Wolf-Raised Cub with a Space: Surviving the Disaster Years
Chapter 176: Driving Her Away
Sima Han didn’t answer. Instead, he quickly rolled up Shen Ningning’s pant leg.
Just above her fair ankle were two small puncture wounds, the surrounding skin stained a deep black.
Sima Han’s expression changed. "It’s the plague."
Xie Mingxu shuddered. "She must have been bitten in the prison cell."
Sima Han quickly grasped Shen Ningning’s jaw to look at the coating on her tongue.
After examining it, a look of panic filled his eyes. "This is hopeless. This child’s chances are slim."
Xie Mingxu frowned. "The plague is aggressive, but it’s not like a poison that can kill instantly. Treat her with acupuncture and prescribe medicine at once."
Sima Han stamped his foot. "The top priority now is to isolate her from everyone! Young Master, you shouldn’t even be in this room! The plague is contagious, so get out of here, quickly!"
He gave Xie Mingxu a push, but Xie Mingxu’s brow only furrowed.
Xie Mingxu glanced hesitantly at Shen Ningning on the bed.
He said in a steady voice, "Don’t worry about it. I was the one who carried her back, so I may have already been infected on the way here. Leaving now would be pointless. Please, just hurry and treat her."
Sima Han looked at him in astonishment. "Young Master, you... Ah, fine, fine. I won’t say another word. I’ll go prepare the medicine right now."
All afternoon, servants with white cloths covering their faces bustled in and out of Xie Mingxu’s courtyard, carrying basins of hot water.
Second Madam came by once, but upon seeing the commotion, she didn’t dare to enter.
From the doorway, she asked a maid, "What is all this? Is it possible that Mingxu is ill?"
The main branch of the Xie family was without a matriarch, so Second Madam was now in charge of managing the mansion’s internal affairs.
The maid bowed her head and replied, "The young girl Young Master brought back has the plague. The Divine Doctor has forbidden us from going near, so we just leave things outside."
Second Madam jumped in fright. "The plague? Then throw her out of the mansion at once!"
But the maid said, "Young Master won’t allow it. He’s already inside with the Divine Doctor, helping to treat the young girl."
With that, the maid hurried inside with the basin of hot water.
Second Madam, however, was so frightened she grew dizzy and was barely kept upright by the head nanny at her side.
"Second Madam, you must look after your health. This courtyard isn’t safe; please don’t go any closer."
"I’m worried about Mingxu," Second Madam said, shaking her head in exasperation. "That boy... how could he bring a sick person in here? He’s far too impulsive."
Then, she added hurriedly, "Quickly, find some mugwort and thoroughly fumigate our courtyard! We need to purify the air!"
"Also, prepare meals and have them sent to the Young Master’s courtyard. But be careful. Don’t make any contact with them."
The head nanny took note and hurried away to carry out the instructions.
Still shaken, Second Madam returned to her own courtyard to find Xie Yuanjiu practicing calligraphy by the window.
Seeing her mother’s distraught expression, she set down her brush and asked, "Mother, what’s wrong?"
Second Madam wiped the cold sweat from her brow. "Jiu Jiu, don’t go play in your older brother’s courtyard for a while. He brought back some little girl from who-knows-where, and she has the plague!"
The mere mention of the disease made Second Madam’s skin crawl.
It was contagious, and it was deadly!
Xie Yuanjiu froze. "The little girl Older Brother brought back at noon?"
"Yes. Why, do you know her too?"
"I don’t know her. But last time, when I was bringing the Divine Doctor back, she was the one on the parade float that was blocking our way."
Second Madam’s eyes widened, a flash of anger on her face.
"What? Something like that happened? Why didn’t you tell your older brother? A child like that is a jinx to us! Our birth charts must be incompatible!"
"Older Brother is so busy. How could I bother him with such a trivial matter?" Xie Yuanjiu said in a faintly aggrieved tone.
She saw her mother’s panicked expression and heard her muttering repeatedly that they had to get the girl out of the mansion.
So she said, "Mother, don’t worry too much. The Divine Doctor is there, isn’t he? He’ll surely be able to cure her."
Second Madam cried out in frustration, "You don’t understand! If our birth charts clash, then even if she recovers, we’ll be the ones to suffer the consequences!"
Second Madam was a firm believer in birth charts. She consulted the almanac before doing anything, and for any major event, she would even have a Divine Woman perform a divination.
To her, an event like this happening in the mansion was tantamount to the sky falling.
"This won’t do. I must go find the Divine Woman and ask if this is an ill omen," Second Madam said before hurrying off.
「By evening.」
Second Madam returned, her face a mask of terror.
"Jiu Jiu, it’s terrible! The Divine Woman cast a divination—it’s a terrible omen."
Xie Yuanjiu, who was just about to go to sleep, frowned at her words. "Is it that serious?"
Second Madam’s face was haggard with worry. "If our branch of the family is affected, it will just be one disaster on top of another."
