Chapter 25 - Confession
Chapter 25 Confession
Su Muge first felt the pulse of the old lady, and found that her heart was beating very fast, and her pulse was slippery, which indicated that her sickness was caused by the phlegm. She then put her head on the old lady’s chest and listened for a while. She vaguely heard some sounds of breathing like snoring.
When she had finished checking the old lady’s coating on the tongue, she was affirmative that the phlegm in her chest was the essential problem. Once the damp-phlegm was stuck in one’s vessels, a person could easily be stifled to death.
She quickly took out the two silver needles with her, sterilized them with the flame on the small table, pulled aside the front part of the robe on the old lady, and pricked the needles in.
The maid watched all those in astonishment. Speaking of acupuncture, people in the state of Chu also did this to the patients. However, due to various body conditions, the acupoints and meridians were very difficult to recognize on each body. In addition, this kind of medical skill couldn’t be spread or passed on to others easily. So far, there were few people who could use acupuncture, even the imperial doctors in the palace rarely used it.
It never occurred to her that such a young boy, not even reaching the age of twenty by her guess, could use such skills to treat the old lady! But what if some mistake happened when he was pricking!
Perhaps it was because of the calm aura Su Muge had with her, the maid tried to speak several times, but the words went back to her throat.
Right after the needles were pricked into the old lady’s chest, her breath eased gradually. By the time Su Muge pulled the needles out, the old lady could almost breathe normally.
The maid kept looking at Su Muge in amazement throughout the whole progress.
Su Muge put away the needles carefully without even looking aside.
“Doctor, so the old lady is…”
“The old lady was sick because of the phlegm stuck in the vessels in her chest. Once the vessels are cleared with the needles, she can recover soon with some extra medicine for reducing her phlegm and removing the dampness from her body.”
“Thank you so much, doctor.”
The old lady made some noise and came back to herself with her dim eyes.
Feeling surprised and cheerful, the maid moved forward. “Old Lady, you’re awake.” She then turned and opened the curtain to report to the man standing outside.
The man seemed to sigh of relief when he heard the news. “That is wonderful!”
Inside the carriage, Su Muge checked the old lady’s pulse one more time. Her pulse condition tended to be stable.
The old lady slightly turned her eyes. Though with a bit of turbidity, her eyes finally fell on the face of Su Muge.
“This is…”
“Old Lady, this the doctor that the Lord sent for you.”
“The doctor?”
The old lady was temporarily at a loss, and then she reminded that she felt a sudden dizzy on the carriage and went unconscious. She had some old problems, getting sick now and then, and that was why she brought with her the imperial doctor along this time.
But she was well aware that the imperial doctor had been ill for two days.
“Many thanks to you, doctor.”
Su Muge lowered her eyes. “Old Lady, you had a relapse because you are too tired. It’ll be the best to keep an eye on your heath all this way along. I shall leave now.”
Su Muge opened the curtain right away, without staying in the carriage any longer.
The man approached her as she got down, and made a bow with his hands folded in front. “We were lucky to ran into you. Thank you, Young Master.”
“Su Muge turned aside and didn’t accept his bow. “It was no bother and I dare not take the credit.”
The behavior of Su Muge made the man feel quite comfortable. “So where are you heading to, Young Master?”
“I’m on my way to Shunyang prefecture.”
“Shunyang prefecture?” The man was a little surprised. “We are going in the same direction. If you are alone, Young Master, why not come with me. There are still a couple of days before we can arrive.” The man, Meng Changde, looked at Su Muge and said so.
Su Muge nodded with a smile. “What a nice coincidence. It could be a bit boring during such a long trip. So I’ll not refuse.”
“Great. How about my mother’s current condition?”
“It would be fine to slow down the pace a little bit.”
Su Muge went back to her carriage after a short chat with the man.
Seeing the letter “Meng” on the carriage not far away, she put down the curtain slowly.
It was for the truth-born son of Bachelor Meng, Meng Changde, that Su Jingwen had killer her previous body.
Su Muge leaned herself on the wall of the carriage, she was thinking that if she went back alone, An would not give up on her easily. However, if the Meng family backed her up, Su Lun could do nothing to her even if it was against An’s willingness.
After rested for a quarter, the carriage group of the Meng family was ready to continue the trip.
Su Muge’s carriage followed them slowly.
The speed of a carriage group was slower than a single one. With the weak body of Old Lady Meng, the carriages slowed down more to avoid any bumps.
That night, they reached the nearest village from Shunyang prefecture.
The retired imperial doctor that the Meng families had brought with them was quite old. His body was seriously damaged after that cold and was not cured yet. It was Su Muge who felt the pulse every day for Old Lady Meng.
The group of people settled down in an inn. After dinner, Su Muge unpacked and took out the clothes at the bottom. She changed them on.
“Master Su, the old lady has asked for you.” The voice of Rumei, the first maid of Old Lady Meng came from the outside.
“Ok, I’ll go with you.” Su Muge tied the belt behind her and opened the door. “Thank you for leading the way, Sister Rumei.”
Rumei looked at her shyly, and kept on walking with her head down.
The two of them waited at the door of the old lady until someone went in to report.
Old Lady Meng was lying in the bed, with her head tilted on a soft pillow. She asked the maid to help her up with a smile on her face when she saw Su Muge entered.
“Master Su, here you came! Thank you so much. It if were not you, I could hardly make it to Shunyang prefecture.”
