The two maids let out a sigh of relief, shooting Madam Su a look laced with slight resentment. Why didn't you say so earlier? they thought, wondering how on earth they would explain things to the Heir now—it was utterly preposterous!

"Young Madam, please, go quickly. Your old servant understands the matter and will see to it immediately," Madam Su said.

Qi Yue also relaxed. Truthfully, she was more anxious than anyone to get out, especially since the Heir seemed quite efficient when he chose to be.

"If it causes trouble for you, Madam Su..." she said slowly.

Oh, stop fishing for compliments when you already have what you want...

"It causes no trouble at all. With the Young Madam commanding it, what difficulty could there be?" Madam Su replied.

Qi Yue finally smiled.

"Then I shall have to trouble you, Madam Su. When managing affairs, one must naturally distinguish clearly between reward and punishment. Otherwise, whether one works well or poorly yields the same result, and who would bother to excel? Punishment for the deserving, reward for the deserving. You all proceed exactly as I have instructed. It is fine; this order comes from me. If there are any complaints, let them come to me; it has nothing to do with you or yours," she said with a smile, sweeping her gaze over the supervising mistresses one by one, the last sentence directed specifically at Jiu Zhi.

Jiu Zhi understood immediately, puffing out her chest slightly. She felt newly energized for the task ahead, even imagining the reactions of those arrogant, haughty supervising mistresses once the news spread.

It would be spectacular! She could hardly wait to see the expressions on their faces!

"Then let's hurry, we mustn't keep the Heir waiting," Qi Yue chuckled.

So, you finally remember the Heir is waiting...

The two maids grumbled inwardly, but dared not show it outwardly. Glancing at the supervising mistresses standing silently with bowed heads, they quickly followed Qi Yue out.

"Everyone else, you may disperse," Jiu Zhi said to the supervising mistresses still standing rooted to the spot, with a touch of hauteur. "Go back and prepare. I will be over shortly."

This insolent little servant, leveraging others' power, the supervising mistresses glared at Jiu Zhi, their disdain completely unconcealed.

Jiu Zhi, however, acted as if she hadn't noticed, raising her head with evident smugness.

"I know what you aunties are thinking," she said with a smile.

This enraged the supervising mistresses, causing them to stare at her again. After only a few days, she wasn't even calling them 'Mama' anymore, but 'Aunties.' If this continued, would she soon be calling them 'Sisters-in-law,' and then just call them by their names? This wretched girl was far too presumptuous!

"But don't blame me, aunties. I don't wish to be this way either. When one serves under someone else, one must act accordingly," Jiu Zhi continued, smiling ever more proudly.

"Miss Jiu Zhi speaks wisely. It is merely serving under someone else. Everyone else, you may disperse and proceed as you need to," Madam Su intervened, stepping out first. The supervising mistresses quickly followed her out.

"Madam Su, are we truly going to punish those few people as the Young Madam instructed?"

"Madam Su, if the Young Madam investigates like that, we will simply accept the punishment..."

Madam Su maintained a grim expression, walking away quickly without uttering a single word.

"Madam Su, why did you agree just now? You should have reasoned with her properly; you shouldn't have let her leave so easily," one woman complained, laced with resentment.

Madam Su suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.

"Are you deaf? Didn't you hear the Young Madam is going out with the Heir?" she snapped, her face darkening.

The supervising mistress flinched. She had always prided herself on her close relationship with Madam Su, and being publicly berated like this made her blush instantly.

"She's just putting on airs. I don't believe she'd actually dare tell the Heir. Just watch as the Heir slaps her face," the woman muttered, biting her lip.

Madam Su shot her a cold glance.

"Well said. Then it falls to you to speak up for us now," she replied.

With that, she paid no more heed to the women and quickened her pace, walking away.

Madam Su walked a considerable distance, yet she could still hear the women's incessant chatter behind her. She leaned against a tree, pausing to take a deep breath.

"This woman cannot be kept here," she murmured to herself.

