"Young master, I… how exactly am I not innocent with you?" Chun Jingshu's fingers gripped the edge of the wooden stool, her voice carrying a faint hint of unsteadiness.
"You managed to cure a venereal disease that countless renowned physicians couldn't treat, which shows your medical skill is considerable."
Gu Yujing paused for a moment, and Songyan hastily poured him a cup of tea.
He picked up the cup and blew at the foam floating on the surface. "The Aphrodisiac Poison is easier to cure than venereal disease, yet you failed to cure it. Physician Chun, tell me—what is the reason for that?"
Back when that dark-skinned girl had been by his side, he would occasionally flip through her medical books.
He had a rough understanding of both ailments.
"Failed to cure it?" Chun Jingshu looked up in surprise.
"Is that not so?"
Gu Yujing let out a cold snort from his nose. "Physician Chun is so nervous now, completely unlike the calm composure you showed earlier—could it be that your conscience is troubling you?"
He seized her wrist, a cold gleam in his eyes. "Physician Chun, you deliberately lured me here today, didn't you? Tell me, what exactly is your relationship with Yage? What task did they assign you? How much reward did they promise you?"
Previously, those corrupt officials from the grain transport had deliberately set up a Honey Trap for him at Yage, trying to drag him into their schemes.
They had administered the Aphrodisiac Poison to him and sent women from Yage to seduce him.
He had killed the woman who tried to seduce him on the spot.
But then a Physician Chun had appeared out of nowhere.
With such a fine appearance and such excellent medical skill, working as a physician in a small town—it was too conspicuous, too unusual.
Thinking back on today's events.
It only made sense if she was one of Yage's people.
"Young master, today was my first time at Yage, and I was taken there by force."
Her wrist ached from being gripped so tightly, and she looked at Gu Yujing through gritted teeth. "For you to arbitrarily accuse me of such connections is utterly groundless."
"Groundless?"
"Yes. As everyone knows, Meishan is abundant in medicinal herbs. Every five days, I go to Meishan to gather herbs. Today was supposed to be one of those days. If you don't believe me, you can ask my neighbors to verify."
She tried to pull her wrist back, but Gu Yujing held it fast.
But the clinic hadn't closed yet—if anyone saw her in this state, it would surely invite more gossip.
"Young master, men and women should not touch without propriety. Let go of me."
In her urgency, she suddenly pulled with all her strength, wrenching free from Gu Yujing's grip, her fingers sliding across his palm.
The touch of her calloused fingertips made Gu Yujing start.
Immediately after, he let out a muffled groan as a sharp pain shot through his wrist.
"Master!"
Seeing this, Songyan hurried over to support Gu Yujing and pushed up his sleeve, discovering a ring of purple-red marks around his wrist.
"Physician Chun! Earlier, you failed to properly cure our master's poison. Now, you've injured our master's wrist! What punishment do you deserve!"
Murderous intent flashed in Songyan's eyes as his hand moved to his longsword.
Gu Yujing shook his head at him.
Chun Jingshu looked at the beads of sweat on Gu Yujing's forehead—they didn't seem feigned. She immediately brought her medical kit to the examination table.
"Help him sit up properly first. Let me take a look."
Seeing that Songyan was still hesitating, glaring at her with fury, Chun Jingshu blurted out, "Stop glaring at me. If there truly is residual Aphrodisiac Poison left, given time, it will trigger the old injury on his hand. Even if you want to argue with me, you should wait until after I've examined him—agreed?"
Upon hearing this, Songyan immediately helped Gu Yujing over to the small couch.
Night had already fallen, and this was the only medical clinic in the vicinity. There was no other choice.
"I'll trust you one more time. If you fail to cure my master this time…"
He pointed to the arrows at his waist.
Chun Jingshu glanced at him. "Let's treat first, then talk."
"How do you know I have an old injury?"
Gu Yujing lay down, his ink-black eyes fixed on Chun Jingshu.
Chun Jingshu snapped back to attention.
Realizing she had spoken a bit too hastily, she softened her tone. "I'm a physician; I can tell. The purplish-red color on your wrist is clearly a flare-up of an old injury. A fresh wound would appear bright red."
"Doctor Chun explains things quite thoroughly."
Gu Yujing recalled the slightly rough texture he had felt against his palm moments ago and said no more.
His collar loosened.
The red rashes on Gu Yujing's body had already spread to below his neck.
She placed a silk cloth over his wrist and carefully took his pulse.
"Sir, do you know how much Aphrodisiac Poison you consumed?"
"A full cup, mixed in water."
That was what he had heard from the woman who had seduced him.
Gu Yujing's face flushed red, a low fever rising through him again as he drifted into a daze.
Chun Jingshu nodded.
The dosage was far greater than she had guessed—no wonder half a pill hadn't been enough to purge all the Aphrodisiac Poison from his body.
But since when did Gu Yujing have such strong endurance?
To withstand such a massive dose without taking a woman to bed.
Perhaps he had learned his lesson after losing to her nine years ago and had strengthened his defenses.
"Well? How is it, Doctor Chun? Do you have full confidence this time? Can my master's Aphrodisiac Poison be completely cured?"
Songyan's heart began to race again when he saw Chun Jingshu frown.
"There's no need to be so anxious. Previously, I didn't know the dosage of your master's poison, so the antidote wasn't strong enough. Now, I'll administer a full dose of the antidote and use acupuncture to neutralize the poison."
After taking a large dose of the antidote, the red rashes on Gu Yujing's body gradually receded, and he rested on the small couch.
Chun Jingshu went to the pharmacy to prepare a herbal prescription, handed it to Songyan, and instructed him to administer it to Gu Yujing within half an hour.
