Several people played cards for over an hour.
Fang Er looked at the cards in his hand, feeling dejected!
Nothing below a three!
Nothing above a ten!
This was truly frustrating.
Damn it, he hadn't won a single round since he sat down!
The two maids, Xiao Qing and Xiao Huan, along with Chai Yue, were all smiling with their eyes curved into crescents.
They were covered in small silver pieces.
All of it was lost by Fang Er.
What could he do? He was a rich man, and had never carried copper coins since birth!
Just then, he heard Cheng Yaojin's voice from outside.
"What did you say?"
His voice was filled with tension, devoid of any trace of drunkenness.
Fang Er quickly threw his cards onto the table.
"I'll go take a look."
He then rushed out.
Cheng Yaojin stood there, looking anxious, with a servant from the Cheng manor in front of him.
"Brother Cheng, what happened?"
Cheng Yaojin saw Fang Er and immediately grabbed him.
"Your sister-in-law suddenly fell ill. You're good at treating injuries, come back with me quickly!"
Without waiting for Fang Er to speak,
and without paying any mind to Li Shimin and the others who were still asleep,
He directly pulled Fang Er out the door.
Upon reaching the main gate, he shoved Fang Er into the passenger seat of the pickup truck.
He then grabbed the crank and went to start the vehicle.
They sped off.
Fang Er was startled.
"Holy shit!"
"This damn thirty-li road from Fang Family Village to Chang'an City."
"You covered it in less than half an incense stick's time?"
But seeing Cheng Yaojin's anxious expression, he didn't say anything.
He got out of the car with Cheng Yaojin and walked towards the Cheng manor.
Two servants stood at the entrance. Upon seeing Cheng Yaojin, they immediately spoke.
"Master, please go see the madam, she has fainted."
Cheng Yaojin grabbed the servant's collar, lifting him up.
"Did you find a doctor?"
The servant stammered.
"Master, we did. We found three of the best physicians in Chang'an City! There's also a Taoist priest who can heal."
Cheng Yaojin released the servant and, pulling Fang Er, rushed towards the back courtyard.
As he walked, he muttered,
"You must not have any trouble!"
Fang Er, being pulled by Cheng Yaojin, stumbled along, not hearing what he was saying.
It wasn't until they reached a room in the back courtyard.
Cheng Yaojin flung the door open.
He saw an old Taoist priest with white hair and eyebrows attending to the woman on the bed, taking her pulse.
His expression was thoughtful.
Three physicians with medicine boxes stood beside him.
Cheng Yaojin entered the room and, seeing this scene, dared not speak, fearing he would disturb the old Taoist priest.
When the elder doctor withdrew his hand, Cheng Yaojin hurried over.
He grabbed the old Taoist's hand and said anxiously,
"True Man Sun, what is wrong with my wife? You are a true man, you must save her!"
True Man Sun smiled slightly.
"It's nothing. There's no major issue. I believe, as these three physicians have previously stated, that your wife has lost her appetite due to the recent hot weather."
"Therefore, she has not eaten much, leading to a deficiency in both qi and blood, which caused her to faint."
"Go and get a bowl of sugar water. After drinking it, she will wake up within half an hour."
Cheng Yaojin finally felt relieved.
He quickly said to the servant outside the door.
"Hurry and get some sugar water!"
Shortly after, a servant brought a bowl of sugar water.
Cheng Yaojin personally took it, helped the woman on the bed sit up, and fed her the sugar water.
Indeed, it took less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense.
The woman slowly opened her eyes.
"Old Cheng, why are you back?"
Cheng Yaojin's face finally showed joy.
"They said you fainted, so I rushed back, worried."
"Oh, and thanks to True Man Sun, he saved you."
After hearing this, the woman remembered to get up and pay her respects to True Man Sun.
True Man Sun shook his head and stopped her.
"Madam has just woken up. It would be best to eat something."
Then he continued speaking to the servant.
"Go, get some pickled vegetables for your madam."
Cheng Yaojin was a little confused, but he repeated True Man Sun's suggestion.
"Hurry! Get the pickled vegetables!"
The servant once again dashed out.
True Man Sun explained.
"Madam's spleen and stomach are weak, leading to a poor appetite and consequently, a deficiency in qi and blood, causing her to faint."
"Pickled vegetables strengthen the spleen, nourish the stomach, and also promote the production of saliva and whet the appetite, so eating more will be beneficial for Madam."
Cheng Yaojin's wife nodded.
"True Man Sun is truly a divine physician. I have indeed not been eating much lately, and I always feel full even after eating a little."
She wondered where the servant had found pickled vegetables in this hot weather.
Not long after he went out, he returned with a bowl.
Cheng Yaojin took the bowl and chopsticks, picked up a piece of pickled vegetable.
"Cuihua, here, eat the pickled vegetables."
Sun Shi did not eat, but took the bowl and chopsticks herself.
"I can do it myself."
Cheng Yaojin handed her the bowl and chopsticks.
"Then eat slowly. I will accompany True Man Sun outside to talk."
Sun Shi nodded.
Cheng Yaojin stood up and said to True Man Sun.
"True Man Sun, please come to the front for a chat."
"The three of you, please come along as well."
Fang Er followed them to the front hall.
After Cheng Yaojin had a servant give the three physicians their consultation fees, he sent them away.
He then pulled Fang Er and introduced him to True Man Sun.
"True Man Sun, this is my younger brother, Fang Anzhi, the Marquis of Liaodong."
"Brother, this is the Miraculous Response True Man, Taoist Priest Sun Simiao, his medical skills are extraordinary!"
Fang Er was stunned.
The immortal-like figure before him was actually the Medicine King!
He quickly bowed respectfully.
"This humble one greets True Man Sun."
Sun Simiao nodded and looked at Fang Er.
As if discovering something unusual.
"Tsk tsk tsk tsk!"
"Young friend, your destiny is truly strange!"
Fang Er's heart skipped a beat.
"Does the Medicine King also practice physiognomy? Could it be that all Taoist priests can do this?"
However, Sun Simiao only said this one sentence and did not continue.
He bid farewell to Cheng Yaojin and prepared to leave.
This was an opportunity Fang Er could not miss, having found such a powerful ally.
So he said.
"May I ask where True Man Sun is heading?"
Sun Simiao smiled slightly and continued walking outwards.
"I merely carry my calabash to aid the world. I go wherever fate takes me."
Fang Er caught up to Sun Simiao.
"True Man Sun, this junior has some questions regarding medical arts that I wish to ask you. Could I trouble you to visit Fang Family Village?"
Hearing this, Sun Simiao stopped and looked at Fang Er curiously.
"Oh? May I ask what aspect of medical arts the young friend is referring to?"
Cheng Yaojin saw this and quickly came forward to support his brother.
"True Man Sun, my brother has extraordinary methods. He can stitch external wounds like clothing."
"They heal quickly and do not fester."
This piqued Sun Simiao's interest entirely.
"In that case, this old Taoist will accompany you on a journey to witness your medical art that prevents wounds from festering."
He did not mention the stitching of wounds.
Such a matter, for a divine physician like him, would be understood after hearing it once.
But Fang Er's ability to prevent wounds from festering was no ordinary skill!