Just then, a servant announced that the Second Madam had sent someone. Meng Shuping promptly said, "Let her in."
A young maid entered, curtsying to Meng Shuping. "Fifth Young Master, Imperial Physician Chang has arrived and is heading to Sixth Young Master's courtyard. The Madam said you should also go visit Sixth Young Master."
Meng Shuping's eyes lit up—*he's here already?* But then he felt a pang of reluctance. *Watching the drama unfold would be fun, but the thought of socializing… ugh.*
Still, since Madam Feng had asked him to go, it wouldn't do to refuse. So, he tidied himself and headed out.
Rushing to the entrance of Meng Shuyang's courtyard, Meng Shuping found Feng Shi had just arrived. Seeing him, she asked, "Did you sleep well last night?"
She had intended to summon a physician herself today but hadn't expected Meng Shuping to have already done so. *This child is quite thoughtful.*
Meng Shuping replied awkwardly, "It was alright."
Feng Shi, familiar with his reserved nature, didn't press further. "Shall we go in to visit your Sixth Brother?"
Meng Shuping quickly nodded, "Sure."
As the two were about to enter, Sun Shi hurried over from the other side. "Second Sister-in-law, didn't I say yesterday that the physician had already prescribed medicine? Why trouble Imperial Physician Chang to make another trip?"
The moment Meng Shuping saw Sun Shi, he couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. *[Hahaha, Third Aunt arrived in such a rush! Her rouge is smeared all over her face!]*
Sun Shi stiffened, quickly covering her mouth with a handkerchief. She glanced at Feng Shi and Imperial Physician Chang with a sliver of hope—*surely they hadn't noticed, since I covered up so fast?*
Feng Shi nearly burst out laughing but pretended to be oblivious, exclaiming in surprise, "Oh dear, Third Sister-in-law, what's wrong with your face? Is it bleeding? Quick, quick, Imperial Physician Chang is right here—let him take a look."
With that, she made a move to pull Sun Shi's hand away from her mouth.
To avoid awkwardness, Imperial Physician Chang also adopted a serious expression. "Third Madam, don't worry. I have excellent wound medicine that will certainly prevent scarring."
Seeing that neither of them seemed to have noticed, Sun Shi breathed a slight sigh of relief. But before she could fully relax, Meng Shuping's voice echoed in her mind.
*[Hahaha, 'bleeding,' my foot! Does Third Aunt really think no one saw? Priceless! Second Madam is so considerate—she even came up with an excuse to cover for Third Aunt.]*
*[Imperial Physician Chang is even more impressive—clearly holding back laughter so hard he's pinching his own thigh, yet his face remains perfectly composed. Tsk tsk, as expected, those who become imperial physicians have real talent.]*
Sun Shi's face flushed bright red, utterly humiliated. She pushed Feng Shi away angrily. "No need, I'm fine."
Seeing this, Meng Shuping couldn't help but shake his head. *[Sigh, why bother helping her? She doesn't appreciate it and even tried to cheat you out of five hundred silver taels.]*
Feng Shi suppressed a laugh and asked again, "Third Sister-in-law, are you really alright?"
Seething but unable to lash out at them, Sun Shi gritted her teeth and said, "I'm fine. Let's go in first."
The group entered the courtyard and soon made their way into the room. Sun Shi had initially wanted to send for water to clean her face but, worried that something else might go wrong, she reluctantly followed them inside.
To her slight relief, she had already instructed her maid on the way over to sneak inside and alert Yang Ge'er while she delayed Feng Shi. By now, Yang Ge'er should be prepared.
Meng Shuyang lay weakly on the bed. Seeing them enter, he struggled to sit up. Sun Shi hurriedly rushed over and pressed him down, making a show of concern. "Yang Ge'er, just lie down. Don't get up!"
Meng Shuping craned his neck to look. *[You know what, he's really laying it on thick. It'd be even more convincing if he wiped those pastry crumbs off his face.]*
Sun Shi glanced over and instinctively reached out with her handkerchief to wipe his face. But the moment Meng Shuyang saw Sun Shi's face, he couldn't hold back his laughter. "Mother, your rouge… hahaha… why is it all over your face?"
*[Pfft—]*
Meng Shuping also burst out laughing internally. *[Hahaha, I've seen people getting their cover blown, but never by their own son! Third Aunt probably never expected her efforts to cover up would be ruined like this!]*
*[If I were Third Aunt, I'd want to crawl into a hole and hide right now! So awkward!]*
At this point, Feng Shi seemed intent on making things even more awkward for her. She came around to the other side. "Third Sister-in-law, so it wasn't bleeding after all? How did you get rouge all over your face? Ah, why didn't you say so earlier? Go wash it off quickly."
Sun Shi's face turned ashen, then flushed. In the end, she could only beat a hasty retreat. "Sorry, I must excuse myself for a moment."
After Sun Shi left, Meng Shuyang belatedly remembered he was supposed to be pretending to be sick. He quickly put on a weak expression and began coughing into his hand. "Cough, cough."
Imperial Physician Chang glanced at Feng Shi. "Second Madam, perhaps you should step out for a moment?"
Feng Shi was puzzled. "Why should I step out?"
*Could it be that Imperial Physician Chang and Meng Shuyang had planned this in advance?*
Imperial Physician Chang hinted, "Well, Young Master's injury is in a… delicate area. It's not appropriate for you to be here."
