Chapter 90

Yuan Ling was born in the 70s. She is the youngest child in the family, with two older brothers and one older sister. In that era of food and clothing shortage, she did not suffer much because she was the youngest. Yuan Ling was also very hardworking when she was a teenager. After studying at a technical secondary school, she tried every means to learn Chinese medicine from a master. In her twenties, she established herself in a Chinese medicine hospital with her excellent medical skills.

She and Li Qingyao's father, Li Xizhou, met in the hospital. At that time, Li Xizhou was a young criminal policeman who had just started working. He was injured during a mission. After the Western medicine treatment, his family found a Chinese medicine doctor, Yuan Ling's master, to prescribe medicine for conditioning. After a few visits, Li Xizhou won the youngest and gentle apprentice of the old Chinese medicine doctor.

The two got married the following year and gave birth to Li Qingyao. Both of them were busy with work, and they were said to be open-minded parents, but in fact they did not pay much attention to Li Qingyao. However, whether it was the characteristics of their profession or their own personalities, they were very responsible, reasonable, and meticulous in their work. Yuan Ling was kind and Li Xizhou was resolute. In such a family environment, Li Qingyao was influenced by her surroundings and was very sensible and hardworking since she was a child. She always understood things better than her peers. Therefore, she was so open-minded, confident, and precocious in middle school. Because of this trait in their daughter, the couple also respected her very much, listened to her opinions on everything, and did not treat her completely as a child.

Therefore, Li Qingyao is now 24 years old, and the only period of her growth that was off track was the four years between the second semester of her senior year in high school and the second semester of her junior year in college. That was also the most painful time in Yuan Ling's heart. Every week, she would boil Chinese medicine and prescribe Western medicine for depression, and when she gave it to her daughter, Yuan Ling looked at her silent daughter, and her heart felt as if it was being cut out.

By the time she was a senior, Li Qingyao's condition had stabilized and she stopped taking medication. The pain in her heart seemed to have finally been healed. She passed all the psychological tests and depression diagnoses. She looked for a job, took the civil service exam, and used connections. She followed the rules with clear goals. She seemed to be more cheerful, positive, and sophisticated than before. She seemed to have returned to the bright and correct path of life.

As a result, after working in the provincial department that everyone envied for more than a year, Li Qingyao suddenly got herself transferred to the front-line criminal police team, the team where her brother had worked before his disappearance and where Chen Pu was currently leading. After she told her parents about this decision, Li's father was silent for a while and said, "Do whatever you want to do." Yuan Ling felt as if it was expected, and her heart, which had been uneasy before, was relieved instead.

Yuan Ling had a hunch that it would not be a bad thing for her daughter to go there, and maybe things would get better for her.

Because Chen Pu was there. Even though they hadn't seen each other for several years, Yuan Ling knew that Chen Pu would definitely protect her daughter, Li Jincheng's sister.

Therefore, when Yuan Ling and her apprentice Xiao Luo were sitting on the bench outside the orthopedic operating room and saw Li Qingyao and Chen Pu walking over from the other end of the corridor, she felt both surprised and expected it.

The emergency examination had been completed, and the orthopedic doctor would take another ten minutes to come and put a plaster cast on her, so the master and apprentice sat at the end of the empty corridor waiting.

Li Qingyao asked: "Mom, are you okay?"

Yuan Ling: "It's just a minor injury. I told you not to come." But her eyes fell on the person behind her. The old Chinese doctor, who was always calm and gentle, had tears in his eyes.

Li Qingyao felt bad when he saw his mother's reaction, and said, "When Dad called, I had just finished a mission with Chen Pu. When he found out, he wanted to come too."

Yuan Ling bit her lip.

Chen Pu, holding a handful of gifts, glanced at Yuan Ling, then lowered his eyes and called out, "Aunt Yuan." He wanted to say a few more words of concern, but his throat seemed to be blocked and he couldn't utter a single word.

Yuan Ling said softly, "Okay, okay, you're so busy at work, but you still come to see me. Really, what else are you talking about? You're just being picky."

Chen Pu smiled, his voice a little hoarse: "I'm happy to do that."

This sentence made all four of them laugh.

But Yuan Ling really wanted to take a good look at him, this good boy who studied and worked with her son. After seven years of not seeing him, he seemed to have grown taller. If Li Jincheng was still alive, he might not be as tall as Chen Pu now. He was also darker and thinner, with calm eyebrows and eyes, and the cold and stern temperament that only old criminal police could have. The muscles and bones of an adult man are strong, and he is no longer the flashy, cold-faced, sweet-hearted big boy.

