The young master in the west room had a strong constitution. He managed to pull through after three consecutive days of high fever, and the fierce cold that had struck him failed to claim his life.
Although he had regained consciousness, he couldn't speak and could barely move.
He struggled to lift his eyelids, revealing a hazy, unfocused gaze. After a brief glance at his surroundings, he closed them again.
When he tried to say a few words, his lips moved, but only intermittent breaths came out, making it impossible to discern what he was trying to say.
The mother and daughter of the Ying family, who had just begun to feel relieved, became anxious once more. They took half of the two-foot fine cloth distributed by the government as relief aid and sent it to the doctor's house in exchange for a house call.
When Doctor Li arrived, the man on the bed had already fallen back into a deep slumber.
"He's escaped death by a hair's breadth, and it has taken a great toll on him. Don't rush to make the patient speak; it's a blessing that he's still alive," the doctor said.
"Let him rest in bed, and sleep as much as he can. Administer the medicine regularly, apply ointment to the wound on the back of his right hand morning and evening, and keep it dry to prevent infection. He should eat foods that nourish his qi and blood... uh," Doctor Li glanced around at the shabby kang bed and wooden table,
"Never mind. Just tell the patient to rest in bed and have some millet porridge morning and evening to help restore his health..."
As the doctor rambled on with his instructions, Ying Xiaoman stared blankly at the hanging basket under the eaves outside the window.
Five days had passed.
The two decomposed bodies fished out of the river by the Ministry of Justice's official boat were indeed linked to two separate murder cases, as rumored. The news had spread like wildfire throughout the Capital City over the past few days, causing quite a sensation.
Yet this young master who had floated to her doorstep in the dead of night seemed to have no family at all. A living person had appeared out of thin air, without causing so much as a ripple.
For five consecutive days, she had wandered along the riverbank with his portrait, but hadn't encountered a single relative or friend who had come to search for a missing person or a body in the southern part of the city.
"...Nourishing millet porridge!" the doctor emphasized. "Did you hear that? I know your family is struggling, but if you skimp on this, it could cost a life."
Ying Xiaoman snapped back to attention, "I heard. Two servings of nourishing millet porridge every day."
Glancing at the emaciated young master sleeping soundly on the bed, her thoughts drifted again.
Perhaps he wasn't a local from the Capital City? Maybe he was a merchant from out of town who had been robbed and left for dead on the water, which would explain why his family couldn't be found...
Without family, there would be no hefty reward. And now they had to provide him with two servings of millet porridge every day.
Ying Xiaoman sighed despondently.
No wonder everyone had tried to discourage her. It seemed that fishing bodies out of the river wasn't a business for amateurs after all.
— Accidentally fishing out a living person was clearly a losing proposition.
Doctor Li might have misunderstood her sigh. His gaze swept across the undeniably humble room, and he lowered his voice to give a serious piece of advice:
"Miss Ying, you've only recently arrived in the Capital City yourselves, and you're a female-headed household. Saving his life is enough; don't get involved in anything more. When you move, regardless of whether this man has fully recovered or not, let him go his own way."
The young master lying flat on the kang bed twitched his eyelids slightly.
The sound of soft footsteps came from the main room. Her adoptive mother, who had been eavesdropping, couldn't sit still any longer and got up to rummage around the stove.
There was still some rice and flour left from the government relief, enough to feed the family for two or three days, but the millet for the nourishing porridge needed to be bought separately. They had reluctantly purchased two sheng of millet just yesterday, specifically intended for Zhi to drink porridge and grow taller.
Her adoptive mother muttered, "Now that he's awake, there's another mouth to feed."
Ying Xiaoman remained silent. She got up to close the door of the west room, then took out an exquisite folding fan from her sleeve and handed it to the doctor.
"Doctor Li, you're knowledgeable. Could you please take a look at this fan and tell me how much it's worth? I'm thinking of pawning it."
Doctor Li took the fan and examined it closely in the light. He immediately gasped, "An ivory fan! The material is flawless and the carving is exquisite! This is a rare treasure. How did you come by it?"
