Chapter 68 Helped Sick Children
2060 Words
The porridge shed closest to Guo's Mansion was in the West Fengyuan Street. Prefect Guo's daughter, Feiyi, and two servants were there.
At this hour, there was already a long line outside the porridge shed. One servant was scooping porridge in front of the pot and handing them to the victims. The other was maintaining the order. Feiyi was on the other side, handing out warm steamed buns. She said,
"No rush. Please stay in line and follow the order. We have enough porridge and buns. Everyone will get them."
The cold wind was blowing as if blaze sliding through people's faces. Feiyi's face was already red because of the cold. She frequently huddled her neck into the heavy coat with fox fur collar. She constantly stamped her feet in the porridge shed. When she opened her mouth, a stream of white smoke came out.
She looked very surprised when she saw Gu Yunxi's carriage.
Gu Yunxi just jumped out of the carriage when Feiyi rushed out of the porridge shed. She saluted,
"Greetings to you, Madam."
"Don't!"
Gu Yunxi supported Feiyi up. She was blushing,
"I really can't take this. Let's just keep it casual. I would feel more comfortable."
"Yes. Why?"
Feiyi asked half of the question but stopped because she didn't know how to call Gu Yunxi. She looked embarrassed.
"Yunxi. My name is Yunxi."
"Why are you here, Yunxi?"
"I brought with me a lot of herbs when I left the capital. I wanted to boil some medicine soup and distribute it to the ones who are feeling unwell. So they would feel better."
While talking, Qinger and others took the ingredients down from the carriage and carried them into the porridge shed.
They lighted the fire and started to make the herb decoction. The herbs were the common ones used to cure the cold, such as schizonepeta, saposhnikovia divaricata, notopterygium root, radix bupleurim, and liquorice.
While Gu Yunxi and Qinger were sitting on the stool, boiling the decoction. Xiao Xiaoshen was helping Feiyi distribute the porridge and steamed buns.
When they finished three urns of soup, Gu Yunxi stood up and said loudly to the victims outside.
"Guys, anyone who feels unwell or has a fever or a running nose, come here and get some decoction! Drink one bowl and go sweat it off in the shed. You would feel more comfortable! The decoction is not that strong. It won't hurt you."
When she just finished, some victims tentatively gathered around.
"No rush. Line up!"
Gu Yunxi gave one bowl of steaming black decoction to the first one in line. She carefully advised, "Drink slowly. It's hot!"
A morning passed like this.
Gu Yunxi didn't bring many herbs. They were in high demand. Three urns were quickly distributed.
She went back to the Guo's Mansion with Feiyi for lunch. The Master and Prefect Guo didn't come back.
Gu Yunxi helped Mrs. Yin Guo steam some steamed rolls with sesame sauce and white steamed buns.
Mrs. Yin Guo liked Gu Yunxi very much, but she didn't dare talk much with her considering she was the Master's Wife.
Seeing how she worked in the kitchen, Mrs. Yin Guo really adored her, but she also felt sorry for her.
This girl was even younger than her daughter Feiyi. Why would she marry that eunuch?
Seeing how innocent and naive she looked, Mrs. Yin Guo asserted that she was a simple child who hadn't understood much. Alas. If she had understood the relationship between men and women, she would probably have regretted it for life!
In the afternoon, Gu Yunxi went to the porridge shed with Feiyi, carrying the newly-made buns and rolls.
They had the same job as in the morning. Feiyi and the servants from Guo's Mansion distributed the food while Gu Yunxi and others boiled decoction and distributed it on the side.
A woman rushed over, carrying a child in her arms.
"Lord, Madam. Please help me!"
She rushed to the front of the line for medicine. Her skinny face was purple because of the cold. She was covered in dust and looked shabby.
"Please, please help me. Give me some decoction first."
The people in line protested,
"Hey, woman. Go wait in line! It's the same rule as getting food. First come, first served!"
Everyone knew Gu Yunxi brought a limited amount of herbs. They all feared they wouldn't be able to get it, so no one was willing to let her go first.
Hearing them, the woman kneeled and cried,
"Please, I beg of you! My child didn't eat anything for days. Yesterday the wind was strong, and the snow was heavy. The shed was too cold. My child started having a fever at night. Now he has passed out!"
"Anyway, you should get in line!"
"My mother-in-law is lining in the back. Please just give some decoction to my child!"
Looking at her cry, Gu Yunxi felt sorry for her. She couldn't just stand by, so she reassured the crowd,
"Please rest assured. There's still plenty of decoction. If it's not enough, I have more herbs. She has to take care of her kid and an elder, which is not easy. Let's let her go first. Please, come inside. Come into the shed!"
No one disagreed with Gu Yunxi's proposal.
Some of them witnessed the Commander-in-chief of the Eastern Depot killing Colonel Liu on the gate of Fengyuan and then ordered to let them in the city.
After that, Gu Yunxi followed the disaster relief team into the city. Not until the Prefect's daughter saluted at her did they know she was the Commander-in-chief's wife. They all respected her and would listen to her every word.
Gu Yunxi greeted the woman into the shed. They sat down near the stove. Then Xiao Xiaoshen also held her mother-in-law into the shed.
She looked down at the child in the woman's arm.
