Chapter Seven: Human Affection as Thin as Paper, Life’s Affairs Like Fleeting Clouds

"It has dragged on too long; there is no hope of recovery." The doctor shook his head, looking as if he were blaming the man for not seeking him out sooner.

"I dared not delay, sir," the burly man replied, his voice thick with tears. "I consulted several doctors and fed him over a dozen doses of medicinal decoction, yet he shows no sign of improvement."

"When it comes to typhoid, a doctor can treat the illness but not the destiny. Prepare for the funeral." Having said this, the doctor turned and prepared to leave.

Ye Xiu glanced into the room and saw the patient lying on the bed, coughing incessantly. Subconsciously, he asked, "Have you tried Houttuynia cordata?"

Upon hearing this, the doctor’s expression turned grim. He pulled a long face and scolded, "Are you questioning my medical expertise? Can Houttuynia cordata cure typhoid? I have never even heard of such a thing!"

"Houttuynia cordata certainly cannot cure typhoid, but it can treat pneumonia," Ye Xiu said with full confidence. Although he had never studied medicine, he could tell the difference between a common cold and pneumonia. While he wouldn't dare comment on other illnesses, he was an expert on pneumonia. In his previous life, he had grown up in the countryside and contracted pneumonia at the age of three. He had visited many large hospitals to no avail, only to be cured by a barefoot doctor in his village using Houttuynia cordata.

"Pneumonia? What kind of nonsense is that? You young man, you are truly spouting gibberish." The doctor flicked his sleeves angrily and stormed off.

Ye Xiu didn't mind, but the burly man was different. He stared fixedly at Ye Xiu with a menacing look, making Ye Xiu feel a chill run down his spine.

"Young man, are you certain that Houttuynia cordata can cure my father's illness?" After a long pause, the man finally spoke, as if grasping at a life-saving straw.

"Take three qian each of Houttuynia cordata, Magnolia bark, and Forsythia, grind them into powder, and combine them with one liang of Mulberry twigs. Boil it in water and take it three times a day—morning, noon, and night. Additionally, take two liang of fresh Houttuynia cordata, crush it into juice, mix it with high-proof spirits, and apply it to his entire body. Remember, if you want the fever to break quickly, do not fear the cost; you must use the strongest spirits available on the market—the stronger, the better."

Ye Xiu paused, feeling a bit guilty. "I am not a doctor; this is just a folk remedy I heard about. I don't know for sure if it will work. But since your father is already in this state, you might as well treat a dying horse as if it were still alive."

"As long as there is a method, it is worth a try." The man seemed to understand Ye Xiu’s concern. "Don't worry, young man; even if he doesn't survive, I will not blame you."

"Good!" Ye Xiu, fearing trouble if the treatment failed, was waiting for exactly these words. With his heart finally at ease, he picked up his soup bowl and made a quick escape.

Before he reached home, he saw his father dressed in his finest attire. Wearing a long gown and a square cap, he radiated a poetic air. He straightened his collar and carefully hung his prized jade pendant at his waist with elegant, refined movements. Ye Xiu was about to call out to his father to come home for lunch, but Ye Wuji headed in the opposite direction, walking with a graceful, scholarly gait.

Where was his father going, dressed so cleanly? After living together for these days, he had gained a deep understanding of this "cheap" father of his. On the surface, Ye Wuji appeared to be a bookish dandy who knew nothing and only lived off others. But that was merely a facade; the old man was quite calculating and held many secrets.

After placing the duck blood vermicelli on the table, Ye Xiu stepped out and followed Ye Wuji from a distance. The old man left Wulong Lane and headed straight for the Confucius Temple, arriving at Laomen East. This area was in the south of the city, home to Jinling officials and wealthy merchants. It was where the prominent families resided, a hub of culture and prestige.

Arriving at the first mansion, Ye Wuji took a deep breath and knocked on the door knocker. Soon, a gatekeeper emerged. After a brief conversation, the door was shut, turning him away. Because he was too far away, Ye Xiu could not hear what they said. Ye Wuji shook his head in disappointment and walked toward the second house. Though he was invited in, he soon emerged with a look of utter dejection.

