Farmhouse Green Plum

Chapter 566 Come to pick you up

During this period, County Magistrate Chen came back, asked about the general situation, politely asked Song Ying a few words of advice, and then hurried off to handle official business.

Mrs. Chen worked until dark. She finally regained consciousness and, upon seeing Song Ying, she felt as if she had grasped a lifeline. She anxiously asked, "Will my son's mental retardation really affect future generations?"

Song Ying sighed lightly and nodded, "It is indeed possible."

The last glimmer of hope was shattered, and Mrs. Chen became dazed, as if her soul had also left.

"Mom!" Miss Chen held her hand worriedly, then turned her head and glared at Song Ying, "My mother is still sick, how can you say that?"

Song Ying remained silent. The situation had already come to this point. It would be useless for her to try to deceive Mrs. Chen.

Mrs. Chen's fingers tightly grasped the quilt, her knuckles turning blue and white. The candlelight flickered in her eyes, reflecting a faint fire burning deep in her pupils.

"Doctor Song," she said in a hoarse voice, as if squeezed out of her throat, "is there any way to resolve this?"

Song Ying slowly shook his head. "This disease is caused by insufficient fetal essence and kidney essence. I see that your son speaks clearly and is no different from an ordinary person except for his mental state. I believe he must have been treated by a famous doctor in his childhood, otherwise his condition would only be worse."

Mrs. Chen's eyes moistened. "Yes, he always drooled when he was young, and he couldn't speak clearly until he was two or three years old. At that time, the director of the Imperial Hospital and your master treated him together. They only stopped the medication a few years ago, but his mental state has remained at the level of an eight or nine-year-old."

"Medicine can only improve physical growth retardation, but has little effect on the mind."

"Your master said so at the beginning. I have been prepared for this all these years, but I still hope that he can be like a normal person one day." Mrs. Chen was heartbroken. Instead of expecting a miracle, she received even worse news.

The candlelight crackled, and Mrs. Chen slowly loosened her grip on the quilt, as if all the strength had been released. She closed her eyes, then spoke again with the composure of a matron of honor. "Madam Zhang, take the five taels of silver for the consultation fee, and send two skilled servants to light Doctor Song and escort him back."

Then he said to Song Ying, "Thank you for troubling me today, Doctor Song. I was so anxious just now that I lost my composure."

"Madam, take care of yourself. Your son still needs your care." After a pause, Song Ying said softly, "Your daughter has been watching over you all afternoon. She is very worried about you."

Mrs. Chen nodded but said nothing.

Song Ying glanced at Miss Chen, who looked lost, sighed, and followed the maid out.

As I walked out of Chen's house, the night wind blew fallen leaves to my feet. Suddenly, a person walked out from the side, holding a lantern in his hand.

In the dim light, Song Ying saw the other person clearly, "Why is it you?"

The halo of the lantern cast a warm yellow on the bluestone slabs. The hem of Yuan Qing's light blue robe was lifted by the night wind, revealing his trousers that were washed a little pale.

He raised his hand and pushed the lantern towards Song Ying. The flames jumped into his eyes, making them clear and bright like stars.

"I heard you were invited to the Chen residence," he said, his voice low, as if he was afraid to disturb the night. "It's dark and the road is slippery, so I came to pick you up."

Song Ying felt a warm feeling in his heart, and his heavy mood suddenly lifted. "It's almost curfew. Can you make it back soon?"

"I'm going to stay at Brother Shen's house for one night." As he spoke, Yuan Qing turned sideways and bowed to the two servants of the Chen family. "You two young men, please go back now. I will take care of Doctor Song."

The news of Song Ying and Yuan Qing's marriage had spread widely, and the two servants were happy to have some free time.

"Then I'll have to trouble Mr. Yuan." The older servant bowed and went in with his companions.

Yuan Qing stretched out his hand and motioned Song Ying to give him the medicine box.

Song Ying suddenly thought of the shopkeeper Fei at the Yunlai Inn, who kept calling him "medicine boy", and suddenly felt like teasing him.

She handed over the medicine box, shook her dress, and said proudly, "Let's go, little medicine boy."

Yuan Qing was stunned at first, then smiled. He slung the medicine box over his shoulder and held the lantern in his other hand. The warm yellow light flowed between his eyebrows, making his smile even brighter.

"Yes, Doctor Song." He bowed slightly, deliberately drawing out his tone, imitating the little medicine boy's behavior, "It's dark and the road is slippery, please watch your step—"

The night breeze blew by, lifting the hem of Song Ying's clothes and carrying a faint scent of ink from Yuan Qing's sleeves. She couldn't help but glance sideways, only to see his eyebrows lowered, his expression submissive, but the corners of his lips slightly raised, clearly hiding a hint of mischief.

Song Ying curled the corners of her lips, stepped forward, and her skirt swept across the fallen leaves on the bluestone slabs, making a crackling sound.

Yuan Qing went around to her other side and walked slightly in front of her to block the night wind.

The night wind howled, causing the firelight to flicker, stretching the two people's shadows very long and then quietly overlapping them.

After leaving the county government office, Song Ying glanced around. Seeing no one around, he said, "Did you hear about Madam Chen when she was at Qingfeng Temple?"

Yuan Qing nodded slightly, "I heard about it."

The news that the magistrate's son was born with a disability spread like wildfire throughout the streets and alleys of Qingshui County as pilgrims descended the mountain.

Many people even ran to the gate of the county government office to look in. The county school was right next to the government office, and the students were also discussing the matter. Some even said that County Magistrate Chen and his wife had done something immoral, which was why they had such bad descendants.

Song Ying sighed and whispered, "I was planning to find you this afternoon to tell you that it didn't work out, but I didn't expect Taoist Yuanrong to say that."

After this incident, Yuan Shan was able to completely get rid of the Chen family's marriage, and their intention was achieved.

They were naturally grateful to Taoist Master Yuanrong. If it weren't for his actions, they would probably have had to explicitly reject the Chen family's marriage proposal.

With Mrs. Chen's temper, the two families would definitely fall out.

But Song Ying had her doubts. To be honest, she and Taoist Yuanrong did not have a very deep friendship. A small favor asked casually was nothing, but Taoist Yuanrong would actually offend the county officials for them.

This favor was too big to ask. If it were her, she wasn't sure if she would offend the powerful for an outsider.

Yuan Qing pursed her lips and said, "Master Yuanrong is a Taoist practitioner, and he is compassionate. Perhaps he couldn't bear to see an innocent woman suffer the same tragedy as Mrs. Chen."

That's true. If Young Master Chen's son is also a fool, then his wife will be even more desperate than Mrs. Chen is now. She will have to be watched by a strict mother-in-law, take care of her foolish husband and son, and worry about her foolish son's marriage in the future.

The next day, Song Ying was invited to the Chen family as soon as she arrived at the clinic. She thought that Mrs. Chen's condition had worsened, but after entering the house, she found that the atmosphere was solemn. From the maids to the old women, everyone had a cold expression.

"Doctor Xiao Song, I've treated you well, haven't I? Why are you harming me like this?"

Mrs. Chen's voice was so cold that ice chips could fall off.

Song Ying was stunned and glanced at the cold eyes of everyone in the room. Was the matter exposed?

Did anyone hear it last night?

That shouldn't be the case. There was clearly no one around and they were talking so quietly.