Chapter 37: Filling Teeth

  Thirty-six dental supplements

  Min An used the excuse of treating his injury to take General out for a day trip, searching everywhere for ways to make quick money, but returned empty-handed. He handed General over to Master Wu and asked how much silver he had stored for him. Wu Ren was very alert and asked Min An why he was in such a hurry for silver. Min An replied that he was getting old and wanted to marry a wife, but the threshold of Xiao's house was too high, and he was afraid that if he didn't have enough money, Old Man Xiao wouldn't be happy and wouldn't give his daughter to him. Master Wu's response was very straightforward, grabbing a broom and chasing Min An out the door. If Min An hadn't run fast, his cloth shoes would have been hit again.

  "Wu Ren scolded: 'This dead kid really believes it? Don't let Bao'er hear this, or she'll be ruined for life!'"

  Min An grasped his head and walked downstairs: "How did I miss Bao'er's marriage... She has feelings for me, I have intentions for her, can't we be together? Besides, it was Bao'er who came to chase me first, I couldn't drive her away, might as well marry her back and make her my wife..."

  Min An remembered Xiao Bao's unusually joyful expression every time she saw him, and he felt a softening in his heart. He looked towards the small building where Xiao Bao lived. Xiao Bao had gone somewhere to play and was nowhere to be seen, which made Min An temporarily put aside his intention of proposing to her in person. As he was walking down the stairs, he didn't notice that his muttering words were overheard by Wu Mei, who was standing at the corner of the staircase.

  Wu Mei wore a white robe with a straight skirt, with a blue flower pattern on the collar, and a blue cloth hat on his head, looking elegant. His face was born with a delicate appearance, almond eyes and a straight nose, and he stood in front of Min An with a humble expression, making Min An think that he had met his own shadow. He smiled and took a step back, saying to Wu Mei, who remained silent: "How's your body? My master's medicine isn't bad, is it?"

  Wu Mei bowed to Min An, deeply grateful for his rescue. He had been locked in the woodshed of the Li's residence by Li Peinan and tortured for three days, nearly losing his life. After obtaining the account book, Min An knelt down and begged Li Peinan to spare Wu Mei, who was now destitute and helpless. Li Peinan initially intended to hand Wu Mei over to the county government, but after seeing that Wang Huali was dead and Min An clinging to his leg, he decided to do a good deed and released Wu Mei.

  Wu Mei was a scholar by birth, and his life had always been aimless. He stumbled out of the brothel with his body covered in blood, almost fainting into Min An's arms. Min An asked the night watchman at the brothel to send him to his master under the cover of darkness, which saved his life.

  Wu Mei stayed in the inn and took the initiative to approach Xiao Bao'er. He actually got a job as a horse walker in front of Xiao Bao'er. The reason was that his facial features and temperament were somewhat similar to those of Min Ansheng, so Xiao Bao'er loved him and kept him as a short-term worker.

  Min An looked at Wu Mei's outfit and smiled: "Bao'er is good to you."

  "Not at all, not at all." Wu Mei shook her head mysteriously and deeply, "Miss Bao'er only took me to play with dogs and chickens, but the one who actually supported me and gave me food and clothing was a young master from another family."

  "Who?"

  "A young master from a wealthy family, let me keep you in suspense for now and not tell you my name."

  Wu Mei didn't just casually mention his wealth to show off, but actually took Min An out for a lavish meal. Min An was normally frugal and had also received favors from Wu Mei before, so when Wu Mei invited him out, he didn't decline and followed him to the wine house. The two of them drank clear wine, exchanged a few lines of poetry, and were momentarily filled with joy and laughter, feeling carefree and happy. During this time, Wu Mei got up to use the restroom and took the opportunity to tell his companions waiting downstairs: "Tell the young master to prepare the wine and soup, I'll bring Little Master over right away." Then he walked back into the room with a normal expression, chatting idly with Min An.

  In the afternoon, the autumn sun shone through the window and fell on Min'an's shoulder. He turned his head and smiled at Wu Mei, with two blushes rising to his pale skin. Wu Mei carefully observed Min'an's expression, then suddenly said: "Young master has a good face, but unfortunately, he lacks teeth, tsk, it's hard to look at, why don't you follow me to get them filled?"

  Min An blushed and patted his own pocket, Wu Mei understood and said: "Of course I'll lend you the money for the doctor." Min An waved his hand to decline, Wu Mei then pulled a long face: "You have done me a favor, I haven't had time to repay you yet, how could I have other thoughts? If you keep declining, it's like you don't trust me."

  Min An had no choice but to agree.

