“Shameless!”
Yun Sumu’s eyes turned cold as he looked at Yun Xuesheng as if she were something filthy. “I’ve already given you a chance. Did you really think that saying those words would give you leverage over us?”
“Yun Xuesheng, don’t think too highly of yourself. With someone like you, if we don’t like you, do you think anyone else ever will?”
“Manman may have followed Second Aunt to the main branch, but Second Uncle is Manman’s biological father. Blood is thicker than water—Second Uncle’s favorite will always be Manman.”
“You want to compete with Manman for your father’s affection? Do you even deserve it?”
Yun Xuesheng’s face turned pale as she stared at Yun Sumu in disbelief. “Third Brother, I’ve never wanted to compete with Yun Man for anything!”
“And you know that blood is thicker than water, that family bonds run deep. So what exactly have I done wrong? Why must you humiliate me like this?”
Yun Sumu looked at the hurt in Yun Xuesheng’s eyes, and for a moment, his heart softened.
Perhaps he was being too harsh. But the next instant, he caught the scent of medicinal herbs wafting from Yun Man and was instantly reminded of today’s humiliating scene. Shame and irritation took the upper hand, and his gaze at Yun Xuesheng grew even sharper.
“I’m only speaking the truth. You’re already far inferior to Manman. If you still refuse to mend your ways, I fear no one will ever like you.”
“Since you say you have no silver, then as your elder brother, I won’t force you to pay. Consider today’s silver my apology to Manman on your behalf.”
“The day after tomorrow, I’ll come to take you to Huichuntang for consultations. The patent medicines Huichuntang needs should also be prepared.”
“And remember to wear your veiled hat properly—don’t embarrass the marquis’s household!”
With an air of superiority, as if bestowing charity, Yun Sumu finished issuing his orders and swept away with a flick of his sleeves.
Yun Xuesheng stood in place, watching his figure gradually disappear from sight, silent for a long while.
Banxia looked at her young lady with some concern and asked cautiously, “Miss, are you going to do as Third Young Master instructed?”
In truth, she didn’t want her young lady to keep obeying the young masters’ every word like she used to.
Banxia could see it clearly—ever since the Madam passed away, her young lady had been humbly trying to please the young masters and the Eldest Master. But the more she did, the less they regarded her, favoring Second Young Miss instead.
Before, her young lady had no one to back her up, but now she was about to be adopted into Second Master’s line—why should she still endure such grievances?
“Banxia, do you think your young lady looks like a fool?”
“Who said that? Miss is no fool!”
Banxia’s face flushed with anger. “Miss is simply kind-hearted and values family bonds.”
When the Madam suddenly passed away, that was why her young lady cared so much about the Master and the young masters—because she treated them as her closest kin to cling to.
“But they treat me like a fool.”
Yun Xuesheng gave a self-deprecating smile. Weren’t all the things she’d done before exactly what a fool would do?
“Alright, don’t worry. I won’t listen to them anymore. Your young lady has been reborn—I’ve seen their true faces clearly now.”
Banxia nodded. “Now that Miss has gone to Second Master, isn’t that a rebirth?”
She muttered inwardly—back when the Old Madam wanted to punish her young lady, the Eldest Master had never spoken a word in her defense.
By that measure, Second Master was far more reliable!
Yun Xuesheng closed the door, pushing the matter from her mind. Together with Banxia, she packed up her things, and after nightfall, she took her silver needles and walked to the main hall.
“Father, I’ll use silver needles to force out the toxin from your knee. It may hurt a bit—please bear with it.”
Yun Hong looked at the person entering, a flicker of surprise passing through his eyes.
“Wu Zi, help Father roll his trousers up above the knee. I need to insert the needles around the knee area.”
“Yes!”
Wu Zi responded, crouching down to help roll up Yun Hong’s trousers.
His hands trembled with excitement—Second Master’s leg finally had hope.
Once Wu Zi rolled the trousers up, Yun Hong’s swollen red knee was revealed. These past days, Yun Hong had been enduring constant pain.
Yun Xuesheng had Wu Zi move Yun Hong onto the lounging couch, legs laid flat, then gently touched the knee.
