Aunt Yang produced a dagger she had prepared, intending to cut a piece of flesh directly from Wang Qingyao's thigh.
Wang Qingyao looked at the dagger, her heart trembling, and she already felt the pain.
"Aunt is going to act in the Old Madam's room?" she asked, her face drained of color. "How can the Old Madam endure such a bloody scene? Moreover, the summer weather is muggy. With the smell of blood in the room, how can the Old Madam sleep soundly?"
Her appearance of concern for the Old Madam made Aunt Yang seem inconsiderate.
The Old Madam looked at Wang Qingyao with even more affection. She tremblingly extended her hand and pointed to the room next door.
The room next door was the flower hall.
Aunt Yang smiled faintly, "Second Miss is young, but her thoughts are quite thorough."
She was not angry at all. It made no difference where she acted. What use was this Second Miss's sharp tongue? She was a young girl who could not bear the pain of being flayed alive.
The group moved to the flower hall next door.
Yin Zhu also followed, standing beside Wang Qingyao, trembling.
Bai Shi put on a worried expression and asked, "Aunt, are you going to cut directly? Do you need any anesthetic powder? Second Miss is extremely sincere and filial. If she can suffer a little less, then let her suffer a little less."
Aunt Yang's face showed difficulty, "The more suffering, the more sincere the heart, and the more effective the offering."
Bai Shi's eyes welled up with tears, and she squeezed Wang Qingyao's hand, "Child, you have to suffer."
Wang Qingyao squeezed her hand back, showing three parts fear, four parts strength, two parts determination, and one part tragic beauty, "It's alright. As long as the Old Madam can recover, I am willing to do anything."
Bai Shi was disgusted by the rich expressions on her face and got goosebumps all over.
Yin Zhu's eyes were red, and she kept looking outside, praying that Prince Ding'an would come and rescue her quickly.
Aunt Yang was smarter this time. To prevent Wang Qingyao from finding fault again, she had Bai Shi order people to prepare candles, hot water, and gauze. The clean water and hot candles were for sterilization, and the gauze was for Wang Qingyao to bandage the wound after it was cut.
Wang Qingyao said, "Wait a moment."
Aunt Yang asked, "What is it now?"
Wang Qingyao looked at Bai Shi, "Why didn't First Aunt find a doctor first?"
Bai Shi was stunned. She only thought about making Wang Qingyao suffer, preferably for the wound to become infected and fester, rendering her entire leg useless. Where would she think to have a doctor on standby?
But it was unreasonable not to have a doctor. Cutting off a piece of flesh was not like snipping a lock of hair. Wang Qingyao was cutting off flesh for filial piety to save her grandmother, and she, as her aunt, wouldn't even hire a doctor. If this got out, wouldn't she be cursed by others?
Bai Shi had no choice and immediately sent Granny Sun to invite the doctor they usually used in the Wang family.
Granny Sun, who was eager to see Wang Qingyao suffer, ran faster than a rabbit, for fear that something unexpected would happen if she was late.
Aunt Yang could not act without a doctor.
Bai Shi invited her to sit down, and a maid served tea and snacks, attending to her carefully.
Wang Qingyao's side was also served. She was very carefree, eating and drinking as usual, showing no fear, and even invited Yin Zhu to eat with her.
Yin Zhu could not eat anything. She looked longingly at the door, twisting her handkerchief in her hands, almost tearing it apart.
Bai Shi looked at Wang Qingyao's nonchalant demeanor and snorted coldly.
"Pretending to be calm, let's see how you cry later!"
Half an hour later, Doctor Luo arrived. "Where is the injured person?"
Granny Sun had spoken vaguely when she went to invite him, saying something about a piece of flesh being cut from the thigh, which scared him into rushing over with his medicine box. The weather was hot in summer, and it would be troublesome if the wound became infected.
But none of the people in this small flower hall looked injured!
Wang Qingyao explained the reason.
Doctor Luo frowned and shouted, "Nonsense!"
Bai Shi sneered, "Can Doctor Luo cure my Old Madam's illness?"
Doctor Luo's old face turned red. He was the first to examine Old Madam Wang. It was indeed strange. She had no physical ailments, yet she couldn't sleep day and night. He was not skilled enough, so he closed his mouth, looked at Wang Qingyao, and showed a look of pity.
Wang Qingyao added, "Doctor Luo is a man, and it might be inconvenient for him to treat my thigh wound later. It would be best to find a female doctor or a midwife."
Bai Shi knew she was stalling for time. Her patience had run out, and she was immediately displeased, "Don't worry, I have a maid who understands medicine. She will describe the injury to Doctor Luo later, and Doctor Luo will diagnose and prescribe medicine in the outer room, and it will not delay the treatment."
Wang Qingyao smiled at her, "First Aunt's thoughts are indeed thorough."
Aunt Yang stood up, first scalded the dagger with hot water, then lit candles and burned the dagger all over.
Wang Qingyao lay half-reclined on a chaise lounge, with a screen placed in front to conceal her. Bai Shi and Yin Zhu stayed inside.
Yin Zhu was already so anxious that her eyes were burning, but Bai Shi's eyes grew brighter.
Aunt Yang walked over, holding the dagger, and said to Wang Qingyao unceremoniously, "Second Miss, undress."
Wang Qingyao looked at Bai Shi, "First Aunt, can you go out? I'm a little shy."
Bai Shi: "..."
Suppressing the urge to roll her eyes, Bai Shi turned and walked outside the screen.
Wang Qingyao then looked at Yin Zhu. Yin Zhu nodded slightly and reached for her waist – there was a bag of gold leaves there.
People like Aunt Yang, with no enmity towards Wang Qingyao, were willing to listen to Bai Shi and torment her, which was nothing more than being bribed with money.
If Bai Shi could bribe Aunt Yang with money, she could also bribe Aunt Yang to turn against her.
She was now the richest woman in the Wang family.
Just then, Wang Qingyao saw through the screen, through the closed door of the flower hall, that Xiao Yun was leading a group of people and had already rushed into Rongtang Courtyard. She breathed a sigh of relief and quickly gave Yin Zhu a look. Yin Zhu's hand, which had been reaching for her waist, dropped again.
Xiao Yun was indeed on duty at the Ministry of Revenue today. He did not receive the lightning-fast letter immediately, and it was delayed considerably when the guard delivered it. As soon as he read the contents of the letter, blood rushed to his head, and he was furious. He gathered a group of people and rushed to the Wang family.
The doorman dared not stop him, and with Zhizi leading the way, he quickly found Rongtang Courtyard. Seeing a person who looked like a doctor guarding the flower hall next to the main house, he kicked the door open, startling Bai Shi so much that she almost jumped up.
"Wang Wang Wang... Your Highness!"
Xiao Yun didn't even look at her and kicked down the screen with another foot.
Wang Qingyao had already pulled Yin Zhu to the side. Aunt Yang was not so lucky. The screen fell directly on her, knocking her to the ground.
Xiao Yun was still not satisfied. He stepped forward and kicked her several more times. Aunt Yang wailed and cursed, "Who has no eyes to dare to hit me? Don't you know who I am?"
Xiao Yun saw that she was still holding the dagger and stepped on it, applying force, "You dare to be this Prince's aunt? Aren't you afraid of biting your tongue!"
Aunt Yang cried out in pain and struggled to look up. As soon as she saw Xiao Yun's noble appearance, she was so scared that her soul flew away, "Wang Wang Wang... Your Highness?!"