The death trap that Zuoyan had set was already in motion. Once the storyteller’s tale was told, it would inevitably reach the Lang family’s ears — and so Lang Jiuchuan did not go to the Wanshi establishment, but instead returned first to the marquis manor, for fear that the Lang family would lose their composure upon hearing the rumors.

As it turned out, she was right. The news had reached the manor as well. When Cui Shi heard the rumor, the fury and distress struck her at once — she fainted on the spot. The Qichizhi Pavilion was now thrown into chaos.

Madam Fan and her daughter-in-law Wu Shi had both come over, each attended by their own maids and nannies, filling the usually tranquil courtyard with considerable commotion.

When Wu Shi caught sight of Lang Jiuchuan arriving, she was the first to step forward, her gaze tinged with sympathetic sorrow: “Ninth Sister…”

She had clearly heard the rumors outside as well. If it were true, Second Aunt and Ninth Sister had been wronged so terribly — it was too pitiful for words.

Lang Jiuchuan gave them a slight nod without saying anything more, and said simply: “I’ll go see the Madam first.”

At that form of address, both the elder and younger woman gave a small start, followed by a quiet, shared sigh.

Such distance between what should have been mother and daughter — if the rumor were true, then the Marquis Zhenbei truly deserved to be cut to pieces. He had caused the second branch of the family to be torn apart in life, estranged from one another even in death.

Lang Jiuchuan entered the inner chamber. Cheng Nanny and the senior maidservants who attended on Cui Shi were all present, each and every one of them red-eyed. At the sight of her, their eyes went red again in an instant.

Cui Shi had needles inserted along her body, and the Hou manor’s physician Chen stood at the side, waiting to remove them.

“Miss.” Cheng Nanny choked out the words and spoke first: “Madam suddenly heard those rumors from outside, and the shock and fury drove her to collapse. She has not yet regained consciousness.”

Physician Chen rose and gave Lang Jiuchuan a bow, then reported: “The Second Madam has long suffered from a condition of the heart. What happened now was a sudden onset brought on by overwhelming shock and fury — the seven emotions surging all at once triggered a flare of her heart ailment. Moreover, years of pent-up sorrow and an inability to find peace of mind are fundamental violations of the principles of healthy living. Now, having been subjected to such extremes of joy and grief in turn, this…”

He did not finish the sentence, but there was no one present who did not understand what lay beneath his unspoken words. It amounted to this: the root of the illness was difficult to cure, and her natural lifespan would be affected.

How could Cui Shi have not been tormenting herself all these years?

How pitiable — how infuriating.

Lang Jiuchuan looked at her bloodless complexion and the dark, purplish hue of her lips. She placed two fingers on the inside of Cui Shi’s left wrist — the moment she made contact with the pulse, her brows drew together. The liver pulse was urgent and taut, the middle Jiao obstructed and stagnant, and the aberrant fire was surging upward in a counterflow against the upper Yang — striking the heart pulse that had long been worn away by years of constant sorrow. Naturally, this had scorched and damaged the heart Yang, driving the Qi and blood into reckless disorder and causing the mind to lose its clarity and governance — and so she had fallen unconscious.

She shifted to the right wrist and pressed against the Guan pulse. Her brow furrowed deeper still. It was weak and yielding, the pulse floating and hollow without substance — the manifestation of the liver Qi suppressing and overwhelming the spleen. The middle Qi had been severely depleted, and the middle Jiao’s mechanisms had long been thrown into disorder.

This was truly troublesome.

“Was any medicine administered when she collapsed?” She looked toward Cheng Nanny.

Cheng Nanny nodded quickly: “The moment Madam clutched her chest and fell, I placed one of the Danzin Pills you had prepared under her tongue.”

Lang Jiuchuan gave a nod of acknowledgment. The medicine had been used — good. At the very least it would safeguard her heart pulse, preventing the counterflow of Qi from blocking it entirely, cutting off the blood supply, and eliminating any chance of treatment.

She looked at the needles Physician Chen had already inserted and said: “I must trouble Physician Chen to remove these needles. I will re-insert them myself.”

Physician Chen gave a small start.

“Do as Ninth Miss says, quickly.” Madam Fan spoke up at once from the side.

She had personally witnessed Lang Jiuchuan’s skill with needles before. Physician Chen had surely discussed it with the lord of the manor as well, and should have full confidence in her.

Hearing Madam Fan speak, Physician Chen removed the needles — though he did not leave, but took up a position to the side, clearly intending to observe how Lang Jiuchuan would place them.

Lang Jiuchuan did not send too many people out of the room. When she glanced toward Physician Chen, he said somewhat awkwardly: “May I assist the Miss?”

