Chapter 319: Chapter 319 Walnut
This silly woman!
Why run to the backyard when it’s raining?
Even if you have to come, don’t you know how to use an umbrella?
Alright then.
At first, the raindrops weren’t much, and Su Jin had already crossed the threshold.
She took a gamble.
And lost the bet.
She thought a little rain wouldn’t affect her running into the bamboo house.
However, the rain was much fiercer than she had imagined.
The rain was slanted, blown onto the corridor by the wind.
Su Jin tugged at her skirt and ducked into the bamboo house.
Xie Jingchen was out of patience.
Did she think pulling down her skirt to cover her feet could hide the fact that she wasn’t wearing shoes?!
Su Jin could disregard her dignified image in front of outsiders, but he couldn’t criticize her in front of Doctor Li.
"Sorry to have kept Doctor Li waiting," Su Jin said.
Doctor Li stood up and said, "Young Master Xie already told me the purpose for which the Eldest Young Madam sought me. The Eldest Young Madam’s medical skill is exceptional, and her willingness to offer guidance is a great fortune for me, Li."
Xie Jingchen had been ill for many years, and anyone in the Capital City with some medical skill had been invited to the mansion to check his pulse.
Doctor Li was no exception.
After Su Jin left, Doctor Li chatted with Xie Jingchen for a while and learned the reason Su Jin had sought him.
Honestly, Doctor Li was shocked.
At thirty-eight years old, having studied medicine since he was twelve, he had been practicing for twenty-six years.
Though not renowned, he had a decent reputation.
But he was at a loss when it came to Young Master Xie’s illness.
How was the Eldest Young Madam of the Duke Zhen’s Mansion, at her young age, able to detoxify him?
Did she start learning medicine from the womb?
Doctor Li checked Xie Jingchen’s pulse, the steady and strong pulse confirmed that Xie Jingchen was not lying.
Moreover, he knew that yesterday Su Jin had pricked herself unconscious.
Besides, as the young master and mistress of Duke Zhen’s Mansion, they had no need to deceive a mere doctor like him.
Looking at Su Jin’s fair and delicate face, Doctor Li still found it a bit unbelievable.
He could only chant inwardly:
There’s no distinction in learning; the accomplished are teachers.
What impressed him even more was Su Jin’s character.
Although Duke Chong’s Mansion and Dongxiang Marquis Mansion were at daggers drawn, the Eldest Young Madam of Duke Zhen’s Mansion was still willing to treat Old Duke Chong’s illness.
Even to the extent of teaching her medical skills to an outsider to detoxify Old Duke Chong...
"How can someone like me deserve such favor from the Young Master and the Eldest Young Madam?" Doctor Li said in fear.
Su Jin sat down and said with a smile, "Doctor Li, your benevolence and compassion in medicine are truly admirable."
"Although I possess medical skills, as a woman, I am confined to the inner mansion and can only use them for self-preservation. Teaching Doctor Li these skills will benefit more people in the future. Moreover, this time, I have a request for you," Su Jin said.
Old Duke Chong’s illness is not simple.
When Marquis Jibei visited Old Duke Chong, Duke Chong was so concerned he wanted to oversee personally.
Doctor Li treating Old Duke Chong was a potentially life-threatening task.
So when Doctor Li left, Su Jin gave him a signal flare that Marquis Dongxiang had given to Xingxing. If he ever encountered danger, he could fire it, and someone would come to save him.
Today, the main purpose of inviting Doctor Li was to discuss this matter, to see if he was willing.
To Doctor Li, this was like manna from heaven. How could he refuse?
He sought medical advice from Su Jin, and she shared everything she knew. The questions that had puzzled him for so long suddenly became clear, like enlightenment pouring in.
After several discussions, Doctor Li was in absolute awe of Su Jin and had no doubt about her medical skills.
The rain continued for nearly two hours.
It paused around lunchtime, and that was when Doctor Li left.
