Old Man Jiang arrived at the cart where Jiang Pan and his family were. He saw that they had already eaten dinner and were sitting around a campfire to warm themselves. Two tents had been set up nearby, and the scent of roasted meat still lingered in the air.
Seeing his eldest son's family living so well after leaving him, Old Man Jiang felt a complex mix of emotions.
"Eldest, come here for a moment."
Jiang Pan heard the call and turned his head. Seeing it was Old Man Jiang, he didn't get up. He simply sat there and asked, "Is there something?"
Old Man Jiang said, "I have something to tell you. Come here."
Jiang Pan could vaguely guess what it was about, but he refused to move even half a step.
Old Man Jiang was at a loss for how to deal with him, so he walked over himself. "Eldest, the third one has a high fever and doesn't look good. Have Madam Chen go take a look at him."
Jiang Pan replied sarcastically, "Madam Chen's medical skills can't even treat a minor cut, how could she treat the scholar's injury? She's not going."
Old Man Jiang's face turned awkward. He knew Jiang Pan was referring to how Old Madam Jiang had deliberately made things difficult for Chen Yuezhi before.
"Eldest, what happened before was your mother's foolishness. Don't..."
"My mother? My mother died long ago."
"You..." Old Man Jiang's heart constricted. He wanted to scold him, but thinking of the third son's current condition, he had to endure it. "Eldest, she has always been willful. Don't take it to heart. No matter what, the third one is your own brother. You can't just watch him die, can you?"
Jiang Pan remained silent.
Old Man Jiang turned to look at Chen Yuezhi, who also turned her head away.
Seeing the couple like this, Old Man Jiang gritted his teeth and said, "Eldest, the family has indeed treated you unfairly over the years. I understand this in my heart, and I'm sorry to you. If you feel it's not enough to vent your anger, will it be alright if I kneel down and apologize?"
As he spoke, he began to lift his robes to kneel.
Chen Yuezhi quickly said, "I'll go."
Jiang Pan was very displeased. "Yuezhi, what are you doing!"
Chen Yuezhi sighed. She didn't want to go either, but this Old Man Jiang was too good at making things awkward. Even though their family had severed ties with him, Jiang Pan couldn't deny their blood relation. If Old Man Jiang really knelt down, their family's reputation would be ruined.
This damned old man was too good at playing these tricks!
But they had no choice but to be manipulated.
Angry, yet helpless.
Chen Yuezhi felt a lump in her chest. "I'll pack some medicinal herbs and go."
Old Man Jiang's brows relaxed. "Alright, then be quick. I'll go back and watch over the third one first."
After Old Man Jiang left, Jiang Pan pulled Chen Yuezhi aside. "Don't go. Let's not get involved in this trouble. The less you meddle, the less you'll get angry."
Chen Yuezhi said, "If we really don't care, then it will be an even bigger problem."
Given how much Old Man Jiang and Old Madam Jiang doted on the third son, if the third son were to have any accident, those two old people would surely fight her to the death.
Jiang Pan still didn't want her to go. "With their attitude, if he's cured, it's fine. But if he's not, that will be a big, big problem."
Chen Yuezhi thought for a moment. "I'll go take a look. If I can treat him, I will. If I can't, then it's his fate."
"Alright then, I'll go with you."
He couldn't rest assured if she went alone.
Jiang Wan suddenly stood up. "Mother, I'll go too."
She was worried about her parents, always feeling that they would suffer losses when they got close to those scoundrels in the Jiang family. So, she had to follow. If those scoundrels tried anything, she could help.
But Chen Yuezhi said, "What are you going for? It's late. Go to sleep quickly. We still have to travel tomorrow."
Jiang Wan insisted on going, acting like a twisted piece of candy. Jiang Pan picked her up. "Let's go."
Chen Yuezhi chided Jiang Pan. "You just keep spoiling her. See if she doesn't tear down the roof later."
"She's my daughter, and I'm happy to spoil her."
Jiang Pan said with pride.
