"My mother is ill, and I have searched all over Luoyang and Chang'an without finding a doctor who can cure her. I am already deeply indebted to Anmin for his care, and now, for my mother's sake, I can only ask Anmin to help me one more time to save her." Xu Shu noticed Lu Ming's tone was becoming somewhat unfriendly and changed his tone accordingly.
He knew that if he continued with the polite formalities, the other party would probably send him away.
He didn't actually want to get too close to him; after all, he was a fugitive knight-errant, and there was nothing he could gain from it.
"That's alright. Yuanzhi, go and bring your mother here. She can stay with me for now, and I will treat and recuperate her. There's no need to worry; a friend's business is my business." Lu Ming's eyes lit up. This was a good thing; Xu Shu had practically delivered himself to him.
As a filial son, being able to defect from Liu Bei to Cao Cao because his mother was threatened, even if he never offered a single plan for the rest of his life, meant that Cao Cao had already achieved his goal.
Weakening the opponent was the goal; whether he could actually use it was secondary.
"Thank you, Anmin. I won't thank you enough. If you ever need my help again, please don't hesitate to ask," Xu Shu said solemnly, clasping his hands in a fist salute. He stood up and bowed deeply to Lu Ming.
As a filial son, the fact that his mother could be cured was the best news and report he could receive.
Although the Han Dynasty was already teetering on the brink of collapse, for hundreds of years it had governed the country with filial piety as its core principle.
Even those who wanted to enter officialdom had to be recommended for their filial piety and integrity to gain a path to advancement.
A filial person was unlikely to be a bad person; that was probably the prevailing notion.
While waiting, Lu Ming took a bath.
He wasn't used to using a bathtub, so he made a shower himself.
He placed a large wooden tub on a shelf and created a movable baffle that could be controlled to open and close.
Standing underneath, one could enjoy the pleasure of showering, much faster and simpler than using a bathtub.
His strong body didn't need hot water; a cold shower was no problem for him.
After showering, he returned to his room and saw Wang Lang's wife and daughters, Yi Jin and Wang Li, both there.
"You two should rest first. I have other matters to attend to. Starting tomorrow, you can go out whenever you want. Staying cooped up in the house all day will make you sick."
"Yes, Master." What could Yi Jin say? This was already very kind to them. "I'll wait here for you, Master, to warm your bed."
Wang Li opened her mouth, seemingly surprised by her mother's shamelessness, but still said, "I... I'll wait here for you too."
"Haha! Li'er has just recovered from a serious illness, so you don't need to serve me in bed yet. We'll talk about it when you're feeling better. As for you, Yi Jin, then strip naked and wait for me in bed. I'll fuck you when I get back!" Lu Ming's words were very crude, making Yi Jin blush and feel a little wet.
Needless to say, she was just a little addicted.
As a woman, it would be a real shame to never have experienced orgasm.
Now that Wang Lang is past his prime, it would be better for him to serve the young man before him properly, and it would be even better if he could bear a child.
When he returned to the living room, Xu Shu had already returned with several companions.
A sallow-faced, somewhat thin woman was sitting in a chair.
It was clear that she had once been a beauty, but now, plagued by illness, she had long lost her former beauty.
If she could be cured of her illness and properly cared for, she would still be a beautiful woman.
"My lord!" The men rose and bowed.
Even Xu Shu's mother wanted to rise and bow, but Lu Ming pressed her down, "Madam, please don't move, sit down."
Skillfully, he took out a pillow and began to take her pulse, closing his eyes.
Because he didn't have the habit of growing a beard, he looked somewhat unreliable.
The ancients often said, "A young man with no experience is unreliable," because young people are too impulsive and lack the ability to settle down.
But he didn't care about such things. He believed that appearances mattered, and as long as a few key people trusted him, that was enough; whether others believed him or not was irrelevant.
After a long while, Xu Shu couldn't help but ask, but he held back.
They'd already come to this point; if there was no cure, they could only go home and wait to die.
The cruelest thing in the world is seeking medical help and ending up with nothing.
"He'd had a cold for a long time without treatment, and now it's spread to his lungs," Lu Ming knew it was pneumonia, which was very difficult to cure.
In modern times, it would be a matter of taking medicine and getting injections, but in ancient times, there weren't many effective cures; they could only rely on the slow healing effects of traditional Chinese medicine.
"Ah, this!"
"My lord, is there any way to cure this?" Xu Shu was somewhat dizzy; wasn't this a terminal illness?
Lu Ming didn't answer, but continued, "Working day and night has taken its toll, and your mother's health is quite worrying. Yuanzhi, you're lucky you met me. I might not be able to cure other ailments, but this one, with a year or two of recuperation here, will surely heal. There are too many ailments; they need to be treated one by one."
From heaven to hell, and then from hell back to heaven, only God knows how Xu Shu endured it.
He was now dizzy and didn't know what to say.
"My lord, please save my mother, I beg you."
Lu Ming nodded and withdrew his hand.
Xu's mother, however, said, "My lord, my family doesn't have the money for my treatment. Could you...can you reduce the fee?"
Even a simple person knows that medical treatment costs money. There's no such thing as a free lunch; everything comes at a price!
Lu Ming laughed heartily and picked up the teacup beside him.
"It may sound harsh, but Yuanzhi, I need your help. Recently, the court appointed me as the Commandant of the Western Garden Army and concurrently the Prefect of Longxi Commandery. In six months, I will lead troops to Bingzhou to quell the rebellion. The Western Garden Army is newly established and needs capable men."
Xu Shu immediately understood that the other party needed his loyalty. "Does Your Excellency require my service? I am willing to enlist to repay Your Excellency, to serve on the battlefield with my sword and spear, even if I die on the battlefield, it will not have been in vain for a man's seven-foot frame!"
Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin exchanged glances, somewhat eager to try.
Given the opportunity to reform, who would want to become a wandering knight-errant?
Living a precarious life—before, there was no other choice but to do so. Now that there is a choice, who still wants to talk about being carefree and unrestrained? That's all nonsense!
Fame and achievement are the most important things; everything else is secondary. If one cannot achieve merit and bring glory to one's ancestors, is one still a man?
Is one still a true gentleman?