Chang Yuncheng, whom everyone feared, had already departed, completely unaware that he had just been used as a pawn. When Qi Yue alighted from the carriage, Chang Yuncheng, standing within the Qianjin Hall, was already sullen and impatient.

"Taking a mere trip outside, and yet she has such airs," he stated coldly as Qi Yue stepped through the doorway.

Qi Yue was in high spirits, having thoroughly put those others in their place, and was also excited by her first experience in an ancient carriage. A natural smile graced her face.

That smile met Chang Yuncheng head-on, causing him to pause momentarily.

This woman had made no real impression on him back then. The Old Marquis’s wife disliked him, and he never cared for those who disliked him. Consequently, he rarely visited the Old Marquis’s quarters; if he did, he would only stand for a moment before leaving. He couldn't even be bothered to speak with his own siblings, let alone this person, who was treated like a stray dog or cat taken in from outside. His primary impression of her was merely what servants mentioned: she was a beauty...

A beauty. The Marquis of Dingxi’s estate had no shortage of beauties. After seeing too many, beauties were all the same—two eyes, one nose, one mouth.

Later, this beauty became his wife, but she went into mourning before the veil was even lifted. Before the mourning period ended, he left for the campaign. He had almost forgotten he even had a wife, this beauty. Looking at her now, she really was beautiful—at least her smile was quite captivating. But the next moment, the beauty’s smile vanished abruptly. Her small nose wrinkled slightly, and she turned away toward another direction.

"Heir," the maid following her said quickly, bowing in alarm and apprehension.

Chang Yuncheng would never exchange pleasantries with a mere maid; he walked away without acknowledging her.

The injured man had woken up; in fact, he had woken up near dawn, woken by pain.

"Is there truly no other way to relieve the pain?" Qi Yue asked Liu Pucheng earnestly.

"Pain isn't always a bad thing, Young Madam. It must hurt when it needs to hurt. Forcibly stopping the pain isn't good for the injury," Liu Pucheng replied with a gentle smile. "The Young Madam seems particularly concerned about pain relief. Which injury doesn't hurt?"

Qi Yue offered a self-conscious laugh, unsure what to say.

"I'm used to it," she mumbled vaguely.

"Used to it?" Liu Pucheng asked with renewed curiosity. "Perhaps the Young Madam is quite accustomed to analgesic methods?"

Qi Yue laughed twice.

"Let me examine the patient first," she quickly said.

"You... you are..." The injured man on the other side was surprised by the sudden appearance of this woman. When he heard her speak, his surprise turned to astonishment. "You are the physician who treated my injury yesterday?"

Today, Qi Yue was not wearing a mask or hat, nor her white cloth gown. Her hair was simply pinned up, and she wore a light beige gauze ganzi paired with a light purple sheer skirt—clearly the attire of a young lady from a wealthy family, someone one would expect in the private rooms of the finest tea houses or wine houses, not stepping directly into the main hall with such casual movements and direct questioning. It was only when she spoke that the patient recognized the voice.

Qi Yue stood some distance away and smiled at him, reaching out to A'ru for her mask, gown, and gloves, which she then donned.

"I'll assess the situation in a moment. It would be better to move him to a private room; personnel entering and exiting must observe sterilization protocols," Qi Yue stated.

"Sterilization?" Liu Pucheng asked, puzzled.

"Oh, that means eliminating bacteria using things like distilled liquor or salt water," Qi Yue explained.

"Bacteria?" Liu Pucheng was even more confused.

Bacteria, microbiology...

"It means... it means those things that cause sores to fester and decay," Qi Yue clarified.

Liu Pucheng nodded.

"So, if one does as the Young Madam does, one can avoid festering and decay?" he asked quickly.

"It's certainly better than not doing it," Qi Yue sighed.

Liu Pucheng nodded thoughtfully.

Only then did Qi Yue approach to examine the patient.

"Stethoscope," she commanded, then turned her head to ask, "How was his sleep?"

This question was directed at Liu Pucheng standing nearby.

"Night sweats, restlessness, fever, and wound pain," Liu Pucheng recited.