Jiang Wan smiled, sitting on her father's arm, and made a face at her mother.
Chen Yuezhi smiled and gave the father and daughter a sidelong glance. She took her medicine bag and went with Jiang Pan to the Jiang family's place.
As soon as they arrived, Old Madam Jiang pulled Zhang Wan Niang's face and snorted, "Why are you so slow? Are you deliberately dawdling, wanting my third son to suffer more?"
Chen Yuezhi ignored her and asked Liu Shi, "Where is he?"
Liu Shi pointed to the side. Jiang San was lying in a pile of bedding, his face flushed red, looking very uncomfortable.
Chen Yuezhi stepped forward to examine him. Jiang San had two wounds, one on his head and the other on his back.
"Move this bedding aside, I want to see the condition of the wound on his back."
Liu Shi hesitated. "The wound isn't very deep. My husband has such a high fever now, how can he catch a chill again?"
Chen Yuezhi frowned. "If you don't let me see the wound, how can I treat him?"
Old Madam Jiang stepped forward. "Do you even know how to treat him? He has such a high fever now, and you want to uncover him? Are you trying to kill him? What are your intentions?"
Liu Shi didn't believe Chen Yuezhi's medical skills at all and said hesitantly, "Sister-in-law, how about you prescribe some medicine first to reduce my husband's fever, and then examine the wound?"
Chen Yuezhi was speechless. "His current high fever is caused by the injury. The wound is not clean, which is causing the high fever. So, to reduce the fever, the wound must be cleaned. Otherwise, no matter how much medicine I use, his fever won't go down."
Liu Shi was unsure. She didn't understand medicine and had never encountered such a situation before, so she had no experience and couldn't tell if Chen Yuezhi was telling the truth or not.
Old Man Jiang, however, believed Chen Yuezhi was telling the truth. This was because when Old Madam Jiang had a cut, it became inflamed because she didn't take care of it herself. When they went to the county to find a doctor, the county doctor said the same thing and also said that the medicine Chen Yuezhi used was fine.
So he said, "Move the bedding aside!"
Liu Shi stomped her foot. "Father-in-law, my husband still has a fever."
Jiang Shi also wanted to stop them.
Old Man Jiang said coldly, "I am his father, would I harm him! Move it quickly!"
Liu Shi gritted her teeth and told the maid to quickly move the bedding aside.
Jiang San's fever was severe. As soon as the bedding was moved, he started crying out in the cold. Liu Shi's tears began to flow, and Old Madam Jiang repeatedly uttered phrases of misfortune, which made Jiang Wan roll her eyes.
Such a minor flesh wound, and this family was acting as if he were dying?
In her past life, she had seen all sorts of severe injuries, none of which were less than ten times worse than this! And she had never seen anyone fuss over a minor injury like the third son of the Jiang family, as if he were on the verge of death.
Jiang Wan glanced at the wound again and was about to make a sarcastic remark when a large hand covered her eyes. Jiang Pan's voice came, "Wan Wan, don't look. Be careful not to get scared."
Jiang Wan's mouth twitched.
Fine, her father was even more exaggerated.
After carefully examining Jiang San's wound, Chen Yuezhi took out a bottle of powder from her medicine bag.
This was her own specially formulated external wound medicine, which was quite effective for treating minor cuts and bruises.
She handed the medicine to Liu Shi and instructed, "Wash his wound with clean water, then sprinkle the powder on the wound. It might sting a bit, so tell him to grit his teeth and bear with it."
Liu Shi took the medicine, poured out some powder, and looked at it again and again. She really didn't dare to sprinkle this medicine on her husband's wound.
Just then, someone rushed over. "Brother Da Pan, is sister-in-law here? My father was injured last night and worked hard all day today. He has a high fever now. I'd like to ask sister-in-law to come and look at my father's injury."
Chen Yuezhi said quickly, "I'm here. Wait a moment, I'll pack my things and come over."
Liu Shi quickly stopped her. "Sister-in-law, you can't leave. My husband can't be left alone. You must stay here until his fever subsides."