How could this be?

This Zhou Maochun was too formidable! To think he could turn things around even like this!

Why could Liu Pucheng find such a powerful backer, while he himself was so unlucky? When the mountain falls, so does the backer!

Dong Lin had started with genuine tears, but thinking of this, he couldn’t help but feel grief welling up from within.

He was clearly intelligent, yet his master had always favored Liu Pucheng, who was both old and slow. Despite being a clerk at the Imperial Medical Academy, he still had to beg this Liu Pucheng, who was nothing, to save his life!

What was wrong with this world?

Dong Lin asked this question, and Liu Pucheng was asking the same thing.

Ever since Old Physician An had arrived, Liu Pucheng had taken the disciples of Qianjin Hall and moved out of Chen Shi’s home to live in Old Physician An’s residence.

Apart from Hu San, who ran around daily to gather information about the case’s progress, everyone else was restricted to staying home obediently without going out. Old Physician An only told them not to worry, but they knew nothing of the specific details.

“Senior Brother, I was deceived by Medical Director Qin,” Dong Lin cried while clutching Liu Pucheng’s arm, overcome with grief. “He said the matter you were involved in was too serious. I was scared, Senior Brother. I too have no father or mother, and Master is gone. I only have you left. I was truly afraid something would happen to you, so I voluntarily submitted a confession…”

Liu Pucheng felt his mind becoming muddled from his crying.

“What exactly happened?” he asked. “Speak properly.”

Hu San snorted from the side.

“What else could it be? Master is definitely innocent, so he’s changing with the wind and playing pitiful again,” he said.

Dong Lin didn’t dare hide anything now and tearfully recounted the events, naturally portraying himself as a victim who had been deceived and coerced.

“Senior Brother, ever since Master passed away and you weren’t in the capital, I’ve had such a difficult time alone…” he said, wiping his tears.

Liu Pucheng sighed.

“Relying on one’s own medical skills to earn a living—what’s so difficult about that?” he said mildly, pushing away Dong Lin’s hand.

Dong Lin wanted to say more, but Liu Pucheng stopped him.

“Go back. Don’t do this again,” he said.

Dong Lin appeared deeply ashamed on the surface, but was overjoyed in his heart.

Given how things had turned out, he was immensely grateful that he had never completely fallen out with Liu Pucheng.

This wasn’t because he didn’t want to, but because he had always been waiting for an opportunity—one that would allow him to feel supremely satisfied while leaving the other party utterly humiliated.

Dong Lin had never imagined he would one day be so thankful that this opportunity had never come.

After dismissing Dong Lin, Qi Yue arrived and was warmly welcomed by the disciples as soon as she entered.

“Everyone already knows?” Qi Yue was very surprised and laughed. “I wanted to give you all a surprise.”

“No need for surprises. We already knew everything would be fine,” Hu San shouted.

The disciples laughed with a roar.

“Who was it that couldn’t eat or sleep every day?” everyone teased.

“I was angry—angry at those blind people,” Hu San argued.

While the disciples were joking around, Liu Pucheng told Qi Yue about Dong Lin’s visit.

“Prison disaster should be avoided if possible,” he said with a sigh.

Qi Yue frowned.

“But this person clearly has ill intentions, and he’s very unfriendly toward you. His words can’t be trusted,” she said.

Liu Pucheng sighed.

“We’re from the same master’s school, after all,” he said in a low voice.

Qi Yue could only nod.

“I’ll mention it to my adoptive father and have him sent far away,” she said.

Liu Pucheng thanked her repeatedly.

Old Physician An also came over at this time.

“For Director Zhou to assume the position of Medical Director is truly cause for celebration—a blessing for us physicians,” he said with feeling.

“If he had wanted the position, he would have taken it long ago,” Qi Yue shook her head.

Everyone fell silent.

With Zhou Maochun’s medical skills and qualifications, if he had wanted the position, there truly wouldn’t be a second person in the world who could compete with him.

He simply hadn’t wanted it. But now he was assuming the position of Medical Director.

“It’s to support me,” Qi Yue said.

“This isn’t just supporting you,” Old Physician An smiled and shook his head. “Director Zhou has avoided the world for too long. His emergence is a blessing for everyone, a blessing for the physicians.”

Earlier, to gain Liu Pucheng’s sympathy, Dong Lin had hidden nothing about what had happened at the Imperial Medical Academy. Everyone also knew the words Zhou Maochun had spoken in that room.

Treating illness was inherently a matter of unpredictable fortune and misfortune. Moreover, the physicians faced nobles and powerful families, making their practice truly nerve-wracking. If someone backed them up, even if it might not truly be useful, everyone felt somewhat comforted.

“Yes, if Director Zhou had taken charge earlier, Old Physician An, your leg wouldn’t have been broken,” Hu San interjected.

Really bringing up the most sensitive topic!

Everyone glared at him.

“Exactly,” Hu San felt he wasn’t wrong and added another sentence.

Qi Yue coughed.

“We’ve finished discussing the good news. There’s also a difficult matter that everyone needs to discuss together,” she said, changing the subject.

A difficult matter?

Everyone looked at Qi Yue with slight tension.

“I had an audience with His Majesty today,” Qi Yue said, taking out a bright yellow booklet from her sleeve. “His Majesty wants our Qianjin Hall to handle something.”

