Early the next morning, Xie Changgeng and Mu Fulan set out from Beijing to Hexi.
Because something unusual happened in Xiu Tucheng, the northernmost border town, he needed to rush there as soon as possible, so although the two of them left the capital together, they had different itineraries.
He set out on the journey with only a few people, while Mu Fulan took a horse-drawn carriage designed for long-distance travel. Under the escort of a team of followers, they followed the official road to the northwest, walked during the day, stayed at inns at night, and headed for Guzang City, where the Hexi Jiedufu was located.
Before leaving, Mu Fulan asked Xie Changgeng what her future plans would be after he went there.
His answer was straightforward, saying that he had half-forced and half-begged her from Empress Liu in the name of marriage. She had to go to Guzang first. After she got there, she could find an excuse to go back after some time if she wanted to.
His statement made Mu Fulan feel relieved, but what followed was an unbearable wait.
Her dreams were filled with Xier's reluctant look as she looked back at her that day.
After only a few days of separation, she couldn't stop missing him.
How she wanted to go back immediately and be with Xier, who had returned to her after she had lost her.
No matter how fast she traveled, she could never be as fast as Xie Changgeng. But in order to get there as soon as possible and return to Changsha as soon as possible, she also hurried all the way.
The people traveling with her didn't know the inside story. Seeing her walking tirelessly, they thought she wanted to go and reunite with Xie Jiedushi as soon as possible, so how could she dare to be lazy? The whole group worked together, walked day and night, and finally arrived at Guzang City that day.
Gu Zang is known as the northwest foreign guard and the strategic point of the world. It is the military and political center of the northwest of our dynasty. It is also located on the border. The people there are brave and fearless, and they produce strong horses. They have the reputation of being elite cavalry that roams the world.
The day Mu Fulan arrived, it had just stopped snowing after several days and nights. The snow and icicles covering the tall and heavy city gates sparkled in the sun. There were many vendors in the city, and people were coming and going, making it very lively.
The governor's residence is located in the north of the city. Xie Changgeng arrived there ten days ago. He is not here now and is still in Xiu Tucheng.
The steward welcomed the group in. After they settled down, the next day, the wives of officials in the city heard the news and came to pay their respects. Mu Fulan had been busy with social events for a few days. That night, Xie Changgeng also returned to the city. When he returned to the Jiedushi Mansion, he found that Mu Fulan had arrived so early, and seemed a little surprised and glanced at her.
The two of them naturally lived in the same room. Before going to bed, he saw Mu Fulan standing in front of the only bed in the room, looking at him quietly, as if waiting for him to go to bed first. She turned around expressionlessly, and like before, she took another set of bedding from the cabinet, spread it on the couch, and fell asleep.
Mu Fulan didn't intend to force him to sleep in a separate bed from her.
Although the thought of sleeping with him was extremely uncomfortable and even disgusting, regardless of anything else, I already owed him a huge favor for helping me escape this time.
Favors are like debts, they must be repaid sooner or later.
She has nothing to repay the favor now. She is the only one left.
If he wanted it, she wouldn't refuse.
Of course, as it is now, it would be best if he still despised her body which had been unfaithful for a long time.
Although Mu Fulan wanted to discuss with him immediately about when she would return, she knew that this was not appropriate.
He must have gone through a lot of trouble to get me out. I've only been here for a few days, so it's definitely not the right time to leave.
She had to wait patiently.
In the following days, Xie Changgeng rarely saw anyone, and she had nothing to do. Sometimes she changed her clothes and went out for a walk during the day. One day, she came to the market and passed by a stall. She saw a children's hat made of local yak skin. It was very cute. She fell in love with it at first sight and bought it.
The maid asked with a smile: "My lady, who is going to wear this hat?"
Mu Fulan smiled without saying anything, put away her fur hat, and strolled around for a while. When she was about to leave, she passed by a clinic on the side of the road and saw several native men running in with a child of seven or eight years old. Soon, they heard a quarrel from inside, so they stopped.
