Chapter 248: Searching for the Eldest Sister at Night, She Leaves No Trace

"Little Immortal, is there still hope for my husband?"

Looking at Lingxiang as she felt the pulse, the Cishi's wife asked nervously, but then suddenly feeling she had spoken wrongly, she hurriedly covered her mouth.

My husband is blessed with longevity; he will surely be fine.

Thinking this, the Cishi's wife hurriedly pressed her palms together to pray to the heavens, while saying that her previous words were unintentional and hoping the High God would not take them to heart.

Yet Lingxiang seemed not to hear the Cishi's wife's muttering, only focusing her mind to carefully examine Liu Cishi's pulse.

Regarding the art of pulse-taking, Lingxiang knew she was not skilled; if Fuyin Zhenren were here, he would certainly be able to discern the truth amidst the subtle, floating, and sinking rhythms, but now she could only brace herself and proceed.

Previously, the manor had invited a physician who asserted that Liu Cishi had consumption, but Lingxiang felt it was not so.

Liu Cishi's outward symptoms were indeed aversion to cold and white phlegm, but they were accompanied by signs of tidal fever, and his cough was heavy; it was not entirely the appearance of consumption.

Under Lingxiang's careful pulse-taking, she discovered that Liu Cishi's pulse was floating and tight, as if there were an aversion to cold, so she hurriedly leaned her ear against Liu Cishi's chest.

This startled the Cishi's wife; although it is said that for a healer there is no distinction between male and female, for a girl of such an age to suddenly lean over a man's body was somewhat improper.

The Cishi's wife was just about to speak, but then she saw Lingxiang stand up, pry open Liu Cishi's mouth, and observe carefully for a moment before shaking her head.

Seeing Lingxiang act this way, the Cishi's wife was greatly alarmed and hurriedly stepped forward to ask, "Little Immortal, could it be that my husband..."

"It is nothing, it is nothing," Lingxiang said while comforting the Cishi's wife, and then she took off her face veil: "Madam, please set your heart at ease; the illness Cishi-daren suffers from is not consumption."

Hearing these words, the Cishi's wife finally breathed a sigh of relief, but she did not understand: "Since my husband's illness is not consumption, why did the Little Immortal act that way?"

"Cishi-daren's phlegm is white and thin, and his body is weak with the right path yielding to cold; this is caused by the evil of an external epidemic pathogen initially invading the lung-defense system. The pathogen entered through the mouth and nose, hence the appearance of external-contraction surface symptoms. Subsequently, it stirred up latent phlegm, obstructing the flow of Qi, and the lungs lost their ability to disperse and descend, which is why the violent coughing intensified. This is epidemic cough."

This explanation of pathology left the Cishi's wife feeling bewildered: "What does this mean?"

"It is whooping cough."

"Whooping cough? Isn't that a child's illness?" The Cishi's wife was greatly puzzled; Liu Cishi was past the age of fifty, how could he contract such an illness?

Lingxiang shook her head: "Madam, you are unaware; although this illness is common in infants, it is possible for it to afflict adults as well. The previous physician likely was not specialized in internal medicine, and these two conditions are somewhat similar; it is just that epidemic cough is rarely seen in the elderly, and its initial symptoms are similar to consumption, which is why it was misdiagnosed as Cishi-daren having consumption."

The Cishi's wife deeply agreed; when Liu Cishi first developed a fever, the Cishi's wife had thought to find a physician in the city, but Cishi-daren said he was accustomed to military doctors and insisted on having the physician from the Second General's camp invited over.

Military doctors are mostly skilled in treating falls and external injuries; how would they understand such things?

"However, Madam, do not set your heart at ease too early," Lingxiang continued: "Although this illness is not as difficult to deal with as consumption, it is contagious. There is no need to isolate the courtyard, but it is best that no one else enters the room, especially children."

"When you, Madam, serve the medicinal decoction, it is best to cover your face with a cloth to avoid coming into contact with the droplets when Cishi-daren coughs."