He was four or five years old. He was skinny and weak. At this moment, his tiny face was like a burning iron. He locked his eyebrows tightly and closed his eyes, breathing heavily and hastily.
Cleary, he had a serious cold. He was really ill, and that was why the fever wouldn't bring down.
Gu Yunxi had been taking decoction for years. Now she could count as half of a doctor.
Qinger took a bowl of medicine and scooped up half a spoon. She carefully fed it to the child. The medicine went in but was stopped by his teeth. It rolled down the corner of his mouth before even entering his mouth.
"Let me!"
Gu Yunxi volunteered.
She tried to pry open his teeth with a chopstick, but it didn't work. The child was too unconscious and closed his teeth too tightly. The chopsticks couldn't even go in.
At this moment, more and more victims had gathered around the shed. They kept discussing,
"The decoction can't even go in. I don't think he can make it..."
"So sad. The kid is so little."
People's discussion went into the woman's ear. She immediately panicked.
"Le? Le?"
She gently shook the child in her arm, yet he didn't have any reaction. The women immediately started sobbing. She then used more strength and almost went mad.
"Le! My child! Don't leave me and your grandmother! Your dad is with the army by the border. If anything happens to you, how can I tell him when he comes back but can't see you? Le!"
The women started crying. She held the child's head and pushed his burning face against her face that was covered by tears. Her mood was extreme.
Her heartrending scream moved everyone. Besides her, her old mother-in-law cried with her. Outside the shed, some victims were wiping their tears with sleeves.
Fengyuan was the most heavily impacted place. Now the doctors didn't have time to come. The only one who had a bit more reputation was in North Town. Even if they had driven the kid there, it would have taken half a day. If they had gone to get the doctor here, it would have cost them a whole day.
Gu Yunxi watched beside them. Seeing how heartbroken the woman and her mother-in-law were, she suddenly straightened her face and clutched her fists.
"Don't worry. I have a way to make Le take the decoction. As long as he takes the decoction, he will be better. Later, I'll send a carriage to take you and your child to the doctor in North Town!"
The woman immediately stopped crying. She looked skeptically at Gu Yunxi with teary eyes. The victims all calmed down and focused their eyes on Gu Yunxi.
They were all curious. They wanted to see what this young wife of a eunuch could do to get the decoction into an unconscious kid's mouth.
Qinger was worried. She came over and asked Gu Yunxi,
"Lady, what are you going to do?"
She knew Gu Yunxi. Yunxi was kind and warmhearted. Now this made Qinger worrisome. She felt Yunxi might do something to help others even if it would hurt herself.
Gu Yunxi just smiled at Qinger and shook her head, suggesting her not to worry. She then asked Qinger to get a bowl of decoction from the urn on the stove.
Gu Yunxi asked the women to hold Le. Then she held the bowl and drank a mouthful of decoction.
Qinger stared at her and suddenly realized what she was planning. She yelled in panic,
"Lady..."
Before she could finish the sentence, Gu Yunxi already lowered her head and put her lips on Le's. She then passed the decoction to the child's mouth.
The crowded discussed surprisingly.
Leng Qingtang, who was wearing the official robe, walked in quietly with some guards.
Feiyi and Qinger saw him. They were about to salute when seeing him holding a finger near his lips, suggesting them to keep quiet.
He left Guo's Mansion this morning to inspect the houses' mending and the distribution of disaster relief provisions. When he passed here, he found a lot of people gathering around the porridge shed and discussing. It seemed something big was happening.
He went in out of curiosity and found Yunxi passing something to a child, mouth to mouth.
Wasn't this the trick he used to make her drink the milk papaya soup?
"No, no... You can't do this!"
The woman was again in tears because she was deeply moved. She couldn't stop saying,
"Lady, this child is sick. He may pass the sickness to you. You're too important to do this for us. You're a real goddess that saves lives!"
Qinger went over to the Master and told him the whole situation quietly by his ear. Leng Qingtang understood. He nodded and smiled while listening.
At this moment, Gu Yunxi used the same trick to get the whole bowl of decoction into Le's mouth. She finally looked relieved. She looked up and smiled at the woman, saying softly,
"It's nothing. This child's life is more important. Now he has had some decoction down, and he should be better soon."
Behind her, Leng Qingtang was moved. He opened his eyes wide. His deep eyes shone brightly.
Gu Yunxi was focusing on Le. She didn't notice the sudden silence behind her or the hint in the woman's eyes.
She reached into her clothes and took out a comb to comb the messy hair of Le. She then dipped her handkerchief in the water bucket and wiped away the dust on his face.
Leng Qingtang stared at her slim figure without saying anything. At this moment, he really felt that underneath her weak appearance, her heart was growing stronger day by day.
The wind blew. In the wide space, where she was was the only warm place.
After a while, Le's breathe was apparently no longer hasty. His eyelashes shook. He mumbled something in his sleep.
"Le... He is back!"
The woman was excited. She carried the child in her arms and cried at Gu Yunxi,
"You are a loving goddess. Thank you for saying his life!"
The surrounding victims all cheered.
The woman gave the child to her mother-in-law. She then kneeled in front of Gu Yunxi.
"Please, don't!"
Gu Yunxi panicked and wanted to hold her up, but she suddenly found another slim arm beside hers.
- Writer