"You’re about to take the entrance exam for the National Academy. This is a crucial time, and you cannot afford to get sick. Besides, your father is paralyzed and bedridden. If something were to happen, it could cost him his life."
"This won’t do. I have to find an opportunity. When your older brother isn’t at the mansion, I’ll throw that little girl out."
Xie Yuanjiu hesitated for a moment. "Mother, that’s probably not a good idea. Older Brother will be furious."
’Although Second Madam was currently managing the household accounts and internal affairs, the main branch still held the real power.’
’After all, the patriarch, Xie Suzhi, was the reigning Prime Minister, while both the eldest and second young masters held official ranks and influential positions at court.’
’Therefore, angering Xie Mingxu would do their mother-daughter pair no good.’
Second Madam fretted as well, but she was not clever enough to come up with a good plan.
"Jiu Jiu, you’re smart. Help your mother think of a way. How can we drive that little girl out?"
Xie Yuanjiu fell into thought, a dark look in her phoenix-like eyes.
After a moment, she said, "If I recall correctly, the person Older Brother brought back is named Shen Ningning."
"She’s the blessed girl who recently summoned rain for the Capital City and ended the drought. If Mother truly doesn’t want her in the mansion, you just need to have a maid tell her how gravely ill she is and that she’ll end up implicating Older Brother."
"Shen Ningning is young and naive. We can exploit that to deepen her guilt. As long as she’s still breathing, she’ll surely find a way to leave on her own."
Second Madam’s eyes lit up. "Jiu Jiu, you truly are the clever one! Excellent, excellent. Mother will go arrange it at once."
However, for the next three consecutive days, Xie Mingxu did not leave the Xie Mansion.
He initially stayed in an adjacent courtyard, separated from Shen Ningning by just a single wall.
But after three days of observation with no symptoms, he went back to taking care of Shen Ningning.
The little one’s condition was quite serious. Sima Han prescribed three potent courses of medicine, but they had no effect whatsoever, only managing to slightly reduce her fever.
On this morning, Sima Han had spent the entire night performing acupuncture on Shen Ningning again.
The old doctor was utterly exhausted, but fortunately, his efforts were not in vain. Shen Ningning finally opened her eyes.
She was terribly weak, but when she saw Xie Mingxu, she still called out in a soft, small voice, "Brother..."
Xie Mingxu was in the middle of brewing her medicine. Hearing her voice, he rushed to the side of the bed.
"How are you feeling? Still uncomfortable?"
"Uncomfortable..." Shen Ningning nodded, but fearing she would worry Xie Mingxu, she forced a smile. "But I’m much better now. I’m a little hungry."
Sima Han let out a sigh of relief. "Feeling hungry is a good sign."
Xie Mingxu quickly had a maid bring over a bowl of vegetable congee, which he fed to Shen Ningning one spoonful at a time.
But the expression on Sima Han’s face was far from relaxed.
He said, "This illness is still quite tricky. I need to go back and consult my medical texts again. But before that, let me get at least an hour of sleep. Otherwise, if I die of exhaustion, there won’t be a Divine Doctor left to treat this girl."
With Xie Mingxu’s permission, Sima Han hastily departed.
Shen Ningning finished the congee but still felt weak. She asked listlessly, "Brother, what’s wrong with me?"
Xie Mingxu pressed his lips together. Afraid she would let her imagination run wild, he said, "You had a bad scare and came down with a recurring high fever. But don’t you worry. Sima Han’s medical skills are world-renowned."
"With him around, you’re sure to recover. Get some more rest now."
Shen Ningning obediently lay back down. She had just opened her mouth to ask another question...
...when Xie Mingxu, having already guessed her thoughts, said, "Rest assured, the Crown Prince is fine as well. I need to go to the palace now to report to the Emperor and request a two-day leave of absence."
He hadn’t been to the palace in three days, and the Emperor had already sent someone to inquire once.
’He needed to ask for another two days off. He had to see Shen Ningning recover.’
The little one nodded obediently. "You should go, Brother. I’ll be good and just sleep."
Looking at her pale little face, Xie Mingxu felt his heart ache for her.
He rose and left, instructing the maids waiting outside to remind her to take her medicine on schedule.
After Xie Mingxu left, Shen Ningning, mustering what little strength she had, summoned a bowl of Spiritual Spring Water from the Immortal Realm and drank it all in one go.
’In truth, she could feel that she was sick, and that it wasn’t as simple as Xie Mingxu made it out to be.’
’The Spiritual Spring Water was extraordinarily potent now, capable of curing common illnesses and pains. The little one just hoped it would make her feel a little better.’
Sure enough, within half an hour of drinking the Spiritual Spring Water, she felt strength returning to her limbs.
And the heavy feeling in her head began to lift.
Just then, she heard a maid’s voice at the door.
"Tan Xiang, don’t you serve Second Madam? What brings you here?"