Lingxiang said this while instructing the Cishi's wife, and began to write a prescription: "As for the medicine from outside, except for the Dusan Tang, withdraw all the others. Cishi-daren has a cold-type illness and cannot take fire-purging medicines like rhubarb or rhinoceros horn."

As she spoke, she blew on the newly written prescription to dry the ink, and said to Qin Pozi who was standing to the side: "Here are two doses of medicine, one for internal consumption and one for a medicinal bath. Hand them to the people outside the courtyard to have them filled quickly; get more for the bath. Also, instruct the women outside the door that when the bath water arrives, tell everyone to bathe to dispel the illness-Qi."

Once she finished speaking, she turned to the Cishi's wife and said: "It would be best for you, Madam, to bathe as well, to avoid catching the illness-Qi."

Seeing Lingxiang arrange matters in such an orderly fashion, the Cishi's wife could not help but be astonished—how old could this young girl be? Not only was her medical skill remarkable, but she could also calmly settle all these affairs; she was truly extraordinary!

Once the household heard that Liu Cishi's illness was not consumption, Liu Zhong and Liu Xia both breathed a great sigh of relief, and Liu Yaoshi even burned incense and bowed high to thank the ancestors for their protection.

Just as the family was rejoicing, Lingxiang was nowhere to be found, leaving only a note that meticulously explained how to administer the medicine.

And also missing was Xin Yi.

This was strange; they came like a gust of wind and left like a gust of wind. What exactly were these two thinking?

Surprise was surprise, but Liu Xia did not delve deeper. Although the cause of his father's illness was clear and there was a prescription to treat it, his eldest sister's reaction left him puzzled.

Although the Cishi's wife had explicitly stated that the eldest sister was not to be told of their father's illness, how could that be foolproof? It was not impossible that some gossiping maid or servant might have let it slip in their spare time.

Furthermore, even if she truly did not know of their father's condition, why was there not even a shred of response after receiving that Pouch? She hadn't even sent one of her personal maids.

Inside was a Pouch she had embroidered with her own hands!

Liu Xia was completely baffled, but since he could not figure it out for the moment, he decided to go and ask for the truth that night.

Around the third watch, when the night was deep and quiet, Liu Xia slipped out of his room, evaded the manor's guards, took a slight detour, and arrived at the eldest Miss Liu's courtyard.

This route was familiar to him; after all, he had often done this when he was a child.

Don't look at Liu Xia as being so upright now; when he was a child, he was a mischievous one, often committing errors and being punished by kneeling in the ancestral hall. And every time he was punished, he could always sneak out, hide in the eldest Miss Liu's courtyard, and wait until everyone in the house was worried enough before running out, thus avoiding the punishment.

After all, Liu Xia was born to the Cishi and his wife in their old age, and having experienced hardships, he was treasured dearly.

The eldest Miss Liu's courtyard was still the same as before, full of flowers and plants, with only a swing hanging quietly, not moving at all. Liu Xia loved this swing the most when he was a child, and every time he came, he would beg the eldest Miss Liu to push him on it.

But Liu Xia was only in a daze for a moment before he regained his senses.

Now was not the time to reminisce about the past.

He climbed over the railing under the veranda and crouched down to avoid the windows of the maids and servants; although he moved with long, swift strides, he did not make the slightest sound.

"Cuckoo, cuckoo..." A cuckoo's call; this was the secret signal between Liu Xia and the eldest Miss Liu when they were children, but strangely, after waiting for a long while, the eldest Miss Liu's door did not open.

"Cuckoo, cuckoo..." Helpless, Liu Xia called out two more times, but the door still showed no sign of movement.

This was strange; although it was already deep in the night, he knew his eldest sister, and she was definitely not the type to sleep like the dead.

Could it be that she was not in the room?

Liu Xia pulled a wooden hairpin from his hair, gently pried open the wooden bolt inside the door, and slipped in.

The room was pitch black, with only streaks of moonlight filtering in through the window cracks, dappling the floor, walls, and chairs, but not a single person was to be seen.

Strange, strange; where could the eldest sister have gone at this hour?

Just as Liu Xia was puzzled, a palm wind struck, accompanied by a whistling sound, heading straight for Liu Xia's face.