Inside the room, Qiao Zhao suddenly stood up.

Shao Mingyuan’s eyes flashed, feeling quite like his suffering had finally come to an end.

Finally finished!

Miss Qiao walked to the table, poured a cup of water, and holding the cup, sat back down in her original chair.

Shao Mingyuan: “…”

Why would there be such a girl in this world?

Miss Qiao had seen enough and was now quite composed. She comforted Shao Mingyuan: “General Shao, don’t be anxious.”

Shao Mingyuan closed his eyes.

Let others try being naked in front of an unfamiliar young lady—of course, he’d be anxious.

No, even if she were familiar, it wouldn’t be acceptable!

Fortunately, rumors were currently circulating that he was impotent. Miss Li probably thought the same thing.

Thinking of this, the young general couldn’t help but feel relieved. After feeling relieved, he became somewhat confused: was it because of this that Miss Li could be so calm and indifferent?

Shao Mingyuan suddenly felt dejected again.

“It’s ready now.” Qiao Zhao set down the water cup and reached out to grasp Shao Mingyuan’s hand.

Shao Mingyuan reflexively tried to pull his hand back, only to have it gripped even tightly.

“Don’t move around.” The young lady’s expression was serious as she lectured: “You’re a patient now. How can you not listen to the physician?”

Shao Mingyuan silently lowered his eyes.

Qiao Zhao picked up a gleaming silver needle and reminded him: “Inserting the needle through the fingernail will be quite painful, but there’s no other way. We need to release the cold poison that has invaded your heart meridian before we can remove the needles near your heart.”

Shao Mingyuan nodded slightly, indicating he understood.

“Then I’ll begin. You absolutely cannot move. If the pain becomes unbearable—” Qiao Zhao thought for a moment, then pulled a clean white handkerchief from her sleeve, rolled it into a ball, and stuffed it into Shao Mingyuan’s mouth. “Mm, this should work.”

Shao Mingyuan, with the handkerchief stuffed in his mouth, looked both amused and helpless.

What pain hadn’t he endured? A needle through the fingernail was nothing. Miss Li was being too childish.

Yet for some reason, warmth slowly flowed through the depths of his heart.

Qiao Zhao glanced at him and said flatly, “General Shao shouldn’t think this kind of pain is nothing. Ten fingers connect to the heart—it can be more painful than sword wounds.”

Shao Mingyuan nodded gently again, showing he was instructed.

“Chen Guang, bring me two warm, soft cloths.”

“Yes, right away!” Chen Guang jumped up as if injected with adrenaline, went behind the screen to soak a clean, soft cloth in hot water, wrung it out, and brought it to Qiao Zhao.

Qiao Zhao held Shao Mingyuan’s finger with one hand and gripped the silver needle with the other, aiming at his fingernail and inserting it.

Despite having experienced the bloody storms of battlefields, Chen Guang still turned his head away, unable to bear watching.

Shao Mingyuan, however, remained calm-faced with serene eyes.

As the silver needle pierced, Shao Mingyuan’s entire body tensed instantly, yet his finger didn’t even tremble.

Qiao Zhao couldn’t help but glance at him.

Such a patient made things easy for the physician.

To minimize Shao Mingyuan’s suffering time, Qiao Zhao moved swiftly, quickly bloodletting all ten of his fingers.

Blood droplets slowly seeped from his fingernails. As soon as they formed, they turned into dark red ice crystals covering his fingertips.

“Soft cloth.” Without looking up, Qiao Zhao extended her hand. Chen Guang quickly placed a soft cloth in her palm.

The young lady lowered her head, using the warm, soft cloth to carefully and thoroughly clean the bloodstains from Shao Mingyuan’s fingers.

Shao Mingyuan silently watched her.

“Done.” Qiao Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, tossed the soft cloth back to Chen Guang, and looked up at Shao Mingyuan. “Do you feel better?”

