The Prime Minister’s Darling - Chapter 1438

Chapter 1438: 703 Sister Control (First Update) Chapter 1438: 703 Sister Control (First Update) Gu Yan’s surgery had ended, and the tubes in his body were removed, but he could not immediately endure the strains of travel, so the National Master advised him to rest at Qilin Palace for a few days.

Gu Jiao did not refuse.

Ya He arranged a comfortable and spacious room for them with two beds to facilitate Gu Jiao’s care for her brother. There were also two maids stationed outside the door, ready to attend to their commands at any moment.

Gu Yan paid the price for waking up with such a gasp, so Gu Jiao called for Elderly Mr. Meng to take care of him.

Gu Yan wore a pitiful expression, not wanting the old man, but instead wanting his sister.

Gu Jiao went to simmer millet porridge for Gu Yan.

It had been six hours since the surgery, and the anesthetic in Gu Yan’s body had almost completely metabolized. There was no concern of significant negative reactions in the digestive tract, so he could eat a little liquid food.

There was a small kitchen in Qilin Palace for the exclusive use of the National Master, which was generally off-limits to outsiders, but Gu Jiao was an exception as the National Master had specially instructed before leaving.

The two maids initially wanted to take on the task, but Gu Jiao said it was unnecessary.

When Ya He arrived, what he saw was Gu Jiao busily moving about in front of the stove, which for some reason made him pause for a moment.

This young man’s demeanor felt somewhat unfamiliar to him. Although they hadn’t met many times, Ya He perceived from the youth a very cold and distant side.

He seemed easy to approach, yet in his bones exuded a proud and unyielding air.

It was hard for him to connect the rebellious young man from his memory with the person before him now, who seemed to wear a layer of tender warmth, faint but genuinely present.

“Xiao… Young Master?” He tentatively called out, almost doubting that he had recognized the wrong person.

The faint warmth in Gu Jiao’s brows disappeared in an instant, and she resumed the manner that Ya He remembered.

Ya He was taken aback and then smiled, “Xiao Young Master, the National Master sent me to check if you need anything here.”

“No, everything is fine,” Gu Jiao said, “Aren’t you all sleeping.”

It was quite late into the night.

Yes, it was late into the night, yet the National Master was still thinking about the two of them. Elderly Mr. Meng certainly had significant influence.

“The National Master sleeps late,” Ya He said.

“Oh,” Gu Jiao continued to cook the porridge.

Ya He suggested, “Xiao Young Master, you can leave these tasks to the servants. If they can’t do it, you can also order them to go out and buy it.”

“No need,” Gu Jiao politely declined.

Someone had just undergone surgery and was feeling wronged. Food made by others wouldn’t suit his taste.

Gu Jiao said, “You go rest; I’m almost done here.”

Ya He agreed, “Alright, call me at any time if you need anything, Xiao Young Master.”

Gu Jiao nodded.

Ya He turned to leave.

As he stepped over the threshold, he subconsciously paused, looking back at Gu Jiao.

He had long learned from Miao Ruoxin that the other party was a foreigner, yet for some reason, Ya He felt that being treated with kindness by the youth was a fortunate and happy thing.

After preparing the millet porridge, Gu Jiao came to Gu Yan’s resting chamber, which was located opposite the room where Elderly Mr. Meng rested during the day, making it convenient for the old healer to take care of him.

Although Gu Yan had slept throughout the day, having just undergone major surgery, he was extremely weak and still felt somewhat sleepy. However, without Gu Jiao, he couldn’t fall asleep.

Gu Jiao brought in the prepared millet porridge and asked Elderly Mr. Meng to go back to his room to rest.

Sitting beside the bed, Gu Jiao looked at Gu Yan lying flat on the bedchamber and asked, “Are you feeling discomfort anywhere?”

“A bit of pain,” Gu Yan said.

“Where does it hurt?” Gu Jiao asked.

“The wound,” Gu Yan replied, lifting his left hand to touch his chest. As he felt around, he froze.

Huh?

Where was his wound?

With a slight bend of her lips, Gu Jiao watched him search for the wound on his body with a composed demeanor.

Gu Yan was confused, “Where’s my wound? Did I have a fake surgery?”

With a chuckle, Gu Jiao pointed to his right armpit, “Here.”

Gu Yan suddenly understood, “No wonder I felt some pain here.”

But wasn’t he supposed to have his chest cut open? How did it end up on the right side? After all, the heart is not on the right.

He was feeling weak and unable to talk much at the moment.

Yet, there was a certain tacit understanding between the twins.

Instead of taking advantage of his lack of medical knowledge to give him a quick brush-off, Gu Jiao explained in detail the structure of the ventricle. The left ventricle could not be damaged at will; cutting it open would affect the heart’s function. The right ventricle was more like a storage bag, lacking strong contractile power, so entering through it was relatively safe.

