Chapter Forty-Six (16 Points) The days were a frantic blur.

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That thump echoed with startling clarity in the otherwise silent hall.

Qi Yue felt her eardrums throb.

Who could make A'Ru kneel down and address someone as Shizi (Heir Apparent)? She knew barely enough people here to count on one hand, but this Shizi was one she knew intimately—at least by name...

Could it be such a coincidence? Not running into him when they were so close back home, only to come face-to-face the moment she stepped out...

If she fainted right now, would it feel better? But feigning unconsciousness was a skill, one she hadn't mastered yet.

So, she could only stare blankly at the handsome face before her.

The handsome man was also looking at her.

His expression was composed, his gaze deep, his brow slightly furrowed—he seemed utterly surprised.

Under his scrutiny, Qi Yue felt as if invisible hands were reaching out, ready to rip away the skin she wore, exposing the hidden, unspeakable soul of Qi Yue, and then incinerating it into ash under the sunlight.

A husband and wife, they were husband and wife.

A day as husband and wife carries a hundred days of kindness—though perhaps not in this case.

Three years of mutual neglect didn't seem to foster kindness, more like enmity.

But whatever, kindness or enmity, this man, the one most intimately connected to Qi Yue Niang, was not as easily fooled as those two young maids.

Qi Yue still wished fainting was the best option, but in reality, she was standing firm, managing to utter a rather foolish question.

“Where is the injured?” she asked.

If A'Ru, kneeling on the ground, was already trembling with fright, hearing Qi Yue’s question shattered her soul completely.

“Shizi, Shizi, he is mine, it was I who pestered...

Everyone here is my doing,” she wailed, knocking her head repeatedly on the floor.

Even with her mind in chaos, she remembered not to reveal Qi Yue’s true identity.

The handsome man glanced at the weeping A'Ru on the floor.

“You are...?” A flicker of confusion crossed his face.

A nearby attendant swiftly leaned in and whispered something in his ear.

He understood immediately, then turned an even more astonished gaze toward Qi Yue.

But he quickly regained his composure.

Ignoring the crying A'Ru, he simply waved his hand towards Qi Yue.

“This way.” He uttered those two words plainly, his voice devoid of emotion.

This was an answer.

Qi Yue swallowed hard and followed the direction of his hand.

As the handsome man gestured, the crowd that had been standing in a jumbled mass instantly parted.

“Doctor, doctor, over here, over here!” A large man shouted towards her.

In front of him was a door panel, and lying upon it was indeed an injured person.

Qi Yue raised her foot to walk over, but A'Ru lunged forward, clutching her leg.

“He is mine, all mine…” she sobbed, looking up at Qi Yue through streaming tears, shaking her head in sheer terror.

No, no! If you go over there, how will you explain yourself in front of the Shizi...

Qi Yue understood her meaning, reached out, and patted her head.

“Those who refuse to save the dying will be struck by lightning,” she said with a smile.

Let it be whatever it will be.

It was already this messy.

Qi Yue broke free from A'Ru and strode away.

This injured person startled Qi Yue.

“Heavens above, is this your sworn enemy?” she couldn't help but exclaim.

“This is me! I can trade my life for him!” The tall, dark man took offense at the remark, glaring and thumping his chest as he shouted.

Qi Yue smiled.

“Then why are you leaving him exposed like this when he’s so gravely wounded? The man is about to go into shock,” she said in surprise.

“Aren’t we waiting for you, the divine doctor, to save him?” the tall man declared loudly, his eyes full of wonder.

“So, it’s really possible to stitch a wound! Quickly, quickly, I see you! Treat him quickly…” Qi Yue frowned.

She caught the implication in his words.

Her hands, which had been deftly cutting away layers of cloth covering the injured man, paused.

Then she looked at Hu San, who was shrinking back in the corner.

“Hey, did you actually try to do it? Didn't I tell you not to…” she called out.

Hu San, who was trying hard to pretend he didn't exist, buried his head in his knees.

“Yuan Bao’s wound…” Qi Yue recalled Yuan Bao’s earlier words.

All the pieces clicked together, and she suddenly stood up straight.

“Oh, you people did this!” It was obvious that Doctor Hu had seen the patient, ignored his duty, and perhaps spoken about the necessity of stitching wounds.

These people likely didn't believe him, so they naturally brought the living specimen, Yuan Bao, here...

“Sister, I didn’t say anything! I didn’t say anything! They…” Yuan Bao’s voice reached A'Ru.

“I didn’t fight anyone.

They caught me at the blacksmith’s shop.

If I didn't talk, they… they cut me…” “You’ve gone too far!” Qi Yue yelled.

This made her truly angry.

