Chapter 63: Du Ruhui: I Must Properly Receive Chen Yan

Cai Duke's residence.

Madam Xiao learned that Chen Yan had arrived, and personally brought Du Gou to welcome him.

Upon meeting, Madam Xiao's gaze swept over the little girl in Chen Yan's arms, and she felt doubtful.

Earlier, the emperor's decree marrying off the Princess of Gao Yang to the Marquis of Weinan spread throughout Chang'an, so she naturally knew about it.

Since the emperor granted the marriage, that proves the Marquis of Weinan must be unmarried, right?

As his only son, he has no surviving relatives; where did this little girl come from?

However, now is not the time to investigate these matters; Madam Xiao smiled and said, "I wondered why magpies have been circling and calling above my house all day."

"So it's Nephew Zi An who has come; please, come inside."

Du Gou bowed and said, "Du Gou, I pay my respects to the Marquis of Weinan."

He is four years older than Chen Yan and currently serves as an attendant to the Crown Prince, holding a sixth-rank official position.

Although Chen Yan holds no formal office, he does possess a noble title, so his salute is appropriate.

Chen Yan gestured that Du Gou need not stand on ceremony, then turned to Madam Xiao and said, "Aunt Xiao, the magpies calling above your house are probably not for me."

"I see your face bright and your spirits refreshed; I suppose Cai Duke's condition has improved?"

Upon mentioning this, Madam Xiao's eyes filled with gratitude as she said, "Thanks to Nephew Zi An's treatment, although my lord's wound still hurts, his condition has indeed improved."

"The Imperial Physician later took my lord's pulse and said the intestinal abscess has been cured; he only needs to rest for a while to make a full recovery."

Speaking of this, Madam Xiao felt moved.

Since Chen Yan left yesterday, she and her two sons went to visit Du Ruhui, and only then did she learn from Du Gou about the treatment process.

Chen Yan actually cut open Du Ruhui's abdomen, excised a disgusting mass, and then sutured it shut.

To be honest, when she first heard this, she even thought her son was lying.

Only when she personally saw Du Ruhui's abdominal wound and the sutures resembling a centipede did she fully believe Du Gou's words.

At last she understood why Du Ruhui had let out such agonized howls the previous day.

After hearing this, Chen Yan felt somewhat relieved and said, "Aunt Xiao, let's have tea later; I'd like to first check on Cai Duke."

"You still need to be vigilant these two days to avoid any unexpected developments."

Madam Xiao had no objection and led Chen Yan to Du Ruhui's residence.

Upon entering and looking up, they saw Du Ruhui leaning against the bed, reading a book.

Seeing the door open, he turned his head and saw his wife and children, and Chen Yan holding Sizi.

Du Ruhui hastily lifted the blanket, preparing to get out of bed.

Chen Yan startled, quickly called out, "Cai Duke, you must not!"

Du Ruhui firmly replied, "Why not?"

"The debt of saving a life is greater than heaven!"

"As a benefactor has come to my door, how could I not get out of bed to greet him?"

"Oh, cut it out!" Chen Yan set down Sizi, rushed over, and pressed Du Ruhui back onto the bed.

Then he said impatiently, "You're supposed to rest in bed; excessive movement could reopen the wound, which would be troublesome."

Madam Xiao also urged, "My lord, just listen to Zi An; we have plenty of time ahead—why rush?"

Both said this, so Du Ruhui relented and leaned back against the bed.

Chen Yan turned to Du Gou and said, "Please, Du Gou, prepare some pollen of cattail soaked in boiling water, fire‑dried gauze and handkerchiefs, and a basin of boiling water."

Du Gou replied, "No problem; you mentioned these yesterday, we have them ready—I'll have someone bring them over now."

After saying that, he left.

Chen Yan got straight to the point: "Cai Duke, I've come today to examine your wound; please remove your clothing so I can check it."

Du Ruhui wasted no words, taking off his inner garments to reveal his abdomen wrapped in gauze.

Chen Yan was about to undo the gauze when he heard a startled cry from Xiao Sizi behind him.

"Yah~ Uncle is shy~"

Sizi covered her eyes and burrowed into Chen Yan's arms.

Chen Yan: "......"

Madam Xiao: "......"

Du Ruhui: "......"

"Ji... Ji... Little Princess of Jinyang?"

