Scattered clinking sounds came from the dining room, and the Prince’s maids standing in the courtyard couldn’t help but look over.

“What’s all that about?” Qiu Xiang, standing at the Prince’s door, snorted and muttered, “All mysterious and sneaky…”

Mentioning ghosts made her involuntarily shudder.

The Young Madam was said to have died once before…

Originally she didn’t believe this, but now somehow she felt it might be true. Otherwise, how could she have bewitched the Prince into letting her enter the courtyard gate?

Only ghosts could accomplish such a thing, right?

When Qi Yue moved into the Prince’s courtyard, the few old women who had been kneeling and wailing in Qiu Tong Courtyard after being punished and dismissed didn’t have the courage to come here to cause trouble. Moreover, the Young Madam who everyone thought would be divorced had safely moved into the Prince’s courtyard. Though they weren’t sharing a room, it was enough to shock everyone.

If the Young Madam secured her position, she would become the future Marchioness. In this marquis mansion, she would hold absolute power. To offend her would mean…

Many people weighed this thought and abandoned their schemes, preparing to wait and see.

At this morning’s meeting, the stewardess wives gathering in the Prince’s courtyard were complete for the first time. Those who had been absent before no longer had the qualifications to enter from today onward.

Qi Yue efficiently promoted several old women to fill these vacancies—women she had already selected from reviewing the roster. She then announced punishments for those stewardess wives who hadn’t fulfilled their promised duties. These punishments were merely fines, much lighter than dismissal. The women who had been anxiously thinking they too would be made examples of breathed sighs of relief, and their faces couldn’t help but show some gratitude toward Qi Yue.

“Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching. Everyone has just discussed how to handle it and reviewed past precedents. There are guidelines to follow. Please put your hearts into it and organize everything perfectly. After the festival, we’ll give rewards,” Qi Yue said with a smile, ending today’s morning meeting.

The women below responded in a jumbled chorus of “yes.” Though their voices were still somewhat chaotic and not in unison, it was much better than before.

Nanny Su stood aside, watching all this with cold eyes.

After finishing household matters, Chang Yuncheng was still nowhere to be found. Qi Yue casually asked Qiu Xiang, who acted as if guarding against thieves, so Qi Yue stopped asking. A young madam going out wasn’t a big deal, with or without the Prince’s accompaniment.

“Is your master still in the study?” Qi Yue had just stepped into Qianjin Hall when she heard the eldest disciple rush over to say this, giving her a fright.

“What did Lady Qi say to my master? What’s wrong with the old man?” The eldest disciple was also very troubled.

Qi Yue sighed. She hadn’t really said anything, just that the medicine she brought had stimulated this old physician.

“I’ll go do rounds first,” she said, shaking her head while taking the clothes A’Ru handed her and putting them on.

“Rounds?” The eldest disciple was confused by this term, watching Qi Yue walk inside.

Hu San came bouncing over.

“Master, you’re here!” he called out joyfully, eagerly reaching for the medicine box in A’Ru’s hands. “Miss A’Ru, let me, let me.”

A’Ru kept her head down, ignoring him and refusing to give him the medicine box.

“Don’t call me master,” Qi Yue glared at him. “You have a master.”

Hu San smiled sheepishly.

“It’s my master who told me to call you master,” he said.

Qi Yue was dizzy from this circle of “masters” and simply ignored him. The injured man had already been moved into a separate room in Qianjin Hall. According to Qi Yue’s requirements, people entering and leaving were strictly controlled, had to wear special clothes, and the room was fumigated with alcohol daily.

“Lady Qi has come.”

She had just reached the door when she heard a man’s voice loudly calling from inside.

“Good, sounds full of energy. Seems like a good recovery,” Qi Yue said with a smile, pushing open the door to look at the young man lying on the bed.

“Lady Qi has come.” The dark-faced man keeping watch stood up happily when he saw her, bowing and repeating what he said every time they met: “Thank you, Lady, for saving my life.”

“It’s what I should do,” Qi Yue said with a smile.

She meant that doctors should save lives and heal the wounded, while the dark-faced man understood it as servants of the Marquis Dingxi’s mansion naturally obeying the Prince’s orders. Both smiled and passed over this topic.

The injured man propped himself up trying to get up, looking at Qi Yue with a smile.

“Don’t move, lie down properly. If the wound tears open, you’ll suffer again,” Qi Yue said with a smile.

Here, A’Ru skillfully opened the medicine box and took out a stethoscope to hand to her.

