li Jinfeng stood up and stepped aside to make room.
But the new bride said to Madam Li at the bedside in a clear, crisp voice, “Mother, please step aside a little. I’ll feed your son some water.”
As soon as those words were spoken, everyone around them looked at one another in surprise, exchanging glances.
Madam Li’s expression turned unpleasant. She glanced back and forth over Jian Ru as if about to lose her temper, but Aunt Jin quickly stepped in, placing a hand on her shoulder and gently soothing her. Madam Li let out a cold huff, then rose and stepped aside.
Her children were all equally stunned.
Jian Ru, however, paid no attention. He stepped lightly to the bedside, placed the cup on the nearby table first, then bent down. One hand slipped under the patient’s neck and shoulders, the other supported the inner shoulder. Without appearing to exert much effort, he lifted the unconscious man into a half-sitting position and let him lean against him, while he himself sat down at the head of the bed.
Then he picked up the cup of water. With one arm still supporting the Second Young Master’s shoulders, he gently tilted his chin. The unconscious man’s lips parted on their own, and Jian Ru brought the cup to his mouth, carefully feeding him a small amount at first. Only after seeing him swallow did he continue, slowly giving him a sip by sip.
After finishing, he looked up, and only then realized that the entire Li family was silently watching him.
He paused for a moment, then carefully lowered the man back onto the bed, covered him with the blanket, and removed the cloth from his forehead. He rinsed it in the basin, wrung it dry, and placed it back again.
Li Jinfeng’s gaze swept over the cloth on his brother’s forehead, then to the thick blanket pushed aside, and the sweat-soaked clothes draped over the chair. “Well done,” he nodded in approval.
Few people ever praised Jian Ru, so he gave a slightly shy smile.
Madam Li had also noticed everything. Her gaze moved over those details, then to the scar on his left face and the faint limp in his leg. Her expression grew complicated and somewhat irritated, as she ordered, “Enough. Once Jinhui finishes brewing the medicine, you’ll feed it to him. Let Xiao Ning stay here tonight to help you look after him.”
“Let Xiao Ning go to sleep,” Jian Ru shook his head. “I can handle it myself.”
Clearly unused to being contradicted, Madam Li frowned as if about to object, but Jian Ru continued, “He can take my place during the day tomorrow.”
Madam Li’s expression tightened. She looked at her unconscious son, then at the new bride. Thinking that they would still have to rely on him in the future, she suppressed her temper and said, “Fine. Do as you please.”
With that, she left.
Aunt Jin followed behind her, turning back to glare at Jian Ru in frustration. But Jian Ru ignored her and stubbornly turned his face away, which only made Aunt Jin even more annoyed.
After the old Madam left, Li Jinfeng gave a few more instructions about the night and left with the two young women as well. Not long after, Xiao Ning returned with the medicine, saying that the Eldest Young Lady had also gone back to rest.
Xiao Ning was then sent away to sleep too. He was still young, and Jian Ru worried he might grow short if he stayed up too late.
In the end, Jian Ru carefully blew the medicine cool, and fed it to Li Jintong spoon by spoon just as before, then gave him a couple of sips of clean water to clear his mouth.
That night, Jian Ru barely slept. He kept checking the patient’s temperature, changing the cloth on his forehead frequently, and even replaced his inner clothes twice.
By the time the sky outside turned faintly pale, Li Jintong’s fever had finally completely broken.
Only then did the exhausted Jian Ru lie down, close his eyes, and drift into an uneasy rest.
T.N: If you like his novel, you can read up to chapter 19 on my Patreon, with new updates coming every week!
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