Chapter 678: The Choice
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Who should be saved first?
This was an enormous dilemma.
Mingzhu had only thought about securing this opportunity first and considering other matters later. She hadn’t expected that having secured the opportunity, she would face such a heart-wrenching decision. Her parents, the Great Empress Dowager—each one was someone she wanted to save. Abandoning any of them was a stabbing pain to her heart. She struggled and negotiated with Jiang Zhouzi, “Sir, could you possibly…”
Jiang Zhouzi looked at her with understanding but resolutely said, “No. You must understand, someone like me travels the world with countless people begging me to treat them and their families. But I have only two hands, only one person, and I simply can’t save so many. Refusing means making enemies, but I’m not ready to die early, so my rules cannot be broken. Even if they captured me and cut me one piece at a time, I still couldn’t do it.”
All of Mingzhu’s words got stuck in her throat. After a moment of silence, she made the most difficult decision of her life: “Please save my father first.”
Jiang Zhouzi remained understanding. “Prime Minister Fu’s condition is the most critical. He should indeed be the first to be treated. Ying Wangfei, I’m gratified that you didn’t ask me to save the Great Empress Dowager for the sake of reputation and power.”
Mingzhu also thought Fu Cong’s condition was the most urgent, so she chose him as the first to be treated. She was worried others might not understand and think she was selfish, caring only for her father. Now that Jiang Zhouzi had guessed her thoughts, she felt indignant. “Maybe I’m just selfish and not making a rational choice.”
Jiang Zhouzi smiled. “Even if you are selfish, there’s nothing wrong with that. He is your father. What’s wrong with being a little selfish for him?”
“You’re right, sir. You are straightforward.” Mingzhu quickly ordered everyone to pack up and urged Jiang Zhouzi to get up. “We’ve delayed too long. Please come with me to the Prime Minister’s residence to treat my father.”
Jiang Zhouzi was decisive. He gave a few instructions to a maid named Jiaojiao, brought another maid named Meimei, and a box, and followed Mingzhu to the Prime Minister’s residence.
Fu Mingzheng wasn’t home, and Fu Lin was managing household affairs. Fu Mingqing was alone, guarding and attending to Fu Cong. When Tang Chunlai was there, it was manageable, but now that he had been summoned to the palace, Fu Mingqing felt lost, foolishly staying by Fu Cong’s side. His main task was placing a few wisps of cotton near Fu Cong’s nose to see if his breath moved them. If it did, it meant Fu Cong was still alive; if not, it meant he was dead.
The head steward, An Rushan, watched from the side and couldn’t stand it. He genuinely thought that the third master had become foolish from too much reading. However, as a servant, he couldn’t criticize Fu Mingqing’s actions since they didn’t harm Fu Cong.
When they saw Mingzhu, both Fu Mingqing and An Rushan cried, tears of joy. Fu Mingqing thought that finally someone had come to take charge. He was so scared and would rather be beaten by Mingzhu if she stayed. An Rushan was relieved not to face the increasingly foolish third master anymore, as every moment spent with him dulled his own thinking.
Seeing them both cry, Mingzhu feared she had come too late. Her heart sank, and she felt weak in the knees, unable to speak. She just stared blankly at Fu Cong lying on the sickbed.
Fu Mingqing, the fool, knew nothing except crying, “Sister, you’ve finally come. If you had come any later, I would have died…”
As always, An Rushan, being old and experienced, immediately sensed something amiss with Mingzhu and hurriedly explained, “Wangfei, please don’t worry, the Lord is stable.”
Mingzhu breathed a sigh of relief but couldn’t help being infuriated by Fu Mingqing’s crying. Grinding her teeth, she said angrily, “Third Brother, shut up! Do you want me to strangle you?”
Fu Mingqing, with tears in his eyes, bared his neck, “Go ahead, strangle me. I don’t want to live anyway… Elder Brother’s whereabouts are unknown, Second Brother can’t come back, Mother is like this, Father is like this, I’m just a poor child without parents…”
Mingzhu exploded in rage, “Uncle An, quickly get him out of here and call Fu Lin over immediately.”
An Rushan quickly had someone take Fu Mingqing away and looked at Jiang Zhouzi standing aside, whispering, “Wangfei, is this the physician you recently hired?”
Jiang Zhouzi’s reputation was too great, and Mingzhu was afraid of causing more trouble, so she didn’t want this matter to spread. She vaguely replied, “Clear out the bystanders. Uncle An, you stay here with me.”
An Rushan whispered, “Is he reliable?”
Mingzhu said solemnly, “If he’s not, do we have any other options?” The bruises on Fu Cong’s arm were gradually spreading, and without treatment, he would only get worse. So she didn’t ask Jiang Zhouzi any other questions or probe whether he had ulterior motives because she had no choice.
An Rushan fell silent.
Mingzhu beckoned to Jiang Zhouzi, “Please.”
Jiang Zhouzi examined Fu Cong and succinctly said, “This arm can’t be saved.”
Mingzhu thought of his array of delicate knives and shuddered, “Do you mean it needs to be amputated?”
Jiang Zhouzi shook his head and said seriously, “No need for that. But the muscles and meridians in this arm have been severely damaged, so they will atrophy, and he won’t be able to use it anymore. Also, he’s been poisoned deeply, so his thinking and motor skills probably won’t fully recover to what they were before for a long time.”
Fu Lin rushed over just as he heard this and couldn’t help but panic, “Are you saying my grandfather will end up like my grandmother?”
Jiang Zhouzi gave him a glance, “What’s the point of me being here then? Can’t young people listen? I’m saying his thinking and motor skills won’t fully recover to what they were before, not that he’ll lose his cognitive and motor abilities. I really dislike relatives who don’t listen.”
Fu Lin was speechless, feeling embarrassed about his inability to listen. He was a good boy and felt he had indeed been disobedient, bringing shame to his family. So he politely apologized to Jiang Zhouzi, “I’m sorry for not listening.”
Jiang Zhouzi shook his head and didn’t press further. He turned to Mingzhu and said, “If there are no other questions, let’s begin.”
In fact, Jiang Zhouzi’s treatment method didn’t differ much from Tang Chunlailai’s. It mainly involved medication, acupuncture, and additional methods like fumigation. Mingzhu cwas a girl and it wasn’t appropriate for her to be present, but fortunately, Fu Lin was capable enough to handle things independently. Fu Mingzheng also rushed back soon, so her burden was instantly reduced by half.
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