BSI Chapter 22 Encountering an Acquaintance
Chapter 22 Encountering an Acquaintance
The next morning, just as dawn broke, Yin'e got out of bed.
He changed into some decent clothes and looked much more energetic.
He tucked the small porcelain bottle containing colchicine close to his body, pressing it down to make sure it wouldn't fall out.
"Fuquan, prepare the sedan chair," he ordered as he walked out. "To Ninth Master's residence."
"Yes, sir!" Fuquan responded and ran off to deliver the message.
The sedan chair was quickly prepared, and Yin'e got into it. The sedan chair bearers lifted the chair and started walking towards Tieshizi Hutong.
Yin'e leaned against the sedan chair wall, his eyes closed, his mind racing over what he should say, how he should speak, and how he should give the medicine to the Ninth Prince when he saw him later.
"Ninth Brother, I heard you were sick, so I came to see you specially." — Too ordinary.
"Ninth Brother, I have a special medicine from the West that can cure your illness." — Too deliberate.
"Ninth Brother, try this. If it doesn't work, you don't have to pay." — That's too frivolous.
He thought of more than a dozen opening lines, then rejected them one by one, finally deciding to play it by ear and adapt to the situation.
The sedan chair turned into Tieshizi Hutong. Yin'e lifted the curtain and looked out. The gate of Ninth Prince's mansion was already in sight.
A small sedan chair with a blue curtain was parked in front of the gate. He recognized the attendants standing beside the sedan chair; they were people from the Eighth Prince's residence.
Lao Ba also came.
Yin'e's heart stirred, and he lowered the sedan curtain.
The sedan chair stopped in front of the Ninth Prince's mansion. Fuquan lifted the curtain, and Yin'e straightened his clothes and stepped out of the sedan chair.
At almost the same time, the Eighth Prince, Yinzhi, also climbed out of his sedan chair.
The two looked at each other, paused for a moment, and then laughed at the same time.
"Eighth Brother." Yin'e was the first to bow, his tone warm.
"Tenth Brother." Yinzhi cupped his hands in greeting, his face bearing his signature gentle smile. "You've come to see Ninth Brother too?"
"That's right." Yin'e feigned a worried expression. "I heard that Ninth Brother was ill, and I didn't sleep well all night. I rushed over at dawn. Eighth Brother, are you too?"
Yinzhi nodded and sighed: "Ninth Brother's illness came on suddenly. I heard about it yesterday. I wanted to come yesterday, but I was delayed by something."
I rushed over early this morning.
The two walked side by side toward the gate of the mansion, talking as they went.
When the gatekeeper of Ninth Master's Mansion saw Eighth Master and Tenth Master arriving together, he quickly bowed and jogged ahead to lead the way.
After passing through the front yard, around the screen wall, and through several hanging flower gates, the two arrived at the inner courtyard of the fourth courtyard.
Old Ninth's master bedroom is in the main house inside the courtyard, and the door is closed at the moment.
Several maids and eunuchs stood at the door, their heads bowed, silent and trembling, not daring to utter a sound.
From a great distance, Yin'e could hear the sounds coming from inside the house.
"Aaaaaaah, damn it! It hurts so much!"
It was the Ninth Prince's voice, followed by the sharp crack of a whip striking flesh, accompanied by a eunuch's cries: "Master, spare me! Master, spare me! This servant knows his mistake!"
Yinzhi frowned, quickened his pace to the door, and pushed it open.
Yin'e followed behind and went inside as well.
The sight inside the room made his heart tighten.
The Ninth Prince, Yin Tang, lay half-reclined on the bed, his left foot sticking out, his big toe swollen like a red radish.
His face was sallow, his eyes were sunken, his lips were chapped, and his hair was disheveled; he looked ten years older.
A young eunuch knelt before the bed, his clothes disheveled, a bright red whip mark on his face, trembling.
The ninth brother was still clutching a horsewhip in his hand, the tip stained with blood, whether it was his own or that of the eunuch, he didn't know.
"Get out! All of you, get out!" Old Nine roared without looking up when he saw someone come in. His voice was so hoarse that it was almost unrecognizable.
"Ninth Brother," Yinzhi spoke, his voice carrying an undeniable authority.
The Ninth Prince suddenly raised his head and saw Yinzhi and Yin'e at the door. His expression changed from fury to embarrassment, and then from embarrassment to grievance.
His lips trembled slightly, and his eyes even reddened.
"Eighth Brother, Tenth Brother...you've come." His voice softened, tinged with emotion.
Yinzhi strode forward, sat down on the edge of the bed, and took the Ninth Prince's hand: "How did you get so sick? Why didn't you send someone to tell me sooner?"
Old Nine gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, clearly enduring another wave of excruciating pain.
"I've seen several imperial physicians, but their medicine is completely useless. Myna, am I going to die? My toes are so swollen, could it be... going to rot?"
"Nonsense." Yinzhi glared at him. "What do you mean by 'rotten' or 'not rotten'? It's just a rheumatism."
I had someone find a folk remedy, supposedly a family secret recipe passed down by an old doctor in Jiangnan, specifically for your ailment.
He took a small paper packet from his sleeve, opened it, and inside was a pinch of grayish-white powder that emitted a pungent odor.
He handed the paper packet to the maidservant serving him: "Go, dissolve it in warm water and give it to Ninth Master."
The maid took the paper package and was about to turn around when Lao Jiu suddenly called out to her, "Wait."
He took the paper package, held it to his nose and smelled it, then frowned: "Myna, this smell... I think I've eaten it before."
Yinzhi's expression stiffened slightly.
Old Nine took another sniff, and his face turned ugly: "That's right, that's the smell."
The second dose of medicine prescribed by the imperial physician yesterday was this. After taking it, my stomach churned violently, and I vomited once. The pain didn't seem to get better.
"Myna, where did you get this?"
Yinzhi smiled somewhat awkwardly: "Really? It's probably the same medicinal herb. Well... never mind, I won't take it."
He snatched the paper package back from Lao Jiu's hand and casually stuffed it back into his sleeve. The smile on his face was still there, but it was obviously much stiffer.
Yin'e watched this scene from the side, secretly amused.
Lao Ba was tricked. He spent a lot of money on a useless folk remedy, thinking it was a treasure, and eagerly presented it to the authorities.
As it turned out, the ninth brother had already eaten, so it was of no use and left the eighth brother in an awkward position.
He cleared his throat, took the small porcelain bottle out of his pocket, and stepped forward.
"Ninth Brother, I also have something here, which I got from Western missionaries. It's called 'Autumn Water Alkaloid,' and it's a cure for your illness."
Western products are different from ours; they are extracted from the roots and stems of flowers and herbs, resulting in purer medicinal properties and faster effects.
"Eat this, and within an hour, I guarantee your pain will be gone."
Old Nine raised his head, glanced at him, then looked at the small porcelain bottle in his hand, his eyes full of suspicion.
"Western missionaries?" His tone was somewhat disdainful. "Tenth brother, when did you get mixed up with those foreigners?"
Can we trust those foreign gadgets they have?
Yin'e smiled, not angry, but sat down on the edge of the bed, uncorked the porcelain bottle, and handed it to the Ninth Prince.
A strong medicinal smell wafted from the bottle opening, bitter with a hint of spiciness, completely different from the taste of the previous Chinese medicines.
"Ninth Brother, smell this. Have you ever smelled this before?"