Whatever Zhong Yichen, the transfer student from Qixian, was thinking, Xu Huaiqian, after struggling all day in the exam hall until his limbs went numb and his head spun, finally managed to produce a barely passable poem.
Dragging his fever-weakened, exhausted, and icy-cold body, Xu Huaiqian returned home with Duan Youyan and the others, only to find a stranger there. He coughed and asked Chen Liejiu, "...Who is this?"
"A physician from the Imperial Hospital I invited," Chen Liejiu said, pulling Xu Huaiqian to sit down and placing his wrist on the table. "Don't talk. Let him examine you properly."
"The Imperial Hospital?!"
Before Xu Huaiqian could express his surprise, Duan Youyan and the others were astonished. How did Chen Liejiu manage to get one?
"I am Ying Xinghai," the official said, disregarding their amazement. He introduced himself briefly and began feeling Xu Huaiqian's pulse.
"Official Ying." Even though he was just a physician, he was still an official. Regardless of rank, Juren like them, who had status but no official position, needed to show respect. So, Duan Youyan and the others bowed respectfully.
Ying Xinghai gave a noncommittal "Hmm," not even standing up, and continued his examination. The more he felt the pulse, the deeper his frown became.
"...Cough, cough. Is it very bad?" Xu Huaiqian didn't need him to say it; he could feel his own condition was poor. It had been so long since he'd been this sick; he was unaccustomed to it.
"Not just bad, but very bad," Ying Xinghai said, looking at Xu Huaiqian. "Your condition is congenital. If my diagnosis is correct, you have already suffered three major illnesses."
Xu Huaiqian nodded. Once when crossing over to this world, once during the prefectural exams, and now this time.
"Cold invasion from falling into water, damage to your vital energy from hunger and cold, and erosion of your foundation from failing to acclimatize to a new environment," Ying Xinghai listed, his own brow furrowed. "The three illnesses attacked different aspects. This is difficult to treat."
"...Am I going to die?" Xu Huaiqian glanced at Chen Liejiu, feeling a chill of fear. He had promised Chen Liejiu he would return fine this morning, only to come back with what sounded like a death sentence. He was afraid Chen Liejiu would be furious.
"Uh..." Ying Xinghai was momentarily stunned, having never encountered such a direct patient. He shook his head. "It's not that serious. But you truly cannot strain yourself anymore. At the very least, until your vitality is fully restored, you must not move around. If your body endures this two more times, even mobilizing the entire Imperial Hospital won't be able to save you."
A body like Xu Huaiqian's wasn't suited for constant travel between the far south and north. It was best to stay put. But his pursuit of the imperial exams made that difficult.
"I'll try treating you first. From now on, I'll come to your residence every five days to perform acupuncture," Ying Xinghai released Xu Huaiqian's wrist, then took paper and ink from the table and wrote a prescription for Chen Liejiu. "This medicine isn't for drinking. Brew it into a medicinal bath for him to soak in. Do this at least once every half-month!"
"Alright." Chen Liejiu breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Xu Huaiqian could still be treated. He knew local doctors weren't up to the task.
He then asked, "'At least'? Does that mean there's also a 'at most'?"
Ying Xinghai looked at him. "At most means once every three days!"
"Once every three days? Wouldn't that make me smell like a walking herb jar?!" Xu Huaiqian imagined himself stewing in medicinal soup every three days, like a piece of meat in a pot.
Ying Xinghai nodded. "Precisely. You need to become thoroughly infused with the medicine's properties. Only then can we proceed to the next stage of treatment."
There was another stage?
However, Ying Xinghai didn't elaborate on the next stage's treatment, saying they would discuss it after this stage was complete. If they couldn't get past this stage, everything else was moot.
After he left, Chen Liejiu went to prepare the medicinal bath for Xu Huaiqian, leaving the others in a state of surprise and bewilderment.
"What are you thinking about?" Zhang Bingwen and the others had been discussing how Chen Liejiu managed to get a royal physician. Seeing Duan Youyan silent for a long time, they asked him.
"I was thinking how different a royal physician is," Duan Youyan snapped out of his thoughts. "Just by feeling the pulse, he could identify the specific illness, its past causes, and propose a treatment plan. It's completely different from a country doctor like me."
