Chapter 144: Arriving at the Ma Family

Chen Che and the others arrived at the Ma Family at noon, and it was Ma Zicheng who came out to welcome them.

"Big brother, you finally returned—"

Ma Zicheng had only just shouted this when he choked on his words upon seeing Chen Che.

At the same time, his eyes widened in terror; he had not expected that the person returning with them would not be Li Qingyan, but Chen Che!

Ever since that time Ma Zicheng was struck on the back of his head by a bottle from Chen Che, Ma Zijun had ordered him to return to the Ma Family Ancestral Hall to reflect on his mistakes.

It was only today, when Ma Zijun returned, that Ma Zicheng was permitted to leave the Ancestral Hall.

However, ever since being taught lesson after lesson by Chen Che last time, Ma Zicheng now had a stress response whenever he saw Chen Che.

The moment he saw Chen Che, cold sweat broke out on his back, and his recently healed occiput began to twitch, feeling numb in intermittent waves.

"Young Master Ma the Second, I trust you have been well!"

Chen Che smiled and took the initiative to greet Ma Zicheng.

That friendly smile, in Ma Zicheng's eyes, instead became extremely hair-raising.

"Ah... I have been well, I have been well!"

Ma Zicheng responded to Chen Che in a panic, then grabbed Ma Zijun's arm and hid behind him.

"What are you doing?"

Ma Zijun furrowed his brows and scolded him.

Seeing that Chen Che was still smiling in an innocent and harmless way, Ma Zicheng let go of some of his suspended anxiety, but then saw the uneasy Ma Menghan and immediately frowned, asking, "Big brother, why did she come along too?"

"Menghan is our sister; of course she can come to the Ma Family."

Ma Zijun's tone was beyond doubt, yet his expression was displeased; this question from Ma Zicheng made him feel very unhappy.

"Not to mention whether Grandfather will acknowledge her, we won't be able to get past Mom's side."

Ma Zicheng said with a worried face, "You aren't unaware that Mom and Dad had a huge falling out over this matter back then. Even if Dad is critically ill now, bringing her back will still cause family conflict!"

"What have you been saying to Mom during the time you've been back?"

Ma Zijun ignored Ma Zicheng's nagging, instead narrowing his eyes vigilantly as he stared at Ma Zicheng.

"No, no!"

Ma Zicheng looked earnest, shaking his head like a rattle-drum, "Really, no!"

"Then stop talking nonsense. Let's go in first, and you tell me what the situation is with Dad right now."

Ma Zijun led Chen Che and Ma Menghan inside.

Ma Zicheng glanced at Ma Menghan, let out a heavy sigh, and followed quickly.

However, Ma Menghan stood where she was, gazing at the grand gate in a daze. At the same time, she felt extremely nervous and fearful; while everyone else had walked in, she still could not bring herself to take a step.

At this moment, a palm reached out, and Chen Che's reassuring voice came: "If you are nervous, just hold my hand. With me here, no one dares to do anything to you."

Ma Menghan raised her eyes to look at him; the man's face was resilient yet gentle, and his faint smile seemed to have a kind of magic that made people willing to trust him unconditionally.

"Mm."

Ma Menghan nodded, placing her fair, delicate little hand onto Chen Che's broad palm, and they gripped each other tightly.

The group walked toward the room of Ma Zijun's father—Ma Yiren.

"Dad's condition worsened two days ago."

On the way, Ma Zicheng explained the situation to Ma Zijun, saying: "Dad's body was originally the same as before; although his limbs couldn't move, his mind was clear, his vitality was quite strong, and he was no different from a normal person.

But two days ago, for some reason, Dad suddenly had full-body convulsions, foamed at the mouth, and his bodily functions declined rapidly; today, he even fell into a coma."

"Who is looking after Dad now?"

Ma Zijun knitted his brows and asked.

"Yesterday, Uncle used his connections to find a gold-medal doctor at the Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Xie Jinchen. But this Doctor Xie is also at a loss regarding Dad's condition. However, his treatment method did indeed stabilize Dad's condition; for these past two days, Dad's bodily functions haven't declined further, but he still remains asleep and won't wake up."

Ma Zicheng's face was dejected as he continued: "Fortunately, this Doctor Xie has good medical ethics. He is a classmate of someone from the Beijing Liu Family, a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. With his help, Liu Tianhua from the Liu Family also arrived today, two hours before you, and is currently in the room examining Dad."

Ma Zijun's expression was surprised, and he said: "That is truly great! The Beijing Liu Family is a family of traditional Chinese medicine, and even more so a family of Imperial Physicians. We never had a way to contact the Beijing Liu Family before; I never imagined this Doctor Xie would be willing to grant our family such a huge favor!"

"Although Doctor Xie didn't cure our dad, his medical ethics are truly beyond reproach!"

