WSMTATMC C170

Chapter 170

Smallpox is a virulent contagious disease; once contracted, the fatality rate is extremely high, so Wang Ying dared not be careless and immediately ordered Lin Sui’s courtyard to be placed under isolation, with no one allowed to enter privately.

In the entire Chen household, only Aunt Chen had had smallpox as a child; with this disease, once contracted, it will not recur, so she personally attended to Qing’er.

All the clothes Qing’er had worn were burned and replaced with new ones, and Lin Sui and Wang Ying each returned to their rooms to bathe, fumigating themselves with mugwort to disinfect.

Once everything was in order, the two prepared to go to Qingfeng Monastery and beg the Daoist master to descend the mountain to save a life.

Sitting in the carriage out of the city, Lin Sui looked blank, his gaze unfocused on the carriage board.

Knowing he was worried for the child, Wang Ying said, “Qing’er is blessed with fortune and will surely pull through. Look at Aunt Chen—she had smallpox and has lived well into old age.”

Lin Sui came back to himself and nodded.

“Sister-in-law, do you think Qing’er’s smallpox was engineered by the Li family?”

Wang Ying started. “Are you saying the Li family deliberately wanted Qing’er to die?”

Lin Sui said, “Before, it felt abrupt that the Marquis entrusted Qing’er to me. Now it seems he already knew the Li clan’s malice and that if he led troops to war, they would surely move against her. It’s a pity I didn’t grasp his meaning earlier, giving the Li family an opening…”

The more Wang Ying thought on it, the more it seemed Lin Sui might be right. How else would the child suddenly come down with smallpox? And the rag she wore when brought back—coarse cloth clearly worn by servants—how did it end up on Qing’er?

Fortunately, it had all just been burned. Otherwise, if it had been tossed outside and picked up by someone, who knew how many would be harmed!

If Qing’er died of illness and Li Mu also fell in battle, then the Marquis of Wuping’s estate would rightfully become the Li family’s. Even if Lin Sui was Qing’er’s foster father, it would be of no use.

The Li clan’s malice was chilling to the bone.

Half an hour later, the carriage stopped at the foot of Qingfeng Mountain. At this season, the ice and snow on the mountain had yet to melt; few came to burn incense.

Cloaking themselves tightly, the two took the slippery steps one by one up the mountain.

Ancient shoes did not have non-slip soles; with cowhide bottoms on snow it was like wearing skates. Wang Ying’s heart was in his throat; several times he nearly slipped off the steps.

At last they reached the top, only for the gatekeeping Daoist to tell them to go back down the same way—Master Qingxu was already in seclusion.

Hearing this, Lin Sui hurried forward. “I’ve come to beg for a life. The child has smallpox, and I’ve heard Master Qingxu can cure it. I implore the Master to help!”

“Master is already in seclusion, seeking enlightenment. Benefactors, please return.”

Lin Sui knelt and began to kowtow. “Please, Master, help us—the child is only five…”

The Daoist said, troubled, “It’s not that I won’t help. It’s that Master has just entered seclusion and cannot come out.”

Wang Ying stepped forward to plead as well. “We had no other way and thus came to beg Master Qingxu. The child is the sole daughter of Marquis Wuping. The Marquis has gone to guard the border and defend the country—will the Master watch the Marquis’s only daughter die at home?”

After a long hesitation, the Daoist said, “Please wait, benefactors. I will speak with Master.”

Marquis Wuping and Master Qingxu were old acquaintances; when Qing’er had shingles before, they had sought him for aid as well.

Soon Master Qingxu came out. The old man was already over seventy, white-haired but still hardy. After asking clearly about the onset and course of the illness, he followed the two down the mountain together.

By this time, Qing’er had already fainted twice from the high fever, scaring Aunt Chen badly.

Following the young master’s instructions, she dared not bundle the child in too many clothes and instead used cloth soaked in warm water to wipe Qing’er’s neck, underarms, and groin to reduce the fever.

Red papules had already begun to erupt on the child’s neck and hands—these were smallpox lesions, which, as time passed, would spread over the entire body and suppurate, sparing not even the eyes; in severe cases, they could cause blindness and death.

Even in modern times, smallpox was an extremely terrifying disease; because there was no specific antidote, most treatment involved nutritional support and the patient’s own endurance.

In ancient times there was certainly no specific remedy either. However, Master Qingxu had a method of needling and bloodletting that could greatly lessen the harm of smallpox to the patient; he had previously saved people with it, and they did not later suffer sequelae.

By the time the carriage reached home it was midday. As soon as it stopped, the three hurried to the western side courtyard.

At the door, Master Qingxu stopped them. “This illness is out of the ordinary; once contracted, it’s hard to cure. The two young masters should wait outside.”

“Many thanks, Master.”

Before long, Chen Rong and Madam Li also hurried over. “How is Qing’er?”

Wang Ying said, “Master Qingxu has already been invited. Mother, Third Aunt, please return. We must watch the child closely these days—no one else should come.”

“Understood.” Madam Li knew the terror of smallpox. Years ago, an epidemic had broken out in Tianyang County, killing over a hundred; two of her aunts had died in that plague.

