The next morning, Fang Er was woken up by Xiao Mi rushing into his room before he had even gotten out of bed.
“Master, master, someone from the Duke of Lu’s mansion has arrived, saying Madam Cheng is gravely ill!”
Fang Er was startled. Cheng Yaojin and his son were both away from home.
“Why didn’t they ask Imperial Physician Sun to come? He’s in the palace.”
“They did. Imperial Physician Sun said to ask you to come over as well!”
“Hmph! Even Old Sun isn’t sure?”
Fang Er immediately jumped out of bed and ran outside, still dressed. Regardless of whether he could help or not, Cheng Yaojin had treated him well, so he had to go and see.
Disregarding the shock he might cause, he had Zhang Tian fly the helicopter directly over the Cheng mansion.
When Old Sun, who heard the commotion, came out, he saw Fang Er sliding down a rope from the helicopter like a monkey.
He grabbed Fang Er and pulled him towards the inner courtyard.
“Boy, hurry and come with me to see Madam Cheng.”
“No, Imperial Physician Sun, you can’t handle it?”
Fang Er looked at him doubtfully.
Old Sun merely shook his head, offering no reply.
The two soon arrived at a doorway, where a group of servants from the Cheng mansion were gathered. Two of them recognized Fang Er and immediately rushed forward, kneeling before him.
“Duke Fang, please, for the sake of our master, save our madam!”
“Get up! Get out of the way!”
Fang Er pushed them aside unceremoniously. It was just their luck that they were blocking the way; it was already lenient that he didn’t kick them.
Sun Shi was leaning against the bed, her face pale and covered in sweat.
Her eyes were narrowed, her cheeks sunken, and her teeth clenched as if she was enduring immense pain.
Sun Simiao pointed at Sun Shi and said, “Madam Cheng has intestinal abscess, and it has reached a point where medicine and drugs are useless.”
“I wanted to perform exploratory surgery, but the Duke of Lu and his son are not here, and Madam Cheng is unconscious.”
Fang Er understood. Old Sun was being cautious.
Exploratory surgery was different from other treatments. If it were just prescribing medicine or acupuncture, he would have done it directly.
But this was making an incision on a person. If the person survived, it would be fine. If not, Cheng Yaojin would have no explanation when he returned!
Fang Er walked to the door and asked the servants outside, “Has the Duke of Lu sent back any letters? When is he expected to arrive in Chang’an?”
The servant who had knelt before him earlier quickly replied, “Our master sent a letter! I’ll go and get it for His Grace!”
He then went into the room, found a piece of paper from Sun Shi’s vanity table, and handed it to Fang Er.
After a quick glance, Fang Er thought, “Good heavens, his handwriting is even worse than mine.”
He managed to decipher the words on the letter, which stated that he would arrive in the capital around the end of the seventh month.
Fang Er calculated the army’s travel time. Without any vehicles, they were carrying their own supplies, and they would surely have captured loot and prisoners on their return.
Their daily travel distance was only about a hundred li, not exceeding two hundred li.
Perhaps, he could have Zhang Tian go to pick up Cheng Yaojin.
Turning back into the room, he asked Old Sun, “How much longer can your sister-in-law hold on?”
Old Sun pondered for a moment, then said, “Two days at most!”
“Two days!”
Hearing this, Fang Er picked up the walkie-talkie and gave Zhang Tian an order to return to the manor, bring the spare fuel, and fly west, following Cheng Yaojin’s campaign route.
This was the only way.
Before the final moment, neither Fang Er nor Sun Simiao could act rashly regarding the exploratory surgery.
The helicopter flew back to Fang family manor. The 600-liter fuel tank was filled, and nearly a thousand liters of fuel were brought as spare.
Then, they headed west to meet them.
There were limited roads that the army could use. They chose the largest one.
With one tank of fuel, they flew eight hundred li. Just as Zhang Tian was refueling the helicopter in a field, he suddenly saw ripples in a nearby water pit.
