kingnovel Chapter 582 Chilling
Chapter 582 Chilling
Mrs. Ruan San quickly suppressed her surprise and said with a smile, "I can tell at first glance that she's quite clever. You're really good at judging people."
Doctor Lin smiled faintly, his tone gentle but distant, "It was just a coincidence that I took in a child who was compatible with me."
Mrs. Ruan San's eyes moved between Song Ying and Lin Wenxuan. Smiling, she took off a pair of gold-threaded bracelets from her wrists and handed them to Song Ying. "It's our first meeting. Let me give you these little trinkets to play with."
Song Ying was stunned. Is this the noble lady of the capital? Giving a gold bracelet upon meeting her! And to a stranger at that!
She took a half step back, tucked her hands into her sleeves and refused to extend them, lowering her head and saying, "Madam, this is such a generous gift. I feel ashamed to accept it."
Mrs. Ruan San did not take it as an offense, but instead smiled even more deeply: "Oh, he is a man of good manners." She turned to Doctor Lin and said, "You have taught your disciple the rules very well."
Doctor Lin raised his lips slightly and gently declined, "She is still young and cannot wear such a precious item. We appreciate your kindness."
"Doctor Lin, you are too polite. These are just a pair of ordinary bracelets. Besides, today is the first day of the first lunar month. According to the custom in our capital, elders should give younger ones New Year's gifts. Just think of it as a wish for a happy new year."
As he said that, he directly took Song Ying's hand and was about to put it on her.
Song Ying resisted slightly, looking at Doctor Lin at the same time. Seeing his master nod imperceptibly, he relaxed his grip and let Madam Ruan San put the bracelet on his wrist. He bowed politely and said, "Thank you, Madam, for the reward."
Mrs. Ruan San smiled, took off a jade pendant from her waist and handed it to Lin Wenxuan.
Given the previous conversation, Lin Wenxuan did not refuse and accepted it after thanking him according to the rules.
There were the sounds of footsteps in the corridor, and a maid in a lilac bodice bowed, "Madam, the carriage is ready."
Before the eldest wife could say anything, Mrs. Ruan San said, "Look at my memory. I was so busy talking that I forgot the important things."
She smiled and said to Doctor Lin, "Doctor Lin, I'll come back and chat with you after I visit my old friend."
Old friend?
Song Ying glanced at Madam Ruan San. Wasn't she from the capital? Did she have old friends in Qingshui County?!
Soon, she found out who this old friend of Mrs. Ruan San was.
Now that she has reached the age of marriage and is engaged, she can no longer play around like in previous years. Besides, Luo Yanxing is very busy this year, and Song Ying has no one to accompany her even if she wants to play wildly. This New Year is very boring.
The only special thing was that she ignored Li's opposition and went to Wangjia Village to pay New Year's greetings to her grandmother and uncles.
Because both parties were strangers, Song Ying only had lunch and left on the pretext that the journey back to the city was long.
Of course, with her current status and financial resources, no one would be angry with her. Everyone was polite to each other, but both sides were very embarrassed.
After the Lantern Festival, early in the morning on the 16th, someone came from the county government office and said that Mrs. Chen asked Song Ying to come and see a doctor.
Song Ying was so frightened that the pestle in his hand fell to the ground. Hadn't they already fallen out?
How could someone as proud and arrogant as Mrs. Chen actually stoop so low as to come to her? Could this be a trap?
Seeing her stunned, the servant smiled and urged, "Doctor Song, our wife is waiting. Let's go quickly."
Song Ying came back to his senses and said, "I'll tidy up the medicine box."
These wealthy families are the most particular. In previous years, when Mrs. Chen fell ill, she would rather endure it than break the rule of "no doctor in the first month of the year".
With the power of the Chen family, there are plenty of ways to deal with her, so why do they have to choose the first month of the year?
She pursed her lips, quickly counted her belongings, picked up her medicine box and followed the servant out the door.
Along the way, she lifted a corner of the sedan chair curtain and looked at the lanterns on the street that had not yet been removed. The brightly colored silks fluttered in the cold wind like dancing butterflies.
When we arrived at Chen's house, it was unexpectedly quiet. The house was not decorated at all, and there was not even a hint of festive atmosphere.
Were the servants in the Chen Mansion too diligent and cleared everything in half a day, or were there no decorations for the Lantern Festival in the Chen Mansion?
With doubts in his heart, he soon arrived at the main courtyard where Mrs. Chen lived. As soon as the door curtain was lifted, Song Ying smelled a strong smell of medicine mixed with a faint smell of blood.
Mrs. Chen was half leaning on the couch, covered with a thick brocade quilt. The brazier in the room was burning brightly, but she still couldn't stop shivering.
If the last exposure of the Chen family's young master's stupidity would affect the next generation and Mrs. Chen was half broken, then now, she was completely broken. Her energy was drained out, her face was pale and almost transparent, and even her lips were bluish-gray.
"Doctor Xiao Song is here." Mrs. Chen called out weakly, her voice as thin as a thread.
Song Ying's heart trembled. Her instinct as a doctor prompted her to step forward, but she stopped abruptly three steps away from the bed. She took a deep breath, suppressed her doubts, and whispered, "Let me take your pulse."
With his fingertips resting on the pale wrist, Song Ying's brow furrowed further and further. His pulse was weak and intermittent. A glimpse of dark red blood streaks could be seen in the spittoon beside him.
Obviously, Mrs. Chen vomited blood again. This was a serious injury to both the heart and spleen.
"Why are you doing this?" Song Ying finally couldn't help but sigh, "The depression in my heart is causing my blood to flow backwards. If this continues..."
Mrs. Chen leaned back against the pillow and sat up, trying to cheer herself up. "You're right. No one in this world can be relied upon. I want to try what you said. Relax and get well. I'm the only one who can take care of Nan."
She tried very hard to hold on, but when she said the last sentence, her voice was choked with sobs and her eyes were wet.
Song Ying was stunned and subconsciously looked at Lian Qiao, Nanny Zhang and others. What happened?
Unexpectedly, Mrs. Chen took the initiative to explain her doubts, "I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. On the first day of the new year, an old friend from Beijing came to visit me. I realized that I had been kept in the dark all these years. My husband's family kept it a secret from me, and my parents even helped them to keep it a secret from me..."
She spoke very sadly, incoherently, and with disordered sentence order, but Song Ying understood the general idea.
When Chen Nan was diagnosed with mental retardation, Mrs. Chen and County Magistrate Chen wanted to have a few more sons while they were still young, firstly to carry on the family line, and secondly to have his younger brothers take care of him after they passed away.
But after many years of trying, they had no children except a daughter. Either they could not get pregnant for several years, or when they finally got pregnant, they would have miscarriages.
After all the trouble, Mrs. Chen's health became worse and worse, and there was no hope of getting pregnant.
She was trapped in despair and anxious every day, but she didn't expect that County Magistrate Chen already had a mistress and gave birth to a son.
A few years ago, after she followed County Magistrate Chen to Qingshui County to take up her post, the Chen family actually took the concubine and the child back without telling her.
What made her even more disheartened was that her family also knew about this, but they hadn't mentioned a single word about it in their correspondence over the years.