The young girl before her no longer had any trace of a young lady from the Marquis’s mansion. She wore the most ordinary little floral jacket, her hair tied with just two red ribbons – just like those children from poor families running around the streets.

“I, I sell pancakes,” Yan’er stammered in reply.

“I’m asking why you came out to sell pancakes!” Qi Yue shouted, stepping forward to grab Yan’er and look her over from left to right.

The street idlers, annoyed at having their fun interrupted, were about to make lewd remarks when they saw how beautiful this woman was. But then they heard passersby whisper “It’s Lady Qi, it’s Lady Qi from Qianjin Hall, it’s that divine physician…”

The two idlers immediately shuddered.

Though they had never seen her, the name Lady Qi was now quite famous throughout Yongqing Prefecture.

From beggar to young lady of the Marquis’s mansion, then divorced by imperial decree, skilled in abdominal surgery, daring to lead people into fights, and all the young masters in the city were her followers – if she just called out, there would surely be a large crowd following her, attacking wherever she pointed…

The idlers turned around and tiptoed away hurriedly.

“Stop right there,” came a woman’s stern voice from behind.

Since she said stop, the two idlers really didn’t dare to leave.

“Lady…” they turned around, bowing with forced smiles, “We… we didn’t know…”

“Money for the pancakes,” Qi Yue said with a stern face.

The idlers hurriedly pulled out a handful of coins from their bodies and stuffed them into Yan’er’s hands before rushing away.

Following Yan’er to an alley near the city gate, after many twists and turns, they stopped at a doorway.

The door was half open, and two women in the courtyard were talking.

“Lady Chang, these clothes need to be starched and washed quickly – they’re needed urgently,” one woman said.

Chang Chunlan, wearing a plain shirt and skirt, nodded.

“Don’t worry, Sister Wang,” she said with a grateful smile, using her hand to smooth back her drooping hair. “I’ll wash them well.”

Only then did the woman nod and walk outside.

“Thank you, sister, for introducing me to this work,” Chang Chunlan followed behind, repeatedly expressing gratitude. When she looked up again, she froze.

Qi Yue stood at the doorway holding Yan’er’s hand, looking at her, while A’Ru beside her also looked completely astonished.

The small courtyard was somewhat messy, with drying clothes taking up all the open space.

“Yan’er and I moved out of the Marquis’s mansion,” Chang Chunlan brought out two small stools, wiping her hands on her clothes as she spoke. “Please sit. It’s rather messy here, so I won’t invite you into the house, and there’s no tea…”

“I didn’t come to hear about that,” Qi Yue interrupted, not sitting down. “What are you doing? Why did you move out when things were fine? Did they drive you out?”

“No, it was Yan’er who wanted to come out. Yan’er originally wanted to go live with her aunt, but mother wouldn’t let her…” Yan’er said hurriedly.

Chang Chunlan pulled her back.

“Go boil some water,” she said.

Though reluctant, Yan’er obediently went.

“Elder sister, what happened exactly?” Qi Yue didn’t believe this at all and asked directly.

Chang Chunlan smiled, smoothing her hair with hands that were swollen and pale from soaking.

“Learning from you,” she said.

Qi Yue slapped her forehead.

“Why are you learning from me!” she said with a sigh. “How can you be like me?”

Chang Chunlan still smiled.

“Yes, I’m not as capable as you,” she said.

Qi Yue stamped her foot.

“This isn’t about being capable or not,” she said urgently. “I, I…”

I’m different from you. I’m used to supporting myself, but you’re a native ancient person who sees father and husband as your whole world – that’s completely different.

This is terrible. Just running out like this – how can it work? Public opinion alone could drown her.

“But didn’t you do it?” Chang Chunlan asked.

“I, I have skills. Even if I came out, I could live well on my own,” Qi Yue said, widening her eyes.

“Though I don’t have your kind of skills, I also have hands,” Chang Chunlan said with a smile, extending her hands to look at them. “Look, these hands can also support Yan’er and me. It turns out that as long as you want to live, you really can live however you want.”

Is this also one of my butterfly effects?

Qi Yue looked at Chang Chunlan somewhat speechlessly. If she hadn’t set an example, Chang Chunlan would never have dared to do this, right?

But damn it, this wasn’t any kind of example at all – for her, this was the most normal thing in the world!

“Well then, since you’re learning from me, come with me,” Qi Yue finally said.

“If I wanted to depend on you, I would have gone from the beginning,” Chang Chunlan said, shaking her head. “Besides, who did you go to depend on? Don’t you also rely on yourself?”

“Bullshit,” Qi Yue said.

Chang Chunlan was stunned, and Yan’er, who was walking over, found it interesting.

“Bullshit,” she repeated after her.

Qi Yue hurriedly covered her mouth with her hand, looking somewhat embarrassed.

“Don’t learn my bad habits,” she threatened.

Yan’er laughed heartily.

Chang Chunlan also laughed.

“How am I depending on myself? Didn’t I move out with half of the Marquis’s mansion’s belongings? Those are your grandmother’s belongings, so of course you can enjoy them too,” Qi Yue said, taking Yan’er’s hand. “Our Yan’er has already suffered so much, she’s suffered enough. From now on, it’s time for happiness and joy, to make up for all the laughter and happiness that was missing before.”

As she said this, she crouched down to look at Yan’er.

“Hardship isn’t necessarily all of life. Some lives don’t need hardship and can still achieve things. Our Yan’er has already gone through adversity, so from now on, just enjoying good times is enough,” she said, also looking up at Chang Chunlan. “Elder sister, since you’re learning from me, then learn to live well like me. We only live good lives, don’t suffer or take abuse, and do whatever we want.”

Yan’er looked at Qi Yue and smiled even more happily.

