The Marquis Dingxi’s residence had not yet fallen asleep at this hour.

“Marquis, have you lost your mind?” Concubine Zhou’s emotions were completely out of control, lashing out at the Marquis Dingxi with an attitude she had never shown before. “What are you doing! Compensation! Admitting fault! Are you going to ruin the Marquis Dingxi’s residence?”

“It’s not that much money, nothing to worry about.” The Marquis Dingxi said dismissively, while looking at Concubine Zhou with a smile. “Don’t you know our family’s wealth?”

The old Marquis and his wife probably knew their son was unreliable, so they desperately saved up a huge fortune for him to squander and enjoy. Even though nearly half was taken away by that woman due to the divorce, what remained was still comparable to any noble family’s wealth.

Concubine Zhou naturally knew this, because in her view, all of this belonged to her.

However, what she wanted to discuss now was not this matter.

“Marquis, our family’s wealth is not meant to be squandered by others! Do you think this is charity at a temple fair!” she said angrily. “For the sake of this one rebellious son, why should the entire marquis residence be buried with him!”

“What are you saying!” The Marquis Dingxi frowned. “What rebellious son! He is my son, I am his father. If he gets into trouble and I don’t take care of it, who will? In this world, can he call anyone else father?”

Speaking of this, the Marquis Dingxi couldn’t help but feel emotional in his heart, thinking of Chang Yuncheng kneeling and calling him father on the street.

Father… He had many children, and he had heard this title countless times, but never had there been a moment when this call of “father” made his entire heart tremble.

This feeling, how to describe it, was like having ten thousand ants crawling all over his body…

Sour, numb, and itchy, yet filled with heroic spirit. It seemed that at that moment, even if he were asked to die, he wouldn’t blink an eye.

What was there to fear? People live one life like grass and trees live one autumn – isn’t it all about dignity!

For an instant, he felt like an eagle spreading its wings, looking down upon the world, firmly protecting the descendants behind him.

This feeling was too exhilarating!

“Marquis! But you have to consider what kind of matter this is! What will become of him if you indulge him like this!” Concubine Zhou said angrily, forcefully pushing the Marquis Dingxi.

The Marquis Dingxi was pushed awake from his excitement and became quite displeased.

“What indulgence? He is my son. When he earns imperial honors twice, he’s my son. When he causes trouble, he’s no longer my son? Share glory together, share loss together. To praise when useful and discard when useless – even ordinary people would consider this lacking in righteousness, let alone that he’s my son, my biological son. I don’t care if I indulge him, but it would be damned strange if I didn’t indulge him!” He said irritably, having grown accustomed to Concubine Zhou’s flower-like gentle and obedient demeanor. Seeing her like this today made her unpleasing to look at no matter how he looked. “Go, go. Men’s affairs are not for you to interfere with. Go rest. With this spare time, you should serve Yunqi well. The examination is coming up – don’t embarrass me!”

Embarrassing! Who’s embarrassing!

Chang Yuncheng doing such things isn’t embarrassing! But if Yunqi doesn’t do well on the exam, that becomes embarrassing!

Concubine Zhou was breathing heavily, wanting nothing more than to spit in the Marquis Dingxi’s face.

Was this the difference between legitimate and illegitimate sons?

No matter how good or hardworking, they could never compare to a single finger of that scoundrel?

Why! Why!

If the person in front of her were Madam Xie, they would probably be fighting by now.

But the person in front of her was not Madam Xie, so Concubine Zhou took several deep breaths and regained her composure.

“Yes, Marquis. Then this concubine will take her leave first.” She said softly, stroking the Marquis Dingxi’s arm. “Marquis should also rest early. You’ve been troubled by internal and external worries these past few days.”

The Marquis Dingxi liked hearing this and nodded with satisfaction.

Concubine Zhou smiled gently at him and slowly walked out.

It wasn’t until she returned to her own room that the smile on Concubine Zhou’s face vanished completely.

