CHAPTER 402: CHAPTER 383: HOW DO YOU KNOW IT WON’T WORK WITHOUT TRYING? (1)

Aunt Qing repeatedly waved her hand, "Madam, I dare not damage the Lord’s reputation. The Lord is my provider. If his reputation is tarnished, my livelihood would be at risk!"

"You say you dare not harm his reputation, yet you’ve spoken and acted as you have. The Lord is upright; how could he use such a remedy? Speak quickly! Why did you do this?" The County Magistrate’s Wife angrily demanded, "If you don’t clarify matters today, I won’t let you off!"

Aunt Qing was so frightened that she fell to her knees, "Madam, it was indeed Lord County Magistrate who asked me to seek out the remedy. His ailment is not recent; hasn’t Madam noticed?"

The County Magistrate’s Wife squinted her eyes, "Ailment?"

Xiaxia barked, "Aunt Qing, stop hemming and hawing, make it clear! The Madam has no patience for riddles!"

Aunt Qing had no choice but to say, "On the way here to assume office, the Lord’s horse was startled, and he fell off a cliff. That incident, Madam is aware of it, right?"

The County Magistrate’s Wife looked at her, "I am aware."

Aunt Qing said, "As fate would have it, the Lord injured his... manhood."

The County Magistrate’s Wife suddenly opened her eyes wide, "Nonsense! The Lord never told me about this!"

Aunt Qing replied, "Madam, you come from a noble family, while the Lord’s background is humble. Marrying you was reaching high for him. He always said he dared not act recklessly in front of you. Now that such a thing happened, how could he bear to tell you? He feared you would look down on him."

The County Magistrate’s Wife felt a mixture of emotions in her heart.

She was aware of the incident when the County Magistrate fell from the horse. She had accompanied him here to assume office, and the mountain roads were treacherous, leading to the accident.

They had summoned a doctor, who said it was only a superficial wound, nothing serious involving bones.

Moreover, the County Magistrate himself said he felt no pain, except for some skin bruising on his hands and face, which healed after applying medicine.

She hadn’t paid much attention beyond this.

She never expected such an outcome?

Xiaxia, thinking of something, sneered, "Aunt Qing, who are you trying to fool? If the Lord injured his manhood, why did he take you and Aunt Hua as concubines? Aunt Hua was taken in when the Lord came here to assume office."

Aunt Qing said, "Precisely because the Lord injured his manhood, he took in Aunt Hua. Aunt Hua... she possesses certain skills. The Lord thought that might help, but to no avail, leading to his summoning me to find medicine."

Xiaxia had no more questions and turned to look at the County Magistrate’s Wife, "Madam..."

The County Magistrate’s Wife said, "The medicine is with me. You may leave now, and regarding the Lord asking you to buy medicine, you must not speak to outsiders."

Aunt Qing glanced outside the room and said, "Miss Li is sharp; she may discern the smell of medicine."

Xiaxia sneered, "Miss Li is tight-lipped and never discusses others’ ailments. Don’t slander her."

Aunt Qing said fretfully, "I do not intend to slander, only to... remind Madam."

"I understand. You may go now." The County Magistrate’s Wife waved Aunt Qing away.

"Yes, Madam." Aunt Qing exhaled and left the room.

Standing in the courtyard of the main house waiting, Li Lixing saw her leave and immediately ran inside.

"Mother, is Aunt Qing up to something bad?" Clenching his small fists, "If she dares to bully you, I’ll stand up for you!"

Her son’s willingness to stand up for her made the County Magistrate’s Wife feel gratified. She pulled Li Lixing into her embrace and smiled, "No, she took family money to get medicine for her relatives, fearing my punishment if I found out. Hence, she claimed it was for herself, but who would have thought, Miss Li saw through her ruse."

"Hmph, how excessive, using family money for relatives’ medicine? Is she trying to profit off us?" Li Lixing said angrily, "Are you afraid to punish her? I’ll do it for you!"

Li Lixing looked upset.

The County Magistrate’s Wife, however, said, "She claimed she got the medicine because the shopkeepers, out of respect for our family, gave her a discount. If her relatives went themselves, it would be more expensive. She’s exploiting our status, Ah Xing. Although she lied, she did nothing evil. Just let her be."

"What if she uses our family’s name to do bad things?" Li Lixing asked again.

This child is indeed growing up, the County Magistrate’s Wife thought. "Then we won’t let her off! She will be dealt with appropriately."

Li Lixing thought it over, "Alright then, let it pass."

"It’s getting late. Escort Brother Li and Sister Li to their residence," the County Magistrate’s Wife said with a smile.

"Understood, Mother." Li Lixing responded.

He went outside to Li Xing’an and Li Yuzhu and told them about Aunt Qing’s situation, "My mother says it’s not a big deal, and we shouldn’t concern ourselves."

Li Yuzhu glanced towards the main house, "That’s good, it’s getting late, we should head back."

She and Li Xing’an went back to the main house to bid farewell to the County Magistrate’s Wife, then followed Li Lixing and took a carriage back to the inn.

Li Lixing followed them up to the rear courtyard’s small building, walking around inside and out several times, "Li Yuzhu, Third Brother Li, can I live here? At home, both my parents are busy, and I have no playmates. It’s so boring."

