Running a Food Stall to Support My Deceptive Omega - Chapter 19

Mu Jinyu didn’t even stop to think; she ran out the door again to find the physician.

She pounded fiercely on the medical clinic’s door, waking the physician from a deep sleep, and brought him back to her home.

The physician took Rong Heng’s pulse and examined her condition. He asked Mu Jinyu in detail what Rong Heng had eaten and tried to inquire if Rong Heng had expressed any specific discomfort. However, since Rong Heng had never regained consciousness, Mu Jinyu naturally had no answers.

After much deliberation, the physician prescribed a few herbs to reduce the fever. He instructed Mu Jinyu that if the patient did not improve by the following day, she should bring her directly to the clinic.

Once she had the medicine and had seen the physician out, Mu Jinyu immediately emptied the contents of her cooking pot, washed it clean, and began decocting the medicine for Rong Heng.

While anxiously waiting for the medicine to finish brewing, Mu Jinyu carefully recalled the physician’s examination. She wondered if he had noticed the extensive blade wounds on Rong Heng’s body. There were so many scars that any normal person would find it suspicious. In her heart, Mu Jinyu still wanted to keep anyone from discovering that there was something problematic about Rong Heng’s identity.

After reflecting, she felt that since the examination was done through clothing, the physician likely hadn’t noticed much.

In the pitch-black courtyard, only a single dim oil lamp flickered. The little calico cat seemed to sense her anxiety and lay quietly at her feet to keep her company.

Finally, the medicine was ready. Mu Jinyu carried the bowl into the room, blowing on it until it was lukewarm before reaching out to help Rong Heng up. Her arms had been sore and weak for the past two days; as she lifted the unconscious Rong Heng, she had to grit her teeth and use every ounce of her strength.

With great effort, she got the woman into a semi-reclining position on the bed. Mu Jinyu called out again, “Rong Heng? Wake up, Rong Heng.”

The unconscious woman gave no response, though her brow furrowed deeper, seemingly annoyed by the person calling her.

Rong Heng felt as if she were submerged in water, bubbles gurgling from her mouth. Her ears were blocked by the water, and voices drifted in faintly—now far, now near—distorted by the shifting ripples and impossible to decipher.

A sharp, intermittent griping pain radiated from the area around her navel. Her abdomen felt stuffed and bloated, as if a pocket of air was trapped inside with no way out, swelling her stomach larger and larger until it felt ready to burst.

Her mouth was pried open, and a stream of warm liquid was poured in.

Rong Heng felt as though the contents of her stomach were already pushed up to her throat, yet the liquid was being forced in unceremoniously. A sense of suffocation washed over her. Her eyelids twitched violently, and she shook her head with all her might to refuse.

Suddenly, her world shifted. The clear water turned blood-red. A severed arm drifted past her in the current, grabbing her limbs and clawing at her neck. The stench of blood felt stuck in her throat. Endless wails echoed in her ears.

Beads of cold sweat rolled down Rong Heng’s forehead, dripping onto the back of Mu Jinyu’s hand. Mu Jinyu glanced at her, seeing Rong Heng’s distress with agonizing clarity.

For every spoonful of medicine she fed her, half a spoon spilled. Mu Jinyu felt like a rubber band being stretched to its limit, her nerves taut with tension. She didn’t know exactly what was wrong with Rong Heng, but the situation was clearly dire.

Was her life in danger?

Although she was afraid of Rong Heng, she didn’t want her to die.

Mu Jinyu set the bowl aside and pulled Rong Heng up higher, cradling her in her arms and using her own body as a support. With one arm encircling Rong Heng, she pinched her cheeks to force her mouth open, while using her other hand to spoon the medicine in.

Rong Heng felt as though she was shaking her head with immense force, but to Mu Jinyu, she appeared motionless with only the weakest of breaths. Mu Jinyu’s hands trembled; she was not a forceful person by nature, and compelling Rong Heng to drink the medicine was an ordeal for her as well.

After she managed to get more than half the bowl down, not even a breath had passed before Rong Heng’s body suddenly jolted violently. She broke free from Mu Jinyu’s hold and slumped forward unnaturally.

“Blegh—”

The medicine she had just swallowed, along with the contents of her stomach, was all vomited out. A large amount of filth splattered across the bed and the floor.