Du Ruhui wasn't entirely sure if he was seeing correctly.

He had previously seen the Princess of Jinyang once, and besides, his attention had been fixed on Chen Yan just now, so he hadn't paid much attention to her.

Only when Sizi cried out and ran over did he notice that the little girl resembled the Princess of Jinyang.

"The Princess of Jinyang?" Madam Xiao exclaimed in surprise.

I had thought the little girl Chen Yan brought was a relative of his family, but it turns out she is the little princess.

Chen Yan explained, "The Little Princess of Jinyang is not in good health; His Majesty asked me to look after her, so I brought her out for a stroll today."

"I see." Du Ruhui suddenly understood.

He had indeed heard that the Princess of Jinyang, Li Mingda, was in poor health.

At that moment, Du Gou brought in the items Chen Yan had requested, carried by two maidservants.

Chen Yan held Sizi and whispered, "Sizi, would you like to go play outside for a while? Elder Brother needs to treat the uncle."

He had forgotten that in ancient times some concepts are weighty; even though Sizi is young, these things still require attention.

"Okay, Elder Brother, I'll be waiting for you with some twisted noodles~"

Chen Yan said to the two maidservants who had just entered, "Please look after the little princess and don't let her wander off."

Older brother, how come you're not fat and just running around?

Sizi pouted and said something, then waddled out.

Madam Xiao gave a look, and the two maids also followed out.

After Sizi left, Chen Yan unwrapped Du Ruhui's gauze and gently cleaned the pollen powder with a handkerchief.

After cleaning the pollen powder, Chen Yan carefully examined the wound, finding it mildly red and swollen, warm, with slightly raised edges.

A small amount of pale yellow fluid seeped out.

These are normal inflammatory reactions within three days after surgery, and no worsening was observed.

Madam Xiao anxiously asked, "Zi An's nephew, how is my lord?"

Chen Yan answered truthfully, "Duke Cai's condition is not bad, but he still needs to be careful for the first three days; he can only eat light meals."

"Especially the medicine I gave, it must be taken on time."

While speaking, he reapplied the pollen powder and bandaged Du Ruhui's wound.

Madam Xiao and Du Gou both felt relieved upon hearing that.

Du Ruhui immediately said, "Madam, it's almost noon; quickly have the kitchen kill a head of cattle, and today you will entertain Marquis Weinan in my place."

"Eh, okay!" Madam Xiao, upon hearing that, intended to leave.

"Madam Xiao, please wait."

Chen Yan hastily said, "The law clearly forbids slaughtering oxen; as a high-ranking official, Duke Cai must always be careful in his words and deeds—don't let those censors find an excuse to impeach me because of this."

Du Ruhui snorted coldly, "The oxen from General Cheng Yaojin's family die every day with no problem; what harm would eating one do?"

"Madam, just go ahead; I don't think those censors dare say anything."

Madam Xiao hesitated, "My lord, maybe we shouldn't slaughter an ox—after all, slaughtering oxen requires filing, and we might not have time."

Chen Yan secretly rejoiced, now he probably wouldn't think of slaughtering an ox to feed him, right?

Being so polite makes him feel embarrassed.

Du Ruhui pondered for a moment, then said, "If we can't get an ox in time, a horse should work, right?"

"I remember His Majesty once bestowed me a fine horse; go slaughter it and eat it!"

Chen Yan: "......"

What a good fellow.

I directly think he's a good fellow.

You say you'll slaughter the horse that Emperor Taizong bestowed?

Given Emperor Taizong's character of loving horses as his own life, once he finds out he'll probably be furious to death.

Chen Yan could only helplessly say, "Duke Cai, how could you slaughter the horse bestowed by His Majesty? Forget it."

"Hmm..." Du Ruhui thought, "Marquis Weinan makes sense; I indeed haven't considered things thoroughly enough."

"If a horse won't work, then a donkey; I have a donkey at home."

Du Gou suddenly said, "Father, we only have one donkey, and we need to keep it for grinding."

Du Ruhui slapped his forehead, "I almost forgot, a donkey probably won't work."

Chen Yan's face broke into a smile, but before he could be happy...

Du Ruhui then said, "If we can't slaughter a donkey, how about a mule?"

"Our mule is quite fat!"

Chen Yan: "......"

Your family...

Animals, truly fucking many.

"......"