"Of course. There's always a higher mountain," Xu Huaiqian didn't find it strange. "Without leaving the small mountain village, one would never see the vast world outside. The Imperial Hospital gathers the best doctors from across the land; there must be many exceptionally skilled individuals there."
"Can I go study at the Imperial Hospital in the future?" Duan Youyan, excited by something he was passionate about, looked like an overjoyed fool.
"Probably?" Seeing him so happy, Xu Huaiqian couldn't say no.
Duan Youyan happily returned to the Sheng residence. Chen Liejiu bought the medicine, brewed several large pots, and prepared the bath for Xu Huaiqian.
It was then that he understood why Official Ying mentioned "at most" and "at least."
One dose of Xu Huaiqian's medicine cost twenty taels of silver. But for a bath, one dose wasn't enough. He needed five doses for Xu Huaiqian's frame.
One hundred taels every three days meant one thousand taels a month!
What ordinary family could afford that?!
Even Xu Huaiqian, soaking in the medicinal tub, fell silent for a moment. But remembering the doctor said he could soak once every fifteen days, he cheered up. "There are treatments for the poor, and treatments for the rich."
"If conditions allow, it's best to soak once every three days," Chen Liejiu said, scrubbing Xu Huaiqian's back, already resolved. Since this treatment could improve Xu Huaiqian's health, so be it. "I'm here."
"Mm!" Xu Huaiqian knew Chen Liejiu would never cut corners on his medicine. He didn't object. His wife was clever; he'd probably already figured out how to make money. Xu Huaiqian didn't try to dissuade him.
Instead, he grew curious, like Pei Wangshu and the others. "How did you manage to invite Official Ying?"
"Ah, that..." Chen Liejiu thought about it but was too embarrassed to say. "That's a secret!"
Official Ying wasn't easily persuaded. But Chen Liejiu was eloquent. He was a devoted husband. After finding Ying Xinghai, he first appealed to his emotions, then reasoned with him—all to convince him to treat Xu Huaiqian.
However, many people wanted royal physicians. Official Ying had seen such tactics countless times. His first response was: "I must seek permission from His Majesty and the Head of the Imperial Hospital before I can decide."
As a last resort, Chen Liejiu played his trump card: pouring out a tale of hardship—his own difficult life, Xu Huaiqian's misfortunes, starting from his own childhood orphanhood to Xu Huaiqian's parents dying... the more pitiful, the better.
He stood by Official Ying's carriage right on the street, telling his story so movingly he nearly moved himself to tears, not to mention the other officials from the Imperial Hospital listening nearby.
Chen Liejiu figured if he could move all of them, even better.
He was a man, after all. Besides being strong-willed, he could also play the weak and pitiful card!
Under the gaze of his Imperial Hospital colleagues, Official Ying had no choice. Considering Chen Liejiu was someone the Emperor had personally instructed him to assist with house repairs, making an exception to see his patient probably wouldn't be a major issue? That's why he agreed to go home with Chen Liejiu and wait for Xu Huaiqian to finish the exams.
Of course, Chen Liejiu wouldn't tell Xu Huaiqian about this street corner "ambush." He had his pride.
In front of others, he could do anything, but in front of his little husband... he wanted to be admired a little longer.
If Xu Huaiqian knew his husband was a man who resorted to making a scene and using tricks, how could he maintain his "husbandly authority" afterwards?
A little mystery between husbands was necessary sometimes!
Since Chen Liejiu wouldn't tell, Xu Huaiqian had no choice, deciding to ask Official Ying himself when he had the chance.
After the medicinal bath, Xu Huaiqian felt better. But perhaps the capital clashed with his astrological compatibility? As soon as he fell ill, it started snowing.
Although not heavy, just a thin layer, the cold caused Xu Huaiqian to cough up blood daily. During his next two exam sessions, he accidentally coughed some blood onto his papers.
The latter two sessions were much easier for him than the first poetry exam.
One was on policy questions, the other on current affairs—both Xu Huaiqian's strengths.
But no matter how strong his skills, he couldn't help coughing incessantly while taking the exams.
During severe coughing fits, even a handkerchief couldn't contain it, inevitably leaving traces on the exam papers. He wondered if the graders would be frightened seeing papers stained with blood?!