There was nothing she could object to in that, and there was no reason to hide her needling techniques, so she took the gold needles she always carried with her, skipping even the step of flame-sterilization, and directly applied a cleansing technique before beginning to insert the needles.

The gold needles, fine as strands of hair, were twirled lightly between her fingertips. The placement was swift and steady — faster than the eye could follow — and the needle tip had already pierced the Governing Vessel at the Renzhong point below the nose before anyone had quite registered the movement, the technique a rapid insertion and swift withdrawal.

“This is the vital acupoint for reviving the mind and opening the orifices, restoring consciousness and reversing collapse. The technique of rapid insertion and swift withdrawal applies strong stimulation, which will bring her back to consciousness more quickly, allowing for the treatment that follows.” Lang Jiuchuan explained to Physician Chen.

Physician Chen’s face flushed: “…”

Ninth Miss might be young in years, but she was clearly no trifling practitioner.

He glanced at Cui Shi and sure enough saw her tightly shut eyelids tremble faintly beneath. Though extremely slight, it was visible — was this the sign that she was about to wake?

Lang Jiuchuan then placed needles at the Neiguan acupoints on the inner wrists of both hands, this time using a rotating reducing technique to stimulate the points — this would broaden the chest and regulate Qi, unobstructing the heart vessels. Otherwise, with the counterflowing Qi still dispersed, her condition would remain unchanged.

Immediately after, she moved to the Taichong point, the Fenglong point, and several other meridians in turn, her movements flowing like wind — some with reducing technique, some with an even, balanced method. As one needle after another was placed, the room grew so quiet that a dropped pin could be heard, every person present holding their breath and watching.

When the last needle had been set, Lang Jiuchuan brought both hands together in a hand seal and passed them along the trailing ends of the needles. With a faint hum, every needle began to tremble in a faint, sustained vibration.

Physician Chen stared with wide eyes. What sort of technique was this?

Lang Jiuchuan said to Cheng Nanny: “Fetch a spittoon.” Then she looked at Physician Chen: “I have applied a Daoist meridian technique here. With internal force channeled through it, the needle ends can be made to vibrate — this will intensify the stimulation and bring her back to consciousness more quickly. It will also allow her to expel the accumulated stagnant blood that has been lodged inside her. As for Physician Chen wishing to learn it — I fear that would not be easily accomplished.”

Physician Chen’s face turned thoroughly red, and he bent at the waist, cupping both hands in a gesture of respect toward her.

Madam Fan and Wu Shi exchanged a glance, both with reverence and delight in their eyes. Nothing else needed to be said — just watching this needlework alone made plain that Lang Jiuchuan’s medical skill was extraordinary. To have such a remarkable healer in the family — was that not the same as possessing a talisman for one’s life?

The looks they directed at Lang Jiuchuan were filled with fervent warmth, Wu Shi’s in particular. She had given birth to her eldest daughter several years ago and had still received no news of another child — she did not know whether she might ask Ninth Sister to help her regulate her body, so that when her mourning period ended, she might have another.

Lang Jiuchuan watched Cui Shi. As the time with the needles lengthened, the ghastly purplish darkness that had stained her lips began to fade by degrees. The bloodlessness of her complexion receded slightly, and the trembling beneath her eyelids grew steadily more pronounced. The rise and fall of her chest became more visible as well.

“Hhe… hhe.” A thread of faint, irregular sound escaped from her throat — indistinct, broken — whether the rattle of phlegm or the catch of a stifled sob was impossible to tell.

Any response was a good sign.

Lang Jiuchuan sat at the bedside. Seeing that the needle ends had ceased their resonant hum and were only trembling faintly now, she supported Cui Shi and helped her upright, then said: “The spittoon.”

Cheng Nanny quickly held the spittoon in front of Cui Shi — and the moment it was in place, Cui Shi let out a retching sound and brought up a great mouthful of dark blood, deep red shading into purplish black, accumulated over what might have been years.

Cui Shi’s eyelids fluttered, and at last she opened her eyes. The first face she saw upon waking was Lang Jiuchuan’s. Her lips moved — and then her eyes rolled back and she fell unconscious again.

“Sister-in-law… Ninth… what is this?” Madam Fan was startled. She had already woken — why had she fainted again?

Lang Jiuchuan checked her pulse again and said: “It is nothing — only that her strength is insufficient and she has slipped into unconscious sleep. Have the medicinal decoction prepared and administered to her later, and let her rest quietly.”

She settled Cui Shi gently flat on the bed and looked down. A single tear had slipped silently from the corner of Cui Shi’s closed eyes.