What was he doing here in the middle of the night?
When they stopped in front of the Princess’s manor, Qi Yunchi finally came to his senses: Oh, it was for Hu’er.
He had almost been led astray by Wen Ninghan’s calm demeanor.
He had personally invited her, and Feng Shu had made the necessary arrangements. All unrelated people had been sent away from the courtyard, and the autumn night was eerily quiet.
Having already prepared herself mentally, Wen Ninghan stepped into the room. Besides the Hui Ling Princess and Feng Shu, whom she had seen before, there was also a physician, presumably the fu yi, who had been specially left behind, and an unfamiliar man. Due to his long beard, she couldn't quite tell his age.
(T/N : 府醫 (fǔ yī): This term refers to a physician attached to a government office or a noble household.)
However, judging by his attire, demeanor, and the status of the young master lying there, Wen Ninghan reasonably guessed that this should be the Crown Prince of the Rong Guo Gong's manor?
Both being crown princes, the difference between this one and Qi Yunchi was quite significant.
Qi Yunchi, who had been hidden in the dark, looked at the numerous people present and glanced at Feng Shu with displeasure, who could only shrug helplessly.
He had said that it was enough to leave a physician as an assistant and that everyone else should be dismissed, but both the crown prince and the princess insisted on staying. There was nothing he could do.
Besides inviting Wen Ninghan without authorization, Qi Yunchi felt responsible for helping her hide her identity. He himself was still recovering from a serious injury and didn't want more people to know, including Hui Ling and the Crown Prince of the Rongguo Duke's Mansion.
So he had previously made an excuse, saying that he was too ill to get up and had only left Feng Shu to help.
Suddenly, he felt that it might not be appropriate to leave her alone with Hui Ling and the others.
But Wen Ninghan had already entered the room, and it was too late to do anything.
When Hui Ling saw Wen Ninghan again, her feelings were quite complex. She hadn't expected that the person Feng Shu said Qi Yunchi had asked to help would be Wen Ninghan.
If that was the case, she might as well have stayed to help during the day.
“Who is this?” Du Chengmin, the Crown Prince of the Rongguo Duke's Mansion, had never met Wen Ninghan before. Seeing Feng Shu go to great lengths to invite such a young and delicate girl, he was both surprised and annoyed.
Naturally, he was annoyed that his precious Hu'er was in such a critical condition, yet there was still time for these trivial matters.
Feng Shu was also helpless. To hide his identity, his young master was hiding outside and wouldn't come in, so he could only handle this situation.
"Duke Du, this is Miss Wen Ninghan of the Marquiss Bo Manor. The princess has met her before. It was thanks to Miss Wen's sharp observation that your young master was saved today."
Due to the chaos earlier, Du Chengmin had heard about the details of Du Xinghu's rescue, but he couldn't spare much thought for it at the moment. Now that he saw the person involved in person, he was naturally grateful, but with Hu'er still in danger, he didn't have the heart to discuss it further.
"Thank you, Miss Wen. Once Hu'er recovers, the Rongguo Duke's Mansion will definitely come to thank you in person."
Wen Ninghan didn't pay attention to Du Chengmin's statement about thanking her only after Hu'er recovered. It wasn't as if she would go looking for trouble with Du Xinghu if he didn't recover.
"It's nothing. I came here because I heard that the young master had a high fever, and the Duke of Dingguo asked me to come. Naturally, I wouldn't refuse."
Hui Ling, the princess, heard the implication in her words and her eyes lit up. "Can you save Hu'er?"
At this moment, anyone who could save Hu'er, Hui Ling would even kneel to them. As for anything else, she didn't want to care or mind.
Du Chengmin hesitated. After all, Wen Ninghan looked young, and even if she had some medical skills, could she compare to the old imperial physicians?
"Uncle, just let her try," Hui Ling, not knowing where her trust in Wen Ninghan came from, took the initiative to persuade the Crown Prince of the Rongguo Duke's Mansion. "Brother Chi trusts her, and I trust her too. If it weren't for her today, Hu'er would have been dead already."
If it weren't for Wen Ninghan, even if Hu'er had been found, he would have already been a lifeless corpse. Hui Ling was very clear about this.
Wen Ninghan didn't want to explain further and softly said, "The more time we waste, the more dangerous it becomes for the young master."
Knowing the sensitive nature of these noblemen, Wen Ninghan didn't dare to directly say something like "desperate times call for desperate measures" or she would be thrown out.
Du Chengmin was still hesitant, and Wen Ninghan stood still in the hall.
The door creaked open again, and the sound of wooden wheels rolling on the ground could be heard. Without a doubt, it was Qi Yunchi.
"This Duke of Dingguo's young master is really busy tonight," Wen Ninghan thought to herself.
"Duke Du, I invited her. Hu'er's safety is more important. If you trust me, Duke Du, let Miss Wen try. I will take responsibility for the consequences. If you don't believe me, it's late at night and Miss Wen has taken a risk to come here. I'll have to send her back."
Hearing Qi Yunchi's words, Du Chengmin was still a little annoyed. What did he mean by taking responsibility? If something happened to Hu'er, even if Qi Yunchi took responsibility, could Hu'er be brought back to life?
