Chapter 11 - Consort

Ye Huaran suddenly fainted.

Xie Yubai's face sank, and he coldly ordered his subordinate, He Buxian, to go to the hotel and invite Doctor Roberts, who had treated him and Ye Huaran last night, to come again. He then carried the unconscious Ye Huaran and strode into the room.

They say heroes have always struggled with beauty.

He Buxian stared at the corner of Ye Huaran's clothes so intensely that he could have bored a hole through them.

Women were truly troublesome creatures!

He Buxian went out to fetch the doctor. Passing by Níngxiāng and Bìyuān, he also gave them a fierce glare. Usually timid Bìyuān surprisingly glared back fiercely this time.

It seemed that even rabbits would bite when desperate. He Buxian's departure left a gust of wind in its wake.

The people around Xie Yubai were no good either!

Ye Huaran didn't know when she started running a high fever. Her forehead was burning hot, occasionally emitting a few low coughs, and her face was unusually flushed.

The back of Bìyuān's hand touched Ye Huaran's forehead, but she recoiled in alarm from the heat, wanting to say something to Níngxiāng, but inhibited by the presence of Xie Yubai, she remained silent, biting her lip. She busied herself with the hot water brought by the hotel staff and used a warm towel to cool Ye Huaran's forehead.

Níngxiāng guessed what Bìyuān wanted to say.

The young lady's health had never been good since she was young. Every time she ran a fever, it would be severe, requiring meticulous care throughout the night. It was best to remove the outer clothes from the young lady now, wipe her body with alcohol to cool various parts, and then change into inner clothes. This method of reducing fever was taught by their Western teacher and was especially effective for the young lady.

But now, with Xie Yubai in the room, many things were naturally inconvenient.

Fortunately, the man didn't stop Bìyuān from taking care of the young lady.

Níngxiāng had been kicked by Xie Yubai and her chest was still hurting badly. It was difficult to walk, but she forced herself not to fall down, only watching Bìyuān busying herself without being able to help.

The room was silent, with only the sound of water splashing when Bìyuān wrung the towel from her face.

Hearing hurried footsteps, the three people in the room looked up.

Behind He Buxian, followed by a young doctor holding a white medicine box, was a young doctor who looked overly young. They walked into the room together.

Níngxiāng's heart skipped a beat.

What's going on?

Where's Doctor Roberts, who was obviously good at medicine last night? Why was this young doctor brought here?

Could it be...

After the news of the scandalous elopement between the young lady and someone else was exposed by the major newspapers, Xie Yubai felt deeply embarrassed and didn't want to let it go easily? He pretended to hire a famous doctor for the young lady, but actually intended to let her fend for herself, or even worse...

Was this young doctor already bribed by Xie Yubai to create a medical accident and put the young lady in mortal danger?

"Dong—" With a clatter, her hand trembled, and the terrifying scene she had imagined scared Bìyuān so much that the towel fell into the basin, splashing water everywhere.

Xie Yubai stood to the side, and many water droplets splashed onto his face.

Bìyuān turned pale.

Unexpectedly, the man only gave her a fierce glance and didn't seem to want to delve deeper.

Xie Yubai's gaze passed over Bìyuān and landed on the young doctor who came in with He Buxian.

Bìyuān quickly picked up the towel from the water, wrung it dry, and pressed it against Ye Huaran's forehead.

Her back was already soaked.

"Master, Doctor Luobosi was sent to the countryside to treat a local wealthy merchant early this morning and won't be back for several days. So, I had to bring this young man surnamed Zhong. According to the other doctors in the hospital, this person is Doctor Luobosi's favorite disciple. There's an old saying, 'A good teacher produces a good student.' Doctor Luobosi's medical skills are good, so this young man's medical skills should be good too. Master, what do you think..."

Before Xie Yubai could speak, He Buxian briefly explained why an older doctor was not brought and why a young one was brought instead.

Zhong Yulin listened, and his blood pressure soared with anger, especially when He Buxian didn't say anything at the end, which made him want to grab the gun from this guy's waist and shoot him in the head directly!

He had been on duty at the hospital today. This bruiser had rudely barged in, saying he wanted to see the doctor. Hearing that he was Professor Roberts's student, he immediately dragged him out of the hospital without any explanation, threw him on a horse, and brought him here. And now he dared to question his medical skills!

It's unbearable! Who could endure it? Zhong Yulin's face darkened, and just as he was about to explode, the man sitting by the bed, who hadn't said a word since he arrived, spoke heavily, "My subordinate acted recklessly. If there is any offense, I apologize to Doctor Zhong on behalf of the Wuxia family."

Zhong Yulin glanced in surprise at Xie Yubai.

Meeting Zhong Yulin's gaze, Xie Yubai nodded slightly. "Doctor Zhong, please."

Xie Yubai took a step back to make it convenient for the latter to diagnose.

Since embarking on the path of medicine, Zhong Yulin had suffered too much misunderstanding, slander, and even violent treatment from the public who knew nothing about Western medicine.

These people, whether due to the Chinese people's inherent mistrust and misunderstanding of Western medicine or because of his overly young appearance, would ask to change to a Chinese medicine doctor, or even demand a doctor who was older.

All these experiences were not unique to him, and tens of thousands of Western medical workers like him had experienced difficulties and discrimination during their medical practice.

In Zhong Yulin's short medical career, apart from the ambassadors from various countries stationed at the Great Yan's embassies, who had been exposed to Western medicine in their countries and could accept his treatment with confidence, this was the first time that his compatriots, without any persuasion, had accepted his diagnosis for their loved ones.

Suppressing the complex and difficult-to-explain emotions surging in his heart, Zhong Yulin approached and examined Ye Huaran.

As Zhong Yulin bent over to listen to Ye Huaran's heart with the stethoscope, Xie Yubai's gaze turned slightly darker, and he quietly folded his hands behind his back, clenching them tightly.

Obviously, when the maidservants were ill before, and the Western doctor brought in followed the same steps and procedures, Xie Yubai had never felt anything wrong. But now, when it came to Aisin Gioro Dongzhu, he found it... unbearable!

Zhong Yulin was just focusing on examining Ye Huaran's body when he suddenly said, "..."

Was it his imagination?

Why did he always feel a chill on his neck?

Perhaps it was just the wind blowing in from the corridor.

A few minutes later, Zhong Yulin removed the stethoscope from his neck.

Both Bìyuān and Níngxiāng looked at Zhong Yulin anxiously, but they didn't dare to ask questions in the presence of Xie Yubai.

Suppressing the anger surging in his chest, Xie Yubai spoke, "Doctor Zhong, how is Consort's condition?"

Years later, when Doctor Zhong had been on Xie Yubai's boat for many years and attended an event, a reporter asked Doctor Zhong to briefly evaluate Xie Yubai's character. Doctor Zhong only replied with four words: "Looks like a human."

(End of Chapter)