12
Misdiagnosis
Bai Jingchu seized the ruler from Madam Bai Chen’s hand, gripping it firmly at both ends before snapping it over her knee with a sharp crack.
Snap!
The ruler broke into two pieces.
Her eyes reddened as she glared fiercely at Madam Bai Chen.
Madam Bai Chen, taken aback by the unexpected defiance, blustered with feigned severity, “Are you rebelling? Do you want to devour me alive?”
Bai Jingchu knew she couldn’t.
The Great Chang’an Dynasty governed with benevolence and filial piety as its core principles. Even someone as audacious as Chi Yanqing dared not annul his deeply unsatisfactory marriage. If she dared to retaliate now, Madam Bai Chen would immediately cast her out of the Bai residence.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she tossed the broken ruler aside, her lips trembling before she burst into loud, heart-wrenching sobs.
“I said I didn’t want to go! It was Sister Jingshu who insisted I go, even drawing me a map to show me which room was Second Uncle’s!
You told me to listen to my sister, Mother! But she made me serve a eunuch, forced me to test the marriage for her, told me to crawl into Second Uncle’s bed, and sleep with him!
I obeyed everything she said, so why are you still hitting me?”
Madam Bai Chen, unwilling to air the family’s dirty laundry, had ordered all the Bai servants to wait outside the ancestral hall and not enter.
But Bai Jingchu’s sudden outburst, her voice piercingly clear, threatened to expose Bai Jingshu’s misdeeds to the entire household.
“Shut up! Why must you carry on like this?” Madam Bai Chen snapped sharply.
Bai Jingchu’s weeping surged like a breached dam, uncontrollable and overwhelming.
“She bullies me so much! She broke Elder Brother’s inkstone, tore your clothes, and after skinning her rabbit, she threw it into my courtyard. She did all these terrible things herself, so why do you always blame me?
When you punished me by making me kneel in the ancestral hall and striking my palms, they even splashed cold water on me and hid needles in the kneeling cushion to prick me. You’re biased, Mother! You’re not my real mother!”
Bai Jingshu’s face flushed with humiliation, and Madam Bai Chen seethed with rage. “Someone! Gag her at once!”
The servants, who had been dawdling outside the ancestral hall to watch the commotion, slowly entered. But Bai Jingchu, slippery as an eel, continued to spill every one of Bai Jingshu’s past wrongdoings.
Aunt Bai remarked coolly, “Oh? Three years ago, Jingchu bore the brunt of the punishments for those misdeeds, and Elder Brother and the others grew increasingly disgusted and disappointed with her. So it was all Bai Jingshu’s doing.
And now, she’s instigating an incestuous affair between uncle and niece. In any other family, she’d be beaten with rods and driven out! Otherwise, where would the dignity of our Bai ancestors rest?”
Even a coffin lid couldn’t contain this scandal!
Bai Jingshu frantically defended herself, “No, she’s insane! A madwoman spouting nonsense! I only told her to be filial to Second Uncle. How was I to know she’d misunderstand?”
Madam Bai Chen, beside herself, retorted, “What is she to our Bai family? Nothing but a low-born bastard! If her parents hadn’t swapped her with our Jingshu all those years ago, how could she have enjoyed over a decade of luxury?
Now she repays kindness with enmity, trying to compete with our Jingshu. Hold her down! Today, I’ll beat her face to a pulp!”
In the midst of the chaos, a servant came sprinting in, gasping for breath, and shouted from afar, “Madam, it’s terrible! You must come outside quickly! Something dreadful has happened!”
Everyone in the ancestral hall froze in unison. “What? What’s happened?”
Bai Jingchu ceased her clamor and pricked up her ears to listen.
“The Lin family has sent someone! They’re accusing the elder young master of being a quack who misdiagnosed their concubine, delaying her treatment. Now her condition has worsened severely. The imperial physician from the palace said there’s no cure left—only fate can decide.”
“What?”
Madam Bai Chen froze in disbelief. “But wasn’t it said that her condition had clearly improved?”
Bai Jing’an also turned pale, at a loss. “I don’t know what happened either.”
