The courtyard Hu San rented was a traditional Siheyuan with two entrances and a gatehouse made of brick and tile.

"The mud walls are flaking a bit, do you want to get them repaired?" Hu San asked.

Xiao Qu took the other three to help A Ru and A Hao unpack and settle their luggage, while Qi Yue, the hands-off manager, followed the head steward Hu San to inspect the residence.

"If we aren't staying long, once the Young Lord returns, we can move to..." Hu San began to say.

He was cut off by a glare from Qi Yue.

"I'm not going there. It's not like I have nowhere else to go. I'm here visiting family, not seeking refuge," she stated firmly.

Hu San chuckled.

"Exactly, let him become the live-in son-in-law," he laughed.

Qi Yue laughed heartily.

"Then I'll find someone to fix it tomorrow, just in time for the new son-in-law to arrive," Hu San teased.

Joking with Qi Yue was always a pleasure; there was no fear of ending up with a scratched face.

"Go on, go on. We'll be spending the New Year here, so fix it up well," Qi Yue smiled.

A proper renovation wouldn't be finished in a day or two, so Qi Yue stayed at an inn temporarily, only officially moving in on the third day.

The accumulated snow had been cleared away, the freshly repaired courtyard hung with red lanterns, and the aroma of food drifted from the kitchen, lending a homey feeling to the small yard.

Qi Yue stood at the doorway, watching Hu San and Xiao Qu hang lanterns.

"Xiao Qu, any news on Chang Yuncheng?" she asked.

"Yes, he's on his way back from the Capital," Xiao Qu replied.

That would take over twenty days.

Qi Yue calculated the days.

"Were you discovered when you were inquiring?" she asked again.

Xiao Qu nodded with a smile.

"It was just coincidence. The group I knew were transferred along with the Young Lord. The ones left, I know them, but they don't know me," he explained.

He paused here.

"However, it seems like something is happening recently; everyone is very busy," Xiao Qu mentioned. "They appear to be preparing to receive someone. The higher-ups are keeping tight-lipped about it; they don't know anything."

Qi Yue nodded, unconcerned.

Just as they were speaking, there was a heavy knocking at the door.

"Is the physician here? Is there a physician staying here?"

This was accompanied by a man's deep, booming voice.

They hadn't prepared to practice medicine here, so the only ones who knew they were physicians must be...

Qi Yue tilted her chin up, and Hu San hurried to open the door.

A man burst in, and his eyes immediately fell on Qi Yue standing under the eaves. He promptly dropped to his knees and kowtowed.

"Thank you, Physician, for saving my life! Thank you, Physician, for saving my life!" he cried out, his voice trembling.

Qi Yue quickly signaled for someone to help him up.

The man possessed considerable strength; even Hu San couldn't steady him and nearly tumbled over himself.

It took Xiao Qu and the others stepping forward to restrain him and help him stand.

An expert's touch was immediately apparent; the burly man sensed the skill of Xiao Qu and the others, showed a brief flicker of surprise, and obediently stood upright.

"So, your brother is well now?" Qi Yue inquired.

The man, named Da Chun, nodded, his expression filled with excitement.

"Yes, yes. He woke up that very night, even ate something, and now he can walk, and he even went back to the barracks," he reported.

The thought of those men in the barracks seeing Da Niu's jaw drop made him want to laugh out loud.

"Be careful not to let water touch the wound, and eat well to recover," Qi Yue advised with a smile. "Then go find a physician to look at it and prescribe some medicine to take or apply externally."

"But you are the physician! Why would I find another one!" Da Chun quickly protested.

Qi Yue smiled but remained silent.

Da Chun seemed to recall something else and pulled out a money pouch.

"I don't know if this consultation fee is enough?" he asked somewhat nervously.

Bringing someone back from the brink of death—a life-saving cure—must be extremely expensive.

Da Niu's family had no money; this was all he managed to scrape together by borrowing from several places.

However, even this large sum was relative to him. To this lady...

His gaze drifted to the hairpin adorning her hair; even the garrison commander's wife never wore anything so fine...

Of course, as a mere soldier, he had only seen the garrison commander's wife from a distance once.

Qi Yue reached out, took the pouch, weighed it, and poured out half of the contents.

"This is enough," she said, handing the remaining pouch back.

Da Chun was overjoyed and quickly took it.

Hu San, standing nearby, pursed his lips; this man was truly honest...

After paying, Da Chun hesitated, wanting to say more.

"If you have something to say, be straightforward, man," Qi Yue said with a smile.

"It's like this..." Da Chun rubbed his hands, a little anxiously, "I have a few more brothers. I was wondering if the lady might be willing to examine them too?"

"Certainly. I am a physician, after all. If there are patients, I must see them," Qi Yue replied with a gentle smile.

Da Chun felt a great weight lift, breathing a sigh of relief, looking elated, yet then something else occurred to him.

"Um, they are all just poor soldiers, my lady, please don't look down on them..." he murmured.

Partly because of the small amount of money, and partly because of the humble lodgings.

"That's enough, don't be so formal. I am a physician. When do people seek a physician? When they are sick, when they are unwell, in their most desperate moments. Who seeks us out when they are clean, well-dressed, and radiant? If you look down on patients, then you shouldn't be a physician," Qi Yue laughed. "Go, leave an address for my apprentice and set a time. I will pay a visit."

Da Chun was thrilled, thanking Qi Yue profusely, then looked towards Hu San with deference, completely lacking the imposing demeanor he had at the city gate earlier.

After giving Hu San the address, Da Chun dared not even set a time, only saying that whenever the lady found it convenient, and then he hurried off.

