The magistrate and his wife’s taut nerves suddenly relaxed. Magistrate Huang collapsed into a chair, while the magistrate’s wife breathed a sigh of relief and fainted.

“Drag her over here and ask who it was.” Marquis Dingxi shouted.

A’Hao had already been brought over. Hearing the command, she was pushed in by two female servants, her hair disheveled and clothes in disarray.

“Speak quickly, which physician cured you?” Marquis Dingxi asked.

A’Hao knelt on the ground, her whole body trembling as she hugged herself and kowtowed.

“There was no one, no one.” She cried.

Marquis Dingxi was somewhat irritated. Looking at that timid maid, his heart surprisingly lacked the usual affection, replaced instead by Nanny Su’s earlier words about “such a long scar”…

He couldn’t help but shudder, while also feeling annoyed. This damn maid actually concealed it. If this had been discovered only when taking her as a concubine, wouldn’t it have been frightening…

Fortunately, fortunately…

Marquis Dingxi’s face showed complete disgust as he lifted his leg and kicked her.

A’Hao was kicked to one side, biting her lip hard and not daring to cry loudly.

“Damn maid, a life hangs in the balance, and you’re still playing mute!” He cursed.

Magistrate Huang fell to his knees before A’Hao with a thud.

A dignified seven-foot man, the prestigious magistrate.

“Miss, my child’s life is in your hands. Please, I beg you to tell me who cured you.” He shouted hoarsely.

The people in the room panicked. Marquis Dingxi hurriedly pulled him up while A’Hao also turned over in terror and kowtowed desperately to Magistrate Huang, her forehead already bloody.

“It was the Young Madam who treated you, wasn’t it?” Chang Yuncheng’s voice came from the doorway.

The chaotic room fell silent for a moment, looking toward him.

A’Hao lay on the ground crying and trembling all over, neither admitting nor denying, which in everyone’s eyes already seemed like acknowledgment.

“I’ll go bring her back.” Chang Yuncheng asked no more questions and bowed to Magistrate Huang, who had been helped to his feet. “Please wait here, sir.”

After saying this, he turned and strode away, leaving the people in the room still in shock.

“Young Madam?” Magistrate Huang murmured, looking toward Marquis Dingxi. “She really is a physician!”

Marquis Dingxi was also filled with shock. He knew this daughter-in-law seemed to understand some medical arts, but he never expected she had reached the level of cutting open people’s bellies. Opening the abdomen – wasn’t this the legendary skill of the divine physician Bian Que?

My heavens, no wonder mother treasures this beggar maid like her own granddaughter. So she truly is a precious beauty…

Madam Xie stood up, looking toward the direction Chang Yuncheng had left, her face also full of shock.

Young Madam?

Young Madam?

That lowly servant… how could it be possible…

Qi Yue had been sitting by the pond with her fishing rod for half the day.

“Young Madam, let’s go back to eat.” A’Ru said softly behind her.

Qi Yue came back to her senses, withdrew her gaze from the lake surface, stretched lazily, and stood up.

“Let’s go.” She picked up her fishing rod and turned around.

A’Ru followed with the small stool and fish basket.

A seven or eight-year-old child suddenly darted out from the side.

“Hey, stop right there.” A guard standing not far away shouted.

With this shout, a long spear whooshed over and stuck firmly and precisely into the ground at the child’s feet.

The child screamed in fright, fell to the ground, and the basket in his hands dropped, spilling four or five dumpling-shaped things.

“Are you crazy!” Qi Yue was also so frightened her heart nearly stopped, shouting at the guard.

A’Ru also hurried to help the child up.

“Don’t move!” The guards shouted coldly, stepping over to separate the child. “The Prince said to be careful of everything.”

“This is a child! Be careful of what!” Qi Yue couldn’t help but curse.

“Young Madam, when we were in the north, those Eastern slaves had three-year-old children who could poison water.” The guard still spoke coldly.

Qi Yue looked at them, opened her mouth, and could only be speechless.

“What do you want to do?” A’Ru asked, supporting the child.

The child was obviously already frightened, and now was even more scared, trembling all over.

“Please, please, grandmother eat.” He used almost all his strength to say this sentence, then pushed the basket toward them and ran away crawling and rolling.

A’Ru and Qi Yue called out “hey hey” twice to no avail.

“Young Madam, it’s the child who nearly drowned.” A’Ru said to Qi Yue.

Qi Yue made an “oh” sound. That day she had been in a hurry to rescue him and he was all wet, so she hadn’t seen his face clearly and couldn’t recognize him.

“Young Madam, these are jiaozi.” A’Ru picked up the basket and said after looking.

“Dumplings?” Qi Yue hurried to look.

The guard had already snatched it from A’Ru’s hands.

“Feed it to the dogs.” He handed it to another guard.

“Hey hey…” Qi Yue hurried to reach for it, but the guard had already walked away with big steps.

“Young Madam shouldn’t eat outside food.” The guard said, while gesturing with his hand, “Young Madam has been out for quite a while, please return.”

