Chapter 34 Take Over

  Chen Er sent off Chen Xuan and the horse carriage returned to Jingzhong Lane. He didn't stop at the gate as usual, but instead had the coachman drive the carriage all the way into the gate until it stopped in front of the Weihua Gate.

  Chen Er didn't return home for a whole night and without even combing his hair or washing up, he directly went to Chen Laotaiye's Songhe Hall.

  The old man is practicing calligraphy.

  Like Old Man Chen, he started from humble beginnings and worked hard to accumulate a small fortune. Compared to ordinary people, he has achieved some success; however, he did not become an official or write books that would be passed down through generations. So as he grew older, he relied on practicing calligraphy to pass the time.

  To be honest, every day is quite boring.

  The courtyard of Songhe Hall is full of vibrant flowers and lush greenery, with tall trees and blooming flowers leaning against each other. As the spring season gradually recedes, the late-blooming flowers are still in full bloom. The yard is very quiet, with only the chirping of birds in the cage under the eaves.

  Chen Er's quick footsteps broke the silence of Song He Tang.

  "Just back?" Old Master Tai's pen was in the midst of writing with dense ink, he slowly put it down, wrote a stroke, carefully examined it, thought it was satisfactory, and slightly furrowed his brow.

  Chen Erl stood beside him and respectfully replied: "Yes."

  "Are you awake?" asked the old man again.

  If He Zhen didn't wake up, Chen Ying wouldn't come back. Giving up halfway through something isn't Chen Ying's style.

  If He Zhen had died, Chen Ying would not have been so calm and leisurely even if she came back.

  So He Zhen naturally woke up.

  Chen nodded: "I'm awake, Grandfather, I woke up early this morning."

  "What did the doctor say?" The old man was indifferent. He wasn't unconcerned about his juniors, he just didn't like He Zhen. He Zhen had once pushed his stepmother down the stairs, causing her and his younger brother to die, which made the old man deeply detest him.

  The old master hated it most when his own family members fought and harmed each other.

  A family's prosperity begins with a thriving population. To lose one's offspring is to lose virtue and damage the family line. When members of a family kill each other, it will harm the family's luck for several years.

  This is the old man's understanding.

  So he strictly forbade the Chen family descendants from fighting with each other. Once discovered, they would never be lightly forgiven.

  Although He Zhen was a grandson, his behavior had offended the old master's taboos, so the old master did not care about He Zhen's life and death. If it weren't for Chen Qi and Chen Xuan pushing He Zhen into the Lian Shui Lake, Old Master Chen would not have asked about this matter.

  "Is it really good?" Chen Er smiled slightly.

  Ever since Chen Jing spoke up, that Lang Zhong was speechless from start to finish, not saying a single word. Chen Jing's skill left that Lang Zhong tongue-tied. Now thinking back on it, it's still quite satisfying.

  The attitude of the young master just now was so arrogant, and Chen Er felt uncomfortable too.

  Later, seeing him speechless, Chen Er also felt relieved, although the whole thing had nothing to do with Chen Er.

  "Lang Zhong didn't say anything, but the imperial physician said a lot." Chen Er smiled and recited to Old Master Chen all the arguments Chen Jing had made at the time. Many medical things Chen Er couldn't explain clearly, but in general terms, it was "cooling water poured on heat, sweating to dispel heat".

  Chen Er remembered it very clearly.

  He told it all to the old master.

  The old man listened and slightly frowned: "What method did you use?"

  "Yes, it's really astonishing." Chen Er said, "He Zhen has been ill for five years and his body is weak. Although cold medicines have a clearing effect, He Zhen can't withstand the clearing effect, so taking cold medicines would be fatal to him. Then you had him pushed into cold water, letting the cold water cool down the heat, which again caused him to shiver and sweat. He Zhen sweated all night last night, and when he got up this morning, he said that he knew the sun was warm."

  The old man was taken aback.

  Chen Jiong actually has such means?

  However, this method is something that old master has seen before.

  He lived to be eighty years old and had experienced many things.

  He said to Chen Er: "...... When your fourth uncle was a child, he had a high fever that wouldn't stop. Xu Yidafu's grandfather said the child was too young and his internal organs were delicate, so he couldn't take medicine, or else his life would be in danger. But the child still had a high fever, burning with eyes wide open. After thinking for a day, Xu Langzhong said to burn mugwort water at home and use it to wipe down the child.

  Your grandmother didn't take off her clothes for the whole night, and kept wiping away. The child's skin was almost worn out. Who knew that the next day the fever really went down? He Zhen's method of treating this illness is similar to Xu Langzhong's approach, but with a different technique. A truly skilled doctor can use either orthodox or unorthodox methods with ease."

  Mugwort, the one used to ward off evil spirits on Dragon Boat Festival. Apart from warding off evil spirits, it has many medicinal uses. During this period, when children take their three-bath ritual, they use water boiled with mugwort.

  Using wormwood water to bring down a child's fever is an idea that would be hard to come by without decades of medical experience.

  This method is roughly the same as Chen Jie's method given to He Zhenyu.

  When treating illnesses, medicine emphasizes expelling the pathogen from inside the body. However, Chen Jue and Xu Langzhong's method involves luring the pathogen out from the surface of the body. Luring it out is much more difficult than expelling it.

  Xu Langzhong's example is easy to understand, his medical skills are good, and everyone in the county can see it.

  But what about Chen Jie?

  This left the old man perplexed.

  The old man had lived for half his life. In his cognition, only a highly skilled and extremely experienced doctor could apply various recorded prescriptions and unrecorded secret recipes to the point of perfection, with ease.

  Chen Jiong, a 16-year-old bookworm, repeatedly used this seemingly blind method to cure illnesses, actually showcasing his exceptional medical skills. How did he manage to do it?