Chang Chunlan’s eyes grew slightly red, but this time she didn’t shed tears. Instead, she nodded.

The next day when Qi Yue came to work, there was a little tail following behind her.

“I’m Lady Qi’s assistant,” Yan’er introduced herself openly to the curious disciples.

Everyone naturally recognized her. At this moment, Yan’er no longer wore a face covering, letting the scar on her mouth show openly.

“The wound is healing so well,” the disciples all said.

Though both involved people seeing and discussing her scar, the discussion here made Yan’er feel completely comfortable.

“Yes, in a few more days, it will definitely be even better,” everyone said.

Qi Yue then asked Liu Pucheng about traditional Chinese medicine for removing scars.

“I could use scar excision surgery, but she’s too young now and it hasn’t been long enough, so I’m wondering if there are any traditional medicine methods, like ointments or something,” she asked.

As she spoke, she chuckled. In modern times, doing cosmetic surgery for Yan’er would be a matter of minutes.

“Besides scar excision, there’s also dermabrasion,” she said. “You know, we can even grind down bones, sharpen chins, create double eyelids, install artificial dimples – basically transform an ugly duckling into a fairy.”

Scary, right? Qi Yue waited to see Liu Pucheng’s amazement.

“Skin abrasion technique,” Liu Pucheng nodded, his expression surprised, but not about what she expected. “Little Qi, you know about this too?”

Ah? Qi Yue was astonished.

What do you mean I know about it too?

“When I was studying under my master, I was fortunate enough to see the ‘Comprehensive Records of Sacred Healing,’ which contained prescriptions for using jade grinding to treat facial scars,” Liu Pucheng looked at Qi Yue with a slight smile that carried traces of reminiscence and emotion. “This book only exists in the Imperial Medical Academy. I thought it wasn’t some closely guarded secret after all.”

But thinking about it, Lady Qi had such divine skills – what books couldn’t her master have seen? The secret prescriptions she knew were probably not even preserved in the Imperial Medical Academy.

Qi Yue’s mouth was already wide open.

“The ancients were truly divine…” she finally murmured, looking at Liu Pucheng with some eagerness. “Teacher, teacher, please teach me everything you know.”

This Lady Qi always seemed unaware of how amazing her own skills were, instead expressing amazement at many things that were commonplace here, as if she came from another world…

As this thought flashed through his mind, Liu Pucheng was also stunned. Another world – like the immortal lands of Penglai Island?

He was amused by his own thoughts. Gods and ghosts – physicians don’t discuss or dwell on such things.

Because there were few doctors in the clinic, Qi Yue and Liu Pucheng each worked one night shift. The ward section had no patients, since hospitalization was still an unprecedented concept – the poor couldn’t afford it, and the rich wouldn’t stay.

The disciples on night duty extinguished the lights in the ward section, and the courtyard became quiet.

After reading for a while, Qi Yue walked out of her room. In the courtyard, some laborer disciples were sitting around chatting and laughing, the aroma of food and wine spreading. Seeing Qi Yue come out, they all stood up to greet her.

Qi Yue told them to continue and walked to the other side, where the storage room was built in a square shape with a roof that was flatter than the others, conveniently used for drying large surgical sheets and such. She climbed up using the ladder.

The low flat buildings naturally couldn’t compare to modern high-rises, but fortunately, all the surrounding buildings were also low and flat, so the view was quite open. Yongqing Prefecture’s night market was still quite lively – she could see scattered lights and hear peddlers’ calls and the faint sounds of silk, bamboo, and stringed instruments.

Qi Yue stood there staring blankly, then pulled out a small wine flask from her pocket.

“…Moon, here, please have some beer…”

Looking up again, the scene before her seemed to change – high-rise buildings, brilliant lights.

Two senior colleagues from the same department walked over, one of them tossing her a can of beer.

“Ha, you’re on night duty tonight and you dare to drink!” Qi Yue laughed, catching the beer.

“Ah, it’s fine. If I drink too much, you’re still here,” the senior colleague laughed.

Next, they would lean against the railing, talking about everything under the sun, from TV dramas to movies, and of course, all the gossip from the hospital.

Qi Yue raised her head and put the small wine flask to her lips, drinking.

“Cheers!” she said, raising the flask toward the night sky, then took another sip and raised it again.

“Cheers, Chang Yuncheng.”

In the corner, a patch that had blended with the night suddenly moved, fortunately steadying itself in time.

“Miss? Miss?” came A’Ru’s voice from the courtyard.

Qi Yue quickly threw the wine flask away and vigorously waved her hands at the air while responding.

A’Ru had already climbed up with quick steps.

“Don’t climb so high – what if you get dizzy?” she said, sniffing the air. “What’s that smell? Have you been drinking?”

Qi Yue laughed heartily, waving her hands.

“What do you mean I’ve been drinking? It’s them drinking,” she pointed to the courtyard where several disciples were still sitting, eating, drinking, and chatting. Qi Yue had introduced barbecue, and everyone quickly became fascinated. After a tiring day, sitting down to eat and chat was very pleasant – this had almost become a regular part of every night shift. However, there was one rule: alcohol was limited to just one small flask each time, shared among seven or eight people, barely enough for two small cups each.

Qi Yue pointed to the courtyard and laughed.

“The wine smell is really strong…” she said.

A’Ru didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“Alright, come down quickly. It’s not busy tonight – rest early,” she said, pushing Qi Yue.

The two went down chatting and laughing. The rooftop returned to quiet. After a long while, when all the people eating and drinking in the courtyard had dispersed and the lights were extinguished, a corner of the roof moved. A person actually emerged from the night, quickly descended from the roof, slipped into a room, sat down, and took out a small piece of paper to begin writing.