Mu Jinyu: “…”

However, after vomiting, Rong Heng visibly improved. Her breathing became steady, and her tightly knit brows relaxed.

Mu Jinyu: “…”

She stopped struggling and leaned softly and quietly against Mu Jinyu’s chest. Her eyelids were tinged red, and a faint glint of moisture lingered at the corners of her eyes. She actually looked… rather beautiful.

Mu Jinyu: “…”

She laid Rong Heng back against the bed, carried the soiled quilt out to the courtyard, and returned to the room with a bowl of fresh water to help her rinse her mouth. She then used a handkerchief to carefully wipe Rong Heng’s face.

There was very little flesh on that face; the skin clung tight to the bone, making her look gaunt and pale. Logically, given Rong Heng’s formerly noble status, she shouldn’t have been this thin. Mu Jinyu began to reflect: Could it be that I haven’t been looking after her well? Why has she lost so much weight?

She rinsed the handkerchief in the water, wrung it out, and wiped Rong Heng’s neck and arms. Finally, she covered her with a fresh quilt.

Once finished, Mu Jinyu opened the doors and windows to vent the room and began cleaning up the mess on the floor.

The wind was high and the night was dark. It was past midnight, yet Mu Jinyu was still hunched over in the courtyard washing the bedding. Once she finally finished and hung it up to dry, she could finally rest.

By this time, the little calico cat was already asleep at her feet. She carefully picked up the cat and placed it at the very inner edge of the bed. She climbed in herself, huddling toward the wall to leave a wide space for Rong Heng.

She slept poorly that night, waking up once more to warm the medicine and feed it to Rong Heng.

As dawn broke the next morning, Mu Jinyu startled awake. She first checked Rong Heng’s condition and then administered the third dose of medicine. Worried about Rong Heng, she couldn’t fall back asleep, so she kept the food warming in the pot and began washing the kitchenware in the courtyard.

It wasn’t until the hour of Si (around 10:00 AM) that Rong Heng finally showed signs of movement. A faint sound escaped her lips, and her eyelashes fluttered. Hearing the noise, Mu Jinyu rushed to her side and watched her.

The face that had been as pale as paper was now bathed in a hazy, warm glow from the sunlight outside. Her eyelashes fluttered like a bird’s wings before slowly opening. Her watery eyes looked toward Mu Jinyu with a shimmering light, and the two red moles beneath her eye—like red lotuses blooming in water—were incredibly striking.

For some reason, Mu Jinyu reflexively looked away. Her breath hitched for a moment, followed by a massive sigh of relief. She was profoundly grateful that Rong Heng was finally alright.

An unconscious smile spread across Mu Jinyu’s face. Feeling immensely comforted, she sat by the edge of the bed. After a moment, she looked back at the woman lying there.

Mu Jinyu actually thought the two red moles were quite beautiful; she felt a sudden urge to touch them. But fearing it might be offensive, she refrained.

“You’re awake? Do you feel unwell anywhere?” Mu Jinyu kept her voice soft, afraid of startling the patient.

Rong Heng felt warm and comfortable, and the bed felt soft. The pain from her dreams the previous night had long since vanished. She looked closely at the person before her, momentarily dazed by the bright, sunny, and cheerful smile.

Then, she abruptly turned her body toward the wall, ignoring Mu Jinyu. Her memory was still stuck on the moment Mu Jinyu had taken away the bowl of noodles; she still remembered being stopped from eating her fill.

Mu Jinyu didn’t understand what the gesture meant and assumed she was just uncomfortable. She asked several more questions, and though she received no response, she wasn’t annoyed.

Instead, she said with a smile, “You haven’t eaten for almost a whole day. I’ll get you some food.”

Upon hearing about food, Rong Heng finally gave a reaction, her body wiggling slightly.

Knowing she must be hungry, Mu Jinyu turned and went to the courtyard to bring in the food she had been keeping warm. Along the way, she reached into the cloth sack containing the sweet potatoes, intending to take one out to roast in the hearth for her own meal.

She was lucky Rong Heng had woken up; otherwise, she would have been too worried to eat.

Her hand rummaged through the sack several times before she finally pulled out a single sweet potato—one that was only as large as her palm.

Mu Jinyu: “?”