  The dentist lived in a mansion with glazed tiles, powder walls and sea buckthorn flowers, the exterior was very elegant. Min An walked into the living room, and a scent of pine wood came towards him, on the front wall hung an ancient Han Dynasty wooden carving, white crane ink painting, on both sides of the sofa were placed two rows of four-grid brocade screens, embroidered with golden phoenix peony, the rich colors flowed all the way to the floor tiles. Min An followed the bright yellow screen decorations and looked forward, suddenly he found two stalks of jade-green transparent lotus leaf lamps standing beside the table, he couldn't help but exclaim: "This kind of fragrant flower lamp must be from Master Ding Huan's hand! Just like the wooden carving hanging in the middle, it is a long-lost solitary piece!"

  Wu Mei nodded slowly as she entered the gate. Min An clicked his tongue: "Is this the residence of a dentist? It looks so luxurious, just like a rich family's home." Wu Mei only smiled and didn't respond. Min An walked closer to the flowers, grass, jade pillars, and lanterns, and blew a breath onto the lotus leaf, seeing that the jade was condensed and didn't show any water vapor, which made him even more envious. He had been following his master traveling all around, opening up his eyes to many things, but his days were often spent in poverty. In his free time, he would think about craftsmanship and come up with small trinkets to sell. He was once infatuated with the skills of ancient Han craftsman Ding Huan. Recently, when he wanted to get a white crane from Li Peinan to participate in the Wa She's gambling, he had spent some thought making a fine lacquer bone folding fan, also bearing Ding Huan's name.

  Unfortunately, no one wanted that fan, and it is still stored in his sleeve pocket until now.

  Wu Mei pulled Min An's sleeve, leading him to the back hall. A young man in a light blue robe stood beside the palace lamp frame, wearing a coarse cloth mask that only revealed half of his face. His eyes were particularly bright in the dimly lit hall, and when he looked at Min An, it was as if they were moistened with a layer of clear spring water, making Min An feel refreshed and purified by his gaze, his heart becoming even lighter.

  Min An bowed his head and said: "Your temperament is excellent, not inferior to any of the outstanding students."

  The young man bowed his hands in return: "It's too kind of you to say that, I'm truly not worthy. If the young master is ready, please follow me."

  Min An followed the young doctor to a small hut at the back of the courtyard, the doctor holding a jade lantern to light the way for Min An. The sleeve of his robe fell away, revealing a slender and delicate wrist, with skin as fine and white as a water-worn jade seal stone. Min An thought to himself, could this really be a dentist?

  Fortunately, the doctor's actions were flawless, and the pouring of mercury, melting white tin foil to make a dental membrane, etc. were all done in one breath, making Min An have no choice but to believe in his skills.

  The doctor took down a snow ewer from the wall cabinet, opened the piled-up ice cubes, and scooped out a green bamboo tube. He handed the bamboo tube to Min An's mouth and said softly: "Young master, try it, is it still fresh?"

  Min An took a sip of the creamy milk wine from the bamboo tube and praised it highly: "The frozen wine on Flower Street is really something else." After finishing speaking, he drank it all in one breath.

  The doctor saw Min An drinking happily, with two warm and moist eyebrows and eyes curved in a smile, also extremely happy. Min An wiped the corner of his mouth and asked: "Why do you have my favorite wine here?"

  "I bought it especially and chilled it with ice."

  "Did you know I was coming?"

  The doctor smiled: "Before filling the tooth, as usual, I will give the guest a bowl of anesthesia soup to let the guest sleep for a while. I'm afraid you can't stand the numbness of the medicine, so I prepared a tube of sweet milk wine to calm your taste buds."

  Min An was dizzy and confused as he was invited by the doctor to lie down on a cooling chair, after drinking the anesthetic, his eyelids became heavy and he couldn't lift them up. "Doctor, this doesn't seem like anesthesia, I feel drowsy..."

  "Don't worry, I won't harm you."

  The sound beside his ear was extremely soft and gentle, the room seemed to have no wind at all, only the dim yellow light of the lamp jumping up. Min An felt the doctor using cool water to wash his mouth and brush his teeth, softly saying "relax your hands and feet, sleep well", completely letting him put down his guard, and he leaned his head to one side and fell asleep in his voice, never waking up again.

  The doctor saw that Min An's eyelids were still twitching and had not closed completely, so he turned around and dripped some anesthetic into his mouth. Min An relaxed his hands and feet and lay flat on the couch, his breathing slowing down a lot. The doctor twisted a clean handkerchief and wiped away the sweat from his forehead, sighing softly: "It's been many years since we last met, Xuan Ying, you've actually forgotten me."

  As soon as Ming An heard the name "Xuan Ying", his fingers moved slightly, and before he was fully aware of it, he still remembered that there were only two people who could call out his nickname, one was his deceased brother, and the other was his fiancé since childhood.

