Chapter 29 (1/2)
Chapter 29: Official, Too Warmhearted
w.a.n.g Zhi had already came back riding a horse to search for Xiao Qi. Seeing Song Liang Zhuo carrying an unconscious Xiao Qi, his whole body soaked as he walked on the road caused w.a.n.g Zhi to be very shocked and he hurriedly gave them his horse so they could return first.
Song Liang Zhuo rushed back to the city with Xiao Qi. Just as they got to the city gates they encountered the deeply worried Old Man Qian and Mrs. Mei. Old Man Qian saw Song Liang Zhuo carrying Xiao Qi back and rushed up to block the horse while roaring: “What happened to my Qi er? You d.a.m.ned* Official Song……”
好你个宋知县 This is really hard to translate. He doesn’t actually swear. In literal terms it would be ‘alright, you’re a good one, you Official Song’, kind of like when you say “thank you so much” when someone does something you want to kill them for.
In addition, 钱老头 ‘Old Man Qian’, 老头 literally ‘Old Head’, is actually a word for husband.
Mrs. Mei gave Old Man Qian a pull, then stood on tiptoes to rub Xiao Qi’s forehead. She sighed in relief: “Son-in-law has worked hard. I will leave Xiao Qi to you, you should head back quickly.”
Song Liang Zhuo’s tightly knitted brows still did not relax. He nodded towards Old Man Qian and Mrs. Mei then urged the horse to rush forward again.
Old Man Qian was furious and roared at Mrs. Mei: “Xiao Qi’s already like that, yet you’re still leaving her to that b.a.s.t.a.r.d?”
“What b.a.s.t.a.r.d? That’s your son-in-law!” Mrs. Mei didn’t care that there were a lot of people on the streets and pointed at Old Man Qian’s head: “It was not easy for our daughter to win him over. Didn’t you see how panicked that Song Liang Zhuo was. It wasn’t easy to get him to fall in love with our Qi er, what more mess do you want to create?”
“I pei*!” Old Man Qian was angry to the point his beard rose up as he humphed: “What don’t I, Qian Bai Wan, want that I don’t have? My, Qian Bai Wan’s maiden daughter also doesn’t need to beg others to love her. Humph, useless thing that doesn’t understand his fortune!”
‘pei’ is spoken and it’s to signify I spit on him/disgust. It can also be used as an onomatopoeia for spitting at times.
And continuation of Qian family’s naming sense. Qian(money) Bai(hundred) Wan(thousand), aka ‘million’.
Mrs. Mei shot a glare at Old Man Qian, but after thinking for a while also gave a faint sigh.
Song Liang Zhuo had people prepare hot water and call for the doctor. Song Liang Zhuo couldn’t quite explain what he was thinking, he knew that Xiao Qi rejected him, yet he still sent Lu Liu away and personally helped Xiao Qi take off her clothes to soak in the hot water.
Song Liang Zhuo used a warm cloth to wipe Xiao Qi’s face while saying in a low voice: “No matter what, Xiao Qi, I won’t let go. Even if I’m being despicable it’s fine.”
Xiao Qi’s entire body was greenish blue. Being soaked in this hot water it turned a strange reddish purple and started to plump up as if swelling. Song Liang Zhuo held Xiao Qi’s ice-cold face and slowly rubbed, waiting for some red to return back to her lips before carrying her out of the bathtub, carefully wiping her dry with a towel then wrapping a quilt around her.
The doctor checked her pulse but only said some things about her catching cold and receiving a shock, wrote a prescription and left. Song Liang Zhuo had already changed clothes and sat next to the bed looking at the Xiao Qi that was still pitifully sniffing her nose even while unconscious, his feelings complicated.
Song Liang Zhuo held Xiao Qi’s hand and quietly sat, waiting for Lu Liu to finish heating the medicine and bring it in. Then, he lifted Xiao Qi into a sitting position and personally fed it to her. But probably because Xiao Qi didn’t know to swallow since she was unconscious, several spoonfuls dripped from the corner of her mouth and spilled onto the blanket.
