Ch 183: Injured
Bai Suihe fell silent, experiencing more deeply that this was not the peaceful era she was used to; human life meant nothing at this moment.
Where the cart had just passed, bandits lay abandoned by the roadside. These people had fled, not even bothering to take their corpses with them.
“Don’t look,” Gu Kaichuan covered Bai Suihe’s eyes, quickly pulling the curtain closed, fearing it would frighten her. “You and Dongmei rest in the cart. I’ll go outside to check the situation.”
Bai Suihe nodded, quietly slipping him several silver notes. “If any brothers are injured, don’t be stingy.”
These men were injured because of them. They had heard that there were no deaths, but injuries were inevitable.
Gu Kaichuan took the notes, glanced at them, tucked them into his bosom, instructed Dongmei to take good care of Bai Suihe, and then went outside.
“Young Master,” Lin Wei and the others were already beside the cart.
“How are the Escort Agency and the brothers?”
“Thirteen men were injured, three seriously; the others sustained minor injuries.” Lin Wei’s arm had also been grazed by a cut, but it was just a scratch—insignificant.
“Let’s go, we’ll take a look…”
While Gu Kaichuan attended to the injured, providing comfort and compensation, the Gu family home was filled with weeping.
“Father, are you alright?” Gu Antong clenched her fists. Although Liu Yun’s cries irritated her, upon seeing Gu Kaiping awake, she immediately asked with concern.
“Hiss,” Gu Kaiping, upon waking, felt a sharp pain in his arm. The events that had transpired immediately caused his face to turn pale. He reached to touch his arm, which was bound with a cloth strip; he could still feel his hand.
“What happened to my hand?”
His right hand was injured. He truly feared he would no longer be able to write, that the Gu family would be finished.
“We don’t know. We only bandaged it simply; the bleeding stopped.” Gu Baijiang also looked worried. His face was ruined; if Kaiping’s hand was also damaged, it would take many years, or even be impossible, for the Gu family to regain its position at court.
“Who bandaged me?” Gu Kaiping was somewhat frightened. Could it have been Gu Kaichen, that young man?
At the time, he had boasted about his knowledge of medicine, but he hadn’t even been able to stop his mother’s bleeding. He didn’t want to end up like his mother.
“Daughter asked the constables for help,” Gu Antong quickly stepped forward, seeming to understand Gu Kaiping’s concerns.
The constables were dealing with the aftermath. They not only helped treat the wound but also provided wound medicine. She had simply gone to tell Gu Kaiping about his injury, and they’d taken care of it.
She now received Gu Kaiping’s relieved and grateful look.
“Still, Tong’er cares for her father. I wonder what the constables said?”
“Those constables don’t necessarily know medicine. They only applied some medicine to your wound and bandaged it, saying that they would need to wait until the rest stop or the next village to see if they could find a doctor.”
Gu Baijiang had glanced at it; it seemed to be only a superficial wound. However, his eldest daughter-in-law’s crying was quite irritating. He had said it, but she wouldn’t stop; his tone was also harsh.
Gu Kaiping, however, misunderstood this as meaning his injury was severe. He weakly lay back down, staring blankly at the ceiling.
“Father, you will be alright,” Gu Antong stated firmly. “Besides, it’s your left hand that’s injured; it won’t affect your writing.”
Gu Kaiping opened his eyes. That’s right, his hand was injured, but it wasn’t his right hand. What was wrong with him?
Gu Baijiang, “…It’s the right hand?” He hadn’t paid attention at the moment. When his son was injured, he felt the world was collapsing.
For them, this was undoubtedly wonderful news.
“Mother, don’t cry,” seeing her father and grandfather’s mood improve, Gu Antong quickly pulled at Liu Yun’s sleeve, reminding her, “Father needs rest now. This will help his wound heal.”
Liu Yun, seeing her husband awake, was not as sad. “…Just now, for a moment I thought…”
“Mother, let’s not talk negatively now,” Gu Antong was somewhat helpless. Her mother was truly scared silly; she couldn’t say such things at this time.
“Right, right, right. Mother won’t. Tong’er, go ask again when we will reach the rest stop.”
If this wound isn’t treated properly, it could be fatal. She didn’t want to become a widow.
……
Bai Suihe was also thinking about this problem. There was no penicillin in ancient times; knife wounds could be deadly.
“Are the wounds all treated? Did you bring enough medicine?”
Seeing the worry in Bai Suihe’s eyes, Gu Kaichuan patted her hand and said, “Don’t worry. There’s a doctor with the group; he’s already treated everyone and applied medicine.”
“If only we had penicillin…”
Bai Suihe had been interested in these things while studying and had specifically read books on the subject. She knew about the rudimentary method of making penicillin, but she had never tried it.
Thinking about this, she became even more anxious, carefully recalling whether her space contained any medicine.
That’s right, the medicine chest in the living room…there seemed to be some spare medicine, but she hadn’t checked it before.
Thinking this, she became restless. Gu Kaichuan noticed this unusual behavior. “Is something wrong?”
Bai Suihe, “No, I just suddenly remembered something. I wonder when we’ll stop to rest.” After all, the two maids were still in the cart; even a brief moment, she didn’t dare risk it.
“Soon. It’s already dark; we should stop to rest near this territory.”
If it weren’t for the two escort agencies, this trip would have been extremely disastrous.
Not only were everyone’s valuables looted, but many constables were seriously injured, barely escaping.
At that time, he had just lost Bai Suihe and his child, and his life was a blur. Later, when he encountered these bandits, his good brothers repeatedly pushed him forward to fight, and he reacted purely on instinct.
Fortunately, these were just a disorganized mob; he managed to win each time, but he also gained more scars.
He shook his head, dismissing these unpleasant memories. He really didn’t want to think about them again.
These bandits had their own territory. Further ahead was a cliff edge. There was no cover there, so the bandits didn’t care about that area.
Sure enough, as everyone rushed forward, they arrived at that open area, just as he remembered.
Cliffs were on both sides, with no trees on top. The bare wind blowing made one’s heart jump, afraid that a stronger gust would blow them over the edge.
“How can we rest here?” Liu Pingkang had just ordered the group to stop when someone immediately objected.
“If we can’t rest, then we keep going,” Liu Pingkang wouldn’t tolerate them. This was the worst group he’d ever led. In times of crisis, these people only knew to protect their wealth; even if they had the strength, they didn’t help.
