“Xia Lin, you’re too loud.” Feng Wangge said in a low voice, worried that he might wake Grandfather.
The young man named Xia Lin quickly lowered his voice, carefully examining the porcelain bottle, a look of indignation gradually appearing in his eyes.
“For the sake of Old Master Chu, you’ve spared no expense, yet the Chu family treats you like this. Is it really worth it?” Xia Lin felt it was unfair to Feng Wangge.
But Wangge’s gaze was calm and her eyes resolute. “If not for Grandfather, I would have lost my life long ago. I care nothing for the rest of the Chu family—only Grandfather, whom I must repay.”
“Xia Lin, I have already left the Chu family. My biological parents are in Jingcheng, and now I need to go there. Grandfather is entirely in your hands. Jingcheng is not far from Changuangsi—if anything happens here, send word to me immediately, and I will rush back.”
After tucking the blanket around the old man and taking his pulse once more, Feng Wangge gave Xia Lin her earnest instructions.
“I’ve always known there’s not a single decent person in the Chu family. They don’t even stop to think—if not for you, how could the Chu family be where it is today?” Xia Lin wished he could go to the Chu residence right now and beat some sense into that ungrateful bunch.
“Let bygones be bygones. From now on, I’m done with the Chu family. Just take good care of my grandfather. Once I’m settled in Jingcheng, if Grandfather is willing, I’ll bring him there.”
That was her plan, and she also wanted to meet her own family and see who they were.
“Don’t worry. My master and I are regulars at Changuangsi now. With us here, everything will be fine.”
Xia Lin assured Feng Wangge, then saw her off.
He treated Feng Wangge with great respect. Coming from a family of physicians, he considered himself quite talented, but Feng Wangge was the person he admired most. Only after meeting her did he understand that there is always a sky above the sky, and people beyond the people.
His medical skill, compared to hers, wasn’t even a tenth of it.
“By the way, where is your family in Jingcheng? What’s their surname? If your family isn’t well-off, I can ask my father to lend a helping hand.” Xia Lin asked with good intentions.
“No need.” Family not well-off? Thinking of the carriage made of Wuchenmu, the steward with considerable martial arts skill, and the other waiting attendants, Feng Wangge felt her family was probably quite well-to-do.
Changuangsi was very large, and Old Master Chu lived in a relatively secluded small courtyard.
As they passed a side hall, someone suddenly bumped into Feng Wangge’s shoulder. But Feng Wangge didn’t budge an inch—instead, the person who bumped into her stumbled back several steps.
“Are you blind? Don’t you watch where you’re going? I’m telling you, if you’ve delayed my important business, I won’t let you off easily.”
A young woman with an arrogant expression immediately shouted angrily at Feng Wangge, her words utterly rude.
“Who are you calling blind? I’ll gouge those eyes of yours right out of your head!”
Feng Wangge said nothing, but Xia Lin couldn’t stand it and shot back at the woman.
“Quite the big talk. I’m a physician from Huichuntang in Jingcheng, and the patient I’m currently attending to is of noble status. If there’s even the slightest delay, you’ll both lose your heads.” Chen Xue’er looked at Feng Wangge and Xia Lin with disdain. Huichuntang was the largest medicine hall in Jingcheng.
But Feng Wangge didn’t look at Chen Xue’er. Instead, her gaze fell upon an elderly woman lying on a bed inside the side hall—her face sallow, her eyes tightly shut.
There were two physicians, a crowd of servants, and even several senior monks of Changuangsi, all looking at the elderly woman on the bed with worried expressions.
“Master, what are you hesitating for? Hurry and insert the needles! If you won’t do it, I will. What matters most right now is reviving this honored patient.”
Seeing what was happening inside, Chen Xue’er shot a fierce glare at Feng Wangge and Xia Lin, then hurried inside and said to one of the physicians.
“The honored patient just took a Guiyuandan. Using Mingxin Qizhen now—I’m not sure if it’s the right call.”
That physician was also hesitant, but the elderly woman on the bed had already turned sallow-faced.
“Mingxin Qizhen is precisely the acupuncture method for emergency life-saving. What wrong could we possibly do by saving a life?”
As Chen Xue’er spoke, she looked ready to take the golden needles from the older physician and do it herself.
“What wrong could you do? If you use Mingxin Qizhen now, you’ll be taking a life.”
A cold, clear voice rang out. Everyone turned and saw Feng Wangge standing at the entrance of the side hall.
“What do you mean? Do you know who I am? Do you know who the two beside me are? If anything happens to the honored patient lying there, not even your entire family’s lives could compensate for it. Get lost, now.”
Chen Xue’er angrily berated Wangge, then ordered people to drive them away.
She then took the golden needles and prepared to insert them herself.
“If you insert those needles now, this person will surely die. A physician should save lives—but you are nothing but a quack.” Feng Wangge’s brows were cold, her tone dismissive.
She then turned to leave. She had already warned them; if the people inside wouldn’t heed her advice, there was nothing she could do.
“Who are you calling a quack? Stop right there!” Chen Xue’er said, moving forward to grab Feng Wangge, but Xia Lin blocked her way.
“I’m calling you a quack. To show off your medical skills, you’d recklessly endanger someone’s life. The Guiyuandan has already been administered—now is the time to let its full potency take effect. By using Mingxin Qizhen, you’re forcing this old lady to meet the King of Hell ahead of schedule.”
Feng Wangge, however, showed no fear as she looked at everyone in the room, her gaze sharp and piercing.
“Then tell us—how should we let the medicine’s full potency take effect? How can we save the old lady’s life?” One of the elderly maidservants, around forty or fifty years old, asked Feng Wangge seriously.
The other physicians, servants, and guards all turned their eyes to Feng Wangge as well.
“Hmph, I think she’s just putting on a show. A mere woman who doesn’t even know medicine—how could she save anyone? If she can actually save her, I’ll kneel and kowtow to her.”
Chen Xue’er, accustomed to pride, could not tolerate others’ disdain or doubt. Being a woman herself, she still looked down on women, and in her fury she wanted to lunge at Feng Wangge—but Xia Lin blocked her again.
“I can naturally save people, and I can keep this old lady safe. But my consultation fee is very high—merely kneeling and kowtowing wouldn’t be enough to hire me.” Her cold, clear gaze rested on Chen Xue’er as if looking at a piece of trash.
“Whatever reward you ask, I can give it to you—as long as you save my grandmother’s life. But if anything happens to her, I guarantee you won’t leave Changuangsi alive today.”
At that moment, an even colder voice sounded behind the crowd, carrying a bone-chilling coldness.
Feng Wangge frowned and slowly turned around.