The Lucky Heiress

Translator: 549690339

“Yes.” Wei Jinyi’s reply was undoubtedly affirmative.

After some contemplation, Wei Ruo gave in.

Wei Ruo agreed, “Alright then, I will speak with them later. You can help as my

friend.”

“Okay.”

So, Wei Jinyi stayed. He changed into more convenient short clothes and busied himself by Wei Ruo’s side.

That evening, Wei Jinyi and Wei Ruo kept busy until almost midnight.

Today was New Year¹ s Eve, a time that should be filled with family joy, but tonight there was no heart for celebration in this small courtyard.

Wei Ruo stood in the yard, looking up at the bright moon in the sky, her thoughts a tangle.

Unmelted snow, disease coming again. This end of the year was filled with hardship, sorrow, and partings.

“What are you thinking about?” Wei Jinyi asked.

“Nothing much, just feeling a bit melancholy about this year. So many people

will die.”

Starvation, freezing, disease, each word representing countless lives.

“As is the nature of the world, the earth is indifferent to the struggles of its creatures. But the people of Taizhou prefecture are lucky. They have a dedicated magistrate, a compassionate Princess Jingmin, and you…” Wei Jinyi turned to look at Wei Ruo. Her petite figure housed a resilient spirit, her eyes filled with unyielding determination in the face of adversity, as well as mercy and compassion for the people.

“Second Brother, once you’ve accomplished what you wish to, you should study hard and work towards becoming a good official. That way, you can still do something for the people,” Wei Ruo said.

“I will,” replied Wei Jinyi, looking seriously at Wei Ruo.

A little while later, Wei Jinyi said to Wei Ruo, “You’ve been busy all day and you need rest now. Let me escort you back to your room.

“Second Brother, let’s stay up together to welcome the New Year,” Wei Ruo

said.

After all, it was New Year’s Eve, and Wei Ruo didn’t want to go to sleep yet. She wanted to be with someone when the new year arrives.

As Xiumei had been busy all day, Wei Ruo had ordered her to rest earlier. Now, only Wei Jinyi remained by her side.

“Alright,” Wei Jinyi agreed immediately, apparently willing to accompany her in anything she wished to do.

Because the courtyard outside was filled with piled-up snow, and the outdoor chill, Wei Ruo and Wei Jinyi moved to the room. They shifted the table to the front of the window, and opened the window.

There was a brazier nearby with tea boiling on top

Wei Ruo and Wei Jinyi sat side by side. Wei Ruo leaned against the window while Wei Jinyi sat next to her.

Perhaps due to the peculiar circumstances, Wei Jinyi did not refuse to sit next to Wei Ruo as he usually would have for fear of impropriety.

The rosy glow from the brazier coloured Wei Ruo’s face with a similar hue. The light seemed to flicker in her bright eyes and Wei Jinyi found himself enchanted as he watched her.

Unaware of Wei Jinyi’s gaze, Wei Ruo quietly watched the scene outside the window. The surroundings were so quiet that it felt as though one could hear the sound of time passing by.

In a daze, Wei Ruo remembered her past life, when she was alone in the big city for her studies.

Even during the festive seasons, she avoided returning home to escape her alcoholic and abusive father.

All her dorm mates had gone home, leaving her alone in the dormitory where she sat by the window, watching the sky outside as the countdown to the New

Year began.

In the years before, she had Meimei, nanny, uncle Xu and Brother Xiaoyong by her side. Their cheerful banter and laughter filled every moment, pushmg away the darker memories of her past life for a long time.

However, this year, these memories re-emerged for some reason. Perhaps it was because fewer people were around, or maybe it was because the year had been more difficult than the previous ones.

But upon reflection, things were still better now. After all, now she had a loved one by her side who cared for her, unlike the lonely years from before.

After a while, Wei Jinyi suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder.

He turned his head to find that Wei Ruo had fallen asleep, resting on his shoulder.

She must have been exhausted, yet for some reason, she insisted on staying awake to usher in the New Year with him.

A little while later, Wei Jinyi carefully lifted Wei Ruo and placed her on the bed. He removed her shoes and covered her with a blanket.

The flickering candlelight cast an enchanting glow on Wei Ruo’s face, leaving Wei Jinyi in a daze as he watched her.

After what seemed like a long while, he finally got up, blew out the candle, carefully closed the door of the room and left.

###

The next day, Wei Ruo woke up early, her mind still preoccupied.

The day had just dawned. Today was New Year’s Day, but Wei Ruo had to rush to see her patients from the day before.

Wei Ruo was up early, but Doctor Cheng was already up before her.

“Good morning, Doctor Cheng,” Wei Ruo greeted.

“Look, Master Xu, Chief Constable Xing’s fever has subsided!” Doctor Cheng’s voice was filled with excitement.

Wei Ruo immediately went over to examine him and confirmed that the fever was indeed gone.

“How do you feel now?” Wei Ruo asked Chief Constable Xing.

“My throat’s a bit sore, but my head doesn’t hurt anymore, and the body aches are mostly bearable,” replied Chief Constable Xing, his voice hoarse but strong, and he looked much better.

“I sweated a lot last night, soaked through my bedding. I just changed into dry bedding, and I’m feeling a lot better,” Chief Constable Xing added.

“This is excellent, excellent! A very good sign!” Doctor Cheng exclaimed excitedly.

This was the best improvement he had witnessed among patients with these symptoms so far.

Even if others didn’t lose their lives, their conditions didn’t improve as significantly as this and they were mostly still weak.

Then Doctor Cheng spoke again to Wei Ruo, “Master Xu, your methods work! The diagnosis of pneumonia is correct!

joy spread across Wei Ruo’s face; their method being effective was the most gratifying news.

“In that case, we should experiment on a few more patients today. Then, based on the different conditions and body constitutions of more patients, we could further explore and improve our prescriptions and the Acupuncture Technique,” Wei Ruo suggested.

“Alright, we’ll go by your suggestion!” Doctor Cheng approved of Wei Ruo’s idea.

Not long after Wei Ruo woke up, the other doctors also rose from their beds. They shared the same worry for their patients’ conditions, and thus had no heart to continue sleeping.

Madam Yuan specially sent over some glutinous rice balls as breakfast. It is a custom here to have glutinous rice balls for the first meal of the New Year’s Day, symbolising togetherness.

After a hurried breakfast, they started their new day of work.

Today they would try to treat more patients with the trial medicines and techniques. Their workload was even more than the day before.

This time, they selected patients with a wider age range, some as old as fifty. They specifically selected patients with a variety of symptoms in order to gain more comprehensive understanding of the disease and better improve their prescriptions.