Xiao Qiao weakly tugged at Nan Yi's robe, saying intermittently, "...Sister...Quickly go save sister..."

"What?"

"...Quickly...save my sister...the Nine Gates...Commander...Commander..." Before she could finish speaking, she fainted again and wouldn't wake up no matter how she was called.

Save my sister! Xiao Xi, something's happened to Xiao Xi?

Nan Yi's mind went blank for a moment, and she felt dizzy. She fell to the ground, and Qiao Qiao in her arms also fell down with her. Fortunately, Yi Ren was quick-witted and helped to support her so that Xiao Qiao would not fall to the ground.

Yiren cried out in distress, "Master, let me carry you instead."

Nan Yi bit her lip and shook her head, thinking bitterly that she should have known her body was weak and powerless, but she was going against her at this moment. She knew she looked pathetic in other people's eyes, but she didn't care.

Help me up.

Yi Ren struggled to help her mistress up, supporting Xiao Qiao in her arms. She glanced resentfully at the people around her. So many people, yet not a single one stepped forward to help. She remembered them, she would memorize their faces, and for the rest of her life, she would surely retaliate fiercely.

Nan Yi, unaware of Yi Ren's change, focused on getting up. Fine beads of sweat covered his forehead and nose, and his back felt damp and sticky. Finally, he stood up unsteadily.

She moved her feet and walked with difficulty to Yinzhen. With a thud, she knelt heavily in front of him, so hard that the sound of bones cracking could be heard.

Yinzhen's heart skipped a beat. His extremely angry face cracked, and he reached out to pull her to his side. His brows furrowed tightly as he stared at her without saying a word.

"...Please help me save Xiao Xi, please, please help me save Xiao Xi," she said in a voice that was more humble than ever before, full of helplessness, pleading, grief and confusion, tears welling up in her eyes but stubbornly refusing to fall.

Yinzhen pursed his thin lips, his deep and solemn eyes narrowed. She was begging him, but it was for someone unrelated to her. He was clearly angry and resentful, but his heart was soft as a board. He knew that he could never resist her slightest show of weakness, as long as he was given a way out.

Just as Yinzhen was about to nod, he heard a groan of pain and instinctively looked back, but it wasn't Xiao Qiao.

"Master, what's wrong?"

"The Nian sisters?"

"Little Nian, what's wrong?"

Ms. Nian clutched her abdomen and cried out in pain. Before Nan Yi could even regain his footing, he had already pulled away and rushed to Ms. Nian's side to embrace her.

The weak voice of Lady Nian came through, "My lord, my stomach hurts. Please save me and save the child."

A slightly anxious but still very deep and gentle voice rang out, "Alright, I understand. Don't worry, the imperial physician will be here soon." He then growled at Su Peisheng, who was attending him, "Summon the imperial physician."

Yinzhen scooped up Nian Shi in his arms and strode into the mansion, completely forgetting about Nan Yi. In her haste, she stumbled forward and grabbed his sleeve, looking at him with hopeful eyes, pleading, "Save Xiao Xi, help me save Xiao Xi."

He glanced at Madam Tong sideways and said, "Let's go inside first and talk."

Her sleeve slipped through her fingers as she watched his straight, eager back as he walked away. The meaningful glances from Lady Nara, Lady Li, and Lady Qi swept over her, but she couldn't see any of them. Her gaze was fixed only on the back of the man who was completely absorbed in another woman.

Only the lonely mistress and her servant, along with the injured Xiao Qiao, remained in front of the mansion gate. Nan Yi feinted twice.

Yiren sobbed softly, murmuring, "How could this be? Master, how could this be? It's so unfair."

For the first time, Yiren spoke out indignantly on behalf of her master.

Is the master blind? Consort Nian is clearly faking it. He can't even tell the difference. This makes even a servant like me feel utterly disappointed.

It was already late afternoon, and the setting sun shone on Nan Yi's back, making it feel hot. But Nan Yi felt a chill rising from the bottom of his heart, seeping into his bones and blood through his internal organs, a bone-chilling cold.

She was a little unsteady on her feet, so she leaned against Yiren's side and slowly sat down on the steps of the mansion gate. The guards at the gate saw this and cleverly brought her a chair, but she was too lazy to move.

Xiao Xi, Xi Xi, I'm sorry, please wait a moment, give me some time, it'll be soon, just give me a little more time.

—Little Shunzi, Little Shunzi... Please hurry up.

Xiao Qiao's body began to feel cold, and her limbs curled up into a ball. She held Qiao Qiao tightly in her arms, muttering something. Yi Ren couldn't hear clearly, but she felt extremely sad, indignant, and aggrieved for her master.

Just as she was getting so anxious that her body stiffened and despair began to rise in her heart, Xiao Shunzi drove up in a carriage. Before the carriage had even come to a complete stop, he pulled the imperial physician out of the carriage.

Nan Yi narrowed his eyes. It was an acquaintance. He twitched the corner of his mouth as a greeting. Doctor Liu didn't mind Xiao Shunzi's rudeness and didn't care that he was being pulled and tugged.

Physician Liu nodded slightly to the south, calmly taking the pulse, but secretly sighed. He wondered how his master could be in such a predicament, with accidents happening every few days—amnesia, poisoning—each time more serious than the last.

Nan Yi carefully observed Physician Liu's expression; her pretty face was extremely tense, as if she was afraid he would say something unpleasant.

After a short while, Physician Liu opened the medicine cream and took out the medicine, saying, "Consort, the little girl's head was hit by a heavy object and she lost too much blood. She was also frightened. Her wounds need to be cleaned and bandaged immediately. Please make sure she lies down so I can prescribe medicine. If she can get through tonight, she will be fine."

His tone was heavy and urgent; the little girl's injuries were not optimistic, and he could only do his best and leave the rest to fate.

Nan Yi, seeing him give Xiao Qiao an unknown pill, seemed incredulous and asked, "...Hang in there tonight, Imperial Physician, is it serious?"

Physician Liu sighed and said cautiously, "The little girl is young, and I'm afraid that the wound might get infected and cause a persistent high fever, especially since the wound is on her head."

Physician Liu pursed his lips, omitting the rest of his sentence, which included the fear of damaging his brain.

Nan Yi couldn't hear anything else; her mind was buzzing and chaotic. High fever—that was a fever, she knew that. The Qing Dynasty was not like modern times; reducing fever was still a difficult problem for medical technology at that time.

She wanted to stay, but Xiao Xi... Xiao Xi was still waiting for her to save him. She immediately stuffed Qiaoqiao into Physician Liu's arms, ignoring the astonishment on his face, and said urgently, "Physician Liu, I entrust Qiaoqiao to you. Please make sure you heal her. I will reward you with a thousand pieces of gold afterward. If... if anything happens to her, I will never have peace of mind."

After saying that, she turned around and solemnly instructed Yiren, "Take Physician Liu into the manor immediately and make arrangements. Remember, no matter what it takes, whether it's money, people, or medicine, you must do it at any cost. Before I return, you must see that Qiaoqiao is safe and sound. If there are any difficulties, send someone to ask someone in my name. Understand?" With Yiren's intelligence, she didn't need to point out who this person was.

Yiren nodded with red eyes. She couldn't rely on her master, and now she had no choice but to ask that person for help.

"Go inside quickly. If you need anything, find me at the governor's office," he said, then beckoned to Shunzi, "Come with me to the governor's office."

Physician Liu cautiously followed into the Fourth Prince's residence, while Nan Yi, accompanied by Xiao Shunzi, rushed anxiously to the Governor's Office to rescue the person.