The natives were talking to the doctor inside in a language she couldn't understand, and they looked extremely anxious. The doctor waved his hands again and again: "It has nothing to do with me! I only prescribe medicine according to the disease. If you can't cure it, you can kill me and I can't do anything!"
Mu Fulan asked the guard who came out with her what those people said. The guard could speak the local dialect, so he went over to ask a few questions and came back to say, "These people are the locals. For some reason, many people in the village have been vomiting and having diarrhea and high fevers these days, and this child is also the same. He took the medicine prescribed by the doctor a few days ago, but not only did it not get better, but it got worse. It seems that he is about to die. The adults brought him here early in the morning and asked the doctor to treat him again!"
"My lady, when the natives are sick, they usually take their own medicine. When it doesn't work, they go to the city to see a doctor. There are no good doctors here. They are just like military doctors. They can treat injuries, headaches, and fevers. If you encounter a serious illness, you have to rely on your own luck."
The guard said again.
The noise inside was getting louder. A middle-aged man saw the doctor trying to shirk his responsibility, and with a furious look on his face, he drew his sword and thrust it into the door of the pharmacy with a "dong" sound, instantly making a big hole in it.
The doctor knew that these natives were fierce and undisciplined, so he was terrified and shouted for help.
Mu Fulan pushed away the passers-by gathered at the door and walked in.
The child lay flat on the table with his eyes closed. He had a high fever, his mouth was dry and his tongue was cracked. He was dying and looked very weak.
In the years before she got married at the age of sixteen, she helped see many people who came to seek medical treatment at Yao Weng's place. For many diseases, she was not limited to the understanding of medical books.
She felt the child's pulse, looked at the coating on his tongue, and asked the steward to ask the adults about the symptoms. The man then found out that the child was suffering from severe dysentery.
When everyone saw a beautiful young woman coming in and treating the child like a doctor, they stopped arguing and looked over.
The guards didn't expect that the wife of the governor could treat illnesses, and were stunned for a moment. When they heard the maid say that the princess had studied medicine in the past, they finally reacted and said hurriedly, "She is the wife of the governor, she can treat illnesses, all of you get out of the way!"
When the natives heard that she could treat illnesses, they pushed the doctor aside and hurried over.
The doctor was still in shock. When he heard that the woman was the wife of the governor, he also came over, bowed and complained, "Madam, this child has dysentery. When they brought him to me a few days ago, he was already vomiting and having diarrhea, vomiting and not eating, and had signs of a fatal disease. To treat this disease, you should use laxatives, such as betel nut, tangerine peel, magnolia bark, and rhubarb. If they can't cure it, I can't do anything. These people are really violent, you saw it just now, and it's not enough to blame me, they even drew their swords to kill me! Madam, you also understand medicine, you have to make the decision for me-"
The medicine man once told her that if the cause of the disease is not examined and the medicine is used, half of the cases will be effective and the other half will be ineffective. From the description of the natives just now, many people in the village are like this, plus this season, it can be inferred that it is not caused by external factors, but abscess caused by unclean diet. If a weak person is not treated properly, it will be fatal in serious cases.
She examined the child carefully again, prescribed the prescription given by the medicine man, asked the doctor to prepare the medicine and boil it into a soup immediately, and asked someone to bring a bowl of warm salt water to feed the child.
After the medicine was boiled, I slowly fed it to the child. It was impossible for it to work so quickly. After asking, I learned that the village was some distance away from here. It would take more than an hour to walk out of the city. The child was too weak, so I ordered not to transport him back and forth anymore, but to find a place nearby to settle him down, take the medicine on time, and slowly replenish the salt water to see the effect. If there was anything, he could go to the Jiedushi Mansion to call me.
Those people were very grateful and knelt down and kowtowed to her.
