Chapter 115: Madam He, May I Take Your Pulse?

Chu Yue took a thorough and refreshing bath, washing with soap twice. The fresh scent of soapberry lingered on her skin, leaving her feeling truly comfortable.

When she finished tidying up and stepped out, she found that no one was in the room. The teacup she had soaked earlier was still on the tea table; because of the cold weather, the tea had cooled quickly and was no longer warm. The cup was still about 80% full, so it seemed that General He and Madam He hadn’t drunk much.

At the same time, General He’s strong, clear voice came from the courtyard.

His tone was anxious as he asked, “Slow down, slow down, I didn’t catch it clearly — was it the left hand or the right hand?”

The answer came from Lu Liebao’s youthful voice.

“Grandpa He, you’re doing it wrong. Your hips need to squat lower, lower down. This time it’s a horse stance. Then start with your left hand… higher, a bit higher?”

Lu Liebao was actually instructing a general who had commanded thousands of troops?!

Chu Yue was surprised inwardly and quickly walked out of the house. As she reached the courtyard, she saw General He, Madam He, and Lu Zhanlin neatly lined up, with Lu Liebao moving among them, looking exactly like a little teacher.

They were practicing the Baduanjin (Eight Brocade Qigong). Lu Zhanlin caught on quickly and, being agile, memorized Lu Liebao’s demonstrations right away, moving fluidly and smoothly.

Madam He learned more slowly and moved more cautiously, but she was patient and not hurried; whenever she forgot something, she would ask Lu Liebao.

General He was different. He had suffered many wounds on the battlefield over the years, and now he had old arms and legs. Usually, it wasn’t too bad, but whenever the weather changed, his joints would ache intermittently.

So, movements like bending the knees into a horse stance were difficult for him to do correctly.

Besides, Baduanjin wasn’t military boxing — it didn’t have any heavy punches, just slow movements like Tai Chi. For a usually fiery and impetuous man like General He, it was really not suitable.

“No, no, no! Grandpa He, you’re moving too fast. You have to go slow, slowly stretch your hands, slowly lift your hands,” little teacher Lu Liebao was very strict.

“This slow pace is torturing my old bones. I’m going to fix it — faster!”

Maybe it was because he was practicing with Lu Liebao that General He seemed less imposing than usual and instead showed a mischievous, playful air.

Lu Liebao seriously rebutted, “No! Mom said this is to strengthen the body and activate the acupuncture points. If you don’t go slow, it won’t work. Grandpa He, what you’re doing is wrong.”

“…” General He was stunned for a moment, then laughed heartily. “Ha ha ha, you little rascal, you’re really bold! No one else in the whole military district dares to tell me I’m wrong, but you do.”

“But Grandpa He, you really are wrong. Wrong is wrong — why wouldn’t you want to hear it?”

Lu Liebao raised his head, his eyes clear and earnest, asking seriously.

It was this innocence and seriousness that made General He look at Lu Liebao differently — he was growing more and more fond of the child.

Madam He watched as General He monopolized Lu Liebao’s attention, then called out to Lu Liebao, “Liebao, let’s ignore him. Grandma forgot again. Teach me once more — what was the first move again?”

“Grandma He, the first move is called ‘Shake Head and Wag Tail to Eliminate Heart Fire.’ The movement goes like this, first…”

Lu Liebao stood beside Madam He, demonstrating the moves while explaining carefully and thoroughly, even though he had already done this six times earlier.

“So that’s how it goes… Did we just go over this? Why do I feel like I never learned it… almost like I forgot…” Madam He muttered softly.

Her voice just reached Chu Yue’s ears, who then looked closely at Madam He, watching her practice Baduanjin with Lu Liebao.

“Grandma He, your hand is too low; you have to raise it to this position.”

“Alright, listen to Yuanbao, raise your hand to this position…”

Lu Yuanbao lifted his small hand high, showing Madam He the correct position. Madam He was a very obedient “learner,” slowly raising her hand according to Yuanbao’s instructions.

But—

Something was wrong!

Chu Yue watched Madam He raise her hand, but the height wasn’t the same as what Yuanbao indicated. It wasn’t that Madam He’s arm hurt or that she couldn’t raise it properly; on the contrary, she was focused and listening carefully to Yuanbao’s instructions. The issue was that the hand she was extending seemed to be in a different spatial position from what Yuanbao was describing.

Chu Yue observed these small details carefully, her brows gradually knitting together.

A few more minutes passed, and the group followed Yuanbao to complete a full set of Baduanjin exercises. They slowly breathed out, relaxed, and stood up straight again.

Commander He seemed distracted during the learning and often made mistakes to tease Yuanbao. But when it ended, he moved his shoulders and body a little and was amazed to find that his whole body felt much lighter, as if blocked acupoints had been opened.

“This old body of mine hasn’t felt this relaxed in a long time.”

Commander He muttered to himself, developing a completely different opinion about the slow-paced Baduanjin routine Yuanbao demonstrated.

This slow-moving exercise might really be good for health, which explained why Chu Yue looked delicate but was actually strong.

Madam He felt similarly — her body felt comfortable, and even her vision became clearer.

Since getting older, her eyesight had worsened, sometimes seeing things hazily.

When she got home, she could write it down and exercise a few times every day…

But wait, what was the first move called again? Why did she forget already?

Lu Zhanlin had noticed Chu Yue since early on, but since Chu Yue hadn’t spoken after coming over and everyone was immersed in Baduanjin, he didn’t interrupt the atmosphere.

After it ended, he came over to the refreshed Chu Yue, instantly smelling the soap scent on her and seeing her tightly furrowed brow.

“A Yue, what’s wrong?” Lu Zhanlin asked worriedly.

Chu Yue pressed her lips as if making a decision and walked over to Madam He, directly asking, “Madam He, may I take your pulse?”

Faced with such a direct and sudden request, Madam He was a bit surprised but still smiled gently and agreed.

“Of course, there’s no problem.”

So Chu Yue followed Madam He back inside.

Commander He followed closely behind and asked Lu Zhanlin, “Your wife can take pulses? She knows medicine?”

Lu Zhanlin quickly recalled how Chu Yue had adjusted his bones, and her heroic deed helping Wang Chunling with a cesarean section, and said in a low voice, “She knows medicine, and she’s quite skilled.”

Upon hearing this, Commander He frowned deeply, as if the roles were reversed and it was him thinking.

Commander He wasn’t doubting Chu Yue’s medical skills, but… if Chu Yue’s medical skills were exceptional, then the sudden reason she wanted to take Madam He’s pulse was because she might have discovered Madam He was ill!

That was not something Commander He wanted to see.