Chapter 7: Playing Along Together

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However, she had no intention of exposing the truth and calmly said, “Quick, fetch the official doctor to treat the matriarch.”

Shen Yishu roared hoarsely like a maddened lion, “Stop pretending here! How do we know the official doctor isn’t in your pocket?”

By his side, Liu Xiner’s voice trembled with tears, “Husband, I’ll go to the city to find a doctor. Although it’s late, there’s still time.”

“Madam Liu…” Shen Yishu was deeply moved; at such a critical moment, only Madam Liu stood united with him as husband and wife.

Dou Hongyan was curious about what was going on inside their heads.

Fortunately, the old lady was only pretending.

Otherwise, this delay might have cost her life.

But since they were putting on a show, it had to be complete. Not wanting to give anyone ammunition, Dou Hongyan decisively cut through the chaos, “Then summon the imperial physician. If you don’t believe me, surely you trust the imperial physician.”

Shen Yishu’s fury abruptly ceased, and his heart stirred the next moment.

He knew the Marquis Cheng’en’s household had regained imperial favor, but to the extent of calling in the imperial physician?

Liu Xiner’s breath caught as well, a strange light flickering in her eyes, “Sister, what kind of joke is this? The imperial physician can’t just be summoned on a whim.”

“Liuyun, go at once.” Dou Hongyan, tired of the back-and-forth, handed over the imperial hospital’s pass, which allowed free command over the physicians there.

It was just a palm-sized copper token.

But Dou Hongyan had been tormented nearly to the point of breaking her back to obtain it.

Her excuse was that the children of martyrs deserved special attention, especially someone like Brother Heng, who passed the imperial examination at thirteen—a pillar of the previous dynasty. The court should cherish him carefully.

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This time she was testing how well it worked.

If it didn’t work, that scoundrel wouldn’t be allowed near her bed again...

“Is this the imperial physician’s pass?” Shen Yishu stared at the token, his blood surging and breath quickening.

He had only seen such a token once in his youth, before the Marquis’s household declined.

For such an important item to be in Dou Hongyan’s hands—

She must have snatched it!

Liu Xiner had never seen the pass but, catching Shen Yishu’s reaction, understood its significance.

It seemed the emperor truly valued her mother-in-law. The Marquis’s household had limitless prospects, and all of it belonged to her and her son!

What right did a merchant woman like Dou Hongyan have?

Liuyun, seeing their naïve expressions, boldly took the pass to the imperial physician’s office.

Dou Hongyan instructed the other maids, “Move the old lady to the warmed chamber in Jifu Hall.”

The cold was biting, and Old Madam Shen’s frail body could not withstand it. If she caught a chill, Dou Hongyan would have to tend to her at the bedside, coaxing her even to take medicine.

Shen Yishu then remembered his mother lying on the ground and said coldly, “Dou, you better pray my mother is not severely ill. Otherwise, I’ll make you pay with your life and let all of the capital know your true face!”

The old madam shivered again, wanting to dissuade her son, but when Shen Yishu continued, “Once my mother wakes, I’ll divorce you!”

“…” The old madam tightly shut her eyes, afraid to move again.

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After a short while, Imperial Physician Zhou arrived, a man in his fifties who came panting and breathless. Without catching his breath, he hurriedly asked, “Quick, where is the madam, the madam…”

Then he turned and saw Dou Hongyan standing there calmly, wearing the expression of one who had just escaped a disaster.

“…”

Dou Hongyan met his gaze and immediately knew Zhou was an ally.

She lowered her eyes, hiding the faint ripple in her heart.

Zhou the physician quickly recovered his composure and asked, “Where is the patient?”

Because Liuyun kept silent, Zhou had only just learned it was Old Madam Shen who had fallen ill. He dutifully took her pulse, finding no major problem, but not none at all.

“Imperial physician, what’s wrong with my mother?” Shen Yishu anxiously paced back and forth.

“Yes, imperial physician, my mother-in-law was fine just now—how could she faint?” Liu Xiner also eagerly sought to show her concern.

Zhou caught their choice of words, glanced at Dou Hongyan, and seeing her steady calmness, spoke honestly, “The old lady is not seriously ill. Usually, she should move around more and eat a lighter diet.”

His implication was clear: she has been overindulged and overnourished.