“I won’t suffer. With Lady’s miraculous medical skills here, I won’t suffer at all,” the injured man said with a smile.

This young man was talkative and cheerful, with a good personality. Qi Yue smiled and asked how he slept last night, what he ate, how many times his wound hurt, while using the stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, and thermometer to examine him one by one.

“The IV can be stopped,” she turned to tell Hu San.

Hu San was happily bringing over the IV supplies. Yesterday when Qi Yue left, she had taught him to remove the needle. For Hu San, this wasn’t as impressive as inserting needles, so today he was hoping to learn more. Hearing this, he had to give up.

“The rest I’ll leave entirely to you senior and junior disciples for treatment. Listen to them about what medicine to take,” Qi Yue said.

“Ah? How can that be? Lady, why aren’t you treating me anymore?” the injured man immediately called out.

This form of address made Qi Yue feel extremely awkward, giving her goosebumps.

“Right, Master, you should continue treating him,” Hu San also said hurriedly.

I can’t continue treating him. None of the medicines I know how to use are available here, Qi Yue thought with a bitter smile.

“Actually, I’m not very good at treating illnesses. I only know how to suture wounds and such,” she said with a smile.

“Ah? Then how…?” Hu San asked with wide eyes.

Qi Yue shrugged and spread her hands.

“My grandmother never taught me that. I only know this. As for prescribing medicines and such, I understand none of it, so it’s still up to you,” she said vaguely without further explanation.

Hu San nodded.

“One skill can take you everywhere, Master. Knowing this is enough,” he said.

“Then Lady Qi, won’t you come anymore?” the injured man on the bed asked anxiously.

“I’ll come. In a few days, I still need to remove your stitches,” Qi Yue said with a smile.

The injured man broke into a smile, showing white teeth.

“That’s good, that’s good. I thought I wouldn’t see Lady Qi anymore,” he said with relief.

A’Ru beside them coughed softly.

“Let me take this,” she suddenly stepped in front of Qi Yue, reaching for the stethoscope, perfectly blocking the injured man’s line of sight.

Qi Yue casually handed it to her.

“Hey, you…” The man lying on the bed couldn’t help but prop himself up and sway left and right.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to go see Dr. Liu?” A’Ru reminded in a low voice.

Qi Yue made an “oh” sound and smiled at the injured man and the dark-faced man.

“Well, rest well. I’ll go first,” she said, waving at them.

The injured man looked at those smiling eyes above the mask and couldn’t help but open his mouth to say something.

“Please go ahead, Lady Qi,” the dark-faced man said before he could speak, while using the pretense of standing up to reach out and pinch the injured man hard.

The injured man sucked in cold air, watching Qi Yue turn and step out the door.

“Lady Qi!” he still couldn’t help calling out loudly.

Qi Yue turned back to look at him, her eyes questioning.

“I… my name is Jiang Hai,” the injured man said.

Qi Yue smiled and waved at him, stepping out the door.

Jiang Hai watched that annoying maid close the door, cutting off his view. He sighed heavily and lay back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

“You brat, pay attention. This isn’t like your casual fooling around at the border,” the dark-faced man reached out to grab his ear and whispered sternly. “That’s someone from the Prince’s household.”

“What about being from the Prince’s household? Perfect—I’ll ask the Prince to give her to me,” Jiang Hai said carelessly.

“This lady has extraordinary, superhuman skills. How dare you ask the Prince? Besides, this lady is clearly dressed as a married woman. Give me some peace,” the dark-faced man glared and scolded.

He had forgotten about that. Jiang Hai’s expression froze as he remembered that although the lady looked young, she was indeed dressed as a married woman.

“This is truly a pity,” he sighed, looking completely dejected.

The dark-faced man became happy again, somewhat gloating.

“Ha, you brat, relying on your pretty face to seduce women everywhere, making us brothers envious. Now it’s your turn to face this,” he grinned.

Footsteps came from outside the door accompanied by a laugh.

“Face what?” Chang Yuncheng pushed open the door and entered, asking.

“Prince!” Both the injured man and the dark-faced man called out hurriedly. The dark-faced man stood up with hands at his sides, while the injured man struggled to get up.

“Lie down,” Chang Yuncheng raised his hand toward him, speaking concisely but brooking no refusal.

Jiang Hai obeyed and lay down.