"What about urination? What color is the urine?" Qi Yue asked again, taking the stethoscope A'ru handed her. As she lifted the thin sheet covering the patient, she revealed a tightly muscled chest layered with bandages. He was only wearing shorts below the waist.

The patient gasped in fright and instinctively tried to pull the covering back up.

"You... you..." His face flushed red, and he stammered.

What about urination? How can a woman ask such a thing? Does she... does she intend to look?!

"It's fine," Liu Pucheng replied, though he too felt a bit awkward. Then his attention was drawn to the stethoscope in Qi Yue's hand.

"What is this instrument the Young Madam uses?" he asked.

Qi Yue listened carefully to the patient's chest.

"This? This is a stethoscope," she replied. "It can measure blood pressure, listen to the heart rate, and diagnose inflammation or pleural effusion..."

As she spoke, she straightened up, took off the stethoscope, and examined it. It was somewhat old. She hadn't used it frequently back in Yanjing; it was only after arriving at Daqingshan, due to the lack of equipment, that she picked it up again.

In Yanjing, even diagnosing a common cold relied on medical testing equipment—the standard procedure was to draw blood and run labs; who needed a stethoscope?

"My tutor used to call the three treasures of a physician, and we all used to laugh—with so much advanced equipment, what treasures could these be?" Qi Yue picked up the thermometer and sphygmomanometer, sighing as she murmured, "Today, I truly understand what they meant..."

Saying this, she bent down and patted the arm of the injured man, who was completely dumbfounded by their conversation.

"Come now, young man, let's check your temperature and measure your blood pressure."

The patient stiffened slightly at the touch of her warm hand.

"Hey, Young Mistress, you've seen and touched everything on me now," he said.

Qi Yue laughed heartily.

"Don't talk nonsense," A'ru chastised him quietly, unable to listen further, while secretly glancing at Chang Yuncheng standing nearby.

Chang Yuncheng's complexion was somewhat dark, making his expression impossible to read.

Qi Yue finished the examination quickly, looking relaxed. The first day's outcome was good; if he remained stable for the next three days, he would pass the critical stage.

"Excellent, young man, you have a strong constitution," she smiled. "I can change your dressing in two days..."

Speaking of changing the dressing, her expression faltered, and she turned toward the medicine box.

The empty medicine bottles had been collected. What remained were surgical instruments, a few pairs of reusable gloves, iodine swabs, alcohol swabs, and dressing packs—all were gone. This medicine box would no longer need to be brought out.

"Young Madam?" Liu Pucheng called out, noticing Qi Yue's sudden shift.

Qi Yue snapped back to attention and smiled at him.

"I will come to check on the wound changes every day," she continued the unfinished sentence, then turned and took out the last antibiotic vial, examining it repeatedly, as if trying to burn it into her memory. This seemed strange to those around her.

However, ever since this Young Madam appeared, had any of her actions not been strange?

"Goodbye," Qi Yue murmured to herself, unable to resist bringing the small vial close to her lips and kissing it lightly.

"Does the Young Madam mean that the ultimate reason this massive wound healed after being closed with sutures is because of this medicine?" Liu Pucheng asked.

At this point, he had invited Qi Yue to sit briefly in a small side room. Because he had forewarned that they would be discussing medical matters, the highly esteemed Chang Yuncheng was not invited. A'ru, however, followed in and stood quietly behind Qi Yue.

"The primary causes of death from such trauma are excessive blood loss and infection, and this medicine, called an antibiotic, is what resolves the infection issue," Qi Yue explained.

Liu Pucheng's expression grew heavy. He rose and retrieved a small box from a nearby shelf.

Qi Yue watched him curiously, unsure what he intended to do. Then, Liu Pucheng placed the box on the table and opened it.

Inside lay several needles of varying sizes and some strange thread.

"This is..." Qi Yue stood up in surprise, looking at Liu Pucheng. "You know the art of suturing as well?"

The Knot of Destiny: Traditional Chinese Edition launches on February 28th. The editor says Jinshidong has started pre-orders, and the current results are quite good. Friends who enjoy this book in its traditional script version are welcome to check it out. "N Yi Chuan giggles...