Chapter 47: He Yue

The Liu family watched, baffled yet awed, as Bai Daifu drank wine from a porcelain basin — ahem, washed his hands with medical alcohol. Then he took the patient's temperature, measured his blood pressure, and counted his pulse. By the time Bai Daifu finished his work and sat down to prepare the infusion supplies, only Liu Daye and the steward had guessed one thing correctly — that glass-and-silver disc on Bai Daifu's wrist was probably some kind of sundial thingamajig.

Seeing Bai Shuchao sit down without a word and begin handling the objects on the table, Liu Yaozu could no longer contain the questions in his chest. He opened his mouth and asked, "Is the Great Master going to write out a pulse case?"

Bai Daifu chuckled and nodded. "The young master's illness has a name — it is called 'protracted typhoid fever complicated by pneumonia.' Liu Daye, please set your mind at ease. This humble monk will now administer needles and medicine. However, when applying the needles, I must concentrate my spirit and quiet my breath, so I beg your forgiveness."

Liu Yaozu chewed over the strange disease name Bai Daifu had reported while waving a hand. The steward understood. His sinister voice rang out at once: "Anyone who dares make another sound will be given twenty strokes of the board and sold to the slave traders!"

The whispered murmuring that had not ceased from the moment Master Miaoshu removed his kasaya finally died away.

The steward's intimidation was very much to Bai Daifu's satisfaction, so he created a little noise amid the silence — screech! Bai Daifu pulled a red sandalwood dragon-head clothes rack over from the corner and stopped it at the head of the bed.

The next moment, everyone witnessed an unforgettable scene.

A gleaming glass bottle was hung up, and a shining sharp needle was inserted into the young master Liu's blood vessel. In the end, the sound of indrawn breath still came through from outside the window.

He taped the back of young master Liu's hand, then adjusted the infusion speed. "Mm, that should do." The Great Master then turned his head and swept a glance over the dazed people, slowly beckoning toward He Yue at the doorway. "Come here, come here."

Under the steward's fierce glare, beneath Liu Daye's silent gaze, her thoughts in chaos, the girl lowered her head and walked up before the Great Master.

The Great Master's voice, brimming with Buddha-nature, rang out: "Do you see the water line in this bottle?"

A nod.

"When the water line drops to here, report it to me, alright?"

A nod.

"Mm, that concludes the matter then. I wonder if this household provides meals?"

Liu Yaozu: "..."

The Liu family naturally would not let this bald donkey simply walk away.

And so a certain person was invited to the neighboring courtyard. While waiting for the meal, Bai Shuchao truly expended a fair amount of breath before he made Liu Daye believe that what was inside that crystal bottle was not mountain spring water, but medicine.

Of course, all that breath only managed to make Liu Daye half-believing and half-doubting. And so, as he wolfed down his food — a left mouthful of ham-stewed softshell turtle, a right mouthful of Huangshan-stewed squab — the important figures of the Liu family were also collectively studying the label on the infusion bottle.

The bottle and the "soft glass tube" were not to be touched carelessly — the Great Master had instructed.

As for the characters on the label, everyone could recognize them, even though they were missing strokes.

It was just that the characters for "Lümeisu Zhusheye" — recognized separately, but combined, no one could decipher them.

As for the manufacturer, date, and such, those had long since been blacked out by the transmigrators.

Matters having developed to this stage, only that one saying remained: Don't watch the ad, watch the effect.

The effect was naturally guaranteed. A mere handful of transmigrators, all already like madmen beginning to discuss washing feet in the Thames — what did they rely on, if not the crystallization of several centuries of human science and technology?

The typhoid bacillus of the seventeenth century naturally could not escape this calamity either. That evening, the Liu family's eldest young master, Liu Siwei, opened his eyelids amid a shriek from the girl He Yue.

The image of Master Miaoshu in the hearts of the Liu family, at this moment, finally matched his own height — rising from one meter fifty-eight to one meter eighty-five.

Secondly, the Liu family's eldest young master began to take the initiative in eating, and his diarrhea was brought under control.

Later that night, the Great Monk Miaoshu, having drunk an excessive amount of yellow wine, was unconscious of all human affairs and was carried back to the guest room by the combined efforts of the steward and Liu Steward.

That very night, the following exchange occurred in Liu Daye's room:

"My lord, your wife just heard from Liu He that after tomorrow, the Great Master will stop using that 'water medicine' in the bottle for our son and switch to prepared medicine. What is to be done about this?"

"Mm, I know of this matter. It was something Liu He coaxed out while drinking with Miaoshu. It's probably that this 'water medicine' is not easily concocted — one can tell just by looking at that crystal bottle."

"My lord, this 'water medicine' is divinely effective. If the medicine is changed, what if our son suffers a relapse? I beseech my lord to present more silver tomorrow and ask the Great Master to do his utmost."

"A woman's understanding — what do you know? That man is not here to earn silver!"

"Ah, he doesn't want silver! Does he have some business with my lord? Is this man easy to talk to?"

"Sigh, it is precisely because he doesn't want silver that he is difficult to talk to."

"Your wife understands. Since that is the case, then tomorrow we shall perform the face-opening ceremony for He Yue and send her over together with her indenture contract."

"This... would not be quite proper."

"A mere lowly maidservant, not worth a single hair of my son. Your wife has only this one son — I beseech my lord to grant this."

"Sigh, a woman's understanding."

"Your wife thanks my lord."

Tangzhuang, a few days later.

The "Operation Save the Second Generation" had achieved perfect success. Liu Daye had formally expressed that he would step in to quell the situation when necessary, but all incurred expenses would be borne by the Transmigration Company itself.

In the most remote side courtyard of Tangzhuang, there thus appeared an extra person — a slender, delicate, and pretty girl in a floral-pattern soft dress, carrying a cloth bundle.

Yet Master Miaoshu, after successfully completing his mission, did not receive the hero's treatment he had imagined. Beneath the old locust tree in the rear garden, the Great Master's robes were disheveled, his eyes full of panic. Seven or eight large men surrounded him, shouting harsh questions, and from time to time someone behind him would shove the Great Master.

"Speak! Did you sleep with her or not?"

"Cough, I slept with her."

"You beast! Such a young girl, and you could actually bring yourself to do it?"

"Cough, not that young — she'll be sixteen right away."

"Ha?! You really are a beast!"

"Exactly, exactly! Bald donkeys are all like this — at the very least, a big animal!"

"Everyone, say something — ugh, how should we deal with this guy? My personal opinion — since this lecherous monk dared use public property for private gain, we should confiscate his illegal gains. How about common property, common wife?"

"Great idea!"

"Agreed!"

"Seconded!"

Master Miaoshu was actually not afraid of this sort of thing. Before transmigrating, when his wife caught him in adultery, he had been besieged by his brothers-in-law — he had experience in this area. Originally, he had planned to play the coward and muddle through this, but this time he had miscalculated. Upon hearing the utterly depraved slogan "common property, common wife," he instantly realized: this was the Great Ming Dynasty, a lawless place — the Director could not help him here.

Seeing the crisis about to descend, the Great Master, at this moment, had a sudden flash of inspiration and bellowed: "Can that many people even share her? Brothers, Xia is actually the chief culprit! Think about it carefully — do we men lack silver? Who exactly is obstructing everyone's sexual bliss — do I even need to say it?!"

The crowd suddenly fell silent, then turned their heads in unison to look at one person standing on the outer edge of the circle.