Snow began falling again at midnight. When Qi Yue opened her eyes early in the morning, she thought she had slept until broad daylight.

“It’s still early,” A’Ru said, adding charcoal to the brazier.

Qi Yue got up and moved her hands and feet around the room, looking outside through the paper-covered window.

“Seems I don’t have the fate to sleep in,” she laughed, draping on a large cloak. “I’m going to use the latrine…”

A’Ru saw her walking out and quickly called after her.

“The Prince has already gone out,” she said, with some cautious probing in her voice, pointing in that direction.

Qi Yue made an acknowledging sound.

“I’ll just use yours then, it’s more convenient,” she smiled, waving her hand as she walked out.

A’Ru stood behind her with a worried expression.

After that moment last night, there had been no bickering, no quarreling, no deliberate confrontation. They had always hoped these two could get along peacefully, but now that they truly were peaceful, it felt even more alarming.

What exactly was wrong? Hadn’t things been getting better? How did it suddenly become like this…

“Qiu Xiang, what happened to the Prince yesterday?” she asked Qiu Xiang in a low voice as she entered the room.

Qiu Xiang waved her hand and looked around, then walked over in small steps.

“Yesterday, the Prince knelt at Madam’s place for half a day…” she said in a low voice.

A’Ru froze.

It was… Madam…

She sighed and didn’t ask any more questions.

After washing up and eating breakfast by herself, Qi Yue sat quietly in the room reading.

“The Prince is reading in the study,” A’Ru said, seemingly in casual conversation while pouring tea.

Qi Yue made an acknowledging sound.

“It really is inconvenient, taking up someone else’s room. I need to find a chance to move out,” she smiled.

A’Ru hesitated, looking at Qi Yue who lowered her head to read again.

“Young Madam, about Madam’s side… do you think… perhaps you should…” she finally gathered courage to speak.

“What about her again? Is she coming to trouble us again?” Qi Yue looked up at her in confusion.

A’Ru looked at her with some urgency and worry.

“Young Madam, if you think this way, your relationship with Madam will only get worse and worse,” she said. “She is, after all, your mother-in-law. You should…”

“Try to please her?” Qi Yue finished the sentence with a smile.

How clever, A’Ru nodded quickly.

Qi Yue smiled and turned the goose feather pen in her hand.

“A’Ru, this marriage arrangement – the Marchioness agreed to it from the beginning, right?” she asked.

A’Ru nodded.

“But this marriage still happened,” Qi Yue said, looking at A’Ru. “This is no longer about whether she likes or dislikes me as a person, but about this matter – this thing that went against her will – it has become her obsession. As long as I exist for one day, I remind her of her humiliation.”

A’Ru looked at her, understanding what she meant. Her face turned pale.

“Then… then is there no solution?” she asked in a trembling voice.

If a mother-in-law doesn’t like her daughter-in-law, how can life be lived well? If it were some other family with an uninvolved mother-in-law, that would be one thing, but in their household, the Marchioness was the first lady of the house. What’s more, the Prince was completely obedient to his mother…

“There is,” Qi Yue put down her pen with some solemnity.

A’Ru immediately brightened up. She knew the Young Madam was clever and capable.

“Divorce, letting her regain face and get her wish,” Qi Yue smiled slightly.

A’Ru was instantly doused with cold water.

“Di… divorce?” she stammered. Having been with Qi Yue for so long, she could guess the general meaning of words she’d never heard before. “You mean separation?”

“I won’t do being divorced,” Qi Yue said, then picked up her pen again. “It’s not like Qi Yueniang begged to come to their family. Since they invited me in, naturally they should invite me out properly. Being divorced? On what grounds!”

“I’m not talking about that,” A’Ru stamped her foot. This Young Madam’s thinking was really…

“I know what you want to say,” Qi Yue said. “Alright, A’Ru, I know everything. I have my own plans. Go busy yourself quickly. I need to use this time to read. I’ll need to rely on this to make a living in the future…”

Saying this, she stood up and pushed her toward the door.

“What… what do you mean rely on this to make a living?” A’Ru was even more confused.

“If I really become a divine physician and bring honor to the Marquis’s household, the Marquis will protect me. Otherwise, how could I still be jumping around so happily at home? So I mean making a living through medical skills…” Qi Yue smiled, pushing A’Ru out the door. “Go play for a while.”

Is that so? A’Ru wanted to ask more, but the door was closed by Qi Yue.

At this time, many merchants in the prefectural city were just opening their doors. The Rejuvenation Hall in the city center was no exception.

The young shop assistant was hunching his shoulders, having just removed one door panel, when he heard a commotion followed by people crashing into him.

“Doctor, doctor…” they shouted loudly, with crying mixed in, forcibly trying to squeeze inside.

“What’s going on? What’s going on?” the shop assistant shouted loudly. “We’re not open yet!”

“Doctor, quickly get the doctor. My elder brother is dying…” Leading them were two burly men wearing animal skin coats, obviously hunters.

The assistant took a closer look and recognized them.

“Oh, the one who was gored by a wild boar,” he said, continuing to remove the door panels. “Didn’t my master already see him? Why are you back?”

A crowd of people carried in a door panel being used as a stretcher.

“My elder brother is dying,” everyone shouted in chaos.

The shop assistant looked over and was startled. The man on the door panel was already delirious, shaking his head and talking nonsense, and the wound on his leg had turned black and was oozing pus.