"A noble gentleman gave it to me on the street," Ying Xiaoman answered truthfully.
The doctor was astonished, "Such a fine item wouldn't be casually given away on the street."
Ying Xiaoman showed a hesitant expression.
She didn't really want to answer.
As she hesitated, she unconsciously tilted her head slightly. The sunlight fell on her soft facial features, making them appear as flawless as white porcelain and as radiant as the moon, bringing a touch of elegance to the crude surroundings.
The doctor's eyelid twitched, and he immediately sighed, "Well, Miss Ying, in your case, it's not surprising that noblemen would go out of their way to give you fine gifts... Ah, let this old man give you a piece of advice: you're too innocent, don't be fooled. The nobleman who gave you this valuable ivory fan likely had ulterior motives."
Although Ying Xiaoman was innocent, she wasn't stupid.
Back in February, when she had accidentally entered the Yan Family's residence, Yan Erlang had led her inside. Before she could even sit down properly, she was examining the cold fan that had been forcefully placed in her hands on that chilly day, when a steward came in with a freshly written contract, asking for her fingerprint.
At that time, the Yan Family's steward had told her with restraint: "It's your good fortune that the young master has taken a liking to you. This ivory fan is a gift for you, keep it safe. Once you've entered our Yan Family, you'll want for nothing - fine clothes, jewelry, silk, and satin. The young master isn't married yet, so according to custom, he can't take a concubine right away. You'll serve in the young master's quarters for now, and in the future, you'll surely be elevated to a position of wealth and status."
Ying Xiaoman was startled when she suddenly heard the words "concubine" and "serve." Shocked, she got up to leave, completely forgetting about the fan. It wasn't until she had made her way out the door that she realized she was still clutching the ivory fan.
The memory was vivid and infuriating.
Ying Xiaoman didn't want to say more, she just shook her head.
The doctor's mind filled with various conjectures, and he couldn't help but worry for this impoverished young woman of rare beauty. He turned the ivory fan over and over, pointing to a small red seal at the end of the fan ribs:
"There's a private seal carved into the ivory fan ribs. This folding fan belongs to someone. Don't rush to pawn it, or the original owner might report you to the authorities for stealing a valuable item. Even if you say the original owner gave it to you on the street, without any proof, you won't be able to explain yourself no matter how much you protest."
Ying Xiaoman was shocked. No wonder that Yan Erlang had given it to her so casually. It turned out he could get it back just by reporting to the authorities.
She said angrily, "Many of the nobles in the Capital City have wicked hearts."
"Now, now, don't say that. There are many nobles in the Capital City, don't paint them all with the same brush," the doctor said, holding up the jade pendant of the fan for a closer look. "This white jade pendant doesn't have any special markings. You could pawn this; it should fetch at least two or three guan of money, which would help with your family's urgent needs."
Ying Xiaoman's shock turned to joy. Two guan of money would feed them for many days!
She tossed the ivory fan aside, detached the white jade pendant and put it away safely, then got up to see the doctor out.
Zhi had entered the western room at some point. When she came back, she was leaning over the couch, exclaiming in surprise, "Sister, he's awake! His eyes are open."
Ying Xiaoman sat on the edge of the kang bed, looking down intently for a while before asking Zhi puzzledly, "Where is he awake?"
Zhi gesticulated frantically, "When I fell just now, he woke up. Look, sister, look!" To prove she wasn't lying, Zhi's small body flopped onto the couch, landing squarely on the man's chest, forcibly eliciting a muffled groan.
Ying Xiaoman: "..."
Ying Xiaoman quickly lifted Zhi off the bed and leaned in for a closer look. The man who had been unconscious for days finally opened his eyes slowly.
Indeed, he had double eyelids.
A pair of naturally beautiful almond-shaped eyes with slightly upturned corners. Both pupils were misty, as if soaked in the spring rain fog of the Capital City in March.
Ying Xiaoman sat on the edge of the kang bed, holding Zhi, their four bright eyes wide open, waiting with bated breath. After a long while, the man remained motionless, only his open eyes betraying the fact that he was awake. He just stared fixedly, and it was unclear if he could see the scene before him clearly.
