Snow began to fall again just as the midnight hour struck. When Qi Yue opened her eyes at dawn, she initially thought she must have slept until late morning.

"It's still early," A'ru remarked, adding a lump of charcoal to the brazier.

Qi Yue rose, stretching her limbs inside the room, glancing outside through the oiled paper window.

"Looks like I’m not destined for a lazy morning," she chuckled, pulling on her heavy cloak. "I'll just pop out to the privy..."

A'ru called out quickly as she started toward the door.

"The Young Master has already gone out," she informed her, her tone tinged with careful curiosity, pointing vaguely toward the side quarters.

Qi Yue merely gave an "oh."

"I'll just use yours then, it's more convenient," she said with a wave, and walked out.

A'ru stood behind her, a look of concern etched on her face. After the incident last night, there had been no bickering, no shouting, no pointed exchanges—they had all hoped the two would find a way to coexist peacefully, but now that they were peaceful, A'ru felt a prickling dread.

What was truly happening? Things had been so much better; why the sudden shift...?

"Qiuxiang, what happened with the Young Master yesterday?" A'ru murmured to the maid entering the room.

Qiuxiang waved her off, glancing around before stepping closer on quiet feet.

"Yesterday, the Young Master knelt outside the Madam's quarters for half the day..." she whispered.

A'ru froze.

It was... the Madam...

She let out a sigh and asked no more questions.

Qi Yue finished her ablutions, ate alone, and then sat quietly in the room reading.

"The Young Master is in the study reading," A'ru remarked casually while refilling the teapot, as if making idle conversation.

Qi Yue hummed an acknowledgement.

"It really is inconvenient, occupying someone else's rooms. I must find a chance to move out soon," she said lightly.

A'ru hesitated, watching Qi Yue lower her gaze back to her book.

"Young Mistress, regarding the Madam... perhaps you should... maybe you ought to..." she finally mustered the courage to speak.

"What about her now? Is she coming to cause trouble again?" Qi Yue looked up, bewildered.

A'ru looked at her with some urgency.

"Young Mistress, if you keep thinking that way, your relationship with the Madam will only grow worse," she advised. "She is, after all, your mother-in-law. You must..."

"Plead for her favor?" Qi Yue picked up the thread, smiling.

Isn't she quite clever? A'ru nodded quickly.

Qi Yue smiled, turning the quill pen in her hand.

"A'ru, the Marchioness consented to this marriage from the very start, didn't she?" she asked.

A'ru nodded.

"But this marriage did happen," Qi Yue stated, fixing her gaze on A'ru. "This is no longer about whether she dislikes me as a person. It's about the fact itself—this event that went against her wishes—that has become her obsession. As long as I exist, it will constantly remind her of her humiliation."

A'ru looked at her, comprehension dawning. Her face went chalk-white.

"Then... then is there no way?" she asked, her voice trembling.

If a mother-in-law dislikes her daughter-in-law, how can life be peaceful? If it were some other household where the mother-in-law didn't interfere, it might be bearable, but here, the Marchioness was the undisputed first lady of the house, and moreover, the Young Master obeyed his mother's every word...

"There is," Qi Yue set down the pen, a touch of seriousness in her demeanor.

A'ru instantly brightened, knowing her Young Mistress was smart and capable.

"Divorce, so she can claim victory and have her wish granted," Qi Yue said with a faint smile.

A'ru felt as if an ice bucket had been dumped over her head.

"Di-divorce?" she stammered. Having been with Qi Yue for so long, she could generally guess the meaning of these unfamiliar terms. "You mean he li [mutual separation]?"

"I won't be dismissed," Qi Yue stated firmly, then picked up her pen. "It wasn't Qi Yue Niang who insisted on coming to their house. Since they invited me in, naturally, they must also see me out. Dismissed? On what grounds!"

"That's not what I meant," A'ru stamped her foot. This Young Mistress's line of thinking was truly...

"I know what you mean," Qi Yue interrupted. "All right, A'ru, I understand. I have my own plans. You run along and attend to your duties; I need to seize this time to read a bit. I'll need to rely on this for my livelihood in the future..."

Saying this, she stood up and ushered A'ru toward the door.

"What... what do you mean, rely on this for a living?" A'ru asked, more bewildered than ever.

"If I truly become a renowned divine physician and bring honor to the Marquis's household, then the Marquis will protect me. Otherwise, how could I be frolicking around so freely at home? So, I mean relying on my medical skills for sustenance..." Qi Yue smiled, pushing A'ru out the door. "Go have some fun."

Was that it? Before A'ru could press further, the door was closed by Qi Yue.

At this hour, most merchants in the city were just opening their doors, and the Rejuvenation Hall, situated in the city center, was no exception.

The young shop assistant, hunching his shoulders, had just removed one of the door panels when he heard a clamor followed immediately by people crashing into the entryway.

"Doctor, Doctor..." they shouted loudly, interspersed with cries, trying to force their way in.

"What is this? What are you doing? We aren't open yet!" the assistant yelled back.

"Doctor, hurry and call a doctor! My elder brother is dying..." The leader was two burly men wearing animal-hide coats, clearly hunters.

The assistant took a good look and recognized them.

"Oh, the one gored by the wild boar," he said, finally reaching out to lower the second door panel. "Didn't my master already examine him? Why are you back?"

The group surged in, carrying the stretcher.

"My elder brother is gone," they cried out in confusion.

The assistant leaned in to look and gasped in shock. On the stretcher lay a man who had lost consciousness, mumbling nonsense while rocking his head, and the wound visible on his leg had already turned black and was festering.

