The Paranoid Male Lead’s "White Moonlight" Has Reborn - Chapter 34

Han Jiangmu walked into the inner chamber. Jiang Chaoyun pulled the quilt up high, pretending he was about to sleep.

However, after a short while, Jiang Chaoyun couldn’t resist asking, “Didn’t you say you had something for me? Where is it?”

Han Jiangmu said, “Didn’t the Young Master say he didn’t want it?”

Jiang Chaoyun: “…”

His heart felt stifled, and he fell silent.

Han Jiangmu walked to his side and pulled a grass cricket from his breast pocket, presenting it to Jiang Chaoyun.

At first glance, Jiang Chaoyun truly thought it was a real insect. He instantly shrank to the side and cried out, “What is that?! Take it away quickly!”

Han Jiangmu said, “A grass cricket. It is made of grass.”

Hearing this, Jiang Chaoyun finally calmed down. He reached out to take the grass cricket and inspected it closely. It was crafted quite exquisitely. Still, he couldn’t help but mutter, “You’re using this to apologize to me?”

Han Jiangmu asked, “Then what does the Young Master want?”

Jiang Chaoyun said, “At the very least, you should be a bit more sincere. Using this isn’t earnest; you’re just going through the motions and looking down on me.”

Han Jiangmu nodded. “The Young Master is right.”

Jiang Chaoyun looked at him; his attitude was, in fact, very sincere. But since this wasn’t the first time Han Jiangmu had said such things, Jiang Chaoyun felt that the man probably truly thought that way in his heart.

This made him quite gloomy and indeed a bit vexed. However, seeing as the man had humbled himself to apologize, he would forgive him this time. If he said such things again, Jiang Chaoyun would truly be unkind to him.

Thinking thus, Jiang Chaoyun finally felt comfortable. He asked again, “Did you weave this grass cricket yourself?”

Han Jiangmu nodded.

Jiang Chaoyun asked, “What else can you do?”

Han Jiangmu answered, “Skinning.”

Jiang Chaoyun: “…”

He said huffily, “It’s the middle of the night; must you talk about that? Are you intentionally trying to scare me?”

Han Jiangmu looked at him with an innocent expression. “The Young Master was the one who asked first.”

Jiang Chaoyun clutched the grass cricket and pulled the quilt over his face. He said muffledly, “I’m not talking to you anymore.”

Han Jiangmu asked him, “How has the Young Master’s health been lately?”

Jiang Chaoyun didn’t answer, and Han Jiangmu spoke no further.

For some reason, Jiang Chaoyun found it difficult to fall asleep. He turned onto his side, gently toying with the grass cricket in his hand. Though he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, an image of Han Jiangmu sitting on a chair, focused intently on weaving a grass cricket, kept appearing in his mind.

Han Jiangmu gave him warm jade, gave him so many things, and even wove him a grass cricket. The corners of Jiang Chaoyun’s mouth curled up unconsciously. However, the moment he realized he was smiling, he felt a bit at a loss. Even if he understood nothing of the world, he could feel that he was becoming “wrong” because of Han Jiangmu’s presence.

How could he be secretly happy over a man?

This state of restless confusion lasted for a while, until Dr. Ma, who had been treating him, came to bid him farewell. Jiang Chaoyun then had no time for stray thoughts.

Ma Wenfeng had been his regular physician, rarely treating anyone else and being available at a moment’s notice. Because of his memories from his previous life, Jiang Chaoyun was quite dependent on him. If he left, whether Jiang Chaoyun could survive until the winter of his nineteenth year was an unknown.

Ma Wenfeng was somewhat surprised by his unusual panic. Previously, no matter what he said to Jiang Chaoyun, the boy never showed a happy expression; he hadn’t expected him to show such panic now. He was puzzled but didn’t think much of it, comforting him: “Young Master, I am of shallow talent and truly have no way to cure your ailment. This farewell is because I have convinced my master, Xun Ziyang, to come out of retirement. He is the master of medicine in Nanhua and will certainly have a way to cure the Young Master’s illness.”

Hearing this, Jiang Chaoyun finally calmed down slightly. “Are you telling the truth?”

Ma Wenfeng said, “Naturally.”

Jiang Chaoyun asked, “Then what about you? Where are you going?”

Seeing the boy’s concern, Ma Wenfeng felt heartened. He smiled slightly and said, “Naturally, I go back to where I came from. The Young Master need not worry about that.”

Jiang Chaoyun confirmed once more, “Is your master truly more capable than you?”

Such foolish words would make others laugh, but Ma Wenfeng knew his nature and found him simple and straightforward. He laughed and said, “My master is naturally more capable than I. Rest assured, Young Master.”

Thus, Jiang Chaoyun saw him out with great reluctance. With such a major change, he temporarily stopped thinking about Han Jiangmu.

Lin Yuerong was actually overjoyed because she had learned from Madam Mo that Xun Ziyang was very famous, whereas Dr. Ma’s reputation in Nanhua was obscure. Madam Mo had said, “I remember Xun Ziyang’s eldest disciple, Qin Zhou, has a momentum that surpasses his master. Ma Wenfeng is likely Xun Ziyang’s youngest disciple and has no reputation in Nanhua.”

Hearing this, Lin Yuerong realized why Ma Wenfeng might have misdiagnosed him—he was simply unskilled. But considering that many older doctors before him couldn’t see anything either, it really wasn’t his fault. Thinking thus, she felt relieved and was grateful to Ma Wenfeng for inviting his master, sending him off with generous gifts.

