Chapter 44

“The person is inside—you promised you’d save her.”

“Got it, got it.” Xi Junning tugged at his sleeve. “Stop pulling; if you keep tugging, my clothes will come off.”

Su Jinyuan immediately let go, her eyes urging him to hurry inside.

Without any further ado, Xi Junning gave a half bow to Old Madam Xiao and went straight into the room. As soon as he entered, he saw an old man holding a silver needle, about to prick the person lying on the bed.

The patient’s face was already slightly bluish, his lips devoid of color, and the room was thick with the smell of blood.

“Stop pricking! If you keep doing that, not only will the child not be saved, but you’ll end up killing the person!”

Doctor Gao quickly turned around and saw a young man entering through the door.

“You are…?”

“Doctor Gao, he’s the physician I invited.”

While they were speaking, Xi Junning had already approached the bedside, pushing Doctor Gao aside. First, he lowered his gaze to assess Wei Wanyun’s complexion, then reached out to gently palpate her lower abdomen. Next, he took a piece of silk and placed it on her wrist to take her pulse.

After finishing the pulse diagnosis, Xi Junning furrowed his brows as he pondered something. When he looked up, he caught Su Jinyuan’s gaze—so intense that her eyes seemed as if they might fall out. “Reel those eyes in before they drop!” he chided.

“How is she?” she asked.

“As long as I’m here, she won’t die,” he replied.

Su Jinyuan’s face instantly lit up with joy.

“Pass me the medicine box,” Xi Junning ordered.

Su Jinyuan quickly handed the medicine box and busily helped him open it. When she saw Xi Junning reaching for the needle pouch, she snatched it away first and placed it beside him.

Seeing her subservient manner, Xi Junning rolled his peach-blossom eyes disdainfully at her. After taking the tools he needed, he turned to Doctor Gao and said, “What are you still doing here? Are you trying to pilfer my technique?”

Doctor Gao’s face darkened immediately. “I’ve been practicing medicine for decades—do I really need to steal your methods?”

“Who would have thought? After all, this world is never short of shameless old reprobates. Our family’s secret techniques aren’t meant to be passed on—so kindly, you’d better not,” Xi Junning retorted, waving the golden needle.

“How dare you!” Doctor Gao thundered.

Seeing the old man so incensed that his beard even bristled, as if he were itching to roll up his sleeves and start a fight with Xi Junning, Su Jinyuan quickly got up to block him. “Doctor, please don’t be angry, please don’t be angry…”

She led him a short distance outside and lowered her voice, “Please, don’t quarrel with him. First, examine the Sixth Young Master’s wounds. We beg you, Doctor Gao.”

In an agitated tone, Doctor Gao replied, “Madam, I don’t know from where you procured this man, but the condition of the Third Young Master’s wife is dire. The child in her womb cannot be saved; if the fetus isn’t promptly miscarried, it may further endanger her life…”

“That’s because your medical skills are subpar—you’re always quick to advise aborting the child as if you treated everyone like stray cats and dogs!”

Inside, Xi Junning’s voice floated over. The normally furious Doctor Gao, who had only just calmed down, went as pale as if his face had turned blue.

Su Jinyuan’s forehead pulsed with protruding veins. She thought that Xi Junning’s tongue was so venomous that it was nothing short of a miracle he managed to grow up this big without having been beaten to death.

She hurriedly grabbed Doctor Gao—who was about to rush in—while lowly urging and soothing him. After much coaxing, she finally managed to talk him out of his rush; if it weren’t for the imperial edict still in effect, this old man, preoccupied with tending to Xie Yunyan’s wounds, wouldn’t have dared to leave on his own—he might even have stormed out swinging his sleeve.

When Xie Yunyan saw Doctor Gao emerge with his face ashen, he looked toward Su Jinyuan and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing—he’s treating Wei Wanyun,” Su Jinyuan replied quietly to Xie Yunyan and Old Mada Xiao. “This man is supposed to follow proper protocols by not allowing any onlookers while he treats patients, and although he’s a bit eccentric, his medical skills are sound.”

