Chapter 316: Favor
Editor: Atlas Studios
Bowen had moved his things back from the academy in the afternoon, a little depressed. Though he cheered up at the sight of his sister, his eyebrows still furrowed.
Seeing this, Mu Yangling could not help but pinch his bun-like face. “What are you worried about at such a young age?”
“Sister, I’ve grown up.” Bowen pulled down his sister’s hand and said with a frown, “My teacher is sick. We went to visit him in the morning. He’s very sick and his wife has been crying. I wonder if he can be cured.”
After saying that, his eyes reddened.
Stunned, Mu Yangling asked, “Why is it so serious? Didn’t they say it was just a cold?”
“But Teacher is already bedridden and has a high fever. I heard from his wife that he suffers from chills at night.” Bowen’s eyes were a little red. “It’s all our fault for not being obedient. Teacher was still teaching us even though he was already sick the day before yesterday. He fainted in class yesterday. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have known that Teacher was sick.”
“What did the doctor say?” Mu Yangling asked with concern.
As Bowen was not in good health, Teacher Liu had always taken good care of him. Naturally, Mu Yangling was very concerned about this problem.
“The doctor can’t say.” Bowen said disappointedly, “Teacher can’t afford good medicine. I’ve already given all my pocket money to his wife. Sister, let’s hire another doctor for Teacher so that he can get a better prescription.”
“How much pocket money can you have?” Mu Yangling glared at him. “That’s not right either. How do you know that Teacher Liu can’t afford good medicine? His family should have a lot of money too. He should be able to afford medicine, right?”
The cost of living in Mingshui County was not high. Considering Teacher Liu’s family also had land and fields, coupled with the tuition money he collected, his family should have a lot of savings.
“There are many people in Teacher’s family. In the past two years, the crop harvest has been lackluster. Teacher has been supporting the family with his tuition income. His wife said that Teacher has been sick for more than ten days this time. In spite of that, he had to teach us and create exam papers for us. In addition, there were many other things for him to do at home. When all these came together, Teacher’s illness became even more severe.” Bowen said, “Sister, I’ve seen his prescription. It’s good, but there are a few herbs that can be better. I’ve also asked the doctor. His wife asked him to change the previous prescription because they didn’t have enough money.”
Having been ill for a long time, Bowen could tell the medicinal properties and quality of certain herbs at a glance. That was why he rushed back to take the pocket money he had saved and send it over. Although it was not much, he had saved almost two taels of silver over the past two years.
Ever since Bowen started going to school in the county, Mu Yangling would give him 100 copper coins every month for emergency use. He would use the money to buy school supplies, buy food, or treat others. Coupled with the red packets for the new year, he had saved up some money over the past two years. Although this amount of money was not much to Mu Yangling, it was a huge sum of money among Bowen’s peers.
However, this huge sum of money was gone without even a ripple in the face of the costly medical fees.
Mu Yangling didn’t ask further and went straight into the house to get some money. “Let’s go and take a look.”
Hearing the commotion, Shu Wanniang came out and asked in surprise, “Where are you going? Didn’t you just come back?”
Upon hearing that Teacher Liu was sick, Shu Wanniang hurriedly went into the house and placed some eggs in the basket for Mu Yangling. “Take these with you. Teacher Liu has always taken good care of Bowen. Do help him out wherever possible.”
Mu Yangling agreed and brought Bowen to Teacher Liu’s house.
Teacher Liu’s house was very lively. More than half of his 23 students showed up, accompanied by their parents. Some carried baskets of eggs like Mu Yangling, some carried a chicken, and some carried half a bag of rice. Some even directly stuffed some money into their hands…
In this era, a teacher was like a father. As a student, one had to pay a visit no matter what, even if it was just to kowtow.
Mu Yangling waited for everyone to leave before leading Bowen in. Madam Liu’s eyes were red and swollen, but when she saw Mu Yangling and the others, she still forced a smile and stood up. “Bowen, you’re here? Considering your poor health, it’s better not to go in and see your Teacher, lest he passes his illness to you.”