General Shao, with the handkerchief still in his mouth, blinked.

Could the handkerchief finally be removed?

Qiao Zhao smiled, reached out to remove the handkerchief, leaned forward, and said gently: “Let me remove the needles for you.”

Her hair tips once again lightly brushed his chest, tickling slightly.

Shao Mingyuan had never been so close to a young lady. He could see her delicately contoured ear, even the fine down on it, and the small lilac flower earring on her earlobe.

The lilac flower earring was made of silver, so plain it was almost pitiful.

Shao Mingyuan couldn’t help thinking: hadn’t he given Miss Li a box of silver ingots and a case of gold leaves before? Was it too little?

Mm, this time the consultation fee should be more generous.

The girl’s soft, warm fingertips touched his skin, and Shao Mingyuan instantly tensed all over.

Qiao Zhao looked up at him comfortingly: “This time it won’t hurt.”

Shao Mingyuan felt somewhat dizzy, his thinking seeming slower than usual, yet those words by his ear were exceptionally clear: This time it won’t hurt.

From his childhood through adolescence to now, he had spent his time either in the Marquis residence’s martial training ground or on the battlefields of the Northern Territories, yet no one had ever said to him:

It hurts a bit, just bear with it…

This time it won’t hurt…

Such words—he had heard them from the mouth of an underage girl.

When Shao Mingyuan came back to his senses, Qiao Zhao had already removed all the silver needles and taken another clean, soft cloth from Chen Guang to wipe his chest.

Shao Mingyuan felt as if the warm, soft cloth falling on his body was like fire burning.

He said hoarsely, “No need to trouble Miss Li with this. Let Chen Guang do it.”

This time, Qiao Zhao didn’t object. She handed the soft cloth to Chen Guang and instructed: “Wipe General Shao’s body repeatedly until his skin becomes flushed, then put his clothes back on.”

“Yes.” Chen Guang sighed with regret inwardly but dared not speak carelessly on the surface, honestly taking the soft cloth to wipe down Shao Mingyuan.

Qiao Zhao went behind the screen to wash her hands.

When she returned, Shao Mingyuan had already put his upper garments back on.

Miss Qiao’s gaze couldn’t help but move downward, settling on his lower abdomen, thinking: Mm, with clothes on, you couldn’t tell at all.

Noticing where Qiao Zhao’s gaze had fallen, Shao Mingyuan reflexively blushed and coughed: “Thank you very much for today, Miss Li.”

“No need.” Qiao Zhao smiled, showing no unusual expression.

Shao Mingyuan secretly felt ashamed.

Miss Li was a true physician, so open and honest, while he was constrained by distinctions between men and women. He truly felt inferior.

“Miss Li, today has taken up much of your time. I’m truly sorry. Let Chen Guang escort you home early. I will certainly express my gratitude properly another day.”

Qiao Zhao raised her eyebrows.

This man was crossing the river and tearing down the bridge rather quickly. She hadn’t even recovered yet, and he was already driving her away?

“General Shao need not rush to thank me. I’ll need to come again tomorrow.”

“Come again?” Shao Mingyuan’s heart sank, sensing an ominous premonition.

Qiao Zhao nodded: “Yes. General Shao surely doesn’t think the cold poison can be removed in just one session? Today, we only extracted the cold poison that had invaded your heart meridian. However, the cold poison in your body runs deep. With any emotional fluctuation, that cold poison will invade your heart meridian again, and each time will be more dangerous than the last. I plan to completely remove the cold poison from your body to eliminate future troubles.”

“How many acupuncture sessions will that require?”

“The number of sessions depends on your physical condition. To completely remove the cold poison will probably take about half a year.”

This was why she had been reluctant to take on this troublesome task before. But if the man before her continued to endure, he wouldn’t last until Grandfather Li returned. Since she had already started, she could only see it through to the end.

Shao Mingyuan was silent for a long time before asking: “Will each session be like today?”