“I’m saying you’re supposed to be protecting me, but how does it feel like I’ve become a prisoner?” Qi Yue looked at him and sighed.

The guard’s face was expressionless, turning a deaf ear to her words.

Qi Yue pursed her lips and walked back.

“I want to eat dumplings.” She said.

“Good, good, let’s steam jiaozi.” A’Ru said hurriedly.

“I want boiled dumplings, not steamed ones.”

“Good, good, boiled dumplings.”

The master and servant went in with their question-and-answer exchange.

At dinner time, steaming hot and fragrant dumplings were served.

“Ha, ha.” Qi Yue rubbed her hands with an eager look. “Let’s taste these thousand-year-old dumplings…”

A’Ru smiled with pursed lips. After all these events, the Young Madam could still eat, talk, and laugh – how wonderful.

“This is just like treating illness.” Qi Yue said to her, clenching her fists. “At any time, you must not lose face even if you lose the battle. The stronger you are, the weaker the enemy becomes. If you’re weak, the enemy becomes stronger. So no matter when, no matter what illness you encounter, whether doctor or patient, you must have confidence and a positive attitude, believing you can definitely defeat the illness and overcome difficulties. Even if you’re scared to death inside, you must pretend not to be afraid. Maybe you can scare the illness and enemies, and perhaps luck might change. Think about it – fate hasn’t done anything to you yet, but you’re already dejected and acting like you’re dying. The god of fate sees this and thinks, ‘Whoa, too dejected, this person is beyond saving,’ and then you really are beyond saving.”

This made A’Ru laugh continuously. She didn’t know how the Young Madam could always make people happy even when talking about unlucky and bad things.

“See, smile more, how much better you look, your complexion is better too. You used to always have that bitter face, which isn’t good. Long-term, a person’s spirit won’t be right.” Qi Yue laughed while sitting down and examining the dumplings before her. “Your dumplings here are really quite big, like steamed buns.”

A’Ru was again amused to laughter and finally handed her the chopsticks.

“Do those guards have some too?” Qi Yue asked again.

“Yes.” A’Ru smiled. “Young Madam is so generous.”

“What generosity? You have to distinguish between good and bad people.” Qi Yue laughed, tapping her chopsticks. “You have to be reasonable. They’re guarding here to protect us after all.”

A’Ru nodded.

“Is there wine?” Qi Yue picked up a dumpling and asked.

A’Ru then remembered Qi Yue drinking at the Mid-Autumn banquet.

“Young Madam really loves drinking? Your alcohol tolerance is also impressive?” She asked with a smile while turning to get some.

“I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare, average, average.” Qi Yue laughed, watching A’Ru pour wine and hand it to her. She took a bite of dumpling, tilted her head back for a sip of wine, and sighed with satisfaction. “Dumplings with wine, the more you eat, the more you have.”

After saying this, she gestured for A’Ru to pour more wine, but A’Ru refused.

“Young Madam, you’re still injured.” She said.

“What kind of injury is this? It’s nothing, nothing. One more cup.” Qi Yue laughed, standing up to snatch it from A’Ru’s hands. “Your wine here has low alcohol content, like sugar water…”

A’Ru hugged the wine bottle and refused.

The two chased each other toward the door. Just as A’Ru was about to run out, she suddenly saw someone standing at the doorway and screamed in fright.

“Prince?” After screaming, she recognized the person in front of her and shouted in disbelief.

Here, Qi Yue had already grabbed a stool and come over. Hearing “Prince,” she was also very surprised.

“What are you saying? Are you seeing things? How could that stinking man… Oh my god, am I not seeing things? How did you come here again?” She said this while walking over and also cried out in surprise.

Chang Yuncheng ignored this woman with a shocked expression who was speaking rudely, stepped inside, and went straight to sit at the kang table.

Qi Yue and A’Ru stood still without moving.

“Hey, you brat, what are you here for again? What else do you want to do?” Qi Yue picked up the stool she had put down and shouted at him.

A’Ru hurriedly reached out to hold the stool, shaking her head at Qi Yue in terror.

Chang Yuncheng didn’t pay attention to them, his face grim, only looking at the dumplings on the table.

“Living quite well.” He suddenly said.

“Very sorry to disappoint you by not hanging myself again.” Qi Yue grinned.

Chang Yuncheng made a sound of laughter through his nose, said nothing more, reached for the chopsticks set aside, and picked up a dumpling to eat.

“That’s mine.” Qi Yue grabbed the stool and took a few steps over.

Chang Yuncheng ignored her, took the wine pot beside him, and poured himself wine.

Qi Yue quickly grabbed her own wine cup.

Chang Yuncheng’s outstretched hand paused, then simply lifted the wine pot and drank directly from it.

“Dumplings with wine…” He muttered to himself.

Qi Yue, who had been full of fighting spirit, suddenly broke out in cold sweat upon hearing this phrase, while A’Ru beside her instantly paled.

