Water Mirrored Moon - 水鏡月

Part III - Beloved of the Seventh Prince: 38. Jade

The fever only lasted a day, but her illness gave her Master an excuse to visit. He badgered her every day for a week until she threw him out. To his chagrin, she refused his pleas for her to stay in bed, but she did not work in the shop and did not touch the mixing room for fear of contaminating the products. She also moved a week's worth of consultations to the following week, and for those she could not rearrange she sent Yue Xia in her place. Unfortunately, one of these appointments was with Imperial Consort Zhang, who on receiving her letter immediately sent an imperial doctor out of the palace to attend to her...which, while well-intentioned, was of course a waste of time...

"I am really very sorry, Miss Wu, but I cannot leave until I've at least checked your pulse. Please don't put me into a difficult position with her Highness..." said the gangly young man who was standing quite awkwardly in her sitting room, a medical box held by a strap over his shoulder.

Cui Xi lazily leaned her cheek against her fist and took a moment to analyze his expression. She decided that it was made of two parts fear and one part of righteous indignation. Two parts because it was clear from what he'd said that he was deathly afraid of Imperial Consort Zhang, and one part because he'd just been rejected by a commoner who lived next door to a pleasure house. She had to admire the fact that he refused to shirk his duty, despite feeling insulted by her attitude.

But...Eeek. This guy has zero EQ*...

"Doctor Song, you can see that I am well," she sighed. "I apologize for wasting your time, but please go back."

"Mistress, lying to her Highness is a capital offence. You really are making this too hard for Doctor Song..." whispered Su Qing loudly.

Cui Xi sat up and gave Su Qing a withering look. Backed into a corner, she waved the young man up to her chair. However, he ran up to her with such eagerness that she almost laughed in his face and barely managed to contain it. This guy!

Taking a cloth, he put it over her wrist, and put his fingers over her pulse. While he was doing so, Xiao Yu just so happened to come in.

"Don't trust me anymore?" she teased.

Su Qing frantically slashed a hand across her throat, but unfortunately the doctor had already heard her.

"Who is this young miss?" he asked, frowning. Cui Xi saw that when his eyebrows smashed together like that they looked like a single thick brown worm.

"Ah, Imperial Doctor Song, this is Miss Yang Wan Yu, my good friend," Cui Xi, put a little emphasis on the "imperial" part. She was in no mood to give any further offence to anyone from the Imperial College of Physicians and certainly not one sent by an imperial consort. Xiao Yu raised her eyebrows understanding immediately and smoothed out her face.

Despite that, the young man blinked and peered closer at Xiao Yu.

"Yang...is that Yang Ming Xi's 'Yang?'" he asked, curiously.

Cui Xi nodded in surprise.

"Yes, Yang Ming Xi is Xiao Yu's father and my Yifu...you know him?" she asked.