Chapter 61

What if it can't be cured?

Hao Jingshi's lips were deathly pale, as if he had lost too much blood. Lu Qin hurriedly cupped his face, and seeing that he was unharmed, she then looked at his body while holding his shoulders.

The clothes were intact and clean... No, Hao Jingshi wasn't wearing these clothes when he went out; he must have changed them when he came back.

Lu Qin found it increasingly strange and kept looking Hao Jingshi up and down. Hao Jingshi felt uncomfortable under her gaze and coughed.

"What are you looking for..."

"Are you injured?"

Lu Qin then spotted his right hand, which was behind his back, and found that it was wrapped in a thick layer of white gauze.

The gauze was layered on top of each other, but the red blood seeping through underneath was still visible, indicating that the wound must have been very deep.

When she pulled, Hao Jingshi's arm stiffened for a moment, as if he felt pain. She paused and became more careful: "Does it hurt a lot?"

"It's alright, don't worry," Hao Jingshi said after glancing at it. "It's already bandaged."

Lu Qin gently lowered his hand, frowning deeply: "Just bandaging it isn't enough. You're badly injured; you need to see a doctor to make sure you're okay."

Hao Jingshi smiled and said, "Let's not treat it. If I do, Madam won't feel sorry for me anymore. But I won't be able to draw clothing designs anymore, so please don't think I'm useless, Madam."

"Nonsense." Lu Qin raised her head and glared at him. "Who thinks you're useless? You're making boring jokes at a time like this. Is your injury more important or your clothes?"

Hao Jingshi stared at her intently for a moment, then curled his lips into a chuckle.

He pulled her into his arms, closing the distance between them: "Since Madam actually thinks that I am more important than the clothing shop, then I can die without regrets."

Lu Qin leaned forward and fell onto his lap, instinctively putting her arm around his shoulder.

"You can still laugh!" She punched him lightly. "If you keep acting like a slacker, I'm not talking to you anymore."

Seeing her angry, Hao Jingshi patted her back and then said seriously, "Alright, alright, I didn't want you to worry, but I didn't expect to upset you."

As he spoke, he reached into his pocket with his left hand, pulled out a gold hairpin inlaid with a ruby, and began to explain casually.

"The Imperial Concubine gave you a hairpin, but I wasn't walking properly and tripped over the threshold, and the hairpin got stuck in my hand."

He handed her the hairpin, saying, "I've dirtied this fine hairpin. I'll give it to you tomorrow. But this was a gift from the Imperial Concubine, so it's not good to throw it away. If you don't want to wear it, just put it away properly."

Lu Qin slowly raised her hand to take it. The hairpin had been wiped clean, and there wasn't a trace of blood on it.

"So beautiful," she complimented, casually inserting the hairpin into her hair bun, and then tenderly patting Hao Jingshi's hand.

The thought of the sharp end of the hairpin piercing through her palm evoked a feeling of empathy in her. She immediately left his embrace and retrieved paper, ink, brush, and inkstone.

"The hairpin is so sharp, it's probably injured your bones. Since you can't write, just tell me the prescription and I'll go get the medicine for you. We'll take good care of you, and you'll definitely get better."

As Lu Qin spoke, she patiently laid out the paper, ground the ink, and then dipped her brush in the ink, preparing to write.

Watching her stumbling movements, Hao Jingshi's eyes darkened, and he blurted out, "What if it can't be cured?"

Lu Qin was taken aback upon hearing this.

She looked up, staring blankly into his eyes.

In the silent gaze they exchanged, she understood. His feigned ease was as fragile as the thin sheet of paper on the table, easily torn apart.

Beneath the white paper lay a side of him she had never seen before—his most vulnerable side.

She understood that few could compare to him in terms of medical skills. If he felt the hope was slim, it meant that the injury was truly difficult to cure unless Hua Tuo were reborn.

Otherwise, given his personality, how could he so easily utter discouraging words?

"...Don't worry, my husband." Lu Qin came back to her senses, put down the brush in her hand, and walked closer to him to comfort him softly. "There are so many doctors in the world. You can always find one whose medical skills are better than yours. How will you know if you don't try?"

Before he could speak, she grabbed his left hand and squeezed it tightly as if to give him strength, then smiled brightly.

"Eat something so you don't get hungry in the middle of the night, since you haven't eaten anything tonight. After I finish writing the prescription, I'll make you a bowl of chicken soup, it's very nourishing."

"……good."

Hao Jingshi looked at her, said nothing more, just nodded with a faint smile, and began to slowly recite the prescription.

...

After writing the prescription in a crooked and messy manner, Lu Qin folded the paper, turned around, and went out to make him chicken soup.

Before leaving, she kissed Hao Jingshi's forehead, as if to reassure him.

Hao Jingshi quietly accepted Lu Qin's comfort, but as soon as she left, his spirits collapsed instantly.

All that he had done was in vain. He knew his injuries better than anyone; his right hand was probably ruined.

He couldn't accept it.

She couldn't accept that he was best at healing and saving lives but couldn't heal himself; she couldn't accept that she would spend the rest of her life disabled; and she couldn't accept that his and Lu Qin's beautiful dreams for the future would be cut short because of him.

This scar is more than just a mark left on the body.

It was clearly like a flaw in a painting, branded on his heart and rotting in his life.

From then on, every time he saw him, he would think of him again, and of the immense humiliation he had suffered that day.

Hao Jingshi closed his eyes, and scene after scene that had already happened began to float before his eyes like a nightmare.

He then saw two people dressed in flamboyant attire.

The two women stopped and looked him up and down.

"Oh, look, sister, you don't recognize him, do you? This is Consort Hao's cousin. He's now the head of the new household and does business with his wife on Xuande Street."

