Chapter 20: Let’s See Who Can’t Step Down
By the time Chen Bai arrived at the Gan residence, Qi Zheng was already waiting at the gate.
Chen Bai hurriedly said, “There are some medical tools in my carriage. I need people to carry them inside.”
They were all the tools for giving a child an IV drip, bought according to the doctor’s instructions.
He had learned first aid before, but he had never actually done this in practice. Still, in this era, he was probably the one most familiar with this method of treatment, so he had to do it himself.
According to the doctor’s description, there could not be the slightest delay.
As they entered the residence, the atmosphere was clearly oppressive. Only the Shang twins’ two dogs were running around the courtyard.
The moment they entered, they heard someone who looked like an imperial physician sighing and saying, “It is a little too late. If the illness had been discovered earlier, I might still have been able to do something. But now, we can only leave it to fate and see whether the young master can endure it himself.”
What he did not say was that even if the child endured it, with such a persistent high fever, his brain would probably be damaged. There was a very high chance he would become mentally impaired.
As soon as the imperial physician said this, several members of the Gan family nearly lost their footing.
The young master had fallen into a well yesterday, but he had been rescued in time. At the time, he had seemed fine. They had thought he had only been frightened and would be all right after a night’s sleep. But early the next morning, they discovered his condition had taken a sharp turn for the worse. His body alternated between cold and hot, he kept muttering in his sleep, and he simply would not wake.
The Gan family understood what the imperial physician meant by “leave it to fate,” and tears immediately began to flow.
At this moment, Chen Bai was led into the room by Qi Zheng. The child lying on the bed inside was quiet, his little brows tightly furrowed, his face flushed red from fever. He was sweating constantly and looked especially pitiful.
It was also because Qi Zheng had brought him that Chen Bai could enter the inner room directly.
Time was urgent, so Chen Bai quickly prepared to put the child on an IV drip according to the doctor’s instructions.
“What are you doing?” someone shouted after noticing Chen Bai touching the child on the bed.
Chen Bai no longer had time to answer him. Fortunately, Qi Zheng stepped in and stopped them. “Let him take a look. He is the first retainer of my residence.”
Only then did the people in the room notice Chen Bai’s attire: a mask and red robes.
The imperial physician opened his mouth. He had originally wanted to say that it was already too late, but in the end, he swallowed the words.
As for the Gan family, they had heard somewhat of this first retainer of Qi Zheng’s residence. Chen Bai’s constant air of mystery somehow gave people an extra measure of trust.
Only…
What was Mountain Lord doing? Why could they not understand it at all?
A bottle they had never seen before was hung on a pole. It was filled with water, and he injected something else into the bottle.
Then it was connected to a strange transparent tube, one end of which looked like a needle.
That Mountain Lord actually stabbed the needle directly into the young master’s wrist. He pricked him several times, and blood even came out.
Several members of the Gan family covered their mouths.
Clear water could be seen flowing through the transparent tube into the child’s body.
What kind of treatment method was this? If they had not seen it with their own eyes, they would never have imagined it.
Their eyes all turned toward the imperial physician.
At this moment, the imperial physician’s eyes were practically about to fall out of their sockets. Why look at him? He was more confused than anyone.
But no one dared disturb Chen Bai, because everyone knew this was their only hope.
Chen Bai tried his best to steady himself, constantly repeating the steps the doctor had told him in his mind.
He had already explained all the symptoms to the doctor before coming. Whether it was the medicine or the dosage, everything was done exactly according to the doctor’s instructions, without the slightest deviation.
Although he had never actually given an injection before, he had annual physical exams every year, so at least he understood the basic principle.
Qi Zheng watched Chen Bai seemingly stop, then walked over and asked in a low voice, “Why did you keep pricking his wrist with the needle just now?”
“My hands are inexperienced. I couldn’t find the spot.”
Qi Zheng’s face twitched. No matter how one looked at him, he seemed like a barefoot doctor. Luckily, his voice was low. Otherwise, he would definitely have been dragged out and beaten to death with rods.
“Can he be cured?” Qi Zheng asked.
Chen Bai thought for a moment and replied, “More or less.”
This was not something he himself had said; it was what the online doctor had said.
It was not some difficult or complicated disease to begin with. It was a malfunction in the body’s regulation system caused by sudden, extreme cold.
As long as the medication was appropriate, there would not be any problem at all.
As for the persistent high fever, the antipyretic ingredients in the drip entered the bloodstream directly and could reach every part of the body. Compared with physical cooling methods like wet towels or alcohol, it would take effect many times faster.
Now, all they had to do was wait.
After only about fifteen minutes, the redness on the child’s face actually showed signs of fading. The cold sweat on his forehead also lessened, and even his expression gradually calmed.
His delirious muttering had been caused by these symptoms. Now that the symptoms had begun to subside, he naturally improved as well.
The imperial physician observed most carefully. His voice trembled a little as he said, “May I examine the child’s condition?”
Chen Bai was stunned. He was just a toolman responsible for hanging the IV. He did not understand any medical principles or pharmacology, so he nodded.
The imperial physician carefully took the child’s other hand out from under the quilt and began to feel his pulse.
Then his whole person looked as if he had seen a ghost. “How is this possible? He is actually improving so quickly.”
His eyes swept toward the IV bottle. “What divine medicine is this?”
How would Chen Bai know? Whatever the doctor told him to add and how much to add, he simply followed the instructions.
At this moment, the Gan family members also prepared to step forward.
Chen Bai quickly said, “Let’s talk to the side.”
Only then did Chen Bai notice that Gan Xun, one of the Three Dukes, was actually present as well. Just now, in order not to delay anything, he had not noticed him at all.
