GBP Chapter 178 Facing
Chapter 178 Facing
Although Li Xiaonuan and her companions have been exonerated from the serious crime of treason and collusion with the enemy, they are still suspected under the law. Historically, such people are usually secretly executed to prevent future trouble.
However, Li Xiaonuan's backer was Prince Jing. Therefore, without Qian Lin and the two deputy generals objecting, the Li family was released. However, they were unable to return to Zhoucun that same day.
Just before they were about to depart, Zhou Liufeng fainted. Xiao Gang gave him a quick check-up and said he had been bitten by a venomous snake. Fortunately, the snake wasn't very venomous, so the venom only started to take effect after Zhou Liufeng had been bitten the previous night.
Xiao Gang took out the small bamboo basket that Qi Ji had brought earlier, took out a lot of medicine packets from it, and fiddled with them for almost half an hour before finally applying the medicine to Zhou Liufei.
"Xiaogang, why did you cut this wound open? It's such a big cut, won't it be harder to heal?" Chen always liked to join in the fun, so when Xiaogang was cleaning Zhou Liufei's bitten arm, she stood aside and watched without any hesitation.
"Fifth Aunt, Brother Liu Fei has been bitten for too long. The flesh where he was bitten has rotted away and has to be cut off. Otherwise, his arm will be useless. Besides, the bigger the wound is, the easier it will be to squeeze out the poisonous blood," Xiao Gang explained patiently.
"Wow, Xiao Gang really seems to have learned a lot at the clinic. He speaks so eloquently. I wonder if he can take it seriously." Chen watched with curiosity as Xiao Gang perfectly bandaged Zhou Liufei's wound, then followed him into the kitchen.
The old lady stood by the door, looking at Chen Shi, and curled her lip in displeasure. She turned to her eldest son, Li Dacheng, and asked, "Eldest son, is it reliable to just let Xiaogang tinker like this?"
Father Li wasn't sure either: "Someone just went to fetch the doctor from the military camp, he should be here soon."
The old lady nodded and said, "That's how it should be. Although Xiaogang comes from a prestigious school, he hasn't been learning for very long. It's always reassuring to have a senior doctor examine him."
Madam Su placed the packed items on the carriage platform in the courtyard and stood anxiously waiting at the gate. Xiao Gang had only been an apprentice for a few months; she didn't trust his medical skills. It wasn't a minor cold or anything; Zhou Liufeng had been bitten by a poisonous snake.
With her indifferent daughter Xiao Yan, Li carefully packed up the belongings allocated to their family, placing them separately in a small corner on the carriage floor, seemingly unconcerned about anything else.
Mao and Tang were in the kitchen preparing lunch. Of course, they were also helping Xiaogang brew his medicine.
The men of the Li family were all gathered around Zhou Liufei, discussing his heroic deeds. Xiao Yang carried Xiao Zheng on his shoulders and dragged Xiao Xian around playing a treasure hunt game.
"Here he comes! Oh my, it's Doctor Jing himself!" Madam Su craned her neck and called out to the inside.
"Really?" Xiao Gang dashed out of the kitchen and peered through the door.
Xiao Gang was actually quite nervous. After all, this was his first time treating such an illness on his own. He hoped that Prince Jing would approve of his treatment method, because only then would he consider himself to have mastered the technique.
"Old man Jing, what brings you here?" As soon as Prince Jing arrived at the courtyard gate, Xiao Gang greeted him with a grin.
Prince Jing tapped Xiao Gang's forehead with his finger and said with dissatisfaction, "It's all because of you, you useless fellow. You've been a disciple for so long, and you can't even cure a snake venom. Let me go and see what kind of snake is so useless that it took so long for the venom to come out after biting someone."
When the old lady heard that Doctor Jing had arrived, she dressed up and came out to greet him. Based on her sixty years of experience, she knew that Doctor Jing was no ordinary person. Anyone who could move freely in this camp was certainly not an ordinary official.
"Dr. Jing, please take a look at Liu Fei quickly. Xiao Gang's abilities are limited, and we're all worried about him. We'll trouble you, Dr. Jing." The old lady invited Prince Jing inside.
As Prince Jing walked inside, he looked at Xiao Gang beside him and smiled, "This kid looks dull, but he's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve. I think he's already taken care of things, so don't worry."
Xiao Gang didn't respond, only smiled. He was genuinely unsure and very anxious.
Mrs. Su entered the kitchen, pacing nervously. She both hoped that Xiaogang would make progress in his studies and feared that he might make mistakes by treating patients haphazardly.
"Sister-in-law, don't worry, Xiaogang definitely won't make any big mistakes." Tang thought to herself, a small mistake wouldn't have any serious consequences.
“That’s right, sister-in-law. Xiaogang spoke so fluently, there’s definitely no problem with him.” Chen’s eyes were already drawn to the pot of braised chicken in soy sauce in the kitchen.
"Eldest daughter-in-law, why aren't you bringing the tea yet?" The old lady's voice came from the room as the kitchen was bustling with activity.
Only then did Mrs. Su remember why she had gone into the kitchen.
"Sister-in-law, I've prepared everything, don't worry." Madam Mao handed the tray to Madam Su, smiling and reassuring her.
"Hmm, it was handled very well. The technique was a little clumsy, but the general direction was basically correct. The dosage of the powder was also just right. Let's leave it as it is; no further corrections are needed." Madam Su entered just in time to hear Prince Jing give his conclusion.
"That's good, that's good. I was just worried that Xiaogang would do something reckless and cause trouble, which would be hard to explain to his grandma Yu." The old lady patted Xiaogang's head with relief.
Xiao Gang scratched his head sheepishly, grinning foolishly. The men of the Li family all burst out laughing at Xiao Gang's expression.
After serving the tea, Su glanced at Xiaogang with red eyes, then left satisfied.
Zhou Liufeng woke up at noon the next day. According to him, he was bitten by a snake while climbing over Lingnantou. He then sucked out some of the venomous blood.
It was because of that snake that Zhou Liufeng stumbled into that cave and encountered the spy. But Zhou Liufeng only mentioned this much; he didn't mention the specific details.
Li Xiaonuan knew that Zhou Liufeng and the spy must have fought. Xiao Gang said that Zhou Liufeng had a knife wound on his back. Fortunately, the person who cut him didn't hit hard enough, otherwise Zhou Liufeng would have been dead long ago.
Zhou Liufei woke up, and everyone couldn't wait to go home. Li Xiaonuan was happy to be out of this prison-like place, but she was also afraid to leave. Once she left the military camp, the matter of privately growing chili peppers would definitely be brought to light, and how would she explain it to her fellow villagers?
No matter how much Li Xiaonuan struggled with her inner conflict, everyone left the military camp and headed home. Since the carriages belonged to the military and the horses were good military horses, they quickly returned to their villages.
When Granny Yu saw Zhou Liufei lying weakly on the carriage floor, she couldn't help but cry again.
I'm so sorry! It's so late.