The next day, all corners of the Jing'an Marquis House converged on Fifth Young Master's courtyard.
One group after another arrived, crowding around the just-awakened boy until he was nearly exasperated.
Already in a rebellious phase, Fifth Young Master hated these attentions. Seeing everyone fawn over him, he wished he could dig a hole and bury himself.
Even the Grand Madam, aided by Zheng Yutan, had come in person.
"Not a single fever last night, Grand Madam!" Concubine Zhou beamed, turning to the Grand Madam. "Miss Qian truly has been guided by a master—her medical skills are divine."
The Grand Madam's expression darkened.
Concubine Zhou knew the Grand Madam disliked Zheng Qian, but the girl had saved her grandson's life; a few words of praise, even at the risk of offending the Grand Madam, were worth it.
"That's excellent," Second Miss Zheng Yutan chimed in with a smile, continuing Zhou's praise. "Fifth Young Master is blessed indeed. Heaven has seen the Marquis' kindness and loyalty and cannot bear to take away his beloved son. Congratulations, Father Marquis."
Marquis Jing'an had arrived early and was pleased to see Zheng Run had slept through the night without fever. His injured foot was slightly swollen but otherwise stable.
He wasn't fond of Zheng Qian and hated to admit it was her doing, but he still considered rewarding her in some way.
Now, with Zheng Yutan speaking such words, the reasoning seemed sound.
Zheng Qian had merely gotten lucky—her strange tools and concoctions couldn't possibly have saved him. It was just fate, showing mercy for the Marquis' loyal character.
Jing'an nodded and glanced appreciatively at his daughter, Zheng Yutan, thinking no one understood his heart better than her.
"Yutan is right," the Grand Madam agreed. "Let's not talk about Miss Qian. Fifth Young Master is strong and resilient."
Zheng Yutan exhaled slightly.
Zheng Qian's "magic arts" were useless—her father and grandmother would never hold her in high regard. At least now, with a few words, Zheng Yutan had wiped away all credit Zheng Qian had received yesterday, and she felt a little relieved compared to her heavy thoughts the night before.
"Wicked woman!" Suddenly, the usually quiet Zheng Run, who had been sipping porridge, snapped. Half-full of porridge in hand, he flung it at Zheng Yutan.
He was impatient with the adults' chatter, and to make matters worse, his Second Sister had twisted the truth to say such heartless words.
What enraged him further was that both his grandmother and father seemed to believe her.
Zheng Run knew his life had been saved by his elder sister.
She smiled at everyone, always flattering and polite—like a wagging dog—and he didn't particularly like her. But compared to Second Sister, she harbored no malice.
Second Sister, however, was darkness through and through. And yet Father Marquis and Grand Madam fell for her act.
Neither Zheng Yutan nor the others anticipated the boy's sudden action, nor did they dodge. The porridge bowl struck Zheng Yutan squarely, hot porridge splashing over her face.
Luckily, it didn't break her head—only her face was burned red.
Though the porridge was edible, the heat was enough to flush her skin. Her lips quivered, and tears came, choking her as she called for her father: "Father Marquis…"
Jing'an's anger erupted. He stepped forward and slapped Zheng Run sharply.
Concubine Zhou rushed to stop him: "Marquis, please restrain yourself! Fifth Young Master's wound isn't fully healed!"
"Such… such unfilial, contentious creatures—what good is saving him if they behave this way?" Jing'an bellowed, stammering in rage.
Grand Madam, though she cherished her granddaughter, cherished her grandson more.
"Enough, enough! What is all this fuss? Early morning happiness, and you turn it into chaos!"
Amid the commotion, everyone eventually dispersed.
Word of the incident spread quickly.
The maids, ever eager to gossip, whispered behind their masters' backs:
"Second Miss tried to erase Miss Qian's credit before the Grand Madam and Marquis. Fifth Young Master was so angry, he splashed her face with hot porridge!"
"Our Fifth Young Master, he sees through it all."
"Second Miss is clever and kind… how could she twist the truth? It must be the Fifth Young Master's mischievousness and poor upbringing."
Opinions varied.
Zheng Qian heard about it later.
Her maids laughed until they were breathless. Hearing Second Miss get scolded and labeled a "poisonous woman" delighted them.
"Miss Qian, your medicine really works," Cai Yuan whispered.
Zheng Qian smiled.
By noon, she went to check on Zheng Run again.
As instructed, he stayed in bed, obediently lying down.
When Zheng Qian entered, he was playing with a small bow, arrow drawn, aiming at her.
"If you shoot me dead, there'll be no one to treat your illness," she teased.
Fifth Young Master rolled his eyes and lowered the bow.
"What are you here for?" he asked.
"Follow-up check," Zheng Qian replied.
"I don't understand," he said with a teasingly grumpy tone. "You want to do something to my foot again? Go ahead."
Zheng Qian instead grabbed his arm and administered an anti-inflammatory injection at the top of his arm.
Two doses would stabilize his wound; the rest was slow recuperation.
He watched the syringe the whole time. When she withdrew it, he tried to grab it—but Zheng Qian, anticipating his move, flicked her wrist, transferring the syringe from her right hand to her left, and stored it back into her small box.
"How… how did you do that?" Fifth Young Master was shocked.
He had trained in martial arts for years, confident he could easily handle his elder sister—but this time, he failed.
"Guess," Zheng Qian smiled.
Then she asked, "Why did you splash your Second Sister with porridge this morning?"
The boy immediately put away his curiosity, donning a grumpy expression: "She annoyed me."
"Annoyed you, so you splashed her?" Zheng Qian chuckled. "That handprint on your face? Serves you right."
He touched his cheek, snorted: "She badmouthed you."
"You defended me? Oh my, such a good boy. Want some candy as a reward?"
"You… don't treat me like a child!" he blushed, feeling teased.
Zheng Qian produced a candy, popped it into his mouth, and gently patted his face: "Good little brother, this is a reward from your elder sister."
Fifth Young Master's eyes lit up.
Curse it… this candy tastes unlike anything he'd ever eaten—delicious!
Pfft, he didn't care, not a child anymore.
Yet inside, his emotions raged. His eyes, however, sparkled from the peanut-chocolate treat—truly exquisite, unlike anything he'd tasted.
Zheng Qian watched him, finding her fifth brother utterly amusing—a pretentious little show-off, yet hilariously clumsy at it.
Among a family of cunning, only he was honest, straightforward, and a little dramatic. Zheng Qian liked him immensely.
No praise from Marquis Jing'an or Grand Madam? No matter.
A doctor's role was to save lives.