Chapter 36: Acclimated
"The child is still young. Take good care of him and he will be fine after a while." Zeng said, and then added, "If he is severely frightened, ask the monks to perform a ritual for him at home to calm his shock."
"That's what my aunt said." Her expression was extremely respectful.
Later, Zeng's attitude towards Song Boqing became much colder.
After Mr. Chu Ge's rituals were completed, the funeral procession set off for Yi'an in the south of the Yangtze River.
From Beijing to Yi'an, it takes more than a month by land and more than 20 days by water.
The funeral procession traveled overland for three days and changed into a boat in Lianghuaicheng.
After walking on the water for half a month, Xia Zihan arrived at Yunzhou and landed. After riding the boat for half a month, Xia Zihan changed to a carriage.
After getting on the carriage, Mrs. Zeng told Xia Zihan distressedly, "You go to sleep first, we will arrive in Yi'an in five days."
Five days of land travel, even if we take the official road, will be uncomfortable.
On the second day, Xia Zihan began to feel uncomfortable.
His face was pale, he felt palpitation, chest tightness, vomiting and diarrhea. In one day, he lost a lot of weight, which frightened Mrs. Zeng.
When passing the next town, the funeral procession was forced to stop, and Mrs. Zeng ordered her servants to call for a doctor.
"The little girl is weak and unaccustomed to the acclimatization. She is not suitable for traveling for the time being." The old doctor checked his pulse.
"How long will it take to recuperate?" Zeng asked.
"Half a month." The old doctor said.
Half a month?
What should I do? There is no need to delay the funeral procession. The date of the old man's burial has been calculated by the Palace Supervisor, and there is exactly half a month left.
But Yu Niang is not acclimated to the local environment and cannot rush. Seeing that she is like this, if she continues on her way, I am afraid that her life will be lost before she reaches Yi'an.
The old man's funeral was important, but Yu Niang's body and bones were even more important.
What can we do?
Zeng was in a dilemma and didn't know what to do for a while. Seeing that Mrs. Zeng had run out of ideas, Xia Shiming helped come up with an idea and said, "Mother-in-law, why don't the funeral procession go ahead and leave a few people on Yuniang's side to take care of her, and wait for Yuniang to recover better before rushing in?" In the past, it was like this, taking care of both ends without delaying either end.”
It seems that this is the only way at present.
This town is still three days away from Yi'an. Yu Niang's body and bones have been resting for ten or eight days, and she will be almost healed.
All she had to do was get there before the old man's funeral.
Zeng nodded and agreed to Xia Shiming's proposal.
Song Baiqing suggested that Xia Shiming stay and take care of Xia Zihan.
"On Yi'an's side, I'll be fine, but on Chu Yu's side, I have to leave a reliable person to take care of him," he said.
Zeng did not agree.
"There are still a lot of things to do for the old man's funeral. I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it all by yourself. Shiming is the only son-in-law of the Chu family. He is indispensable in Yi'an to take care of things."
It means to pull Xia Shiming away.
Song Baiqing's face suddenly became gloomy.
Along the way, he felt Zeng's indifference towards him. When she had something to discuss, she would only discuss things with Xia Shiming and put him aside. She would often ask Xia Shiming to accompany her and Xia Zihan to have meals together.
He saw all this and was anxious in his heart, but he couldn't compete with Xia Shiming for favor. After all, his son-in-law was closer than his nephew.
If Zeng wanted to promote Xia Shiming, he could only look jealous and couldn't stop him.
"Let's rest here for the night." Zeng said, "We will set off tomorrow when Yu Niang feels better."
"Everything depends on my mother-in-law." Xia Shiming said respectfully.
(End of chapter)