Chapter 22 : Extraordinary
22: Extraordinary
"Mother, it’s been nearly half an hour. Why hasn’t she come out yet?"
"Yes, Grandmother, why is there not a single sound?"
Lin-shi and Qin Chen stood at the entrance to the inner chamber, constantly peering inside. Jiang-shi sat with a stern expression, but her hands nervously clutched her prayer beads. Beside her, Qin Xiang stepped forward. "Should we let Eldest Brother go in and check?"
Hearing this, Qin Chen seemed slightly inclined, but Jiang-shi shook her head. "Moshu is inside. Wait a little longer."
Moshu was Yao Xinlan’s personal maid. Qin Wan had only kept her.
Lin-shi sighed, her eyes still red. "At this point, we can only trust Wan’er." As she spoke, she shot Qin Chen a look. "Chen’er, what exactly happened? Was there an accident?"
Qin Chen quickly shook his head. "Xinlan seemed somewhat depressed on the journey back. I asked, but she wouldn’t say. I guessed something might have happened at her family home, so I didn’t press. Later, seeing it was getting late, I told the coachman to go a bit faster. Perhaps… perhaps the ride was too bumpy…"
As he spoke, Qin Chen lowered his head in anguish, his voice choked. "I didn’t expect it to be this serious…"
Lin-shi hurriedly patted his shoulder. "Alright, alright. Xinlan will certainly be fine."
Lin-shi’s words were merely comfort; even she didn’t know if Qin Wan could save Yao Xinlan. But now, with Divine Physician Huang not yet arrived, their only hope, however reluctantly, rested on Qin Wan.
"Qin Wan… can Qin Wan do it? Even though she saved the Grand Princess, what was the Grand Princess’s illness? Sister-in-law now holds two lives. If Qin Wan makes a mistake, if…"
Qin Xiang murmured, her eyes slightly red, yet a trace of resentment flickered within them.
Yao Xinlan’s predicament had nothing to do with Qin Wan. But if Qin Wan failed to save Yao Xinlan, their family would never let her off!
"Old Madam, Mistress, Young Master, you may come in now."
Just as Qin Xiang’s thought settled, Moshu’s slightly excited voice rang out.
Jiang-shi rose abruptly and hurried inside. Lin-shi and Qin Chen supported her on either side. The group quickly entered the inner chamber. The moment they stepped inside, they saw Qin Wan standing at the foot of the bed, unhurriedly putting away silver needles. On the bed beside her, Yao Xinlan lay on her back, eyes closed, as if breath had left her.
"Sister-in-law! What happened to Sister-in-law?!"
Qin Xiang glared at Qin Wan with a sharp question. Moshu hurriedly spoke from the side. "Fifth Young Miss, please don’t worry. The Young Mistress has fallen asleep. She spoke a few sentences just now, and the bleeding has stopped…"
Qin Xiang was stunned. Lin-shi couldn’t help but heave a great sigh of relief. "That’s good, that’s good!"
Only then did she look closer and notice color had returned to Yao Xinlan’s deathly pale face, and the earlier cold sweat had dissipated.
Jiang-shi walked to the bedside, looking at Yao Xinlan, then at Qin Wan, her gaze extremely complex.
Qin Chen first leaned over to stroke Yao Xinlan’s forehead. Seeing her breathing evenly, his heart finally settled. Then he stood and looked at Qin Wan. "Ninth Sister, I truly never imagined you knew medicine. Xinlan and the child’s lives are indebted to you. In the past…"
"She is not yet completely out of danger. I will recite the prescription. You write it down."
Qin Wan had finished putting away the silver needles and had no intention of engaging in polite chatter. Since she had chosen to save Yao Xinlan, Yao Xinlan’s life was now the most important thing. "Apricot kernel, licorice root, one qian each…"[ TN: 1 qian ≈ 3.73 grams. Sometimes treated as 5 grams, but this is informal and not historically accurate. ]
Hearing her begin the prescription, no one dared be careless. Qin Chen hurried to fetch paper and brush from the side.
"Ophiopogon japonicus, two qian. Evodia fruit, three qian. Stalactite, dried ginger, two qian each. Schisandra chinensis, two qian. Non-glutinous rice, three qian. Aster root, one qian. Chop finely, decoct. Three bowls of water boiled down to one bowl. Divide into four doses. Three doses during the day, one at night."
Qin Wan finished reciting with steady composure, looking at Qin Chen. "Did you get it all?"
Qin Chen’s brush flew across the paper. He nodded hastily. "Got it, got it all."
Qin Wan placed the silver needles aside, smoothed her sleeves. "Take this prescription for two days. If she improves after taking the medicine, the child can be considered saved. Otherwise, further acupuncture will be needed."
After saying this, Qin Wan paused slightly. Everyone in the room looked at her with complex expressions, making her feel her presence was somewhat abrupt. So she said gently, "It’s late. I shall return first."