Meng Shuping suddenly remembered. *[Oh, I forgot to mention—when I sent for the physician, I said it was regarding matters of progeny.]*
Feng Shi suddenly understood and couldn't help but chuckle. "Right, right, I'll step out then."
Meng Shuyang was thoroughly confused. *Matters of progeny? Didn't his mother tell him to pretend to be seriously injured? What did that have to do with progeny?*
By then, Feng Shi, Meng Shuping, and the others had already left the bedroom. Imperial Physician Chang turned to Meng Shuyang. "Undress."
Meng Shuyang was confused. "Undress what?"
Imperial Physician Chang said matter-of-factly, "Your clothes, of course. How can I inspect your injury if you don't undress?"
Thinking Imperial Physician Chang wanted to see where he'd been beaten, Meng Shuyang slowly untied his upper garment, revealing his chest and abdomen. To his surprise, Imperial Physician Chang added, "Why aren't you taking off your pants yet?"
Meng Shuyang said, confused, "I'm not injured on my legs."
Imperial Physician Chang assumed Meng Shuyang was just young and embarrassed. He said understandingly, "I know your legs aren't injured. I need to examine your… nether regions."
Meng Shuyang's face turned red. "I'm not injured there either!"
Imperial Physician Chang sighed. "Young Master, you mustn't refuse treatment out of modesty. Otherwise, I can't help you. I need to see how badly you're injured there before I can figure out a solution."
Meng Shuyang exclaimed indignantly, "I'm really not injured there!"
Seeing his lack of cooperation, Imperial Physician Chang grew somewhat annoyed. "You youngsters never take your health seriously! If you wait until it's too late, it'll be a real problem!"
As a physician, Imperial Physician Chang felt a strong sense of responsibility. Seeing that Meng Shuyang was completely uncooperative, he decided to take the initiative and reached to pull down Meng Shuyang's pants.
Meng Shuyang panicked and frantically clutched his pants. "I said there's nothing wrong! You quack, get out!"
"You child, why are you being so ungrateful?"
Then came a series of scuffling sounds. "Hey, what's that under your arm?"
"..."
"You young rascal! You're faking it, aren't you?"
"..."
Outside, Meng Shuping was doubled over laughing. *[This Imperial Physician Chang is quite a character! Hahaha!]*
By the time Sun Shi had wiped the rouge from her face and hurried back, she found Feng Shi and Meng Shuping sitting in the main hall, struggling to keep straight faces. Noticing her entrance, they quickly composed themselves and schooled their expressions.
Sun Shi was annoyed. *Stop pretending, I saw it all. It's just rouge smeared on my face, what's so funny?*
Just then, Imperial Physician Chang walked out of the bedroom with a stern face. Feng Shi and Meng Shuping quickly rose from their chairs. Feng Shi asked, "Imperial Physician Chang, how is he?"
Imperial Physician Chang's expression was foul. "Aside from being a bit weak and needing to abstain from sexual activities, there's nothing else wrong with him."
Meng Shuping couldn't help but laugh internally. *[Kidney deficiency? Hahaha, so he really has a problem after all?]*
*[Ah, Third Aunt really ought to thank me. If I hadn't called for the physician, would Meng Shuyang have discovered his kidney deficiency?]*
*Thank him?* At that moment, Sun Shi wished she could punch him. She had initially thought Imperial Physician Chang was summoned by Feng Shi, but it turned out to be this boy! *Why did he have to meddle so much?*
Feng Shi was bursting with laughter but had to hold it in, forcing a look of concern. "Then, Imperial Physician Chang, is Yang Ge'er's condition serious? Are there any other issues?"
Imperial Physician Chang snorted. "What other problems could he have besides kidney deficiency? I'll write him a prescription; a couple of doses should do the trick."
Feng Shi quickly had someone fetch paper and a brush. Then she patted her chest as if to calm her racing heart. "That's good, that's good. Yesterday, Third Sister-in-law made it out to be so serious—it was truly frightening. Thank you for your trouble, Imperial Physician Chang."
Imperial Physician Chang swiftly wrote out the prescription and added, "However, he's still young and already so indulgent. This must be curbed, or else, over time, I can't guarantee anything."
Meng Shuping thought Imperial Physician Chang was a true imperial doctor, with some real foresight. *[Exactly. If Meng Shuyang doesn't follow the doctor's orders, any future issues won't be his fault. Third Aunt, don't you go trying to pin it on him later.]*
After seeing Imperial Physician Chang off, Feng Shi looked at Sun Shi with a knowing, half-mocking smile. "Third Sister-in-law, if Young Master Yang has such a condition, you should have just said so. We're not outsiders—why scare people like that? Look, Ping Ge'er was so scared he didn't sleep a wink all night and rushed to summon a physician first thing in the morning, worried something might happen to Young Master Yang."
*[Exactly! It's clearly Meng Shuyang's kidney deficiency that requires expensive tonics, yet you insisted it was me who beat him. Now that's what I call trying to scam someone! Ah, I dare not touch Meng Shuyang again—what if he tries to pin something on me again?]*
Sun Shi's eyes blazed with fury, wishing she could tear Meng Shuping apart. If it weren't for his meddling, her plan wouldn't have failed. She would have definitely gotten those five hundred taels of silver.
At that moment, she glared at Meng Shuping as if he were her sworn enemy. Stared down by Sun Shi's furious gaze, Meng Shuping was startled. *[Whoa! Why is she glaring at me? It's not my fault her son has kidney deficiency. If she can't manage her own son, why blame me? Typical case of biting the hand that feeds you, not recognizing good intentions.]*