20demayo Chapter 971 No. 3
Chapter 971 No. 3
At this moment, Zhang Lao Er's hearing was exceptionally sharp, and his back and legs no longer ached. He grabbed the table and stood up, anxiously and nervously asking, "Who won? Was it the young master or the cousin?"
At this moment, everyone else also looked over, their eyes filled with anticipation.
The servant, catching his breath while supporting his knees, excitedly shouted, "Young Master! The young master has won! The young master has won third place! The messenger has already set off and should arrive soon. Our household must quickly prepare to welcome the guest!"
After a pause, the servant continued, his voice not as loud as before: "However, Young Master didn't pass!"
Upon hearing the result, Zhang Ping'an couldn't help but smile with satisfaction. He nodded to himself, pleased with the ranking, as both results were within his expectations.
My son really didn't boast. This time he really proved himself and made the family proud.
He knew that his colleagues, though they didn't say anything to his face and even joked that he would come to the banquet after his son passed the imperial examination, were actually keeping a close eye on the results of this examination.
After all, Xiaoyuer has been famous since childhood. If he fails to make the list this time, it will be a slap in the face, showing that he is not worthy of the title. He will probably be too embarrassed to be too flamboyant in the young circles of these aristocratic families in the future.
Now that he has come in third place, and with him backing him up, he will at least be a second-class Jinshi in the palace examination, and his future is promising!
He passed the imperial examinations smoothly from Xiucai to Jinshi, achieved good results, and was so young—a remarkable achievement in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty.
Zhuzhu was genuinely happy for her cousin. The more powerful her uncle's family was, the more confident she would be in her husband's family. "Xiaoyuer is really amazing. No wonder he was personally trained by my uncle. It seems that we will soon have double happiness in our household!"
Hearing this, Zhang Ping'an was pleased, but he still modestly waved his hand and said, "It's mainly because your cousin is talented and hardworking. My guidance only accounts for one or two tenths of the success. The rest is mostly due to his own efforts. But judging from this, his future will definitely not be worse than mine!"
Zhuzhu covered her face with her handkerchief and smiled without saying a word. Her mother said that when her younger brother passed the imperial examination, the villagers complimented her grandparents, and that was how they responded. The answer was still the same now.
Xu was old, and in her great joy she was momentarily stunned, unable to react for a long time. She even swayed slightly, as if she couldn't stand up.
Fortunately, Zhang Ping'an was keeping a close eye on the elderly couple. When he saw that something was wrong, he quickly helped them sit down and pinched their philtrum. "Mom, please don't get agitated. Here, have some ginseng tea to calm down!"
Then he instructed his servants to summon the doctor who had been invited from the manor to come and take a look.
Zhuzhu was startled when she saw this, and quickly sat down and took Xu's hand, "Grandma, what's wrong with you? Please don't scare us!"
After pinching her philtrum and drinking half a cup of ginseng tea, Xu's eyes, which had been rolling upwards, slowly returned to normal.
Then he burst into laughter, slapping his thighs uncontrollably, repeatedly saying, "Hahaha, my grandson won! He won third place! My grandson won third place! Hahaha, Heaven has opened its eyes! Our ancestral graves are emitting auspicious smoke again! I knew I was carrying a child of the God of Literature, and the child born of the God of Literature is also a child of the God of Literature! Heaven, you have been kind to me! Heaven has opened its eyes! Thank you to all my ancestors in the underworld for protecting me!"
Seeing his mother's seemingly erratic and delirious state, Zhang Ping'an knew she was extremely excited. His mind raced, and he immediately pointed to the door and said, "Mother, the messenger is coming to announce the good news. You still need to go out and give the messenger money!"
This was all to attract Xu's attention.
"Give a wedding gift? Oh, right, right, we also have to give the messenger a wedding gift. We can't be impolite, or people will laugh at us. Come on, help me up."
After Xu finished speaking, she stood up shakily with the help of Zhang Ping'an and Zhuzhu. She turned her head to look around, full of energy, as if she were energized.
"Where are the servants? Quickly, send the servant who's combing my hair over here to comb it again. I have to receive guests later!"
Seeing that his mother's eyes were slowly regaining their clarity, Zhang Ping'an breathed a sigh of relief and beckoned the servants to come and serve her.
Just as he was about to slowly go out to greet the guests, Zhang Lao Er collapsed with a thud just after Xu Shi had settled in.
"father!"
"Old man!"
"Grandpa!"
Everyone was shocked. A quick-witted servant rushed forward to help him up. When Zhang Ping'an and the others went over to take a look, they found that Zhang Lao Er's face was twitching and his limbs were unresponsive. He was showing signs of a stroke.
Ignoring what was happening outside, Zhang Ping'an quickly instructed his servants to lay Zhang Lao Er down flat, place a pillow under his head, and loosen his collar and belt to ensure his airway was clear. Once Zhang Lao Er's complexion had calmed down slightly, Zhang Ping'an took out the Zixue Powder he had prepared earlier from his pocket, pried open his jaw with his index finger, and fed it to Zhang Lao Er little by little.
Zixue Powder is a secret medicine in the palace, made from various precious medicinal materials. It is priceless and is used to save lives in critical situations. The one Zhang Ping'an is using was a gift from Zhou Ziming, and it is becoming increasingly rare.
