sinovels Chapter 46 I took a nap
Chapter 46 I took a nap
Gu Yunqian was also startled, and her face turned pale.
Jiang Xun was also taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered: "Don't worry, don't worry, this is a good thing!"
"Good news?!" Madam Gu glared at him, her eyes reddening. "Master has vomited blood, and you still call it good news?"
"Please calm down, Madam," Gu Wenxu suddenly spoke, his voice weak but much stronger than before.
He waved his hand, signaling his wife not to rush, then looked at Jiang Xun with surprise in his eyes, "Young man, what...did you just do?"
Jiang Xun blinked, then forced a smile and said, "Mr. Gu, your illness was due to blocked meridians. I just used... a special technique to clear the blockages and expel the stagnant blood. How are you feeling now?"
"Great!" Gu Wenxu took a deep breath, a long-lost sense of relief on his face. "For so many years, I've had this tightness in my chest, but now I suddenly feel so much better!"
Madam Gu stood there stunned, looking at her husband and then at Jiang Xun, her expression quite interesting.
"Really...really?"
"Really." Gu Wenxu nodded, looking at Jiang Xun with admiration in his eyes. "Young man, your skills are far superior to those of the older doctors."
Jiang Xun felt a little guilty from the praise, but he still pretended to be calm.
"You flatter me, Master Gu. Your illness is likely caused by excessive worry and emotional distress. If this knot in your heart isn't untied, I'm afraid it will recur. May I ask, Master Gu, is something troubling you?"
Gu Wenxu remained silent for a while before saying, "There has been a flood in the southeast, and the number of refugees is increasing. The imperial court's relief grain is delayed, and the government is not doing anything about it. Seeing those people displaced, I feel really bad."
He paused, then said, "I wrote a memorial and submitted it to the court, hoping that the court could provide disaster relief as soon as possible, but it has been almost a month since I submitted it and there has been no response. I am worried... that the court does not take this matter seriously at all."
As Jiang Xun listened, his heart also felt heavy.
The faces of the refugees outside the city resurfaced—sallow-faced, emaciated children with blank stares, huddled in dilapidated shacks, just like he had been when he was a child.
But what could he do?
I'm just an ordinary citizen, penniless and powerless, barely able to protect my own life, so how can I care about anything else?
He thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Gu, there's something I'm not sure if I should say."
Gu Wenxu said, "Please speak."
"The world is so big, good things and bad things happen every day. All we can do is do our jobs well and be true to our conscience. You've submitted your report and done your duty, the rest is not your concern."
He looked at Gu Wenxu and said again,
"You should focus on getting better first. That's the greatest responsibility you can take to your family and the people. If you collapse, who will speak up for the refugees?"
After listening, Gu Wenxu remained silent for a while, then suddenly smiled, a smile tinged with relief: "The young doctor is right, I was being stubborn."
He looked at Jiang Xun with admiration in his eyes: "You are young, but you are quite knowledgeable. Yun Qian said you have excellent medical skills and are a chivalrous person. She was right about you."
Jiang Xun was embarrassed by the praise: "Mr. Gu, you flatter me."
…………
Gu Yunqian saw Jiang Xun out.
The two walked side by side in the courtyard, neither of them speaking.
The autumn wind swirled a few fallen leaves around my feet before they lazily drifted away.
As she approached the door, Gu Yunqian stopped, turned around, and looked at Jiang Xun with a hint of hesitation in her eyes.
Jiang asked, "Is there anything else, Miss Gu?"
She paused, then said softly, "Thank you."
Jiang Xun waved his hand: "No need to thank me, it's nothing."
Gu Yunqian shook her head: "It's not to thank you for treating my father's illness."
She looked at him earnestly: "What you just said made Father feel much better. He's been so depressed these past few days, unable to eat or sleep. Your words today are more effective than any medicine."
Jiang Xun felt a little embarrassed by her gaze and scratched his head, saying, "I just said it casually."
Gu Yunqian didn't say anything, she just looked at him.
After a long while, she bit her lip, as if she had made a great decision, before speaking: "Young Master Jiang, actually... the reason I invited you here today is not just to see my father."
"What else?"
She lowered her head, her voice barely audible: "My father... was too straightforward. He offended powerful figures by saying things he shouldn't have, which is why he was banished from the capital to Yunzhou."
She looked up, her eyes filled with worry. "But he still can't change. This time, regarding the flood, he submitted another memorial to the court. I'm afraid... I'm afraid he'll cause trouble again."
"What kind of trouble will there be? Dismissal or demotion?"
"That's nothing. I'm afraid someone might harm Father." Gu Yunqian seemed to remember something and was a little scared. "It has happened before. Father was tied up in the yard in the middle of the night, his mouth was gagged, and he was exposed to the cold wind all night."
Jiang Xun understood her meaning and asked, "You want me to protect Master Gu?"
Gu Yunqian blushed slightly and nodded: "I know this is presumptuous, but I really don't know who to turn to. My father has no connections in Yunzhou, and if those powerful people want to deal with him, he can't stop them."
She looked at him, her eyes full of expectation: "Young Master Jiang, I don't ask you to stay in the Gu residence forever, I only ask that... during this time, you could take care of my father. Even... even just visiting him occasionally would be fine."
Jiang Xun looked at her, and a strange feeling welled up in his heart.
He recalled how helpless he felt as a child in a dilapidated temple, and how he longed for someone to lend a helping hand.
"Okay." He nodded. "I promise you."
Gu Yunqian's face lit up with a delighted smile: "Really?"
"Really." Jiang Xun smiled. "Consider it repaying the favor you did for me last time."
"Thank you." Gu Yunqian's eyes were slightly red. "Please be careful too."
"Yes."
Jiang Xun nodded, turned and left, his steps quite graceful.
…………
Jiang Xun kept his word.
On the very night he returned from the Gu family residence, he began to guard outside the Gu family mansion.
The Gu family lived in the west of the city, which wasn't in a remote location, but there were hardly any people on the streets at night.
There is a small alley outside the back wall of the Gu Mansion. At the end of the alley is a dead end, where an old locust tree grows, its branches and leaves so thick that it is perfect for hiding people.
Jiang Xun crouched on the tree, listening intently to the sounds around him.
I was on edge for the first two days, and I would get nervous at the slightest sound.
On the third and fourth days, nothing happened.
On the fifth night, he brought a pot of tea and an oil paper package—inside were two steamed buns and a piece of braised beef that Yu Xiaoyi had left for him.
He sat on a tree branch, drinking tea and eating steamed buns, as if he were having a picnic.
"Looks like I was overthinking it," he muttered to himself, chewing on his beef. "Master Gu is just a minor official, and one who was even banished from the capital. Who would want to harm him?"
But when he thought of Gu Yunqian's worried look, he couldn't rest easy and decided to stay for a few more days.
But for several days in a row, nothing happened.
Jiang Xun gradually relaxed and realized that Gu Yunqian might have been overthinking things.
Although Gu Wenxu had offended powerful figures, those were all old grudges, so who would hold a grudge for so many years?
Besides, although Yunzhou City is in chaos, it's not so chaotic that people are committing murder.
On the tenth night, he leaned against a tree trunk and unknowingly dozed off.