Chapter 149: Cheng Ren's Grave Illness

The old master was puzzled, but his feet hurried towards the front gate. Madam Li inside the house also heard the commotion and rushed out. "Where is your brother-in-law? Since he is back, Old Fifth should be back too." With these words, she dashed outside.

Arriving at the front gate, a carriage had just come to a halt. Xiuli and Jiang Binghao stepped down from the carriage. Xiuli immediately threw herself into Madam Li's arms. "Mother, take a look at my fifth brother. He is so sick he is almost dying."

Like a thunderbolt striking out of a clear blue sky, Old Master Gu and Madam Li were stunned on the spot. "What? What happened to Old Fifth?" The elderly couple hurriedly rushed toward the carriage. They saw quilts spread across the carriage bed, with Gu Chengren lying in the middle. His complexion was as pale as paper, his eye sockets were deeply sunken, and he was completely unconscious.

"My son, what has happened to you?" Seeing this, Madam Li began to cry uncontrollably. She threw herself against the side of the carriage, stroked her son's body, and wailed loudly.

The old master also swayed unsteadily on his feet for a moment before walking tremblingly toward the carriage. "Old Fifth, what is wrong with you? Old Fifth, are you trying to break your father's heart?"

Gu Chengren lay in the carriage, still unresponsive, while Xiuli wept bitterly. Jiang Binghao supported Xiuli, gently patting her shoulder to comfort her.

"Father, Mother, ever since my fifth brother came out of the first examination session, he had a slight fever. Back then, everyone was utterly exhausted, so we thought it was just fatigue and nobody paid much attention to it. By the time Fifth Brother gritted his teeth and finished all three sessions, his high fever refused to subside. The few of us hurriedly found a physician to treat him, and after finally taking some medicine, the fever gradually broke." Jiang Binghao then spoke in a low voice, recounting the course of Gu Chengren's illness.

"Who would have thought that Fifth Brother would then start suffering from severe diarrhea. At that time, we were just waiting for the examination results to be posted. We figured the physicians in the prefecture city were highly skilled, so we might as well treat Fifth Brother while waiting for the results. It wouldn't do for us to finish the grueling exams and rush back before the rankings were even announced. Fifth Brother was still conscious back then, and he didn't want to come back just like that, so we waited a few days."

"Unexpectedly, Fifth Brother's condition grew progressively worse, and the physicians in the prefecture city exhausted all their methods to no avail. In the end, almost anything he ate would pass right through him in its original form, even a bowl of rice porridge. I was burning with anxiety and simply decided to skip waiting for the results, heading straight back instead. Father, in this state, I'm afraid Fifth Brother might not make it." Jiang Binghao's heart ached intensely. He got along exceptionally well with Gu Chengren, and now they were relatives as well. Facing such a situation, he felt even more distressed.

The elderly couple were completely dumbfounded by this point, unable to think of anything else except staring at their son and weeping bitterly.

The carriage driver, looking somewhat disgusted, chimed in, "Since we've arrived, why don't you hurry up and carry him down? If you keep stalling and he ends up dying in my carriage, how am I supposed to make a living in the future?" Death was considered deeply unlucky, especially by those who made their living by hauling passengers.

By now, everyone in the Gu family courtyard had heard Madam Li's crying. Gu Chengzhong and the others hurried out and witnessed the scene before them. "Old Fifth, Old Fifth, what is wrong with you?" Gu Chengzhong cried out.

"Big Brother, let's carry Old Fifth into the house first, and we can talk afterward," said Gu Chengyong, seeing that everyone had lost their wits. "Child's mother, quickly go fetch our cousin and ask her to come take a look." Gu Chengyong had great faith in Miao Suwen's medical skills; at a time like this, she was probably their only hope.

***

Upon seeing this, Madam Feng hurried off toward the Miao household. When she arrived, she found Miao Suwen and Jiaoyan just seeing off a patient. "Cousin, hurry, come with my family. Old Fifth is gravely ill and on the verge of not making it. Please hurry!"

Hearing this, Miao Suwen did not say another word. She immediately turned around, grabbed her medicine box, and walked out. Naturally, Jiaoyan intended to follow as well. She called out for Ruyun to keep an eye on the house and then hastily accompanied them to the Gu residence.

The group arrived at the east wing of the Gu house, where Gu Chengren had already been carried onto the brick kang, still unconscious. Miao Suwen stepped forward to check Gu Chengren's pulse, only to find that his pulse was already exceedingly weak. "Jiaoniang, take out the white bottle with the red cap from the box. Take out two pills from it and feed them to your fifth uncle right away."

Jiaoyan nodded, immediately retrieved the pills from the box, and placed them into Gu Chengren's mouth, followed by some warm water to help him swallow them down. Jiaoyan understood that these pills were primarily meant to sustain Gu Chengren's vital energy and keep him out of immediate danger, but they would do little to cure the root cause of his illness.

Only then did Miao Suwen carefully question Jiang Binghao about the progression of Gu Chengren's illness. After listening, Miao Suwen pondered for a moment and immediately picked up a brush to write out a prescription. "Jiaoniang, go quickly and fill the prescription, then brew the medicine at once. Your fifth uncle's current state is far too dangerous." The Miao family kept a stock of medicines, but Miao Suwen dared not leave his side, so she had to send Jiaoyan to prepare the prescription. Fortunately, Jiaoyan was already quite familiar with the various medicinal herbs, and she clutched the slip of paper as she bolted out the door.

Meanwhile, Miao Suwen produced a set of silver needles and administered numerous acupuncture-like punctures across Gu Chengren's body. "Uncle, Aunt, please don't panic. Although Fifth Brother's condition is perilous right now, there is still a sliver of hope. I will do my utmost to treat him, so please set your minds at ease," Miao Suwen gently comforted Old Master Gu and Madam Li.

