âYour Grace, donât be mad. Sheâs just a little maid. And she has already taken out the best tea of our mansion to serve you. If you are dissatisfied, it must be my fault.â Su Muge glanced at the maid who was kneeling on the ground. âGo out.â
âThank you, the eldest Miss.â
Infanta Ceylon narrowed her eyes coldly. âIâm instructing a maid. How dare you interrupt me?!â
Su Muge lowered her eyes. âYour Grace, if you teach your own maid a lesson, I wonât say a word. But she is a maid of Su Mansion after all. If you have any dissatisfaction, Iâll give her a lesson afterward.â
âYou!â
Infanta Ceylon was so angry that she stood up and wanted to hit her. Seeing this, a maid behind her promptly stepped forward and stood in front of Su Muge.
âYour Grace, you are here to invite Miss Su to go to the palace. Why do you get angry?â The maid was short but powerful; she held Infanta Ceylonâs hand tightly, making her unable to move.
âLet me go!â
The maid kept her countenance. âAre you still angry?â
Looking at her lifeless eyes, Infanta Ceylon gritted her teeth. âNo!â
After finishing her words, the maid let go of her hand.
Infanta Ceylon snorted, turned around, and went out.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The maid walked to Su Muge. âMiss Su, this way please.â
Su Muge raised her eyebrows. âHer Grace invites me to the palace?â
âYes.â
Su Muge revealed a flicker of ridicule in her eyes.
It must be King Dingxiâs arrangement. When she was ill, King Dingxi didnât come to her, or she didnât know his coming. Now that she had recovered, it was reasonable to ask her to see Xia Houpo for a subsequent visit.
âOkay.â As a doctor, Su Muge was also curious about Xia Houpoâs condition.
The palace was near the Imperial Palace.
It was not as grand and magnificent as the Imperial Palace, but it was also very beautiful.
The carriage stopped in the inner courtyard of the palace. As soon as Su Muge and Xinlan got off the carriage, some maids stepped forward to guide them.
âMiss Su, this way please.â
After crossing a long bluestone path, they stopped in front of a palace surrounded by plum trees.
âHer Grace is in the hall.â
Su Muge strode over the steps; Xinlan wanted to follow behind her but was stopped by the maids.
âHer Grace only wants to see Miss Su.â
Su Muge looked at Xinlan. âWait here for me.â
Xinlan could only nod.
This palace was not big. Apart from the bare plum trees in the yard, there were no more decorations. Su Muge could see Xia Houpo sitting under the plum trees at a glance.
He was wearing a blood-red robe today, adding more bloodthirsty anger to his gloomy eyes.
Seeing Su Muge, Xia Houpo kept sitting there and looked her up and down.
âYou are sick?â
Sure enough, Dingxi King had sent people to find her!
âI just caught a cold, and Iâm fine now.â
Xia Houpo looked away coldly. âIâm afraid that you will pass it to me.â
â...â
Su Muge didnât want to talk nonsense with him; she just wanted to finish her job and leave here. âHow do you feel these days? Is there any discomfort?â
Xia Houpo secretly clenched his hands on the wheelchair. Discomfort? Except for the pain, he didnât have any discomfort!
âYou were intentional that day!â
Meeting his irritated eyes, Su Muge was suddenly stunned at first and came to realize what he meant by âintentionalâ.
Su Muge blinked and looked at him innocently. âI donât know what you mean.â
Xia Houpo snorted coldly. He had learned that Su Muge didnât use any anesthetic on him at all. He wouldnât have been so painful!
âLet me help you change the dressing on your leg.â
Xia Houpo glared at her, turned around, and rolled the wheelchair toward the room.
There was a small slope between the room and the yard. Xia Houpo struggled to roll the wheelchair but couldnât go up for a while. The guard standing beside looked at him anxiously but dared not to step forward.
With strong self-esteem, the eldest Master would never allow anyone to help him when he couldnât walk at all.
Su Muge wanted to leave here as soon as possible. Seeing that he couldnât go up after several attempts, she became impatient and stepped forward to push him.
Xia Houpo suddenly clenched his hands on the wheelchair and looked up with his angry eyes. He thought that he would meet Su Mugeâs eyes, but he could only saw her back into the room...
How dare she neglect him?!
Su Muge completely ignored Xia Houpoâs displeasure; she unwound the bandage with scissors and exposed his scabby wound.
In fact, the wound she cut on his leg was not big. It was most important to fix his leg with boards to prevent the bones from becoming crooked.
âYouâve recovered quite well. And I can take the stitches out in a few days.â
âI can walk then?â
Su Muge wanted to give him a supercilious look. It would take a hundred days to get fully recovered from broken bones. How could he be such a rush?
âIf you donât want to walk like a normal person in your life, you can have a try.â
âHow long will it take?â He didnât want to stay in the wheelchair anymore!