Old Lady Meng reached out her hand, and Su Muge felt the pulse for her.
“Your body is strong enough, and you’ll feel much better after being nursed for some time.”
“Well, for me, if I can live till the day my great-grandson’s birth after my grandson’s marriage, I would be asking for no more.”
Su Muge just listened and didn’t respond. Instead, she said gently, “Old Lady Meng, I would like to ask you for a favor.”
With a smile on her face, Old Lady Meng held her breath and looked at Su Muge’s serious face. “Master Su, you have saved my life. Just let me know if you have any difficulty.”
Su Muge looked down at her feet. She noticed the way of the old lady’s wording. The old lady said Su Muge saved her life, trying to avoid any connections that could be made to the whole Meng family. Maybe she was afraid that Su Muge would ask her for some unreasonable requests.
However, Su Muge didn’t care about this. She never thought the one she had saved should pay off her wholeheartedly.
Noticing that Su Muge just remained standing without saying a word, Old Lady Meng looked at the maids in her room and signed them out. The maids then left quietly.
“Please say it out.” The eyes of Old Lady Meng became less warm.
Su Muge stood up. Looking at Old Lady Meng, she took off her robe slowly. Old Lady Meng was about to reproach her in astonishment but held it back when she suddenly saw a women’s dress under that robe in plain color.
Old Lady Meng was astounded with her mouth wide open. “You, you are a…actually a girl?!”
Su Muge lowered her eyelids. “It was my fault to deceit you, Old Lady Meng. But I had to do so.”
“What about your family name…was it…”
“I didn’t cheat you on that. My family name is Su, and I am Su Muge, the truth-born daughter of Su Lun from Shunyang prefecture.
Hearing this name, Old Lady Meng frowned her grizzled eyebrows and seemed to recall something. “You are…the daughter of Lord Su…”
For many years, Old Lady Meng had been living in the capital, and she was aware about the things happened in the Su Mansion back in those days. She could more or less imagine how much that young girl had suffered in order to come to the capital.
It was unexpected, though, she could meet her child one day, whom she heard to be as thin as a baby monkey back then.
“A few days ago, my grandma was not feeling very well. My mom had just given birth and was not convenient to take a trip, whereas my dad was engaged in his work. I didn’t want to see my mom getting worried like that, so I went to Nancheng prefecture to visit my grandma. But how could I know that the sly servants had come up with some evil intent on the road. They robbed me for the money and left me in the wood. If it were not those nice villagers who came from my grandma’s village, I could be anywhere in the world, and may have lost my life.”
When speaking out the experience, her tone was so calm as if she were telling the story others.
“Bang!” Old Lady Meng hit on her bed and snorted. “What sly and fearless servants! They went so far so as to frame their master!” Old Lady Meng came from a family with the highest rank of officials, and therefore she put much emphasis on the rules, despite of her dislike towards the family of Su Muge’s mother and her looking down upon Su Lun, who abandoned his original wife and married another one.
After all, those were all family affairs of the Su’s, and it was not convenient for her to care about.
She now understood and could guess why Su Muge had unmasked her identity at this moment, when they were so close to Shunyang prefecture.
“Being a girl and staying out alone for so many days, I don’t know what kind of punishment is going to wait for me. So please, may I ask you to go back to Shunyang prefecture with me?”
Looking at Su Muge bending and lowing her head down, Old Lady Meng sighed.
Though as open-minded as the state of Chu was, the moral integrity of a woman was still valued. If Su Muge returned the mansion alone, a story would be made up against her. However, if people knew that she was with Old Lady Meng all the way long, it could be a totally different situation.
“No problem. I can help you with that.”
“Thank you so much, Old Lady Meng.” The gratefulness was expressed with deep sincerity from her heart.
“Come on, get up, you nice kid.”
Not long after Su Muge had left, Meng Changde entered Old Lady Meng’s room.
Su Muge lied on her bed with her clothes on, and closed her eyes gradually.
“An, we’ll talk about hatred and revenge after I arrive home.!”
…
In the Su Mansion, the maids were walking back and forth busily in the flower room with porcelain plates in their hands. An stepped out of the room and nodded with satisfaction.
“Madam, it’s almost ready.”
An gave the maid a nod.
A young maid walked into the room and bowed to An. “Madam, the second Miss is waiting for you in the living room.”
An nodded again and went to the living room with the maid holding her arm.
Su Jingwen went forward and took the hands of An, with the smile of a spoiled girl on her face.
“Mom.”
An looked at her carefully and she was pleased. “My dear daughter Wen’er has become brighter and more beautiful.”
“You are so right, Madam. I was wondering where this angel had come from earlier.” Li Mama smiled with a compliment.
Su Jingwen raised her chin with pride, and there was no hint of modesty in her eyes.
“Mom, so you mentioned that Madam Meng would also come today?”
An looked at Su Jingwen, and the expression in her eyes already told Su Jingwen that she knew her well about her little motives. “Of course. She was told that your father’s assessment results had been presented to the emperor, and she surely will contend with us.”
“Then, how about Young Master Meng…”
An sighed to herself, looking at her daughter. It was obvious that Su Jingwen’s shy face explained her misunderstanding of An’s words. An had doted on her daughter too much. Su Jingwen had always wanted to become part of the Meng family by marriage. But it was doubtful that she could then live a peaceful and happy life because of the complicated relationship in that family though it was a family of scholars.
“Madam, Madam Meng has arrived.”
An stood up at once. “Let’s go.”