Chapter 71: Discussion on Wrongness

  Jiang Nang looked at the crowd, her expression unchanged.

  "I am ill myself, so I cannot cure others." She said, slightly bowing her head in greeting.

  Are you sick?

  Can a divine doctor who can revive the dead also fall ill? Is it just a rumor in the city?

  It's just that...

  "Miss, miss, it's my father... Think of a way, we have money, lots of money, however much you want!" several people shouted.

  A commotion arose and Jingniang stopped speaking.

  "Didn't you hear?!" The maid raised her voice, blocking the oncoming crowd while frowning and shouting, "My mistress said she's too ill to treat others, she's sick herself and can't cure anyone else, hurry up and take her away, don't delay any longer."

  Looking at the woman standing behind wrapped in a cloak, she didn't seem to have any intention of coming forward. The crowd that had been stunned into silence erupted into noise again.

  "Oh my, what a ruthless heart!"

  "Watching someone die without helping!"

  "You Zhou family is really ruthless!"

  "You Zhou family are really condescending! We can't compare with the Chen or Tong families, and you just turn a blind eye!"

  What's wrong with the Zhou family being ruthless and refusing to save a life! What are these people thinking! How is this related to the Zhou family again at this time?!

  Mrs. Zhou felt a surge of qi and blood, and suddenly started coughing violently.

  Not treating, agreeing to treat, two contradictory rules, treating, treated well, and then not treating! This is going to torment people to death!

  Does she still want to save a bit of face? How can she say whatever comes out of her mouth?!

  Are you ill? If you're ill, then just go back and lie down properly. At least pretend to be a bit decent! Do you think everyone else is an idiot?

  What a disaster!

  "What's next?"

  Old Mr. Chen asked with some curiosity.

  Later on, having no other choice, the family had to carry him out and found a medical clinic. A young servant said with a look of surprise and excitement.

  "Is he dead?" several women asked with some tension.

  Chen Dan Niang didn't even dare to blink her eyes.

  "It was close," the young servant said. "Luckily, that family acted quickly and carried him directly to the Imperial Physician's Bureau. The four imperial physicians spent half a day working on it, and finally managed to save his life, saying he had qi deficiency and blood stasis."

  Everyone present let out a sigh of relief.

  "So, it's not necessarily fatal after all. Sister Cheng wouldn't have treated it if it were, would she? That wouldn't be proper." Chen Dan Niang said.

  "Then, why can't it be that the imperial physicians' good medical skills saved her?" a woman immediately retorted. "If not, she should have said 'not necessarily fatal so no treatment', rather than 'I'm ill so no treatment'."

  Chen Dan Niang fell silent, pouting and refusing to speak.

  "A doctor with a parental heart, yet saying they won't treat if it's not true. Another woman nodded and whispered, "She herself said there are only two uncurable rules, but didn't say the illness is untreatable, isn't this her own rule being messed up?"

  "She said she was ill and couldn't be cured, what's wrong?" Chen Shiba Nang said, "Besides, she is not a doctor."

  Right, she is not a doctor.

  Two women exchanged a glance, but...

  "Although she is not a doctor, she can cure illnesses." The woman hesitated for a moment before saying, "To be capable of doing something but refusing to do it is not benevolent."

  "But Sister Cheng is ill, she wants to be cured but can't." Chen Dan Niang said with a hint of grievance.

  "Who would believe this?" The two women exchanged a glance and shook their heads.

  Watching his granddaughters arguing, Mr. Chen did not scold them but instead listened quietly with a smile.

  Chen Shi Ba Niang let out a cold laugh and her eyes swept over her sisters.

  "Now I know why that girl doesn't like to talk," she said suddenly.

  The sisters looked at each other in dismay.

  "Because there are some people who just can't be communicated with. You only believe what you think, and don't trust what she says at all." Chen Shi Ba Niang said.

  The two sisters couldn't help but sit up straight.

