Chapter 22: Gout
Translator: Sissy That Walk
Hearing his words, An Rushuang couldn’t help frowning at him, “But what? Sir, please do not beat around the bush.”
“Miss An, the reason why Nanny Liu is still in a coma is not because of the wounds but gout. At the moment it’s fine, but if it continues to grow worse and does not take any treatment, I’m afraid she could hardly survive the New Year.”
Shaking his head, he pretended to feel sorry, but he was actually observing An and her every tiny expression, with his little eyes focusing on her. He was betting on the significance of the servant in An Rushuang’s heart. If he got it right, he would not worry about next year’s bread.
“Gout?” Hearing this, An Rushuang felt the man in front of her was somewhat unreliable because she did not remember Nanny Liu had any gout symptom in the previous life. “But Nanny Liu did not mention about this.”
“Miss An, patients of gout usually don’t feel any discomfort. It doesn’t hurt or itch. So they won’t realize it.”
The physician lowered his head and said slowly, “If you doubt about it, I can show you, but I’m afraid it may distress you...”
Without hearing the full sentence, An Rushuang went directly to the inner room. Xianxian also followed her inside. As a descendant of medical workers, she was indeed interested in these rare illnesses.
Seeing them coming in, Hong Yu said worriedly, “Miss An, Miss Zhu, why bother coming in? Please stay outside and we can take care of her. Do not get infected!”
Hearing Hong Yu’s words, the physician couldn’t help laughing, “She is just wounded, not suffered from flu or smallpox. How could Miss An get infected?”
The physician said in such a sarcastic way that Hong Yu felt so awkward that she couldn’t speak a word for a while. Hong Yu could only glare at the physician.
Despite being stared at, the physician was still very calm, pretending nothing happened and walking to the front of the curtain. He cleared Nanny Liu’s hair around her neck before turning to the two ladies, “Miss An, this is gout.”
To see it clearer, Xianxian stepped forwards and took a quick look. All of a sudden, she turned pale and immediately stepped back.
Although she was born in a medical family, she was not in the position of looking after the sick even as the daughter of a concubine. She had only read some medical books and did not have any practical experience. Seeing the actual wound, she could not help but feel nauseated.
Seeing An Rushuang moving forward, Xianxian rushed to grab her by her sleeve and kept shaking her little pale face, “Don’t look at it. You will get distressed. Now that the physician has diagnosed the illness, I think you can rely on him. Just let him do it.”
An Rushuang determinedly refused and said, “Nanny Liu brought me up. Now it’s all because of me that she reduced to such condition. How can I be so callous?”
Regardless of other’s opposition, An Rushuang walked straight to Nanny Liu’s bed. She saw the wound caused by gout in her neck. The wound was almost the same size as a fingertip, but it smelt stinky and festered like an eye, making people feel bloodcurdling.
However, An Rushuang only frowned a little as if she did not see anything. She looked up to the physician and said, “Can you cure her?”
“Miss An, I’ll try my best to treat Nanny Liu.” Without giving a straight answer, he replied in such an ambiguous way that he would not offend anyone.
But An Rushuang was not happy with that, she said anxiously, “I want her to be cured. Can you make it or not?”
Finally, he heard the question.
He respectfully bowed to An Rushuang and said, “Although Nanny Liu’s gout was at the initial stage, it’s still very difficult to treat her and the medicines for treating gout are expensive, so...”
Hearing this, An Rushuang chuckled and interrupted him, “I’ll pay you decently. If you can cure her, I’ll regard you as my respected teacher, but if you fail...”
On hearing the word “fail”, the physician hummed and looked directly at the girl in front of him, “If I, Ye Chengzhi, fail to cure her, you can bury me with Nanny Liu, Miss An!”
“That’s not necessary. You only have one month to treat Nanny Liu. If you fail, there are loads of physicians waiting behind you.”
Raising her lips, An Rushuang looked down and said, “But you will have to give up your career and never be allowed to get into the capital.”
What she said was no less than cutting his route of fallback. Looking at the girl in the front, Ye Zhicheng couldn’t help gasping, feeling as if he was asking a tiger for its skin.
No matter how hard Ye Zhicheng struggled, as long as he promised to cure Nanny Liu, An Rushuang could finally be relieved, assuming no one would risk his or her future career for a small sum of money.
Seeing everything was almost settled, Zhu Xianxian prepared to leave.
“Xianxian, wait a moment, I have something to consult you.”
With a smile on her little face, An Rushang was free of her previous seriousness when talking with Ye Zhicheng.
“Are you making fun of me again?” Zhu Xianxian pretended to be angry and pointed her fingers at Rushuang’s forehead. “I seldom go outside, so I l know nothing except medicines. I do everything with extra caution, for fear that I may get involved in trouble... I’m not sure if you can get any useful advice from me.”
An Rushuang knew Xianxian’s life in Zhu family was not easy, but she had no idea of how hard it really was. Hearing Xianxian’s words, An felt so sorry for her.
“I will definitely consult you about something you are good at. So come with me.” Saying so, An Rushuang held her hand.