Chapter 35: Good slave slave, hurry up and speak!

By this point in the story, even a simpleton could tell what Hei Lao Daifu really meant.

Moreover, Du Shanü is no simpleton.

Hei Lao Daifu taking in a fugitive and going to the trouble of treating them already bears great risk; how could we shamelessly keep asking for shelter?

Putting ourselves in his shoes, if the matter fell to Du Shanü, she wouldn't be sure she could have even a fraction of such magnanimity!

Taking in a criminal is an act of kindness.

Now speaking plainly to avoid endangering ourselves and our grandson is selfishness.

Few people realize that kindness and selfishness never actually conflict.

Du Shanü made a snap decision, pulled out a silver horn again, swiftly shoved it into Xiao Yao Tong's hand, and then said:

"Doctor, rest assured; having received your help, we will certainly not burden you."

"It's just that the rain outside is heavy, the patient's wounds haven't healed, and they're still in a deep sleep......"

Upon hearing this, Hei Lao Daifu also let out a big sigh of relief, murmuring:

"It's fine, it's fine; I was just a little worried... sigh, I'm just too narrow‑minded. Now that we've talked it out, there's really nothing serious."

"Now the rain is quite heavy; you'd better stay here to rest, warm yourselves by the fire to drive off the damp, and wait until later when the sky darkens and the rain eases—then you'll be less conspicuous leaving. If you need to fetch medicine or see a doctor later, just come find me; wherever your legs can carry you, I'll surely come running......"

Everything was arranged properly and clearly.

Du Shanü had always known that truly wicked people are exceedingly rare in this world; most are muddled, unaware whether they are doing good or evil.

But upon hearing such meticulous care and advice, her heart could not help being moved.

She noted down each instruction, then asked about Yu Hen's and Chinu's ailments; Yu Hen, who had been anxious, heard Hei Lao Daifu say Chinu could be cured, finally let out a breath of relief, leaned against the bedside, and dozed off in a daze.

Seeing him like that, Du Shanü felt like laughing for no reason, moved a chair to Chinu's bedside, and sat down leaning against Yu Baobao.

Just then, Xiao Yao Tong happened to bring out a brazier of charcoal to warm them.

The charcoal in the brazier was already somewhat cracked; when lit it crackled noisily, obviously old stock that had been hoarded for years and grudgingly used.

Du Shanü felt a stir in her heart and opened her mouth to speak, but saw Xiao Yao Tong carefully set down the brazier, then retreat to the little earthen stove by the counter, where he and A Ye chatted softly while brewing medicine.

Everything was quite ordinary, giving no impression of worrying about a fugitive's identity or seeking recompense.

The old and the young seemed merely to be seeing a few ordinary patients at a routine noon.

Regardless of the thunderstorm raging outside, all they wanted was a clear space inside the medicine furnace.

This ordinary market‑town bustle truly put the heart at ease.

With the brazier behind her and the warm Yu Baobao at her side, in this reassuring atmosphere Du Shanü unconsciously relaxed her guard, leaned her head against Yu Baobao's, and drifted off into a drowsy sleep.

This should have been a pleasant dream, yet in her hazy state she saw Hei Lao Daifu, unbeknownst when, reach her side and grab her wrist.

Du Shanü had been out in the rain; her eyelids and body felt heavy, and for a moment she couldn't get up.

But in an instant she dimly realized what Hei Lao Daifu intended......

Hei Lao Daifu stroked his beard, his face solemn, and declared his diagnosis:

"Deficient heart‑yin, restless ministerial fire, excessive yin that cannot be discharged......"

"No no no!"

"What you fear is what will happen!"

"She hasn't even paid, yet Hei Lao Daifu still dares to examine her!!!"

"Although her skin is usually thick‑skinned, she now has two people beside her!!!"

"She had just laughed at Yu Hen and Chinu; now she can't possibly be caught red‑handed on her words, can she?!"

"Wouldn't that be her face, the doctor's toes?!"

