“Mother, it’s been almost half an hour, why hasn’t she come out yet?”
“Yes, Grandmother, why is there no sound at all?”
Madam Lin and Qin Chen stood at the entrance to the inner chamber, constantly peering inside. Madam Jiang sat with a serious expression, her hands nervously clutching prayer beads. Beside her, Qin Xiang stepped forward, “Why don’t we let Brother enter to check?”
Hearing this, Qin Chen showed slight interest, but Madam Jiang shook her head, “Mo Shu is inside, let’s wait.”
Mo Shu was Yao Xinlan’s maid, the only one Qin Wan had allowed to stay.
Hearing this, Madam Lin sighed, her eyes still red, “At this point, we can only trust Wan’er.” She then glared at Qin Chen, “Chen’er, what exactly happened? Was there some accident?”
Qin Chen hurriedly shook his head, “Xinlan seemed melancholic on the journey home. I asked her about it, but she wouldn’t say. I thought something might have happened at her family’s home, so I didn’t press further. Later, seeing it was getting late, I asked the coachman to speed up. Perhaps… perhaps the ride was too bumpy…”
As he spoke, Qin Chen lowered his head in anguish, choking up, “I didn’t think it would be this serious…”
Madam Lin quickly patted his shoulder, “There, there, Xinlan will surely be fine.”
Though Madam Lin’s words were meant to comfort, even she didn’t know if Qin Wan could save Yao Xinlan. But now, with Divine Physician Huang yet to arrive, all their hopes, however unwillingly, rested on Qin Wan.
“Can Qin Wan… can she do it? Though she saved the Imperial Princess, what kind of illness was that? Sister-in-law’s situation involves two lives. If Qin Wan makes a mistake, if…”
Qin Xiang mumbled, her eyes reddening, showing traces of resentment.
Though Yao Xinlan’s condition wasn’t Qin Wan’s fault, if she failed to save her, the family would never forgive her!
“Old Madam, Madam, Young Master, you may come in now.”
Just as Qin Xiang’s thoughts settled, Mo Shu’s somewhat excited voice rang out.
Madam Jiang stood up abruptly, with Madam Lin and Qin Chen supporting her on either side. The group quickly entered the inner chamber. Upon entering, they saw Qin Wan standing at the foot of the bed, calmly collecting her silver needles, while Yao Xinlan lay on the bed with her eyes closed, appearing almost lifeless.
“Sister-in-law! What happened to Sister-in-law?!”
Qin Xiang glared at Qin Wan and demanded answers. Mo Shu quickly explained, “Fifth Miss, please don’t worry. The Young Madam is just sleeping. She spoke a few words earlier, and the bleeding has stopped…”
Qin Xiang was stunned, and Madam Lin couldn’t help but let out a huge sigh of relief, “That’s wonderful, that’s wonderful!”
Looking closer, they noticed that color had returned to Yao Xinlan’s deathly pale face, and the cold sweat from earlier had dissipated.
Madam Jiang approached the bedside, looking first at Yao Xinlan, then at Qin Wan, her gaze extremely complex.
Qin Chen first bent down to feel Yao Xinlan’s forehead, and only when he confirmed her breathing was steady did his heart settle. Then he stood up and looked at Qin Wan, “Ninth Sister, I never imagined you knew medical arts. Xinlan and our children’s lives are saved thanks to you. Before…”
“She’s not completely out of danger yet. I’ll dictate the prescription, you write it down.”
Having put away her silver needles, Qin Wan had no intention of exchanging pleasantries. Since she had chosen to save Yao Xinlan, the patient’s life was now the most important matter. “Apricot kernel and licorice, one qian each—”
Hearing her begin the prescription, no one dared to be careless. Qin Chen hurriedly went to get paper and brush.
“Ophiopogon two qian, evodia three qian, stalactite and dried ginger two qian each, Schisandra two qian, polished round-grained rice three qian, Tatarian aster one qian. Cut finely and decoct, reduce three bowls to one, divide into four doses, three during the day, one at night.”
Qin Wan finished speaking in a steady voice, looking at Qin Chen, “Did you get all that?”
Qin Chen’s brush flew across the paper as he nodded quickly, “Yes, got it all.”
Qin Wan put away the silver needles and smoothed her sleeves, “Take this prescription for two days. If her condition improves after taking the medicine, the child will be saved. If not, we’ll need to continue with acupuncture.”
After saying this, Qin Wan paused briefly. Everyone in the room was looking at her with complex expressions, making her feel somewhat out of place. So she said softly, “It’s getting late, I’ll take my leave.”
