Chapter 110: Not Good!

"What happened?!"

The Chen father and son leapt to their feet and rushed toward the door together.

Steward Zhao was drenched in sweat, at a loss for what to do.

"Old Master, my lord, the young young master—he's broken out in pox!"

"The Imperial Physician says it's smallpox!"

"What?!"

Chen Delin felt a thunderous boom in his head, his vision went black, and all the strength drained from his body. He couldn't even stand, and was about to topple straight backward.

"Father!"

Chen Ying, who had just leapt down the steps, saw what was happening and hurried back to support him.

"How could this happen?"

Chen Delin muttered in disbelief, his voice small.

His gaze refocused, and the instant he saw Chen Ying, he shoved his hand away and pointed at him. His withered, aged hand trembled without cease, his tone grief-stricken.

"Look at the fine things you've done!"

"This is what comes of letting that spy run loose in the manor!"

Chen Delin raised his hand high, then finally brought it down heavily, stumbled up the steps, and ran toward the Backyard.

"Quick, quick, I must go see Yi Jiang, I must go see my grandson!"

The Chen father and son hurried to Yi Jiang's courtyard, where everything was already in utter chaos.

Meanwhile, the manor physician, his medicine box on his back, tried to slip away in the confusion.

Chen Ying seized him by the collar, hauled him up, and stared at him with a murderous look that could have wrung the quack's neck on the spot.

"Didn't you say it was just an ordinary cold and fever? How could it have gotten this serious?!"

The manor physician was frantic with fear, great beads of cold sweat rolling down his forehead. He pressed his palms together and begged for mercy in a stammering voice.

"Lord Chen, please calm yourself. In the early stage of smallpox, the symptoms really are not obvious."

Chen Ying hurled him hard to the ground, snatched a sword from a guard's hand, and pointed it at him.

"You still dare to argue!"

The manor physician was so terrified he shook all over. Soon, a large patch of the ground beneath him grew wet, and a foul, acrid stench rose up.

Chen Ying stepped back a good distance, his face full of disgust.

But the sword in his hand still rested against the physician's neck.

The manor physician knelt on the ground, kowtowing and begging for mercy without stop.

"Lord Chen, spare me! I beg you, my lord, spare me!"

Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, he hastened to say in a trembling voice.

"I have it!"

"This commoner remembers now!"

"That lady—the lady who was in the manor before—didn't she have superb medical skill, and strange medicines in her possession? My lord can summon her to treat the young young master!"

Hearing this, Chen Ying's hand paused. He slowly lowered the sword, muttering softly to himself without cease.

"Right, there's still Master's Wife."

"Master's Wife is so capable—she'll definitely be able to save Yi Jiang."

Taking advantage of his moment of distraction, the manor physician seized the chance and scrambled on hands and knees out of the courtyard.

Chen Ying cast him a cold glance and did not order anyone to pursue.

In any case, that quack would never be able to leave the City Lord's Manor!

"Leave Yi Jiang here to Father for now. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Wait!"

Knowing what he was about to do, Chen Delin gripped his hand, closed his eyes heavily with a grief-stricken face.

"If Lady Da is willing to come, she will be the great benefactor of our Chen Family. If she is not willing…"

He paused, his grip on Chen Ying's hand tightening slightly, and said slowly.

"The Cheng Family owes us nothing. Remember—do not force her hand."

In this world, how many people would lightly forgive someone who tried to harm their own child?

Chen Ying understood this perfectly well in his heart, but he was unwilling to give up the last hope.

"Father, don't say it like that. Don't worry—I will go to the Cheng Family and kowtow to admit my fault. I will beg Master's Wife. Yi Jiang will surely get better."

With that, Chen Ying strode out of the courtyard at a run.

Watching his retreating back, Chen Delin opened his mouth, but in the end it became only a heavy sigh.

What a sin!

If he had known it would come to this, why back then did he…

But he had no time to think of these things. He took the medicine from the maid's hands and hurried into the room to tend to Yi Jiang.

……

Outside the city, at the foot of the Mountain.

The originally quiet little courtyard was suddenly broken by a flurry of urgent knocking.

"Knock knock knock!"

"Cheng Old Madam! Master's Wife!"

"Chen Ying requests an audience!"

Hearing the commotion, the lights in the Cheng Family's rooms came on one after another.

Cheng Lei, who was keeping watch, ran over to open the door and looked at him in confusion.