"My dear niece, I beg of you, you must save Old Fifth. My boy hasn't even started a family or left behind any descendants; he cannot just leave like this!" Madam Li had discarded her usual overbearing and arrogant demeanor. At this moment, she was merely a mother heartbroken over her son. Her face streamed with tears as she bowed repeatedly to Miao Suwen, pleading with her to cure Gu Chengren.

"Cousin, help the old madam go rest. In her current state, she won't help me save lives and will only cause disruption. Besides, she is no longer young, and excessive grief is bad for her health." Miao Suwen looked toward Madam Feng and motioned for her to take Madam Li away.

Madam Wu and Madam Feng hastily supported Madam Li out of the east wing and back to the main room. "Mother, don't worry. Cousin's medical skills are exceptionally brilliant; haven't you heard the stories lately? Didn't she just cure someone on the brink of death a few days ago? Rest assured, Old Fifth has great fortune and will definitely be fine." Madam Feng supported Madam Li, speaking softly to comfort her.

Madam Li grasped Madam Feng's hand tightly. "Is that true? You're saying Old Fifth will really be all right?"

Madam Feng felt a slight ache in her hand from Madam Li's grip, but she couldn't afford to care about such details now. "Mother, he will truly be fine, don't worry." Turning to Madam Wu, Madam Feng added, "Sister-in-law, stay here and keep Mother company. I'm going to help Jiaojiao brew the medicine; we must be quick."

Madam Wu nodded. "Go ahead, I'm right here." Madam Wu's heart was fluttering with panic as well, having never witnessed such a scene before. Madam Zhao was pregnant and dared not get close to this kind of situation, let alone Madam Xu, who had long since vanished to god-knows-where. Right now, Madam Feng was the most composed and could actually assist Jiaoyan with brewing the medicine.

Madam Feng stepped out of the main room just as Jiaoyan returned with the paper-wrapped herbs, and the mother-and-daughter duo hurriedly set about lighting a fire to brew the medicine. About three quarters of an hour later, the medicine was ready. Madam Feng carried the bowl of medicine into the room and spoon-fed it bit by bit into Gu Chengren's mouth.

***

"Half an hour from now, give him another bowl. Don't forget," Miao Suwen instructed.

Thus, every half hour, Gu Chengren was fed a dose of medicine. After three consecutive doses, his breathing seemed to grow slightly stronger. Miao Suwen continually checked his pulse and noted that it had also grown noticeably firmer, which finally allowed her to breathe a sigh of relief. She wrote out a new prescription and handed it to Jiaoyan. "Go fill this prescription now; we will need it shortly."

Jiaoyan examined the prescription, knowing that this was the proper remedy to treat Gu Chengren's diarrhea. The previous doses had been mainly to preserve his vital energy; otherwise, given the state Gu Chengren had been in earlier, he simply wouldn't have survived. "Don't worry, Master, I'll be right back." With that, Jiaoyan rushed off again.

Gu Chengren was fed two more doses of the medicine before Miao Suwen changed the prescription once more. The previous medicine had merely treated the symptoms, whereas the current formula tackled the root cause. Of course, since Gu Chengren's body was extremely weak, she had to exercise discretion and incorporate some mild restorative herbs into the mix; otherwise, his body wouldn't have been able to withstand it.

Time slipped away amidst the repetitive tasks of brewing and administering medicine, accompanied by the anxious waiting of everyone present. It wasn't until close to dusk that Gu Chengren's complexion finally began to improve somewhat. Miao Suwen let out a long breath. "All right, his condition has temporarily stabilized. Tonight, administer the medicine once every two hours. By tomorrow morning, he should regain consciousness. Jiaoniang, stay here and keep a close eye on him. If anything seems amiss, come fetch me immediately."

Miao Suwen packed up her belongings and departed from the Gu residence. Gu Chengyong and Madam Feng escorted Miao Suwen out to the front gate. "Cousin, thank you so much this time. If not for you, Old Fifth's life would truly have been hanging by a thread," Gu Chengyong said with utmost sincerity.

"Brother-in-law, please don't be so polite. Setting aside the friendship between our two families, even for an ordinary villager, I could not stand by and let someone die without helping," Miao Suwen replied with a wave of her hand.

"However, your fifth brother's ordeal this time was indeed quite perilous. It should have started as a simple cold, but unfortunately, it coincided with the examinations. He gritted his teeth and forced himself through the tests, which severely worsened his condition. He likely already had abdominal discomfort back then, but because the high fever persisted, the physicians focused entirely on breaking the fever and overlooked his other symptoms. At the same time, the medication they used was too harsh, so although the fever broke, the diarrhea became relentless," Miao Suwen sighed, shaking her head. "Because the delay was rather prolonged, he will likely need to recuperate for quite some time."

"No matter what, being able to pull him back from the gates of death is already a blessing," Madam Feng murmured quietly from the side.

After Miao Suwen left, Gu Chengyong and his wife turned back and returned to the east wing. Jiaoyan was currently sitting on the edge of the brick kang, keeping a watchful and devoted guard over Gu Chengren. "Jiaojiao, go rest for a while. Father will watch over him here. You must be exhausted today; don't wear yourself out. You're still just a child and can't handle this kind of strain." Seeing his daughter's serious expression, Gu Chengyong's heart softened as he stepped forward to urge her.

"Father, you must keep a close watch. If Fifth Uncle feels uncomfortable anywhere, call out immediately," Jiaoyan instructed before returning to her own room to rest. She really was quite tired.