"Du Shanü has seen no shortage of grand scenes......"

"This scene she truly has never seen; she truly panicked."

Thus Du Shanü had no choice but to "plead bitterly":

"Doctor, doctor, spare my life; I'm just an honest, dutiful woman—I truly can't bear to hear this!!!!"

Du Shanü was greatly agitated; in the face of the impending embarrassment, her whole‑body fatigue seemed to dissolve into nothing——

She sprang to her feet, startling the brazier behind her to shake; the whole house filled with her voice and the crackling of the jumping charcoal.

Those lying asleep, those prone asleep, and the grandfather‑grandson pair chatting at the counter were all startled by the sound, turning their gazes toward her.

Exactly then Du Shanü suddenly realized there was actually no Hei Lao Daifu beside her to "treat" him; Hei Lao Daifu had been sitting properly, teaching his grandson to identify medicinal herbs!

In that instant, Du Shanü seemed to see three black lines on her own forehead——

Good news: it was just a dream.

Bad news: although she wasn't examined, her own guilt was so strong that she seemed to have unintentionally shouted something......

"Hiss."

"These days, truly miserable."

"Although she has always held the maxim 'Se Zi Tou Shang Yi Dao—if you can take one stab, it's one stab,' but if she were discovered......"

Du Shanü pinched her face, sat back down, and forced herself to calm, saying:

"I just had a nightmare, it's fine, it's fine......"

Yu Hen was the first to believe, tilting his head to rub Du Shanü's palm, then again dozed off prone.

Although the rain outside had lessened a bit, the pattering drizzle was still noisy; the grandfather‑grandson pair, far off, couldn't hear Du Shanü's words clearly, so they simply continued identifying herbs.

Only the awakened Chinu, narrowing his phoenix eyes, looked at Du Shanü and suddenly gave a cold chuckle:

"Always pretending to be honest and dutiful...... interesting?"

Du Shanü treated it as if he'd farted, feigning ignorance despite understanding:

"Good slave slave, are you feeling better? You were just in dire straits—I was truly scared to death!"

"When I carried you on the mountain path, my heart kept thumping, constantly thinking what we'd do if something happened to you......"

Nu nu is what Yu Baobao calls Chinu.

But Du Shanü, when she says she'll steal, she steals; when she starts speaking softly, she doesn't bother with all that irrelevant detail.

Chinu's originally slightly scrutinizing gaze paused, then shifted away:

"... There's no need to keep playing with favors; I know you sent me out in the rain, and it's not entirely without ulterior motive."

"I have a piece of information known only to heaven, earth, and myself that I can tell you to repay your efforts on this journey."

Just... the news?

Du Shanü, whose thoughts had been exposed once again, upon hearing this, instantly began to wail incessantly—

It seems the maneuver "Rain-Induced Fever Mother's Back"...

It's not always able to move a rebellious child, huh!

She had thought this time would surely make that Chief Minister bow his head, but she only got a piece of news of unknown worth!

Perhaps sensing Du Shanü's disappointment, Chinu pressed her lips and lowered her gaze:

"Don't want?"

"How could I not want it!"

"Even a fly's leg, small as it is, is still meat!"

Du Shanü bowed her head and lowered her body, resignedly bringing her ear close to the other person.

A faint, fragrant mist at the girl's ear dispelled the bitter medicinal smell, curling around the tip of her nose; a wisp of loose hair fell, barely visible, into her dark eyes.

The skinny youth beneath the girl's pupils contracted slightly, and he unconsciously lowered his eyelids.

Du Shanü remained silent for a few breaths; seeing no answer forthcoming, she finally spoke to urge him on:

"Sir?"

The skinny youth remained silent for a few breaths, swallowed the words he had intended to say, and murmured another piece of earth-shattering news:

"A famous general of the Northern Dynasties, He Lian Bo Bo...... can be persuaded to defect."

Is that so? Chinu's information network is the strongest!