An extra update—I was feeling a bit down recently, but I’ve adjusted now, no worries. I’ll be updating more over the weekend! I won't let everyone down! And I won't let myself down either!

After a suffocating silence, Qi Yue let out a soft gasp.

I won the bet! Thank heavens! Thank all the Bodhisattvas!

“Found it,” Guan Cai shouted.

Qi Yue carefully turned the tissue, slowly exposing the entire silver spoon.

“Let me take it out,” Guan Cai said, reaching out with the tweezers.

“Wait,” Qi Yue called, reaching out and gripping Guan Cai’s hand.

Everyone flinched. Even through the thick gloves, Guan Cai stiffened from the sudden contact.

Qi Yue pulled Guan Cai’s hand away, carefully separating the surrounding tissue to reveal the intestinal wall. Then everyone saw the lower end of the silver spoon piercing the intestine, and right next to the spoon's head, a large blood vessel was exposed.

“This is the iliac artery…” she said, her voice trembling for the first time. “Looking at this, any later and it would have worn through, causing massive bleeding. Death would have followed in just ten minutes… What incredible luck.”

She couldn't have saved him from massive bleeding before the surgery, but massive bleeding during the operation would have sealed her fate.

“Are you talking about yourself or this little boy?” Guan Cai suddenly asked.

Qi Yue couldn't help but laugh.

“Both,” she chuckled, carefully extracting the silver spoon and then suturing the abraded intestinal wall.

The tension in the operating room vanished.

“Here, take this and keep it safe. Don't let him eat this again,” Qi Yue said, handing the sterilized silver spoon to the Prefect’s wife with a smile.

The Prefect’s wife looked at the spoon, her expression complex.

“Never again,” she choked out. “If this happened one more time, I’d rather die first.”

Qi Yue smiled and comforted her.

“There are many little children who start putting things in their mouths from just a few months old. Children learn about the world with their mouths; it’s instinct, and you can’t watch them every second. For the young master to only do this for the first time now, at seven years old, is actually quite good. It shows you are a truly responsible mother,” she said kindly.

The Prefect’s wife had been consumed by self-reproach these past few days, wishing she could die from guilt. Hearing Qi Yue’s words warmed her heart against her will.

“Mistress Qi, thank you,” she said, looking up, wanting to say more, but finding herself at a loss for words, finally just managing that.

Qi Yue smiled at her.

“You should rest now too. He’s still in intensive care; the nurses are watching him. You can’t help much there anyway, so at least you can rest assured. Go get some rest,” she said, then recalled something. “However, you cannot return to the manor; you must stay here as a patient. The conditions are a bit simple, Madam, I apologize for the inconvenience…”

Forget staying in the hospital; at this moment, she wouldn’t blink if told to sleep on the street.

“No inconvenience, none at all,” the Prefect’s wife quickly said, looking around the ward. “There are two empty beds here, and it’s quite spacious, enough for us to stay.”

Those two beds weren't actually for them to stay in… Qi Yue twitched the corner of her mouth, but never mind. Even in modern times, there were private rooms; given the status of the Prefect and his wife, perhaps a single room wouldn't be out of line.

Having finished here, Qi Yue still couldn't rest and rushed next door to the wet nurse.

The wet nurse’s family and the Prefect’s family had already met. There was some initial awkwardness between the two parties, but it quickly dissolved after they both had a good cry. The Prefect’s wife assured the wet nurse she would be well cared for and that the Prefect’s manor would not abandon her, which left the wet nurse weeping with gratitude.

A’Ru had been reassigned to the Prefect’s young master. Zhang Tong, along with a disciple, was handling the care here. Seeing that the frequency and color of the stools were normal in the records, Qi Yue finally breathed a sigh of relief. She administered the last two injections of White Mao Xia Ku Cao, and then the extraction work could cease; from now on, it would rely on standard traditional herbal decoctions.

After inspecting the wards, a long line had already formed at the outpatient clinic again. Fortunately, Liu Pucheng had taken on the main burden, insisting that Qi Yue go home to rest.

“The patient just finished surgery here, and another has just stabilized next door. I’ll rest here for a bit,” Qi Yue firmly refused.

Surgery is dangerous, but the post-operative period is even riskier. Liu Pucheng understood this principle, and indeed, they couldn't manage without her now. It would be a terrible loss if anything went wrong and all their efforts were for naught. He had no choice but to agree.

“It seems we need to hire two more doctors,” he said, stroking his beard as he looked at the bustling main hall. The people queuing up were not just for traditional consultations but also for surgery now—that was draining work. Relying only on the two of them, they would eventually not be able to keep up.

“Remember to ask for one for Internal Medicine and one for Surgery,” Qi Yue said when she overheard him.

“Internal Medicine and Surgery? What are those?” Liu Pucheng asked, perplexed.

Qi Yue tapped her forehead. The doctors here were all generalists.

“One specializing in trauma, like Teacher, and one like Elder An,” she smiled.

Liu Pucheng smiled and nodded, not daring to delay, and went back to seeing patients.

Qi Yue went to her quarters but didn't sleep, as the Second Madam had come looking for her.

“Why haven't you come home for days?” she asked, supported by her maid, Cai Qing, her face etched with worry. Seeing Qi Yue's state made her even more startled and anxious. “How did you wear yourself out like this? Look at your complexion, your eyes—oh heavens, and your hands…”

As she spoke, she began to cry.