  "What do you mean by this?" they said displeased.

  "She said she was ill and couldn't be cured, why don't you believe her, but instead make wild guesses." Chen Shiba Nang coldly said, "What is benevolence or not benevolence? That's not her benevolence, that's just your benevolence. Using your benevolence to restrain and mistreat her, what's the point!"

  The two women suddenly blushed and wanted to say something but ultimately said nothing.

  "Grandfather, if you and Madame Cheng hadn't met at the broken temple back then, and she had asked for your diagnosis at that time, would she have come to visit you from afar in Jiangnan when you fell ill this time?" Chen Shi-ba Niang said, looking at old Master Chen who was smiling on the side.

  As he saw his granddaughters looking over, Old Man Chen straightened up.

  "Of course," he said, taking a deep breath, "no."

  He spoke with a hint of mimicry, as if one could see the woman's manner and tone when speaking to him in person, just like she was responding to his inquiry about how things were before, saying something that made people laugh and cry at the same time.

  Seems ruthless, seems unfeeling, yet also seems just and upright.

  What is, is; no pretence, no deception, no cheating, no flattery.

  "Then Grandfather, would you resent her?" Chen Shi Ba Niang asked, thinking of this and hurriedly adding a sentence, "On the premise that she can save you."

  When it comes to others, you can't really put yourself in their shoes. What if this happened to you?

  The granddaughters all looked at Old Man Chen, Chen Dan Niang was still young, she didn't understand the argument between her sisters, but she understood the word "hate", and suddenly became tense, staring at Old Man Chen with wide eyes, unable to help herself from reaching out to grab his arm.

  "If it were me, I would first think, what significance does this resentment have for me?" Old Man Chen said, "Can I recover from this resentment?"

  "It's obviously impossible." Chen Shi Ba said.

  The other sisters also nodded in agreement.

  "So, complaining about others is easy but meaningless. Instead, think about why you encountered this situation. It's not because she didn't take care of me, but because I didn't follow her rules. It's not because she couldn't control me, but because I was sick myself and suffered the consequences. We must distinguish between cause and effect." Old Master Chen said with a smile, his eyes scanning over his granddaughters of different ages. "So, I hope you all will demand more from yourselves in what you do and how you treat others."

  "When things go wrong, one should always reflect on oneself; if one's own conduct is correct, the whole world will come to him." said Chen Shi-ba Niang.

  Mr. Chen nodded with a smile.

  "Even if you are daughters, not taking the imperial examination to serve the people and make a name for yourself in the world, but all of you will be someone's wife and someone's mother, cultivate your character and manage your household, assist your husband and teach your children." He said, "You must always remember, do not do things that are meaningless."

  The granddaughters busily paid their respects.

  "Thank you, Grandfather," they said in unison with respect.

  Mr. Chen nodded his head.

  "Besides, you just asked me, now I want to ask you." Old Master Chen thought of something and said with a smile, "If it were you, facing someone who offers 20,000 yuan for the treatment, would you treat or not?"

  Twenty thousand taels is not equal to twenty taels.

  The girls exchanged a glance.

  Twenty thousand strings of cash was enough for a middle-class family's daughter's dowry, but nowadays in the capital, the largest dowry for a woman is about one million strings of cash.

  Twenty thousand yuan, it's really hard to say that I'm not tempted.

  "So, apart from seeing the square and the benevolent heart, one must also see the unmoving. One must also observe the way of taking and giving." said Old Master Chen.

  The ladies curtsied again.

  "After you go back, copy 'Mengzi: Lilou Zhangju Shang' and 'Teng Wen Gong Xia' ten times each. I will have the teacher test your homework." he said.

  Ladies should be polite and courteous when taking their leave.

  Chen Shi Ba Niang fell back a few steps and when she reached the door, she suddenly stopped and turned around.

  "Grandpa." Her eyes sparkled and she lowered her voice, "What you just asked, is there a premise missing? Can this illness be cured?"