Mu Yangling patted Bowen’s shoulder and said, “Madam Liu, let me go in and kowtow to Teacher Liu.”
Madam Liu was a little hesitant because the children had all left after kowtowing at the door. However, Mu Bowen was her husband’s most favored student, so he might be happy to see him. Hence, Madam Liu hesitated for a moment before letting Mu Bowen and Mu Yangling in.
Teacher Liu was indeed very sick. His face was flushed and he was lying on the bed with a frown, covered with a thick blanket. Mu Yangling’s heart could not help but twitch as she looked at him. She asked, “Which doctor did you hire for Teacher?”
“I invited Physician Liu from Wellspring Hall. It’s my fault for not paying attention. Previously, he was about to recover after taking the medicine. Who knew that his illness would return after staying up late a few days ago…” Madam Liu’s heart had been in turbulence for the past two days. If she hadn’t neglected her husband, he definitely wouldn’t have become so sick.
“Madam Liu, why don’t you invite the doctor of Benevolence Hall to take a look?” Mu Yangling stuffed ten taels of silver into her hands and said, “If you use better herbs, his fever might subside. He might even be able to return to the academy to give Bowen and the others an exam before the Winter Solstice.”
Madam Liu looked at the silver in her hand in shock. Although there were also parents who gave money, most of them only gave 100 to 200 copper coins as a token of appreciation. The 1 tael 800 copper coins that Bowen had brought over today was already a lot. Yet here they were, giving them even more money.
Madam Liu hurriedly pushed the money back and said uneasily, “Physician Liu’s prescription is not bad either. Previously he almost recovered from taking his medicine…”
Towards the end, Madam Liu was a little ashamed. She was the one who asked Physician Liu to prescribe a cheaper prescription because her family really couldn’t afford a set of medicine that cost one or two taels of silver.
“Nothing is more important than Teacher’s health.” Mu Yangling held her hand and smiled. “Use this money first. When Teacher recovers, I’ll bring Bowen to see him.”
Madam Liu opened her mouth but still accepted the money. Seeing that Mu Yangling had stood up, she hurriedly sent her to the entrance. When she returned, she immediately sent someone to invite Pang Kongqing over for treatment.
After a night of torment, Teacher Liu finally broke out in a cold sweat. He drank another bowl of porridge and felt much better after his body was wiped.
Teacher Liu finished the medicine in one gulp and handed the bowl to his wife. He asked, “Who wrote this prescription? Why is the effect so strong?”
Teacher Liu was in a daze. Although he knew that there was someone in the room, he did not know who it was and could not hear anyone speak. However, after drinking a bowl of medicine yesterday afternoon, he started to sweat and his fever slowly subsided. Naturally, his mind was no longer dizzy.
Teacher Liu knew a little about Chinese herbal medical science, so early in the morning, he took a look at the prescription. Although the formula was wonderful, the quantity of the herbs used was rather aggressive. It could be seen that it was prescribed by a bold and meticulous person. Furthermore, Physician Liu, whom they often hired, was used to being cautious. He did not have the guts to prescribe such a strong medicine.
At the mention of this, Madam Liu’s eyes turned red again. As she wiped her tears, she said, “It’s Physician Pang from Benevolence Hall. Fortunately, Miss Mu asked me to invite him. Otherwise, you…”
“He said that the evil wind has been in your body for a long time and the root of your illness is buried deep in your body. If you didn’t sweat it out, you’d probably die from the fever. It’s all my fault. In order to save that bit of money, I asked Physician Liu to prescribe a cheap prescription…”
Knowing his family’s situation, Teacher Liu patted his wife and asked, “How much money did you borrow this time for my medicine?”
“I borrowed some from Father and Mother. Teacher Qin gave me three taels. By the way, Bowen also gave me 1 tael 800 copper coins. Including what the other students gave me, there’s a total of about six taels.” Madam Liu carefully glanced at her husband and said, “Yesterday, Bowen and his older sister came over and gave our family ten taels.”