The other two should be the young master’s parents. The rest were all waiting outside the room.
Gan Xun immediately asked, “Has his condition improved?”
It seemed he was extremely fond of this young master.
The imperial physician said, “At this rate, he will likely wake by noon.”
Everyone: “…”
Just fifteen minutes ago, this imperial physician had said they could only leave it to fate.
Even Gan Xun could not help glancing at that eerie hanging bottle.
The courtyard outside the room was even livelier. Through the window, they could more or less see what was happening inside and hear the voices from within.
“He’s improving?”
“That Mountain Lord only arrived a short while ago, and he’s already improving this quickly?”
“I didn’t see him use those colorful pills from the rumors. Instead, he hung up a strange bottle.”
Outside, the story was already spreading like something divine and mysterious. Quite a few people carefully peeked in through the window. Fortunately, they knew to keep their voices low. These people were actually all members of various branches of the Gan family.
Meanwhile, the people inside the room waited quietly.
As time passed, the child’s improvement became visible even to those who were not physicians.
Chen Bai finally breathed a sigh of relief.
By noon, the child on the bed blinked and woke up.
He looked delicate and scholarly, especially likable.
But the moment he woke, he opened his mouth and started crying.
The woman in the room quickly stepped forward to comfort him. Chen Bai had originally thought that the child had been frightened and was only reacting slowly, so now he was finally crying out of fear.
In the end, the child sobbed until he could barely speak. “Today… today is my birthday, but I… I didn’t have time to invite Brother Bai.”
“I counted the days on the almanac one by one. What should I do? If Brother Bai doesn’t come, what should I do?”
The whole room fell silent. Even the courtyard outside fell silent.
Chen Bai was also completely stunned. This child had survived a disaster, but the moment he woke up, he was still thinking about him?
He did not know whether to laugh or be angry.
At this moment, someone outside said, “Old Master, since Thirteen has improved, this is a happy occasion. Why don’t we send people to notify the other families that the birthday banquet will proceed as usual?”
The child’s name was Gan Xin. He ranked thirteenth among his generation, so the family was used to calling him Little Thirteen.
In ancient times, there was a saying that happy occasions could dispel misfortune. This suggestion was not abrupt.
Gan Xun looked at Gan Xin, who had just recovered from a serious illness but was crying so miserably. He was truly pitiful. Gan Xun said, “When the time comes, you must obediently rest and recover. You are not allowed to make trouble.”
Gan Xin blinked. “Remember to send Brother Bai a separate invitation. A separate invitation. Only then will Brother Bai send a separate gift.”
He had planned these things long ago and had been waiting for this day.
Chen Bai: “…”
The Gan residence immediately became busy. They had to notify each family that the banquet would continue as planned.
The Gan family really did write a separate invitation and had someone deliver it to the Tingwei residence.
Chen Bai looked at the IV drip, which was nearly done, removed the needle, and tidied everything up. Then he packed the children’s medicine the doctor had instructed him to use into individual paper packets and handed them to Qi Zheng.
“Three times a day, one packet each time.”
Then he said, “I’ll leave first.”
Qi Zheng was stunned. This banquet of Duke Gan’s had, aside from the fact that Gan Xin was too pitiful to refuse, another intention: it was specially meant to thank this demon. Why was he leaving now?
Chen Bai said, “I still have to go undergo my tribulation.”
Wasn’t this exactly like undergoing tribulation? By now, that separate invitation from the Gan residence was already on its way.
His split-off identity could not possibly appear at the banquet at the same time.
There was no way around it. At least as Mountain Lord, he could still be a little “willful” and simply slip away. But as Chen Zixiu, could he refuse an invitation from the Gan residence?
Qi Zheng’s head hurt. How was he supposed to explain this to Duke Gan? This was the first retainer of his residence.
But if a demon was going off to undergo tribulation, he could not stop him either.
When Chen Bai returned to the Tingwei residence, Madam Ronghua was already sending people everywhere to look for him.
Good. He had only just returned, and now he had to head right back to the Gan residence again, without even having time to catch his breath.
Having too many identities was bad in this way. If their schedules overlapped, it could exhaust a person to death.
Before he left, Madam Ronghua happily instructed him, “Prepare a proper gift. Your father has been troubled by some matters lately and needs some connections…”
Chen Bai thought to himself, I just gave the Gan residence a huge favor, but unfortunately, I can’t make it public.
As for what gift to buy?
Chen Bai smiled. He could more or less guess what those classmates of Chen Xiaobu’s were thinking.
By the time Chen Bai set off, something unpleasant was happening on Qi Zheng’s side at the Gan residence.
Crown Prince Jiao had actually come to attend the banquet in person.
“What a grand manner the first retainer of Imperial Brother’s residence has. Duke Gan personally set up this banquet for him, yet he left without saying goodbye?”
Gan Xun’s expression also did not look very good. Although leaving without saying goodbye was discourteous, compared with saving his grandson, what did that amount to? He, the host, had not said anything, but Crown Prince Jiao had loudly dragged the matter into the open.
Now everyone felt embarrassed.
Crown Prince Jiao continued, “Imperial Brother, I wonder what sort of important matter your first retainer has, that he even dares to slight Duke Gan?”
Qi Zheng glanced at Crown Prince Jiao. Since Crown Prince Jiao wanted to make him unable to step down gracefully, he could not blame Qi Zheng for being impolite.
Of course, he definitely would not say that the demon had gone off to undergo his tribulation. Instead, the corners of his mouth suddenly lifted. “Imperial Brother may not know yet. For the fourth question set by Duke Shang, we have won.”
Come then. Sit down and let’s talk slowly. Let’s see who can’t step down today.
