My Cold-Hearted Wife Chapter 15

“Don’t move, sir.” Cheng Danruo picked out the broken tooth, then took out some cotton cloth and tore it into strips about a finger’s width. She pulled the silver hairpin from her hair and wrapped the cloth around its tip. “I’m going to use fire to cauterize the wound. It may hurt a little, so please bear with it.”

Yan Hongzhi’s face changed dramatically. “Use fire?”

“This can break down some of the toxins,” she explained. “Are you ready?”

Yan Hongzhi was covered in sweat. “Miss, won’t you use herbal medicine?”

“We have banbianlian. I’ll decoct it and use it to wash the wound later.” Seeing that his hair had already turned white, Cheng Danruo softened her tone. “How about this? If you can bear it, I’ll let you witness a little bit of immortal magic.”

Yan Hongzhi immediately became interested. “Immortal magic?”

She smiled. “Would you like to see?”

After a moment’s thought, Yan Hongzhi forced himself to rally his spirits. “I have lived all these years and have never witnessed true immortal magic. Naturally, I cannot afford to miss the opportunity.”

Cheng Danruo pressed her lips together in a smile, then set the cloth-wrapped hairpin alight and gently cauterized the wound.

Yan Hongzhi drew sharp breaths from the pain, but soon realized it was not nearly as painful as he had imagined. The wound was still dominated by a sensation of heat and swelling.

Cheng Danruo had only lightly singed the wound, using the high temperature to break down some of the toxin that remained. She untied the strip of cloth she had used to staunch the bleeding and instructed Bai Zhi, “Go back and fetch three a hundred fifty grams of banbianlian. Decoction it and bring it here. And remember to wrap up the herbal residue.”

Bai Zhi looked at her worriedly, but did not dare disobey. “Yes.”

Cheng Danruo said, “Please have one of the young monks accompany her back.”

Xie Xuanying looked toward his attendant. “Bai Mu.”

“Miss, this way.” Bai Mu stepped forward quietly to lead the way.

Outside the door, the young monk was still standing guard. “Do you have any other instructions?”

Bai Zhi asked, “I’m going to fetch the medicine. Is there somewhere here where I can decoct it?”

The young monk immediately replied, “There’s a tea brazier in the side room next door.”

“Young master, please accompany this young lady to fetch the medicine. I’ll tend to the brazier here.” Bai Mu arranged everything methodically. “Apart from that, is there anything else you need?”

Bai Zhi said, “Boil some water. All the bowls, chopsticks, and other utensils must be scalded and boiled in the water for half an hour.”

The three of them hurriedly divided up the tasks and went about their respective duties.

Inside the room, Cheng Danruo finally had a moment to spare. While keeping an eye on the patient’s condition, she also fulfilled her promise and performed a little magic trick for the old gentleman.

After thinking for a moment, she picked up the two Buddhist scriptures lying on the tea table. “The Shurangama Sutra and the Infinite Life Sutra. These are scriptures from the temple, aren’t they?” She casually flipped through a few pages and smiled. “The printing is very clear. Let’s use these.”

Yan Hongzhi was somewhat dizzy and light-headed by now, but his interest had not waned. “What sort of immortal magic are you going to perform, Miss?”

“An eye-reading technique,” Cheng Danruo replied. “Whatever you see will be what I see. Would you like to try it?”

“Of course. How does it work?”

“Scenes that are too complicated would be difficult to describe with words – even a tenth of them would be impossible. So we’ll use these two books. Written characters are, after all, fixed things.”

She held the Shurangama Sutra in her left hand and raised the Infinite Life Sutra in her right, smiling as she asked, “Which of these two books would you like, sir?”

Yan Hongzhi thought for a moment before casually pointing to the Infinite Life Sutra.

Cheng Danruo handed it to him. “Then please hold on to this one. We’ll need it in a moment. For now, I’ll flip randomly through this book, and whenever you tell me to stop, I’ll stop.”

She began flipping randomly through the Shurangama Sutra. The pages fluttered back and forth beneath her pale fingers like butterflies.

Xie Xuanying did not believe in any such thing as immortal magic. He was convinced she was merely putting on an act and trying to deceive them. So although he said nothing, his eyes remained firmly fixed on her hands, determined to see what trick she was up to.

Yan Hongzhi, however, had a different attitude. He did not believe it either, but he was more than happy to play along. He cooperated by calling out, “Stop.”