"Sir Chen coming so late at night — is there something important?"

Chen Ying gave him a nod and hurried inside.

"Old Madam!"

"Master's Wife!"

The Cheng Family members had already dressed and gathered in the main hall.

The moment Chen Ying stepped inside, he rushed forward and knelt before Meng Shi.

"Master's Wife, Yi Jiang has come down with smallpox, and the fever won't break — please, save him!"

"Smallpox?!"

The Cheng Family members cried out in alarm and exchanged glances.

"How could it come on so suddenly?"

The moment Tian Qin heard his words, a great panic surged up in her heart. Without a thought for anything else, she hurried to Yu'an's room and first felt the little fellow's forehead.

Thank goodness — his temperature was normal.

She then pushed up the little fellow's sleeve.

Seeing his fair, tender little arms and legs, like lotus-root sections, with nothing wrong at all, she finally set her heart at ease.

But her commotion had also woken Yu'an.

Yu'an sat up wrapped in his quilt, his chubby little hands — dimpled with little creases — rubbing at his big, sleep-heavy eyes.

The little fellow's eyes were too heavy to open, his mind still a muddled blank, half-asleep and out of sorts. The moment he opened his mouth, his milky little voice unconsciously stretched its tone, sounding even more babyish.

"Mother~ what happened?"

Tian Qin helped tuck the quilt around him.

"It's Yi Jiang's father. He says Yi Jiang is sick."

"How could he get sick?"

Hearing his little friend was ill, Yu'an was instantly wide awake. His little face was full of worry as he asked anxiously.

"What illness? Is it serious?"

Questions spilling from his mouth without pause, he quickly grabbed the clothes beside him and started pulling them on.

In the Treasure Chest there were medicines Fairy Sister and Daddy had prepared for him. If it came to it, he could go beg Fairy Sister to buy him a life-saving Elixir!

The little fellow's arms and legs were short to begin with, so he was already clumsy at dressing. Once he grew anxious, he became even more flustered, and Tian Qin had no choice but to help him into his clothes.

"It's smallpox."

Hearing those two words, Yu'an's movements froze, and the color drained from his face in an instant.

"S-smallpox?!"

Then isn't Yi Jiang in terrible danger?!

"I — I'll go find Fairy Sister!"

The little fellow didn't even bother with his shoes. Clenching his tiny fists, his small figure flashed once and vanished from the room.

……

In the Modern Era it was already ten at night. An Luo had finished washing up and was about to go to bed.

She had just stepped out of the bathroom when she saw Zaituan's figure.

"Yu'an?"

"What brings you here so late?"

The little fellow ran up to her, his big eyes brimming with tears, anxious and frightened, his little voice catching with a sob.

"Fairy Sister, will you buy Zaituan one more life-saving Elixir?"

Hearing this, An Luo's expression changed drastically.

"What happened? Has something happened to your family?"

Asking as she went, she quickly tapped into the backend of her homepage — the Reputation Mall.

The little fellow pressed his small mouth into a pout, tears still swirling in his eyes.

"It's Yi Jiang. Yi Jiang has smallpox."

Yi Jiang was his good friend — he didn't want anything to happen to him.

Hearing this, An Luo suddenly recalled what had happened during the day.

So that piece of clothing really was a problem!

Luckily Zaituan hadn't touched it.

A few minutes later, Yu'an clutched two small medicine bottles in his hands and ran on his short little legs toward the main hall.

Meanwhile, in the main hall, they had heard Chen Ying speak of secret dealings with the Fifth Prince of Muyuan Kingdom, and of their scheming.

As well as how, knowing full well that woman of unknown origins was trouble, he had still deliberately kept her by his side.

The Cheng Family members exchanged glances, fury flashing in their eyes, their faces dark as they looked down at Chen Ying kneeling on the ground.

So he had clearly known Shang Xiaomin would secretly make a move against Yu'an, yet had allowed their little scheme to proceed.

Even more — he had been looking forward to it?

"Bastard!"

Cheng Qiuluo strode forward, seized Chen Ying by the collar, glared at him through gritted teeth, raised her fist, and slammed it hard into his jaw.

The left half of Chen Ying's face instantly swelled up, a trace of blood still at the corner of his mouth.

One could see just how hard she had hit.

"To think you're such a despicable man! Had I known this would happen, I should have let that fool of an emperor chop your head off back then!"