Chapter 44: Healing the Sick, Accumulating Merit

When news of Ye Chutang violently beating up the head steward reached Ye Anling’s ears, she was so furious she immediately stormed out of the Liuli Courtyard.

Just in time to block Ye Chutang, who was about to leave.

“If you want to live, then get on your knees, kowtow, and admit your mistake!”

Though marrying Eunuch De had been humiliating, her status had risen dramatically. No one dared bully her anymore!

As long as she whispered a few words to Eunuch De on the pillow, getting someone killed was just a matter of a sentence.

Ye Chutang looked at the arrogant, self-important Ye Anling and sneered.

“I can make Eunuch De believe that you were the one who drugged him. And I can also make him kill you.”

With that, she left behind a shocked and terrified Ye Anling and walked out of the Minister’s Residence.

She was about to help Prince Chen purge the fire poison in his body, so she had to visit a pharmacy to stock up on some herbs—and familiarize herself with the capital at the same time to prepare for future supplies.

Even though it wasn’t a time of war or natural disaster, it was still wise to plan ahead.

After asking for directions, Ye Chutang arrived at the largest pharmacy in the capital—Xinglin Hall.

Just as she stepped inside, she saw Qin Muyun gathering herbs, with Qi Yanzhou following behind him.

Qin Muyun also spotted Ye Chutang, and his face lit up with surprise. “Miss Ye! What a coincidence. What brings you to the pharmacy?”

Qi Yanzhou looked at the clueless Qin Muyun with speechless disdain.

Why else would anyone come to a pharmacy? Obviously, to get medicine!

He asked directly, “Miss Ye, are you feeling unwell?”

Ye Chutang shook her head. “The medicine isn’t for me, it’s for a patient I’m treating.”

Qi Yanzhou immediately understood she was referring to him.

Qin Muyun was surprised. “Miss Ye, you know medicine?”

“I know a little.”

“Then, may I ask if you’d be willing to treat my grandfather?”

Healing the sick and saving lives was the fastest way to accumulate merit.

Of course, only if the person being saved was a good person.

Ye Chutang looked at him seriously and asked, “I only treat good people. Is your grandfather a good person?”

As soon as she said this, the shopkeeper of the pharmacy chimed in, “Don’t worry, miss, the Grand Preceptor Qin is an extremely good man!”

He then went on to list the many ways Grand Preceptor Qin had contributed to the country and its people.

Afterward, he sighed. “It’s a pity that good people rarely receive good ends. The Grand Preceptor suffered an arrow wound in his early years and has since been plagued by chronic cough in his old age. He doesn’t have much time left.”

Ye Chutang looked at Qin Muyun. “Wait a moment. Once I finish buying my herbs, I’ll go check on your grandfather.”

“Thank you, Miss Ye.”

Qin Muyun wasn’t holding out much hope. He just wanted his grandfather to meet the girl he liked before the end.

Ye Chutang hadn’t picked up on this, but Qi Yanzhou had.
Still, he had no place to speak up.

Even though Ye Chutang was tempted by the pharmacy’s fully stocked herbs, she only bought what she currently needed.

She planned to come back in disguise in the middle of the night to stock up on a larger supply.

The three of them then headed to the Prime Minister’s residence.

Just as they arrived at the gate, Qi Yanzhou was stopped by someone from the Court of Judicial Review.

“Deputy Minister, Eunuch De’s sleeping palace has been robbed. The emperor has given our office three days to solve the case. Lord Minister has assigned the task to you.”

After rejecting the imperial marriage decree using military merit, Qi Yanzhou had handed over his command and now served as the Deputy Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

He immediately guessed this was a trap the Minister had set for him.

“What was stolen?”

“Everything. The entire Xishou Palace was looted clean.”

Qi Yanzhou’s eyes flashed with confusion.

The imperial palace was heavily guarded—who had the audacity to clean out an entire palace?

Most likely, it was a self-directed performance by Eunuch De, trying to use this incident to frame him and curry favor with the emperor.

“Alright, I’ll head to the palace now to investigate.”

After Qi Yanzhou left, Qin Muyun sighed. “Ziqian really shouldn’t have come back to the capital!”

Ye Chutang bluntly crushed his wishful thinking. “Defying an imperial decree means your entire family would be executed.”

“…”

“Come on. Let’s go see your grandfather.”

---

The Grand Preceptor’s illness was exactly as Ye Chutang had expected. A lung injury from his younger years that was never properly treated had led to severe chronic illness in his old age—beyond the help of medicine.

She couldn’t repair the old damage in his lungs, but she could help him live a few more years.

When Qin Muyun saw her withdraw her hand after checking the pulse, he asked, “Miss Ye, how is it?”

“I won’t make big promises, but letting him live another three years won’t be a problem.”

“Wh-what?”

Qin Muyun had only asked casually, but Ye Chutang’s response left him wide-eyed in shock.

Could it be that he was just hoping too hard and hallucinating?

The Grand Preceptor’s expression was gentle. “Miss Ye, I know my own condition. There’s no need to comfort me.”

Even the head of the Imperial Medical Institute had given up. What could this young girl possibly do?

Clearly, this boy brought her here just to give him some peace of mind.

Ye Chutang said with a serious expression, “I never lie to my patients.”

With that, she began applying acupuncture.

As the silver needles pierced his body, the Grand Preceptor immediately felt it was easier to breathe.

That constant urge to cough also slowly faded away.

He looked at Ye Chutang in astonishment.

“I was rude just now. Please forgive me, Miss Ye.”

Ye Chutang gave him a slight smile. “Given my age and appearance, it’s only natural you’d be skeptical.”

With that, the last of the needles was inserted.

She then struck his shoulders—once on each side.

The silver needles trembled rapidly, and the acupoints where they were placed felt numb, itchy, and oddly comfortable.

Ye Chutang turned to the dumbfounded Qin Muyun.

“Master Qin, would you please bring me brush, ink, paper, and inkstone?”

Qin Muyun quickly snapped out of it. “Right away, Miss Ye.”

After writing down the prescription, Ye Chutang asked, “Your family has a house doctor, right?”

“Yes. He retired from the Imperial Medical Institute. His skills are quite good.”

“Call him over.”

Soon, the house doctor arrived.

Ye Chutang pointed at the needles still on the Grand Preceptor and asked, “Do you understand this? Can you see what I did?”

The doctor replied, “I have only a superficial understanding of golden needle techniques.”

True mastery of golden needle acupuncture was typically passed down through families. Most doctors only grasped the basics through medical texts.

Ye Chutang nodded and then wrote down the entire acupuncture process.

She handed it to the house doctor. “From now on, you’ll be the one to administer acupuncture to the Grand Preceptor. I’ve written down the required intervals.”

The doctor took the still-wet page and looked at Ye Chutang in shock.

“Miss, why would you…?”

Though it was a healer’s duty to save lives, no one casually handed over their most prized techniques.

Ye Chutang answered indifferently, “Passing down knowledge is how a legacy endures.”

Upon hearing this, the Grand Preceptor looked at her with even more admiration.

In the end, she added with a shrug, “Also, I’m just lazy—I don’t want to keep running over to the Grand Preceptor’s residence.”