Shortly after he left, the rain started again.
Drizzle.
On and off.
It rained for three days straight.
For three days, Su Jin did not take a step out of Agarwood Pavilion.
On this day, the sky was drizzling, but it didn’t hinder movement.
Agarwood Pavilion, bamboo house.
Su Jin sat on a small couch, looking at the half-collapsed wooden door with a drooping gaze.
Half of the door was damaged, and there were walnut shell fragments scattered on the ground.
These past few days, overwhelmed with mental exertion, Su Jin wanted to eat walnuts to boost her brain.
But the more she ate, the more she felt her mind wasn’t functioning well.
Disliking how a hammer would break the walnut kernels, she suggested using the door to crack them.
In her past life, the door was iron, a perfect walnut-cracking tool.
But the bamboo house’s door was wooden.
Plus, Xingxing was strong.
However—
Half the door ended up like this.
Xingxing looked at the walnuts, then at Su Jin.
"Miss, what should we do about the door?" Xingxing asked.
"We’ll have someone fix it when the weather clears up," Su Jin said.
"But then they’ll see the medicine cabinet in the room," Xingxing said.
There’s no way around it; you can’t just leave the door broken like this.
Su Jin sighed.
Xie Jingchen came over, noticing the broken door, and his eyebrows slightly furrowed.
He stepped up the stairs and onto the corridor.
A crunching sound was heard.
Xie Jingchen moved his foot to see a crushed walnut shell beneath.
He pushed the rickety door open and asked, "What did you do to the door?"
"It’s the walnuts’ fault," Xingxing promptly answered.
Su Jin, "..."
Xie Jingchen, "..."
"No, it was me using the door to crack walnuts. I only cracked three before the door ended up like this," Xingxing said.
Xie Jingchen’s face darkened in lines.
"Indeed, more walnuts should be eaten," he said.
"..."
Su Jin glared at him with her eyes.
Was this a roundabout way of calling her stupid?!
On the small table was still a large plate of walnuts.
Since the door broke, Su Jin didn’t want to eat walnuts anymore.
Xie Jingchen sat down and picked up a walnut.
With a slight movement of his hand.
The sound of walnut cracking was heard.
The walnut split in two.
Su Jin, "..."
Xingxing, "..."
He picked up another walnut.
Xie Jingchen gently pressed it with his thumb.
The walnut cracked open in the middle.
Su Jin was convinced.
This was the true walnut-cracking tool; everything else was weak in comparison.
Xie Jingchen helped Su Jin peel walnuts, and the kernels he peeled were perfectly intact.
Su Jin couldn’t bear to eat them.
The Hidden Guard came in, took down the door, and sent it to the front yard to have a new half made and installed.
The Hidden Guard carried the half door out.
The maids and old servants in the yard watched him, all curious about what had happened.
Why had the door suddenly broken?
Front yard.
The Hidden Guard put the door down, and Manager Li looked at it, asking, "How did the door get broken?"
"The Eldest Young Madam used it to crack walnuts," the Hidden Guard stated honestly.
"..."
"I’ll have someone make another half for Agarwood Pavilion," Manager Li, looking black-lined, said.
The Hidden Guard left.
But what he said spread like wildfire throughout Duke Zhen’s Mansion.
Who knows how many people laughed so hard they couldn’t straighten their backs.
The carpenter laughed until his hands shook.
But soon, his laughter faded.
Two maids carried in half a door.
The carpenter’s servant asked, "How did the eldest young lady’s door break too?"
The maid kept a straight face and didn’t utter a word.
Could she say that their young lady had laughed herself to tears after hearing that the Eldest Young Madam used the door to crack walnuts, mocking her stupidity?
After laughing.
They wondered if walnuts could really break the door, suspecting the Hidden Guard might have exaggerated.
So they had the maid bring walnuts to test it.
The experimental outcome was significant—
The door, broke.