“Prince, you don’t need to come see us every day. This boy is sturdy and won’t die,” the dark-faced man said. “You’ve been away from home for so long, and now that you’re finally back, you’re still worried about us…”

Chang Yuncheng made an “mm” sound without speaking.

“Prince,” Jiang Hai thought of something and hurriedly sat up again, grimacing in pain as his wound pulled. “That… does Lady Qi still have a husband?”

Chang Yuncheng was stunned by his sudden question.

“Lady Qi?” He didn’t immediately understand who this was, frowning slightly as he asked.

“The doctor from your mansion who treated my wounds,” Jiang Hai said hurriedly, with some hope. “Does she still have a husband?”

Chang Yuncheng understood, but his expression became even more unpleasant.

“Her…” he said vaguely.

“This damn brat,” the dark-faced man hadn’t expected him to directly ask the Prince, raising his hand to slap Jiang Hai.

“Prince, if her husband is gone, please give her to me,” Jiang Hai said with a grin, ducking his head.

Chang Yuncheng’s face instantly turned iron-blue.

When Qi Yue saw Dr. Liu, she was startled by the things scattered around his room.

Various books and papers were strewn across the floor. Liu Pucheng, whom she hadn’t seen for a day, looked disheveled and haggard as he climbed up from among them.

“Lady Qi, I found several prescriptions. Please look and see if they can produce the same effect as your anesthetic,” he said excitedly, waving several papers in his hand.

Qi Yue looked at this old man with bloodshot eyes from staying up all night, feeling something indescribable.

What could she say? Tell this old man that the medicines she brought were from a thousand years in the future, and no matter how hard he tried, he would never have the chance to see them? Or should she say nothing and let this old man believe they could be easily manufactured, becoming obsessed with this, negating his own medical skills and abandoning his medical path?

Was she wrong to do these things? She had sutured wounds for A’Ru’s brother, but this had caused Hu San to imitate her. This was just external wound suturing surgery. If a doctor saw the abdominal surgery she had performed on A’Hao, they might also copy it blindly…

Qi Yue couldn’t help but shudder.

Seemingly saving one person could potentially cause more people to die. Qi Yue looked at Liu Pucheng, who stood up excitedly again, searching through the books and papers scattered on the floor, saying something she could no longer hear.

This physician was said to be the most famous in the city. He had rich experience and superb medical skills, and had trained so many apprentices. What he should be doing was using his medical skills to alleviate people’s suffering and pass on this experience and technique to benefit generation after generation of people, not becoming obsessed with this momentarily amazing technique and abandoning what he should be doing, the path he should be walking.

She now understood the meaning of her father sending her to the countryside for training. What she should do now was to do nothing, just obediently stay in that courtyard, guarding that house, waiting for the moment to return. This way, for this place, it would be as if she had never come at all. She wouldn’t change anything or influence anything, letting everything quietly flow along the trajectory it should have in the river of history.

Perhaps this was what she should and must do now.

“Dr. Liu,” Qi Yue called out, stepping forward.

Liu Pucheng didn’t hear, clutching a book and flipping through it, muttering something.

“Dr. Liu,” Qi Yue raised her voice again.

Only then did Liu Pucheng come over with the book, his face full of excitement.

“Lady Qi, what do you think of this?” he said, handing over the book.

Qi Yue shook her head, raising her hand to block the book he was offering.

Liu Pucheng looked at her in confusion.

“Lady Qi, what’s this about?” His eyes, full of red threads, were filled with surprise.

“It’s no use. The medicines I used cannot be produced,” Qi Yue said solemnly.

“Lady Qi, since someone could make them, it proves they can be made,” Liu Pucheng said with a smile.

“They cannot,” Qi Yue interrupted him again, taking a deep breath. “Because it wasn’t made—it’s natural, a natural… plant…”

“Plant?” Liu Pucheng looked at her, his face full of surprise. “Then…?”

“We don’t have this kind of plant here,” Qi Yue picked up his words. “That strange person obtained it from overseas. That plant, we don’t have it here. If someday someone could take a big ship to the place that strange person went, perhaps they might have a chance to obtain this medicine again. But now, here, we won’t have it again. Dr. Liu, please don’t exhaust yourself over this anymore.”

Behind her, Liu Pucheng’s expression became dazed and instantly dejected, the book in his hand falling to the floor with a thud.

Qi Yue didn’t dare and couldn’t bear to look at Liu Pucheng’s expression. After speaking, she bowed deeply.

“The remaining treatment for that injured man depends on you. Thank you,” she said, turning and walking away without looking back.