If Jincheng were still alive, would he grow up to look similar to Chen Pu?
Noticing Yuan Ling's gaze, Chen Pu raised his head and smiled at her.

Yuan Ling's eyes suddenly turned red. Chen Pu felt bad too, and continued to stand there like a piece of wood, not speaking or moving.

Li Qingyao had squatted down beside Yuan Ling, gently holding up her injured foot. Although only two small bones were broken, a plaster cast would be enough, and no surgery was needed. But seeing the injury in person was still very scary. The instep was swollen as high as a steamed bun, blue and purple, and there were scratches and blood on the ankle.

Li Qingyao was angry but also wanted to laugh: "Tell me, how could a bone be broken just by going down the stairs?"

Yuan Ling said dejectedly: "I was holding an acupuncture bag in my hand and thinking about the treatment plan. I stepped on empty air and broke my instep."

"Do we need to remove the stairs in your clinic and install a spiral slide so that you don't have to lift your feet when walking, which will make it completely safer?"

"It's really hard to say." Chen Pu just wanted to laugh when he heard it, and he felt fresh. He used to think that Yuan Ling's words were law at home, and Li's father and Li Jincheng were honest in front of Yuan Ling. He didn't expect that the higher the virtue, the higher the devil, and Li Qingyao was so arrogant in front of her mother.

Chen Pu suddenly felt that the "oppression" he had suffered all along seemed to be nothing.

At this time, a nurse came over with a list and said, "Yuan Ling? Family members, please go and pay the fee and get the plaster and protective gear back."

Xiao Luo stood up and said, "I'll go."

Li Qingyao: "Let's go together. Chen Pu, you stay with my mom."

Chen Pu looked at her, her face was indifferent, and she still didn't look him in the eye. But he understood that this was to leave space for him to talk to Aunt Yuan.

In front of Yuan Ling, Chen Pu naturally had to give Li Qingyao enough face, and he couldn't let Yuan Ling see the cold war between them. He smiled and said, "I guarantee to complete the task!"

Li Qingyao glanced at him, then turned and left.

Yuan Ling saw all the interactions between the two. She remained calm and said to Chen Pu with a smile, "Chen Pu, come and sit down."

Chen Pu immediately sat down beside her, but kept a certain distance to avoid touching her injured leg. He looked down at her foot and said, "Aunt Yuan, you have to take care of it for two or three months. Don't get out of bed until the plaster is put on."

Yuan Ling said, "I know. I plan to lie on the bed in the clinic and take the patient's pulse and prescribe medicine."

Chen Pu was amused again and said, "You are really dedicated. I will learn from you."

Yuan Ling also laughed.

They were both silent for a while. Seven years had passed, and Li Jincheng was nowhere to be found. They wanted to chat like they did back then, as close friends of different ages, but they didn't know where to start.

Chen Pu suddenly stretched out his wrist and said, "Aunt Yuan, you haven't taken my pulse for a long time."

Yuan Ling smiled and put three fingers on his wrist, feeling it for a while, then asked him to stick out his tongue, asked about his current daily routine, and asked him if he had any discomfort.

Chen Pu said he didn't feel any discomfort, but he had heartburn when eating recently, got easily inflamed, had mouth ulcers, and had trouble sleeping.

Yuan Ling thought for a moment and came to a conclusion: "Overall, it's pretty good. You policemen have stronger physical foundations than most people. There are just two things that are a little lacking. One is... do you often stay up late?"

"Awesome, how did you figure that out?"

"The kidney energy is a little weaker than it was seven years ago. Young people of your generation love to stay up late, and once you stay up too much, your kidney pulse will be affected to some extent."

Chen Pu wanted to defend himself by saying that he stayed up late for work. But what was the point? No man wanted to talk about kidneys.

Seeing his slightly embarrassed look, Yuan Ling laughed and said, "Didn't I say before that your health is better than most people's? It's just that compared to me, this part is slightly damaged. In the future, try to stay up less late. Health is the most important thing."

Chen Pu nodded and said yes, then asked, "What about the second point?"

Yuan Ling looked in the direction where Li Qingyao left and raised her eyebrows. "Do you feel so much pressure as a criminal police officer? You have the same problem as Qingyao, liver qi stagnation, but your liver fire is much stronger than hers. Are most of the oral ulcers on the sides of your mouth? Be more open-minded about everything, there is still a long way to go. Emotions are the most hurtful, and even a strong body cannot withstand internal friction."

Chen Pu was silent because of what she said, but afraid that she would see through him, he lowered his head and said, "You are right."