Bai Ershu remained calm and questioned the servant, “I heard the Lin family’s concubine only had a common stomach ailment. Even if delayed for half a day, it shouldn’t be life-threatening.”
“The Lin family claims the elder young master misdiagnosed her! Their concubine didn’t have indigestion—it was intestinal abscess caused by qi stagnation and blood stasis! Now the patient is running a high fever, likely due to internal infection and pus formation.”
At the mention of this condition, Bai Ershu’s face turned pale.
If treated early, intestinal abscess could be cured with a few doses of Great Red Peony Decoction. But if delayed, heat toxins would accumulate, making it difficult to drain the pus from the abdomen.
Bai Jing’an defended himself helplessly, “Before I went, the Lin family had already consulted several physicians over two days. How can they put all the blame on me?”
Bai Ershu snapped angrily, “Isn’t it obvious? The Lin family invited Imperial Physician Yan! Who else would they blame? If anything happens to that concubine, the Bai family might be ruined because of you!”
For a moment, everyone fell silent.
Bai Jingchu understood the underlying reasons:
After the Bai family’s patriarch retired from the Imperial Medical Bureau, Imperial Physician Yan had been confident of taking his position. Instead, Bai’s eldest son surpassed him and took the role.
Thus, the rivalry began, with underhanded tactics employed behind the scenes.
Just two days prior, Bai Jing’an had saved the Dowager Marchioness from the brink of death at the Marquis’s residence, once again humiliating Imperial Physician Yan.
How could he possibly let go of this chance to tarnish the Bai family’s reputation?
Madam Bai Chen panicked. “What should we do? Jing’an is just starting out—misdiagnoses are inevitable.”
This remark infuriated Bai Erye. “Human lives are no joke! There’s no room for error in treating patients. That’s why Father repeatedly emphasized that they must not practice alone before completing their training. Not only did you recklessly take on a case beyond your ability, but it was also for the Lin family! This time, Father’s lifelong reputation may be tarnished in his later years.”
Bai Jing’an flushed with shame and pleaded humbly, “Uncle, I beg you to set aside past grievances and save the Lin family’s concubine.”
“Easier said than done!” Bai Ershu retorted angrily. “Imperial Physician Yan is highly skilled. If even he is helpless, do you think I can manage? If your grandfather were in the capital, combining herbal decoctions with the Thirteen Ghost Gates Acupuncture might have been worth a try!”
The servant urged, “The Lin family is blocking the gate, making a scene. Second Master, Madam, please decide quickly.”
Bai Ershu sighed. “No matter what, I’ll go with you to the Lin family. If we can save her, there might still be a way out.”
He took Bai Jing’an and headed straight out to face the commotion.
Madam Bai Chen and Bai Ershen had no mind to attend to Bai Jingchu and followed to assess the situation.
As the crowd dispersed, Bai Jingshu no longer needed to pretend.
She strode directly up to Bai Jingchu and stood before her, glaring with venomous eyes.
“You fool, unloved by both father and mother, and you dare challenge me? You’ve ruined my reputation today—I’ll make you pay!”
Bai Jingchu met her gaze with fearless composure. “I’ve always been prettier than you. You’re just too ugly!”
Bai Jingshu stared at her flawless, delicate skin, nearly driven mad with envy. “But I’m cleaner than you! You filthy thing!”
“Well, I’ve dirtied Lord Yan too. If you pick him up now, you’ll be even filthier than me.”
“You’re talking nonsense!”
“Oh, did you catch a whiff? Did it suit your taste?”
“You! How dare you disrespect me like this?”
“If you’re giving me your face, does that mean you don’t want it yourself?”
Bai Jingshu trembled with rage at being mocked by a fool. “You shameless slut! You little bitch! It seems you’re asking for a beating!”
Bai Jingchu giggled with an innocent, naive expression. “Sister, you curse more smoothly than chanting sutras. It must mean you’re often called such names. I just wonder why they call you a ‘shameless slut’?”
That seemingly thoughtless remark instantly drained the color from Bai Jingshu’s face. She erupted into hysterical screams, “Lies! I’ll tear your mouth apart! I’ll kill you, you little wretch!”
She lunged at Bai Jingchu, grabbing her by the neck with a vicious snarl.