The partial recovery... Three days passed in the blink of an eye. The news from the courtyard remained unchanged - no breakthroughs in treating the illness, while Qi Yue, Liu Pucheng and others had grown gaunt and hollow-eyed from exhaustion.

The prefect's wife was finally permitted inside to be with her son, whose delirious ramblings punctuated long periods of unconsciousness. The couple's tears had long since dried up.

"I'll return home for a moment," the prefect said dully, "we should begin making preparations."

Wenchang Hou watched this and felt his own heart ache.

"Don't rush," he murmured, "they're still working on it..." Now even the simple reassurance of 'everything will be fine' felt like an impossibility.

"What more can there be?" The prefect whispered, eyes fixed on Qi Yue inside. He turned toward the room where she was tending to their son. "Fate has decided this - I shouldn't cling desperately, making my child suffer longer. Let him go soon, let him find peace."

Wenchang Hou exhaled heavily, following his gaze into the room.

"Ziqiao," Qi Yue bent close to the patient's ear, her voice gentle, "how are you feeling?"

The wounded man remained unconscious.

"My lady." Aru clutched the notebook in trembling hands. She watched Qi Yue with solemn determination, but finally bit her lip and lowered her eyes back to recording notes without speaking.

"High fever itself is not dangerous," Qi Yue straightened up, "what's truly concerning is the loss of consciousness."

"Fever isn't dangerous?" Liu Pucheng frowned.

"Precisely. Post-surgery fevers are common - we've been unable to determine..."

The word 'we' caught Liu Pucheng's attention sharply. He opened his mouth but said nothing.

"...Yet why this coma? A sudden septic shock perhaps?" Qi Yue exhaled sharply, how much fluid had already collected? Any other internal bleeding? Platelet count? Ultrasound! Blood tests! Even a single chance would be...

Liu Pucheng rubbed his beard thoughtfully.

"Zhang Tong. Increase the raw huangqi by ten more measures. Add fried malt and tangerine peel," he instructed.

Zhang Tong nodded and hurried away to prepare.

Qi Yue braced herself against the table, watching as the decoction was poured through a heron-beak funnel.

All possible measures had been taken - now all that remained was waiting.

Though the prefect's son still languished in illness, Qi Yue had already gained a reputation among the local physicians.

Of course, only within YONGQING's medical circles.

Compared to the tense atmosphere inside Wenchang Hou's estate, those outside were even more anxious.

These professional doctors understood abdominal surgery better than commoners, having read about it in texts and theoretically accepted its feasibility - though none had ever witnessed or performed such a procedure firsthand.

"...I remember when one doctor drained an abscess, but the illness suddenly worsened. The patient died within three days with blackness spreading over his skin..." They muttered among themselves, "...Now they're actually performing abdominal surgery..."

"Truly reckless," someone scoffed, "who is this young lady of Wenchang Hou? A scion of a renowned medical family?"

"I asked around - she's an orphan. No noble lineage at all!"

"What! Impossible!"

"Why not? It was years ago and the whole city knew about it."

The conversation shifted from abdominal surgery to the remarkable rise of the beggar girl.

A doctor cleared his throat.

"But still, they've actually taken on this surgery."

"Yet we're being kept out. How can we know if this is real or a charade?" someone else questioned.

Indeed. A heavy silence fell over the group.

"It's simple - we'll see whether the prefect's son lives or dies," another declared.

The others nodded in agreement, all gazing toward Wenchang Hou mansion.

So many days had passed without news - it seemed fate had already decided...

Inside, Qi Yue sat while Liu Pucheng stood both deep in thought. Aru and Hu San were carefully turning the patient over.

"There have been moments of improvement," Liu Pucheng mused aloud, "this proves our prescriptions are working."

Qi Yue nodded.

"But why hasn't it fully taken effect? Why these persistent relapses?" she sighed.

The two fell into contemplative silence again.

"Ah Ru - the saline solution you needed..." Hu San brought over a basin of salt water softly.

Aru nodded and set aside her notes.

Hu San followed, offering a clean face mask with solicitous care.

"No need for this," Aru said, "I'm just rinsing his mouth."

"Just put it on," Hu San insisted lowly, "when I turned him earlier, he smelled terrible..."

"That doesn't give you reason to be disgusted. He's ill!" Aru frowned at him sharply.

Hu San chuckled awkwardly. Since the yuanbao incident, he had been making every effort to please her - yet her attitude remained unchanged.

"Don't talk here," Zhang Tong warned softly, gesturing toward Liu and Qi lost in thought.

Hu San and Aru both fell silent instantly.

"Smell?" Qi Yue suddenly murmured, turning sharply to Hu San. "What did you say?"

Hu San waved his hands nervously.

"I didn't say anything..."

"No, you did," Qi Yue stood up, eyes narrowing. "What smell exactly?"

Relieved it wasn't reprimanding him this time, Hu San sighed in relief.

"Er... the patient has halitosis..." he pointed at the bed sheepishly, "I know a doctor shouldn't be repulsed by..."

"Halitosis?" Qi Yue repeated, eyes suddenly lighting up. She rushed forward.

Aru, who had been about to clean his mouth, was pushed aside.

Everyone watched as Qi Yue leaned over, sniffing around the patient's nose and face. All stared in stunned silence.

"Liver odor!" she exclaimed, leaping back up with an electrified expression. "Liver odor!"

Liu Pucheng hurried over.

"Coma hepatica! Coma hepatica!" Qi Yue turned to him breathlessly, her voice trembling from excitement. "Master Teacher, it's liver coma! Emergency medicine! Get the An Gong Niu Huang Wan quickly!"

Though not versed in traditional remedies, she knew of this famous emergency formula.

The room erupted into sudden chaos.

This commotion reached the outer servants who shook their heads, sighing heavily - after so many days' delay, had they finally lost him...

When evening fell, Xie Shi arrived.

"Prepare to move Huang Gongzi out," she said coldly.

"No way. He can't go back now," Qi Yue refused outright.

Xie Shi sneered cruelly.

"So you want him to die in our home? You've tormented this child long enough - even his death must be a spectacle?"

"He's still alive, not yet lost," Qi Yue countered.

Xie Shi scoffed.

"Alive? What kind of life is that!" she mocked, glancing at the bed through the curtain.

Her words were cut off by an unexpected cry from inside.

Just as expected - now it was all over?

A hidden thrill flickered in Xie Shi's eyes.

"My lady! My lady! He's waking up! He's waking up!" Aru's high-pitched voice pierced through.

Qi Yue rushed in while Xie Shi froze. Through the swaying curtain, she saw the patient slowly turning his head on the bed.

"...Where am I... where is this place?" he whispered weakly.

For Qi Yue and others present, it was undoubtedly the most beautiful sound they'd ever heard.

He's awake! He's awake!

Qi Yue clapped a hand over her mouth to suppress an outburst of joy, but couldn't stop happy tears from welling up in her eyes.

Dad... did you see what I've done...

Dad... do you believe it? What I've accomplished...