The knee beneath her hand twitched, but Yun Hong didn’t make a sound—only a thin sheen of sweat beaded on his forehead.
Yun Xuesheng turned to glance at Banxia, who immediately pulled a folded cotton cloth from the medicine box and offered it to Yun Hong.
Yun Hong was puzzled. “What’s this for?”
“To bite on!”
Yun Hong scoffed disdainfully. “Who do you think you’re looking down on? I’ve been through every kind of injury—no need for such things. Take it away!”
“Then I’ll put it away!”
Yun Xuesheng took out the silver needles. Under the dim candlelight, the needles gleamed with a cold light that sent a chill down one’s spine.
Before inserting the needles, Yun Xuesheng emphasized again, “Father’s condition is more severe than I estimated. The first round of toxin removal will be very painful. You must endure it and not move, or the treatment will become much more complicated.”
“Stop with the nonsense!”
Afraid of pain? Him?
Yun Xuesheng ignored him, crouched down, located the acupoint, and inserted the needle directly!
“Hmph!”
A muffled grunt escaped him, and Yun Xuesheng felt the leg beneath her hand involuntarily curl up.
She snapped sharply, “Don’t move! Wu Zi, hold his leg down!”
Wu Zi moved quickly, pressing down on Yun Hong’s leg.
Pain!
It truly hurt like hell!
Yun Hong swore that even when he had gritted his teeth through the arrow being pulled out earlier, it hadn’t hurt this much. Sweat beads the size of beans rolled down his forehead. Even a hardened man like Second Master was being tormented to such a degree—one could only imagine how agonizing it was. Wu Zi couldn’t bear to watch.
“Miss, can’t you use some Mafei Powder?”
“If I use Mafei Powder, he’ll lose all sensation. It won’t hurt like this constantly, and once the poisoned blood drains out a bit, it will improve greatly.”
Yun Xuesheng spoke while her hands never stopped moving, not pausing until both sides of both knees were fully inserted with silver needles. Only then did she stop, and from her medicine box she took out the cotton cloth that Banxia had placed inside earlier.
She personally stuffed it into Yun Hong’s mouth. “If it hurts, bite down on this. If you bite your tongue off, I won’t be able to reattach it.”
Yun Hong’s eyes widened, wearing an expression of “how dare you do this,” but Yun Xuesheng showed not a trace of fear.
She turned around and took out a dagger, heating it over the fire. When the swelling at the knees changed color, she made an incision on one side, and the poisoned blood gushed out, falling into a basin placed below.
At the same time, a foul, fishy stench spread through the air.
Yun Xuesheng’s expression remained unchanged, but Yun Hong’s face grew increasingly grim, cold sweat streaming down his forehead in greater amounts.
Only when the color of the blood lightened did Yun Xuesheng remove the silver needles, apply medicine to the wound, stop the bleeding, and bandage it.
The pain gradually faded. Yun Hong moved his leg and discovered that it no longer ached to the bone with every movement like before. He suddenly raised his head, gazing intently at Yun Xuesheng. “Can I stand up now?”
“Not yet.”
Yun Hong asked stubbornly, “But I feel much better. I can stand up.”
Yun Xuesheng looked at his eager, raring-to-go expression and felt speechless. She couldn’t help but say, “If you want to spend the rest of your life sitting in a chair, then go ahead and stand!”
Yun Hong instantly deflated and leaned back.
There was nothing he could do—the physician was skilled, and he didn’t dare disobey her.
But Yun Xuesheng found Yun Hong extremely unreliable, so she simply had Wu Zi watch over him. “Don’t let him stand up.”
“Miss, I guarantee I’ll keep a close eye on Second Master.”
Wu Zi was extremely excited. The eldest young lady truly had skill.
“Acupuncture once every three days. Tomorrow I’ll prepare some medicinal powder for soaking the feet—have my father soak his.”
After giving her instructions, Yun Xuesheng was about to leave.
Yun Hong watched her acting as if she were solely focused on curing his poison without mentioning anything else, and couldn’t help asking, “Don’t you have other matters to attend to?”
“Detoxifying you won’t be delayed by a few days.”