The next day, Ku Hui arrived at the marquis manor as promised and held Yu Xiang's wrist to meticulously take her pulse.
A quarter of an hour later, when the Old Madam saw that he had a pensive expression, the Old Madam asked in a slightly anxious manner, "Great Master, can Xianger's leg still be cured?"
Ku Hui did not answer. Instead, he bent down to take off Yu Xiang's embroidered shoes. However, his wrist was grabbed forcefully by Yu Pin Yan. Even though Ku Hui had been a Buddist monk since he was two years old, when confronted with his frigid gaze, he felt his mind tremble and he was chilled to the bone. He hurriedly explained, "Benefactor Yu, this poor monk[1] just wants to take a look at the wound of Benefactor Yu Xiang, so that it would help in diagnosis."
"No direct contact between men and women." Yu Pinyan admonished word for word.
Ku Hui smiled bitterly and said, "Benefactor Yu is deviating from the essence by clinging to the external consciousness[2], the poor monk could only see a patient in my eyes. There is no distinction between men and women. The most basic four methods of diagnosis are to look, smell, enquire and pulse diagnosis. One cannot be used without the other. If the Benefactor doesn't let the poor monk check the wound, I am afraid that the treatment for Benefactor Yu Xiang will be erroneous."
Yu Pin Yan furrowed his brow and slowly let go. Ku Hui took a quick look at his slightly red and swollen wrist, and could only shake his head and smile bitterly.
Although Yu Xiang had lived in the Han Dynasty for five years, she was a person from the modern era, and did not place much importance to having no direct contact between the opposite gender. When the two of them were arguing, she took off her embroidery shoes on her own accord, rolled up the bottom of her trousers, and tapped on her knee, "See, back then, a horizontal cut was made on my kneecap, and this is the scar."
The scar was very long, diagonally slashed and it actually cut both her legs in succession. Even though five years had passed, the gruesome scars still showed how bloody the scene was.
The Old Madam hung her head and wiped her tears, and Yu Pin Yan's face was grim. Yu Si Yu and Yu Miao Qi were so frightened that they turned their heads and dared not look again.
Ku Hui smiled faintly at Yu Xiang before squatting down to to examine the wound once more. He also massaged it with his fingers and pinched it, and tapped the kneecap with a small hammer.
When Yu Xiang saw this scene, she could not help but think to herself that this monk was quite professional.
After the examination, Ku Hui straightened up and sat at the table to write the prescription with a brush. Yu Pin Yan pulled down the bottom of his younger sister's trousers and put on her embroidered shoes, asking, "Master, is there still a cure for my sister's leg?"
Ku Hui replied without raising his head, "There is still a cure. Thanks to the five years you massage her legs with medicated oil that nourishes Jing[3] and invigorates the blood, preserving the meridians in the legs." After writing the prescription and handing it to Liu Lu, he appeared embarrassed, "This poor monk is 70% sure that she can be cured, but her legs need to be broken and reattached. I have developed a bone-healing cream, after two months of applying it along with acupuncture and moxibustion,Benefactor Yu Xiang may be able to stand up again."
"What? You even have to break her leg?" The Old Madam held her forehead and was on the verge of fainting.
Yu Pin Yan's expression turned extremely dark that water could be dripping from his face[4]. His eyes were like a boning knife, staring at Ku Hui as if it wanted to skin him alive. What kind of torture was it to forcibly break and reattach a leg? Even a strong and stout man with tough skin would not be able to withstand it, let alone Xiang'er who had been pampered and spoiled since she was young.
Yu Si Yu was so frightened that her face turned pale. She turned her head slightly sideways to find Yu Miao Qi was covering her mouth and laughing.
Ku Hui's scalp tingled as Yu Pin Yan stared at him. However, in order to treat the condition, he had to reiterate, "That's right. Both legs needs to be broken starting from the kneecaps and then reattached. As the principle behind the saying 'Without destruction, there can be no construction.[5] Precisely that, to break and then create[6].'"
