“Aunt, your anemia is too severe,” Qi Yue said directly as she sat down, watching the Second Madam being carefully helped to lie down by the maids, covered with thick blankets, and given hand warmers and foot warmers.

She frowned, thinking of how cold the Second Madam’s hands had been when she held them, and looking at that abnormally pale complexion from such close distance.

After this arrangement, the Second Madam finally caught her breath and smiled at Qi Yue.

“Yueniang truly is a divine physician,” she said with a smile.

Qi Yue simply stood up and walked to her side, taking her hand to carefully examine her nail beds, scrutinizing her complexion, and lifting her hand to gently pull down her eyelid.

It seemed even more serious than she had thought. Qi Yue’s heart sank slightly, but she didn’t show it on her face.

“Aunt, let me look at your legs,” she said.

Throughout these actions, the Second Madam remained smiling and silent, allowing her to do as she pleased.

Upon hearing this, Cai Qing, a maid nearby, looked somewhat worried.

“Young madam, our mistress is afraid of the cold. To lift the blankets and clothes…” she couldn’t help but say.

“It’s fine,” the Second Madam said to her with a smile, looking at Qi Yue with gentle eyes. “This is Yueniang’s kind intention.”

Qi Yue nodded and smiled at her without saying anything, watching as Cai Qing lifted the blanket and skirt, revealing a pair of pale legs.

Seeing Qi Yue frown slightly, the Second Madam smiled faintly.

“I’m old. Did I frighten you, Yueniang?” she said.

Qi Yue smiled, looking at the legs before her. Though swollen, with dry skin and showing signs of age, they still revealed their former beauty.

“Not at all. Aunt’s legs are really beautiful,” she said while gently pressing and massaging the Second Madam’s legs.

The Second Madam’s expression froze slightly, looking at Qi Yue with a somewhat dazed expression, as if seeing another person through her.

“You… also said this?” she murmured.

Qi Yue didn’t hear clearly and looked up at her.

“What did you say, Aunt?”

The Second Madam came back to herself and smiled.

“I said I’m old. What’s beautiful or ugly about it anymore,” she said.

“Everyone grows old, and everyone has their youth. Just because you’re old doesn’t erase the fact that you were once beautiful,” Qi Yue said with a smile, signaling Cai Qing to cover the Second Madam. “Besides, Aunt is still young.”

The Second Madam wasn’t even forty yet. In modern times, this would still be the prime of life.

She sat down and thought for a moment.

“Aunt…”

“Yueniang…”

Both spoke at the same time, and upon hearing each other, they looked at each other and laughed.

“You speak first,” the Second Madam said with a smile.

“Aunt, you can’t eat properly, can you?” Qi Yue asked.

The Second Madam hadn’t expected her to ask this and laughed.

“Yes, I eat very little,” she still answered obediently.

“Recently she basically doesn’t eat anything,” Cai Qing couldn’t help but say, looking at Qi Yue with some hope.

She could see that the young madam was truly examining the Second Madam’s condition. She had naturally heard about the young madam’s affairs. Though she found it incredibly unbelievable, she couldn’t help but believe it given the facts before her.

Qi Yue made a sound of acknowledgment and nodded.

“How do you sleep?” she asked again.

“Fairly well,” the Second Madam answered.

“What do you mean fairly well? She hardly sleeps at all,” Cai Qing said hurriedly.

The Second Madam glanced at Cai Qing and put away her smile.

“Go get the dim sum that Young Master Sheng brought back yesterday,” she said.

Cai Qing knew this was to send her away and lowered her head with some grievance, acknowledging the order.

“Aunt, don’t trouble yourself. I won’t eat anything—I just came out after eating to digest,” Qi Yue said quickly.

Cai Qing still went out.

“Aunt, you often feel dizzy, don’t you?” Qi Yue continued asking.

The Second Madam smiled at her and took her hand to pat it.

“Thank you for your concern,” she said. “I know my own body. Don’t trouble yourself.”