Seeing what Qi Yue held, the disciples became excited again.

“This is the Emperor’s imperial edict?” Zhang Tong asked excitedly, his face flushed red. He wiped his hands on his clothes repeatedly but still hesitated to take it. “Should we kneel?”

Hu San snatched it from the side and opened it to read.

“Senior Brother, this isn’t that kind of edict. Don’t be so nervous,” he said, though his trembling hands showed he was no less nervous than Zhang Tong.

“His Majesty wants our Qianjin Hall to be responsible for military medical affairs?” Liu Pucheng didn’t snatch the booklet to read, preferring to hear Qi Yue explain directly.

Qi Yue nodded.

“This is good news,” Old Physician An said with feeling again.

Meanwhile, Zhang Tong and the others, though they knew what the booklet said, still wanted to see it with their own eyes—those were characters written by the Emperor himself. But Hu San kept looking left and right, seemingly never finishing, frustrating the disciples who kept pushing him.

“Don’t rush, don’t rush,” Hu San shouted while muttering, “How can I not find it?”

“Find what?” the disciples asked, puzzled.

“Master,” Hu San looked up and shouted, “Why didn’t His Majesty mention giving money?”

Everyone was stunned, not understanding.

“We spent so much money, and isn’t it said that court commendations and such always come with money?” Hu San continued shouting.

The disciples couldn’t help but laugh, and Zhang Tong gave Hu San a slap on the head.

Qi Yue also laughed.

“Now that we have this, are we still afraid of having no money?” she said with a smile, pointing at the booklet still in Hu San’s hand.

“This money is for the future, but what we spent before is still lost,” Hu San muttered.

“You money-grubber!” Zhang Tong said, snatching the booklet and going aside to read it seriously.

While Hu San muttered, Qi Yue continued talking with Liu Pucheng and Old Physician An.

“This matter is indeed difficult to handle—it can’t be done well in a day or two with just one or two people,” Old Physician An said.

Qi Yue and Liu Pucheng nodded.

“Yueniang is fully responsible for this matter, but who should actually implement it needs careful consideration…” Old Physician An said. “After all, this is military affairs, and your female identity, Yueniang, is truly inconvenient.”

“I’ll go,” Liu Pucheng quickly said.

“That won’t work. Yongqing Prefecture’s Qianjin Hall can’t do without you,” Qi Yue quickly said.

With some disciples having left Yongqing Prefecture to prevent the plague, the newly recruited disciples couldn’t yet work independently. Yongqing Prefecture was Qianjin Hall’s foundation and absolutely couldn’t be abandoned.

“Master.”

Someone nearby suddenly called out.

Everyone looked over to see Zhang Tong with bright eyes, gripping the booklet tightly.

“Master,” he stepped forward several paces, his expression barely containing his excitement. “This disciple is willing to go!”

After a pause, he said, “This disciple wants to go!”

As soon as he spoke, the other disciples also reacted and immediately began shouting.

“Master, we want to go!”

“Master, we want to go!”

Except for Hu San, almost all the disciples stepped forward.

The previous plague prevention wasn’t Zhang Tong’s specialty. This military medical surgical treatment was his specialty, and with this being a personal edict from the Emperor, one could imagine what kind of future awaited them if they succeeded.

The batch of disciples who had gone for plague prevention could now work independently. So young, having made a name for themselves and established their footing in such a short time—even if they couldn’t become renowned great physicians in this lifetime, having this skill would be enough to ensure their descendants’ livelihood for generations.

Now it was finally their turn to have an opportunity.

Qi Yue looked at everyone.

“Although we have His Majesty’s edict, this matter seems simple to describe but will be very difficult to implement—not only difficult but also arduous and dangerous,” she said.

“Master, physicians do not avoid danger,” Zhang Tong said. “Please don’t ask us such questions anymore, Master. We from Qianjin Hall fear nothing.”

The disciples all nodded.

“Let him go. Zhang Tong has been with me so long, he can graduate,” Liu Pucheng also spoke up.

Only then did Qi Yue nod.

“Very well, then you shall go. I’ll remain in the capital to support you. Go and act with confidence—as long as you don’t violate medical ethics, if you encounter trouble, blame it all on me,” she said with a smile.

In early April, Zhangye Guard City finally showed some signs of spring.

“Come, come! Where are you military physicians? All of you come out quickly!”

Someone was shouting loudly outside.

The busy military physicians in the room all stopped, their hearts sinking as they looked toward Qiao Minghua.

Were they finally going to be held accountable for what they had done?

Qiao Minghua set down the medicine pestle in his hand and strode out. The others hesitated for a moment before following.

Three military officers had arrived outside—this was unusual, as even when conscripting them for military campaigns, such people never needed to appear personally.

“You fellows have truly had good fortune!” one of them shouted roughly.

The person beside him made a “hey” sound.

“Speak properly,” he reminded, then looked at Qiao Minghua and the others. His arrogant expression softened slightly. “Congratulations to you all. The military merit from above has come down. Your medical unit will henceforth receive treatment equivalent to a first-class squad. Qiao Minghua, you are granted the position of squad leader.”

Everyone listened in stunned silence.

What… did this mean?