âIt depends on your rehabilitation. But the rehabilitation cannot be in a hurry. You have to wait until your bones are healed. During this time, you can supplement calcium... and have more muscle-building food...â While Su Muge was talking, she met the doubtful eyes of Xia Houpo and coughed.
âThat is to say, you should drink more bone soup and eat more chicken breast and beef.â
Xia Houpo looked at the maid outside the door. âKeep it all in mind?â
âyes, the eldest Master.â
Su Muge finished her consultation. During this visit, she had drawn two conclusions: her medical skills havenât regressed and Xia Houpo was a man with strong vitality. The pain of cutting bones was unbearable for common people, after all. However, he had endured it. His tolerance was really incomparable.
âSince youâre fine, please excuse my retreat.â
âWait a minute.â
Su Muge raised her eyes in doubt. âIs there anything else I can do for you, the eldest Master?â
Xia Houpo looked up at her. âStay here and have lunch with me.â
Su Muge didnât think she could eat anything here.
âThank you for your kindness, the eldest Master. But I...â
âIâm not asking for your opinion!â Xia Houpo interrupted her with a gloomy face. How dare she refuse him?!
Seeing his angry look, Su Muge rolled her eyes secretly. What a spoiled little boy!
âWhat if I must go?â
âDo you want to die? How dare you disobey my order?!â Xia Houpo lost his temper.
âThe eldest Master, you are distinguished, but you canât force me to do anything. I have something else to do. Please excuse my departure.â
Su Muge turned around and left.
âStop! Do you think Ceylon will let you go if you go alone without my men?â
Su Muge took a deep breath, feeling the brother and sister really annoying!
Su Muge put on a cold look. âThe eldest Master, only I know how to help you rehabilitate your legs.â
Who couldnât threaten?!
Xia Houpo was so angry that his chest went up and down violently; this woman was threatening him!
âThe eldest Master, since Miss Su is in a hurry, send her away.â The man in a robe appeared in time and gave Xia Houpo an out.
Xia Houpo glared at him coldly and slammed the door fiercely.
âGet out of here!â
Su Muge walked out of the courtyard. Along the way, she had been stopped several times but was helped out by the followers of the man in a robe.
As soon as Su Muge got out of the palace, a ghostly figure appeared beside the palace wall, watching her carriage for a long time without looking back.
...
In the Imperial Study, the Imperial Palace.
Xia Houmo was standing in the hall, and Xia Hourui was sitting at the desk and reading the letter he handed over.
âWell, I know that you will never let me down. Thus, it will be peaceful over there. Go back for a good rest. And donât worry about the imperial guards these days.â
Xia Houmo kept his complexion unchanged. âIâm not tired.â
Xia Hourui waved his hand. âSince I let you rest, you can rest assured. Later, Iâll have something for you to do. This time, youâve suppressed the bandits; so, your mistake at the hunting party will be smoothed over, and I wonât reward you this time. Do you agree?â
âI have no complaints.â
Xia Hourui nodded in satisfaction. âYou may retreat.â
âYes, father.â
...
After leaving the palace, Su Muge didnât return to Su Mansion but went directly to Cheng Ran.
Su Muge opened the album she had prepared, took out the drawings inside, and stuck them to the slate. Looking at the well-behaved children sitting around her, she said, âThis is the peony flower. Have a careful look at it...
Then she took out a fresh peony flower and a dried peony flower for comparison and explained the differences to the children in detail.
When the bell rang, everyone was still watching Su Muge with great interest and was reluctant to stop her lesson.
Su Muge put down the little pointer in her hand. Now she had started to give lessons to these children, and the short teaching time made her most relaxed in a day.
âMiss, your lesson is even more interesting than storytelling.â
âThatâs right. Miss, if we take your classes diligently, can we have such excellent medical skills as you do in the future?â
After class, the children gathered around Su Muge. Seeing this, Cheng Ran wanted to hold them back but was stopped by Su Muge.
âAs long as you study hard, youâll become more excellent than me in the future.â
Su Muge let them go out and relax, saying that it was unhealthy to stay in all the time.
âItâs snowing! Brother, itâs snowing!â Cheng Cheng, who had already recovered, shouted excitedly.
Su Muge walked to the door and looked out. It was scattering snowflakes indeed. The snow was not heavy, but it was snowing indeed.
âMiss, watch out for the cold.â Xinlan took out her cloak and helped her put it on.
âCheng Ran, remember to buy more coals. Donât let them catch a cold.â
âGot it.â
âMiss, itâs getting late. Letâs go back.â
âOkay.â
After reminding the children to review the lesson today, Su Muge got on the carriage with Xinlan.
âMiss, the weather in the capital is so strange. Although it had been cold before, I can withstand it anyway. But as soon as the snow drifts down today, I feel my entire body frozen.â
Su Muge lifted the curtain slightly and looked at the people who had become hastier because of the snow. âIt was too sudden indeed.â She inexplicably felt that something was to happen.