Chapter 17
Terminal Lucidity?
Seeing how Chang An was mumbling to himself and sounding more ridiculous by the second, Uncle Sun glared at him. “I haven’t even said anything. What are you muttering on about?”
Chang An was stunned. Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask…
Uncle Sun had already turned around and pinched Zhou Linghuai hard. The unconscious Zhou Linghuai slowly woke up. Chang An was so surprised and delighted that he immediately threw himself onto his young master. “Young Master, you’re awake…”
Zhou Linghuai did not say anything, but merely glanced at Uncle Sun and then at the overjoyed Chang An. “What happened to me?”
Uncle Sun smiled at him and asked, “Young Master, how do you feel now? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”
Zhou Linghuai shook his head and pondered for a moment. “This is the most comfortable and refreshed I’ve felt in the past three years.”
Thinking back to the Young Master coughing his lungs out just a moment ago, and all the blood on his handkerchief, Chang An’s heart skipped a beat. He was shocked. What did Young Master mean by that? Was he suffering from terminal lucidity?
Uncle Sun stroked his long beard and smiled. “That’s good.”
Before Zhou Linghuai could speak, Chang An could not help but say with agitation, “Uncle Sun, Young Master was clearly coughing badly just now and vomited blood. Why do you still say that this is a good thing? Take a closer look at Young Master, he…”
Before he could finish speaking, his leg was kicked by Uncle Sun, and he cried out in pain. Uncle Sun then glared at him and said angrily, “You rascal, what are rambling about now? Are you saying that I’m wrong? And stop it with all your gesticulating.”
After being lectured by Uncle Sun, Chang An finally shut his mouth obediently, not daring to say anything more.
Uncle Sun took the blue handkerchief and pointed at the patch of bright red blood on it. “Young Master, you’d fallen ill from the long journey, and the ailment had spread through your body. Coughing up such a mouthful of blood is very serious and it meant you wouldn’t even live past tonight. Even if you survived, it had already shortened your lifespan, and you wouldn’t live for more than another three years.”
Zhou Linghuai nodded. After coughing out that mouthful of blood, he had indeed felt that his body had become weaker again, and had already expected this.
This blood was different from the one Young Master had vomited out earlier. When did Young Master cough up such scarlet blood? How could he not have known at all? Chang An widened his eyes in shock and opened his mouth to speak.
But Uncle Sun turned over the blue handkerchief and pointed at the lump of black and smelly blood on it. “Vile blood accumulates in all the internal organs. For some reason, Young Master has spat out this mouthful of it. It’s naturally a good thing for the vile blood to be expelled from the body.” After saying that, he turned to look at Chang An. “Do you understand now?”
Chang An lowered his head, not daring to say anything else, but feeling great relief in his heart.
Zhou Linghuai was also a little surprised. He glanced at the porcelain bowl on the table, his expression thoughtful.
Uncle Sun noticed his gaze and said, “Young Master, could it be that you coughed out the vile blood accumulated in your internal organs because you had eaten this bowl of bird’s nest?”
Zhou Linghuai said nothing.
Uncle Sun did not continue probing. “This bowl of bird’s nest is quite special indeed. It has to be brewed with an extremely good medicinal dew. It makes sense if Eldest Miss Yu was the one who sent it over. The Xie family in Quanzhou was known for their premium medicinal brew, and it was widely popular at one time as well. Although it failed to be passed down through generations properly, it’s not surprising that she still has some exceptional secret medicinal recipes on hand. This medicine heals the soul, nourishes the Qi, and strengthens the bones. It tackles Young Master’s illness. If you can eat it often, it will be extremely beneficial.”
Without an even expression, Zhou Linghuai nodded. “I understand.”
…
Yu Youyao had no idea about what had happened at The Green House. After dinner, she asked Chun Xiao to call the craftsmen and gardeners in charge of repairs and renovation in the residence. She also found a few capable old maids and servants, gathering a dozen people or so in total. Together, they headed to The Green House.
Meanwhile, in the house, Zhou Linghuai’s pulse was being taken by Uncle Sun. When he heard the commotion, he had Chang An to push him out to take a look.
Yu Youyao had already gotten her men to remove the threshold in front of the courtyard and changed it to a low, sloped one instead. She had even instructed a few old maids to shovel the flowers, wood, and pebbles that were in the way, and replaced them with green bricks that were smooth and wide.
Everyone in the courtyard was in full swing.
Seeing Zhou Linghuai come out, Yu Youyao led the maidservant over. “Cousin, Grandmother asked me to bring some people over to renovate The Green House, to make it more convenient to live in.”
Zhou Linghuai looked at her with a deep gaze. “Thank you, Cousin.”
The day before, the resident’s servants had already seen him at the inn, so of course the old madam was already aware that his leg was broken and that he was in a wheelchair.
If they had wanted to renovate the courtyard, they would have done so yesterday when they were cleaning up the courtyard. Why would they wait until everyone had moved into the residence today to do so?
It was most likely because the young mistress had almost made him fall off the wheelchair in the morning. She probably felt guilty and went to look for Old Madam. And that was why all this was taking place.
Yu Youyao felt sheepish under his gaze. “There are more places in the courtyard that need to be redone. It might be a little noisy. Why don’t you let Chun Xiao bring you around the residence so that you can familiarize yourself with the environment?”
“It’s fine.” Zhou Linghuai shook his head, his voice tinged with warmth. “I’ll just watch from the side.”
Hearing this, Yu didn’t insist further. “Okay, then. If there’s anything you’re dissatisfied with later, remember to let me know.”
Zhou Linghuai nodded.
The servants were quick and efficient in their work. The uneven areas in the courtyard were flattened one by one. Wooden ramps were placed beside the steps to make it easier for the wheelchair to go up and down. The thresholds in the house were also changed to low ones that were more accessible for a wheelchair.
The study, the bedroom, and the hall were all covered with jacquard-weave rugs. These rugs were thick and hairless, so it wouldn’t be difficult to push the wheelchair across it. The table and chairs with sharp corners had also been replaced with round tables and round stools. Fragile items such as porcelain vases were also replaced with delicate wood carvings, elegant bamboo carvings, and so on.
After laboring for an entire afternoon, The Green House had changed drastically. It was very convenient for the wheelchair to move around inside and outside the house.
Yu Youyao also personally placed a very expensive ‘Four Treasures of the Study’ set on the table. Then, she said to Zhou Linghuai, “In a while, I’ll pick a few vases of flowers and place them around the house. What flowers do you like?”
Zhou Linghuai looked around the study. “You decide.”
Yu Youyao did not decline. “We could put a few vases of expensive orchids in the study. A few pots of bamboo on the windowsill. It will exude an academia ambiance. Next, we could also pick a few vases of hanging orchids and hang them along the veranda, which will look good and won’t get in the way. We have to plant a grape vine in the courtyard and build a rack for it. We’ll rest in its shade during summer and eat its fruits in autumn.”
Zhou Linghuai pushed his own wheelchair and followed behind the little girl, listening to her chatter about what kinds of flowers to place here and what kinds of plants to grow there.
She even wanted the large vat in the courtyard to be planted with a lotus stalk, truly helping the place live up to its name—The Green House.
At the edge of the courtyard wall, vines were to grow all over the wall, and flowers would bloom all year round.
Finally, she pointed to the room at the side of the courtyard. “We’ll need to build a small kitchen there.”
Zhou Linghuai also had the same idea. He had to take his medicine very often and regularly, without fail, and he couldn’t head to the main kitchen all the time, as it would be too inconvenient.
The young lady had already considered everything for him.