A maid was already waiting in the room.

“Concubine Madam.” She said with a somewhat embarrassed yet uneasy smile. “About this matter… the Marquis insists on giving…”

Concubine Zhou sat down.

“If he gives it to you, just take it.” She said indifferently.

“How could we.” The maid hurried over, knelt down to massage her legs, while wearing a flattering smile. “They can’t accept it. Concubine Madam has already given enough. Besides… in the end… we didn’t accomplish what Concubine Madam wanted done…”

This time was truly a huge loss!

All that money wasted! The farmers’ money! The idle men’s money! And those sour scholars’ money!

Concubine Zhou gripped the teacup in her hand tightly.

Madam Xie didn’t die. Although Chang Yuncheng was tarnished, that fool of a Marquis had some screw loose and actually took the blame for his son. Shouldn’t he have used this opportunity to strip him of his heir position? How did he end up dragging the entire marquis residence into it! Wouldn’t her son also suffer because of this?

Really…

Concubine Zhou bit her teeth and closed her eyes.

The maid naturally sensed her emotions and became even more nervous.

“Concubine Madam, those things the Marquis gave have all been stored at the East Street money house. No names were left, only markers. This is for Concubine Madam.” She took out a wooden plaque from her sleeve and offered it up.

Concubine Zhou took a deep breath and restored her peaceful expression.

“Alright then, I’ll take it so you can have peace of mind too.” She said, reaching out to accept it.

The maid indeed sighed in relief.

“Thank you, Concubine Madam.” She kowtowed.

“Your aunt’s family has left?” Concubine Zhou asked again.

The maid nodded quickly.

“Yes, they left this afternoon.” She said hurriedly.

Concubine Zhou breathed a sigh of relief.

“The farther they go, the better. It would be best if they never returned in this lifetime.” She said.

“Yes, that’s natural. With Concubine Madam’s reward, they can live well anywhere for the rest of their lives.” The maid said flatteringly with a smile.

Concubine Zhou glanced at her with a half-smile.

“You little hussy, you took the big share, didn’t you?” She said.

The maid’s face reddened slightly.

“How could that be?” She giggled. “Following Concubine Madam, I live a better life than they could in several lifetimes. Who would care about such trifles?”

Concubine Zhou smiled and reached out to tap her forehead.

“You’re the one who knows how to talk. Go on, go down.” She said.

The maid retreated with a giggling smile.

The room fell into the quiet of night. Under the dim candlelight, where was there even half a smile on Concubine Zhou’s face? She raised her hand to extinguish the lamp, and her entire person was swallowed by darkness.

Madam Xie gradually improved day by day. On the third day, she emerged from her coma and was conscious for increasingly longer periods.

Qi Yue could hardly find space to step into the room, as Imperial Physician Zhou and Old Physician An were practically staying inside constantly, curiously studying Madam Xie. Qi Yue was happy to leave them to it. First, at this time she mainly relied on these physicians to adjust medications according to pulse readings. Second, Madam Xie would still become agitated when she saw her.

It wasn’t that Qi Yue feared her, but rather that she couldn’t be bothered to deal with her.

In the main hall, people seeking medical treatment streamed in continuously. It looked much the same as usual, but upon closer inspection, it was still different from before.

“Doctor Liu isn’t available right now. Would Doctor Qi be acceptable?” the guiding disciple asked.

The patient showed a trace of hesitation on their face.

“I see. I, I think, I suddenly remembered I have some matters to attend to. I’ll come back later…” The person made a show of sudden realization, not waiting for the disciple to say more before hurrying away.

“What’s the matter? The acting wasn’t convincing at all…” The disciple called after them a few times to no avail, pursed his lips, then turned around and froze. “Master…”

Qi Yue smiled at him.

The disciple’s face flushed red. Sometimes witnessing an awkward situation was more embarrassing than being in one yourself, which was exactly how he felt now.