More than two years of military life made him realize something was amiss. He quickly crouched down and pressed his ear to the ground.
Rumble…
The ground was vibrating. It was the sound of hooves, the hooves of a large cavalry contingent.
He quickly stood up, threw the empty fuel drums aside, and started the helicopter, ascending rapidly.
A large banner embroidered with an eagle appeared at the foot of the mountain ahead.
It was the Yangwei Army!
He found them!
The helicopter flew straight towards the Yangwei Army.
Cheng Yaojin, mounted on his warhorse, was boasting to the ruler of the Eastern Women’s Kingdom about his military exploits in Luoxie.
“My Lord, look ahead!”
His subordinate, Wei Datou, suddenly shouted, pointing to the sky in the distance.
Cheng Yaojin was taken aback for a moment, then he looked at the strange object in the distant sky rapidly approaching them.
“Halt!”
He commanded his troops to stop.
In a flash, the helicopter had arrived within two hundred meters of Cheng Yaojin and was slowly landing.
Zhang Tian did not dare to fly directly in front of Cheng Yaojin. The Fang family manor and the imperial palace had both been targeted by machine guns and ballistae twice before.
If Cheng Yaojin, for some reason, ordered an immediate opening fire, it would be too late to return.
After jumping out of the helicopter, he ran towards Cheng Yaojin.
Cheng Yaojin recognized the uniform Zhang Tian was wearing through his binoculars and said doubtfully, “Someone from the Tianhuo Army?”
Seeing Zhang Tian’s anxious demeanor, he whipped his horse, and the warhorse sprang forward, galloping towards Zhang Tian.
The two met, and Cheng Yaojin pointed at Zhang Tian, asking, “What happened?”
For a regimental commander under Brother Fang to come looking for him so anxiously, something must have happened.
He didn’t know that Fang Er had been promoted from regiment commander to division commander.
“My Lord, quickly, quickly return to Chang’an with me! Your wife is critically ill!”
Cheng Yaojin froze on the spot, the whip in his hand involuntarily slipping to the ground.
Although he had dallied outside, Sun Shi was his lawfully wedded wife, the wife who had borne him children!
Recovering his senses, Cheng Yaojin grabbed Zhang Tian and rode his warhorse towards the helicopter.
He had seen it just now; this thing could fly, and it was very fast!
Reaching the helicopter, he roared at Zhang Tian, “Hurry!”
Without even taking the time to brief his subordinates, he urged Zhang Tian to take off quickly.
The division commanders and regimental commanders of the Yangwei Army were all stunned. What had happened?
But before they could figure it out, the helicopter had ascended and was heading towards Chang’an.
After flying eight hundred li back and another eight hundred li out, the helicopter reappeared over the Cheng mansion as dusk approached.
Even so, it was only because the summer days were long. If it were winter, it would have been dark by this time.
Without radar, the helicopter was effectively blind at night.
Sliding down the rope, Cheng Yaojin rushed towards Sun Shi’s room the moment his feet touched the ground of his own courtyard.
“Cuihua! Old Cheng is back!”
Before he even entered the room, Old Sun and Fang Er heard his voice from inside.
Old Sun was currently using acupuncture to alleviate Sun Shi’s condition, but it could only provide temporary relief and sustain her life.
With a bang, the door was pushed open from the outside by Cheng Yaojin, and his figure rushed to the bedside.
Bang!
Another sound.
Before he could get close, Old Sun kicked him, causing him to stumble.
“Keep your voice down, don’t you see I’m busy!”
Sun Simiao retorted without looking up.
At this moment, he could not afford the slightest mistake with the needles in his hand. Otherwise, it would not only fail to alleviate the condition but could even worsen Sun Shi’s condition.
Cheng Yaojin was stunned for a moment. Looking at the dense silver needles on his wife’s abdomen, he instantly understood.
He pulled Fang Er out of the room.