"What's wrong?" Wang Qingspring, the doctor at Rejuvenation Hall, emerged, asking as he approached.

"Master, it's bad, it's the rot—" the assistant started to whisper, rushing forward, but was sharply struck on the hand and fell silent.

"What do you know? Spouting nonsense about illness," disciple Wu Shan, following behind Wang Qingspring, glared and snapped.

The assistant mumbled sheepishly, not daring to speak further, as Wang Qingspring moved closer.

"Doctor, look at him, he took a turn for the worse starting last night," the family members watched him with eager, hopeful eyes.

Wang Qingspring nodded, his calm demeanor unbroken, and began to roll up his sleeve to bend down, but when he saw the wound clearly, the hand he had extended to check the pulse stopped mid-air.

"He's still taking the medicine, right?" he then asked, stroking his beard and drawing his hand back.

"Taking it, taking it," the family members hurried to confirm.

"Keep taking it, and we'll see how it goes," Wang Qingspring instructed. He glanced at his disciple. "Prepare some more external applications."

Wu Shan acknowledged and left.

"Then... is he going to be alright?" The family members were surprised by the simplicity of the advice, looking back at the delirious man on the stretcher.

"Keep taking the medicine and we'll see. As for illness, one must do one's utmost and leave the rest to fate," Wang Qingspring said.

The family caught the hidden meaning in those words.

"Are you even a competent doctor?" A short, stout man pushed forward, glaring. "Can you treat him or not?"

Such words were the most grating to any physician.

"Incompetent? If we were incompetent, would you be coming to our hall?" Wu Shan snorted in response.

"Well, Dr. Liu at the Hall of a Thousand Gold isn't here," the stout man retorted with a similar snort.

This was too much; Wu Shan glared, ready to fire back another retort.

"I see," Wang Qingspring intervened, his manner still gentle. "Dr. Liu has returned. I happened to meet him on my way over."

Hearing this, the stout man immediately turned back.

"Let's go, let's hurry to the Hall of a Thousand Gold!" he shouted.

At this command, the crowd indeed picked up the stretcher and noisily headed off.

"Master, look at those people..." Wu Shan was furious. "Since when did Rejuvenation Hall fall lower than a simple sprain and bruise clinic?"

This was naked humiliation.

Wang Qingspring, however, remained placid.

"This is Jie Du (Carbuncle Poison)," he suddenly murmured.

Wu Shan, who had been grumbling incessantly, froze mid-sentence, turning to his Master with disbelief.

"Jie Du? Isn't that..." he exclaimed softly.

Wang Qingspring nodded, a faint smile touching his lips.

"An incurable disease," he stated slowly.

Wu Shan was stunned for a long moment before regaining his composure.

"That's excellent news," he smiled too, his gaze drifting toward the street outside. Following the road around two turns lay the Hall of a Thousand Gold. "Since they won't let us treat them and insist on the Hall of a Thousand Gold handling it, if the man dies, it won't be our concern."

This was the truly naked slap in the face, only this time, it wasn't Rejuvenation Hall's reputation on the line.

Wu Shan chuckled darkly.

"Master, I'm going to take a look," he said.

As Wu Shan tucked his hands into his sleeves and stepped out, Hu San walked in carrying a bundle.

The moment he entered, he was instantly surrounded by the crowd.

"Mine! Mine..."

They eagerly reached out toward his bundle.

"Don't grab! Don't grab..." Hu San shouted, shielding the bundle. "Queue up."

"Why should we queue?" the crowd grumbled in dissatisfaction.

"No queue, no distribution," Hu San huffed.

This boy was shameless; the others had no choice but to form a chaotic line. Once formed, the first in line was a disciple nearing thirty. He reached out with a touch of excitement.

"What did you call me?" Hu San asked, holding up a piece of hide, looking up at him.

The disciple was taken aback by the question.

"I didn't call anything," he replied.

Hu San weighed the hide in his hand.

"I thought you called me Senior Brother," he grinned, drawing out his tone. "Turns out you didn't..."

The disciple finally registered the exchange, his mouth twitching, and he reached to grab the hide. Hu San also pulled on his end, refusing to let go.

"If you don't call me Senior Brother, does that mean no hide?" the disciple challenged, glaring.

"I carried this all this way; shouldn't I earn a proper greeting?" Hu San glared back.

Too shameless! His fellow apprentices rushed forward, surrounding Hu San, cuffing him and laughing, though one of them managed to wrest a piece of hide into his hand.

"You are all so shameless!" Hu San bellowed.

The back hall erupted in laughter and roughhousing. When Zhang Tong and Liu Pucheng entered, they both paused, surprised.

"What is going on!" Zhang Tong immediately shouted. The others instantly stopped their roughhousing and, seeing Liu Pucheng, quickly stood up straight with bowed heads.

"I brought the hides my Master asked to be prepared..." Hu San ignored his rumpled, pushed-around clothing, rushed over with a piece of hide in hand. "Master, you're back."

"What is this?" Liu Pucheng asked with some curiosity.

Just as Zhang Tong was about to speak, Hu San preempted him and explained everything.

Liu Pucheng was both surprised and delighted, nodding repeatedly in approval.

"Give me one too," he reached out.

"Ah, Master, do you still need to learn?" Hu San asked.

"It's always good to learn more," Liu Pucheng smiled, accepting the hide.

As they spoke, loud calls came from the front hall:

"Master, critical trauma case!"