Moreover, during the surgery, Gu Yan’s heart would stop beating, requiring intubation for extracorporeal circulation. The tubes would be inserted into the aorta, the superior vena cava, and the inferior vena cava.

These positions are more prominently exposed when the right chest cavity is opened.

“Oh.”

Gu Yan fell asleep as he listened.

Gu Jiao: “…”

Gu Yan held Gu Jiao’s hand, and Old Master Meng had guarded this place for half the night. Gu Yan always refused to and was unable to sleep, but as long as Gu Jiao was there, it seemed there was nothing he couldn’t sleep through.

Her presence by his side was the greatest reassurance.

Gu Jiao disliked wasting food, so she finished the bowl of millet porridge herself.

Gu Yan kept holding her hand, and she held his as well.

She leaned on the head of the bed and fell asleep.

Moonlight poured in, casting a pure brilliance on the floor.

The National Master arrived at the doorway and looked in through the slightly ajar door, only to see Gu Yan lying on the bed with Gu Jiao sitting on the stool by the bed, her upper body leaning beside Gu Yan.

They held each other’s hand, forehead to forehead.

Under the cold, thin moonlight, they resembled a pair of angels who have folded their wings for each other.

…

Gu Yan rested at the National Master Hall for three days, during the first two of which he experienced a slight fever. Gu Jiao was vigilant for any postoperative complications, but miraculously the fever subsided on the third day.

And Gu Yan was able to get out of bed.

Gu Jiao first supported him as he took a few steps around the room.

He was like a child who could not wait, eager to go out and wander.

Thus, Gu Jiao helped him to the hallway.

“I, I, I… I can walk.”

He truly could walk.

After Gu Jiao let go, he took steps by himself, slowly and steadily walking from the east end of the hallway to the west, and back from west to east.

Despite the pain still in his chest, it was a kind of hopeful pain; it hurt, but he would recover from it.

“Let’s stop here for today,” Gu Jiao said to Gu Yan.

“I still want to walk a little more,” Gu Yan said.

In the past sixteen years, he lived with the torment of heart disease every day. Even though it was less painful after he started taking the medicine Gu Jiao provided, he was still not like normal people.

Only today did he truly experience what a normal person’s breathing and heartbeat felt like.

He looked at his hands with surprise, “Being a normal person is really nice.”

Gu Jiao said, “You’re not yet a normal person. When your wound has fully healed and the pain has completely gone, it will feel even better than now.”

Gu Yan’s eyes shone brightly.

He really looked forward to that day’s arrival.

Gu Jiao stayed with Gu Yan at the National Master Hall for a total of five days, only bidding farewell to the National Master once they were certain Gu Yan could sit in a carriage.

The National Master only appeared on the day of Gu Yan’s surgery; thereafter, it was always Ya He who came to attend to them. The National Master Hall’s eldest disciple, Ye Qing, also visited them several times.

But now that they were leaving, regardless of whether the National Master came by himself, Gu Jiao still needed to say goodbye.

The National Master was playing chess with Old Master Meng in a small bamboo hut in the bamboo forest.

The National Master’s knowledge spanned from astronomy to geography; he was well-learned in both history and contemporary affairs and his chess skills were nothing short of transcendent.

The two had been playing for two hours, and yet there was still no victor.

“What did Lord An Guo want the other day when he came to you?”

Old Master Meng asked.

The National Master placed a black piece, “You never used to inquire about the affairs of noble families. Did the girl tell you to ask?”

Old Master Meng said, “No, she didn’t.”

The National Master seriously continued the game, “Then it must be that the girl asked you.”

Old Master Meng choked, “Just give me an answer, will you talk or not?”

Before the National Master could open his mouth, a disciple’s voice rang from outside, “National Master, Young Master Xiao has come.”

The National Master reluctantly set down the chess piece, “Alas, it’s not that I refuse to speak.”

Old Master Meng, “…”

Gu Jiao came to the bamboo hut to bid farewell to the National Master.

“I’ll go check on Gu Yan first,” Old Master Meng set down the white piece in his hand and rose to leave.

Now alone with the National Master, Gu Jiao was left in the hut.

It was actually in these past few days of inquiries with Ya He that Gu Jiao learned that the National Master was just over fifty years old. But he had more white hair than Old Master Meng, which showed that worries truly could hasten the greying of hair.

“Thank you for everything this time, National Master,” Gu Jiao said. “As for the consultation fee, I will…”

The National Master raised his hand to stop her, saying, “There’s no need for the consultation fee. My National Master Hall does not lack these few silvers. If you need to use the operating room in the future, just come over.”

Gu Jiao: “Oh, then, I shall take my leave?”

The National Master stopped her, gazing at her deeply with a profound gaze, and said in a meaningful tone, “Little girl, don’t you have any insights about this surgery?”

“Insights?” Gu Jiao touched her chin, thought hard for a moment, and said, “Am I really incredible?”

The National Master: “…”