“What’s wrong?” Wang Qingchun, the doctor at Rejuvenation Hall, came out asking.

“Master, it’s bad, it’s rot…” the assistant rushed over to say quietly.

Before he could finish, someone slapped his hand, stopping him.

“What do you know? Don’t diagnose conditions randomly,” Wu Shan, Wang Qingchun’s disciple who had followed behind, glared and scolded.

The shop assistant sheepishly stopped talking. Wang Qingchun walked over.

“Doctor, please take a look. He suddenly got worse last night,” the family members looked at him with earnest hope.

Wang Qingchun nodded calmly and said nothing, just rolled up his sleeves and bent down. When he saw the wound clearly, his hand that had been reaching out to check the pulse stopped.

“You’ve been giving him the medicine continuously, right?” he then stroked his beard, withdrew his hand, stood up and asked.

“Yes, yes, continuously,” the family members said hurriedly.

“Keep giving it to him, let’s see how it goes,” Wang Qingchun said, then looked at his disciple. “Prepare some more external medicine.”

Wu Shan responded and went to do so.

“So… so he’s alright?” The family members hadn’t expected it to be so simple, looking back at the man on the door panel who was delirious and talking nonsense.

“Give him medicine and see. For illnesses like this, it’s still a matter of doing one’s best and leaving it to fate,” Wang Qingchun said.

The family members could hear the implication in these words.

“Are you a competent doctor or not?” A short, stocky man pushed forward, glaring and shouting. “Can you treat him or not?”

This was the kind of talk doctors hated most to hear.

“Can’t do it? Then why did you come to us?” Wu Shan snorted.

“That’s only because Doctor Liu from Qianjin Hall isn’t there,” the stocky man also snorted.

Too much! Wu Shan glared and was about to retort.

“Is that so?” Wang Qingchun stopped him, still maintaining a kindly attitude. “Doctor Liu is back. I happened to meet him when I came over.”

Hearing this, the stocky man immediately turned around.

“Let’s go, let’s go, quickly to Qianjin Hall,” he shouted.

With this shout, everyone indeed lifted the door panel and left in a noisy crowd.

“Master, look at these people…” Wu Shan was extremely indignant. “When has our Rejuvenation Hall ever been inferior to a trauma clinic?”

This was a naked slap in the face.

But Wang Qingchun remained calm.

“This is a case of carbuncle poisoning,” he suddenly said in a low voice.

Wu Shan, who was still complaining incessantly, suddenly froze, looking at his master with some disbelief.

“Carbuncle poisoning? Isn’t this…” he said, losing his voice.

Wang Qingchun nodded with a slight smile.

“An incurable disease,” he said slowly.

Wu Shan was stunned for a long moment before coming to his senses.

“That’s excellent,” he also smiled, his gaze looking toward the door. Following the street all the way and turning two corners would lead to Qianjin Hall. “Since they won’t let us treat him and want Qianjin Hall to treat him instead, if the person dies, it won’t be our business.”

Now this would be a naked slap in the face, but it wouldn’t be Rejuvenation Hall’s face being slapped.

Wu Shan chuckled.

“Master, I’ll go take a look,” he smiled.

As Wu Shan hunched and walked out the door with his hands tucked in, Hu San walked in carrying a bundle.

As soon as he entered, he was immediately surrounded by everyone.

“Mine, mine…”

Everyone eagerly reached for his bundle.

“Don’t grab, don’t grab…” Hu San protected his bundle and shouted. “Form a line.”

“What line?” everyone complained.

“No line, no distribution,” Hu San snorted.

This fellow was thick-skinned. Everyone had no choice but to form a line, finally managing to get in order after much chaos.

At the front was a disciple nearly thirty years old, extending his hand with some excitement.

“What do you call me?” Hu San held a piece of leather in his hand, looking up at him.

The disciple was confused by the question.

“I didn’t call you anything,” he said.

Hu San weighed the leather in his hand.

“I thought you called me Senior Brother,” he grinned, drawing out his words. “Turns out you didn’t…”

Only then did the disciple understand, his mouth twitching as he reached to grab the leather.

Hu San also held onto it, not letting go.

“If you don’t call me Senior Brother, there’s no leather, right?” the disciple glared.

“I carried this back from so far away, shouldn’t I earn some recognition?” Hu San also glared back.

Too shameless! The senior and junior brothers all rushed forward, surrounding Hu San with both beating and laughing scolding, naturally grabbing pieces of leather.

“You’re all too shameless!” Hu San shouted at the top of his lungs.

The back hall was filled with laughter and commotion. Zhang Tong and Liu Pucheng were both stunned when they entered.

“What’s going on!” Zhang Tong quickly scolded. Everyone stopped and saw Liu Pucheng, immediately standing properly with lowered heads and hanging arms.

“I brought the leather my master asked me to prepare…” Hu San, not bothering to straighten his disheveled clothes, rushed over with a piece of leather. “Master, you’re back.”

“What is this?” Liu Pucheng asked with some curiosity.

Zhang Tong was about to speak, but Hu San had already rushed to explain everything.

Liu Pucheng was both surprised and pleased, nodding repeatedly in approval.

“Give me a piece too,” he extended his hand.

“Ah, Master, you still need to learn?” Hu San asked.

“Learning more is always good,” Liu Pucheng smiled, taking the leather.

As they were talking, disciples in the front hall loudly relayed a message.

“Master, severe trauma case.”