After a long time, Ying Xiaoman hesitantly waved her hand left and right. "Can you see?"
The man finally blinked. His lips moved a few times, but he could only produce a whisper.
Zhi ran out of the room and returned with a cup of warm water. Ying Xiaoman opened all the doors and windows to brighten the room, then carefully fed him a few sips of water from the porcelain bowl. The man began to cough violently.
This time he could finally speak.
As he spoke, he still wore a dazed expression, half-awake and half-asleep. He gazed at the young woman before him in a trance and spoke in an extremely faint, hoarse voice, "Jiao... jiao... zhu..."
Ying Xiaoman: ?
She exchanged a bewildered glance with Zhi.
Ying Xiaoman: "What pig are you talking about?"
She brought the warm water to his lips again, feeding him several sips. The young lord lying on the kang bed closed and reopened his confused, half-lidded eyes.
The hazy double vision before him gradually disappeared. Sunlight pierced through the mist, illuminating the roof tiles and windows of the real world.
This was a crudely structured brick house, clearly aged. The peeling wall paint had been carefully repaired, leaving behind patches of varying depth.
The furniture was wiped clean, all old pieces that had seen years of use. A table with a short leg was propped up with a tile, making do.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, falling on the young woman and child sitting by the kang bed. The warm-colored light from outside shone on the young woman's plain cloth dress, the raven-black tips of her hair falling on her shoulders. With bright eyes, white teeth, and rouge-tinted lips, her ivory skin seemed to glow.
In his fleeting impression from his dazed state, he had fallen into water and mistakenly entered a fairyland. A beautiful immortal maiden had waded through the water to lift him up and save his life...
A hallucination? He didn't think it was a hallucination.
The man gazed at the person before him for a long time, thinking in confusion, "A goddess from Kunlun Mountain and an immortal child? No, a goddess should be wearing celestial robes... Why has no one offered the goddess seven-colored celestial garments..."
Ying Xiaoman moved closer, waving her hand with concern, "Can you still not see me?"
The man's whole body trembled.
The sunlight reflecting on the plain clothes in his blurry vision seemed to add brilliant, seven-colored hues. The goddess's simple dress was tinged with vibrant colors, and she appeared to be treading on auspicious clouds as she approached.
"Jiaozhu..."
The room fell silent as the half-awake, half-dazed young lord spoke hazily: "Jiaozhu bathes in light, crimson robes stained with dust. Like light clouds veiling the moon, or a gentle breeze swirling snow..."
Ying Xiaoman's gaze held three parts doubt and seven parts vigilance.
She raised her hand and lightly touched the man's nose, then withdrew it in confusion.
He was clearly breathing. He was very much alive, not a reanimated water ghost.
What nonsense was he speaking in broad daylight?
"I don't understand. Speak plainly," Ying Xiaoman interrupted bluntly, scooping up a spoonful of warm rice porridge and stuffing it into the newly awakened man's mouth.
The young lord on the couch instinctively closed his mouth and chewed. The millet porridge was bland, flavored with a bit of pickled vegetable, and tasted just right. This was a common dish in ordinary households. He had occasionally eaten similar farm meals when out investigating cases.
The man's gaze gradually cleared from confusion to awareness.
The goddess's firm six words plus a mouthful of millet porridge brought him fully back to his senses. His muddled mind was pulled back from the ethereal Kunlun Mountain to the lucid mortal world.
The young lord raised his hand with effort. His bandage-wrapped hand moved upward, brushing past Ying Xiaoman's wrist as she held the porcelain spoon.
The touch was warm, with a lively pulse beating.
Not an otherworldly goddess, but a mortal benefactor.
Ying Xiaoman froze for a moment and put down the bowl and spoon. "What are you doing?" The man had already moved his hand away, placing it properly by his side.
"My apologies." His slightly upturned, captivating almond eyes closed briefly, and when they reopened, they sparkled with light.
He spoke again, changing his words, "Thank you, young lady, for saving my life."