Li Yuzhu hung her clothes piece by piece in the wardrobe, "There is an extra bed in my Third Brother’s room. You can sleep there if you want, but I think you should spend more time with your mother recently. While it’s fun outside, your mother needs company too."

"But my mom is always busy with her things. Whenever I talk to her, she tells me not to interrupt," Li Lixing sat on a chair, swinging his legs and sighed.

Li Yuzhu finished organizing her clothes and tucked the empty rattan box under the bed.

She patted her sleeves and turned to look at Li Lixing, "Li Lixing! I remember telling you before that your mother is actually quite lonely. Your father is a county magistrate and very busy with work. He has little time for your mother, and you’ve been preferring to play with us siblings lately. By neglecting your mother, aren’t you worried she might feel sad or upset?"

Li Lixing blinked, "But she’s not against me playing with you guys."

"She respected your decision, and you take it for granted?" Li Yuzhu said with a stern face, "If you really want to stay here for a while, ask your mother for a day off tomorrow, but you’re only allowed to stay one night! During the day, if we don’t look for you, you must stay with your mother! Otherwise, I won’t allow you to come to my house again!"

Li Lixing was most afraid of Li Yuzhu.

Among everyone he knew, he felt that Li Yuzhu was even more formidable than his father because he couldn’t out-talk Li Yuzhu.

He hurriedly stood up, "Alright, alright, I’ll head back right away."

"Quickly go back, it’s already past the second watch." Li Yuzhu waved him off.

Li Lixing reluctantly returned to the County Magistrate Mansion.

In the past, when Li Xing’an came to town, they always shared a room, but now that Li Xing’an and Li Yuzhu had moved out, he had to stay alone.

After sending off the tag-along Li Lixing, Li Xing’an called downstairs to Li Yuzhu, "Third Sister, the bathwater is ready, it’s in the bathroom!"

Li Yuzhu was organizing the change of clothes, "Coming!"

The small building’s second floor had two rooms, and the ground floor had three rooms.

One room downstairs was divided into two smaller rooms, one with a small stove, which was the kitchen, and the other Li Yuzhu had drafted a design and had craftsmen remodel into a bathroom.

The brother and sister each took their bath, then went back to their respective rooms to sleep.

As for little Li Jing, he didn’t care about them at all, and was staying with Brother and Sister-in-law Chai, refusing to come back.

Li Yuzhu enjoyed the peace and had a nice, restful sleep.

.

The next day, Li Yuzhu and Li Xing’an borrowed Brother Chai’s carriage and headed to the County Magistrate Mansion.

They had come to the town this time using Li Lixing’s carriage, drawn by the big black horse from home, which they hadn’t brought along.

After several days in town, Old Mrs. Zhao’s illness had been cured, so the siblings needed to return to the village.

Additionally, Li Yuzhu was concerned about the County Magistrate’s illness.

Such an unspeakable ailment, the couple would never come to a young girl like her for treatment.

And the skills of the doctors in town were likely insufficient to cure it as well.

If not, why else would the County Magistrate’s illness linger for over a month without improvement?

Once inside the County Magistrate Mansion, after Li Xing’an finished inquiring about County Magistrate’s Wife, he routinely went to pay respects to the County Magistrate.

Li Yuzhu stayed to chat with the County Magistrate’s Wife.

"You’ve only been here for a few days and already need to leave." The County Magistrate’s Wife laughed, "I didn’t even get the chance to invite you for a proper meal."

Li Yuzhu replied, "I’m worried about my family; with the weather getting cooler, I don’t know if my father’s rheumatism has flared up, so I need to check on him."

The County Magistrate’s Wife praised her for her devotion.

Li Yuzhu smiled and said, "Actually, he’s not really ill. He just worries too much and always suspects he has a serious illness. My mother has to coax him, sometimes our whole family has to join in coaxing him. My father just likes that; a bit of coaxing and flattering will make him better."

The County Magistrate’s Wife laughed, "Your family really is affectionate."

"In a family, how can there be any disunity?" Li Yuzhu laughed.

While she spoke casually, her listener took it to heart.

The County Magistrate’s Wife invited Li Yuzhu to have tea and fell into deep thought as she held her teacup.

Suspicions...

Could the County Magistrate’s condition be brought on by suspicion?

Would coaxing help...

Could coaxing cure it?

She gripped her teacup tightly, pondering if it might actually work without having tried it.

Perhaps... it might work?

Li Yuzhu glanced up at the County Magistrate’s Wife, took out a small medicine vial from her backpack, and handed it to the County Magistrate’s Wife, "This is some medicine for the Lord County Magistrate. With all the affairs he has to handle, it’s easy for him to feel irritable and restless. Have him take a pill every night before bed to improve sleep and calm his mind."

The County Magistrate’s Wife received it with a smile, "That’s wonderful, he’s been having trouble sleeping lately, being busy with the autumn crops issues."

Li Yuzhu continued, "Please administer it to him personally. These pills are not easy to make, and if a maid were to give them, there’s a risk they might drop them."

The County Magistrate’s Wife opened the vial to find only five pills inside.

She smiled and said, "Alright, I will personally administer them."

Li Yuzhu picked up her teacup, delicately curled her lips into a slight smile as she drank her tea.