Xiao Xique lay with her eyes tightly shut on a pile of damp, dirty straw.
Her palm-sized face was flushed a deep red, her eye sockets sunken, and her lips thin as paper.
"Xiao Xique." Su Xiaoqi grasped her wrist, nearly dropping it from the heat.
Good heavens, she had a fever, a severe one at that, at least forty degrees Celsius.
She didn't know how long she had been burning, her pulse was already weakening.
"Quick, quick, help me take her to the clinic," she untied her outer garment, trembling as she picked up Xiao Xique, wrapped her inside, and turned to leave.
But before she could cross the threshold, she was stopped by Xiao Yi, who had reacted and brought people with him:
"No, you can't take Xiao Xique away. She'll die."
"Get out of the way," Su Xiaoqi hissed.
At a time like this, why was this little brat still so stubborn?
"I won't, I won't. You'll kill Xiao Xique. I can't let you kill her."
"Shut up, it's you who will kill her.
Do you know she has a fever? She's infected with some unknown illness. If she stays here, she'll die. She needs to see a doctor and take medicine."
Su Xiaoqi's clear eyes widened, sharp, cold light shooting out. Xiao Yi shivered and involuntarily moved aside.
"If you're worried, follow me," Su Xiaoqi pushed him aside without hesitation and ran out, crossing the high threshold.
Zhao Xiaozhu also knew the urgency of the situation and, fearing Su Xiaoqi wouldn't find the clinic, quickly asked for directions ahead, leading the way.
Behind them, Xiao Yi, full of unease, called out, and more than ten young beggars followed.
The hospital was really far. Su Xiaoqi was exhausted, and with her heart filled with anxiety, she felt increasingly drained.
She nearly stumbled several times.
Zhao Xiaozhu quickly offered to help.
But Su Xiaoqi looked at her slender arms and legs, fearing she wouldn't be able to carry Xiao Xique, who was only two or three years younger than her.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to run forward, but it was no use.
Her foot slipped, and she startled. A pair of man's hands steadied her arm.
Su Xiaoqi looked up and clearly called out the person's name: "Su Jiamo..."
"I'll do it." Su Jiamo looked at her sweat-drenched face and extended his hand to her.
Her hair, tousled by the wind, stuck damply to her forehead. For some reason, her heart softened, and she wanted to protect her with all her might.
Su Xiaoqi hesitated. Her arms felt as heavy as weights now, and she really couldn't carry Xiao Xique anymore.
"The nearest clinic is still a quarter of an hour away. Leave it to me, and I guarantee I'll get her there safely," Su Jiamo said with conviction.
Su Xiaoqi thought about it and agreed.
Saving a life was paramount. Besides, with her watching, Su Jiamo couldn't do anything.
The rest of the journey was smooth. The quarter-hour walk was halved thanks to Su Jiamo's full-speed run.
As soon as they arrived at the clinic, Su Jiamo took her to the back. Su Xiaoqi immediately recited a long list of medicinal ingredients:
"Doctor, I need douchi, honeysuckle, forsythia, schizonepeta, menthol, licorice, platycodon, banlangen, bamboo leaves..."
Fortunately, the old doctor on duty was astute and immediately understood that she was treating a patient with a fever.
Besides instructing the young apprentice to wrap the medicine, he also took out his family's fever-reducing medicine and gave it to Su Xiaoqi to administer first.
Su Xiaoqi smelled it and was relieved. This medicine was similar to the list she had given.
It was just more convenient.
She fed the medicine into Xiao Xique's mouth, then asked for gypsum, rehmannia root, ophiopogon japonicus, coptis chinensis, scutellaria baicalensis, phellodendron chinense, and gardenia.
On the way, she had already observed Xiao Xique's symptoms of high fever and restlessness.
Furthermore, her mouth was dry, her tongue was red with a yellow coating, indicating a severe heat toxin, and the common folk method of inducing sweating could not be used.
Therefore, a method of clearing heat with bitter and cold herbs was necessary.
In fact, Xiao Yi and the others must have used methods to induce sweating earlier, which had caused Xiao Xique's mild cold to escalate to her current state.
