Seeing that smiling face, A'Ru also smiled and nodded. This was the second time the brother and sister had shared such tears since the incident with her younger brother.

"Come, let me see how the wound is healing?" Qi Yue said with a smile, interrupting their sibling sorrow. "Have you been taking the medicine as I instructed, keeping it dry, avoiding strenuous exercise, and changing the gauze and cotton I sent over?" If it were up to her, she would have checked the wound every two or three days to see how it was healing, if there was any inflammation, and to change the dressing. But A'Ru absolutely forbade it. Qi Yue had no choice; if she forced a visit, she wouldn't comfort the girl but would only worry her further. She had to let her have her way, though she managed to pass messages through the peddler who used the back gate, confirming there had been no infection in the interim.

"Young men heal fast with strong bodies. No," Qi Yue said, satisfied after examining the wound.

A'Ru's younger brother, though unaware that this woman was that kind of person, sensed her status was far higher than his own. He kept his head down, extremely uneasy. Hearing her words now, his face flushed crimson, creeping up his neck.

"It will sting a bit, bear with it," Qi Yue chuckled, taking scissors and tweezers from a sterile dressing pack.

"I'll help hold him down," A'Ru said, a hint of tension in her voice.

Qi Yue cut away the wrapping, exposing the incision. A'Ru felt a sudden jolt in her heart and instinctively turned her head away, unable to watch.

"What are you doing?" A sharp voice suddenly came from the crack in the door—it was that Dr. Hu from a few days prior.

Qi Yue nearly cut the flesh; she let out a breath and turned towards the door. The worn door was shut, but a peeking eye was visible through the gap.

A'Ru angrily slapped the door, startling the observer away from the edge. "I... I just wanted a look..." Dr. Hu muttered outside.

Qi Yue ignored him, using the tweezers to lift and cut the suture threads, then pulling them out. A'Ru's brother trembled, biting his lip fiercely to keep from crying out in pain.

"Done," Qi Yue said, pulling out the final stitch and smiling. A'Ru's brother's entire body relaxed, then instantly tensed again as a wave of coldness hit him. Qi Yue smiled, wiped the wound with an alcohol swab, and wrapped it in clean gauze.

"In a few days, we can take the rest off," she said, finally standing up.

After a detailed briefing for her brother, A'Ru still lingered no longer and prepared to leave with Qi Yue. Stepping outside, Dr. Hu was waiting by the corner of the wall.

"Let me see quickly..." As soon as he saw A'Ru's brother emerge, his eyes blazing, he lunged forward.

"What are you doing?" A'Ru glared and shouted, stepping in front of her brother.

"I only wanted a look," Dr. Hu said, glancing at Qi Yue.

Qi Yue smiled, walked over, and gently pulled back the gauze covering A'Ru's brother's wound.

"There, look."

Dr. Hu's eyes widened, and he held his breath, examining it inch by inch, his expression a mix of astonishment and excitement. The long, sutured wound showed fresh, pink flesh; there was no rot, no foul odor. Most crucially, the injured man looked essentially recovered, unlike those past patients who either lost half their vitality to bleeding or half their lives to festering wounds, taking ten days to half a month just to stand up, if they were lucky.

"So, just sewing it up..." he stammered, unable to finish his thought.

Qi Yue interrupted him before he could say more. "No," Qi Yue stated firmly. "One minute on stage requires ten years of practice off stage. Even such a small procedure as debridement and suturing isn't something you can master just by glancing at it. Don't think that if you encounter a similar patient, you can just copy what I did and expect a good outcome."

Techniques and prescriptions are secrets among medical practitioners, Dr. Hu thought with a huff, and he said no more.

"Yuanbao, if he harasses you again, report him to the authorities," A'Ru instructed.

Dr. Hu huffed, shook his head, turned away from his dilapidated medicine box on his back, and walked off.

"Sister, look, I'm fine, it's all better," Yuanbao said, his eyes showing reluctance to part.

A'Ru looked at him, nodded, and whispered a few more instructions.

"Can't you buy back your freedom?" On the road, Qi Yue asked, "Is it that you don't have enough money?"

"No, is there anything Sister A'Ru hasn't done well? Are you sending A'Ru away?" A'Ru asked in alarm.

Qi Yue laughed.

"Why would I send you away? I mean, if you bought your freedom, wouldn't you be free? Why remain someone's maidservant?" she explained.

"A maidservant is a maidservant; there's no 'should' or 'should not' to it," A'Ru breathed a sigh of relief, lowering her head. "Sister, please don't say things like that again."

By now, they had entered the Dingxi Marquis's estate. Because of that exchange, A'Ru seemed a little displeased and walked ahead with her head down. Qi Yue couldn't figure out what she had said wrong and followed behind, smiling sheepishly, daring not to bring it up again.

"Yueliang." Suddenly, a voice called from behind.

Qi Yue’s steps halted abruptly, a surge of heat rushing from her feet straight to the top of her head. Yueliang was her nickname! Only close friends called her that! Hearing her nickname in this lonely, foreign time was like meeting a long-lost family member...

She turned around, her eyes blurry with tears, looking at the person who called out. It was a young man, or perhaps a youth, dressed in typical ancient attire. Seeing Qi Yue nearly burst into tears, he was startled, and his expression became complicated.

"Are you... alright?" he asked.

"I... I... Who are you?" Qi Yue was losing her composure, raising a hand to cover her mouth and nose, but the tears flowed uncontrollably.