“How could you do such a thing!” A'Ru quickly reached out to pull back Yuan Bao, who was still talking, shook her head at him, and then forced him to kowtow to the man before them—the Shizi of Dingxi Marquisate.

Hearing Qi Yue’s outburst, the group, including the tall man, exchanged glances.

“Madam,” the tall man said hesitantly, “we were desperate to save our man, and this boy simply wouldn't speak…” “Is your life precious, but his is not?” Qi Yue exclaimed, half in anger, half in disbelief at their logic.

“Enough,” the Shizi of Dingxi Marquisate interrupted with a cold (hng), “I cut the man.

What’s the big deal? Who told you to be such a mysterious doctor anyway.” As he spoke, he untied a money pouch from his waist and tossed it with a clatter in front of Yuan Bao and A'Ru.

“Here’s a reward for you.

Take it for recovery.” Qi Yue’s eyes widened further.

This was precisely the infuriating behavior she often heard about those spoiled heirs of officials and the wealthy in her modern life! Was this the Shizi that A'Ru and A'Hao described as merely a bit mischievous, with a slightly short temper, but fundamentally a good person? If this were the modern era, the onlookers would likely be ready to smash his face with bricks! Wretched old society! Looking at the expressions of the surrounding crowd, many seemed moved and grateful instead.

“Thank you, Shizi, this servant dares not, dares not kowtow,” A'Ru, the family member of the injured party, said with A'Ru pulling Yuan Bao to kowtow fearfully and gratefully, yet they dared not accept the money.

The victim, Yuan Bao, realizing who this man was, was no longer angry; apart from feeling wronged, he lowered his head meekly.

Qi Yue looked at this man, truly speechless at the indignation boiling inside her.

“The man is dying!” Suddenly, a loud voice shouted.

It was the senior apprentice of the Qianjin Hall, who had been closely watching the patient.

This exclamation drew everyone's eyes to the injured man.

“Jiang Hai, Jiang Hai,” the tall man and the Shizi of Dingxi Marquisate both shouted urgently.

“Make way,” Qi Yue commanded, stopping the crowd that had instinctively surged forward, and with a tearing sound, she ripped open the injured man’s upper garment.

“Lethargic expression, cloudy consciousness… Lips turning pale to purple… Accelerated heart rate, dropping temperature in extremities… Uncontrolled external hemorrhage leading to hypovolemic shock…” Qi Yue turned, rummaged through her medical kit, and pulled out a large roll of elastic bandage.

“Two IV access points…” Qi Yue looked at the single rubber tube she possessed, gritted her teeth, and cut it open with scissors.

“A'Ru, get up! Stop crying uselessly and go boil the salt-sugar water I taught you to make,” she called out.

“Get me wine, charcoal fire, and water!” A'Ru, biting her lip on the floor, hardened her heart, stood up, and responded loudly, “Yes!” “Please take me to a place where we can boil water, and find sugar and salt, and look for a bottle—an empty bottle…” she commanded loudly.

All the apprentices in the hall snapped back to reality.

They looked to the senior apprentice.

With the master absent, he was their anchor.

The senior apprentice was also stunned, his face conflicted.

He glanced at Qi Yue.

He was a doctor, and although not fully qualified, he could already manage half the work of the Qianjin Hall and had treated countless patients.

He was completely unfamiliar with Qi Yue’s methods, but looking at her expression now—that expression was deeply familiar.

It was the look their master adopted when treating a patient: confident, composed, everything under control.

He then glanced at Yuan Bao sitting nearby, finally gritting his teeth and waving his hand.

Since the doctor was invited by them, if anything went wrong, it wouldn't implicate the Qianjin Hall.

They could just treat it as watching a farce—at worst, they'd be unlucky witnesses who had to make a statement to the authorities.

“Follow me,” one apprentice immediately said.

The other apprentices scattered like headless flies.

The injured man’s wounds were mostly concentrated on his right arm and chest.

“Help me lift him,” Qi Yue called out.

At her command, the tall man and the others immediately stepped forward, lifting the patient flat.

They watched as Qi Yue swiftly began wrapping the injured man with large and small pieces of white cloth.

“This bleeding won’t stop! Didn’t you say you could stitch it?” the tall man shouted.

“He’s in shock; we need to stabilize him first,” Qi Yue replied while busy, already applying pressure to the blood vessels.

Not long after, A'Ru ran back holding a wine bottle.

“It’s been iced in cold water!” she reported.

“I’m still boiling the rest.” Qi Yue nodded at her while using digital pressure to stop the bleeding.

“Take that piece of rubber glove, cut a section off, wrap it around the mouth of the bottle, then stick the syringe needle into it, and connect this rubber tubing…” she instructed.

“Should… should I do it?” A'Ru looked panicked, the wine bottle trembling slightly in her hands.

