Chapter 128
Chapter 128
Ms. Liu hurriedly instructed her servants to follow along, while smiling and saying to Mrs. Lu, "Xing'er has been talking about this for days. He said he wanted to come and play on the slides and ride the bumper cars. This morning, he woke up before dawn, pestering us to come."
"Is it really that fun?" Hearing Ms. Liu's words, Mrs. Lu felt a surge of anticipation for the place.
"I'm not sure either. Let's go and see for ourselves later," Ms. Liu replied, not being very familiar with the place herself.
The group entered the estate to rest and changed into more comfortable clothes before heading to the amusement park. The park was located on the north side of Ten Mile Slope, where there was a large river. Built along the water, the amusement park was expansive, offering numerous attractions. The river divided the park into northern and southern sections.
The north side of the river was mainly for children, featuring slides, bumper cars, sandpits, trampolines, rainbow trees, net cages, building block playgrounds, climbing frames, rope courses, and beaches, as well as other activities like clay figurine making and goldfish scooping.
The south side of the river housed more entertainment options for adults.
Finding the crowd overwhelming, Ms. Liu and Mrs. Lu watched for a while before retreating to a teahouse for tea and snacks, letting the children play on their own.
Li Xia found a quiet bamboo grove and entered a pavilion to lie down and rest. Qiu Chan, being large, shielded Li Xia from the sun, allowing her to rest peacefully. After a short while, Li Xia woke up and asked Qiu Chan to go look for people.
"Miss, I'll go search for them in the evening," Qiu Chan said, reluctant to leave Li Xia alone. On this outing, Li Xia was accompanied by Qiu Chan, Qiu Ling, and Qiu Shui. Qiu Shui and Qiu Ling had gone to buy food for Li Xia.
"You can go now. I've rested well and I'm fine," Li Xia said, feeling better and encouraging Qiu Chan to attend to her own matters.
Seeing that Li Xia indeed looked more energetic, Qiu Chan got up and left.
A sudden surge of discomfort caused Li Xia to cough a few times. Hearing footsteps, she forced a smile despite her unease. Qiu Shui and Qiu Ling, seeing Li Xia alone, quickened their pace to approach her.
"Miss, this popcorn smells delicious. Please try some."
"I'll have a taste," Li Xia said, taking a piece and eating it. The taste of blood in her mouth prevented her from tasting much. "It's good," she commented.
Qiu Shui stood beside Li Xia, holding the popcorn for her to eat. At this point, Li Xia couldn't eat anymore.
"Qiu Shui, I'm a bit thirsty. Could you buy me some water?" Li Xia said after eating two pieces.
"Of course. Qiu Ling, please take care of the young miss," Qiu Shui said, handing the popcorn to Qiu Ling before leaving to buy water. Once Qiu Shui was out of sight and earshot, Li Xia turned her head and spat out the popcorn mixed with bloody saliva.
"Miss, what's wrong? I'll go find the madam," Qiu Ling said, frightened by Li Xia's condition and turning to leave.
"Come back," Li Xia called out to Qiu Ling.
"Miss, what's happening to you?" Qiu Ling asked anxiously, her voice trembling with tears.
"It's too intense," Li Xia's words left Qiu Ling completely baffled.
"Miss, what should I do?" Qiu Ling asked, realizing that Li Xia must want her to do something if she was revealing this to her.
"Don't tell anyone else." Qiu Ling nodded firmly, promising to keep the secret between her and the young miss. Seeing Qiu Ling's serious expression, Li Xia comforted her, "No need to be so tense."
When Qiu Shui returned with the water, Qiu Ling had already cleaned up the vomit.
Li Xia took the bamboo container from Qiu Shui and drank some water, then handed the rest to Qiu Ling. "Let's go find mother," she said.
Qiu Shui sensed that the relationship between Li Xia and Qiu Ling had grown closer during her absence.
At the teahouse, Mrs. Lu and Ms. Liu were engrossed in pleasant conversation with other ladies. Li Xia, not wanting to disturb them, found a quiet corner to sit. Qiu Shui grew increasingly concerned about Li Xia's unusual behavior. Even if she didn't want to play, it wasn't like Li Xia to act this way. Qiu Shui kept a close eye on Li Xia, noticing that her face had turned pale.
