Lin Rong was also good at reading expressions. The moment he saw Physician Fu's look, he immediately felt something was wrong.
"Physician Fu, what illness has my daughter contracted?"
Physician Fu hesitated for a moment, then decided to tell the truth.
"Is your esteemed daughter fourteen years old?"
"Yes." Wu Shi quickly nodded.
What was wrong? Was there something problematic about her age?
"But her body is now weak, her breathing is faint, and her pulse is like that of a sixty-year-old crone."
Even Lin Yanran's hands were those of an old crone.
"What did you say?"
Wu Shi was struck by the news and almost collapsed. Lin Rong quickly supported her.
"Physician Fu, what does this mean?"
Physician Fu frowned, "It means she is aging extremely quickly. Her pulse indicates that her body is like that of a sick, elderly person, with no vitality."
A fourteen-year-old child's pulse should normally be strong, with a lively heartbeat and blood circulation. Her skin and blood vessels should also have a different elasticity when pressed.
However, based on his recent examination, Lin Yanran's body, from the inside out, did not resemble that of a young girl.
Physician Fu pointed to her fingernails, "Do you see her fingernails? One can tell a person's health and vitality from their fingernails."
Lin Yanran's fingernails had completely lost their luster, showing no color, appearing grayish-purple with vertical lines, and their edges were an unhealthy white, looking brittle.
"She really wasn't like this before she fell ill! Her fingernails were rosy and shiny, truly!"
Wu Shi cried and reached for Physician Fu's hand, "So, this must be because she's sick. If this illness is cured, she'll recover, won't she?"
She looked at Physician Fu with a pleading gaze, hoping he would immediately give her a positive, optimistic answer.
But Physician Fu was never a gentle old man; he spoke frankly.
"No. I can prescribe a nourishing formula for her, which might slow down the aging process. I will also administer acupuncture for three days to circulate her blood and qi, which should help her regain consciousness. However, I cannot restore her to her original state."
"Why?" Wu Shi asked with a trembling voice.
"Because I cannot diagnose what illness she has. That is to say, she has merely aged, but she does not appear to have any disease."
Therefore, he had no way to treat her specifically.
Lin Rong's expression changed.
"Physician Fu, please save my daughter. She really wasn't like this before. She really is sick, I beg you, you can have as much consultation fee as you want..."
"Madam."
Lin Rong tightly held her hand, stopping her from speaking further.
He could tell that Physician Fu wasn't unwilling to help, but was simply powerless.
Bringing up the consultation fee might even anger Physician Fu. Did Physician Fu, in his lifetime, ever lack money?
However, Physician Fu wasn't so easily angered by this matter; after all, seeing Lin Yanran in such a state, he felt sympathy.
"Please, Physician Fu, prescribe the medicine and administer the acupuncture," Lin Rong said, suppressing his grief.
Physician Fu nodded.
"The most important thing now is to get her to wake up. Once she's conscious, we can question her more carefully about where she went or what she ate before falling ill..."
Eh?
As Physician Fu spoke, he couldn't help but recall his and his grandson's situation; Lu Zhaoling had asked them about it before.
Now, Miss Lin's strange illness…
Physician Fu looked at Wu Shi, "Did Miss Lu Er say anything to you?"
"Miss Lu Er?"
"The girl who told you to come find me. Didn't you say you gave her a ride?"
So that was Miss Lu Er?
Wu Shi quickly repeated everything Lu Zhaoling had told her.
She nervously looked at Physician Fu, "Is that Miss Lu Er also a physician? Is she Physician Fu's apprentice?"
Taking on a female physician as an apprentice didn't seem so strange.
But Physician Fu, upon hearing her words, his beard trembled, and he immediately waved his hand.
"How could that be? This old man is not worthy of being her master!"
Miss Lu Er didn't seem to say much. But perhaps it was because she hadn't seen Lin Yanran with her own eyes?
Physician Fu pondered this, not daring to presume to tell Wu Shi to go find Lu Zhaoling.
He prescribed medicine for Lin Yanran, sent someone to fetch it, and personally administered acupuncture to Lin Yanran.
However, this acupuncture needed to be administered for three consecutive days.
After leaving the Lin residence, Physician Fu couldn't suppress his urge and went to the Lu Manor again.
Lu Manor's steward, Old Hu, was almost frantic these past two days.
He had taken his son to every doctor in the capital city, but none could cure Hu Dali's arm.
Hu Dali had been howling so much these past two days that his voice was hoarse. All he knew was that his arm hurt, aching day and night.
But his arm showed no visible problems; there wasn't a single external injury. When asked, he consistently said he hadn't twisted it, scraped it, or hit it.
The steward was also tormented by the situation.
The gatekeeper reported that Physician Fu had arrived and wished to see the second young lady.
"He's here again?" The steward suddenly jumped up. "That's Physician Fu!"
A divine doctor!
He cried out and rushed out.
Physician Fu was led to the main hall by him, watching him eagerly bring hot tea personally, and couldn't help but frown.
"This old man wants to see the second young lady."
He wasn't here to see anyone else from the Lu family.
The steward forced a smile he thought was very flattering (but was actually quite repulsive), "Physician Fu, are you here to change our second young lady's dressing?"
Lu Zhaoling's head injury was so severe that everyone in the Lu family thought it would take a long time to heal.
However, changing a dressing shouldn't require Physician Fu to personally make a trip, should it?
"Mm."
Physician Fu remained calm.
He couldn't reveal his actual purpose for seeing Lu Zhaoling.
"I've sent someone to invite the second young lady," the steward said, rubbing his hands. "It's just, Physician Fu, could you possibly take a look at my son's arm?"
"Look at his arm?"
The steward quickly explained the situation.
Physician Fu should be able to cure it, right? Who else could cure it besides him?
However, Physician Fu caught a key detail from his account, "You said he was perfectly fine, but that night, when he tried to stop the second young lady, he suddenly felt pain?"
The steward, in his subconscious, was actually a bit suspicious of Lu Zhaoling, not that he thought she had such abilities, but rather that she brought bad luck!
"Yes, I don't know what happened, it just started hurting terribly out of nowhere!"
Physician Fu stroked his beard, his gaze towards the steward growing somewhat cold.
He must have been disrespectful to the second young lady. So, why should he save such a person? Let him suffer half to death.
"This old man cannot cure it."
"No, Physician Fu, you haven't even looked yet!" The steward was dumbfounded. How could he know he couldn't cure it without even looking?
"Then I'll put it another way, this old man refuses to cure it."
Physician Fu finished speaking, then stood up, "This old man will go to Ting Nuan Tower personally."
The steward regained his senses, "Physician Fu!"
He chased after him, but just then, Qing Yin walked over from that direction.
"Physician Fu?"
"Miss Qing Yin, is your young lady at home?" Physician Fu breathed a sigh of relief.
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