She left after speaking, with Madam Jiang and the others watching her departure in silence.
“Mo Shu, what exactly did she do?” As soon as Qin Wan left, Qin Xiang directly questioned Mo Shu.
Mo Shu quickly replied, “Ninth Miss only performed acupuncture on Young Madam. Soon after, Young Madam said the pain had lessened. Ninth Miss then had me change Young Madam’s sweat-soaked clothes. After that, Young Madam seemed better and could speak with strength, though she soon said she was tired and fell asleep.”
After a slight pause, Mo Shu added, “Ninth Miss was extremely focused while performing acupuncture. Later, even her complexion didn’t look well.”
Qin Xiang pressed her lips together, unable to speak.
Madam Jiang understood Mo Shu’s implication but remained silent with narrowed eyes. Just then, Qin Li suddenly rushed in from outside, “Grandmother! Divine Physician Huang is here! I found him—”
Qin Li was covered in sweat from running but noticed the room’s atmosphere wasn’t as tense and panicked as before.
Qin Li paused, “What happened? Is Sister-in-law…”
Before he could finish, Qin Shuang, who had been silent until now, spoke up, “Now that Divine Physician Huang is here, let him examine her! Who knows if her prescription will work?”
Everyone thought this made sense. Just then, Huang Jinyuan entered the room, out of breath, “Where is your Young Madam? Such urgency, I nearly ran myself to death!”
Madam Jiang didn’t dare take it lightly and hurriedly said, “It’s good you’re here, Divine Physician. Please examine her quickly.”
She moved aside, and Huang Jinyuan spotted Yao Xinlan. He made a surprised sound as he approached the bed, first taking a quick look, then frowning as he checked her pulse. His frown deepened.
Qin Xiang watched intently, “Divine Physician, is Sister-in-law not well?”
Huang Jinyuan sat on a low stool, taking two deep breaths before turning to look at the Qin family with annoyance, “Didn’t you say you hadn’t called any other doctor and were waiting for me? I nearly lost my life running here, yet your Young Madam is lying here perfectly fine? You…”
Huang Jinyuan was so angry his mustache trembled, then he suddenly frowned again, “Who treated your Young Madam just now?”
Madam Lin quickly replied, “It was our Ninth Miss.”
Huang Jinyuan’s eyes widened as he slapped his thigh, “The Little Medical Immortal! Your mansion’s Little Medical Immortal!” Then, as understanding dawned, he looked at Madam Jiang and the others with amusement, “So you didn’t trust the Little Medical Immortal’s medical skills!”
He turned to look at Yao Xinlan on the bed, “Well, you were greatly mistaken. Your Young Madam’s pulse and complexion indeed show she’s just survived a crisis. If you had waited for me without Ninth Miss’s help, even if I could save the Young Madam, it would have taken considerable effort, and whether the child could be saved would have been uncertain.”
Huang Jinyuan shook his head with a mixture of laughter and tears, making the Qin family members’ faces flush with embarrassment.
“Did she write a prescription? Let me see it.”
“Yes!” Qin Chen immediately handed over the prescription.
Huang Jinyuan took it, narrowed his eyes, then shook his head and sighed, “It’s truly unbelievable. Your Ninth Miss is only sixteen or seventeen, yet her medical expertise is so extraordinary.”
He placed the prescription down and headed straight for the door, “From now on, your Qin family need not call me for any illness, big or small. I, Huang Jinyuan, am no longer the top physician in Jinzhou City.”
Meanwhile, as it was dark, Qin Wan and Fu Ling walked very slowly.
Fu Ling sighed, “This Young Madam is truly devoted to the Young Master. Now that Miss has saved her, you’ve preserved a loving couple. I wonder if they’ll remember Miss’s kindness.”
As she finished speaking, they reached the West Back Court.
Looking at the desolate and remote small courtyard, Fu Ling couldn’t help feeling a sense of loneliness. Just as she was about to push open the courtyard gate, hurried footsteps approached from behind.
“Ninth Miss! Ninth Miss, wait—”
Hearing this voice, both Qin Wan and Fu Ling turned around. Soon, Cai He arrived with two maids.
Cai He curtsied to Qin Wan, “Ninth Miss, Old Madam says that from today on, you’ll move to Tinglan Court in the front.” She waved to the maids behind her, “Quickly, help Ninth Miss move her things…”
Qin Wan raised her eyebrows – had Madam Jiang’s opinion of her changed so quickly?