Treading on the thick snow, Da Chun sprinted until he reached a military camp. He went all the way to the innermost, low-slung barracks, where four or five men in worn soldier's robes were already craning their necks, looking out.

"Da Chun is back!" they shouted happily.

Seven or eight men, dressed similarly, rushed out of the hut.

"How was it?" they clamored around Da Chun.

"She agreed! She agreed!" Da Chun shouted with joy.

These men immediately became ecstatic, rushing into the hut. In the dim interior, there was a row of wide heated brick beds, with men lying on the beds and sitting on the floor—all of them groaning, their arms, legs, or heads bandaged. They were clearly all injured soldiers.

"When is she coming?" someone asked impatiently.

This was a man with an injured leg. Seeing Da Niu, who had been given a death sentence for a similar leg injury but was now walking again, felt like grasping the last straw of salvation.

"It's already a blessing that she agreed to come. How could I possibly press her on when she will arrive," Da Chun replied. "But everyone rest assured, this lady is wonderful, just wait patiently."

Just as the excitement peaked, voices were heard from outside.

"Distribute the medicine! Distribute the medicine! Whoever needs medicine, come claim it yourself!"

This voice carried the usual impatience, but the wounded soldiers did not surge forward to grab the medicine as they normally would.

"Get lost, you son of a bitch! I don't want your useless medicine!" someone shouted loudly.

What?

Have these men gone mad?

Two men in gray cloth robes, hands tucked in their sleeves, exchanged surprised glances.

"We don't want your useless medicine anymore since you keep doling it out. We've hired a proper physician ourselves. You military doctors, scram!" Da Chun shouted, walking out of the hut and glaring at the two men.

The two men glared back, then noticed the others slowly emerging, supported by canes or leaning on others.

Indeed, no one stepped forward.

"If you won't take it, then don't!" the two gray-robed men regained their composure and sneered. "We can't be bothered serving you anyway."

They waved their hands, and two nearby soldiers lifted a large tray laden with seven or eight small wooden buckets, from which a medicinal scent emanated.

"Let's go," they said, turning to leave.

Initially, the military medical staff didn't take it seriously. Most of these wounded soldiers were destined to be crippled—turning from healthy men into useless cripples—so a drastic change in temperament was expected. But after several times of this happening, everyone realized these injured soldiers were serious.

"They said they hired a female doctor..."

"Yes, and Da Chun even had a fight with the guards because they won't allow women into the barracks..."

"Where did they find a woman? To treat illness?"

"Yes, and they have the nerve because Da Niu was cured."

"Which Da Niu?"

"The one who was ambushed, shot in the leg by a poisoned barb arrow, and refused amputation. Then the septic poison spread to his vital organs, and he was about to die."

"What? That one? How on earth was he cured?"

"Isn't that right? He was cured. Otherwise, why would those men have such confidence in praising that woman?"

"If that's the case, then that woman really must have some skill."

The room, still faintly smelling of medicine, buzzed with discussion. Four or five men gathered together had been chatting lively for half a day, but there was one man sitting alone in the corner, meticulously fiddling with some herbs, his expression vacant, as if he could neither hear nor see the excitement.

"Doctor Qiao, what do you think?"

He might not see the others, but they could see him, so someone asked.

Qiao Minghua lowered his head to slice herbs, a cold sneer flickering across his lips.

"What's there to see? What's so interesting?" he said dully.

Everyone knew about his peculiar temper and exchanged glances.

"Alright, alright, if they don't want the medicine, they don't want it. We still need to prepare it; they aren't the only ones who might need medicine," someone called out, and the group dispersed to attend to their own tasks.

Meanwhile, inside the wounded soldier barracks, Qi Yue was already busy.

The injuries here were typical cases of external infection—wounds caused by blades and swords in this cold-weapon era. Because of the lack of timely wound debridement and infection control, injuries that shouldn't have been fatal or crippling had developed into seemingly incurable conditions. Fortunately, Qi Yue carried some penicillin with her, which acted as a miraculous life-saving technique.

"We're temporarily out of anesthetic. How about I perform the surgery for you tomorrow?" she asked the injured man lying before her.

Tomorrow? After waiting so long for hope, this injured man didn't want to wait a moment longer.

"I'm not afraid of pain. I wasn't afraid of pain when half my leg was severed," he rushed to say.

"But the debridement will be even more painful than that," Qi Yue cautioned.

Before her words had fully settled, a commotion erupted outside.

"What's going on? What is this? I hear you actually let a woman into the barracks! Are you all tired of living?"

A clear male voice shouted, accompanied by others echoing his call.

"I know you are suffering from your injuries, but you can't act recklessly..." the voice continued, accompanied by the sound of footsteps approaching this hut.

"Lord Jiang, we are not acting recklessly. The military doctors couldn't cure us; we are just fighting for a chance to live."

"What chance to live! A mere woman is your chance to live? Are you joking!"

"My Lord, My Lord, he isn't joking. This lady is a divine doctor!"

"Go away, go away! What divine doctor! Let me see just how 'divine' this doctor is..."

With that, the door to the hut was kicked open with a loud bang, and a tall, thin man swaggered in, followed by four or five men armed with sabers and arrows, looking as if they had just come from the battlefield, or perhaps just returned from feasting and revelry.

The moment the door opened, Qi Yue stood up and turned around.

The men who rushed in felt their eyes brighten instantly.

"Wow, she really is a beauty! And so young!"

"Come on, I won! Give me the money, give me the money..."

The men immediately burst into laughter and banter, but the leading man froze as if struck by lightning.

No way?

Was he dreaming?

Who was he seeing?

I still have a few chapters left to finish paying? How many chapters are left? RS