“I can’t do it…” “A'Ru, you can do it! You’ve seen me do it,” Qi Yue called out, nodding encouragingly.

A'Ru bit her lower lip, swallowed hard, nodded firmly, and turned to stand by the tools laid out next to the medical box.

“Disinfect first…” Qi Yue reminded her.

A'Ru nodded, picked up the scissors with trembling hands, imitated Qi Yue’s previous action by placing them in the basin of wine nearby, and then took out a glove from a sealed bag—it could hardly be called a glove anymore, as it had been cut into pieces.

She awkwardly snipped another circle from it...

“It’s done,” she presented the crude IV setup to Qi Yue, looking very uneasy.

“Very good.” Qi Yue nodded.

A'Ru definitely couldn't handle the actual insertion...

She turned her head and looked around.

“You, the one surnamed Hu,” she called out.

Hu San, who had been standing among the crowd, started when his name was called.

“You, hold this steady for me,” Qi Yue gestured to him.

“Me?” Hu San’s eyes widened, equally disbelieving.

“You caused the trouble, are you going to do nothing about it?” Qi Yue glared and demanded.

Hu San felt a tremor run through him, and with a thump, he sank to his knees.

“What are you doing?” Qi Yue was startled.

“Thank you, madam, for honoring me!” he kowtowed deeply.

Qi Yue was baffled.

What was this about? “Hurry up,” she urged.

Hu San staggered up and rushed over in two steps.

“Wash your hands with wine, then go find a glove to put on,” Qi Yue ordered, giving him a sharp look.

Hu San awkwardly stepped aside, truly rubbed his hands with the wine, but the glove...

where to get one? “Like this, put it on…” A'Ru stood up and quietly showed him, pointing to one of the sealed bags.

“Thank you, Miss,” Hu San said with a fawning smile directed at her, a smile that held more apology than charm.

After all, he was the one who had provoked this entire incident and caused her brother to be innocently injured.

A'Ru turned her head and ignored him.

Hu San, rebuffed, awkwardly managed to put on the difficult glove, his eyes wide with amazement.

Was this made? The feel of it...

“Quickly, hold it here,” Qi Yue was getting impatient and called out.

Hu San rushed over, watching Qi Yue’s instructions, while casting a somewhat defensive glance at the people beside him, especially the master apprentices.

“Is it like this? Is it here?” He finally dared to press down, feeling tentatively.

Once Hu San finally pressed the correct spot, Qi Yue quickly disinfected the area again and took the needle to insert it into the patient.

“What… what is this?” Seeing the strange insertion into the skin, the onlookers could no longer hold back their questions.

The senior apprentice spoke up.

“This is saline solution, well, you could call it that.

It’s for supplementing fluid… uh, humors…” Qi Yue explained vaguely.

Once the senior apprentice broke the silence, and seeing that Qi Yue wasn't the type who would refuse to explain anything, a crowd immediately began to question her.

“Shut up, all of you!” the tall man banged on a table.

“You bunch of useless people, shut up!” His words quieted the group, whose faces showed deep embarrassment.

“Not everyone can know everything, can they? If you are a doctor, must you be able to cure everything? If you can't cure it, you’re useless? You become a sinner? That’s your logic? Someone else knows it, and you don't, so you’re useless?” Qi Yue retorted sharply.

Comparatively, she felt closer to her peers, and besides, they...

Hmph.

Saving lives was her duty, but it wasn't an invitation to forgive their arrogance.

The tall man glared.

“I won't argue with you, considering you are related to Master Chang,” he huffed and stopped talking.

The apprentices looked delighted that Qi Yue had defended them, but none asked any more questions.

“If you encountered shock, how would you treat it?” Qi Yue challenged them instead.

Everyone became alert.

“W-we…” Hu San started to answer, but then realized what he was about to say.

“Madam, the xiukè (shock) you speak of, is that what we call the ailment of 'loss of yang essence'?” The senior apprentice spoke steadily.

Ah, right, that’s how Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to it.

Qi Yue nodded.

“Naturally, we fortify the qi and prevent collapse, administering decocted raw shānyà and shānzhūyú via (force-feeding),” the senior apprentice replied.

“Then hurry and boil it for him to drink! Two measures working together will take effect faster,” Qi Yue urged.

The senior apprentice hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.

With a single command, the apprentices rushed off.

Soon they returned with the medicine and poured it into the injured man’s mouth using a long-spouted kettle.

Just as they had watched Qi Yue earlier, Qi Yue watched their method of operation with curiosity.

After a moment, she measured the blood pressure using their tools and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

It didn't matter if it was a black cat or a white cat, as long as it caught mice—there was hope.

(To be continued.

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