  The prescription used by Chen Jiong, not to mention its application, other doctors may not have even heard of it. Otherwise, how could they not be cured for five years? The He family had been boasting about "seeking medical treatment with a million gold" after all.

  "...Last time, your third uncle's diarrhea was also cured by taking a dose of medicine." The old man frowned, "Where did that kid Yang learn his medical skills from? Didn't he used to study in the clan school all along?"

  "Yes, it was only after the Mid-Autumn Festival last year that he refused to study. When he was reading, his teacher said he was clumsy and dull, and would never make a good scholar. If not for the fact that he's Chen Zhang's younger brother, the teacher would have driven him out long ago." Chen Er said, "I didn't expect that he had actually been secretly studying medical books?"

  "Is he reading medical books?"

  "Yes, he said it himself. I asked him where he learned his medical skills and he said he learned from books." Chen Er replied. This answer was obviously a lie at first glance.

  "Nonsense." Old Master Chen's eyes narrowed in thin anger, "Just by reading books, one can learn medical skills? Then doctors wouldn't need to eat. He didn't speak the truth."

  "Sun Er also felt that he didn't tell the truth. However, since he's from Qi Wan Xiang, it's not up to us to make decisions for him. Sun Er asked him, and he intentionally evaded the question, so Sun Er couldn't force him either." Chen Er said.

  Divided into two households, they became two families.

  It's been three generations, and the Chen family of Jingzhong Alley is indeed not good at interfering with Qiwan Alley, unless Qiwan Alley has done something treacherous.

  Concealing one's knowledge is not a serious offense. To be honest, it doesn't even count as a mistake. As for Jingzhong Alley, it's even more impossible to manage.

  "...Grandfather, Zhong Yu is not just lucky, he's really skilled. The old man told his grandson that Zhong Yu had even cured the famous courtesan Xi Wen of her illness. Xi Wen was seriously ill, and the owner of Wenyuan Pavilion had invited many doctors to treat her, but Zhong Yu argued with them and defeated them all, and in the end, the old procuress used the prescription written by Zhong Yu to cure Xi Wen." Chen Er said.

  If Cheqianzi treats abdominal diarrhea and cold water cools down the heat evil, it's just a coincidence. But for Wenkui's prescription, it's rich in medicinal materials and solid skills.

  Maybe the first time was a coincidence, and Chen Er didn't see it with his own eyes the second time, or maybe he exaggerated; but the third time, Chen Er experienced it personally, and when he thought about the previous two times, he no longer doubted that the previous cases were just luck or exaggeration.

  Chen Yang's medical skills are, in Chen Er's opinion, beyond question.

  "Is that so?" The old man no longer had the energy to investigate Chen Mo's trip to the brothel, and instead focused on Chen Xiang's prescription.

  "A thousand truths and ten thousand certainties." Chen Erdao said.

  The old man was silent.

  He turned around, with his hands behind him and his eyes fixed on the window. The window was half open, and a gentle breeze blew in, lifting the old man's clothes slightly. His back, because of its age, was thin and gaunt. At this moment, his shoulders were slightly slumped, as if carrying a thousand pounds of weight.

  Chen Er looked at the old man's back and felt a slight sourness in his heart.

  These trivial matters shouldn't be bothering the old master, should they?

  After a long while, the old master spoke slowly: "After the Dragon Boat Festival, you find an excuse to go to Qiwan Alley. Just say that I've been free lately and want to let Cenji be my companion, and have Cenji study at Songhe Hall in the future."

  The old man was uncertain what Chen Jiong's intentions were, so he kept him by his side and observed him carefully.

  The old man is a senior of the Chen family. The seniors like a certain junior, keep him by their side, take care of his daily life, and the junior has no right to refuse, but should feel honored.

  "Yes." Chen Er Dao said.

  Chen Jiong is not the eldest grandson of Jing Zhong Xiang, no matter how much Old Master likes him, Chen Er will never feel threatened.

  "...Let the youngest come too. He's also turned everything upside down, let him stay home and read books for two months, as a result, he went to visit the brothel!" The old man mentioned Chen Qi, his tone became severe.

  Chen Er paused for a moment.

  That flash of emotion was fleeting, and Chen Er immediately laughed and said: "I'm afraid that the youngest one can't bear hardship, and when the time comes, he'll get sick again, and make a ruckus, disturbing Grandfather's peace."

  "As it happens, there is a highly skilled doctor nearby, let's see how Mo Er ends up. The old master snorted coldly, 'You and your father are too indulgent towards Mo Er. If the child is not taught well by the parents, in the future when Mo Er gets into trouble, it will be a loss of face for both the main house and you.'"

  Chen Er didn't dare say anything else and just nodded in agreement.

  As he was about to leave, he thought of Chen Jinnan's skillful movements at Lushui Pavilion.

  He hesitated for a moment, then told the old man: "...... He Ti's waist is thick and sturdy, I'm afraid it won't work. Xiang Qi is thin and weak, but he managed to get around him every time, and even kicked He Ti to the ground, I'm afraid he has learned some kung fu."

  "I heard your third uncle say that you have to carry tens of buckets of water every day." The old man was not surprised by this, saying "That's just building up strength. If you do it for half a year, you'll be more agile than him."

  Thinking of Chen Jing, Lao Taigong's words were full of emotion, but he didn't know where to start.

  Living for so many years, four generations under one roof, in the family's children and grandchildren, there is still no one like Chen Xuan.

  "That child, studying medicine and practicing qigong, doesn't seem like a scholar at all. If he's not well-behaved, he'll go astray in the future, without any sense of propriety or reason." The old man sighed, "His older brother is decent and smart, how can two brothers be so different?"

  ***

  Yesterday's third update, sorry for being so late ~~ brothers and sisters forgive me ~~