She also fetched water to wipe Xiao Xique down, then applied a cool cloth to her forehead and rubbed medicinal wine under her armpits.
With such a high fever, these actions were essentially useless now, merely for psychological comfort.
She couldn't just do nothing.
Idling around would only lead to overthinking.
Su Xiaoqi's heart was in turmoil at this moment.
During this time, Su Jiamo stood by watching her.
But she had been busy and hadn't found an opportunity.
Now, he took the chance to lean in and ask, "Xiaoqi, when did you learn medicine?"
Su Xiaoqi looked up when she heard his voice.
She suddenly woke up, how could she have forgotten he was here?
Alas, her mind was so preoccupied with Xiao Xique's condition that she had automatically ignored everyone and everything around her.
"It's nothing, I read it in books."
"Don't you know how to read?" Su Jiamo's eyes widened in surprise.
Before Su Xiaoqi married into the Shen family, she had spent two months with him.
He knew exactly how capable she was.
It could be said that due to Su Xiaoqi's deliberate seduction, they had done everything they should and shouldn't have, except for crossing the final boundary in bed.
He had a general understanding of everything about her.
Su Xiaoqi choked and then replied, "My husband was the top scholar in the imperial examination. If I don't know how to read, can't I learn?"
As she spoke, she glared at Su Jiamo.
"Thank you for your help just now. If you have nothing else, I'll see you out."
"Xiaoqi..." Su Jiamo had only asked as a matter of routine, not expecting to displease her.
"Hurry up and go. Are you saying you haven't been beaten enough?" Su Xiaoqi raised her hand as if to strike.
Su Jiamo's expression turned grim, recalling what happened after Su Xiaoqi knocked him unconscious that day.
It was not a pleasant memory at all.
He had been trying his best to forget it, but it still lingered.
He asked in a deep voice, "Why did you move me to another alley after knocking me out? Were you doing it on purpose?"
Su Xiaoqi was stunned for a moment and instinctively denied, "What do you mean, moved to another alley? Do I look like I have that much free time?"
She admitted she had knocked Su Jiamo unconscious.
But she had no knowledge of moving him.
Su Jiamo looked at her bewildered expression and knew she might not have done it.
Moreover, it wouldn't be easy for a frail woman like her to drag his more than a hundred pounds of weight.
"I'll find out. When that happens..." Su Jiamo gritted his teeth and made a threat.
Su Xiaoqi rolled her eyes at him and ignored him.
Just then, Su Jiamo's attendant, Xiaosong, arrived.
He said that the young lady was waiting impatiently at the jewelry shop and asked him to return quickly.
Su Jiamo was somewhat reluctant.
He had finally found a legitimate reason to stay by Su Xiaoqi's side.
But his own sister was not to be trifled with.
If he didn't comply with her, she would complain to their father later, make things difficult for him, and deduct his pocket money.
He couldn't afford to offend her, so he could only leave, looking back repeatedly.
As soon as he left, Xiao Yi quickly came forward and asked with a sob, "Xiao Xique, can she be cured?"
When they were at the temple before, everyone said she wouldn't survive.
He hadn't believed it at first, but there were too many people saying it.
One sentence could turn things upside down, making the false appear true.
Until Su Xiaoqi appeared, and seeing how capable she was, he reignited his hope.
Su Xiaoqi glanced at him. He was so thin he looked like a bag of bones.
There were dark circles under his eyes, and his lips were very dry, clearly indicating he hadn't rested well.
Su Xiaoqi heard the sound of stomachs growling.
Remembering something, she took out twenty coins from her pocket and asked him to buy some steamed buns to share with everyone.
Xiao Yi refused to leave Xiao Xique and gave the money to a child named Xiaoshu.
He ran out like a bolt of lightning.
"Water, water..." Xiao Xique made a sound.
Su Xiaoqi looked at her with concern and quickly handed her some warm water.
But she was not conscious. After drinking a few mouthfuls, she remained asleep.
Su Xiaoqi felt something was wrong. She leaned beside her to feel her pulse, and her heart immediately tightened.
She called for the old doctor to check her pulse, unwilling to believe it.
At this moment, how she wished she had made a mistake.