Over the next while, Ye Wuji visited a dozen houses, only to be turned away each time as expected. Standing listlessly before the Confucius Temple, Ye Wuji looked utterly defeated. Watching from afar, Ye Xiu felt a pang of sympathy. Just as he was about to step forward to comfort him, Ye Wuji suddenly burst into laughter and headed excitedly toward a residence not far to the west of the temple.

Ye Xiu looked up and saw the sign "Professor's Residence." Drawing on the memories of his predecessor, Ye Xiu realized this was the home of Wang Yuanhui, a professor at the Jinling Prefecture Office. When the Ye family was still prosperous, Wang Yuanhui had been a frequent guest. Ye Xiu’s courtesy name, You'an, had been given to him by the old professor himself. In ancient times, a local school head was called a 'jiaoyu,' while a county-level official was an 'xuezheng.' A 'professor' was equivalent to a city-level director of education, a position of real power.

This time, Ye Wuji stayed at the professor's house for a long while, and when he left, Wang Yuanhui even saw him off personally. Although Ye Wuji was smiling when he left, his eyes held a sense of helplessness. Ye Xiu understood why his father had been acting this way: it all boiled down to the word "enrollment." Reinstating his eligibility for the examinations did not seem to be going smoothly.

Taking a shortcut home, Ye Xiu prepared three dishes and a soup, and even warmed a pot of wine for his father. He set the table and waited at the door. They had returned together, so why hadn't his father arrived? A moment later, he saw Ye Wuji. "Father, where have you been? If you hadn't returned, I would have gone to the prefecture office to report it."

"I was just taking care of my enrollment. As luck would have it, I ran into a few classmates who insisted on taking me to the Qinhuai River for an outing, which made me late." Ye Wuji lied with such solemnity that he almost believed it himself. Under Ye Xiu's urging, he washed his hands and face and sat at the table.

"My son, have you found a way to make money?" Looking at the three dishes and soup, Ye Wuji was shocked. "Actually, one dish would have been enough for the two of us; this is too extravagant."

"I found a job at the Yuquan Bookstore; they pay immediately." Ye Xiu knew that acting was hard work and began to pour wine for his father. After a few cups, Ye Wuji became intoxicated. Ye Xiu helped him, stumbling, to his bed.

No sooner had Ye Wuji lain down than his tongue loosened. "Yukang, my dear friend, when your father passed the imperial examinations, he spent ten years as a reserve. It was my father who intervened, and only then did your father get the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works. Now that our family has fallen on hard times, you refuse to help at all?"

"Song Dachuan, that position of warehouse clerk you hold at the prefecture office—I was the one who pulled strings for you. You got a lucrative post without spending a single penny... Is it so hard for you to put in a word for me at the Jinling Academy?"

"And you, Feng Sidao, when your father passed away and you had no money for the funeral, who was it that helped you bury your old father? Now that you're successful, you don't even recognize your brother and won't even let me through your door?"

"The most infuriating one is you, Wang Yuanhui. You were just a local village tutor; it was my father who allowed you to be promoted to a prefecture professor in just one year, and helped you make connections to enter the Imperial Academy... Can't you just say one word to grant me back my eligibility for the exams? Yet how do you repay our family? You actually hinted that I should bribe you?"

"Indeed, human affection is as thin as paper, and the world is like fleeting clouds. When you have money and wine, you have many brothers, but in times of trouble, who has ever seen even one?"

After this drunken rambling, Ye Wuji finally fell into a deep sleep. Ye Xiu finally understood his father's bitterness. Once surrounded by friends, he was now a lonely soul. No one could accept such a change overnight. Sighing, Ye Xiu removed Ye Wuji's boots and outer robe, covered him with a quilt, and carefully closed the door.

Ye Wuji suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze flickering. *My son, I was only using the wine to vent the grievances in my heart; please don't take it to heart. I will find another way to handle the enrollment issue.*

Standing in the courtyard, Ye Xiu pondered his father's words. The enrollment issue was not unsolvable. Wang Yuanhui’s open solicitation of bribes meant the matter could be handled; he just needed to satisfy the man's demands. At this thought, Ye Xiu gritted his teeth: *Just wait, all of you. For bullying my father, I will make you pay it back a hundred, a thousand times over.*