“It should be called a love letter~~”
Her little sister’s cheeky voice rang in her ear. Chu Mingxi shot her an annoyed glare. Chu Mingyu had sharp eyes and noticed her sister’s face had already turned slightly red.
Voices came faintly from the Front Hall. Chu Mingxi gave a light cough and pushed open the flower-pierced door.
The visitor was indeed a servant from the Grand General’s Mansion, one of the regular attendants who often accompanied trips. This time, he had brought a letter, insisting that the Heir Apparent had exhorted him repeatedly — it must be delivered directly to the Young Mistress’s hands.
“The Heir Apparent left the capital that very day. I believe it was just a little while after the Young Mistress,” the man kowtowed, then stood with his hands at his sides and his head lowered, replying. “I set out early the next morning. Originally, I shouldn’t have arrived only now. It’s truly…” He rubbed his hands together, ill at ease. “It’s truly because that Big Braying Donkey slipped and stumbled halfway, throwing me off, which is why… why I’m late by this much. I beg the Young Mistress’s forgiveness.”
Chu Mingxi saw he was covered in dust and was indeed hobbling a bit. She had Shopkeeper Yu take a look at him and let him settle temporarily in the servants’ quarters.
The spring chill lingered. Time seemed to shorten. By the time the medicines in the room were sorted and stored, the sun outside was already slanting westward. The two sisters had their evening meal and returned to their respective rooms to wash up. Chu Mingyu, having nothing to do, came to her sister’s room again to visit, only to find her sister half-reclined on the couch, still holding a sheet of letter paper.
“Huh?” Chu Mingyu’s smile was sly as she sidled up entirely.
Chu Mingxi casually put the letter away.
“Sister, what are you holding?” Chu Mingyu craned her neck like a little cat. “Let me see, is it a love letter?”
Chu Mingxi wanted to glare at her, but she had become as thick-skinned and naughty as a boy — glaring was useless.
“It’s the Binding Spell. Want me to recite a passage?”
“Don’t.” Chu Mingyu was still laughing, covering her head. “You’d better save it to recite for Brother-in-law.”
Chu Mingxi’s mouth also curved into a smile.
After chatting idly about family matters for a while, Chu Mingyu pulled over an embroidered stool and sat in front of the Imperial Concubine couch, her face full of curiosity. “Where exactly did Brother-in-law go? Wasn’t he supposed to come to the Peaceful Ease Prefecture with us?”
“I don’t know where he is either. The letter only says His Majesty dispatched him on an urgent matter of importance. The matter was so pressing, he only had time to tell the family before leaving the capital that very day.” Chu Mingxi spoke in a calm tone, but she leaned back against the cushion, as if sighing in helplessness.
Seeing her sister’s low spirits, Chu Mingyu wanted to cheer her up. The lamp on the table was half burned down, casting a swaying orange glow across the floor. Chu Mingyu rested one hand on the edge of the couch, turned on her side to look at the candlelight, and said in a deliberately deep voice, “Sister, look — when the lamp is half-dim, when the moon is half-bright.”
Chu Mingxi followed her gaze to the dancing candlelight. She was stunned for a moment before realizing this little minx was mocking her, quoting that line about “only just realizing what love is, only then to suffer lovesickness.”
At once, she was both embarrassed and annoyed, raising a hand to scold her. “You wicked girl! Let’s see if I don’t tear your mouth!”
Chu Mingyu laughed while dodging, eventually tumbling into her sister’s arms, clutching her stomach. “Ouch, my stomach hurts! Sis, quick, rub it for me.”
“Serves you right!” Chu Mingxi gritted her teeth but, in the end, just gave her cheek a pinch — neither too light nor too heavy.
Just as they were messing around, the sound of talking came from the outer room. Chu Mingyu’s sharp ear twitched. “It’s Song Jia.” She then called out, “Come in and report.”
Song Jia, however, remained standing outside the door and raised her voice. “Eldest Young Miss, Second Young Miss. It’s a matter from the shop. The night watchman has come to deliver a message.”
This late?! Chu Mingyu was startled and looked at her sister.
Chu Mingxi furrowed her brow and rose from the couch. “No matter. Let him in to report.”
“Yes, miss.”
Qingdai lifted the door curtain to the side. A young assistant, accompanied by Song Jia, came forward. He was well-mannered, keeping his head down and not daring to look around carelessly. Only his voice was somewhat hurried. “Miss Boss, someone has come in the middle of the night seeking medical help.”
What time is it already, and they’re still seeking medical help?! Chu Mingyu was full of complaints, but held back because her sister had a serious expression.
The assistant added, “It’s too late. The physicians who take consultations have all gone home. We told him to come back tomorrow, but the person said it’s a life-threatening emergency that can’t wait until tomorrow.”
“Where is the person?” Chu Mingxi had already gently pushed her sister away and was walking out.
“In the front shop, crying and making a scene.” The assistant was quick, jogging ahead to lead the way.
Seeing that the sky had already darkened, Qingdai and Song Jia hastily took traveling cloaks from the rack and draped them over the Eldest and Second Young Misses’ shoulders.
When they reached the front hall of the shop, they indeed saw a man around thirty years old, wearing a deeply worried frown, waiting by the counter. Another shop lad was keeping him company — it happened to be the one, Xiao Ji, who had gone to the Capital City some time ago. Upon seeing the assistant, the man’s eyes lit up. But when he saw that the ones coming out were two young women, his expression immediately became blank and bewildered.
“What are the symptoms?” Chu Mingxi had people light several tall lamps and asked crisply and without hesitation.
The man was at the point of being utterly disoriented. Hearing the question, he quickly answered, “It’s my little son. He fell off the kang… just… just fell and got hurt. I beg the physician to come and see.”
