Chapter Thirteen: Sudden Illness

Suddenly, Madam Lu collapsed straight down.
Those nearby caught her in time, calling out anxiously and urgently.
Pei Qinghe’s smile stiffened as she quickly rose and went over.
Madam Lu’s vision spun wildly, golden stars flashing before her eyes, unable to clearly see even the figures in front of her—only her mouth, firmer than a dead duck’s, managed to utter: “I’m fine.”
“Fine,” she said, yet her face was deathly pale, eyes vacant, chest heaving violently. She was barely inhaling air, almost unable to exhale.
Madam Lu was strong-willed and irritable, stubborn to a fault. She had repeatedly provoked the clan leader, Pei Qinghe, only to be ruthlessly put down. These past few days, she had been sulking, refusing to ride in the prison cart despite her age, insisting on walking by herself. Even at night, when kneading dough for steamed buns, she worked from start to finish alongside others.
And now, this was the result.
Pei Qinghe frowned and turned her head: “Cousin Pei Yun, please fetch the doctor.”
Pei Yun responded immediately and left.
Madam Lu gasped for breath, struggling to force out a sentence: “I just need to rest a bit, no doctor necessary.”
“If you want to live, then shut up and don’t speak,” Pei Qinghe’s eyes flashed with an unnamed fury, her expression cold as ice. “If you’re truly tired of living, find a proper place tomorrow and dig yourself a grave.”
Madam Lu rolled her eyes in anger.
Madam Feng’s heart pounded as she grabbed Pei Qinghe’s hand: “Qinghe, please hold back a little.”
But how could Pei Qinghe not be angry?
In her past life, Madam Lu had been exactly the same, and didn’t last long before she passed away. If things continued this way, she was doomed to repeat the same path and be buried in a foreign land.
Those who did not cherish their lives deserved no sympathy.
Pei Qinghe addressed everyone: “I’ll stay here to watch over her. All of you go to sleep. We rise at the fifth watch tomorrow.”
In these few days, Pei Qinghe had established immense authority, and the clan members obeyed her readily, soon dispersing.
A young doctor arrived carrying his medical box, his fairly decent face paler than Madam Lu’s by a good margin. As he opened the box and took out a fine needle, his hand trembled slightly. With effort, he pricked, and a drop of blood welled up.
The feeble Madam Lu cried out in pain from the needle.
The young doctor’s hand shook again.
“Wait!” Pei Qinghe frowned sharply. “Do you even know how to treat illnesses?”
The thirteen-year-old girl was slender, with clear brows and delicate features, yet radiated a fierce authority beyond her years and stature.
Under her cold gaze, the young doctor grew nervous and uneasy, forcing out an answer: “I… I do. My master is the only doctor in the county town, nicknamed the ‘Second Hua Tuo.’ I’ve been apprenticing under him since I was nine, studied medicine for ten years before graduating…”
“How old are you?” Pei Qinghe asked abruptly.
The young doctor reflexively replied, “Nineteen.”
The crowd was speechless.
So he was a newly minted young physician.
Judging by his trembling, he probably hadn’t formally treated patients before.
Pei Qinghe probed further, “How many patients have you treated?”
The young doctor’s survival instinct flared as he quickly responded: “Whenever my master treats patients, I’m always beside him and have gained a lot of experience. This elderly lady has excessive heart fire, overthinking, and extreme fatigue. A few courses of medicine, good rest and sleep for one to two months should suffice.”
So he had never actually conducted a diagnosis alone, and perhaps had not truly graduated, only summoned by the high-ranking guards.
But now was no time to quibble.
Pei Qinghe suppressed her anger and said sternly, “No more needles. Prepare and brew the medicine directly.”
The young doctor visibly relaxed, removing the needle deftly. He was familiar with gathering and brewing herbs.
Once the medicine was brewed and cooled briefly, the young doctor hesitated, rubbing his hands nervously: “The elderly lady is unconscious. This medicine…”
Pei Qinghe extended her hand.
The young doctor was momentarily stunned.
Pei Yun handed over the bowl of medicine.
Pei Qinghe took the bowl, grasped Madam Lu’s chin firmly with her left hand, and poured down the dark, bitter decoction.
Madam Lu choked on the medicine, coughing violently, her pale face flushing bright red.
Her cloudy mind cleared instantly.
She gasped for air, glaring angrily at her granddaughter: “Are you trying to choke me to death?”
Pei Qinghe showed no expression: “With all your fussing, it’s clear you don’t want to live. What difference does it make if you close your eyes a little sooner or later?”
Madam Lu’s blood boiled, her whole body trembling with rage: “Pei Qinghe! I am your grandmother! How dare you speak to me this way!”
“That’s blatant disobedience and unfilial conduct!”
Pei Qinghe’s face remained indifferent: “When you reach the netherworld, you can complain to my father and let him avenge you.”
Madam Lu was speechless.
The young doctor was dumbfounded.
He had truly opened his eyes to something new!
Pei Yun stood silently, and as she left, cast a glance at the young doctor, who finally recovered and hurried out.
Madam Lu’s chest heaved unevenly as she struggled to breathe.
Pei Qinghe said coldly: “If you want to keep making trouble, no one will stop you.”
“On the exile road, it’s no surprise if someone dies. Wrap them in a straw mat, bury them by the roadside, and let them become a lonely wandering spirit.”
After speaking, she rose and lay down on the straw mat prepared nearby.
Madam Lu, furious and helpless, had neither the strength nor the confidence to curse; she could only glare angrily. The medicine she swallowed slowly took effect, and she drifted back into a drowsy sleep.
When she opened her eyes again, the day was bright.
The official road was uneven, and the prison cart jolted constantly. Madam Lu felt dizzy and nauseous, wanting to vomit.
Madam Chen supported Madam Lu’s head, holding a water pouch to her lips: “Drink while it’s warm, quickly.”
After drinking the medicine, Madam Lu’s nausea worsened.
Madam Chen said, “Qinghe specifically instructed that you must not spit the medicine out. Otherwise, you will be lifted off the cart and dumped by the roadside.”
Madam Lu’s eyes twitched angrily: “That damn brat!”
“Sister-in-law,” Madam Chen’s face darkened, “what time is it now? All the men of the Pei family are dead, and Feng and the others are too young. The one holding the family together is Qinghe.”
“These past few days, she’s been tirelessly worrying about the survival of the Pei family’s young and old. Watching her work so hard pains me deeply.”
“She is the clan leader and must maintain strict authority over the clan members. And what have you, as the legitimate grandmother, done?”
“Undermining her in public, complaining behind her back, constantly opposing her.”
“Do you even have a grandmother like this? What exactly do you hope to achieve by causing such trouble?”
Madam Lu was so choked up she nearly lost her breath.
After decades as sisters-in-law, whenever she argued with Madam Chen, she never won. Pei Qinghe certainly didn’t have Madam Chen care for her out of kindness; it was deliberately to vex her!
“Cousin Qinghe, do you think grandmother will be angered to death?” Pei Yan whispered in Pei Qinghe’s ear.
Pei Qinghe replied casually, “Who knows? Grandmother has such a temper, she might just close her eyes immediately from anger.”
Pei Yan unhesitatingly sided with cousin Qinghe: “Grandmother is biased; she only cares about Feng and Yue.”
“At her age, not taking good care of herself and making trouble like this—her illness is self-inflicted.”
It was clear that this grandmother was quite lacking.
Even her own granddaughter disliked her.