Chen Rong was full of worry. “Poor child…”

Tears welled in Lin Sui’s eyes. He had already lost one child—one who hadn’t even had time to see this world—and now, after finally having a daughter, she had come down with such an illness…

Wang Ying sent the two back to the main quarters. As for himself, since he had been in contact, he decided not to engage with Yuanbao for now, waiting until the incubation period had passed.

As time slowly passed, toward late afternoon the door finally opened and Master Qingxu emerged.

“Master, how is the child?”

Taking two steps back, Master Qingxu said, “I have tested the needles on her. Her life should be out of danger, but the eruptions must continue to come out before she can recover. Over these few days, take utmost care, or scars will remain on her face and body.”

“Many thanks, Master!” Lin Sui knelt and kowtowed in relief.

“Rise. I did not come for you. Marquis Wuping went to war for the country; though I have no personal friendship with him, I respect his character. If it were another, even for a thousand gold, I would not have come.”

Daoism esteems the natural path and following fate; he had already entered meditation and broke seclusion by force—his heart meridians took damage and his lifespan might be shortened. Perhaps this was his tribulation.

Master Qingxu did not linger; he gathered his things to return to the mountain, and Wang Ying quickly had Ershun hitch the carriage to see him back.

The old Daoist truly had real skill. After the needling, the child’s fever subsided, and her appetite returned. That evening, she drank a big bowl of thin porridge and ate two boiled eggs.

The ability to eat was a good sign; with food in the belly, strength returns. After six or seven days of nursing, she gradually recovered, with only two plum-blossom-like scars left on her cheeks.

This was fortune within misfortune—without Master Qingxu’s help, whether the child would have survived was uncertain.

After this ordeal, Lin Sui dared not send the child back. He kept her by his side and raised her himself; over time, Qing’er’s bond with him grew deeper—the two were more than father and daughter.

On the Chen family side, the Li household knew nothing. Since Qing’er had been taken back, Madam Li had ordered people to inquire about their situation.

By reason, wearing smallpox-infected clothing should have brought disease—so why had days passed with no news?

Madam Li grew impatient and sent people to the city’s clinics to ask around, finally learning that Li Qing’er had contracted smallpox.

“Good. When that little bastard dies, and if Li Mu dies on the frontier, this vast marquisate will all be my son’s!”

Lord Li hesitated. “Is this not too ruthless… What if he doesn’t die on the frontier…”

“Then it won’t be counted on us. The child dies in the Chen house—what’s it to us?”

“Right. There’s no evidence—nothing to link back to us.”

By candlelight, the couple were like specters, plotting the illegitimate son’s inheritance.

But despite all their scheming, they hadn’t thought that not only would Qing’er not die, but their own two grandsons would accidentally enter the room where Qing’er had been shut up and, that very night, spike a high fever…

—

On another front, it was only on the second day in the capital that Chen Qingyan met the long-admired Lord Liu—Liu Yaozhi.

At first sight, he thought he had met Liu Changyi’s father—indeed, the two brothers looked far too alike, as if carved from the same mold, though in temperament they were entirely different men.

The father, Liu, was amiable, speaking softly; the elder uncle of the Liu family, however, was severe in speech and cold in manner—making one feel great pressure in his presence.

He first asked about their studies, then tapped a finger on the table. “Years ago, I intended to bring you to the capital to study, but your father refused, insisting you remain in the prefectural city. With Lu Zhongqi teaching you, I was at ease.

“Unfortunately, your grades were mediocre for years. I originally thought you wouldn’t pass this time. I didn’t expect you actually passed as juren.”

Liu Changyi scratched his head, embarrassed. “I was rather playful in previous years and didn’t put my heart into studies. It wasn’t until meeting Big Brother Qingyan that I came to my senses.”

Stroking his beard, Liu Yaozhi nodded. “Not too late. Perform well at the metropolitan exam.”

“Mm, I’ll do my utmost!”

Finished with his nephew, he looked to Chen Qingyan, admiration showing in his eyes. “I’ve already read your provincial exam paper—there’s a hint of your master’s spirit in it.”

Chen Qingyan quickly bowed modestly. “This junior’s learning is shallow—my lord overpraises.”

“Is your master still in Jizhou? Is he well?”

“Master is fairly robust. He left Jizhou for Shanzhou soon after the metropolitan exam concluded.”

“Hahaha, I knew he couldn’t sit idle. Pity he’s unwilling to enter the capital. With his learning, the imperial academy should have a place for him.” Liu Yaozhi and Liang Boqing were old friends; when the elder went to Jizhou, the two had attended a poetry gathering together.

Each was drawn to the other’s talent. After that gathering, they met in private a few times, then went their separate ways and never met again—more than ten years had passed.

“Master isn’t willing to be confined to a corner. His greatest wish is to travel the beautiful rivers and mountains.”

Liu Yaozhi sighed. “Truly enviable. I too would like to travel, but with the matters of court, I cannot extricate myself.”

Inwardly, Chen Qingyan thought: and how Master envies my lord. Pity that in this lifetime, he will never reenter court.

After chatting a while, Liu Yaozhi suddenly raised the border war. “There is war in the Northwest—have you two heard?”

Liu Changyi shook his head; when they departed, the army had not yet marched, so he knew nothing of it.

Chen Qingyan, however, had learned from his husband. After a moment’s thought, he said, “This junior has heard a little. If the guess is right, the Northwestern campaign should already be very intense.”