Chapter 44 The house of Danqing
Because the food they bought from the village
wasn't as fine and tasty, Gu Xihe had been complaining the whole way back. However, his stomach was too famished and also complaining. He had no way but to eat some of it. When he heard that Gu Xiran hired Du Qiu as his martial master, Gu Xihe's eyes widened and he stopped complaining.
"Is this true?"
Gu Xiran glanced once at him, "Do I have to lie to you?"
Hearing him say that, Gu Xihe immediately looked pickily at Du Qiu. However, no matter how he looked, aside from discovering that Du Qiu's body was well-proportioned and that his limbs were tough and strong, he didn't see much more. He couldn't believe that a person who looked so ordinary could have good skills.
Fortunately, he saw the scene of Du Qiu saving them in the restaurant with his own eyes. Although he had doubts, he couldn't deny that he had skills. After being at loggerheads for a while, when he thought that he could also follow to learn some Kungfu, he truly felt happy and said, "Great!"
The mind of a child was as simple as that.
He intuitively liked or disliked someone. He intuitively judged whether something was good or bad.
Gu Xiran didn't say more. He only reminded Gu Xihe to pick a day to report to old madam saying that he (GXH) wanted to hire a martial master to teach him some Kungfu to strengthen the body. Presumably, old madam wouldn't dismiss his request.
Little fourth young master also didn't ask much and promised to do it. It was Du Qiu who insisted on not living inside Gu residence. He wanted to stay outside as it would be easier to care for his mother. He only promised to come every day at the appointed time to teach them martial arts.
Gu Xiran needed a martial artist and not a servant. He didn't have the intention to bind Du Qiu to his side. So, he amiably agreed with Du Qiu.
The carriage rushed back to the city. The order of the street had been restored. Gu Xihe couldn't help but get excited. He raised the curtain and sneaked a peek outside. He wanted to hear whether the pedestrians would gossip about what had happened before. The result was that he was pulled back by Shu Huan and the curtain had been covered, "Sit well. Don't let people recognize you."
"What are you afraid of?" Gu Xihe objected, "Second big brother never leaves the residence. Even many people in the residence don't recognize him. Old madam also rarely let me go out. How could someone recognize us?"
Shu Huan still felt that it was better to be safe. "Perhaps someone remembered our faces just now. It's always not good to be seen. It's better to be careful."
Gu Xihe was a bit dissatisfied, but after all, they caused trouble. Even if he was fearless, he still felt guilty. When he saw that the gaze second big brother looked at him with was full of disapproval, he humphed once and sat back down obediently.
The carriage went into the direction that Ranmo had pointed at and finally stopped at the place where doctor Ji lived. That was a two-story house. The house was planted with young and lovely herbs. There were also green bamboos. When they were led inside by an old servant, Shu Huan felt that this place wasn't contaminated with the trace of the summer heat at all. Everywhere was quiet and full of greens. The irritation in her heart disappeared.
A famous doctor didn't have to sit in a clinic to receive people. There would naturally be people who would come at his door to seek medical treatment. It was just that the consultation fee was relatively high. So, when the citizens got a small illness, they would just go to the pharmacy to buy medication and the poor would definitely not visit here.
They didn't know whether it was because they were lucky today, but doctor Ji didn't go make a house call. He was drawing in the study. When they entered, they saw that he was sitting there, concentrating hard on the painting.
He ignored when outsiders came to visit. All his attention was on the painting in front of him. This kind of behavior was naturally a bit lacking. Fortunately, the old servant took over the hospitality and invited them to sit. Then, he went to make tea.
Shu Huan had studied painting. Although in the past, she rarely came in contact with ink and wash painting, her interest was still there. She couldn't help but take a look. She found out that doctor Ji was painting the bamboo outside of the window. When she turned and looked at the study, it was quite big. However, the furnishing was extremely simple. Aside from the big and fancy table in front of the window, there were only a few chairs. The bookshelf was full of books and there were paintings hanging on the wall.