"Doctor Chun, isn't there an antidote already? Why do we still need to decoct herbs?" Songyan asked, puzzled.
Chun Jingshu closed the drawer and spoke frankly. "Your master's Aphrodisiac Poison has triggered his hand injury. To restore it to its former state, he needs medication, supplemented by silver needle therapy."
"Oh, will one session be enough?"
"Combining medicinal treatment with silver needle therapy, seven courses are needed, one every two days."
"That long? We'd have to stay here for twenty-one days?" Songyan counted on his fingers, a troubled look on his face.
"I bear some responsibility for this matter as well. How about this—I'll prepare all the herbs for these seven days free of charge and wrap them up for your master. Just decoct and administer them on schedule.
Additionally, I'll write down the acupuncture points for you. If your master is unable to come, he can visit another clinic for silver needle treatment to neutralize the poison—the results will be the same."
Chun Jingshu took out the three ingots of gold and placed them in Songyan's hands. "I won't accept this consultation fee either."
She didn't want any further entanglement with Gu Yujing.
She only wished to extricate herself from this matter as quickly as possible.
"I'll consult with my master when he takes his medicine shortly," Songyan said, glancing at Gu Yujing, who was resting with his eyes closed.
While Songyan was decocting the herbs,
Chun Jingshu went to the bedroom to check on her son.
Yuchu didn't sleep still—he often kicked off his blanket in the middle of the night.
Chun Jingshu looked at the blanket that had rolled onto the floor and smiled softly.
She picked up the blanket and tucked it back around Yuchu.
"Mother."
Yuchu sensed the movement and woke up groggily, throwing himself into her arms.
Chun Jingshu sat on the edge of the bed, holding her son, gently patting his back.
"Mother, why aren't you asleep yet? Are there still patients outside?"
"Mm, Yuchu should sleep first." Chun Jingshu coaxed.
"No, Mother is working hard. I want to keep Mother company."
Yuchu rubbed his eyes and tried to get up. "Father has gone to the provincial city. I'm the man of the house now, so I need to protect Mother."
"Did Father tell you that?" A hint of warmth entered Chun Jingshu's weary eyes as she gently ruffled his hair.
"Yes. Father said a man must have a man's sense of responsibility." Yuchu raised his voice slightly when speaking of his mission.
"Shh."
Chun Jingshu made a hushing gesture and lowered her voice. "The patient outside is asleep. Let's keep our voices down."
"Mother, is that uncle who asked about the red string outside?"
Chun Jingshu paused for a moment. "Yes. How did Yuchu know?"
"Because Mother always speaks softly and carefully in front of that uncle."
Yuchu said with confusion, "But Yuchu thinks that uncle is a good person. Mother doesn't need to be afraid of him."
"Why?"
"Because earlier, when others said they wanted to drown Mother in the pond, he was the only one who spoke up for Mother."
Chun Jingshu fell silent once again.
How could she explain to Yuchu that human nature was far more complex than that?
If she were to say Gu Yujing was bad—he had once taken her in all those years ago.
If she were to say he was good—that could not erase the fact that he was heartless.
"Yuchu, that uncle outside has broken out in a red rash. We can't touch him or make noise. Since Yuchu thinks he helped Mother, can Yuchu also be considerate of him and not go out to disturb him? How about that?"
"Mm. Mother, I understand."
Yuchu nodded and yawned. "Next time he comes to the clinic, I won't disturb him either."
"Mm. Yuchu is such a good boy."
Chun Jingshu held Yuchu and gently soothed him.
It was another half an hour before Yuchu fell back asleep.
When Chun Jingshu came out, Gu Yujing had already taken his medicine.
The flush on his face had receded. He sat upright on the small couch, having resumed his usual aloof demeanor.
Three ingots of gold sat on the table.
"Physician Chun, I heard you wanted to pass the buck?" Gu Yujing's voice was somewhat cold.
"You misunderstand, sir. I saw that you have many affairs to attend to and likely no time to stay in Jixi Town for over twenty days, so I proposed a more flexible arrangement." Chun Jingshu couldn't gauge his intentions and explained slowly.
"Unnecessary."
Gu Yujing narrowed his eyes, making it hard to read his emotions. "One illness should not have two physicians. You will continue the treatment according to the plan."
Chun Jingshu did not answer.
"What? You're unwilling?"
Gu Yujing's cold gaze fell on her. "The poison you haven't fully cured should naturally be treated by you. If you let another physician use your prescription and the patient isn't cured, whose fault is it—yours or theirs? Can this matter be settled cleanly?"
"Since you've already decided, I'll do as you say."
Chun Jingshu could only nod.
She regretted it somewhat.
If she had known, she should have given him more antidote back then.
Now look at the situation.
She would have to live in fear for over twenty more days.
At that moment, the sound of the night watchman's bell rang outside.
Chun Jingshu hesitated before speaking. "Sir, unless it's a life-threatening emergency, the clinic does not take in male patients overnight."
Gu Yujing raised an eyebrow. "You needn't worry about that. This little clinic of yours—"
He swept his gaze across the establishment, a look of disdain crossing his face.
As soon as the words left his mouth, Songyan immediately went out.
"No fourth person in this place may know that I've been afflicted with the Aphrodisiac Poison."
Gu Yujing rose to his feet, and the moonlight happened to sweep across Chun Jingshu's face.
The moonlight was bright, casting her features in clear relief.
That inexplicable sense of déjà vu surfaced in his mind once more.
Gu Yujing stepped forward, turning slightly to the side. "Physician Chun, are you certain we haven't met somewhere before?"
"We have, sir—in the hot spring at Yage, when you held a dagger to my throat." Chun Jingshu's mouth went dry.
"You know that's not the occasion I'm referring to." Gu Yujing's Adam's apple bobbed.