“Young Lady! Our benefactor is gone…”
Xiao Tao gently supported her young mistress, but the usually composed girl seemed to have lost her soul.
Not only was she deaf to Xiao Tao’s words, but she also kept muttering something under her breath.
“Xiao Tao… She—she called me a good girl? Me? But what did I do?”
‘I just lay passively in her arms and let her pull me back from the Gates of Death.’
‘Is this a dream?’
The young girl recalled the sweet scent of the fruit candy in her mouth, mingled with the slight bitterness of the jute liquid.
Her current, easy breathing compared to the life-threatening suffocation from before felt like the difference between heaven and hell.
Even now, it felt somewhat surreal.
Having been ill for many years, she had taken so much medicine, seen so many physicians, and endured so much suffering.
This was the first time she had experienced such a refreshing treatment, both physically and mentally.
“Young Lady, she is our benefactor. We must find her and thank her.”
Xiao Tao was certainly thinking of more than just simple gratitude.
This beautiful lady had the ability to pull her mistress back from the Gates of Death; such a talent definitely could not be let go!
“Shh! What’s the rush? Lean in…”
“Is it not simple for me to find someone? Even if you didn’t say it, I would still look for her. Return to the East Palace and have the Fenglin Guards investigate! Within 3 days, I want all the information on this beautiful sister… no, this female physician!”
***
“You are so amazing, Sister. A condition that left so many doctors helpless, and you cured it in no time.”
Admiration filled Yin Qiu’s eyes as she looked at Shen Yu, stars practically sparkling within them.
Shen Yu’s life-saving technique earlier had been stunning.
Before Yin Qiu could even react, the young girl’s pale face had already begun to regain its color.
“Have you also learned acupuncture, Sister?”
“I only know the basics.”
Shen Yu led Yin Qiu to an inn to find temporary lodging.
Because the entire Capital City was crowded with doctors who had come for the Imperial Examination, Shen Yu only managed to find a single empty room in a relatively secluded inn after a long search.
The doctors coming to participate in the New Imperial Selection were indeed as numerous as the hairs on an ox.
This made Shen Yu curious—how would they screen so many people?
They couldn’t possibly have everyone swarm into the Imperial Palace to treat the Princess at once.
The civil Imperial Examination started its screening from the local counties, climbing up layer by layer until very few people reached the Capital.
The military examinations were much the same, though they were even less well-known compared to the civil ones.
Combined with the possibility of exchanging military achievements for a future, the selection criteria were extremely harsh.
But this medical selection…
With a single imperial decree from the Empress, it was as if a game were being played, and every physician in the world had rushed to the Capital.
How could they possibly cure the Princess’s illness this way?
The current Empress truly was desperate, turning to any doctor she could find…
Today’s events had already given Shen Yu a deep realization.
Nine times out of ten, the doctors in the Capital were merely local quacks from the countryside.
Hearing that studying medicine could allow them to become high-ranking officials like scholars without any restrictions, they had flocked to participate.
But when a real issue arose, like the young girl suffering an asthma attack today, the time they spent being indecisive and hesitant was enough for that critically ill girl to take a trip through the Gates of Death.
Furthermore, the Princess’s stubborn disease was also asthma.
It wasn’t something they could fluke a cure for with some ancestral secret recipe or folk medicine.
That wasn’t called practicing medicine; it was called gambling.
If they won the bet, they would bring honor to their ancestors and start a new branch in the family tree.
If they lost, at most, their heads would roll…
Moreover, when the Empress’s decree for the New Imperial Selection was released, it explicitly stated:
“Those who exert their full effort but are unable to provide a cure shall not be penalized.”
With so many physicians entering the Capital, she couldn’t possibly kill them all.
No matter how violent the Empress’s temper was, she could not do something that would bring shame upon her own face.
“You call that the basics? Your needlework was so fast, precise, and decisive. I doubt even the physicians from the Imperial Academy of Medicine would dare to perform acupuncture like you did.”
“The situation was urgent back then. By the way, are you hungry? Let’s get something to eat first. While we’re out, I’ll buy you a couple of decent outfits, alright?”
“Sister… I—this outfit is very suitable. you spent so many copper plates to buy it for me; there’s no need to buy new ones.”
At the mention of this, Yin Qiu immediately lowered her head obediently.
“You are learning medicine from me. If you aren’t dressed properly, doesn’t that make me lose face as well?”
“That… that is true. But! But I can’t let you spend any more money on me, Sister!”
“Then will you listen to me?”
“I will… I’ll listen to whatever you say, Sister.”
Yin Qiu felt extremely conflicted.
Looking at Shen Yu’s gentle smile, she felt sad that she didn’t have the ability to earn money to support herself and her sister.
“That’s more like it. Let’s go and take a stroll through the streets. Besides, I’m curious about this New Imperial Selection—how exactly are they choosing the candidates?”