  They affectionately called him Xuan Ying, a name that was both intimate and distinctive, setting him apart from others; they were the most important people in his life.

  When Min An was young, he knew that he had a fiancée arranged by his family, and his thoughts had fluctuated. His father taught him to recognize characters and literary knowledge, making him understand that a gentleman keeps his promises, and the Min family would certainly follow through on their engagement. He was still naive and ignorant when his father defined his future life for him: marrying someone else's daughter, washing her hands and cooking soup, living a peaceful life with her husband and children.

  Min's life took a sudden turn, and his path in life diverged at the crossroads. His master Wu Ren led him onto the winding path of seeking an official career, and amidst the twists and turns, he unexpectedly ran into his fiancé Zhu Muzi.

  At the age of thirteen, Zhu Muzi studied in Qishui County and was praised by his teacher as "young and intelligent, with a talent for writing, elegant and refined, and renowned among people". He had a dignified and noble demeanor, and was humble and courteous to others, but unfortunately he was fat.

  Min An, who was also studying at the county school, tried to avoid meeting Zhu Muzi as much as possible, but still couldn't avoid having private contact with him several times. In Min An's eyes, "cultivated and refined" Zhu Muzi was actually stubborn and unteachable, spending his days reading books and writing essays, even stopping him from participating in Wu Mei's gambling sessions. Zhu Muzi stood in the Chongsheng Shrine Hall, lecturing on Confucianism and Mencius' teachings, forcing the gathered students to scatter in all directions, with even Wu Mei covering her ears and fleeing out the door. Min An was blocked by Zhu Muzi behind a bookshelf, unable to push him away for half a day, and his resentment towards him grew even deeper.

  Min An devised a plan to take revenge on Zhu Muzi, luring him into the wilderness to spend three nights there, intending to scare him with nocturnal roaming beasts. When Min An feared Master's punishment and went searching for him, he found Zhu Muzi cutting brambles as pens, carving tree branches as ink, reading by the starlight, using a hemp thread as a lamp to illuminate himself, sitting on a rock with his clothes tucked in, looking calm and serene like water, without any sign of disheveled appearance.

  After that, Min An, who was defeated by Zhu Muxi's elegant demeanor, felt even more uninteresting. Due to the rainy day and illness, he took the opportunity of the instructor's advice to retire and hastily left the county school, completely disappearing from Zhu Muxi's sight.

  Time flies, and Min'an gradually forgot about Zhu Muzi, as well as the name "Xuanying" that he was once called.

  The doctor seemed to understand him and took advantage of his coma to stroke his hair repeatedly, asking in a low voice: "Have you been doing well these years?"

  Min An didn't respond, and the doctor sighed again: "I've been inquiring about your news everywhere, and only now did I find out you're here. But you've already forgotten me and have become a subordinate of the crown prince. Is he treating you well? Has he punished you? I heard that the rules in his mansion are extremely strict."

  Min An was not asleep, struggling with his thoughts under the effect of the anesthetic. The soft voice in his ear always made him think of past events, like the whispers his brother Min Cong would tell him when putting him to bed. His brother asked if he was doing well, if he had been punished by the crown prince, and such detailed concern brought a surge of sourness to his eyes. He struggled and muttered: "Crown Prince... hit me... punish me... my back hurts so much... made me ride horses... kill people... not allowed to go out and play... brother... I'm so scared..."

  Min An unknowingly revealed many secrets of the brothel while in a daze, and naturally didn't know that after the aphrodisiac wore off, he wouldn't remember anything from his sleep.

  The doctor pressed his forehead against Min'an's head, let out a soft sigh: "You really suffered, why follow him." He placed a cool handkerchief on Min'an's forehead, and Min'an struggled to shake off the nightmare, falling into a daze. The doctor wiped away the sweat from Min'an's face, turned him over, carefully smelled the medicinal herbs wrapped around his back wound, and found that it was not serious. Only then did the doctor restrain his hands, not immediately undoing Min'an's outer garment to examine his back injury.

  Although Min An was asleep, the doctor did not want to do anything rude. After filling in Min An's teeth, the doctor called Wu Mei and had her carry Min An into the side room, covering him with a thin quilt and placing a small incense ball made by Ding Huan next to his bed.

  No incense was lit in the censer, but a faint scent still wafted through the air as the breeze blew gently.

  A faint scent of distant green plum blossoms lulled her into a peaceful sleep that lasted all afternoon.

  Thank you very much, two beautiful ladies, bubble gum and Hongmei's hand grenades (*^__^*)

  Thank you, Momo, Rongqing, beautiful people like paintings, Emperor, Nana Mei, Xiaobai, Hengzi, Pig Ear and many other beautiful landmines (*^__^*)l3l4