Rong Zhi and Xia Yun Ting arrived as Chu Qing Ze was directing a young maid to administer acupuncture to Zhang Ya Jing. The maid held the silver needles, looking utterly bewildered, her hands trembling.
"Divine Doctor Chu, where exactly is the acupoint you mentioned? I'm afraid I won't find it accurately."
"Didn't I tell you? Just gently insert it, leaving half of the needle exposed."
The young maid was close to tears. She truly didn't dare. Seeing her young lady's breath growing weaker, she felt her own life was nearing its end.
"I'll do it."
Suddenly, a hand took the needles. The maid, as if granted a great amnesty, retreated in haste without even seeing who it was.
Rong Zhi fussed for a while, finally managing to restore some color to Zhang Ya Jing's face. She turned to Cui Xi and said, "Where is the medicine your young lady was supposed to take? Why has it been so long? Hurry and prepare the decoction."
"Yes!" Cui Xi quickly complied.
Seeing that Zhang Ya Jing was out of mortal danger, Rong Zhi finally breathed a sigh of relief. She gestured to Chu Qing Ze, signaling him to step outside.
As soon as they were outside, Chu Qing Ze received Rong Zhi's scolding gaze.
"What did I tell you? Your condition not only hinders yourself but also your patients. If I had arrived a step later today, were you planning to abandon her?"
Chu Qing Ze's face paled in waves. He said, "Wait a moment." Then he suddenly ran to the base of the wall and retched violently.
Rong Zhi crossed her arms and shook her head, while Xia Yun Ting remained unfazed.
After a long while, Chu Qing Ze recovered and explained with a frown, "It's not that I haven't tried. But as soon as I get close, I feel dizzy and my hands become unsteady. Rather than risk killing her by my mistake, it's better for someone else to do it. Perhaps she can still be saved."
Hearing this explanation, Rong Zhi's expression did not improve much.
"If you don't cure this illness soon, then don't practice medicine anymore. Do you know that practicing medicine improperly is no different from disregarding human lives!"
Chu Qing Ze's frown deepened, displeased with Rong Zhi's lecturing tone. "I became a doctor to heal and save people. Even though I have a peculiar illness, it hasn't hindered my practice. What is your status that you presume to speak to me like this?"
"I am your ancestor."
"How can you curse me like that?"
Chu Qing Ze's eyebrows were almost standing on end.
Rong Zhi was about to retort, saying she was right, as she was indeed his grand-teacher. However, she remembered she was no longer the Valley Master of Medicine King Valley and held back.
"If you can't cure her, I'll help you."
"No need!"
Chu Qing Ze snorted coldly and fell silent.
After a while, Cui Xi brought the medicinal soup. She found the three of them silent, the atmosphere somewhat awkward, and dared not speak. She could only go inside to feed her young lady the medicine before coming out.
Rong Zhi looked in the direction of the room, her face filled with worry. If the young lady didn't follow the doctor's orders, even the most potent elixirs might not be able to cure her root illness.
"Divine Doctor Chu, the young lady wishes to speak with you."
Cui Xi whispered to Chu Qing Ze, her face still etched with worry.
"I understand."
Chu Qing Ze replied indifferently. The moment he pushed open the door, the dissatisfaction on his face vanished completely, replaced by a deep sense of guilt.
How could he not know? He was the one who harmed Zhang Ya Jing. He was just in a rush then. Did he really have to resort to that method?
Zhang Ya Jing lay on the bed, turning her head to look at him. There were tear stains on her face; she looked like she had just been crying.
"Divine Doctor Chu..." Her voice was hoarse.
"How is my father?"
She had just woken up, yet her first concern was not herself. Although she usually felt her father was unreliable, in this moment, she realized how worried she was.
"He is still detained. The Prefect will ensure justice is served."
"It's over. Then my father is surely doomed." Zhang Ya Jing burst into tears. "How could I have such a father? Cowardly, foolish, and yet he learned to do bad deeds. Now look, he's been caught! Woo woo woo..."
Mid-cry, she seemed to remember something. She glanced at Chu Qing Ze, suddenly turned to face the wall, her voice softening to a low whimper.
Chu Qing Ze sighed. "Cry if you need to."
"Woo woo woo... Wah ah ah... Father!"
The sound of crying echoed far and wide.
Rong Zhi sighed with emotion, "This County Magistrate, he brought misfortune upon himself and implicated his family."
"His crimes might not be death-worthy; at most, confiscation of property and exile," Xia Yun Ting offered comfort, but it had little effect.
"That will depend on whether the people of Changping County forgive him."
"It's easy to do such things. There are a thousand ways to protect someone. Moreover, the yamen was already controlled by Tang Yuan Jiang. His crimes can be considered great or small."
Rong Zhi looked at him curiously. "You seem quite adept at this. Do you often engage in such acts of distorting right and wrong and perverting justice?"
Xia Yun Ting: "..." I was just trying to comfort you because you seemed down, and you misunderstand my good intentions.
"I am merely expressing my thoughts; I have no intention of perverting justice for her. Besides, this matter is partly caused by Chu Qing Ze's misdeeds. If anyone is to make amends, it should be him. What does it have to do with me? I am merely doing my duty as a physician."
"Whatever you do, I will support you," Xia Yun Ting said, his lips curving upwards. He didn't like absolute do-gooders. In a sense, Rong Zhi and he were quite compatible.
