Resplendent – Chapter 464

Chapter 464 Father’s Old Injury

After seeing Shangguan Fei off, Gu Ye returned to Mingzhu Pavilion in the Duke’s Manor. She took an afternoon nap in the green-curtained alcove by the water. A light breeze drifted by, ripples shimmered on the green water.

Summer truly was the best season for keeping cool. However, in a few days, when the first autumn winds arrived, this place would start to feel a bit chilly.

Gu Ye lay on the tatami she had ordered people to set up, watching dragonflies skim across the lake. With a soft sigh, she said, “If we installed sliding glass doors on all three sides here, then in winter we could bask in the sun.”

Yue Yuan thought for a moment and said, “Miss, aren’t all your glassware items made in collaboration with the Yinzhen Pavilion? They should have a glass workshop they work with, right? If we have time tomorrow, we can go ask at the Yinzhen Pavilion.”

“Mm! If they have large panes of glass, I also want to build a glass greenhouse in the northwest corner of the garden and grow some off-season vegetables. That way, even in winter we can eat fresh produce!” Gu Ye hugged a soft pillow and rolled over on the tatami.

Spending a large sum to build a glass greenhouse not for cultivating rare flowers, but for growing vegetables; only her young miss would think to do such a thing. Still, given how particular her lady was about food, building such a vegetable greenhouse was indeed necessary.

“Come on, let’s go check the courtyard next door and see how our pharmaceutical workshop is coming along!” Gu Ye climbed up from the tatami, changed into a simple, comfortable outfit, and had Yue Yuan redo her hair.

The courtyard next door was more than half the size of Mingzhu Pavilion, with over a dozen rooms of various sizes, all already being renovated according to Gu Ye’s specifications. After asking the steward, she learned that it would take at most another ten days before everything was completed. She inspected the warehouse and the pharmaceutical room, pointing out several key areas that needed attention.

She then spent the entire afternoon nestled in one of the side rooms, beginning preparations for the ‘Kidney Tonic’ she had promised to make for Prince Tai. In her previous life, Hui X Kidney Tonic was a well-known brand, a purely herbal formula used to nourish yin, strengthen yang, and improve physical vitality. Just the precious medicinal ingredients alone numbered twenty-two kinds.

Gu Ye listed all twenty-two herbs one by one and instructed Steward Zhou to have the staff procure them. She wasn’t preparing the medicine solely for Prince Tai. It was also in preparation for the Great Pharmacists Convention.

With her current pharmaceutical skills, she had no need to worry about the early rounds of the apothecary assessments. However, to advance from a level-nine apothecary to a grand apothecary, one had to create a new medicine and demonstrate its clinical use. She had originally planned to use penicillin for the exam, but now she had changed her mind.

Penicillin was, after all, a Western medicine. At the Great Pharmacists Convention, it was better not to stand out too much. She would compete with the purely herbal ‘Kidney Tonic’ instead!

By evening, when she finally came out of the temporary pharmaceutical room, she learned that the elder captain’s grandnephew, Dongzi, had been waiting for her for half the day. He had come for a follow-up examination on his hand. Ever since entering the capital with her, Dongzi had been recovering from his injuries at a residence in the East District.

When Gu Ye reached the outer courtyard, she found that her father and brothers were also there. She walked forward with a smile. “Father, Second Brother, Third Brother, you’ve all finished your duties and come home! Thank you for your hard work!” 

Chu Bufan waved his little daughter over and stuffed into her hands a packet of candied fruits he had bought while queueing on his way back from the office. He asked whether she had been busy today and whether she was tired.

Gu Ye obediently answered each question and shared the candied fruits with her father and brothers. 

Chu Mufeng bit into the hawthorn ball his sister handed him and immediately bared his teeth from the sourness. After finally swallowing it, he declined the second one she offered and pointed to Dongzi’s splinted hand. “Sister, you treated his injury? From what I see, it looks like his tendons were damaged, am I right?”

“Yeah. The flexor tendon in his hand was ruptured, but the wound has healed well. What’s left is the rehabilitation training.” Gu Ye examined Dongzi’s injury and adjusted his splint. “Next, he needs a seven-day course of range-of-motion exercises—four to five times a day.”

She then explained in detail how to perform the exercises, and Dongzi was able to gently flex and extend his fingers on his own. She warned him not to overdo the training, or it would have the opposite effect. “All right, come back in seven days. By then, we can remove the splint.”

When Chu Mufeng learned that Dongzi lived in the East District and traveling back and forth was inconvenient, he warmly invited him to stay in his own courtyard. Dongzi, having no way to refuse, agreed to remain at the Duke of Zhen’s Manor.

However, he did not dare to presume to stay in the same courtyard as the commander of the Imperial City Guards. He positioned himself as Miss Gu’s servant and was content to live in a side chamber in the outer courtyard of the manor.

Steward Zhou took Dongzi out to settle him in, and Chu Mufeng turned to Gu Ye. “Sister, if the tendons in the hand were injured before and gripping is difficult, is there a way to heal it?”

Gu Ye glanced at both of his wrists. Seeing no visible wounds, she replied, “If it’s an old tendon injury, it’s a bit more troublesome, but it’s not impossible. I would need to examine it in person to be sure.”

“Father!” Both Chu Mufeng and Chu Mutong looked at Chu Bufan with some agitation.

Gu Ye tossed the candied fruits on the table, lifted her father’s right hand, and noticed a clearly healed scar on his wrist. Her father’s fingers were slightly bent in an unnatural way. Her eyes turned slightly red. “Father, your hand was injured. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s nothing. After using the medicinal oil, my hand is much better now. For ordinary gripping, there’s no problem. Good daughter, don’t cry.” After speaking, he shot a sharp glare at his two sons. “It’s all your fault, isn’t it? You made your sister cry, didn’t you?”

Gu Ye carefully felt the back of her father’s hand. Fortunately, it wasn’t too serious. There was just one tendon that had grown crooked, which could be corrected with surgery. She rubbed her eyes and said, “Dad, may I see the medicinal oil you’ve been using?”

“Medicinal oil? It’s all used up…” Although the oil had some effect on his hand, it could never fully restore it. He would never again wield his beloved weapon across the battlefield. The oil had been finished for almost half a month, so he hadn’t paid it much mind.

Chu Mufeng smiled. “No need to look. That oil was the one you gave me, Sister!”

“So that medicinal oil was for Father! Why didn’t you say so earlier!” Gu Ye ran back to Mingzhu Pavilion and returned with a large bottle of the oil. She poured some onto her hands and began massaging her father’s hand with just the right amount of pressure. 

The effectiveness of the oil also depended somewhat on the massage technique.

Before long, Chu Bufan felt the previously injured part of his wrist warm and comfortable. When his daughter finished massaging, he moved his fingers gently and found them much more flexible. He didn’t hesitate to lavish praise: “My daughter is truly capable. Six spoiled boys put together still can’t match a single finger of my precious girl.”

Chu Mutong exchanged a glance with Chu Mufeng. Their father clearly believed that with a daughter, all is well. In their family, only the daughter was biological; the sons were all adopted, weren’t they? 

Father, it’s fine to be partial, but it doesn’t need to be this obvious, okay?