Cheng Danruo stopped immediately and opened the book. “Let me see… page thirty-six.” She pointed to a spot roughly in the middle of the book, then even turned toward Xie Xuanying and showed him the page before setting the book down. Turning back to Yan Hongzhi, she said, “Please turn the book in your hands to page thirty-six. Don’t let me see it, and I won’t touch it either.”

To prove that she was being completely honest, she even got up and walked several paces away, turning her back to the two men.

Yan Hongzhi was old and had developed some presbyopia. With the candlelight so dim, he could not see clearly at all. “I’ll have one of my disciples look for me. That’s all right, isn’t it?”

“Of course. I haven’t started reading yet,” Cheng Danruo replied with a smile.

Xie Xuanying therefore turned the book to page thirty-six.

“What next?” Yan Hongzhi asked.

“Look at the character at the beginning of the first line on this page. For at least…” She thought for a moment, then smiled. “My skills are still rather poor, so let’s say at least five breaths’ time.”

Xie Xuanying stared at the character. He examined it from every angle, but could not find anything unusual about it.

“Done,” he said.

“Close the book. Don’t let me see it,” she said.

Xie Xuanying immediately closed the book and smoothed down the corner of the page.

Cheng Danruo turned around and sat back down on the round stool beside the bed. In a solemn tone, she said, “I’m about to begin reading. Please try not to speak, so that I don’t lose my concentration.”

Xie Xuanying thought to himself, What a charlatan. But he kept quiet, waiting for her to expose the flaw in her own trick.

Sure enough, Cheng Danruo soon found herself in a quandary. “Please turn your face toward me. If I can’t see your eyes, how am I supposed to read them?”

Reluctantly, Xie Xuanying turned his face toward her. He still refused to look directly at her, merely glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

She was a delicate-looking young woman, with fair skin and bright, lively eyes. Though she was clearly a girl who had only recently reached marriageable age, there was none of the shyness or girlish innocence one might expect. Instead, she wore an unmistakable air of weariness.

He froze for a moment, then suddenly remembered that she had been woken in the middle of the night and had been working for half an hour already. Naturally, she was exhausted.

Perhaps I shouldn’t expose her, he thought. It can’t be easy for a young woman to make a living. Performing a little magic trick is a way of earning a livelihood, too. I’d better remember to give her a little extra in consultation fees.

“It seems to be a very complete character,” she began, her voice soft and gentle. “There are no obvious gaps or missing parts.”

Yan Hongzhi raised an eyebrow and looked at his disciple, catching the briefest flicker of distraction in his eyes. Surprised, he nevertheless kept his expression composed. “Is that all?”

“Let me take a closer look.” Cheng Danruo closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again and examined him more carefully.

Come to think of it, in ancient times, there were not many opportunities to openly admire a beautiful man. During their previous, fleeting encounter, most of her attention had been focused on Gu Lan-niang, and she had not yet had the chance to properly appreciate his extraordinary appearance.

Now that she was looking at him again, she was even more astonished.

His features seemed to have been meticulously carved by the Creator Himself. Not a single feature had been treated carelessly, as though the heavens had poured every last bit of effort into him with the solemn determination to leave ordinary mortals utterly stunned.

And that was exactly what had happened.

Looking at him was like watching the sun rise over a sea of clouds, or the moon emerge above emerald-green waters. His natural beauty stirred the soul so completely that one forgot to wonder why he was so beautiful.

Because he simply ought to be this beautiful.

In an instant, even some of the resentment in her heart dissipated. A faint smile appeared at the corners of her lips. “Let me try writing it out. I think the character probably has a shape something like this.”

She dipped her finger in water and roughly traced a rounded square.

“Something this full and rounded, perhaps?”

Xie Xuanying glanced at her, then nodded.

Cheng Danruo pondered for a moment, then first wrote the silk-radical component. “I can see some angular strokes. It should be this one. And on the right, there are quite a few downward strokes… Hmm – this must be it.”

She completed the component on the right, and the character that emerged was unmistakably 缘.

The 缘 in 缘分 – the bond of fate.

Xie Xuanying was secretly astonished. She had actually guessed it correctly. How was that possible?

“Did I read it correctly?” Cheng Danruo asked with a smile.

He pressed his lips together and nodded, but said, “I don’t believe in immortal magic. You must have used some trick.”

“Of course.” Cheng Danruo could not help laughing. “What immortal magic? I was just fooling you.”

Xie Xuanying froze.

