It wasn’t only Master Gu who stopped Madam Gu — Physician Hua did too. “Madam, your constitution is frail. If you suddenly expend a large amount of internal energy, you may never fully recover, and you’ll be left with a lasting affliction for the rest of your life!”

Hearing this, both Yingzi and Physician Gu grew anxious. Had it been either of them, they’d have gladly accepted a lifetime of aftereffects without a second thought — but this was Madam Gu they were talking about!

However anxious they were, neither of them could utter a single word urging her on.

“Let’s just wait for Jiang Chen!” Master Gu said earnestly, gripping his wife’s hand and refusing to let go.

If anyone understood a daughter, it was her mother — and by that same logic, if anyone truly understood a son-in-law, it was his mother-in-law. Even with Gu Meiting personally going to fetch him, it might well take half an hour or more before Jiang Chen could be persuaded to come!

If they truly waited for Jiang Chen, Beiyue’s blood and qi would surely have already surged into his brain by then — there was no time to lose!

And yet, even in a moment like this, Madam Gu was unwilling to let her husband learn Jiang Chen’s true nature, afraid that her husband might lose his temper as well, hurt Jiang Chen, and drag their daughter into the fallout.

Caught between these two impossible choices, she had no option left but to save Jun Beiyue herself!

“There’s no more time to wait! My lord!” She suddenly spoke coldly, wrenching her hand free from Master Gu’s grip, and immediately turned both palms downward, channeling her internal energy in an instant!

“Wife! You mustn’t!”

Master Gu and Physician Hua cried out in alarm almost simultaneously, watching the color drain entirely from Madam Gu’s face the moment she began channeling her internal energy.

But the energy had already been released — what more could be done now?

Master Gu looked at Jun Beiyue, then at his own wife, shaking his head repeatedly, his brow knitted tight, clearly lost in thought over something.

Physician Hua had no time to spare for anything else and quickly called Physician Gu over to help, propping Jun Beiyue up while the two of them steadied the major acupoints across his body. Madam Gu, gritting her teeth, forced her deep, powerful internal energy to flow ceaselessly from the crown of her head into Jun Beiyue’s body!

This was a long, drawn-out process. The room fell utterly silent, and no one dared speak.

Master Gu watched his wife’s face grow paler and paler, and though his eyes were usually stern, in this moment they held nothing but tenderness and heartache — like the hardest steel bent soft.

His wife’s greatest regret in this life had always been her inability to bear him a son, an heir of their own.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this regret, this guilt, that she showed such boundless generosity toward Beiyue.

“Hm!”

Suddenly, Madam Gu let out a stifled groan, finally unable to hold back any longer, as a mouthful of blood she’d been suppressing trickled from the corner of her mouth.

“Wife!”

Master Gu was at his wits’ end, not knowing what to do. If he forcibly interrupted her now, both his wife and Beiyue would suffer for it — but if he didn’t, his wife might well lose all her internal energy, her martial arts ruined for good!

What was he to do!

Furious and torn, unable to move either way, Master Gu suddenly thought of Jiang Chen and burst out cursing, “Where is that Jiang Chen! Never around when it matters! This old man’s been feeding him for nothing all this time!”

Just then, Jiang Chen, who had been about to enter, stopped in his tracks at these words. He shot Gu Meiting a cold glance, then turned and walked away.

“Stop right there…”

Gu Meiting hurried after him, but no matter how she called out, Jiang Chen refused to stop.

“Take one more step and I’ll never set foot in the Jiang family home again!” Gu Meiting finally shouted, furious.

At this, Jiang Chen finally stopped in his tracks — then whipped around, his voice cold. “Say that again!”

Fierce as Gu Meiting was, when it came to the husband she loved so dearly, she still faltered a little. She quickly changed the subject. “Why are you leaving? You promised me you’d save him — are you going back on your word?”

“Isn’t your mother already saving him? There’s no point in me going.” Jiang Chen said coldly.

“My mother’s saving him?” Gu Meiting was stunned. She’d only just heard her father’s angry outburst a moment ago — she hadn’t yet seen what was happening inside.

“Heh, Gu Meiting, let me tell you something — I, Jiang Chen, can support myself just fine. I don’t need your Gu family’s charity. Tell your father to watch his mouth!” Jiang Chen said coldly.

“What did you just say — you said my mother’s saving him?” Gu Meiting was stunned speechless. How could her mother possibly be the one saving Beiyue — her mother’s constitution couldn’t possibly withstand that!

Coming back to herself, she immediately grabbed Jiang Chen’s hand and said angrily, “Go, you go save him. My mother can’t do it, she won’t be able to hold out!”

But to her shock, Jiang Chen shook her off roughly and said angrily, “Gu Meiting, I’ll say it one more time — I, Jiang Chen, can support myself just fine. I don’t need your Gu family’s charity. Tell your father to watch his mouth! I’m going back to the Jiang residence right now. Come with me if you want, or don’t — it’s up to you!”

Gu Meiting was pushed to the ground. Jiang Chen didn’t even spare her another glance and turned to leave.

Panicked, she looked back and forth between the summit residence and her husband’s retreating figure — on one side, her mother in extreme danger; on the other, her husband, furious and ready to sever ties with her. How was she supposed to choose!

She didn’t hesitate long. She scrambled to her feet and hurried after Jiang Chen — she had to keep him from leaving!

If Jiang Chen returned to the Jiang family, she’d have only two paths left: the first was to go with him, endure her mother-in-law’s moods, and suffer all the hardships of an ordinary family; the second was to break with him entirely and become a cast-off wife.

She wouldn’t accept either. She loved her husband, and she loved her Gu family too. She had to keep Jiang Chen here, no matter what!

At the summit residence, it wasn’t until the sun had set behind the mountains that Madam Gu, swaying on the verge of collapse, finally withdrew her internal energy. The moment she pulled her hands back, before she could even drink the medicine that had been prepared for her, her vision went black, and she collapsed into Master Gu’s arms.

Physician Hua gave a few instructions before he and Master Gu hurried off to take Madam Gu away. Jun Beiyue’s complexion had recovered considerably by now, though it was still far from as good as before.

Physician Gu and Yingzi kept watch, brows tightly furrowed, neither speaking, their eyes never straying from their master’s hands.

How they hoped their master might show some sign of waking, just as he had once before!

But apart from his complexion looking somewhat worse, there was no change at all.

“Physician Gu, Madam Gu… deserves nothing but respect!” Yingzi said in a low voice.

They had both witnessed Madam Gu’s selflessness firsthand. However many pairs of ill-intentioned eyes might be secretly watching this summit residence within the Gu family, at the very least, Madam Gu was good — she truly, genuinely wanted this son.

Physician Gu hesitated a moment before saying, “I saw Jiang Chen just now. He came to the door, then left again.”

“Heh, I’d say he’s deliberately avoiding this,” Yingzi said coldly — and the moment the words left his mouth, he startled himself, looking up sharply at Physician Gu, who was looking back at him at the very same moment!

Now, with even Madam Gu’s internal energy completely spent, and their master still unconscious, that meant the person with the strongest internal energy in the entire Gu family was Jiang Chen.

Physician Gu and Yingzi locked eyes, uneasy, a silent understanding passing between them. But neither of them noticed that, at that very moment, Jun Beiyue’s fingers had begun to tremble — not just the index finger of his right hand, but both hands trembling at once!

And not only his fingers — his long, beautifully shaped eyelashes had also begun to tremble faintly… ever so faintly.