“People at Xinglin Hall hold him in high esteem; the Heart-Salvation Pills I gave you earlier were bought from him.”

If it weren’t for those emergency Heart-Salvation Pills, Xie Yunyan would have died in prison during torture.

“He’s from Xinglin Hall?” Xie Yunyan asked.

“Yes, he should be—the chief physician at Xinglin Hall calls him Young Master.”

Seeing Xie Yunyan’s face grow pale and noticing his leg bones were exposed and bleeding profusely, Su Jinyuan turned and said, “Doctor Gao, please, treat Sixth Young Master’s wound first.”

Then she added, “Have the physician apply the medicine for you first; here at Wei Wanyun’s side, Grandmother and I are with her.”

Xie Yunyan, his lips devoid of color, had intended to stay and wait for word about Wei Wanyun, but the horrifying bloodstains on his leg and the worried expressions on the faces of the Xiao family left him no choice but to follow Su Jinyuan’s advice. He let Steward Deng take him to the adjacent room.

“Go look after Little Sixth,” Old Madam Xiao said to Second Madam Xiao.

Second Madam Xiao nodded and quickly followed.

Inside, Xi Junning worked quietly to treat Wei Wanyun; after a long, silent spell, faint sounds of Second Madam Xiao’s quiet sobs drifted over from the next room.

Huo Rou clutched Su Jinyuan’s hand in anxiety as if borrowing strength from her while Nanny Chen and the others silently prayed that Wei Wanyun and the child in her womb would be safe.

After nearly half an hour, Xi Junning’s voice came from inside, “Alright, everyone, come in.”

Su Jinyuan immediately pushed open the door, and Old Madam Xiao and the others quickly followed.

When they saw Xi Junning emerge with a few streaks of blood on his hand, Eldest Madam Xiao cried out urgently, “How is she? Is she alright? Can the child be saved?”

Old Madam Xiao said, “Sir, regardless of what happens with the child, you must ensure that my granddaughter-in-law’s life is preserved.”

Xi Junning cast a disdainful glance at the blood on his hand. Immediately, Su Jinyuan handed him a clean handkerchief. After he wiped his hand, he said, “Rest assured, Madam—if I’m involved, I’ll make sure nothing happens to her.”

“And the child…” Eldest Madam Xiao cried out in alarm.

“The child is temporarily stable, but since the mother’s condition is compromised and there’s been bleeding from the fetus, I’ll come to the residence every day to administer acupuncture for her and supplement it with herbal decoctions for nourishment. As long as she can last for half a month, we can save the child.”

“Remember—during these two weeks, she must not be disturbed in any way. She must remain bedridden and rest quietly. Under no circumstances should she be plagued by worries, grief, or anger.”

“Furthermore, even if the child is saved, it’s likely that it won’t be carried to full term.”

Old Madam Xiao frowned. “You mean to say…”

“This child is congenitally weak and will definitely be born prematurely,” Xi Junning replied bluntly.

“Premature infants are frail and difficult to care for—three years of age is a critical period between life and death.”

“If the child manages to be born successfully, it will require every resource of the General’s Mansion for intensive care until, after age five, it can be gradually rehabilitated. Even with the very best care, though, it likely won’t be as robust as General Xiao’s other sons; at best, it would be no different from an ordinary person.”

Forget about heroics on the battlefield—for all practical purposes, raising it well means it will be just like any other person.

“Enough… that’s enough…” Eldest Madam Xiao wept with joy. She was already content.

Even if the child is born prematurely, even if in the future it turns out to be more delicate and less robust than the other sons of the Xiao family, at least it ensures that her husband and Yunquan still have a bit of their bloodline left.

Whether the child is a boy or a girl, what matters is as long as the child lives.