After Mu Fulan returned, she did not mention the matter to Xie Changgeng that night. The next day, she was worried about it and went there again. When the natives saw her coming, they were delighted and thanked her repeatedly.
It turned out that the child's condition had stabilized. Not only did his diarrhea and vomiting gradually stop last night, but he also looked much better today.
The medicine was effective, and Mu Fulan was very happy. She examined the child again and went to the village to treat the disease at the request of the locals that day. She then asked about the source of drinking water and learned that the whole village used one well. She suspected that the water source was polluted, so she asked them not to use the water anymore, seal the old well, and find another source of water.
That night, when she finished her work and returned to the city, it was already dark.
After a busy day and the bumpy road, Mu Fulan felt a little tired. She ate something quickly and took a shower, but went to bed without waiting for Xie Changgeng to come back.
Xie Changgeng returned at 10:00 p.m. The steward welcomed him in and said happily, "Sir, I didn't expect the princess to be able to treat illnesses. She has been treating the natives for the past two days, and the natives will send her back tonight. Usually, those people see us as enemies and don't allow us to enter the village, but this time they are very respectful. I have been here for many years, and this is the first time I have seen such a thing."
A hundred years ago, the imperial court had a conflict with the natives in order to open up this place, and many people were killed at that time. Although this place has become a city now and the descendants of the natives have been under its jurisdiction, they are still extremely hostile to the government troops. It is no wonder that the manager was surprised.
The Changsha princess was a student of Yao Weng, and had treated Ah Mao in his home before. Xie Changgeng was not surprised to hear the news. He wanted to ask about the situation of the patients in the native village, so he went back to his room and pushed the door open.
It wasn't very late at this time. A few nights ago, she was still awake at this time. But now there was no one in the room and the bed curtains were drawn.
Xie Changgeng walked over, called out "Ms. Mu", and opened the curtain.
Mu Fulan had fallen asleep.
She was sleeping so soundly that she didn't wake up even when I pushed the door open and called her.
There was a fire dragon under the floor tiles, and the room was very hot. She probably slept too hot, not only did a section of her snow-white legs kick out of the quilt, but the quilt was also pulled down a little low, her collar was slightly wrinkled, and under the folds, a trace of snow was faintly visible. She lay on her side, her arm resting on her face, her face was like a lotus, her elbows were like jade lotus roots, and between her neck and chest, there seemed to be a thin layer of sweat.
Xie Changgeng held the bed curtain with his hands, fixed his gaze, and watched silently for a while. Suddenly, he saw that she seemed to have noticed something. The bare foot that was kicked on the bed closest to him shrank, and her eyelashes moved a few times, as if she was about to wake up. She let down the bed curtain, held her breath, and silently took a few steps back.
There was a slight sound of someone turning over in the tent, and then it soon became quiet again.
Xie Changgeng slowly exhaled, turned around and left without looking behind him.
In the following days, Mu Fulan worked tirelessly, going in and out of the city every morning and evening, continuing to treat the elderly, the weak and the seriously ill who had difficulty walking in the village. She was so busy that sometimes she came back even later than Xie Changgeng at night.
Xie Changgeng acted as if he didn't see it, didn't ask a single question, and didn't interfere at all.
Half a month later, on this evening, he returned to the city after patrolling the border for a few days. He returned to the Jiedushi Mansion exhausted and found that she was not there again. He asked the manager and learned that the patients in the village had been cured long ago, but the princess was still very busy. In recent days, people frequently came to her for treatment. Today, the military doctor also came and said that he was not sure about the treatment of several soldiers' illnesses, so he asked her to come over.
"He went there after noon, so he should have returned by now. How about I go and take a look?" asked the steward.
Xie Changgeng said no need. He went back to his room, took a shower and changed his clothes, but Mu Fulan hadn't returned yet.
The maid came to invite him to dinner.
He glanced at the darkening sky outside and went out.
The author has something to say: There should be a second update later in the evening~