Song Liang Zhuo sighed, waved his hand to have Lu Liu withdraw, then drank a large mouthful himself and fed it into Xiao Qi’s mouth. With each mouthful he waited until Xiao Qi swallowed before leaving her lips. After Song Liang Zhuo finished feeding her the medicine, he saw that it had started to rain outside again. Having no choice, he got up, ordered Lu Liu to carefully look after Xiao Qi, then headed out.
Some of the men from Concave Village already came out. Just as Song Liang Zhuo rushed to the city gates on the horse he saw that tiny group of people enter the city. Song Liang Zhuo jumped off the horse, asked about the situation, then led the governor along with several bailiffs to clearly explain the arrangements. When he turned around, he discovered Cai Yun was standing behind him once again.
Song Liang Zhuo let out a sigh, for some reason he felt a bit irritated.
Cai Yun’s slender brows slightly creased as she worriedly asked: “Da ren, how is Madam’s body? Why don’t Cai Yun go to attend to Madam?”
“No need!” Song Liang Zhuo’s words left his mouth with a bit of emotion.
Cai Yun looked uncertainly at Song Liang Zhuo and softly said: “Madam said, Cai Yun can live on the fu. Madam even allowed Cai Yun to serve da ren, Cai Yun……”
Song Liang Zhuo turned around to leave, Cai Yun hurriedly followed. Song Liang Zhuo actually turned around with a smile while warmly saying: “Xiao Qi has always been very friendly with people. Since she has allowed lady Cai Yun to stay on the fu, then lady should go to Qian fu. Father-in-law da ren will definitely receive lady Cai Yun kindly.”
Cai Yun was just about to speak again when a man’s voice inserted: “Exactly, that was precisely what Third Younger Sister meant. If this lady does not mind, then just stay at Qian fu. The people in the fu will definitely receive this lady kindly.”
Cai Yun looked towards that person, seeing that though his clothes were plain, it was of first-rate quality, though she could not be sure but it was still best not to say anymore.
The man said to the servant behind him: “Shan Zi, we should invite this lady back to the fu. Since she’s Third Miss’s friend, we must properly receive her.”
The man also didn’t wait for Cai Yun to express any objections and pulled Song Liang Zhuo to one side by his sleeve.
The man flung all the water on his umbrella onto Song Liang Zhuo and laughed ‘haha’, before speaking: “Younger Sister’s Husband is sure in good spirits. Currently facing a flood in front with your delicate wife bed-ridden in back, yet you can still flirt with a beautiful woman like this in the rain. Tsk, tsk, as expected you sure have a strong mind.”
By ‘strong mind’ he’s saying you must be mentally strong to be able to stay unfazed and flirt in this kind of situation.
Song Liang Zhuo cupped his fist and greeted him, apologetically saying: “Older Sister’s Husband is joking.”
“Ah, this Older Sister’s Husband sounds pretty pressuring.” The man extended a finger and flicked the shaft of the umbrella. Hooking his lips, he said: “If you don’t like, then send that Third Younger Sister of mine back home as soon as possible. Our entire family just guards that single silly little darling treasure, don’t let her become gra.s.s the moment she enters Song fu. Do you know why the Qian family used money and power to help you arrange places for the victims to stay?”
The man paused, the smile on his lips still stayed. Looking at the surrounding crowd he slightly sneered, then said: “The Qian family does not lack a single thing and would not care about the reputation of remarrying or not remarrying. I heard Lu Liu say that Third Younger Sister has lost her memories? This head also got knocked at a coincidental time, fortunately the old man doesn’t know. Official Song should make sure not to let me hear of anything like this again. If it happens again, haha, Official Song, Meng certainly can’t do much to you, but I do at least have the ability to bring my sister home.”
The man was about to continue when his line of sight came across a carriage that had stopped to the side. He gave a light cough and said: “I will have people help with sorting out the structure, I promise not to let your people spent the night in the open. You should hurry back to look after my Third Younger Sister.”
Song Liang Zhuo cupped his hand and performed another salute, his lips pressed together, seeming not to know how to reply. The man smiled and pa.s.sed him to walk to the carriage and helped a beautiful lady down. This lady was precisely Qian Pan Di. The moment Pan Di got down she twisted Meng Yun Fei’s ear into a ball and said in a low voice between gritted teeth: “You lousy bookworm. What business do you have blindly running around? Just the day before yesterday you were still coughing!”