Yu Xiang, as the person involved, had the calmest expression. Without a word, she took out a handkerchief from her sleeve pocket and folded it into a long strip and stuffed it into her mouth, then lifted her legs and placed them on the table, said in a muffled voice, "Come on, be quick, don't hit me once and then hit me second or third time without breaking it, or I'll get mad, flare-up and swear at you!"
Ku Hui never thought that a dainty and adorable girl would have the courage, insight and imposing attitude to do so. She had outshined her grandmother and Elder Brother. Although his heart was full of admiration, he could not stop laughing and waved his hand and said, "There is no need for that, Benefactor Yu Xiang. I have a medicine called 'Ma Fei San (anesthetic).[7]' After you drink it, you will fall into a deep sleep. When you wake up, the medicine will have been applied to your legs, so you don't have to endure the pain of a broken bone."
"Why didn't you tell me earlier that there was Ma Fei San!" Yu Xiang spat out his handkerchief, feeling greatly thankful.
Yu Pin Yan's heartstrings abruptly loosen and he placed his hands on his younger sister's shoulders and gave them a firm squeeze.
Ku Hui didn't know whether to cry or laugh. He handed the prescription to the maidservant and ordered her to boil it immediately. About two quarters of an hour later, Yu Xiang had fallen asleep with her head tilted, and the Old Madam stood and waited outside by the door with her two granddaughters.
Ku Hui cleansed his palms with strong alcohol, but he noticed that Yu Pin Yan also immersed his hands into the alcohol jar with an extremely frosty expression.
"Benefactor Yu, you are..." He had thought that as a relative, Commander Yu would never be able to lay a hand on her.
"I'll do it, you can just guide me from the side." It was a matter of his younger sister's life. Even though his heart was thumping wildly, his blood was flowing backwards, and even his fingertips were beginning to tremble, he would not leave his sister's safety in the hands of an outsider.
Ku Hui complied and retreated to the side, pointing to the location of the scar and said, "Break the bones from here. Remember that the more levelled the break, the better.."
Yu Pin Yan nodded his head. He secretly took a deep breath, and then he stretched his hands forward, kneaded and twisted it, only to hear two 'kacha' sounds. The bones were broken. Ku Hui immediately went forward to examine with his fingers. The fracture was neat and tidy, as if it had been cut by a sharp blade and it was an incredibly subtle strength and incisive technique.
"Good, very good. Now I will connect the bones that have grown misaligned in Benefactor Yu Xiang and apply the bone-healing cream, and she will be able to stand up in two or three months." Ku Hui quickly reattached the bones and then applied the blackish herbal paste to Yu Xiang's slightly red and swollen kneecap.
Yu Pinyan slowly walked out of the hall and exhaled a misty breath into the gloomy sky. His hands had been tainted with so much blood, yet this was the first time he was grateful that he was so skilled at killing techniques. At least he was able to minimize his sister's pain by doing it.
When the Old Madam saw him come out, she hastened to inquire, "How is it, are the bones connected?"
"It's connected." Not long after Yu Pin Yan finished his sentence, he felt his own kneecaps ache violently as well. It was not because of yesterday's kowtow, but because he felt the same pain as his sister. If he could, he would wish he could take her place on her behalf.
"Amitābha. With the blessing of the Buddha, Xiang'er will surely be healed, she has great fortunes!" The Old Madam kept praying to Buddha with her palms together.
After applying the medicine, Ku Hui agreed to come back in three days to change the medicine, and then left. Yu Xiang did not wake up until midnight, and when she opened her eyes, she saw her elder brother lying beside her, his eyes were slightly bloodshot.
"Elder Brother, you've been keeping watch over me all day?" Yu Xiang reached out to touch his cheek, but as the medicine wore off, her legs were in excruciating pain, causing her to wince.
Yu Pin Yan hurriedly held onto her cold fingertips, his tone was filled with anxiety, "What's wrong, Xiang'er? Is it starting to hurt? Wait, Great Master Ku Hui left a few pills to relieve the pain, I'll go get them now."
"Don't, let it hurt." Yu Xiang tugged his sleeve and forced a smile, "It's good that it hurts! It's been five years. It finally has a sensation again, and I want to experience it properly."