“Fell off? That’s an external injury. It wouldn’t hurt to see to it tomorrow.” Chu Mingyu, hearing the man’s vague description, felt doubt in her heart and quickly blocked her sister.
Chu Mingxi said nothing, just silently looked at that man.
The man let out an “Ah” and stepped forward anxiously. “No, no, no. My little son, he… he fell and hurt his neck. His face is all twisted. We don’t even dare to touch him. He cries the moment we do, but he can’t even cry out…” The man was so frantic he was babbling, his eyes bloodshot. His large hands reached out as if to grab her. “Bodhisattva! Bodhisattva, please save my son!”
“Insolence!” Qingdai and the assistant Xiao Ji, who were standing guard nearby, immediately stepped forward to block him.
The man stammered and shrank his hands back. The anxiety and distress on his face surged out together. He still pleaded, his eyes reddening.
Chu Mingxi considered for only a moment before turning and ordering, “Have the coachman harness a carriage.”
Xiao Ji left with a yes. The man was asked to wait outside. Qingdai, without waiting for the Eldest Young Miss to speak, had already gone back to the room with practiced ease to fetch the medical kit.
“Sister!” Chu Mingyu was frantic. “You’re really going!”
“If it’s truly a neck injury from a fall, it cannot be delayed. I will go and see.”
“I’m going too!”
“Let Lei Min bring a few people along. You don’t need to go out this late at night.”
“It’s precisely because it’s so late that I must go with you!” Chu Mingyu’s temper rose. She firmly grabbed her sister’s hand. “If you don’t let me go, then you’re not going either!”
Chu Mingxi rubbed her forehead, unable to do anything about her.
When they arrived at that family’s home, the night had already deepened. Lei Min first went in with the man to look around. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he came out to invite the Eldest and Second Young Misses to enter.
It was an ordinary civilian dwelling. In the courtyard sat an old man, puffing away on his tobacco pipe. The man walked up and called out “Father.” The old man had deep wrinkles on his forehead. He glanced at them and jutted his chin towards the house, but that look in his eyes clearly showed he had already given up hope.
Chu Mingyu’s heart sank as she watched her sister walk into the house.
Inside, an oil lamp was lit. Two women were gathered around the edge of the heated kang bed. The younger one was wiping away tears while one hand soothed the child on the bed. Seeing them enter, both women were stunned.
Chu Mingxi ignored all this, walking straight to the kang bed to look at the injured child.
“Where did he fall from?” she asked casually.
“Right on this kang,” the young woman, likely the child’s mother, answered. “He was playing by himself on the kang. We looked away for just a moment, and he fell.”
The little boy was about four or five years old, already lacking any vitality. His head was tilted to one side at an unnatural angle, and his little face was purplish from lack of breath.
Chu Mingxi reached out her hand, gently palpating his neck, and her brow furrowed deeply.
“Have you moved his neck?”
Her voice was clear and cool, devoid of emotion, but the few people in the room felt their hearts lurch with panic at the question.
It was the man from earlier who shouted, “The Bodhisattva is asking you a question!”
The form of address came out of nowhere. Those standing, however, didn’t dwell on it. The elderly woman said, trembling, “Just now… just now, your father and I tried…”
“Tried what?!” The man was furious. “Didn’t I say to wait for the doctor?!”
“But you didn’t come back for so long. The baby looked like he was in bad shape!” The old woman cried out loud. “Begged the doctor to come, but the doctor never showed! My poor little grandson…”
The man was so agitated he wanted to curse, but this was his own mother — he couldn’t open his mouth. He could only look at Chu Mingxi and say, “Bodhisattva… please, look at my little son… he…”
“Everyone else, go outside first.” These people were truly too noisy. Chu Mingxi nodded to the young woman. “You stay here. That will be enough.”
“Oh…” The man rubbed his hands. He dragged and half-carried his old mother, finally getting her out of the room after much difficulty.
Chu Mingyu and the others also withdrew, leaving only Qingdai with the medical kit to stay inside with Chu Mingxi.
They hadn’t waited long when suddenly a loud wail came from inside the room. “My child!” Just that one cry, followed immediately by silence.
Chu Mingyu’s heart sank. The man had been waiting anxiously at the door. Hearing this cry, he hastily pushed the door open and ran in.
“My son! Why have you stopped breathing?!” The man came in to see his wife collapsed to the side. The beautiful woman he’d fetched was frowning and pressing her philtrum. His little son’s head had been straightened, the tiny figure lying on the kang, his face a deathly, ashen gray. Reaching to feel for breath, the man found his child wasn’t breathing at all.
The man was both shocked and furious. He raised his fist to strike, but just as his hand went over his head, someone grabbed his wrist fiercely.
It turned out Lei Min, in the courtyard, heard the commotion and rushed over immediately, afraid something might happen to the Eldest Young Miss. Sure enough, seeing this man about to get violent, he quickly seized the man’s arm and wrenched it back hard. The man couldn’t help but cry out in pain.
The elderly couple also entered the room. Seeing their grandson lying there with his fate unknown, tears streamed down their faces instantly. The old woman yelled loudly, “My baby! My good grandson! This cruel woman has killed my grandson!”
Saying this, she dodged past everyone and charged headlong at Chu Mingxi.
Qingdai hurriedly threw down the medical kit to block her. The not-spacious room was now packed with people. Chu Mingyu was at the doorway, stomping her foot frantically. Just when the chaos reached its peak, the old man, face full of grief, stepped forward. Chu Mingxi, anxious in her heart, didn’t bother about the old woman’s collision anymore and swiftly moved to the kang’s edge, her eyes and hands quick, pressing down on the old man’s hand as he reached to embrace his grandson.
“Don’t move him!”
Her sudden cold shout cut through the clamor, its clear and sharp voice easily quelling everyone present.