Yan Hongzhi burst out laughing. “Miss, you came up with this little scheme because you wanted to coax me into treating my injury, didn’t you?”

“It was only a little trick. Please don’t take offense, sir,” she said. “I knew you didn’t really believe in it either.”

“As for the arts of the immortals, how could ordinary mortals possibly witness them? Most of it is nothing more than smoke and mirrors.” Yan Hongzhi was not an atheist. He had simply seen too much over the years. Whenever he encountered someone claiming to commune with the gods, they were invariably either a travelling entertainer performing tricks or a charlatan pretending to possess supernatural powers.

But he had to admit, “Even though I knew you were performing a trick, I couldn’t figure out how you did it.”

Cheng Danruo said, “Then make sure you take good care of yourself and drink your medicine properly. Once you’ve recovered, I’ll teach you this trick. How does that sound?”

Yan Hongzhi was taken aback, then burst into laughter. “You really went to such lengths for me.”

He instructed Xie Xuanying, “Once the medicine is ready, bring it here. I’ll drink it right in front of Miss Cheng.”

Cheng Danruo had not expected that even ancient scholars and gentlemen could be this mischievous. She immediately burst out laughing.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became much more relaxed.

Bai Zhi soon finished decocting a bowl of medicine. Xie Xuanying was about to help his teacher drink it, but Yan Hongzhi snatched the bowl from him, tipped back his head, and drained it in one go, looking quite pleased with himself.

“Doctor Cheng, how was that?”

“You need to get plenty of rest, and someone must stay by your side at all times. If you develop a high fever and become delirious, or if you experience palpitations, convulsions, or spasms, come and call me immediately,” Cheng Danruo instructed calmly and methodically.

Xie Xuanying could not help asking, “Is it serious?”

“Not particularly. If it were serious, his leg would already have begun to rot,” Cheng Danruo replied. “It’s just that there are many different kinds of snake venom, and some can damage the nervous system. We need to be especially careful over the next few days.”

She also reassured the old man. “You don’t need to be too frightened. You should be fine. Just get plenty of rest.”

Yan Hongzhi was already advanced in age, and after being put through the ordeal all night, he was utterly exhausted. As soon as he had taken the medicine, drowsiness overcame him. He gave a vague response, then fell asleep against the soft pillow.

His attendant hurried forward to help him lie down properly and tucked the covers around him.

Cheng Danruo looked him over and, seeing no immediate problems, picked up her medicine chest. “I’ll take my leave.”

“I’ll see you out, Doctor.” Xie Xuanying was unfailingly courteous and accompanied her to the door.

“Please, stay here.” Cheng Danruo gave a slight nod and hurried out of the courtyard.

Xie Xuanying noticed that the moment she left the room, the smile and gentleness on her face began to rapidly disappear. By the time the polite formalities were over, weariness and indifference had surfaced between her brows. The outer corners of her brows drooped, resembling the sorrowful brows that women of the Han dynasty deliberately painted to create an air of melancholy.

It seemed that she… had a great many troubles on her mind. Troubles that had not gone her way.

“Young master,” Bai Mu said, reading his expression, “you haven’t rested all night.”

After a moment’s thought, Xie Xuanying said, “You stay here. If anything happens, come and report to me immediately.”

“Yes. I understand.”

He returned to the meditation room for a short rest, but for some reason he could not sleep properly no matter how much he tossed and turned. He managed to rest his mind for a little while, but less than an hour later, he got up again.

A young monk brought in some hot water, and Xie Xuanying asked, “How is my teacher?”

“The old gentleman is still asleep.”

Xie Xuanying felt slightly reassured. After eating his breakfast, he went over to Yan Hongzhi’s room to keep watch.

Around the hour of the Snake, Yan Hongzhi indeed developed a fever. His head felt dizzy and his body was weak, so Xie Xuanying immediately sent Bai Mu to find Cheng Danruo.

She arrived very quickly, hurrying over in less than fifteen minutes, and immediately took Yan Hongzhi’s pulse and assessed his condition.

Xie Xuanying suddenly noticed that the hem of her skirt was soaked through and spattered with mud. Looking again, he realized that a light rain had begun to fall outside.

How could Bai Mu not know to hold an umbrella for the doctor?

He shot his attendant a stern glance, his eyes full of reproach.

Bai Mu hurriedly explained, “Doctor Cheng said it was only a few steps and that we shouldn’t waste any time, so she came straight over. I… I didn’t have a chance to get an umbrella.”