This time, Ma Wenfeng did not accept the gifts. He felt a bit dejected. Even though Han Jiangmu hadn’t discarded him after this ordeal, he likely wouldn’t be given important tasks in the future. As a physician, he wanted to be remembered for generations, but besides medical skill, he also needed a ladder of power—which was why he followed Han Jiangmu.

This mistake, while not fatal, had lost him Han Jiangmu’s trust. It was better to take this chance to hone his skills before returning to Han Jiangmu’s side.

Thinking of Jiang Chaoyun, he hesitated. The current situation was escalating, and opportunities were fleeting. If Han Jiangmu became purely indulged in romance, he might ruin the grand plan. After much thought, Ma Wenfeng wrote a letter intended for the prestigious family behind Han Jiangmu to report this matter.

However, recalling Jiang Chaoyun’s pure and straightforward face, he hesitated again, sighed, and burned the letter.

Wujiu reported everything he saw to Han Jiangmu. Han Jiangmu listened and said, “Let him be.”

Shortly after, Xun Ziyang arrived at the Lin Manor. He was not an ordinary doctor who easily treated the rich and powerful; had Han Jiangmu not invited him, he would not have come in his seventies to treat Jiang Chaoyun.

He felt Jiang Chaoyun’s pulse and said with a slight smile, “Although Wenfeng is unskilled, he did not use the wrong medicine.”

Jiang Chaoyun couldn’t help but say a few good words for Dr. Ma. He whispered to Xun Ziyang, “Dr. Ma’s medical skill is still very good. Since he came, I’ve only been sick once, it didn’t hurt much, and I usually have plenty of energy.”

Xun Ziyang felt the boy was innocent and romantic, gaining a bit of a favorable impression. “If he couldn’t even manage that, I would have to expel him from my tutelage.”

Jiang Chaoyun was choked for words and didn’t know how to respond.

After finishing the pulse reading, Xun Ziyang went outside to speak with Lin Yuerong. “Breaking this ‘gu’ will not be easy. Over the years, many gu-masters from the Southern Borders have flowed into the Central Plains. However, the venomous insects here are very different from those in the south. Over time, different sects of masters and insects have developed, turning this art into a thousand variations. This ‘Chilling Ice Gu’ was likely planted at your son’s heart. The method of planting is simple—entering through the mouth or nose and then rooting at the heart. When the illness strikes, the toxin spreads from the heart to the limbs, making your son feel as if a cold affliction has struck, freezing him to the bone. Over time, the internal organs will fail and eventually melt into a pool of bloody slush.”

Just hearing it, Lin Yuerong’s tears began to fall. “Then how on earth can it be cured?”

Xun Ziyang said, “To break this gu, one must know how the master normally raises it. Even knowing a bit of the technique would be helpful. I heard the Madam also brought the son of that gu-master? Was a gu also planted in that child?”

Lin Yuerong recalled what Guard Han had said and felt a surge of gratitude. “Yes, I brought the son of that gu-woman here.”

Xun Ziyang stroked his long beard and smiled. “That makes it easier. Since the ‘Mother Gu’ is here and the gu-woman’s son is also here, with the two types of gu to compare against each other, breaking the poison is only a matter of time.”

Lin Yuerong keenly caught a specific term and froze. “Mother Gu? Wasn’t the Mother Gu in his father’s body?”

Xun Ziyang immediately realized his slip. He frowned. “Was the Mother Gu originally planted in the boy’s biological father?”

Lin Yuerong nodded, asking in confusion, “Why did the Master say the Mother Gu is also here? Is it needed? The Mother Gu is thousands of miles away in Huaizhou; what should we do?”

Xun Ziyang knew the waters here were very, very deep. He said vaguely, “The Mother Gu is not strictly necessary; having the son of the gu-woman is enough.”

He forced his way through the slip-up regarding the Mother Gu. Since Xun Ziyang was highly respected, Lin Yuerong didn’t dare press him, but a seed of doubt was planted in her heart.

Xun Ziyang issued a new prescription for Jiang Chaoyun, consisting mostly of “yang” medications that could suppress the activity of the sub-gu. Without the stimulation of the Mother Gu, even if Jiang Chaoyun fell ill, it should only be a common cold.

Jiang Chaoyun didn’t know what the result of changing doctors would be. Seeing Bixin’s happy expression, he asked her about it and learned how great Xun Ziyang’s reputation in Nanhua was. Hearing Bixin tell him many stories of Xun Ziyang saving people on the brink of death, making the man sound like a legend, he felt somewhat skeptical. “Where did you hear all this?”

Bixin said, “Naturally from others. Young Master, you don’t know—the fact that Master Xun is willing to sit in our manor is an enormous favor. Prominent ladies from outside are constantly visiting the Old Matriarch just for the sake of a favor, hoping Master Xun will treat them in the future.”

This was invited by their very own Dr. Ma—it was indirectly giving them great face! Bixin was truly happy, her whole being radiating spirit. “Young Master, you don’t know; Master Xun hasn’t come out to treat anyone in over ten years! When people from the Imperial Palace come to invite him, it’s always his eldest disciple Qin Zhou who goes! With him here to treat you, isn’t it a sure thing?”

Jiang Chaoyun suddenly froze. Could his family truly have the power to invite such a ‘Great Buddha’?

Could it be… could it be Han Jiangmu?