“How is she?”
As the doctor walked out of the room, Madam Qin, who had been waiting in the hall, inquired.
“Madam, I’m afraid I cannot help her,” the white-haired doctor said with a shake of his head.
“How?” Madam Qin pressed.
“The young lady’s body shows no signs of illness, yet she remains unconscious. This is a matter of the heart—only a remedy for the heart can cure it,” the elderly doctor explained, spreading his hands.
“What ‘matter of the heart’? If it’s an illness, speak plainly. Don’t spout nonsense about hearts and spirits if you don’t understand,” Madam Qin retorted, tapping her fan impatiently.
The old doctor was a renowned figure in the capital, and upon hearing this, he no longer held back his words.
“Madam, in any case, I cannot treat her. You’d best seek another more capable doctor,” he said, shouldering his medicine chest as he prepared to leave.
The maids called out, trying to stop him.
“Enough, let him go,” Madam Qin said, waving her hand dismissively.
From behind the curtain, a maid’s voice spoke softly, and Madam Qin quickly turned to go inside.
Qin Shi’san sat kneeling beside the bed, watching Cheng Jiao-niang lying unconscious.
“How is she?” Madam Qin asked. “Has she woken?”
Ban Qin lifted her head from Cheng Jiao-niang’s side and shook it.
“She’s still just mumbling,” she said, tears welling in her eyes.
Madam Qin stepped forward and knelt beside the bed.
The young lady on the bed looked the same as always—lying there with her eyes closed, though not as rigidly blank as before.
Her lips occasionally twitched, likely murmuring the same words the maid had mentioned: Who are you? Who am I?
Could a single question—Who are you?—truly strike someone down and leave them like this?
“Wanting to know who you are, and asking yourself who you are—that means there’s still a heart within her,” Madam Qin said, rising to her feet. “Where there’s a heart, there’s still hope. I’ll go find another doctor.”
Ban Qin kowtowed deeply, her forehead touching the floor.
“Thank you for your great kindness, my lady,” she wept, kowtowing repeatedly. “Thank you for your great kindness!”
“It’s hardly kindness—just repaying a debt. Take good care of your mistress,” Madam Qin replied, casting one last glance at Cheng Jiao-niang on the bed before turning away. As she passed Qin Shi’san, she paused, her expression hesitant.
Before she could speak, Qin Shi’san stood and walked out ahead of her.
“Go and study. Don’t neglect your studies,” Madam Qin said, following him out.
Qin Shi’san nodded.
“Don’t worry, Mother. I won’t neglect them,” he said, turning back with a faint smile. “I’ll study well.”
Study well—so that in the future, he could rise high in office, stand as an equal among men, and protect this girl who seemed so formidable yet had nothing of her own.
As the mother and son stepped outside, they saw a young male servant entangled in an argument with Jin Ge’er at the gate.
“…What kind of shameful illness is it, anyway? Why won’t you let me in to see her?”
“My mistress has no shameful illness—she’s simply unwell and must not be disturbed!”
“You little brat, do you even know who I am?”
“And who are you?” Qin Shi’san interjected.
Noticing the noblewoman and young master approaching, surrounded by maids and attendants, the male servant paused briefly before stepping forward with a bow.
“Might you be the Zhou family’s madam?” he asked, his gaze settling on the young man. “I am from the Wang family, the betrothed of the young lady. Hearing of her illness, I’ve come to pay my respects.”
The young man was strikingly handsome, the kind of face one couldn’t forget. He was the same person who had accompanied Lady Cheng on the Heavenly Street that day. Young master said this was Lady Cheng’s cousin, the young master of the Zhou family.
Now that Lady Cheng had fallen ill, it was only natural for her maternal uncle’s family to visit. This noblewoman must be Madam Zhou then.
So she truly had a fiancé?
Madam Qin looked at the attendant with evident surprise.
“She’s ill. We appreciate your concern,” she said. “But there’s no need for a visit.”
The attendant straightened his posture.
“May I ask what illness Lady Cheng has contracted?” he pressed.
“It’s nothing serious. She just needs rest for a few days,” Madam Qin replied dismissively, already stepping past him with no intention of continuing the conversation.
The attendant hurried forward to block her path.
“Madam, it would be unwise to conceal any illness. Hiding a serious malady is grounds for divorce under the Seven Outs,” he declared.
Before he could finish, Madam Qin flew into a rage.
“Slap him!” she commanded.
Her maid immediately stepped forward and delivered two sharp slaps across his face.
Caught off guard, the attendant staggered back several steps, his face a picture of disbelief.
“Madam Zhou! How dare you—” he shouted. “I am from the Wang fam—”
“What insolence, blocking Madam’s way!” the maid scolded, pointing an accusing finger. “Be gone with you!”
The attendant retreated another two steps under the verbal assault. He watched helplessly as the noblewoman, surrounded by her attendants, boarded her carriage. The young lord didn’t even glance his way, treating him as if he were air, before the carriage rumbled away.
Such arrogance from the Zhou family! Such utter arrogance! The attendant trembled with rage—exactly as the Chengs had described them, vulgar and ill-mannered!
