Yu Luo had lazily stayed in bed all day. By the evening, Ziming brought another bowl of medicine.
Yu Luo took a sip, and the sour and bitter taste immediately assaulted her nose. She was so overwhelmed that she couldn’t swallow it.
Now that she was seriously ill, falling sick was an extremely troublesome matter. If she didn’t rest properly and take the right medicine, even a minor typhoid could carry her away.
Yu Luo felt she was still young and had no desire to die prematurely.
She gritted her teeth, intending to drink the entire bowl of medicine in one go.
At that moment, the window was suddenly knocked.
Yu Luo turned to look, and Li Xiao flipped in through the window. With one hand, he snatched the medicine bowl from her and poured all the medicine out the window.
Yu Luo: “……”
What? Brother Xiao hated her so much that he wouldn’t even let her take one bowl of medicine? Hoping she’d die sooner?
“The doctor’s prescription was incorrect,” Li Xiao said calmly. “It will only worsen your condition.”
Before Yu Luo could respond, he shoved a pill the size of a quail’s egg into her mouth.
Li Xiao carried the faint and cold fragrance of incense. When he got close, it made people instinctively feel a bit intimidated.
But—this pill was unbearably bitter…
As it dissolved on her tongue, the bitterness was so intense that she felt she’d never want to eat anything again in her life, as if half her life force were being drained.
Yu Luo forced herself to crush the pill with her teeth and swallow it.
Li Xiao walked to the table, poured a cup of tea, and then looked back at her.
Yu Luo’s delicate brows furrowed slightly, her eyes still marked with traces of tears, as if she had suffered some immense grievance.
A woman so delicate and frail would normally never catch Li Xiao’s attention; usually, he wouldn’t even glance at her.
Yet Yu Luo felt different from others.
She gave off a sense of being easy to bully, fun to tease, and somehow stirred a man’s protective instincts as well as a dark possessiveness.
Li Xiao calmly examined her.
Yu Luo grabbed the edge of the bed with one hand and said weakly, “Water.”
Li Xiao supported her back, helped her sit upright, and fed her a sip of water.
The bitter taste in her mouth finally eased.
Yu Luo held the teacup in her hands and continued sipping slowly, her large innocent eyes constantly scanning Li Xiao.
Li Xiao didn’t waste words. After seeing her take the medicine, he left the room.
The room returned to emptiness, and Yu Luo felt a lingering sense of loss.
A top-tier figure truly was extraordinary—everything he did was swift and decisive. There was no unnecessary delay.
Yet, since Li Xiao said the medicine she had taken was wrong, it must truly have been wrong.
In medical matters, Li Xiao was undoubtedly far more skilled than an ordinary doctor.
In a prominent noble family like the Residence of the Marquis of Shunning, the doctors they hired would never be incompetent.
Currently, the only person in the open who opposed Yu Luo was Liu Yanran. Aside from suspecting her, Yu Luo could suspect no one else.
She called Ziming into her room.
Ziming hurriedly asked, “Miss, are you feeling unwell again?”
Yu Luo thought for a moment and said, “I took the medicine the doctor gave me today. It didn’t seem right; my body still feels unwell. Which doctor was it?”
“Doctor Zhao,” Ziming replied. “He often comes to our residence to treat Biao Xiaojie. Originally, Madam Yu wanted to hire Doctor Liu, but unfortunately, Doctor Liu was unavailable.”
Yu Luo pondered for a moment.
Liu Yanran definitely wouldn’t personally hire a doctor.
It had to be one of Madam Yu’s maidservants causing trouble. Except for Hui Xiang, who was very close to Liu Yanran, there was no one else.
“Alright, I understand,” Yu Luo said. “Tomorrow, have a different doctor check my pulse. I have a feeling today’s doctor was incompetent.”
For medical matters, it was necessary to report back to Madam Yu.
Ziming went early the next morning and relayed Yu Luo’s words to Madam Yu.
Madam Yu loved her daughter dearly; of course, she wouldn’t deny her request and immediately had Doctor Liu summoned.
Ziming noticed that Madam Yu was about to have Hui Xiang send for the doctor. Yesterday, Yu Luo had warned him that Hui Xiang did not seem like a trustworthy girl and must be watched carefully.
Ziming’s eyes flickered. “Bitong knows Miss’s situation better. Let Bitong go fetch the doctor.”
Madam Yu had Bitong go.
Hui Xiang’s expression was uneasy. “Madam, Doctor Zhao is also a renowned doctor. It’s unlikely he was wrong. If we go through the trouble to invite another, and their prescriptions differ, giving Miss both medicines might harm her.”
Madam Yu thought for a moment and felt Hui Xiang had a point.
Ziming quickly said, “Madam, Doctor Liu has been treating you for so many years. He may not be wrong.”
Madam Yu said, “Exactly. I’ll go see Luo’er and hear what he says.”
Before long, Doctor Liu arrived. After checking Yu Luo’s pulse using the silk-thread method, he prescribed her medicine.
Madam Yu looked over the prescription: it listed “two liang each of Perilla leaves and Cyperus rhizome, one liang of dried tangerine peel, half liang of honey-fried licorice, and one liang each of Chuanxiong and Angelica dahurica.”
She compared it to yesterday’s prescription. Doctor Zhao’s medicine list had twice as many ingredients, and several were different.
Doctor Liu glanced at it and shook his head. “Miss Yu is an unmarried young lady, her body is weak. How could she endure such a harsh prescription? Even a healthy man in his twenties catching a cold shouldn’t take such strong medicine.”
Madam Yu was stunned.
Doctor Liu continued, “Fortunately, she only took yesterday’s medicine for one day. It didn’t cause serious harm. But if she had continued, it would not only fail to cure her illness but also exhaust her body.”
Madam Yu quickly gave Doctor Liu some reward silver and saw him out.
Ziming instructed the young maid to prepare Doctor Liu’s medicine for Yu Luo.
Madam Yu tenderly wiped Yu Luo’s forehead. “Luckily, you sensed something was wrong.”
Yu Luo said, “It seems yesterday’s doctor was incompetent. I don’t know who invited him.”
Madam Yu’s anger flared as soon as Yu Luo mentioned it.
After leaving Yu Luo’s room, Madam Yu ordered the servants, “Doctor Zhao is never to come to our residence again. That vile quack—fortunately, Luo’er is unharmed. If anything had happened to her, I would never forgive him!”
All the maids lowered their heads, not daring to speak.
Hui Xiang tried to protest, but suddenly Madam Yu slapped her across the face. “You presumptuous little wretch! If you dare act on such foolish ideas again, I’ll have you dismissed!”
Hui Xiang’s cheeks instantly flushed bright red in front of everyone.