Chapter 15: Fever Due to Food Retention
Chapter 15: Fever Due to Food Retention
As soon as they heard that Su Su was running a fever, everyone forgot about the quarrel over the child.
Doctor Liu was the quickest to react. He rushed towards the backyard, asking Di Jiao as he ran, "How did she suddenly develop a fever?"
"If she had caught a chill last night, shouldn't the fever have started then? Why did it take so long to manifest? Could it be due to a difference in body constitution?" Doctor Liu pondered as he sprinted, with Feng Xuan Rui and the others trailing behind. Seeing that his little nephew's short legs couldn't keep up, the Prince of Qing scooped him up and dashed forward, his brow beaded with sweat.
Despite her unsteady breath, Di Jiao remained calm and replied to her master's question, "I felt her pulse, and it seems like food retention."
Upon hearing this, Doctor Liu's first reaction was, "Impossible!"
"From the moment we returned last night until now, I have personally supervised Su Su's diet before allowing any food to be served," he asserted. "I have a record of everything Su Su has consumed."
"It's impossible for it to be food retention!"
When he heard that Su Su's fever might be caused by food retention, Feng Xuan Rui, feeling guilty, squirmed a little in the Prince of Qing's armpit.
His movement caught the prince's attention, who gave him a quizzical glance and furrowed his brows, asking, "What's going on?"
By then, they had arrived at the backyard. Another apprentice, Di Yu, seeing his master arrive, took a step forward and added, "Master, I also felt her pulse, and it seems to indicate food retention."
Upon hearing this, Doctor Liu began to doubt himself. "That's impossible!" he exclaimed. "I've been closely monitoring Su Su's diet."
Unwilling to accept this explanation, Doctor Liu took a few steps forward and carefully felt Su Su's pulse.
Seeming unsure of his own diagnosis, Doctor Liu pressed on her pulse points for a while longer.
Then, he muttered aloud, "Could even this amount of food be too much for her?"
Just as he was deep in thought, the Prince of Qing tossed his little nephew towards him and instructed, "Doctor Liu, ask him."
Feng Xuan Rui, feeling guilty, didn't dare to look up and only nodded meekly when he was placed in front of Doctor Liu.
Seeing his demeanor, Doctor Liu immediately understood the situation. "Did you sneakily give Su Su some pastries behind my back?" he questioned.
Feng Xuan Rui shrunk his head and remained silent, only nodding honestly in response.
Doctor Liu was so infuriated that he felt like he could hang the boy up and beat him if he weren't a prince of the mansion. As he gritted his teeth, diagnosing Su Su carefully and prescribing a remedy, he also instructed Di Jiao to boil the medicine and additionally administered two more acupuncture treatments to Su Su.
Feng Xuan Rui, feeling guilty, kept quiet and sat meekly at the end of the bed, his eyes fixed on Su Su's little face, which was flushed red from the fever.
Witnessing this scene, the Prince of Qing furrowed his brows and asked, "What did you do?"
Feng Xuan Rui stole a quick glance at Doctor Liu and, seeing that he wasn't looking at him, whispered, "It was around noon when Qing Shan bought some snacks. I saw that Su Su wanted to eat them, so I secretly gave her two pieces and also half a cup of milk."
Upon hearing this, Doctor Liu exploded in anger, "You actually gave her two pieces and milk on top of that?! Those snacks were made with glutinous rice and are extremely hard to digest. You shouldn't have eaten them yourself, let alone given them to Su Su!"
Frightened, Feng Xuan Rui shrunk back behind the Prince of Qing, his voice carrying a hint of wrongedness as he explained, "I just wanted to give all the good things to my sister..."
Hearing this, the Prince of Qing couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
The boy had good intentions but had ended up doing something wrong.
While the child was indeed at fault, he couldn't be blamed entirely as he didn't understand these matters.
In the past, he had been a domineering young master in the mansion, but now, he had learned to be considerate of others.