He turned his glare toward Cheng Jiao-niang’s residence gate.
Hiding and refusing visitors—this definitely confirmed some shameful illness!
He strode forward determinedly, but had barely taken two steps when the sound of approaching hooves made him pause. Before he could turn around, another carriage came charging toward him.
“Move aside! Move aside!” the driver shouted, cracking his whip dangerously close to the attendant as the carriage nearly grazed him.
The attendant stumbled back several steps, breaking out in a cold sweat from the fright.
How could everyone in the capital be so insolent and ill-mannered!
“Blind fool! Looking to die?!”
As if to further prove his point, the driver turned back and snarled viciously.
The carriage came to a stop before the gate, and a noblewoman alighted. Without waiting for her maidservant’s assistance, she hurried forward urgently.
The young servant who had slipped back inside and closed the gates during the earlier commotion now opened them again without needing to be summoned.
Who was this new arrival?
The attendant stood frozen in momentary confusion.
“Hurry, Imperial Doctor Li! Please hurry!” the noblewoman urged, turning back to call out.
An imperial doctor!
The attendant’s eyes widened in shock as he instinctively stepped forward. Indeed, he saw an elderly man descending from the following carriage, dressed in official robes. A young apprentice followed behind, carrying a medical case bearing the unmistakable insignia of the Imperial Medical Institute.
They actually summoned an imperial doctor!
But wasn’t it said that neither the Cheng nor Zhou families favored her?
How could a disfavored lady secure an imperial doctor for her illness?
And more puzzling still—who exactly was this noblewoman?
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” Jin Ge’er stretched out his arm to block the approaching attendant. “Get out! Get out!”
“Why should I leave? Young man, I’m from the Wang family. How could I not come to see the mistress when she’s ill?” the attendant argued urgently. “What exactly are you trying to hide? What shameful secret requires such concealment? Do you think keeping us in the dark will trick us into accepting this marriage? Let me make this clear—if we’re denied visitation now, consider the engagement null and void!”
Since the mistress herself had agreed to this marriage arrangement, Jin Ge’er found himself at a loss for words when faced with this threat regarding the engagement.
“And who might you be?” Madam Chen asked, turning back to inquire.
Seizing the opportunity, the attendant stepped into the courtyard.
“In reply to your ladyship, I serve the Wang family, the betrothed of Lady Cheng,” he said with a bow. “Having heard of the young lady’s illness, I’ve come by my young master’s orders to pay my respects.”
Madam Chen gave an acknowledging “Oh,” her expression complicated as she studied him.
Though claiming to visit, his true purpose was clearly to assess her condition and determine whether the marriage should proceed.
Though this Wang family seemed obscure, recalling what Chen Shi’ba-niang had said—that Cheng Jiao-niang had openly acknowledged her betrothal and appeared genuinely pleased—it was evident this match was her own choice.
Yet judging by the attendant’s words, if she were truly ill, the engagement would indeed be called off.
Truth be told, one couldn’t entirely blame the attendant for such an attitude. In marriage negotiations between families, illness was always a sensitive matter of mutual concern.
“As a young woman living alone here, it’s truly inappropriate for you to visit. Why don’t you go to the Zhou family instead? They can provide you with specific details about her condition,” Madam Chen said amiably.
This noblewoman was far more cordial than that Madam Zhou from earlier. Who could she be? Probably a relative of the Zhou family? Did she come to visit Lady Cheng to curry favor with the Zhous? Or perhaps she was entrusted by the Zhous to look after her?
Whatever the case, she clearly didn’t carry the same authority as the Zhous…
“Why trouble with such roundabout methods? The doctor is right here—once the diagnosis is done, I’ll hear it directly,” the attendant said, straightening his posture. “Who knows how the message might get distorted if relayed through others.”
Madam Chen’s expression gradually darkened as she listened.
“Though you may be her betrothed’s family, the marriage hasn’t been solemnized yet. For a young woman living alone, how utterly improper for you to barge in uninvited without elder approval!” she rebuked.
“This match was arranged between the Chengs and our family. They even asked us to take Lady Cheng back to Jiang-zhou! How can you say there’s no elder approval? It’s you people blocking and obstructing—what exactly are you trying to hide? If anyone’s acting improperly, it’s you!” the attendant retorted with a sneer.
Before his words fully landed, the noblewoman before him suddenly raised her eyebrows and thundered:
“How dare you!” she roared. “Slap him!”
The attendant froze in shock. Before he could react, the crisp sound of a slap already echoed through the courtyard.
Staggering back several steps in disbelief, the attendant touched his stinging cheek—again?
“Throw him out! How dare he speak to me like this! If he dares show his face here again, tie him up and haul him to the magistrate!”
Amidst these furious shouts, the attendant was shoved out by several burly maids, the gate slamming shut behind him with a resounding bang.
Dazed from the two slaps, the attendant collapsed onto the ground, taking a long moment to regain his senses.
What in the world just happened?
What had he even done?
How had he ended up being slapped twice in quick succession?
And since when couldn’t he speak to them like that? Weren’t they just some low-ranking capital officials or military officers? The city was crawling with their kind—what gave them the right to act so high and mighty!