However, the effect was indeed good; after taking the medicine, Zhang Lao Er's twitching was noticeably less severe.
A short while later, the doctor arrived.
In ancient times, stroke was often regarded as a critical condition caused by internal liver wind and upward reversal of qi and blood. If acupuncture could be used for emergency treatment to calm the liver and extinguish wind, unblock the meridians and stop spasms, and release blood to clear heat, the problem would not be too serious.
"Doctor, you've come at the right time! Please take a look at my father. He's probably too excited; his face is twitching uncontrollably, it looks like he might be having a stroke!"
The doctor was someone Zhang Ping'an had hired and kept at his residence several days ago, just in case the old couple got excited and something unexpected happened. He also prepared the Purple Snow Powder, and it turned out they actually had to use it!
Seeing the urgency of the situation, the doctor didn't have time to speak. He immediately placed two fingers on Zhang Lao Er's wrist to take his pulse, and after examining his eyelids and tongue, he had a good idea of what was going on.
Have you taken any medication?
"I've used Zixue Powder."
The doctor sighed inwardly at the waste, thinking it was a terrible squandering of resources. However, knowing that wealthy people didn't care about such things, he said nothing, opened his medicine box, and began to administer acupuncture.
About fifteen minutes later, Zhang Lao Er's condition stabilized, his face stopped twitching, and his breathing became calm.
Only then did the doctor exhale a long breath, his strength finally dissipating. He then took out a handkerchief, wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, and began to describe Zhang Lao Er's condition:
“Master Zhang, the old master’s condition has improved, but he must not get agitated, otherwise there is a risk of hemiplegia or stroke. Please have the servants bring a plank bed and carry the old master to his room so that he can rest properly! Do not move him. Today is the most critical day. If there are no accidents, he will be able to return to normal tomorrow.”
Zhang Ping'an secretly breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, and then instructed his servants, "Go quickly and do as the doctor says!"
Then she asked the doctor about the follow-up situation, "Doctor, does that mean my father's speech, eating, and mobility are not affected? Does he need more acupuncture to stabilize his condition?"
The doctor nodded: "This is necessary. After all, the old man is so old, and we can't be careless about his health. I'll make a list of the specifics later."
"Thank you for your help, doctor!"
"Master Zhang, you're too kind. The old master was just excited. His health is actually quite good. But with such outstanding children and grandchildren, anyone would be excited too! We haven't even congratulated your son on passing the imperial examination yet!"
"Thank you very much. I will have my servants send you an invitation to the banquet when it is held," Zhang Ping'an said with a smile.
The doctor was overjoyed upon hearing this and gave a detailed explanation of the precautions, showing great concern.
After the plank bed was brought over, Zhang Lao Er was moved onto it. But then he tried to raise his hand and looked in Zhang Ping An's direction, as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't squeeze out a complete sentence. He was sweating profusely with anxiety.
The doctor quickly advised, "Sir, you can say whatever you want tomorrow. You absolutely mustn't get agitated today!"
Xu was extremely anxious. She had been feeling dizzy from her joy and was startled when Zhang Lao Er suddenly fell to the ground, causing a throbbing pain in her temples.
Hearing the doctor say that everything was alright, he relaxed a little and slumped onto the stool, panting. But when he saw that Zhang Lao Er was about to speak, he became anxious again: "Old man, today is a big day for our precious grandson. You mustn't let anything go wrong. Take good care of yourself and listen to the doctor, okay?!"
Zhang Ping'an and Zhang Lao Er had a deep bond; the father and son had rarely been apart for decades. Seeing Zhang Lao Er in such a hurry, he thought for a moment and knew why.
So he patiently squatted down and asked tentatively, "Dad, are you worried that Xiaoyuer won't see you when he comes back, and you're anxious?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Lao Er's eyes welled up with tears, and he nodded vigorously. Although he exerted all his strength, to outsiders it appeared that he had only moved slightly.
He then continued to stare at his son, his lips moving slightly.
"Dad, I understand. You don't want Xiaoyuer to know you're sick again, and you want us not to tell him, right?"
Zhang Lao Er nodded again, a look of satisfaction in his eyes.
"Don't worry, I've got everything covered. I won't let Xiaoyuer worry. Also, I remember that you'll set off firecrackers and offer sacrifices to your ancestors tonight after passing the imperial examination. I've prepared plenty of celebratory money. Don't worry about entertaining guests either, everything is ready. No one will complain. Just go back to your room and rest. I'll come see you later!"
At this point, Zhang Lao Er finally relaxed, stopped struggling, and lay down on the wooden bed, letting the servants carry him back to his room, with a hint of regret in his eyes.
Zhang Ping'an knew that it was a pity that he couldn't personally witness the lively scene of congratulations from all directions for his grandson's success in the imperial examination. However, there was still the palace examination to come, which could be made up for later. The most important thing was to recover his health first.
By this time, Madam Xu had fully recovered. She sighed softly, feeling sorry for Zhang Lao Er, "This old man, unfortunately, his health is failing him now. He came once when you passed the imperial examination, and now he's coming a second time. It's a pity his health isn't what it used to be!"