Chapter 160: Heat
Editor: Atlas Studios
Mu Yangling and Bai Li escorted Pang Kongqing to the room to take care of Qi Haoran. Seeing that Bai Li and Pang Kongqing looked tired, Mu Yangling went out to move a few benches over and put them together. She simply laid a blanket on top and said to Pang Kongqing, “Physician Pang, lie here and rest.”
Pang Kongqing really wanted to glare at Mu Yangling and reject her, but he could not withstand his sleepiness at all. He could only snort coldly in his heart and climb up with a cold expression to pull up the blanket to cover himself. In order to anger Mu Yangling, he deliberately did not take off his shoes and placed his feet under the blanket.
The blanket was half-covered by him, and he was afraid that he would not be able to use it in the future. However, Mu Yangling pretended not to see it and said to Bai Li in a low voice, “You should rest too. I’ll watch over him.”
Having protected Qi Haoran for three days, Bai Li’s body was already at its limit. Hearing this, he did not refuse and leaned against the wall to rest.
Mu Yangling propped her chin on her hand and sat by the brick bed to look at Qi Haoran.
Because he had lost too much blood, his face was still pale even after taking the medicine. Mu Yangling looked at him in a daze, and only then did she feel a little strange. Qi Haoran seemed to be only 13 years old now, but he could already affect the diplomatic relations of several countries.
Mu Yangling poked his face and sighed. Actually, it wasn’t Qi Haoran’s fault. If it were her, she would definitely have made a move, too. She heard that the Crown Prince of the Jin Kingdom had already tortured more than 40 beautiful children to death. If she didn’t meet him, she could still treat it as a legend and ignore it. However, she couldn’t ignore it if she saw it.
Qi Haoran’s actions saved more than 20 children.
In the middle of the night, Qi Haoran suddenly had a fever. Pang Kongqing had no choice but to get up and help him apply acupuncture to lower his temperature. Mu Yangling kept replacing his wet handkerchief.
In the end, the wet handkerchief had to be changed every 15 minutes. Even the military doctor could not be bothered to hide it. He changed his clothes and covered his face to help. At this moment, Pang Kongqing no longer had the spare brain capacity to think about who had suddenly appeared, let alone care about who was pacing around outside the door. He only knew that this person was extremely valued by this group of people. If he died, he would probably not be able to live either.
In the end, seeing that the handkerchief was useless, Pang Kongqing said, “Go and get fresh water from the well. It’s late at night, so the water temperature should be low.” He muttered, “If only there was ice.” He knew that this was impossible. Xingzhou Prefecture didn’t have much heat in summer, so the people didn’t have the habit of storing ice in the cellar. Even rich families rarely used ice.
However, Mu Yangling shuddered and said, “I have ice at home. It’s river ice that I preserved in winter.”
Pang Kongqing stomped his feet. “Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up and get it.”
Mu Yangling casually took a basin and ran to the backyard. She opened the cellar and couldn’t wait for the air to enter. Holding her breath, she climbed down as the cold air rushed into her bones. She couldn’t care less and squatted down to dig out two pieces of ice. Then, she stuck her head out of the cellar and took a deep breath.
Seeing this, Fan Zijin hurriedly ran over and asked in a low voice, “How is it? Did you get it?”
After Mu Yangling leaned over and handed the basin to him, Fan Zijin picked it up and ran away. Seeing that he had run over, Qi Xiuyuan hurriedly knocked on the door and the military doctor came out to bring it in. At this moment, Pang Kongqing’s mind was completely focused on Qi Haoran and he did not pay attention to the outside at all. Seeing that his face was still covered with a handkerchief, he turned around and said to Bai Li, “We can’t use a handkerchief on him anymore. We have to make his breathing smooth. Since I’ve already given him acupuncture, it’s useless to use the handkerchief again. Go brew the medicine and cool him down with ice. Just blindfold me.”
Pang Kongqing was not curious about his appearance at all. Knowing he would die if he saw his face, that curiosity disappeared no matter how curious he was.
Bai Li did not say anything else and directly covered his eyes. He lifted the handkerchief on Qi Haoran’s face. At this moment, his face was flushed and his breathing was heavy. When he touched it, it felt like heated iron. Bai Li’s eyes turned red and he looked at the military doctor anxiously.