Yu Pin Yan's eyes revealed sorrowful and sympathy as he slowly lay back down beside her, wiping away the fine cold sweat on her forehead and rubbing her little head into his arms with a silent sigh.
Yu Xiang rubbed his warm chest fondly, then lifted her head and pointed to her pale lips, pleading in earnest, "If you kiss and hug me, I won't be in pain anymore."
Yu Pinyan's gaze deepened and darkened. Bit by bit, he slowly lowered his head. First, he moisten her dry lips with the tip of his tongue, then prying open her snow-white shellfish teeth, inch by inch, gently sucking ......
Yu Xiang was very dissatisfied with his meek movements, and her small hand held down the back of his head, desperately trying to suck the bodily fluid from his mouth, as if she wanted to swallow him whole. Yu Pin Yan was unable to resist her slick tongue and kept changing angles in response to her fierce rhythm.
After the kiss, Yu Pin Yan breathed heavily and asked, "Why are you desperately eating my saliva? Are you thirsty?"
Yu Xiang licked her scarlet lips with insatiable satisfaction and her tone was coquettish, "That's not saliva, it's my miracle medicine. Eating it can make me forget the pain for a while." She knitted her brows. She added after some thought, "At least it can make me forget about the pain for a quarter of an hour."
Yu Pin Yan couldn't help but stroke her little head into his arms and sighed, "Little girl, you're the only one with a lot of tricks. Does it really not hurt anymore?"
"It really doesn't hurt anymore." Yu Xiang wrapped her arms around his strong and thin waist and spoke gently.
A quarter of an hour later she began to squirm again, pouting her red lips and begging, "Kiss me now, I'm in pain."
Yu Pin Yan hurriedly lowered his head for a kiss, and only after a long time did he reluctantly part. After much repetition, Yu Xiang fell asleep amidst the excruciating pain. Her face was serene and beautiful, as if even the greatest suffering was nothing to her.
Yu Pin Yan gently stroked her hair and chuckled. This was his little girl, his little sweetheart, his little sapling, who could turn the bitterness of life into sweetness no matter how difficult the situation was, immersing herself and soothing others.
He reverently planted a kiss on her forehead and together they fell into a deep slumber.
-----------------------
After two months of removing the dried and caked herbal paste, Yu Xiang was able to walk a bit with the support of her arms.
"Practise more in the future, and you will slowly be able to walk. This poor monk will write a list of items to be exercised according to every day, you must not be lazy or greedy." Ku Hui exhorted earnestly as he held onto the brush and wrote.
Yu Xiang nodded his head, and Yu Pin Yan took the list and put it away carefully.
Since then, the Yu manor has been bustling with noise and excitement. Every day, one can hear the screams of pleasant surprise or shock from Tao Hong and Liu Lu. Every day, Yu Pin Yan took a shichen (two hours) to exercise with his sister, gradually developing from the initial two steps to about ten.
At the end of the year, Yu Pin Yan started to get busy and it was not uncommon for him to be away from home for days at a time. Yu Xiang took advantage of his absence and practised hard, thinking of surprising him.
Three days before the New Year, Emperor Cheng Kang finally announced that he would stop writing, and only then did Yu Pin Yan drag his fatigued body back. Tao Hong took the moment where he changed his clothes in his room to quickly run to her master's ear and whisper, "Miss, guess who I saw on the street today?"
"Who?" Yu Xiang moved forward step by step with a walking stick.
"I saw Second Young Miss and a man drinking tea on the first floor of Xiang Shui Pavilion. The man is very handsome and has a distinguished temperament, so he must be from a illustrious background."
"Man? Of illustrious background?" Yu Xiang pondered, guessing that this man must be one of the imperial princes. She wasn't just speculating, but judging it based on the plot. Although Yu Miao Qi was now in a miserable situation, she was after all the female lead and still had a bit of luck. However, the fourth, fifth and sixth princes were of similar age and were all very handsome, so she could not guess who he was without seeing them in person.
No matter who it was, he must have something in mind if he could deliberately associate with Yu Miao Qi at a time when she was notorious.