She turned to leave. Jiang-shi and the others watched her go, no one speaking.
"Moshu, what exactly did she do just now?"
The moment Qin Wan left, Qin Xiang directly questioned Moshu.
Moshu hurriedly replied, "Ninth Young Miss only performed acupuncture on the Young Mistress. Very quickly, the Young Mistress said the pain had lessened. Ninth Young Miss then had this servant change the Young Mistress’s sweat-soaked clothes. After that, the Young Mistress seemed better, even speaking with more strength. But before long, she said she was sleepy and fell asleep."
After a slight pause, Moshu added, "Ninth Young Miss was extremely focused while performing the acupuncture. Afterward, she even looked somewhat unwell."
Qin Xiang pressed her lips together, unable to speak.
Jiang-shi understood the implication of Moshu’s words. She narrowed her eyes but said nothing. Just then, Qin Li suddenly rushed in from outside. "Grandmother! Divine Physician Huang is here! I found him!"
Qin Li ran in, face covered in sweat, but saw the people in the room no longer wore the earlier tense, panicked expressions.
Qin Li was slightly taken aback. "What’s wrong? Sister-in-law, she…"
Before he could finish, Qin Shuang, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up. "Since Divine Physician Huang is here, let him examine her! Who knows if her prescription is any use?"
Hearing this, everyone felt it made sense. At that moment, Huang Jinyuan entered the room, out of breath. "Where is your Young Mistress? Such an urgent matter, you almost ran this old man to death!"
Jiang-shi didn’t dare be careless. "It’s good that the Divine Physician has arrived. Please examine her quickly."
She made way. Huang Jinyuan’s eyes fell on Yao Xinlan. He made a surprised sound, walked to the bedside, first observed for a moment, then frowned, and took her pulse. Immediately, his frown deepened.
Qin Xiang’s expression darkened. "Divine Physician, is Sister-in-law not well?"
Huang Jinyuan sat on a low stool, took a couple of deep breaths, then turned to glare at the Qin family with annoyance. "Didn’t you say you hadn’t invited any other physicians, were just waiting for this old man? Your Second Young Master nearly dragged the life out of me, yet the Young Mistress is lying here perfectly fine? You people…"
Huang Jinyuan was so angry he seemed to blow his beard. Suddenly, he frowned again. "Who treated your Young Mistress just now?"
Lin-shi hurriedly said, "It was our Ninth Young Miss."
Huang Jinyuan’s eyes widened. He slapped his thigh. "The Little Medical Immortal! The Little Medical Immortal in your household!" As he spoke, his eyes shifted as if realizing something. He looked at Jiang-shi and the others with amusement. "So you didn’t trust the Little Medical Immortal’s medical skills!"
Then he turned to look at Yao Xinlan on the bed. "Then you were greatly mistaken. Your Young Mistress’s pulse and complexion indeed indicate she just passed a crisis. If Ninth Young Miss hadn’t been here and you’d waited for this old man, I would have had to exert considerable effort to save the Young Mistress, and whether the child in her belly could be saved would be even more uncertain."
Shaking his head, both laughing and exasperated, he momentarily made the Qin family members flush with embarrassment.
"Was a prescription written? Let this old man take a look."
"Yes!" Qin Chen immediately reacted, handing over the prescription.
Huang Jinyuan took it, narrowed his eyes, then shook his head with a sigh. "Truly unbelievable. Your Ninth Young Miss is only sixteen or seventeen, yet her medical skill has reached such an extraordinary level."
With that, he placed the prescription down, stood up, and actually walked straight toward the door. "From now on, for any illness, major or minor, in your Qin household, there’s no need to invite me. I, Huang Jinyuan, am no longer the foremost in Jinzhou City."
Meanwhile, due to the dark night, Qin Wan and Fuling walked extremely slowly.
Fuling sighed. "This Young Mistress is truly devoted to the Young Master. Now that Young Miss has saved her, you’ve preserved a loving couple. I wonder if they will remember Young Miss’s kindness."
As her words fell, they reached the entrance to the Western Back Courtyard.
Looking at this desolate, remote small courtyard, Fuling couldn’t help but feel a sense of loneliness. She was about to step forward to push open the courtyard gate when hurried footsteps sounded from not far behind.
"Ninth Young Miss! Ninth Young Miss, wait!"
Hearing the voice, both Qin Wan and Fuling turned. Soon, Caihe, followed by two maids, ran up to them.
Caihe bowed to Qin Wan. "Ninth Young Miss, the Old Madam says that from today onward, you are to move to the Tinglan Pavilion at the front." She gestured to the maids behind her. "Quickly, go help Ninth Young Miss move her belongings…"
Qin Wan raised an eyebrow. Had Jiang-shi changed her opinion of her so quickly?