“Cai Qing, go and take out my money to give to Yue Niang…” she called to Cai Qing.

Qi Yue quickly pulled her down to sit, smiling and persuading her.

“I really am not short of money,” she said.

“If you’re not short of money, why are you pushing yourself so hard?” the Second Madam said, wiping tears, clearly not believing it.

Pushing herself? Qi Yue paused. She didn't feel like it. This was what she was meant to do; if she weren't doing this, she truly didn't know what she would do.

“Yue Niang, don't be afraid, I’m here. You don’t need to fear anything.” The Second Madam took Qi Yue’s hand and frowned down at it. “Your hands have become like this—how can this be? They are so rough, and you’ve only been out here for how long… Cai Qing, Cai Qing, go home and bring those fragrant salves…”

Cai Qing was about to leave, but Qi Yue stopped her, only managing to persuade her to go fetch them later.

“Yue Niang, the Wang family has proposed marriage to you?” the Second Madam asked.

They all knew? Qi Yue smiled and didn't hide anything, nodding her head.

The Second Madam squeezed her hand tightly.

“Yue Niang, we absolutely cannot agree,” she said quickly. “Listen to me, your destiny isn't here. You deserve a much better fate. Yue Niang, don't worry or rush... A tremendous good life awaits you in the future…”

Qi Yue smiled and grasped the Second Madam’s hand back.

“I didn’t agree,” she said. “Besides, Old Master Wang’s proposal wasn't really a proposal; it was just to show me respect.”

She recounted the events of that day to the Second Madam.

“See? The Wang family really isn’t interested in me. If they truly wanted to arrange my marriage,” she laughed.

The Second Madam looked at her with a complicated expression. Foolish child, if this doesn’t count as being interested, what does?

But that was good; it seemed Yue Niang didn't have the Wang family in her heart at all.

But…

“Yue Niang,” she suddenly asked, “do you… still think of him?”

“No way!” Qi Yue immediately denied it, then forced a dry laugh. “What thinking or not thinking, don't guess wildly. This is completely different…”

The Second Madam looked at her. Qi Yue felt her skin crawl under the gaze and her smile felt strained.

“I was talking about her, the Old Marchioness. Who were you talking about?” the Second Madam asked.

Qi Yue threw up her hands in surrender.

“Auntie, alright, alright, I was wrong,” she said, torn between tears and laughter.

“Don't call me Auntie. How could I be your Auntie?” the Second Madam sighed. “Call me Maternal Aunt.”

Calling her older sister would be more fitting, Qi Yue thought quickly, nodding and calling her Maternal Aunt.

Hearing her address, a look of excited joy spread across the Second Madam’s frail face.

“Ah,” she responded solemnly.

“Maternal Aunt, you should hurry back and rest. Don't worry about me; I’m fine,” Qi Yue said. “The most important thing is for you to recover quickly. Didn’t you say you were going to take me to the Capital?”

This sentence struck the Second Madam to the core, and the worry faded from her face.

“Yes, I will take you,” she said, squeezing Qi Yue’s hand tightly.

After repeatedly urging Qi Yue not to overwork herself, and being repeatedly urged by Qi Yue to focus on her own health, the Second Madam finally left the Qian Jin Hall.

Because of her delicate health, even in summer, the Second Madam’s carriage was fitted with thick padding and sealed tight against the air.

After this long conversation, the Second Madam had expended considerable energy and now lay motionless against the pillows.

Cai Qing carefully took out a pill.

“Madam, it is time for your medicine,” she whispered.

The Second Madam opened her eyes, sat up, but did not take the medicine.

“Cai Qing, it is time to take out that prescription and prepare it,” she said.

Cai Qing’s hand shook, and the pill dropped into the carriage.

“Madam, no!” Her face turned pale, and she gripped the Second Madam’s hand. “That prescription, it cannot be used.”

The Second Madam smiled slightly.

“That prescription truly has a miraculous effect. It can make me move freely as if I were healthy for half a year, going wherever I please, unafraid of heat or cold, rain or wind,” she said with longing. “Cai Qing, how long has it been since I returned home?”

Tears streamed down Cai Qing’s face.

“But Madam, if you use that medicine, your body will just… just be completely…” she choked, unable to finish.

“Rather than living uselessly like this, I would rather—no, I am honored—to have this opportunity to do one thing for him,” the Second Madam’s eyes shone brilliantly with excitement. “Cai Qing, we cannot delay any longer. Do you want to wait until I don’t even have the chance to use that prescription? Do you want me to die with regrets? Cai Qing, I cannot let this chance slip away. This is the only opportunity.”

Cai Qing looked at the Second Madam, nodded through her tears, and bowed her head onto the cushion in assent.

After seeing the Second Madam off, Qi Yue and A’Ru returned to the office area.

“…A’Hao cooked soup and sent someone to deliver it. Will you eat now or wait until you rest and get up…” A’Ru said while laying out the bed, then stopped short, turning around.

Qi Yue was already asleep, her face down on the desk.

The continuous string of emergencies these past few days must have finally worn her out.

A’Ru sniffled, walked over, and reluctantly woke Qi Yue.

“Go to bed,” she said in a soft voice, as if coaxing a child, helping and supporting Qi Yue as she moved her to the cot.