Not knowing when he had arrived or how much he had heard…

Qi Yue quickly recalled what she had just said, the more she thought about it, the more she sweated…

“These people really have no rules! Not even announcing when the Prince arrives!” She couldn’t help but shout angrily at the outside.

Chang Yuncheng smiled while chewing dumplings.

“Sit.” He said.

Qi Yue didn’t react, and A’Ru quietly tugged at her.

Qi Yue stood still. You tell me to sit and I’ll sit?

The atmosphere fell into an awkward silence.

Because of the silence, how could one plate of dumplings withstand Chang Yuncheng eating like this? It was quickly empty.

“Go get some more.” Chang Yuncheng said.

“The Prince can actually stomach our food, not afraid of being disgusted.” Qi Yue said with a mocking smile.

“This servant will go check.” A’Ru said hurriedly and went out.

This spineless maid, Qi Yue felt annoyed.

Guarding the empty plate on the kang table, Chang Yuncheng and Qi Yue were each silent.

“Who do you think did it?” Chang Yuncheng suddenly asked.

Qi Yue’s mind was in chaos like tangled hemp, thinking about what she had said, wondering whether she should confess on the spot or stubbornly refuse to admit she was from another soul. Suddenly asked this question, she was stunned.

“What?” She asked stammering.

Chang Yuncheng looked up at her.

“What are you afraid of?” He frowned, studying Qi Yue. “Could it be you know who wants to harm you?”

Oh, he was talking about that. Qi Yue breathed a sigh of relief.

“I don’t know.” She said. “But I suppose it’s just people who don’t like me, or don’t like you.”

Chang Yuncheng looked at her.

“Shouldn’t it be people who don’t like you who want to harm you?” He asked.

Qi Yue glanced at him.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” She said. “Everyone knows you don’t like me, and you had just been with me a moment before, and it seemed quite unpleasant. Kill me, and naturally you’d be the main suspect. This kind of thing would naturally be done by people who don’t like you to cause you trouble.”

Chang Yuncheng looked at her and smiled. He smiled as he picked up the wine cup and drained it, then set it down. This smile looked somewhat self-mocking.

“Of course, I’m just speculating wildly. I also can’t rule out that some die-hard fan of yours wanted to eliminate me to give you some peace, though usually such pig-like teammates aren’t worth having, especially when you’re already such a pig-like master.” Qi Yue smiled.

“Pig-like teammates…” Chang Yuncheng laughed and repeated it, then noticed her final sentence insulting him, and his face darkened.

Qi Yue smiled even more happily.

“Speaking of which, it’s truly laughable.” Chang Yuncheng looked at her and said, “Someone like you, so foolish and unpleasant and disgusting, is actually clear and straightforward, while my closest relatives are muddled and confused.”

Was this praise or criticism?

Qi Yue understood in her heart that after this boy returned, he must have been treated as the prime suspect by his family. Serves him right. She couldn’t help but smile proudly.

“This is a character issue. Don’t blame society.” She laughed heartily.

Chang Yuncheng frowned.

“What nonsense.” He scoffed, “Or perhaps, caring leads to confusion?”

“Look how pleased you are, hahaha.” Qi Yue laughed loudly again.

Chang Yuncheng looked at her without speaking.

“You’re laughing so happily and seeing so clearly, which means you don’t care about me anymore?” He suddenly smiled and said.

Nonsense, why would I care about you…

“I’m the victim, so naturally I should care more about myself.” Qi Yue laughed dryly.

“You’re right. People should care about themselves.” Chang Yuncheng said. “Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

Qi Yue wasn’t interested in responding to his words. She now wanted both to laugh loudly and mock this boy, but also wanted to quickly return. Should she use threats or flattery to achieve this goal…

Threats – dignified but no results. Flattery – undignified and results not guaranteed either.

“Let’s go back.” Chang Yuncheng said, standing up.

Qi Yue was startled.

A’Ru also came in carrying dumplings at this time.

“Pack up the things.” Chang Yuncheng said. “We leave tonight.”

A’Ru understood and was so delighted she almost dropped the plate.

“Yes, yes, this servant will pack right away.” She put down the plate and said in a fluster.

“You mean, you’re telling me to go back?” Qi Yue still didn’t quite believe it and asked in surprise.

“You can also stay here.” Chang Yuncheng turned to look at her indifferently.

Qi Yue looked at him and took a few steps closer.

“Hasn’t anyone told you it’s improper for a woman to look at a man like that?” Chang Yuncheng looked away and said.

Qi Yue ignored him and continued looking at him, even walking around him in a circle.

“Ha, ha.” She suddenly laughed twice, then burst into loud laughter.

A’Ru was startled by her, thinking she was overjoyed, and hurried over to help her sit down first. Before she could touch Qi Yue’s arm, she heard Qi Yue’s laughter take a turn.

“Ah ha ah ha~ Oh my…” Qi Yue held her waist with one hand and her head with the other, her body swaying unsteadily as she said, “What’s wrong with me? I suddenly feel dizzy and can’t stand. A’Ru, quickly help me, I can’t catch my breath…”