Rebirth of the Three Kingdoms: Da Qiao doesn't want to be a widow anymore

Chapter 350 Zhou Yu is ill!

Qiao Wei was unsure whether he needed to inform Qiao Rong about this, which is why he needed to confirm it in person.

However, Zhou Yu's actual situation was more serious than Qiao Wei had imagined.

Zhou Yu's illness was caused by the worsening of his wound, coupled with certain dietary and lifestyle habits, which led to the infection of the wound with blood-sucking parasites.

For a long time, Zhou Yu suffered from persistent abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss, and enlarged liver and spleen, until one day he vomited blood and fainted.

Sun Quan immediately invited Hua Tuo to treat Zhou Yu.

Hua Tuo performed an abdominal surgery to remove the schistosomiasis, but during his subsequent recovery, Zhou Yu still experienced repeated wound infections.

Qiao Wei had only been away from him for a few months, and now, upon seeing his old friend again, he was met with such a sight.

On his sickbed, his chest heaved, his face was thin and dark, his eyes were sunken and bluish, his lips were pale and bloodless, and a faint breathing sound came from his throat as if it were the last groan of his body.

His thin hands had prominent veins, and his skin was yellowish-black.

If it weren't for the resemblance to his former self, Qiao Wei would hardly have recognized him as the famous and philandering master.

But she clearly remembered that Zhou Yu had several years left to live, so how could his illness suddenly have started prematurely?

Hua Tuo said, "The illness of the Central Protector General has dragged on for quite some time. His fever only subsided yesterday. The insect infestation has been lurking in his body for a long time, causing damage to his liver, intestines, spleen, and stomach."

"Even if you manage to survive this, you'll need careful recuperation to recover." Hua Tuo glanced at the food sent from the army. "Madam, you must also take this as a warning. Although this fish sashimi is delicious, it must never be eaten again, especially live creatures from the Xiang River. They must be thoroughly cooked before consumption."

Qiao Wei was completely confused by the roundabout medical terminology used at the beginning, but she understood what was said later.

In a way that Qiao Wei could understand, illness enters through the mouth.

The Jiangdong region is rich in fish and rice, and people love to eat raw fish slices, which they consider delicious.

Zhou Yu also had this eating habit. When he was stationed in Wancheng, he would sometimes buy live fish and cook them into sashimi if conditions allowed.

In Wancheng, the live fish consumed came from the Tangbai River system, which did not suit Zhou Yu's taste. Therefore, when there was a supply shipment from Danyang northward, the grain transport officers would bring some live fish from the Xiang River for Zhou Yu to try.

However, in recent years, schistosomiasis has been rampant in the Xiang River basin, and fish have been infested with parasites. There have been a large number of schistosomiasis infection cases in the Xiang River basin, including more than a hundred cases handled by Hua Tuo.

However, due to the lack of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs during the Three Kingdoms period, most people did not trust the art of abdominal surgery. Even among patients who underwent Hua Tuo's abdominal surgery, very few survived the postoperative infection.

As for Zhou Yu's current condition, Hua Tuo only counted three fingers as the chance he could survive this period.

Through the bed curtains, the man on the couch seemed to hear a familiar voice. He slowly opened his eyes, and saw the graceful figure of a beautiful woman on the curtains. "Rong'er?"

He spoke in a daze, murmuring the name he longed for.

Gu Lingyun helped the man up and whispered a reminder to him to avoid being impolite, "General, it is the Lady of the Marquis."

Zhou Yu's vision blurred, and he seemed to disbelieve Gu Lingyun's words. He looked at the figure behind the curtain with eager eyes.

It wasn't until Qiao Wei lifted the curtain and approached that Zhou Yu realized the person before him was not the beauty he had been longing for, and he could no longer hide the disappointment on his face.

He gave a wry smile and said self-deprecatingly, "Yes, she's probably still angry. How could she possibly come to see me?"

Even if he were seriously ill and bedridden, and might one day pass away, they would not want to come and see him.

But Qiao Wei still sensed something was wrong. This was Zhou Yu, the man known for his ability to detect even the slightest error in music. Even though his vision was blurry due to illness, she was confident that her voice was quite different from Qiao Rong's. How could he have misheard her?
Qiao Wei looked to Hua Tuo for an answer, and Hua Tuo simply sighed, which was considered confirmation of Qiao Wei's guess.

Has the condition progressed to such a serious stage?
Zhou Yu's gaze drifted vaguely towards Qiao Wei's direction. "Madam, where is Rong'er?"

Even though his vision was clouded, a glimmer of hope still shone in his eyes.

He was intelligent and perceptive from a young age. Born into a prestigious family like the Zhou family in Shuxian County, he carried expectations and enjoyed the glory brought by his family.

In addition, he was very handsome, used to being pursued and admired by women, and had an arrogance that he could get whatever he wanted, so he had a natural arrogance when it came to women.

However, his arrogance and conceit were repeatedly thwarted in front of the two men.

One is Qiao Wei, and the other is Qiao Rong.

Qiao Wei's arrogance is based on her intelligence, while Qiao Rong is more like a seemingly delicate wildflower with a tenacious vitality.

The first time he met Qiao Rong was when she saw Qiao Wei off at her wedding. Her bright eyes were red from crying, and her soft, sweet appearance resembled a rabbit with drooping ears. He was the one who first wanted to tease her, but seeing her wide-eyed surprise, he lost his composure.

Qiao Rong's letters revealed her girlish feelings, which he understood. He didn't want to disappoint her, so he forced her to stay by his side.

But one day she would resolutely leave and never appear again, and her elder sister would erase all ties between her and the Zhou family, severing all bonds.

The bones of beauties lie buried in the tombs of heroes.

Despite his best efforts to guard against it, he still fell for her charms, just like the words he used to coax her when he was in love: she is different from others.

As for Qiao Wei, Zhou Yu harbored resentment. If it weren't for Qiao Wei's mediation, Qiao Rong wouldn't have parted ways with him and never seen him again.

Therefore, when Qiao Wei passed through Wancheng and entered Deng County, he did not stop the transmission of the message.

When news of her capture by Liu Bei arrived, Sun Quan rushed to Wancheng day and night.

Zhou Yu told Sun Quan that they were currently fighting on three fronts—Changsha, Guiyang, and Lingling—and that Wancheng was deep within Cao Cao's territory, so they could not afford to start another war.

He thwarted Sun Quan's plan, yet watched him exhaust himself trying to save Qiao Wei, his bloodshot eyes revealing a madness he was forcibly suppressing.

"Just a woman."

In this chaotic world, for people of their background, women are the easiest resource to plunder. Even though Qiao Wei is stunningly beautiful, she also has some strategies and cleverness, and she is even of great help to the Jiangdong Army.

However, it is not irreplaceable.

Sun Quan shook his head, “She is not a woman, she is my wife, my brother Zhong!”

What difference can there be between a wife and a woman?

But Sun Quan's seemingly ordinary answer struck him like a hammer blow, waking him up.

So why did Qiao Rong leave so decisively?

Because he couldn't choose a person with the same single-minded focus as Sun Quan.

A metallic taste filled his throat, and he suddenly vomited blood and fell unconscious. In his hazy, dreamlike state, he saw nothing but Qiao Rong's image.