These words were not what Qi Yue wanted to hear.

“How can I not be concerned…” she was about to argue.

The Second Madam interrupted her.

“Let’s not talk about this. If you hadn’t come, I was thinking of going to see you. I heard you were harmed at that estate?” she asked with some worry. “Tell me quickly, what happened?”

This news had reached here too? Logically, Chang Yuncheng and the others should have suppressed this kind of family scandal, but the Second Madam was family after all, so telling her about it wasn’t inappropriate.

Qi Yue told her about it.

The Second Madam’s expression was solemn as she silently pondered.

“I’m also investigating. I must find out who these evildoers are,” she said slowly.

Her voice was gentle, but hearing these words now gave them a sense of power.

“No need, Aunt. Don’t worry yourself. Chang Yuncheng… the Lord is investigating,” Qi Yue said quickly.

“I know he’s investigating,” the Second Madam said, breathing slightly heavily. “I’m just afraid he won’t find anything…”

“How could that be…” Qi Yue shook her head with a smile. That boy had a mischievous nature and wasn’t a good person, but evil people were usually dealt with by other evil people. He should be able to find out, otherwise he’d be too useless, having put on such an arrogant attitude as if he had everything under control…

Qi Yue couldn’t help but smile.

Seeing Qi Yue’s smile, the Second Madam’s expression darkened slightly.

“He can find out? If he could find out, he wouldn’t have just started getting clues when there was a fire that burned all those women and maids to death,” she said slowly.

Qi Yue was very surprised to hear this, but not in the way the Second Madam had hoped.

“Fire? The fire at Qiu Tong’s courtyard?” she asked.

That day, a fire had burned her hopes. Afterward, she hadn’t had the energy or interest to inquire about how the fire started, only knowing that the area around Qiu Tong’s courtyard in the marquis’s mansion needed to be rebuilt.

“They were keeping people confined in Qiu Tong’s courtyard, and then there was a fire in the middle of the night. All the maids and women in the rooms were burned to death,” the Second Madam said with a cold smile. “How could it be such a coincidence? Just when they were about to get answers, people died.”

“People died?” Qi Yue’s focus again diverged from the Second Madam’s expectations. She sighed. “Human life here really isn’t worth much…”

Too terrible—people just died like that.

The Second Madam looked at her and abandoned this topic.

“Yueniang, did you come today for some particular reason?” she asked.

“Nothing special. I just came to let you see that I’m fine, so you wouldn’t worry,” Qi Yue said with a smile.

A relieved and somewhat excited smile appeared on the Second Madam’s face.

“Good, good,” she said, holding Qi Yue’s hand. “I see it. I’m at ease now.”

Cai Qing’s voice came from outside.

“Mistress, the eldest young master and the Lord are here,” she said.

Both the Second Madam and Qi Yue were somewhat surprised.

The eldest young master was naturally the Second Madam’s eldest son, so coming to see his mother wasn’t surprising, but Chang Yuncheng had come too?

Before Cai Qing finished speaking, Chang Yuncheng and Chang Yunsheng had already lifted the curtain and entered.

“Mother, I heard that sister-in-law came?” Chang Yunsheng said with surprise and excitement, stepping forward as he spoke. Seeing Qi Yue standing up, he quickly stepped forward to bow and called her sister-in-law.

Qi Yue looked at this young man. She had seen him twice during the Mid-Autumn Festival and had some impression of him.

Then her gaze fell on Chang Yuncheng, who was slowly following behind Chang Yunsheng.

He was wearing a casual light blue cross-collar robe, with a black gold sash, and a dark blue cloak draped over his arm.

He didn’t look at Qi Yue, as if she didn’t exist in the room. He tossed the cloak in his hand to a maid who came forward to receive it, then went directly to bow and greet the Second Madam.

Qi Yue secretly pursed her lips and stopped looking at him.

Here, Chang Yunsheng looked at Qi Yue with excitement.

