Chapter 5 - 5 4 Livelihood

Words : 1371 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

5: Chapter 4 Livelihood 5: Chapter 4 Livelihood The servant and her master sat under the porch, basking in the sun for a while before Xingniang came in with medicine from the next courtyard. Seeing Ran Yan sitting below, she hurried over, placed the tray on the railing, and took Ran Yan’s hand, crying with joy, “Wife, you’re awake! It’s good that you’re awake. I will go and invite Divine Doctor Wu to take a look at you.” Ran Yan nodded. She also understood traditional Chinese medicine, especially in prescribing medicine, but she was not very skilled in taking pulses and such, so having someone else confirm was good. Xingniang left for a moment and then brought back a hunchbacked old man, wearing a light brown faded robe, clutching a gray cloth bag in his hand, with snow-white hair and a sparse mess piled on top of his head, secured with a wooden hairpin, which swung back and forth as he moved. His wooden clogs were so worn they looked as though they could fall apart at any moment. This forlorn appearance hardly suggested someone with exceptional medical skills. Ran Yan would not judge by appearances, and from what remained of her memory, this old man was a wandering doctor found by the stepmother just to appease the elders and Ah Lang, named Wu Xiuhe. Perhaps the stepmother hadn’t expected that this wandering doctor actually had true skills, managing to extend Ran Yan’s illness for two years and voluntarily staying at the estate to treat her. At first, the Ran family provided him with some silver taels, but now they no longer gave him any money. They all called Wu Xiuhe the Divine Doctor, not because his medical skills were truly exceptional, but out of gratitude. “Divine Doctor Wu.” Seeing as Wu Xiu was her colleague, and he was also quite benevolent, Ran Yan rose with Wan Lu’s help to greet him. Wu Xiuhe grunted twice, took a look at Ran Yan, and noticed her pale and bluish complexion. The pair of sparkling eyes she used to have now had a touch of death in them. He couldn’t help frowning as he took Ran Yan’s slender wrist between his fingers. “The pulse is strong and steady, a sign of great recovery and well-being…” Wu Xiuhe stroked his sparse beard and spoke slowly. Wu Xiuhe looked at Ran Yan’s face with confusion and wondered, “If there are signs of great recovery, why does the complexion not reflect that?” Searᴄh the NôᴠelFirё.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Even if Wu Xiuhe’s medical skills were exceptional, he wouldn’t know that it was because the soul inside Ran Yan’s body had changed to another person and had not yet fully merged and adapted. Additionally, in her previous life, Ran Yan’s complexion had always been sickly and lifeless—how much better could her appearance be! Wu Xiuhe wrote out a prescription and handed it to Xingniang, “Now that there’s an improvement, we must change the prescription accordingly.” The moment the prescription was written, Xingniang and Wan Lu looked both delighted and worried—delighted that their lady who had been bedridden was finally showing signs of improvement, but worried because they had no money left for medicine, especially since the prescription listed only top-quality tonics. Xingniang gave Wan Lu a secret look, signaling her not to mention this in front of their lady. Wan Lu tightly pursed her lips, reached out to take the prescription, and carefully placed it in the sleeve of her dress, persuading Ran Yan, “Wife, you have just recovered from a serious illness, you should go back to your room and rest. The slave will go get the medicine.” Ran Yan was not unaware of their little movements, but she merely nodded and, with the support of Nanny Xing, entered the house. Wu Xiuhe glanced at Wan Lu and saw her tightly clutching the sleeve of her dress, a look of determination flashing in her eyes, and he felt an ill premonition. He quickly whispered, “I have been attending the medical hall in the city for the past few days and have not charged money, but I have received quite a few medicinal materials. It would be good if you can get the monthly allowance on this trip, but there’s no need to worry if you can’t.” Wan Lu’s eyes reddened, and with a thud, she knelt in front of Wu Xiuhe, choking down sobs as she cried, “I will remember your great kindness in my heart! In my next life, I’m willing to work like an ox or a horse to repay this grace!” “Ah,” sighed Wu Xiuhe as he extended his hand to help Wan Lu up. He was originally nothing more than a charlatan doctor who freeloaded for meals, yet he surprisingly developed a bit of compassion here; he had never been this benevolent in most of his life. They might have made a loss now, but initially, he saw that Miss Seventeen was due for a turning point and figured there might be some return in the future, which is why he exerted himself so much. However, this Miss Ran Shiqi was also too submissive, accepting everything that came her way and not showing any ambition at all! Wu Xiuhe looked up and let out a heavy sigh, shouldered his medicine chest, and turned to leave, feeling that physiognomy was not very reliable. His enthusiasm for helping was waning, and he thought to himself that he would help this one last time and then quickly pack up and leave. While Wan Lu had just stopped her tears, she saw Nanny Xing come out of the house, holding a golden hairpin, speaking in a worried, low voice, “The Lady told me to sell this hairpin.” Assuming it was about selling one of the Lady’s remaining pieces of jewelry, Wan Lu said anxiously, “But there are only so few items left, we should keep one or two as a memento!” “It’s not the Lady’s heirloom.” Nanny Xing handed the hairpin to Wan Lu, looking uneasy, “This is what the Lady obtained from Miss Eighteen yesterday… The Lady wants me to exchange it for money, but what if…” Feeling relieved, Wan Lu immediately took the hairpin and reassured Nanny Xing, “This golden hairpin with gemstones, the ‘Butterfly Playing Among Flowers,’ is worth quite a sum. Selling it will be enough for us to live on for three to five months, and the Lady’s medicine cost will have a solution. Don’t worry.” Nanny Xing watched Wan Lu run out in a hurry, her heart in turmoil. Miss Eighteen wasn’t one to bear a loss easily; if something went wrong… Nanny Xing was full of worry, but considering that her own Lady hadn’t had decent food for over half a year and if it weren’t for the help of the Divine Doctor, even the medicine would have run out by now, she didn’t attempt to stop her. Ran Yan lay on the couch, her mind filled with thoughts until, without knowing when, she gradually fell asleep. Not knowing how long she slept, when she awoke she was groggily attended by Wan Lu, who helped her eat some porridge. After a while, she was propped up to drink a bowl of medicine, and then she drifted back to sleep. For two consecutive days, Ran Yan remained in a semi-conscious state. Wu Xiuhe had already packed his luggage and was ready to leave, but Wan Lu clung to him, not letting go, and Nanny Xing was crying desperately. Wu Xiuhe’s head ached from the hassle, and he reluctantly agreed to wait until Ran Yan woke up before leaving. Wan Lu, afraid he might change his mind, firmly took away Wu Xiuhe’s medicine chest, even hugging it in her sleep, which infuriated Wu Xiuhe to the point of puffing out his cheeks and glaring, yet he found himself at a loss. Despite his age and thick skin, he still cared about face and couldn’t possibly reach into a young girl’s arms to snatch his belongings!

Chapter 5 - 5 4 Livelihood

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