Perhaps, this could be considered a form of growth?
Feng Xuan Rui's words left no room for argument, and Doctor Liu could only huff angrily a couple of times before turning to urge Di Jiao to hurry up.
Qing Wang didn't want Feng Xuanrui to be sad, so he gently patted his head and said, "Su Su has a delicate body and can't eat too much at once. In the future, if you want to share anything with your sister, be sure to ask Doctor Liu first."
Feng Xuanrui also knew he was in the wrong. Hearing Qing Wang's words, he nodded obediently and replied, "I understand, Uncle Wang."
With Su Su's sudden fever, it seemed unlikely that they would be able to attend the river lantern ceremony that evening.
However, Feng Xuanrui was determined that even if they couldn't go, his sister would still have the things she needed for the event!
He could make the river lanterns himself!
After Su Su's fever broke and she woke up, she began to vomit again.
While Doctor Liu and his two apprentices were busy tending to her, Feng Xuanrui quietly sneaked into the room where they had been making the river lanterns earlier. He carefully recalled the techniques Doctor Liu had taught them that morning and began to finish the lanterns that they hadn't completed.
The fever was caused by food retention, but it wasn't too severe.
However, Su Su's stomach still ached terribly.
She had just taken her medicine when she threw it back up, along with the remnants of the snacks and milk, as well as the porridge she had for lunch.
Even after vomiting, her stomach still felt like it was being twisted in knots.
Su Su was usually quite tolerant, but she couldn't help but whimper softly.
If she had cried loudly, the adults might have felt a little better seeing her express her pain.
Instead, Su Su was like a tiny kitten, her small body curled up by the bed, holding her stomach and sobbing quietly.
Tears streamed down her face, and her soft whimpers tugged at Doctor Liu's heartstrings, almost bringing him to tears as well.
Qing Wang watched from the side, feeling a sense of discomfort as well.
Su Su's condition reminded him of his own tragic daughter.
He considered taking Su Su back to his mansion to comfort the poor child.
But he feared that his daughter, knowing of Su Su's plight, would only feel worse.
Unable to bear the sight, Qing Wang turned and walked out, followed by Zhan Yuan, who glanced at Su Su, the king, and then at Wang Ye and Yu Leng.
Zhan Yuan, feeling helpless, humbly asked Yu Leng for advice: "Mr. Han Shuang, what should we do about this situation...?"
Yu Leng nodded slightly and replied, "Chen Dalang and his wife are feeling guilty and dare not cause a stir. But given their nature, they probably won't be able to hold back for long. Since they are relatives of the Jin Yang Hou Mansion, it's only right that they make more contributions to the court when it's their turn to serve, isn't it?"
Seeing Zhan Yuan deep in thought, Yu Leng continued, "Furthermore, the most direct way to vent their anger is to give them a good beating, isn't it?"
As Yu Leng spoke, he acted out another display of weakness in his arms and legs.
Zhan Yuan listened intently, deep in thought.
After a while, he seemed to understand, and he nodded, "Thank you, Mr. Han Shuang, for your guidance. I get it now."
Doctor Liu and his two apprentices had been busy all afternoon, and by evening, Su Su's fever finally broke.
Her head was no longer hot, and her stomach ache had subsided. However, Su Su was completely exhausted.
Doctor Liu fed her some millet porridge to ensure she didn't go to bed on an empty stomach.
Seeing Su Su sleeping peacefully, he reached out and felt her head again before finally letting out a sigh of relief. "She's not burning up anymore. Keep a close eye on her and watch out for a relapse in the latter half of the night."
If she didn't have a fever tonight, she would be fine by tomorrow.
Doctor Liu wiped the sweat from his brow and prepared to freshen up.
As he stood up, he remembered Feng Xuanrui and asked Di Yu, "Where's the Sixth Young Master?"
Di Yu pointed to a room nearby and whispered, "Sixth Young Master is making river lanterns over there."
(End of Chapter)
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