Lu Yu first applied needles to several major acupoints on Li Fulang's head, unblocking the meridians. Then, she asked Shen Xuan to help remove Li Fulang's upper garment, cover his eyes with a cloth strip, and prepare to apply needles to his upper body.
Lu Yu had practiced this acupuncture technique tens of thousands of times; she wouldn't make a mistake even with her eyes closed.
"Open your eyes! This is a matter of life and death, how can you be so careless? I don't mind, you should proceed quickly!" The Li family head tore off the cloth strip from Lu Yu's eyes.
Although Lu Yu was touched by the Li family head's feelings for Li Fulang, she did not delay her needling. She quickly applied needles to his chest, stabilizing her maternal grandfather's condition.
Shen Xuan had experienced such great emotional ups and downs throughout the day, coupled with a sleepless night the day before. As soon as the tension eased, his body couldn't cope and he fainted.
"Bai Shao and Shu Di, five qian each. Dang Gui, four qian. Bie Jia, three fen. Eel bone, three fen. Bei Wu Wei, ten grains." Lu Yu handed the prescription to Afu, asking him to fetch the medicine, while she carried Shen Xuan and placed him on a soft couch nearby.
The Li family head watched this scene and said to Lu Yu, "I will remember this kindness for a lifetime. In the name of the Li family head, I promise you that if you encounter difficulties in the future, as long as it does not violate righteousness, my Li family will surely help."
"This is only right. I am his wife now, and you are my maternal grandmother. We are essentially family. When family is in trouble, we should naturally help."
"It seems the rumors of the past two days are true," the Li family head said, looking at her approvingly.
"However, this is different. A married son is like spilled water; there's no connection between a married son and his maternal family. Moreover, we are Xuan'er's maternal grandmother. This kindness is something our Li family is bound to repay."
Lu Yu couldn't argue, so she agreed for now and offered to carry Shen Xuan to the room to care for him.
She placed Shen Xuan on his bed and gave a prescription for a calming medicine to a young servant to decoct.
Looking at Shen Xuan's weak and slender body, she surmised he hadn't had a good life at home. However, the Li family treated her little husband well. Her own little husband, due to the rules here, probably couldn't visit often, yet they still kept a room for him.
Observing Shen Xuan's pale complexion, Lu Yu gently placed her hand on her little husband's wrist to feel his pulse.
Her husband seemed to have caught a cold. She would make some ginger soup to dispel the cold and prescribe some mild tonics. She wondered how he had caught the cold.
Setting aside the current symptoms, Shen Xuan's body was indeed very weak. His pulse was feeble, his vital energy insufficient, and he was thin. Furthermore, he suffered from internal cold, blood stagnation, and a weak spleen and stomach.
His body would likely experience great pain during his monthly cycle, and conceiving would be difficult, requiring careful conditioning.
A woman holding a folding fan followed Afu and returned with him. Afu walked very quickly ahead, as if pursued by wolves or tigers, his face flushed an unnatural red, likely from running.
The woman had a pair of ink-colored peach blossom eyes that captivated the soul, as if they could see through people's hearts.
Afu lightly knocked on the room door, signaling Lu Yu to come out and inquire about the decoction.
"Did you write that prescription for treating tuberculosis?" The woman saw Lu Yu and quickly approached, her eyes seemingly shining as she looked at Lu Yu.
Lu Yu took two steps back: "Who are you?"
"My name is Gu Yitong. I run a pharmacy in this town. The young gentleman just now got his medicine from my pharmacy."
"I am Lu Yu. May I ask why you are here?"
Gu Yitong fanned herself and coughed lightly: "Although I cannot diagnose illnesses, I am familiar with prescriptions. Your prescription is truly of the highest quality."
"I want to cooperate with you. My pharmacy lacks nothing in terms of herbs, except for a doctor who can diagnose. If you come, I will provide all the herbs. Would you consider it?"
This was indeed a great opportunity. She had medical skills but lacked startup capital. Cooperating with Gu Yitong would be nothing but beneficial for her.
"Alright, I agree. I will come to discuss the details with you tomorrow." Lu Yu thought for a moment and quickly agreed.
"This medicine should be decocted once in the morning and once in the evening. It will be ready in about half an hour." Lu Yu intended to leave but returned, not entirely at ease, to instruct the servant decocting the medicine.
The calming medicine was also ready at this time. Lu Yu took it and returned to the room.
Pushing open the door, she saw Shen Xuan kneeling properly on the ground.