But when he looked into Qi Yunchi's clear eyes, he couldn't say anything.
They were both young masters of noble families, but Qi Yunchi, though young, had been tempered on the battlefield for many years. He was someone who had seen blood and killed, unlike them who lived in the capital and thought they were great just by riding horses and hunting in the suburbs.
Du Chengmin, despite his age, couldn't be tough in front of Qi Yunchi. Even though the other party was seriously injured and looked weak, sitting in a wheelchair and shorter than him, his aura was not inferior at all.
Seeing Du Chengmin silent, Hui Ling knew that her uncle must be too proud to admit it, but he had actually agreed in his heart. She immediately stepped aside and said to Wen Ninghan, "I'll leave my brother Hu'er in your care, Miss Wen."
Wen Ninghan nodded calmly, "Then I'll trouble the princess and the young master to leave temporarily. Just leave this to me."
Hui Ling was startled. She didn't expect Wen Ninghan's first request would be for them to leave. But when she turned to see Qi Yunchi's deep gaze, she nodded, gritting her teeth, "Then what about the physician?"
Wen Ninghan still smiled, "It's fine, just leave Lord Feng to help me."
If she didn't leave anyone, neither the Crown Prince of the Rongguo Duke nor Hui Ling would agree. As for the physician, while he seemed honest, he was likely to have his own opinions.
And Qi Yunchi was even less convenient. Still sitting in a wheelchair, if he stayed here, no one would believe him.
So Feng Shu was the best choice. He was capable, obedient, and could be trusted to help.
Feng Shu: For a moment, he didn't know whether to believe it or not.
After everyone left the room, Wen Ninghan untied her cloak and walked to the bed where Du Xinghu was lying. Feng Shu realized that Wen Ninghan had two small packages hanging from her waist.
"Lord Feng, please help me undress the young master, and then prepare some hot water and wine."
He could understand undressing the young master, and he could also imagine hot water, but wine?
Although he had doubts, Feng Shu followed her instructions one by one. When he returned with the hot water and the wine that Wen Ninghan had asked for, as well as a fresh towel, he saw that Wen Ninghan had already inserted many silver needles into the young master's bare back.
Oh, no, judging by the color, they were gold needles.
Acupuncture.
Feng Shu's pupils constricted suddenly.
Having been by Qi Yunchi's side for so many years, especially after encountering the eccentric Fu Ling, Feng Shu had seen many extraordinary things. He had heard of acupuncture.
Feng Shu knew that the Crown Prince was gravely ill, and even the imperial physicians were helpless. Fu Ling had also mentioned that the only person who could save the Crown Prince was the divine doctor, Yu Changsheng, and most importantly, his extraordinary acupuncture skills.
Thinking of the divine doctor Yu Changsheng, Young Master Han Jiu, the Qin family, and now looking at the young Miss Wen, Feng Shu wondered if her acupuncture skills were passed down from the divine doctor Yu Changsheng.
That would explain why his young master had met such a kind person at the inn, and why the young master treated Wen Ninghan differently.
A thought flashed through Feng Shu's mind: So, could the Crown Prince be saved?
Wen Ninghan was unaware of Feng Shu's thoughts and wouldn't have cared if she had. She was focused on feeling every pulse through the gold needles, adjusting the flow of qi through the meridians, and clearing out the cold and heat toxins that were wreaking havoc in the young master's body.
She hadn't expected the young master to have heat toxins in his body, as she hadn't had the chance to take his pulse before. Now that she was diagnosing him with acupuncture, she might as well treat it as well.
The divine doctor Yu Changsheng's acupuncture technique was said to be miraculous, and Wen Ninghan had only realized how limited her understanding was after learning from him. She understood why there was only one divine doctor Yu Changsheng in the world.
Her master had said that acupuncture had been around for a long time and naturally had extraordinary effects. However, the acupuncture technique he mastered was extraordinary. To maximize its effectiveness, the acupuncturist needed to have superhuman senses to perceive the flow of qi within the body's meridians.
It was like a martial artist cultivating internal energy, but even more precise and sensitive.
To cultivate this Qi in accordance with the mental cultivation method and ultimately achieve therapeutic effects through the combination of golden needles and the flow of Qi, one must possess exceptional comprehension and a unique talent. Without this trace of Qi as an aid, even if one acupuncture's golden needle technique, it would only be slightly more advanced than ordinary acupuncture techniques, and it would be impossible to reach the miraculous realm of bringing the dead back to life.
The divine physician said that his master spent his entire life searching before finally finding him as his successor before his death. And he was lucky enough to meet Wen Ninghan at a still vigorous age.
If the golden needle technique were lost, he wouldn't even have the face to see his master in the underworld.
Only Wen Ninghan knew that if it weren't for her, the divine physician Yu Changsheng, who had appeared in Jiangnan in his early years, had disappeared from the human world and had never been seen again.
Until the end of the novel, a vague clue appeared in the epilogue. This compassionate but eccentric divine physician was unfortunately buried by a mudslide in the deep mountains and no one knew that he had already passed away and become part of the mountains.
At this moment, Wen Ninghan's expression was focused, and she only breathed a sigh of relief after the last golden needle was safely placed.
"It's done."
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