Chapter 12: Changing Directions

Mrs. Su didn't doubt him. In the past few months, she had invited many doctors and physicians into the mansion, and the prescriptions piled up to the height of a person's waist. Some of them were never taken. With Mrs. Su's illness reaching this stage, she couldn't care about that anymore. She just poured everything in, hoping that one of the prescriptions would miraculously work.

Suli carried the medicine into the inner room, and Mrs. Su hurriedly took it and fed it to the old lady.

The old lady didn't refuse to take it. She took spoonful after spoonful. Mrs. Su and Mrs. Su Er looked at each other, feeling that something was not quite right, but they couldn't put their finger on it.

The medicine contained calming herbs, and after Mrs. Su took it, she fell asleep.

Mrs. Su Er looked at Mrs. Su and said, "Your health has never been good. You came early in the morning without having breakfast. Go have breakfast with Ming Wei first, and then rest for a while. We will be here to take care of things. If there's anything, we'll have the maidservant call you."

Mrs. Su Er was also a little tired and weak, so she nodded. The maid helped her out, and she happened to see Duke Dingbei coming over. He was dressed in court attire, so he must have come directly from the court. When he saw her, Duke Dingbei quickly stepped forward and asked, "Is the old lady doing better?"

Mrs. Su Er nodded and looked at him with anticipation. "She's a little better than before. She just took the medicine, so we don't know if it's effective yet."

Duke Dingbei comforted her, saying, "The old lady has good fortune and will surely pull through."

The maid helped Mrs. Su Er to the breakfast area, while Duke Dingbei went to pay his respects to Mrs. Su's father.

The small courtyard was in the Autumn Water Courtyard, with a moon-shaped arch gate and a two-courtyard layout inside, with flowers, grass, artificial mountains, and flowing water, making it quiet and elegant.

After they sat down, the maid brought breakfast, which was all vegetarian. With the old lady's condition being critical, the Su family had been eating vegetarian food to pray for blessings. Even though it was vegetarian, it was exceptionally delicious. Ming Wei had a good appetite, but Mrs. Su Er couldn't eat much. Ming Wei picked up a dumpling and said to her, "Mother, don't worry. Grandmother will be fine. If she gets better, and you fall ill again, she will worry about you, which is not good for her health."

Mrs. Su Er looked at Ming Wei, and seeing her warm smile, her mood brightened a bit. She thought Ming Wei was just trying to comfort her and ate the vegetarian dumpling.

She ate half a bowl of porridge intermittently and couldn't eat anymore. The maid cleared the table, and after a moment of silence, another maid came to report that Zhao Yuanzheng had arrived.

Mrs. Su Er quickly got up and went to Mrs. Su's room with Ming Wei.

When they entered the room, they heard Zhao Yuanzheng speaking. He was holding a prescription and exclaimed, "This prescription is amazing. Although it contains strong medicine, it can turn the tide. Whoever wrote this prescription is more skilled than me. Saving the old lady is no small feat. However, the old lady is weak, so such a strong prescription can only be used for three days before it needs to be changed. I wonder which young lady wrote this prescription?"

"A young lady wrote it?" Mrs. Su was surprised and said, "We haven't invited any female doctors into the mansion."

Suli hurriedly said, "Mother, I copied this prescription."

As she spoke, she signaled to her mother not to ask further, as Ming Wei had instructed her not to reveal the secret.

Mrs. Su didn't ask any more questions. Zhao Yuanzheng handed the prescription back to her and took his leave, saying, "I need to rush back to the capital. I was almost stopped by the people from the Zhen Nan Prince's Mansion at the city gate. I almost couldn't make it. I'll take my leave now. If you need me, I'll come again."

Mr. Su saw Zhao Yuanzheng off, while Mrs. Su said, "Zhao Yuanzheng is busy going to the Zhen Nan Prince's Mansion. I shouldn't delay him. I'll ask Doctor Liu to come and check Ming Wei's wrist later."

Ming Wei quickly said, "Grandfather, there's no need to trouble him. My wrist will be fine after a few days of rest."

Mrs. Su scolded Ming Wei with a glance and said, "You injured your wrist yesterday, and you didn't say anything. Even the maidservant didn't say anything."

The maid looked innocent.

Mrs. Su asked Suli, "Where did you copy this prescription from? You are really bold. You didn't even let the doctor see it before giving it to the old lady. Fortunately, nothing happened. If something had happened..."

Mr. Su interrupted Mrs. Su and said, "Lili is filial to your mother. If she hadn't boldly used the medicine, your mother wouldn't be in the state she is now."

Suli looked at Ming Wei with pleading eyes, and Ming Wei couldn't bear it.

Ming Wei had to say, "Aunt, I saw this prescription in a medical book. I couldn't write because of my injured wrist, so I asked my cousin to copy it."

Mrs. Su was surprised for a moment, then changed her tone and said gently, "I knew Lili knew about prescriptions. Why didn't you bring it out earlier? Your grandmother suffered a lot because of this. It turns out it was you. It's fortunate that you came back yesterday. Your grandmother has been thinking about you."

Mrs. Su Er was more concerned about what Zhao Yuanzheng had said. She looked at Ming Wei and asked, "Ming Wei, do you know how to change the prescription?"

Ming Wei nodded and said, "I do, but I need to see how grandmother is doing first. There are several prescriptions, and the medication is different."

Duke Dingbei said, "Then for the next few days, you and your mother will stay at the Su family. When the old lady's condition stabilizes, I will come to take you back to the mansion."