“Sister-in-law, did you really perform abdominal surgery to save that Young Master Huang?” he asked.

Qi Yue smiled.

“Actually, it was Doctor Liu’s credit. Otherwise, I couldn’t have saved him,” she said.

“Sister-in-law, did you really cut open Young Master Huang’s belly?” Chang Yunsheng didn’t care about this and asked.

Qi Yue nodded.

“Yes, but it wasn’t that big. Not what you’re thinking—just a small incision,” she said, roughly gesturing with her hand.

This was enough to amaze Chang Yunsheng, and even the Second Madam was somewhat surprised.

“Cutting open the belly and not dying?” he paced back and forth excitedly. “Cutting open the belly and not dying. Usually when people cut their arms or legs or whatever, they’re still half-dead…”

Qi Yue laughed heartily.

“That’s different,” she said with a smile, not knowing how to explain it to him.

Fortunately, Chang Yunsheng didn’t need an explanation. He only needed to confirm this fact.

“My heavens, sister-in-law is actually a divine physician,” he said excitedly, rubbing his hands together, seeming not to know what to say. “Composing poetry spontaneously, witty in conversation…”

He repeated these phrases over and over, making both Qi Yue and the Second Madam laugh.

“Lord, you’re simply too blessed to have married sister-in-law!” Chang Yunsheng simply reached out and slapped Chang Yuncheng’s shoulder, exclaiming loudly.

Chang Yuncheng hadn’t expected him to suddenly say this and was immediately stunned. His originally wooden expression became lively.

Surprise, embarrassment, anger, and even a flash of shyness passed by.

According to his nature, he would naturally have responded with sarcasm, but he opened his mouth.

“Haven’t seen you in a few years—your strength has really grown,” he said, rubbing his shoulder and looking at Chang Yunsheng.

Qi Yue couldn’t hold back and laughed out loud.

Chang Yuncheng finally looked at her, with some warning in his gaze.

Qi Yue grinned at him and covered her mouth with her hand.

Seeing the expressions of these two, the Second Madam’s smile slowly faded.

After confirming the abdominal surgery, Chang Yunsheng was quickly called away. With their father gone, as the eldest son of the family, he was responsible for various household affairs and social obligations, making him very busy.

“Lord, would you like to come to my study for tea?” he invited Chang Yuncheng before leaving, worried that Chang Yuncheng might feel uncomfortable in the women’s quarters.

Chang Yuncheng shook his head.

“I just came out for a while and will be leaving soon. You go about your business. We’ll drink tea another day,” he said.

Chang Yunsheng said no more, apologized a few times, and left.

The Second Madam said nothing and lowered her head to drink tea. Qi Yue didn’t know what to say and remained silent. Chang Yuncheng naturally wouldn’t take the initiative to speak. The room fell into an awkward silence.

In this silence, Chang Yuncheng stood up.

“Are you leaving, Lord?” the Second Madam put down her teacup and said gently. Without waiting for Chang Yuncheng to answer, she called to the maids and women, “Please see the Lord off properly for me, and send that package of blood bird’s nest I received the other day to the madam.”

Chang Yuncheng stood in place and could only bow and take his leave.

Here, Qi Yue stood up but didn’t step forward.

Chang Yuncheng looked at her, and his hands hanging at his sides unconsciously clenched into fists. Finally, he spoke to her.

“Aren’t you going back yet?” he said in a muffled voice with some displeasure. “Aunt isn’t feeling well. Don’t disturb her too long.”

Qi Yue made a sound of acknowledgment. Indeed, the Second Madam obviously wasn’t in good spirits. She was about to take her leave when the Second Madam spoke first.

“Yueniang, stay and talk with me a bit more. I have some health issues I’d like to consult with her about,” she said with a smile, looking at Chang Yuncheng. “You go back first and give my regards to your mother.”

Chang Yuncheng’s hands hanging at his sides relaxed. He bowed to the Second Madam, turned, and left without looking at Qi Yue again.