"What are you doing? You are still weak, get up quickly." Lu Yu walked quickly to Shen Xuan's side, intending to help him up.
But Shen Xuan was very stubborn and refused to get up. Lu Yu dared not use force.
"Wife, it was I who insisted on contacting my maternal grandmother. It has nothing to do with them. I am willing to accept any punishment, only please save my maternal grandfather."
What? Lu Yu was stunned. Unable to bear seeing Shen Xuan kneeling and crying, she picked him up and propped up pillows to help him lean against the bed.
Lu Yu knew she couldn't change people's minds in this society, so she followed Shen Xuan's words: "They are your relatives, and it's natural for you to contact them. I won't blame you. Don't worry about your maternal grandfather's illness; I will definitely cure him. Trust me."
"However, if you continue to disregard your health like this, I will truly get angry." Lu Yu could only use this method to scare Shen Xuan.
"This is the calming soup I made for you. Your body is too weak now. Drink it and sleep, and we will go back tonight." Lu Yu pulled the blanket up, covering Shen Xuan completely.
Shen Xuan took the bowl of medicine, looking at Lu Yu as if he wanted to say something but dared not.
A man, after marrying, secretly contacting his family behind his wife's back, especially on their wedding day, and now having to stay at his maternal grandmother's house because of him.
Shen Xuan couldn't believe Lu Yu wouldn't be angry. Perhaps there truly were such good wives in the world, but he wouldn't be the one to meet them. At least, none of the women he had seen were like that, not even his maternal grandmother would be so accepting.
Lu Yu looked at Shen Xuan like this and almost wanted to laugh. Was she some kind of monster? So frightening?
"Don't worry, your maternal grandfather's condition is stable now, and Afu is decocting the medicine. You should sleep peacefully."
Shen Xuan glanced at her, tightened his grip on the medicine bowl, hesitated, drank the medicine, obediently lay down, and closed his eyes.
This was the first time Lu Yu had observed Shen Xuan's appearance closely.
Shen Xuan's brow was always furrowed, and even in his sleep, he seemed to carry an unshakeable sorrow.
Lu Yu reached out and gently smoothed it. She disliked it; any uneasy emotion was out of place on this face. Such expressions should not appear on this face in the first place.
With a refined appearance and fair skin, Shen Xuan exuded an scholarly aura. He always created a tranquil and comfortable atmosphere.
The sun in the sky seemed reluctant to set, lingering in the sky and doing its best to radiate its warmth.
Shen Xuan seemed to have dreamt of something, suddenly opened his eyes, sat up abruptly, and looked out the window. The sun was about to set.
At this moment, Lu Yu was at the table, writing with a brush. The afterglow filtered through the window, casting a beautiful, peaceful scene upon her.
Shen Xuan wanted to get out of bed but accidentally made a sound, startling Lu Yu.
"How did you sleep?" Lu Yu walked over and asked softly.
Shen Xuan nodded nervously. Before Shen Xuan could ask, Lu Yu answered preemptively, "Don't worry, I just checked on your maternal grandfather. He is completely out of danger now. If you are still worried, we can stay here tonight."
She always seemed to understand what he was thinking.
"No, it's not necessary." Men were not allowed to stay overnight at their in-laws' homes after marriage, not even their own relatives.
Moreover, on their wedding day, asking his wife to let him visit his family was already going too far. It was an exceptional kindness that his wife agreed and came with him.
His maternal grandfather's illness still depended on his wife, and he absolutely dared not make any other requests, lest he anger his wife.
"This is not in accordance with the rules. Wife, it's getting late, we should go back."
As the sun gradually set, seeing that Shen Xuan had no intention of staying at his maternal grandparents' home, Lu Yu, fearing the difficulty of traveling at night, explained a few things to her maternal grandfather and then drove the ox cart home with Shen Xuan.
Shen Xuan sat in the bridal chamber, carefully contemplating the day's events. Through their interactions today, Lu Yu was not as capricious and uneducated as the rumors suggested.
Not only was she skilled in medicine, but she was also very gentle and polite. But why that day...
Lu Yu's past had nothing to do with him. Since he had married her, she was now his reliance, and even more so, his grandfather's savior. For whatever reason, he had to obey her now.
Lu Yu continued writing the storybook she had started in the afternoon in another room. Tomorrow, she would go to town to discuss cooperation with Gu Yitong and also see where in town she could sell her storybooks. Having another way to earn money was always good.