"Miss, are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
Seeing Qiu Shui's worried expression, Li Xia pulled her to sit down and leaned on her shoulder. "Let me rest for a bit," she said. Qiu Ling stood guard nearby.
Upon returning, Qiu Shui couldn't help but seek out Chunlu Granny to request a doctor for Li Xia.
"What's the matter?" Mrs. Lu inquired, hearing the conversation.
"Qiu Shui came to say that the second young miss doesn't look well and wants to find a doctor to examine her," Chunlu Granny replied, stepping forward to report.
"The second girl has been a bit off these past couple of days. Quickly, go fetch a doctor to take a look. This girl is usually all smiles and laughter, but when something's really wrong, she doesn't say a word," Mrs. Lu said, showing concern for Li Xia, though not to the same extent as she did for Li Xin.
Chunlu Granny sent someone to summon a doctor.
Li Xia didn't blame Qiu Shui for acting on her own and extended her hand to let the doctor take her pulse. The doctor who arrived was very young, looking more like a young gentleman out for a day of fun if one didn't know better.
Xiao Changyou initially thought it was just a case of a young girl tired from playing. But upon taking her pulse, he received quite a shock. Withdrawing his hand, Xiao Changyou surveyed Li Xia. Though he didn't interact much with Lu XuanNing openly, the two had a good relationship in private. While Lu XuanNing hadn't said much about Li Xia's situation, Xiao Changyou had gleaned some information from their conversations.
"Doctor, I'm just tired from playing during the day," Li Xia softly reminded Xiao Changyou not to say too much.
"Imperial Physician Xiao, I didn't expect to see you here," Li Hui and Li Xin approached, seeing Xiao Changyou taking Li Xia's pulse. Li Hui had visited the Beining Marquis Manor a few times and had seen Xiao Changyou following the head of the Imperial Academy of Medicine. He was now the youngest imperial physician in the academy.
"Lord Li," Xiao Changyou greeted Li Hui with a bow.
"Imperial Physician Xiao, what's wrong with my sister?" Li Hui returned the greeting, then looked at Li Xia, noticing her pale complexion.
"I'm fine, big brother. Sister, don't worry," Li Xia said with a smile, but only she knew the pain coursing through her body from her unusual abilities. Xiao Changyou, who had just taken her pulse, also realized this, gaining a new understanding of Li Xia's ability to endure pain.
Li Xin stepped forward, stroking Li Xia's head and holding her hand with concern.
"Second young miss, you're just tired from playing during the day. A couple days of rest should do the trick," Xiao Changyou said, following Li Xia's earlier statement.
"The doctor said I'm fine. Don't worry," Li Xia reassured Li Xin.
Seeing that Li Xia's spirits had improved somewhat, Li Xin and Li Hui left to report back to Mrs. Lu.
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Lu instructed Li Xia to rest in her room for the next couple of days and not go out to play. She could come back to play whenever she felt better and wanted to.
After leaving Mrs. Lu's courtyard, Li Xin was still worried. "Brother, is Xia Xia hiding something from us? She looks worse than when she was injured by the river bandits," she said. Li Xin knew that when Li Xia usually cried out in pain, it wasn't serious. But when she was truly in pain, Li Xia wouldn't tell anyone.
"Don't worry, I'll go ask Doctor Xiao," Li Hui said, trying to calm Li Xin as he went to find Xiao Changyou.
"Doctor Xiao Changyou, tell me the truth, what's really wrong with my sister?" Li Hui's gaze was resolute; he wouldn't leave without finding an answer.
Xiao Changyou was preparing to lead a group into the mountains to search for medicinal herbs and had no time to dally with Li Hui. "Lord Li, regarding your sister's condition, you'd best ask her directly." Li Xia was intent on keeping something secret, though Xiao Changyou didn't know why. He felt it would be better to heed her wishes; otherwise, he might face trouble in the future. Xiao Changyou's intuition was usually spot-on, and he had always trusted his instincts.