When dawn broke the next day, the magistrate couple had already been sitting by the sickbed for quite a while.
“…Mother… I’m hungry…” the magistrate’s son said weakly.
“Good, good, quick, quickly go make the young master’s favorite duck soup…” the magistrate’s wife said tremblingly, urging as she spoke.
“He can’t eat that right now.” Qi Yue walked over with a smile, bending down to check the drainage tubes. “Start with some rice porridge. After four or five more days, he can eat a little meat.”
“I just… like to eat…” Though weak, the magistrate’s son quickly protested.
“Good, good, quickly go make rice porridge.” The magistrate’s wife interrupted her son and immediately said.
“Mother…” the magistrate’s son whined in dissatisfaction.
The magistrate’s wife now obeyed Qi Yue’s every word, ignoring her son and looking at Qi Yue with gratitude and caution.
“Is there anything else Young Madam needs to instruct?” she asked.
Qi Yue smiled and patted the magistrate’s son’s shoulder.
“Lie down properly, call someone when you need to turn over, don’t try to be tough, and do more deep breathing.” she said with a smile.
The magistrate’s wife memorized this carefully and thanked her again. Qi Yue smiled and walked out, letting the mother and son talk.
Liu Pucheng was nearby considering a prescription. Qi Yue walked over and seriously watched him write.
“…add patrinia…” Liu Pucheng finished writing with his brush, seeing Qi Yue watching intently, he couldn’t help but smile. “Does Young Madam think this will work?”
Qi Yue laughed.
“How would I understand this? Don’t tease me, Teacher.” she laughed, then sighed again, “Traditional Chinese medicine is truly miraculous.”
Liu Pucheng handed the prescription to Zhang Tong and stood up.
“Is Young Madam at ease now?” he asked with a smile.
Qi Yue didn’t understand at first.
“Not afraid of running out of medicine?” Liu Pucheng smiled.
Qi Yue smiled somewhat embarrassedly.
“Doctor Liu, thank you.” She stopped smiling and looked at Liu Pucheng, formally bowing.
“There you go again.” Liu Pucheng shook his head. “How can this old man deserve your thanks? Being able to witness Young Madam’s divine skills with my own eyes, letting this old man know that the ancients truly did not deceive me—there really are only things unimaginable in this world, nothing impossible to achieve. This old man has no regrets in this lifetime. I should be thanking Young Madam instead.”
Saying this, he truly bent down to bow.
Qi Yue quickly supported him.
“Whether skills are good or bad, ultimately it depends on whether the illness can be cured. Though I know this technique, without Doctor Liu’s assistance, it would be useless.” she said.
“You two stop thanking each other back and forth—we’re the ones who should be grateful.” The magistrate’s voice came from the side.
Qi Yue and Liu Pucheng quickly looked over to see the magistrate indeed bowing deeply to them.
“We dare not, we dare not.” Both hurried to support him.
“This is a physician’s duty…”
“This is what I should do…”
They said simultaneously.
“Sir, you mustn’t perform such grand ceremony.”
“Alright, then let’s all stop being so polite.” The magistrate laughed, looking at these two people who had been worn down to an unrecognizable state. “Then I’ll take my son home now. Young Madam, Doctor Liu, you should go back and rest well. These past days have been hard on you both.”
Doctor, you’ve worked hard.
Qi Yue had heard these words many times before—so many that she’d become numb to them. But hearing them now, her heart surged with warmth. She seemed to return to the first time she stepped through the hospital doors as an intern, seeing her first patient, hearing the patient’s gratitude.
“However, that’s not possible right now.” Qi Yue said with a smile.
The magistrate was startled by these words again.
“How… how is there still…” he was so tense he couldn’t speak clearly.
This torment still wasn’t over?
“Though he’s past the danger period, his vitality has been affected after all. Better to observe for a while longer. Here, it’s convenient for me to watch over him. After another week…” Qi Yue quickly said.
“A week?” The magistrate interrupted her in confusion.
“Oh, after another seven or eight days, then let him go home to recuperate.” Qi Yue said with a smile.
Only then did the magistrate breathe a little easier, nodding to express his gratitude.
“As for the young master’s meals, I’ll arrange them. Others needn’t worry about it, and don’t randomly use those nourishing supplements for now.” Qi Yue instructed again.
The magistrate quickly agreed.
“This is truly hard on Young Madam. Such great kindness cannot be repaid… We husband and wife don’t know how to…” His emotions were somewhat excited as he sighed.
“I should also thank Sir for trusting me—this is also Sir’s self-rescue.” Qi Yue smiled.
These words made the magistrate feel warm and happy inside.
“Those people who laughed at the Marquis behind his back are truly ridiculous…” he said to Marquis Dingxi after going out. “Young Madam has such divine skills, and is so intelligent and clever, eloquent, virtuous and kind…”