Chapter 15: Fever from Food Stagnation

When they heard Sui Sui had a fever, everyone couldn't even think about snatching the child.

Liu Dafu reacted the fastest, sprinting toward the back yard, and while running asked Di Jiao, "How could they be fine and still develop a fever?"

If they caught a chill last night, then after returning yesterday they should have gotten a fever, right?

To react only this late—could it be a difference in constitution?

Liu Dafu thought as he ran: Feng Xuanrui and the others were behind, Prince Qing saw his little nephew's short legs couldn't keep up, his forehead sweating with anxiety, he scooped the boy up and ran.

When Di Jiao was asked by the master, his breath was uneven, but he didn't panic: "I feel his pulse; it seems like food stagnation."

Liu Dafu's first reaction was, "Impossible!"

From last night's return until now, every bit of Sui Sui's food had been placed on the table only after he inspected it.

He kept in mind everything Sui Sui ate.

Food stagnation is impossible!

When he heard Sui Sui's fever might be caused by food stagnation, Feng Xuanrui, feeling guilty, shifted a bit under Prince Qing's arm.

That movement caught Prince Qing's attention.

He looked at Feng Xuanrui suspiciously, furrowed his brows and asked, "What's going on?"

By then they had reached the back yard; another apprentice Di Yu, seeing the master arrive, hurried forward and said, "Master, I took a look at the pulse; it appears to be food stagnation."

Liu Dafu, after hearing that, immediately began doubting himself: "That can't be!"

He kept staring at Sui Sui's eating and drinking.

Defying superstition, Liu Dafu stepped forward and carefully took a pulse.

Seeming unable to trust the result of his own pulse reading, Liu Dafu pressed a while longer.

Then he muttered, "Is this amount of food also unacceptable?"

While he was puzzling over it, Prince Qing tossed the little nephew over: "Liu Dafu, ask him."

Feng Xuanrui was placed before Liu Dafu, feeling guilty and not daring to look up.

Seeing him like that, Liu Dafu still had something unclear: "Did you secretly give Sui Sui pastries behind my back?"

Feng Xuanrui tucked his head, unable to speak, and only nodded honestly.

Liu Dafu almost lost his temper!

If the other party weren't a Wangfu young master, Liu Dafu thought he could just hang the person up and beat them!

Liu Dafu, grinding his teeth, carefully diagnosed Sui Sui's pulse and prescribed a formula, while assigning Di Jiao to decoct medicine, and also gave Sui Sui two injections.

Feng Xuanrui, feeling guilty and unable to speak, sat honestly at the foot of the bed, watching Sui Sui's small face, reddened from the fever, intently.

Seeing this scene, Prince Qing furrowed his brows and asked, "What did you do?"

Feng Xuanrui glanced quietly at Liu Dafu, and after seeing the other not looking at him, whispered, "At noon, Qing Shan bought some snacks and brought them back. I saw Sui Sui wanted to eat, so I quietly gave her two pieces and also half a cup of milk."

Liu Dafu, hearing this from beside, exploded, "You actually gave her two pieces and let her drink milk?"

"Those snacks were glutinous fire‑steamed, extremely hard to digest; you shouldn't have said anything, you let Sui Sui eat that?"

Feng Xuanrui didn't expect such a result, frightened, he shrank back behind Prince Qing, and in a wronged voice said, "I just wanted to give all the good things to my little sister."

Prince Qing felt a headache after hearing it.

The heart was good, but it caused a bad outcome.

This blames the child, and indeed it is the child's fault.

But it's not all his fault; he doesn't understand these things.

He used to be a little prince who ruled the Wangfu, and now he knows how to be caring.

I don't know whether this counts as a kind of growth.

Feng Xuanrui's words left no room for rebuttal; Liu Dafu huffed twice and went to urge Di Jiao.

Prince Qing, not wanting Feng Xuanrui to be sad, lifted his hand and gently patted his head: "Sui Sui's health is poor; she can't eat a lot at once. In the future, if you want to share anything with your little sister, you must ask Liu Dafu first."

Feng Xuanrui also knew he was wrong; when Prince Qing said that, he quickly and obediently nodded, "I understand, Uncle Wang."

Sui Sui's sudden fever likely meant the evening lantern‑floating on the river couldn't happen.

But Feng Xuanrui thought, even if we can't go, the things needed for the river lantern must be there; his sister must have them!

Isn't it just the river lantern?

He is sure he can do it!

After waking from the fever's discomfort, Sui Sui began to vomit.

Liu Dafu, busy with two apprentices, while Feng Xuanrui quietly slipped into the river‑lantern room, carefully recalling the techniques Liu Dafu taught them that morning, and began, bit by bit, to finish the river lantern left unfinished.

The fever caused by food stagnation wasn't too severe.

But Sui Sui's stomach hurt badly.

The medicine, as soon as it was taken, was vomited out, along with undigested snack remnants, milk, and the lunch porridge.

Even after vomiting, the stomach still ached as if being twisted.

Sui Sui usually can endure, but now couldn't hold back, quietly sobbing there.

If she cried loudly, the adults would see and feel a bit better.

But Sui Sui, like a kitten, curled her small body at the head of the bed, covering her stomach, crying softly.

Tears kept flowing, the voice wasn't loud, occasional twitches of her body made Liu Dafu's own tearful heart almost burst.

Prince Qing watched from the side, feeling uneasy inside.

Sui Sui's condition reminded him of his own poor daughter.

He wanted to bring Sui Sui back to the manor to soothe the poor child.

But he feared his own daughter would feel the discomfort there.

Unable to watch the scene, Prince Qing turned and left; Zhan Yuan glanced at Sui Sui, then at Prince, and finally at Yu Leng.

Helpless, Zhan Yuan could only humbly ask Yu Leng for advice: "May I ask, Master Cold Frost, what about this matter right now..."

Upon this, Yu Leng nodded slightly: "The Chen Dalang couple now feel guilty, they dare not be too ostentatious, but given their nature, they probably won't be able to restrain themselves for long. Since they are relatives of the Jin Yang Marquis Manor, when they perform corvée labor, contributing more to the court is also appropriate, isn't it?"

Seeing Zhan Yuan lost in thought, Yu Leng added: "Furthermore, isn't the most direct way to vent anger to give them a good beating?"

While speaking, Yu Leng also feigned weakness in his limbs.

After hearing that, Zhan Yuan fell into contemplation.

After a moment, seeming to understand, he nodded: "Thank you for your guidance, Master Cold Frost; I understand now."

Doctor Liu, accompanied by two medicine boys, busied himself the whole afternoon, and by evening, Sui Sui's fever finally subsided.

His head was no longer hot, his stomach no longer ached, and Sui Sui was completely exhausted.

Doctor Liu fed Sui Sui a bit of millet porridge, so the little girl wouldn't go to sleep with an empty stomach.

Watching Sui Sui sleep relatively peacefully, Doctor Liu, uneasy, reached out to touch his head, then let out a long sigh: "The fever's gone; just keep an eye on him to prevent a relapse later in the night."

If the fever doesn't return tonight, then tomorrow will be fine.

Doctor Liu, soaked in sweat from his work, prepared to head back and tidy up.

As he rose, thinking of Feng Xuanrui, he asked Di Yu: "Where is the Sixth Prince?"

Di Yu pointed to a nearby room and whispered: "The Sixth Prince is making river lanterns."