Warm medicine emits fragrance

When Feng Yan returned to the side courtyard, Fan Liuer was watching people plant flowers in the yard.

Fan Liuer was pleasing to the eye and had a friendly personality. Despite her lowly status among the servants in the side courtyard, she still held some sway over many people and quickly became friends with the other servants.

Feng Yan has a good temperament. She returned in high spirits, and when people saw her, they all laughed, "Judging from Madam Feng's appearance, she must be getting a big reward today."

Feng Yan covered her lips and laughed, "I don't know."

Although they said they didn't know, the smile on their faces said it all. Those who understood knew better and didn't ask any more questions.

Fan Liuer thought so too. Although she had only spent one day with Feng Yan, Feng Yan was a good person and very steady, not the type to cause trouble.

She thought that as long as she didn't make any mistakes, she should be rewarded.

However, instead of receiving a reward, Feng Yan was greeted by a hurried maid who grabbed Fan Liuer and tried to pull her away.

"Madam Yang is looking for you. Come with me quickly."

Fan Liuer followed along in a daze. Before leaving, she glanced back at Feng Yan, a vague guess forming in her mind.

Not long after Fan Liuer left, Feng Yan also received twenty taels of silver, but it was not a reward, but a dismissal fee.

Looking at the silver on the tray, Feng Yan was dumbfounded. "Did I do something wrong?"

The messenger was Madam Wang, who was in charge of managing the servants in the courtyard. Over the years, she had hired countless wet nurses and knew all too well how enviable the pay was for this job. If she suddenly lost it, those with ill intentions would harbor malicious intent.

Her tone was much softer than usual, "You're not wrong, it's just that the master is picky and doesn't like your drinks."

These words left Feng Yan speechless; she wasn't usually such a petty person.

After seeing Feng Yan off, Madam Wang said to the servants around her, "Take good care of Madam Fan in the future, especially her diet. Make sure it is prepared according to the Second Master's standards."

Unaware that her status had been elevated once again, Fan Liuer was led into the room downstairs in the attic, where Madam Yang was already waiting.

Without saying a word when he saw her, he handed her the jade cup in his hand.

Fan Liuer's suspicions were confirmed, but she didn't ask any further questions. She never cared too much about things that didn't concern her; she just needed to focus on doing her own thing.

She took the jade cup, turned her back to Madam Yang, and began to undress.

For some reason, the quantity today was less than yesterday, which made Fan Liuer a little worried.

The Li family has very strict hiring requirements. I hope I won't be fired because of this.

"Is it ready?" Madam Yang asked from behind.

Fan Liuer turned to look at her, and hesitated before saying, "Madam Yang, the portion is a bit small..."

Lady Yang got up, walked around to her side, and looked into the jade cup.

It's less than a third of the size of the jade cup.

That's not enough!

"How come there's only this much?" she frowned.

Madam Yang was an old servant in the household, having spent years serving the most difficult-to-please master. When she put on a stern face, her imposing manner was quite intimidating, causing Fan Liuer to shrink back.

"Perhaps...it's due to hunger during this period. It will be fine after a few days of eating a full meal."

Fan Liuer wasn't lying; it was indeed the case. Ever since she started menstruating, she rarely, if ever, had an appetite when she was sick or had no appetite.

But when she has a good appetite and is well-nourished, she eats more often.

However, that's only in comparison to herself. After all, she hasn't given birth yet, so she can't be compared to a woman who is currently breastfeeding.

Looking at the amount in the jade cup, Madam Yang knew that this amount was definitely not enough; it should be at least as much as yesterday's.

Their gazes fell on Fan Liuer again.

Lady Wang had told Fan Liuer about her background and identity, and as someone with experience, she could tell that Fan Liuer's body had never been properly nourished.

After thinking for a moment, she pointed to the chair by the window, "Go sit there."

Fan Liuer didn't know what to do, but it was always right to obey. She gathered her clothes and walked to the chair.

"You don't need to wear clothes," Madam Yang instructed.

Fan Liuer had already sat down. Upon hearing this, she paused for a moment and then took off her clothes that she had been pulling up.

Madam Yang walked up to her and handed her the jade cup, saying, "Hold it carefully."

Fan Liuer seemed to have guessed what was about to happen, and her face flushed.

Take the jade cup and place it in its proper position.

Seeing that she understood, Madam Yang saved herself the trouble of explaining and became even more satisfied with her.

"Hold it properly, don't shake it."

As she spoke, she reached out her hand.

Fan Liuer's body tensed up instinctively, and the fingers gripping the jade cup tightened as well.

Upstairs at this moment.

Li Chenbi leaned against the couch, feeling a slight restlessness in his heart.

I looked up at the incense on the table; it was already two-thirds burned.

This incense stick can burn for an hour and a half. When the incense burns to the bottom, his fever will fully manifest.

There was still half an hour left.

This fever was something he had since birth; it was retribution for the sins committed by his ancestors, a curse upon the Li clan.

This fever has no cure. Once it strikes, the veins throughout his body feel like red-hot iron piercing through his limbs and bones, and his blood feels like molten lava eroding his internal organs.

That kind of pain is unbearable for most people.

However, there are ways to alleviate the symptoms. Although it cannot be cured, there are medications that can suppress the onset of fever.

However, all those medicinal herbs are extremely cold in nature. Although they can suppress the onset of fever, their medicinal properties are too strong, and the body will not be able to withstand them after drinking them.

Therefore, before taking medicine, you should use warm medicines or foods to neutralize the effects of the medicine.

Finding medicines and ingredients that can neutralize the medicinal properties without destroying their efficacy is extremely difficult; so far, only one thing can do this.

That's human milk.

Li Chenbi grew up drinking medicine laced with human milk, bearing this deadly curse at birth, and was also born with a deadly picky personality.

He is extremely picky about taste; if there is even the slightest unacceptable flavor, he cannot drink it.

Even if the pain is excruciating, drinking it will make you nauseous and vomit.

Not only is he picky about the taste, he's also picky about the people he meets. He doesn't want anyone who's too old, too ugly, or too young.

Over the years, he has hired countless wet nurses in his search for human milk that suits his taste.

He'd counted over a hundred, but he hadn't found one he was completely satisfied with; only the ones he could barely tolerate.

He could barely tolerate the taste of his previous wet nurse and worked dutifully in the mansion for over a year.

Seeing that the wet nurse would be over the age limit next year, Madam Yang asked Madam Wang to recruit a few suitable people to be on standby in case of emergency.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the recruited woman entered the manor, the original wet nurse was exposed for having an affair with a servant. When Li Chenbi found out, he despised her for being dirty and refused to drink the medicine, so he hurriedly asked Fan Liuer to take her place.

Fan Liuer's ability to stay was unexpected for everyone.

But the most unexpected one was Li Chenbi.

No one could understand his feelings; he had endured that fishy smell for over twenty years.

No one else knew just how fishy it was to him; even the food he could barely swallow was so fishy that it made him feel sick.

Yesterday's medicine was the only one he had ever taken that didn't have a fishy smell.