"Third Young Master," A'Ru rushed over from the front, seeing the man, and called out in surprise, quickly curtsying.

Chang Yunqi looked at the expression on the woman's face and suddenly felt he shouldn't have spoken.

"Sister, this is the Third Young Master," A'Ru quickly explained to Qi Yue, unsure why she was suddenly acting this way. She was both surprised and anxious, and couldn't help glancing around, thankful no one else was nearby. If the Eldest Sister-in-law acted this emotionally weeping before the Youngest Brother-in-law, some malicious people might start gossiping. The Third Young Master? The Third Son of the Marquis of Dingxi.

"Are you also from over there?" Qi Yue ignored A'Ru's words, urgently asking.

Chang Yunqi was momentarily confused by her question and subconsciously looked back.

"Eldest Sister-in-law, I just went out a moment ago," he replied.

"No, I mean... did you just call me?" Seeing he misunderstood, Qi Yue rephrased, looking at him with a measure of hopeful anticipation.

A'Ru's expression was complicated as she looked between Qi Yue’s demeanor and the Third Young Master. The atmosphere between them felt... strange. In truth, among the young masters of the household, the Eldest Young Master was the one they saw least often. The Eldest Young Master followed the Old Master, while the Third Young Master had been favored by the Old Master since childhood and raised by him personally; thus, he often remained by the Old Master’s side. In terms of frequency, they saw each other often... However, it wasn't much. The Eldest Young Mistress had always been timid and didn't talk much to anyone. Even though they saw each other often, there was no deep bond. A'Ru, who had always been with the Eldest Young Mistress, had never seen any particularly close interaction between them—just frequent proximity, nothing more.

"Third Young Master, our Eldest Young Mistress doesn't remember her past; she doesn't recognize you. Please forgive her," A'Ru interjected.

Doesn't recognize her? Chang Yunqi had certainly heard the rumor, but he had always dismissed it as just that—a rumor.

"Oh, never mind that for now. Did you just call me Yueliang? Why did you call me Yueliang? Are you... who are you? Am I... are you Qi Yue?" Qi Yue impatiently pushed A'Ru aside and asked urgently. Her string of questions left both men momentarily stunned.

"Yueliang?" Chang Yunqi felt uneasy under her expectant gaze and shifted his sightline. "Does Eldest Sister-in-law go by Yueliang? I... I really don't know. Eldest Sister-in-law, um, have you really forgotten everything about the past? Qiyue, Qiyue..." He trailed off, speaking somewhat incoherently, then paused, a look of realization dawning on his face. That news had only just spread today, and only to a few people. He hadn't expected her to have heard it already...

"Qiyue, Eldest Brother really did arrange it," he said solemnly.

Was that so? Qi Yue frowned, while A'Ru was overjoyed.

"Third Young Master, the Heir is marrying Qiyue in the seventh month?"

Chang Yunqi nodded with a smile.

"Sister, did you hear? Did you hear? The Heir is marrying her!" A'Ru uncontrollably grabbed Qi Yue's arm, weeping with happiness.

It seemed she wasn't a transmigrator. Even her parents wouldn't recognize her now, as she looked nothing like the former Qi Yue, let alone calling out a nickname so easily.

It must be that the Third Young Master misheard something else she said. Qi Yue sighed, gave a noncommittal "Oh," and lost all further interest.

A'Ru was still exclaiming in her joy, but Chang Yunqi heard nothing. He watched Qi Yue and sensed her instantaneous disappointment. Disappointment? Chang Yunqi was confused. The match with the Eldest Brother was what they—the servants—had been hoping for, wasn't it? Perhaps she realized that even if the match was made, the future might not unfold as they wished, and that was why she was so...

Chang Yunqi stopped speaking.

Both were lost in their own thoughts, falling into a mutual silence. The joyful A'Ru gradually quieted down. Someone was walking nearby, and for some reason, the scene between these two made her heart pound fiercely.

"Sister, we've been out too long. We should hurry back," she whispered.

Qi Yue gave a soft "Oh," not even bothering to say goodbye, and turned to leave.

"Eldest Sister-in-law," Chang Yunqi couldn't help but call out again.

Qi Yue turned back languidly.

"Does Eldest Sister-in-law also have a name called Yueliang?" Chang Yunqi asked, appearing somewhat curious.

"Not exactly..." Qi Yue started to shake her head, but then nodded instead. "Yes, although I’ve forgotten many things, somehow I remember a name: Yueliang." She smiled as she said this.

"Perhaps it was my childhood nickname," she offered. "People close to me used to call me that when I was little, so I might remember it clearly. You see, some things in life are just hard to forget."

Qi Yue Niang only entered the estate five years ago, and her only relative, her grandmother, had passed away. No one in the Dingxi Marquis's estate knew anything about Qi Yue Niang's childhood, so Qi Yue fabricated something casually.

Chang Yunqi watched her, slowly saying, "Oh."

"Sister, let's go," A'Ru whispered.

Qi Yue gave Chang Yunqi one last smile and turned away.

Chang Yunqi remained standing there, his expression complex. She forgot everything else... but still remembered a name... called by someone close... some things are just hard to forget...

"Yueliang? Why are you called Yueliang when you're so ugly?"

"I... I'm not called Yueliang... I'm called Yueniang..."

"Hmph, ugly monster, actually daring to be called Yueliang..."

"Third Young Master... I am not called Yueliang..."

"Yueliang, Yueliang, I'll just call you Yueliang, you'll be so embarrassed..."

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