As soon as he spoke, he received a perplexed look.
"Xia Yun Ting, the performance is over. Do we still need to pretend to be deeply in love?"
"I'm not!" Xia Yun Ting looked innocent. "Haven't we always been like this? Xiao Mo."
Rong Zhi found it peculiar. Although Xia Yun Ting was still in disguise to avoid revealing his identity, ever since he admitted to regaining his memory, she felt she should maintain some distance from him, at least not be as close as before. But... the day after they met, Xia Yun Ting "lost his memory," and their dynamic had always been like this.
"I'm suddenly quite curious, which one is the real you?"
"What 'real me'?" Xia Yun Ting was completely baffled by her question.
Rong Zhi recalled and explained, "The first time I met you, you subdued an assassin on the second floor of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion in the Imperial City. You were surrounded by people, full of spirit, yet cold-blooded and ruthless, killing the assassin with a single blow. I thought you were the sort of person who was sensitive and suspicious, unwilling to trust others, and difficult to approach. But now... it doesn't seem like that."
Although there was an element of acting between Xia Yun Ting and her before, it was no longer necessary. Xia Yun Ting was still like this, seemingly quite... approachable.
Xia Yun Ting felt both amused and exasperated. He couldn't help but pat her head. "You haven't gotten to know me, so why are you making such assumptions about me?"
"I believe in my first impression," Rong Zhi said, pushing his hand away with certainty.
"Me too." Xia Yun Ting's expression was serious.
From the moment he saw her, he sensed no malice from her. His intuition, honed by years of battlefield training, wouldn't be wrong.
"It seems we are indeed kindred spirits," Xia Yun Ting couldn't resist teasing.
"It seems my intuition about you isn't accurate enough."
After Zhang Ya Jing had cried for a quarter of an hour, the room gradually quieted down. Judging from the increasingly hoarse sounds, if Zhang Ya Jing hadn't cried herself hoarse, she could have continued for another hour.
Chu Qing Ze emerged from the room, cupping his ear. Seeing the two people in the courtyard, he was surprised. "Why are you still here?"
"What, you want to discard me after using me? I helped you, but you haven't helped me yet."
"What do you mean by helping me? Zhang Ya Jing isn't my person..." He stopped halfway, regretting his words, and changed tack. "What help do you need? Could it be those patients in Yanzi Mountain?"
"Exactly. They have been in Yanzi Mountain for too long, and the toxins in their bodies are far more complex than the Seven-Day Yin Poison. You have more time to experiment with their poisons, so it will be faster for you to detoxify them."
"But..." He looked back at the room with a hint of worry.
"Don't worry. As long as you write down their symptoms and the methods of treatment, you don't have to stay there. Remember, my medical skills are no worse than yours."
"That's good then." Chu Qing Ze breathed a sigh of relief.
"Let's depart immediately."
Before leaving, Chu Qing Ze specifically called Cui Xi over and asked her to find more young maids to attend to Zhang Ya Jing. He instructed her to find him at the Ghost House in Yunshui Village immediately if there were any issues.
"Don't run this time. By the time you make a round trip, your young lady will already be gone."
Cui Xi lowered her head. Wasn't she just anxious? Having served her young lady for so many years, her legs were already well-trained.
"Can you ride a horse?"
"Ah?" Cui Xi was stunned, then shook her head.
Chu Qing Ze then called a young servant over. "Stay here and guard. If anything happens, go to the Ghost House in Yunshui Village to find me, and have Cui Xi lead you."
"Understood, son-in-law... ah, no... Divine Doctor Chu!"
Chu Qing Ze frowned, didn't dwell on it, and set off with Rong Zhi and Xia Yun Ting.
Along the way, he was absent-minded and almost took the wrong path several times.
Rong Zhi couldn't stand it anymore.
"If you feel so guilty, then marry her."
Chu Qing Ze jolted back to attention and glared at Rong Zhi. "Are you trying to kill me?"
"If you don't want to marry her, then quickly cure her illness. Before that, help me cure the patients in Yanzi Mountain. Don't get lost again; this is the fifth time."
Chu Qing Ze looked and indeed, he had turned down the wrong path again. He had to turn back.
"I'm sorry."
Upon returning to the Ghost House, Chu Qing Ze immediately examined young Master Zhang. He pinched the skin on the young master's arm, checked his tongue coating, and took his pulse. He then explained, "This was a method of using poison to fight poison. It was quite effective at the time, but it had a side effect: it would damage one's mind. Therefore, this medicine was discontinued. Before taking the antidote, there were no symptoms, but after the antidote took effect, the poison from 'poison fighting poison' manifested. This is not a life-threatening poison. You only need to use Purple Smoke Fruit, Wild Steel Flower, and Thorn Algae, simmered into one bowl from three bowls. Take it twice a day for half a month."
"So that's how it is."
Rong Zhi nodded. This was an unfamiliar method. It seemed that after studying medicine for so many years, she had not learned all the medical knowledge and principles. Learning is endless.
"What about the others? Take a look at them for me too."
Chu Qing Ze peered into the two rooms. "There are too many people. It would be difficult to explain everything verbally. Find me paper and a brush, and I will write it down for you."
"Okay."
Rong Zhi nodded and went into the room to get paper and a brush. At this moment, Chen Xing suddenly entered and whispered something into Xia Yun Ting's ear. Xia Yun Ting nodded and left with him.