Chapter 3
The Fang ancestors were all farmers who worried about food and drink all day long. They were not enthusiastic about elaborate clan matters like maintaining an ancestral hall to worship ancestors, something only larger families did. It wasn't until Fang Yu's generation that the family became slightly more prosperous and managed to join the scholar-official class. Even so, there were not many memorial tablets placed in the ancestral hall.
Qiao Hezhi had been kneeling on the cold, hard floor, staring at the mere few rows of tablets for nearly two hours.
These past few days, when he went to attend to Fang Yu, the man was unwelcoming and gave him the cold shoulder. After paying his respects to his mother-in-law, he had to come here to serve the ancestors. He knew his mother-in-law and Fang Yu were intentionally being harsh. There was no chance to be lazy or cut corners, because maids would come by periodically to check on him. Today, someone had even come and taken away the kneeling cushion from the ancestral hall.
His body was already suffering from a cold. After kneeling for so many hours, his knees were cold, painful, and had gone stiff.
Feeling dazed, his body began to stop obeying him, and his vision kept blurring and darkening...
Fang Yu had just arrived outside the ancestral hall when he heard a dull thud from inside. He rushed in and found Qiao Hezhi had fainted on the floor.
Siyu panicked and rushed in: "Young Master!"
Seeing the person only frowning but unable to open his eyes, his whole body as soft as if he had no bones, Fang Yu knew he was seriously ill. He scooped him up in his arms: "Siyu, go quickly and fetch a physician."
"This servant will go right away."
Fang Yu carried him all the way back to Xiaotong (小桐院, small tung tree) Courtyard where Qiao Hezhi lived. The servants they passed along the way quickly stepped aside.
Although they maintained a respectful posture, their eyes darted about shiftily, stealing furtive glances.
Once Fang Yu was far enough away, they immediately started gossiping like a swarm of bees.
Fang Yu, of course, didn't notice any of this. He hurried to Xiaotong Courtyard, laid Qiao Hezhi on the bed, took off his shoes and socks, and tucked him under the covers.
The charcoal fire in Xiaotong Courtyard was burning hot, much warmer than in his own room. Although the room was scented with warm incense, it couldn't overpower the smell of medicinal broth. It seemed this frail young master had been ill for a long time.
Looking at that pale, not very large face nestled in the bedding, now flushed with an unnatural redness, his brows remained tightly furrowed without relaxing. Fang Yu tentatively placed his hand on the person's forehead. Sure enough, it was burning hot.
Feeling both indignant and worried, Fang Yu paced around the room several times, repeatedly asking about the physician. It took quite a while before he finally saw one arrive.
"Physician, please come inside..." Just as he was about to usher the physician in, an elderly maid sent by Fang Yu's mother, arrived with two young servant girls, creating a commotion as she deliberately appeared at that precise moment.
"Oh my, what luck, you've called a physician. The Old Madam is suffering from a terrible headache. Master, please bring the physician to see her quickly."
"Headache?" Fang Yu frowned. He thought the timing of this elderly maid's arrival was clearly meant to cause trouble. "How did it come on so suddenly? Have you not been taking good care of her?"
"Master wrongs this old servant," the elderly maid said, holding her hands and acting quite authoritative in the Xiaotong Courtyard. "Although this old servant hasn't been serving the Old Madam for long, I know she has always suffered from head-wind ailments. These headaches come without any set pattern."
[头风症 (tóufēng zhèng): lit. head-wind ailment; fig. a traditional Chinese medicine term for a condition characterized by chronic, recurring headaches, often attributed to pathogenic wind affecting the head.]
Fang Yu shot the elderly maid a sidelong glance. It was true that Fang Yu-shi did have some wind-related illness that could flare up suddenly.
"The Old Madam is in real pain. Seeing as Zhengfu is just sleeping anyway, perhaps the physician could go see the Old Madam first? It shouldn't cause much delay."
"He fainted, he's not just sleeping," Fang Yu said coldly. "Since Mother is unwell, I will go see her first. Let the physician treat him first. Once the treatment is finished, he can go to Mother's room immediately."
The elderly maid wanted to say more, but seeing Fang Yu's unpleasant expression, she ultimately didn't dare defy her master. "Yes, as the Master commands."
"Siyu, take good care of your young master."
Siyu wanted to ask Fang Yu to stay. At a time like this, the young master definitely needed someone by his side for reassurance. But thinking of the elderly maid from Changshou Hall, she held her tongue, her eyes reddening as she nodded. "Yes."
Fang Yu took another look at Qiao Hezhi on the bed, then, with a furrowed brow, strode quickly to Changshou Hall.
"Yu'er, you're here!"
"Quick, Mother had Maid Qian go buy some sweet cakes from Changning Street. They're so hard to get, she had to queue for over two hours!"
As soon as Fang Yu stepped through the door, he saw the cheerfully smiling old woman reclining on the soft couch, looking very comfortable. A warming stove produced heat in front of her. The room was warm and filled with the sweet scent of pastries. Three or five maids surrounded her, one was pounding her back, another massaging her legs. The old woman, full of vigor, didn't look the slightest bit like someone who should be bedridden with a headache.
"Aren't you supposed to have a headache?"
Madam Chen raised her eyebrows. "Mother just wanted to call you over to have some cakes together. Otherwise, you'd still be tied up over there."
"If you wanted me to come, you could have just said so. Why did you have to make me call the physician away?" Even with a temper as good as Fang Yu's, he was now so angry his chest heaved. "Qiao Hezhi is still unconscious!"
"Why are you getting angry all of a sudden? The physician didn't even end up coming anyway." Madam Chen put down the cake in her hand, the smile fading from her face. She sat up, feeling that Fang Yu was truly acting strange today. After a moment's thought, she had a sudden realization. "That's right, if that young man falls ill, the servants the Qiao family sent over have long tongues. They're sure to go and complain, and the Qiao family will definitely come to make trouble."
"But maybe it's good if the Qiao family finds out. That young man of theirs is so sickly and weak, falling ill every few days. How can he produce heirs for the Fang family? They ought to compensate us with some more silver."
Seeing Fang Yu's expression grow increasingly grim, Madam Chen stopped speaking. Suddenly feeling a bit wronged, she said, "But wasn't it also you, son, who wanted Mother to pressure him, to make the Qiao family agree to marry Rao'er into the family sooner?"
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