Three days had passed in the blink of an eye, and still no good news came from the treatment in the courtyard. Qi Yue, Liu Pucheng, and others had been worn down to an inhuman state.

The magistrate couple had been allowed into the room and spent each day accompanying their son, who was either unconscious or delirious. The husband and wife had cried all their tears dry.

“I’ll go back first, I should prepare.” The magistrate said woodenly.

Seeing him like this, Marquis Dingxi felt very sad.

“Don’t be anxious, they’re still treating him…” he said, not daring to say the words “it’ll be fine” anymore.

“What use is there left?” The magistrate murmured, his gaze turning toward the room where Qi Yue was busily working. “If this is his fate, I shouldn’t force it. Instead, I’m making the child suffer more. Let him go early, let him be free early.”

Marquis Dingxi sighed, not knowing what to say, and followed his gaze inside.

“Ziqiao, Ziqiao, how do you feel?” Qi Yue leaned close to the patient’s ear and called.

The patient was unconscious and unresponsive.

“Young Madam.” A’Ru, holding her notebook, looked sorrowful as she watched Qi Yue’s serious expression showing no signs of giving up or despair. She wanted to say something but ultimately said nothing, biting her lower lip and lowering her head to continue recording.

“High fever isn’t frightening.” Qi Yue straightened up and said. “What’s frightening is the loss of consciousness.”

“High fever isn’t frightening?” Liu Pucheng asked in confusion.

“Right, after this kind of surgery, fever symptoms basically always appear. We still can’t find the cause…” Qi Yue said.

We? Liu Pucheng keenly caught these two words. He opened his mouth but said nothing.

“…But why do symptoms of unconsciousness appear? Explosive infection?” Qi Yue exhaled. How much fluid accumulation was there? Was there bleeding in other areas? What about platelets? Ultrasound! Blood tests! If only she could use them once…

Liu Pucheng stroked his beard and pondered for a moment.

“Zhang Tong, add ten more pieces of roasted raw astragalus. Also add roasted barley malt and tangerine peel.” he said.

Zhang Tong responded and hurried to prepare the medicine.

Qi Yue supported herself against the table and chair, slowly sitting down, watching as the herbal medicine was poured down with a spouted kettle.

Everything that could be done had been done. Besides waiting, there was only waiting.

Although the magistrate’s son hadn’t been cured yet, Qi Yue, as the attending physician, had already become famous.

Of course, this was limited to the doctors in Yongqing Prefecture.

Compared to the tension inside Marquis Dingxi’s mansion, the doctors outside were even more tense.

Regarding abdominal surgery for treating injuries, these professional doctors had more composure than ordinary people—after all, they had seen it in books, and theoretically it was feasible. It’s just that none had personally performed or witnessed it.

“…I still remember when someone punctured a boil, and what should have been a condition requiring just some rest suddenly deteriorated. In less than three days, the whole body turned black and blue and died… This time they actually performed abdominal surgery…”

“Truly ignorant and fearless…”

“What background does this young madam of the marquis mansion have? From a famous medical family?”

“I asked around—she’s a beggar, no famous family. Her origins are completely unclear…”

“What? How is that possible?”

“How is it not possible? It’s been years since then, the whole city knew about it.”

The topic shifted from abdominal surgery to the beggar girl’s rise to prominence.

A doctor coughed.

“But now, she really did perform the abdominal surgery.”

“But we were driven out and can’t see anything. Who knows if it’s real or fake?” someone questioned.

That was also true. Everyone fell silent.

“Real or fake, just wait and see if the magistrate’s son lives or dies to know.” one person said.

Everyone agreed and couldn’t help but look toward Marquis Dingxi’s mansion.

So many days had passed with no news—it seemed more likely to end badly…

Inside the room, Qi Yue and Liu Pucheng, one sitting and one standing, were both deep in concentrated thought. A’Ru, Hu San, and others were helping to turn the patient.

“The condition has improved at times. This shows the medicine is targeting the symptoms.” Liu Pucheng said.

Qi Yue nodded.

“But why can’t it take full effect? There are always relapses.” She sighed.

The two fell into contemplation again.

“A’Ru, the salt water you wanted…” Hu San said in a low voice, holding salt water.

A’Ru nodded and put down her transcribed notes.

Hu San followed her over and attentively took out a clean mask.

“No need to wear this, I’m just rinsing his mouth.” A’Ru said.

“Better wear it.” Hu San said quietly. “When I was turning him over just now, I smelled how foul his mouth was…”

“You shouldn’t be disgusted by that—he’s ill.” A’Ru was unhappy and glared at him.

Hu San smiled awkwardly. Since the Yuan Bao incident, he had been constantly trying to please A’Ru, but her attitude toward him hadn’t improved much.

“Don’t talk here.” Zhang Tong said quietly, pointing to Liu Pucheng and Qi Yue who were deep in thought nearby.

Hu San shrank back, and A’Ru also stopped talking.

“Foul?” Qi Yue suddenly murmured, looking at Hu San. “What did you say?”

Hu San quickly waved his hands.

“I didn’t say anything…” he said somewhat frantically.

“No, you did say something. What about foul?” Qi Yue stood up and asked.

Seeing this wasn’t a scolding, Hu San relaxed.

“Well, the patient has bad breath…” he pointed to the sickbed behind him, saying with some embarrassment.

As a doctor, being disgusted by a patient’s filth really wasn’t proper…

“Bad breath?” Qi Yue murmured, then her eyes suddenly lit up as she rushed over.

A’Ru, who was about to clean the patient’s mouth, was pushed aside.

Everyone watched in astonishment as Qi Yue bent down and smelled around the patient’s mouth, nose, and face.

“Liver odor!” Qi Yue raised her head and shouted excitedly. “It’s liver odor!”

Liver odor?

Liu Pucheng walked over.

“It’s hepatic coma, it’s hepatic coma!” Qi Yue looked at him and said, her face flushed with excitement, her voice trembling. “Teacher, it’s hepatic coma! Angong Niuhuang Pills! Quick, get Angong Niuhuang Pills!”

Though she didn’t understand traditional Chinese medicine, she knew the famous name and uses of Angong Niuhuang Pills, one of the three emergency medicines in traditional Chinese medicine.

The room immediately became busy.

This commotion reached outside, and the servants who saw it shook their heads and sighed. After dragging on so long, the person was finally failing…

In the evening, Madam Xie came over.

“Pack up and send Young Master Huang out.” she said indifferently.

“That won’t do, he can’t be sent back now.” Qi Yue firmly refused.

Madam Xie sneered.

“So you insist on having him die in our house?” she said mockingly. “You’ve already tormented this child for so long—won’t you even let him die in peace?”

“It’s too early to say it won’t work. He’s still alive.” Qi Yue said.

Madam Xie scoffed.

“Alive? You call this being alive?” She glanced into the inner room and laughed mockingly.

Just as her words ended, an exclamation came from the inner room.

See? He’s about to die, isn’t he?

Madam Xie’s face showed restrained excitement.

“Young Madam, Young Madam, he’s awake, he’s awake…” A’Ru’s sharp voice came out.

Qi Yue immediately rushed in, while Madam Xie stood frozen in place. Through the swaying beaded curtain, she saw the patient on the bed slowly moving his head and neck.

“Where… am I… where is this?” the patient spoke in a weak voice.

This voice was undoubtedly the most beautiful sound Qi Yue and the others had ever heard in their lives.

He was awake, awake. Qi Yue couldn’t help but cover her mouth with her hand, blocking the cheer that was about to burst out, but couldn’t stop the tears of joy spinning in her eyes.

Dad, did you see what I did…

Dad, do you believe what I did…