After placing the scallion oil noodles on the table, she shook her hand, which had almost been burned, and pinched her ear.

Xiaoying also went to the kitchen and brought out two bowls of noodles.

"It smells so good!" Yun Duoduo took a deep breath and said happily.

The steaming bowl of noodles was topped with several round meatballs and a few bright green vegetable leaves, making it look very appetizing.

After setting out the bowls and chopsticks, Aunt Sheng took a few cloves of garlic from the kitchen and peeled them. Then she pulled down a string of chili peppers hanging from the eaves and placed them on the table.

"Let's eat!"

After the bowls, chopsticks, and condiments were prepared, the group started eating noodles.

With the slurping sounds of noodles being eaten, the group ate with great relish. "Aunt Sheng, this scallion oil meatball noodle soup is so delicious!"

"Hmm, the saltiness is just right, and the noodles are very chewy and springy."

Ah Xiang had never tasted noodles with such flavor in the palace.

"It's very spicy and refreshing, with a numbing sensation in the spiciness."

After finishing one bowl, Aunt Sheng went to the kitchen and got another.

The noodles were finished in no time, and everyone enjoyed the meal very much.

After finishing their meal and cleaning up the dishes, the group slumped onto stools. Xiaoying opened the clinic door, and patients began to come in for treatment.

After the apprentices went home for a meal, they gradually returned to the clinic.

Yun Duoduo saw many patients that morning, mostly those suffering from colds.

The clinic has distributed a lot of medicine, and there's not much of the cold medicine left.

[After returning to the palace tonight, I need to speak with the people from the Imperial Pharmacy and the Imperial Medical Bureau.]

[There are already people in the capital suffering from such severe colds; we must control the situation immediately.]

In ancient times, large-scale infectious diseases were very difficult to control.

Just then, Xiaoying gently nudged Yun Duoduo.

Yun Duoduo's first thought was, "Has another patient come to see a doctor for a cold?"

Xiaoying whispered in her ear, "Princess, there's someone lying in the corner outside the clinic."

Is there someone lying outside? And in this freezing weather...

Yun Duoduo came out of the house and looked outside. There were very few people on the street. She looked in the direction Xiaoying was pointing and saw a person curled up in the corner. The person was very petite and probably not very old. The person's clothes were tattered and covered in mud. There were bloodstains on the parts of the body that were not covered by clothing.

Seeing that no one was around, Yun Duoduo instructed, "Bring her in gently."

"yes."

Yun Duoduo looked at the little figure; it must be a girl. She watched as Xiaoying picked up the girl, and the girl seemed incredibly light. Once inside the courtyard, Xiaoying gently placed the girl on the clean couch.

"Bring me a towel, and then ask Aunt Sheng to boil some water."

"yes."

Yun Duoduo and Xiao Ying, who were originally very sleepy after eating, were immediately sobered up when they saw the pitiful girl covered in injuries.

A moment later, Aunt Sheng brought over hot water, added some cold water, washed a towel, and handed it to Yun Duoduo.

"Young Master, tell me, how did this child get so badly tortured?"

Xiaoying gently removed the tattered strips of cloth and ragged clothes from the girl's body, afraid of accidentally tearing at her wounds.

The girl's originally delicate and fair skin was covered with bloodstains. There were whip marks, burns, and fine scratches that looked like they were from fingernails on her back and legs.

She was very thin, her belly was covered by bones, and her ribs were clearly visible with each breath.

"Yeah, sigh, I wonder who it was that could be so cruel to a girl."

Yun Duoduo sighed.

"Princess, do you think it might have been done in the palace? At this age, she's just the right age to become a palace maid, or even be selected as a concubine," Xiaoying whispered in Yun Duoduo's ear.

"Xiaoying, you can't say things like that. Maybe she's a maid or young lady from some household."

Xiaoying stopped talking and slowly wiped the girl's face clean. Yun Duoduo looked at her. Although the child was covered in wounds, she was still quite pretty, which made people feel a little sorry for her.

"The herbal decoction is ready!"

The apprentice at the clinic shouted from outside.

Because she was a woman, the male apprentices couldn't come in, so they placed the herbal decoction on the ground at the entrance of the inner room.

Xiaoying brought over the medicine, picked up a clean cloth, dipped it in the medicine, and used it to wipe the woman's wounds on the bed.

Perhaps the pain was too intense, for the girl slightly opened her eyes and looked at the two of them.

"Don't worry, you're safe now. You're inside the clinic, and we're applying medicine for you. It might hurt a little, but please bear with it."

Yun Duoduo gently comforted her, "If the pain is unbearable, just shout it out. There's no one else here."

The girl didn't speak, closed her eyes again, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

Xiaoying used a cloth soaked in medicine to wipe the girl's wound. After the wound dried, she began to apply hemostatic medicine.

The person on the bed had their thin lips tightly pressed together, and their body trembled slightly, as if they were enduring great pain.

Yun Duoduo was surprised by the willpower of the person on the bed. She was covered in wounds, but she endured them without making a sound.

"Ah Xiang, Xiao Ying, bring me the candles, scissors, and strong liquor."

Yun Duoduo gave the order, noticing that a small piece of flesh on the right shoulder of the person on the bed had begun to rot, as if a piece of flesh had been cut off with a knife.

Ah Xiang and Xiao Ying nodded and went out to get scissors and strong liquor.

Seeing that Xiaoying had left, Yun Duoduo quickly took out anesthetic from the medicine box and gave the person on the bed an injection.

[Once she's under anesthesia, the surgery can be done more quickly, and she won't feel any pain.]

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