“Go about your business.” Qi Yue said with a smile.

The disciple hurried away as if relieved of a great burden.

There were indeed changes. Qi Yue took a deep breath as she looked toward the entrance.

Of course there were changes.

At this moment, in Wang Qingchun’s reception hall, several physicians were talking and laughing.

Compared to their previous laughter tinged with suppression, their current laughter was much more relaxed.

“…Although the Marquis Dingxi’s heir took full responsibility for the matter, in the end, someone died.” Wang Qingchun said with a laugh, stroking his beard. “This is like a dam developing a crack. Though it still appears solid, but…”

He smiled without finishing his words.

“The people’s trust has been punctured, so the people will have doubts about her.” Another physician laughed. “Next time she tries such nonsense, people won’t buy into it like they did before.”

“Exactly, exactly. She’s caused enough trouble. Clearly even Heaven can’t stand watching anymore.” Another laughed.

The atmosphere in the hall was jovial.

“But…” One person among them gradually felt something was off as he laughed. He couldn’t help but ask, “But this kind of patient truly couldn’t be saved. How can it be considered nonsense?”

Everyone’s laughter faltered.

Indeed, it was a condition no one could cure, and she couldn’t cure it either. What was there to be happy about? It was as if they all could have cured it, while this woman’s showing off had failed and damaged her reputation.

“A physician should not treat the inevitably dying. She shouldn’t have treated such a condition at all. What blood transfusion, what opening the chest – hmph, I think the treatment was fake, putting on airs while practicing her techniques was real.” Wang Qingchun snorted.

Yes, yes, that’s exactly right. Everyone suddenly understood and nodded.

“And all that epidemic prevention and disinfection nonsense – I think it’s just fancy show.” Everyone said. “Now let’s see who still believes her.”

This way, the people wouldn’t blindly worship this woman anymore, right? Life could return to normal, right? Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Qi Yue clapped her hands and sat down at the table.

“Life has finally returned to normal.” She said, as if relieved, her expression relaxed.

A’Ru watched her with a worried expression.

“Hey, don’t look at me like that. I’m being serious.” Qi Yue laughed.

“Don’t be sad. Actually, deaths occur in medical practice. Doctor Liu and the others have said so. Don’t take it to heart…” A’Ru said.

“I really haven’t taken it to heart.” Qi Yue laughed, twirling her quill pen. “That’s right, there’s no such thing as a miracle doctor in this world. As long as there are injuries and illnesses, there will inevitably be death. Otherwise, what would be the point of having physicians…”

She exhaled as she spoke.

“This incident is actually a good thing.” She laughed.

A good thing? A’Ru looked at her. She was always like this – no matter what happened, she always wanted to comfort others, never caring about herself.

“When fame is too great, it’s hard to live up to.” Qi Yue said, placing the pen on the table. “It’s better to puncture false hopes sooner rather than later. Now everyone finally knows that I’m not a miracle doctor and can’t guarantee success in every case. This way, I can also put down this burden. When I encounter conditions I can’t treat and tell people I’ll do my best but can’t guarantee results, they won’t think I’m just being modest like before. This kind of blind worship and trust is actually quite frightening. Of course, I don’t have to feel so… guilty anymore.”

A’Ru gradually understood and nodded, setting aside her worries.

“So from now on, everyone can view Miss properly.” She said.

“Right, I can finally be like other physicians.” Qi Yue laughed, shaking her hands. “Isn’t this a good thing?”

A’Ru watched her finally show a relaxed smile.

“Of course, while we face failure squarely, our goals will never change.” Qi Yue waved her hand. “That is, to continue working hard, hard, hard!”

“Yes, work hard, hard, hard.” A’Ru mimicked her chant, shaking her fist with some shyness, then thought of something and grinned. “Our goal is: no cavities!”

Qi Yue looked at her and threw back her head in hearty laughter.

“That’s right! Our goal has never changed.” She said, clenching her fist.