The military doctor shook his head slightly. There was nothing he could do now.
Mu Yangling ran in and helped break the ice before applying it on his head. She then wiped his palms and feet with cold water to lower his temperature. After a while, Mu Yangling broke out in a sweat and Qi Haoran’s temperature finally decreased slightly.
The military doctor shook his head and lowered his voice. “That won’t do. If the temperature doesn’t drop, even if we save him, he will become a fool. This temperature is enough to cook an egg.”
Of course, Mu Yangling knew that. Moreover, looking at the situation, it was already very fortunate that he could become a fool. If this continued, he would definitely die from the fever.
Mu Yangling was anxious. In the end, she thought of something and said, “Wine! Use wine. Which one of you has wine that has about 35% alcohol content?”
“What’s 35%?” The military doctor turned to ask her.
Mu Yangling couldn’t care less anymore. She recalled that Old Hu had said last time that his family used to brew wine. There were still a few jars of good wine passed down from his ancestors at home. When his grandson got married, he would take out one jar as a betrothal gift. He had even flaunted this a few times.
Without thinking, Mu Yangling rushed out and rushed straight to Old Hu’s house. She shook Old Hu awake in his sleep.
The Hu family was shocked by Mu Yangling. Old Hu almost rolled off the brick bed. When he saw that it was Mu Yangling, he asked angrily, “Ah Ling, what are you doing in the middle of the night?”
“Grandpa Hu, where’s your wine?”
“Why do you want my wine?” Old Hu asked her in a daze.
Mu Yangling took out a piece of silver from her pocket and placed it in front of him. “My family urgently needs wine. Where’s your wine?”
Old Hu’s eyes darted around, and he wanted to raise the price. Just as he was about to shake his head, he was pushed down by his wife. Seeing Mu Yangling’s anxious expression, Madam Hu-Fang knew that she needed it urgently. Thinking of the rumors outside that Shu Wanniang was seriously ill and probably wouldn’t live for more than a few days, she quickly got off the brick bed and said, “My old man kept it in the cellar. I’ll bring you to get it.”
Mu Yangling could naturally tell what Old Hu was thinking. Although she was angry, this was not the time to fuss about it. She gave Madam Hu-Fang a grateful smile and followed her.
“Hey, wait a minute.” Old Hu got up and chased after her. He shouted, “This wine has been passed down in our family for generations. We won’t sell it easily. Ah Ling, don’t think that you can bully us commoners just because you’re the daughter of the section commander.”
Old Hu moved quickly and blocked the cellar.
Mu Yangling was furious, but she couldn’t snatch it by force since the thing did belong to someone else. She could only look at him coldly and say, “Old Hu, I won’t hide it from you. I’m here to save a life. No matter how much money it is, I’ll owe you first and repay later.”
Shaking his head, Old Hu said, “This thing can’t be bought with money. This is something passed down by our ancestors. How can we give it to someone just like that?”
Mu Yangling didn’t have time to waste on him. She took out all the silver from her body and threw it at his feet. Staring at the silver on the ground, Old Hu’s eyes widened. Madam Hu-Fang went to push him and snapped angrily, “What are you doing? Ah Ling is using this to save a life! Move aside.”
Old Hu came back to his senses and pushed Madam Hu-Fang away. With his head raised, he said to Mu Yangling, “I’m not selling this wine.”
Mu Yangling was so angry that she laughed. Instead of being furious, she calmed down. Softening her expression, she said to Old Hu, “How about this, Grandpa Hu? I’ll use my father’s section commander position to exchange for it. Give me the wine, and I’ll let Second Uncle Hu be the section commander.”
Old Hu’s eyes lit up. “Are you serious?”
Mu Yangling exuded a terrifying aura and looked at him coldly. “Of course. Grandpa Hu, can you give me the wine now?”
Old Hu felt a force pressing down on him, making him unable to move. When he came back to his senses, Mu Yangling had already gone down to the cellar, and he was covered in cold sweat.
Old Hu shivered and hesitated, but this hesitation disappeared when he saw the silver on the ground and thought of Mu Yangling’s promise.