Knowing the Warmth of Southern Tea (GL) - Chapter 26

Chapter 26

“Master, it’s bad! Miss Rong has fainted in the courtyard.” An San’s voice came from outside. Wen Cha and Nan Nuan exchanged looks and immediately stood up.

By then, Rongrong had already been carried back to her room by the servants. Upon learning this, An San immediately reported to Nan Nuan.

“An San, have An Shi go take a look. Also, send someone to the teahouse to find Gu Zhuang and tell him about this.” Nan Nuan made the arrangements methodically. She didn’t believe for a second that Gu Zhuang wouldn’t show up this time. She felt it was necessary to meet this senior and ask him what he was thinking.

She had always thought Gu Zhuang was blind for his choices, but now she felt Rongrong’s eyesight wasn’t much better either. How could such a person fall for someone with a heart as black as his?

Back in the day, Gu Zhuang had personally killed his own foster father. Although few knew of this, Nan Nuan had uncovered it through the Crown Prince’s intelligence network. If it weren’t for the fact that Rongrong showed no resistance to the relationship, Nan Nuan might have actually tried to break them up.

“Gu Zhuang… has foster father come too?” Wen Cha’s animal-like intuition was extremely sharp. She always acted spoiled and called Rongrong “Mother,” never dared to call Xingyue “Sister,” and treated Gu Zhuang with the utmost respect. Hearing Wen Cha’s title for Gu Zhuang made Nan Nuan feel a twinge of disgust deep in her heart.

“Just watch,” Nan Nuan said, confident in her judgment. Seeing Nan Nuan so sure, Wen Cha also became certain. The two walked toward Rongrong’s bedroom. Nan Nuan suddenly remembered that Rongrong never seemed to drink tea lately. Could it be?

No way… a child at their age?

The two entered the bedroom. It was clear the owner of the room loved life; there were potted plants by the window, calligraphy and paintings on the desk, rows of medical books, and a faint scent of medicinal herbs. Indeed, wherever Miss Rong went, her essence followed.

“A healer cannot heal themselves,” Nan Nuan sighed, looking at the pale Rongrong lying on the bed. Wen Cha had already rushed forward, looking at her foster mother with deep concern.

A healer cannot heal themselves. Wen Cha, will you be like this too? So helpless, weak, and pale, dying one day in some unknown corner?

No one could answer this for Nan Nuan, not even Wen Cha.

“Nuan Nuan, what exactly happened? Why would Mother faint? Is it because she’s not used to the environment here?” Wen Cha was very confused. She had always believed that doctors didn’t get sick because they were supposed to value their health above all else. What Wen Cha didn’t know was that her foster mother was the type of patient who needed someone to nag her just to take her medicine.

Nan Nuan shook her head, indicating she didn’t know. Wen Cha didn’t understand the helplessness behind the phrase “a healer cannot heal themselves,” but Nan Nuan understood it deeply.

At this moment, An Shi arrived. Having received the order while immersed in mixing poisons, he had been so startled by An San that he broke a medicine jar. He didn’t even stop to clean it up before rushing over. He hurried to bow to Nan Nuan and then went to take Rongrong’s pulse.

An Shi greatly admired Rongrong. After all, there weren’t many in this world who could distinguish between Shi-poison (a poison with symptoms similar to a plague) and a real plague. Furthermore, she was a key figure in this plan, possessing a truly “benevolent heart.”

“How is she?” Wen Cha asked anxiously. Nan Nuan gave her a look, signaling her to be quiet. Because of the traditional boundaries between men and women, An Shi used a thread to take the pulse from a distance, which took a bit longer.

An Shi nodded to Nan Nuan, indicating he understood the symptoms. This was good news.

Just then, Gu Zhuang arrived.

Gu Zhuang’s original intention was to avoid seeing Nan Nuan. If there was a reason, it was probably that he found her annoying the moment he looked at her; he felt Nan Nuan had a face that was easy to dislike. This was purely his prejudice—in terms of beauty, Nan Nuan was among the top in the Capital.

Moreover, having guessed Nan Nuan’s objective, he was no longer worried about Rongrong’s safety or that anyone would secretly harm her. This residence appeared calm on the surface, but he knew there were countless guards hidden in the shadows, so he had felt even more at ease.

He never expected that something would actually go wrong. He felt a sliver of regret; he shouldn’t have let Rongrong have her way and play around like this.

“Foster Father,” Wen Cha called out. She was a bit afraid of the cold-faced Zhuang and hid behind Nan Nuan. Zhuang didn’t even give her a glance. He found her just as annoying as her mother. Perhaps in Gu Zhuang’s heart, there were only two women in the world who weren’t annoying: one was Rongrong, and the other was Xingyue.

Seeing that Gu Zhuang had arrived, Nan Nuan directly asked An Shi to announce the results of the pulse reading.

“Reporting to Master, Madam Rong is with child. However, she has been overthinking, leading to signs of a threatened miscarriage. It is not severe, though—a few doses of medicine will suffice.”

“You may withdraw now.” Nan Nuan dismissed An Shi and shot a glance at Wen Cha. Wen Cha took the hint and quietly retreated from the battlefield.

“I apologize for failing to take proper care of Madam; please forgive me, Sir.” Nan Nuan bowed to Gu Zhuang to express her apologies, though how much genuine respect was behind it remained unknown. Currently, Nan Nuan also felt a great deal of distaste for Gu Zhuang. Perhaps because they were similar people, they couldn’t stand the sight of each other?

Gu Zhuang ignored her, and Nan Nuan didn’t feel embarrassed; she just stood there. Gu Zhuang sat by the bed, looking at Rongrong. He took her hand and watched her as she slept.

Gu Zhuang and Rongrong first met when she was 18. Their second meeting was at 20, and their third at 23. In those three encounters, Rongrong saved him twice. They married when they were 25, and Rongrong had Xingyue at 28. When Gu Zhuang was born, his fortune was told to be that of a “Lone Star of Heavenly Slaughter,” destined to bring calamity and have no wife or children. Thus, he was already grateful to the heavens for a daughter like Xingyue. He never dreamed of having a second child; he was shocked, joyful, and even more worried.

Rongrong had given him a sense of simple happiness, and he valued her safety above all else. Rongrong was more important than Xingyue, and even more important than his own life.

In truth, it wasn’t that the fortune-teller was inaccurate. When Gu Zhuang was born, his family suffered a great disaster, leaving him as the sole survivor of a hundred and eight souls. He was later saved by a grand master and became his disciple. He knew his own fate. But then he met Rongrong. As the saying goes, “saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda.” Rongrong had once saved the Holy Maiden of the Southern Kingdom and possessed profound blessings.

The first time Rongrong and Gu Zhuang met, she changed his destiny. Gu Zhuang’s master once said that his fate had shifted. Originally, Gu Zhuang only thought that as long as he didn’t hurt Rongrong and could be with her, he would be satisfied. But after Rongrong resolved a third plague and saved an entire city of people, they had their first child, Xingyue, a few months later.

Let the past be the past…

“You must be very delighted, Sir. I am also very happy for you. However, Madam’s heart is burdened with anxiety, which worries me on your behalf. Therefore, I have thought of a way to help you, though I don’t know if I should say it,” Nan Nuan said, looking at Gu Zhuang.

“Speak.” Gu Zhuang had always believed Nan Nuan was up to no good, and now he found her even more irritating.

“I would like to ask you to deliver a letter. I know you have already guessed our plan, and I cannot bear to see the people of Qingzhou suffer this calamity. Therefore, I want to ask you to send a letter to the Capital…”