Ma Zicheng also nodded in strong agreement.

Chen Che listened to their conversation, and felt slightly surprised when he heard the name Xie Jinchen.

Back at the Cheng Family, Xie Jinchen had misdiagnosed Cheng Honglin and was shown a display of the Ghost Gate Needle by Chen Che, plus Li Qingyan had stood up for him.

Xie Jinchen was convinced, knelt on the spot, and acknowledged Chen Che as his martial uncle.

Later, because of Cheng Kexin's engagement, Chen Che had a conflict with Zhang Shouhang.

He hadn't bothered to manage Xie Jinchen afterward, and only later learned that Xie Jinchen was busy with a thousand tasks and had returned to Beijing after leaving the Cheng Family.

He hadn't expected to run into him again at the Ma Family; this fate was truly wondrous!

Ma Zicheng, who was walking in front, looked back, leaned into Ma Zijun's ear, and asked: "Brother, why didn't the Divine Doctor Li come?"

"Divine Doctor Li has matters to attend to and couldn't come."

Ma Zijun replied casually: "Chen Che will treat Dad in place of Divine Doctor Li."

Ma Zicheng was stunned, then looked back at Chen Che again, his face showing suspicion as he frowned and asked: "Brother, is he capable?"

"Did you not see the poison-curing competition at school that day?" Ma Zijun retorted, his brows filled with impatience.

It was truly that Ma Zicheng had no brains and no eye for talent!

"Oh, alright then."

Ma Zicheng subconsciously touched the back of his head, remembering the events of that day, but it was mainly the scene where his scheme against Chen Che failed and he was instead struck by a reagent bottle.

As for the competition that day, he hadn't paid much attention to it at all, so even though Ma Zijun trusted Chen Che, he still harbored doubts.

The group passed through the courtyard and arrived at the living room.

Ma Zijun glanced at his father Ma Yiren's room, turned around, and said: "Chen Che, Menghan, you wait here for a moment; I'll go in and see how things are. Assistant Lin, please help me look after them."

"Yes, Young Master."

Lin Su responded with a sentence, then gestured for Chen Che and Ma Menghan to sit down and drink tea.

Ma Zijun and Ma Zicheng walked into the room of their father, Ma Yiren.

Inside the room, two middle-aged men wearing white lab coats with graying temples stood by the bedside, meticulously examining the unconscious Ma Yiren.

On the other side of the bed stood a graceful and luxurious middle-aged woman, gazing at Ma Yiren with a face full of worry.

She was Ma Yiren's wife, as well as the biological mother of Ma Zijun and Ma Zicheng, Huang Zhu.

Beside Huang Zhu stood a young woman, who was supporting her to prevent her from fainting due to excessive emotional agitation.

"Cousin, you're back."

The young woman saw Ma Zijun enter and spoke up to greet him.

She was Ma Zijun's cousin, and the only daughter of Ma Zijun's own uncle, Ma Yishan.

"Zi Ai."

Ma Zijun replied, then asked, "Is Uncle not here?"

"Dad has things to attend to and won't be back until later," Ma Ziai replied.

(Note: The source text has 【74】 as "Ma Ziai replied." which corresponds to the previous line.)

Seeing her son return, Huang Zhu was emotionally agitated and hurriedly asked, "Zijun, did you manage to invite the Divine Doctor Li?"

Seeing his mother's haggard appearance, Ma Zijun comforted her, "Mom, let's not talk about this for now. Go and rest; Zicheng and I will keep watch here."

"Very well, but if anything happens to your father, you must tell me immediately!"

Huang Zhu wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, nodded, and left the room supported by Ma Ziai.

"Aunt, don't worry. Doctor Liu Tianhua comes from a medical family and is even an Imperial Physician. With him here, Uncle will definitely be fine."

Ma Ziai supported Huang Zhu and comforted her in a warm voice.

"Zi Ai, thank you for staying with me these past two days. Zicheng is unreliable, and Zijun was away; if it weren't for you, I wouldn't even have anyone to talk to."

Huang Zhu said as they walked, "With your uncle in this state these past two days, I am truly afraid."

"Aunt, you don't need to be afraid. Big Brother is back, and I will stay with you too; this is a task Dad gave me!"

Ma Ziai smiled brightly and leaned on Huang Zhu's shoulder, acting spoiled.

Huang Zhu's expression changed slightly as she thought of Ma Ziai's father, that uncle of the Ma Family...

Huang Zhu shook her head, trying not to let her mind wander. However, she suddenly looked up, and her smile froze on her face in an instant.

Ma Ziai noticed the change in Huang Zhu's expression, looked confused, and followed Huang Zhu's gaze, only to be stunned as well!

Because they saw Ma Menghan in the living room!