"So he is the legitimate son of the Hao family's main wife. I had only heard of him before, but now I have met him in person. I have heard that Young Master Hao is exceptionally talented, not only surpassing the Qian family but also winning the favor of the Imperial Concubine. He truly has a bright future ahead of him."

"Sister, you don't know this, but Young Master Hao is very capable. He is a chivalrous person. A few days ago, he even stabbed Old Master Zhang Gui's hand with a knife."

"As expected, Xiaoyong. In that case, I will present Young Master Hao with a small knife as a gift. Please accept it with pleasure."

The two men in front of him mocked him, and as they laughed, he was pinned to the ground, unable to move, and watched helplessly as the tip of the knife pierced through his right hand, leaving it covered in blood.

When the pain became so intense that I lost consciousness, I heard a piercing laugh in my ear.

"Why is Young Master Hao so silent? Isn't he usually so smug?"

"Your Hao family has committed numerous evils, and you will not have a good end. Young Master Hao, you should take care of yourself."

The two laughing figures walked away, and thankfully, no one was around, except for Ling'er, so no one saw his disheveled state.

With tears streaming down her face, Ling'er tore off a piece of her clothes to bandage his wound. He hastily wrapped it around his wound, dusted himself off, and, carrying the small knife, shakily boarded the carriage for the return journey.

Blood flowed from his palms all the way, and he began to feel weak. Before he fainted, the carriage passed a clinic, and Ling'er hurriedly told the coachman to stop and called a doctor to apply medicine to him.

He returned to the mansion in a daze, plunging his face into cold water to regain his senses. Finally, before Lu Qin returned, he managed to change his clothes and come up with a reason to cover it up.

He's never been good at lying, not since he was a child.

Fortunately, he successfully fooled Lu Qin this time, preventing her from becoming too suspicious.

...

There are servants in the manor who cook for her. Normally, Lu Qin only eats and doesn't cook. This is the first time she has cooked for herself.

Faced with the most primitive wood-fired stove, she was like a monkey that hadn't fully evolved, clumsy and at a loss. Fortunately, Ling'er was there to help and stop her absurd behavior, thus preventing the disaster of burning down the small kitchen.

After a flurry of activity, the delicious and visually appealing chicken soup was finally ready, and Lu Qin was very satisfied with the fruits of her labor.

She personally carried the steaming chicken soup into the house, and also thought of many interesting stories she wanted to tell Hao Jingshi.

To his surprise, as soon as he stepped through the door, he saw Hao Jingshi lying motionless on the table.

"Husband?" Lu Qin was startled and ran over without thinking. The chicken soup in her hand spilled out, scalding her fingertips.

He was perfectly fine just now, and even had the mood to joke with her. How did he suddenly collapse?

Lu Qin slammed the bowl down, wiped the soup off her clothes with a hasty hand, and then reached out to help Hao Jingshi into her arms.

Hao Jingshi's head fell down, pressing heavily on her shoulder. She touched his pale face, checked his weak breath, and anxiously shouted for help.

Xuan Lan rushed in first, and upon seeing the scene, she went out without a word to fetch a doctor. The other servants also rushed into the room, and under Lu Qin's instructions, moved Hao Jingshi back to bed.

Soon after, a doctor came to Hao Jingshi's house, examined his pulse and gave him acupuncture. He also told Lu Qin that Hao Jingshi had fainted due to excessive blood loss and that in addition to treating his wounds, he also needed to take good care of his body.

Lu Qin thanked him and told Xuan Lan to go with the doctor to get the medicine. She then sent many servants away, leaving only Ling'er by her side.

The room was eerily quiet. She looked at Hao Jingshi's bloodless lips and whispered, "Ling'er."

"Hey." Ling'er took a step closer.

"Tell me the truth, what exactly happened in the palace today?"

"Madam, this..."

Ling'er lowered her head and pursed her lips. Upon seeing her like this, Lu Qin immediately realized that her guess was correct.

"He won't let you say it?" Lu Qin's eyes darkened. "Fine, then I'll guess myself. He's injured like this, so it certainly wasn't from a small hairpin, right?"

"..." Ling'er sighed and knelt down with a thud. "It is this servant's incompetence that failed to protect the young master. Please punish me, madam."

"Get up and explain yourself," Lu Qin frowned. "Did he offend the Imperial Concubine?"

People in the palace should recognize Hao Jingshi. Anyone who would dare to hurt him so easily must be a high-ranking member of the royal family or a favored concubine from a prominent family.

"no."

Ling'er lowered her head, refusing to get up, stammering as if she wanted to reveal the truth but was afraid that Hao Jingshi would hold her accountable.

Seeing this, Lu Qin calmly said, "Don't worry, it won't involve you. If you don't tell me, I'll have to find out myself. Rather than me worrying about him without knowing the truth, it's better if you tell me. That way, I can be mentally prepared and better deal with any future troubles."

After hearing this, Ling'er still kept her head down, recalling the thrilling scene just now, and couldn't help but feel lingering fear.

"Yes, it was Consort Yi..." she murmured softly, "This servant followed the young master out of the Imperial Concubine's palace and happened to run into Consort Yi and the newly favored... Consort Fang."

Yi Fei? Fang concubine?

Upon hearing these two people, Lu Qin paused for a moment, and the case of the governor related to them slowly surfaced in her mind.

They usually had no contact with the palace, and this was the only thing that could barely connect them with Consort Yi.

However, they had carefully disguised themselves and were extra cautious when traveling to avoid revealing their identities and incurring the wrath of Consort Yi.

She wondered, "Why are they making things difficult for my husband for no reason?"