Without exception, bamboo was painted on all those paintings.
Static bamboo, bamboo in the breeze, bamboo under the wind, bamboo in the rain…
No matter what kind of bamboo was painted, it was the bamboo in its natural state. Even if the mood was different, but the technique was obviously similar to the one that doctor Ji was painting. When she looked at the signature of the painting, there was Danqing written on it. It should be doctor Ji's name, right?
After living here for so many days, she figured out that here was slightly different from the ancient world she learned from the history books. At least, the people here didn't have many taboos about naming someone and it was also not popular to use a courtesy name.
Just as Shu Huan was appreciating the paintings on the wall, Ji Danqing had already finished the final stroke. He put the brush stained with ink into a green powdered paper to clean the brush. He stood up and smiled at Gu Xiran, "I didn't know that honorable guests will pay me a visit today. Excuse me for my lack of manners."
During the speech, he saw Shu Huan who was dressed like a maid and still looking at the painting. To avoid arousing suspicion, he only nodded at her as a greeting.
Gu Xiran returned the etiquette and said, "It was us who came abruptly."
After the exchange of conventional greeting, he said the reason why he came today. Ji Danqing had a humane heart of a doctor. Naturally, he promised and immediately called a servant boy to let him prepare the things for a house call.
Du Qiu always thought that famous doctors had more arrogance. He thought that since it wasn't early anymore, the doctor may not be willing to do a house call. He didn't expect that Ji Danqing agreed. He couldn't help but feel relieved. Some gratitude also showed in the eyes that always hid his emotions.
However, Gu Xiran suddenly stopped doctor Ji, "Take it slowly! I still want to inquire about something from doctor Ji."
Ji Danqing smiled gently and said, "Please say it."
"Is there a small house for rent nearby here?"
Ji Danqing's eyes showed his puzzlement.
Gu Xiran explained the matter of Du Qiu being his martial master. He wanted to find a place not far away from Gu residence and where the surroundings were quiet. It would be a good place for mother Du to recuperate and also avoided that Du Qiu had to run to two places every day.
"It would also save doctor Ji a lot of time and effort when doctor Ji goes on a house call if the place was close by."
Ji Danqing probably also belonged to the kind of person who didn't ask about mundane affairs. Naturally, there was no result in asking him about this matter. He called the old servant to ask, but the answer was disappointing.
Here was the quietness among the noisiness. It wasn't far from the main streets, but the sounds of the city wouldn't get here. Therefore, many of the houses in the vicinity were bought by rich people or officials. If they didn't use the place because of its quietness, they would use it to keep a mistress. There was no house to be sold or rented.
In the end, after Ji Danqing was silent for a while, he suddenly said, "If master Du doesn't mind, there are two secluded rooms in my backyard. Please come and live here."
Gu Xiran didn't expect that he would let strangers live in his house. When he heard that, he was surprised. Even Du Qiu had doubts whether he had misunderstood. He declined, "This is too much of a bother for you."
"There's no harm," Doctor Ji said. "Those rooms in the backyard were originally reserved for critically ill patients, so, I can keep watch and take care of their medication all the time. Moreover, I haven't taken a wife yet. So, there are no females that need to be avoided. It wouldn't be a bother."
Du Qiu hesitated, "Is doctor Ji not afraid that I am someone bad?"
After Ji Danqing heard that, he laughed, "I was born into a family of doctors. Aside from the medical books and herbs in this house, I don't have other things that are of value. How could I be afraid that someone would harm me to make a fortune? You don't have to worry about this. Sometimes, patients in need of emergency would come. I will also let them stay here. Nothing had happened all these years."
Du Qiu asked again, "Then the rent…"
Ji Danqing raised his hand to interrupt him, "We can talk about that later. It's more important to look at the sick."
While he talked, he carried his medical coffer and let Du Qiu lead the way. When they boarded the carriage they went to the city with, Gu Xiran paid his goodbyes and let Ranmo go hire sedan chairs to go back home.