Those years when I was Cannon fodder

Scared? Chilled by the Wind?

No, reaching the front yard seemed impossible.

Chu Yu was acutely aware of her weakness in that moment.

She struggled to focus her gaze on Qingyu.

Although this maid might be Third Madam's confidante, among the two people present in Qinglan Courtyard, Qingyu was the more reliable one.

She was more likely to fetch a doctor for her.

Chu Yu called out to Qingyu, using her voice to grab her attention.

After three attempts, Qingyu, puzzled, emerged from the kitchen and immediately spotted Chu Yu lying on the ground. She was startled and hurried over.

"Third Miss, what happened to you?"

"Qingyu," Chu Yu grasped her hand, as if holding onto a lifeline, "I..."

Before she could utter the word "poisoned," a sudden thought struck her. Did anyone know about her ability to accurately identify medicinal herbs from their remnants? Did anyone know that she could taste a drop of medicine and accurately discern the known herbs and estimate the effects of the remaining ones?

"I'm sick. My head hurts, and I feel dizzy..."

Chu Yu tightly clung to Qingyu, her voice laboring to squeeze out each word.

Qingyu reached out with her other hand and touched Chu Yu's forehead, exclaiming, "Third Miss, you have a fever again. Let me carry you back to your room, and then I'll fetch the doctor."

She lifted Chu Yu off the ground and swiftly carried her back to the room she had struggled to crawl out of, without looking back, hurriedly running out.

Chu Yu heard her calling out, "Madam, wake up quickly. Third Miss has a fever again..."

The entire process flowed smoothly, as if it had been repeated countless times before.

"Don't..."

Chu Yu extended her hand, managing to utter the last word, wanting to tell Qingyu not to alarm Third Madam and instead call her father first.

At that moment, she instinctively believed in her father, who had not been there during her upbringing, rather than Third Madam, who had raised her all the way.

Perhaps there was no other choice.

If even her father had hidden motives, she didn't know who she could rely on anymore.

Unfortunately, the intense pain had already robbed her of her last bit of reason.

Before losing consciousness, she heard Third Madam's voice,

"I'm coming..."

No, please don't come.

When Chu Yu regained consciousness, she heard a gentle yet elderly voice, one she had never heard before.

Instantly, a thought struck her—this person might be Doctor Xu.

She needed to stay alert.

Chu Yu reminded herself.

She struggled with all her might.

The elderly voice, not far away, seemed distant, and she could only faintly catch a few words.

"...scared... caught a cold..."

Chu Yu desperately shouted in her heart. She wasn't scared, and she hadn't caught a cold—she had been poisoned!

Unfortunately, this cry was destined to go unheard.

Her heart brimmed with frustration.

This was her only opportunity, and she happened to encounter Doctor Xu.

She didn't understand why the poison in her body hadn't been detected, but she firmly believed that there were some distinct characteristics in her body that differed from those of a non-poisoned person.

Struggling relentlessly, she felt a surge of energy bolstering her chest.

Finally, she opened her eyes and beheld a kind face, approximately fifty or sixty years old.

He had gray hair and a beard, with very few wrinkles on his face, perfectly fitting her mental image of an old Chinese doctor.

Seeing her awaken, the old man smiled and

said,

"Third Miss, you're awake."

Chu Yu strained to extend her hand, wanting the other person to see the bright purple hue on her nails. However, when she looked at her own nails, they appeared perfectly normal, a healthy flesh tone.

This sudden change left Chu Yu stunned.

"I understand."

Misinterpreting her intention, the old man said, "Third Miss, would you like me to check your pulse?"

As he spoke, he felt her pulse.

Chu Yu stared at him intently, not missing any of his expressions.

Could all her previous speculations have been wrong?

Had Doctor Xu truly been bribed by someone?

Or was his reputation fabricated, and his medical skills not as remarkable as rumored?

"Well..."

After pondering for a moment, he said, "Third Miss, you were frightened last night, and you were anxious and restless... You also slept in the cold wind all night, which caused the fever to persist."

Mid-explanation, he employed numerous terms from traditional Chinese medicine, but it seemed he suddenly realized that the patient was merely a five-year-old girl who wouldn't understand them. So, he summarized it in simpler language.

Yet Chu Yu's heart sank.

The traditional Chinese medicine in this world seemed to bear similarities to her previous life. She comprehended what the old man was saying.

The terms he employed in traditional Chinese medicine demonstrated logical soundness, with reasonable deductions based on causes and pathologies. She couldn't find any loopholes. If she weren't experiencing the situation herself, relying on her understanding of Chinese medicine, she would never doubt the accuracy of this diagnosis.

Doctor Xu's medical skills were indeed impressive.

But the problem grew even more significant.

"I administered acupuncture to you, and now the fever has subsided. You should continue taking the medicine, but I heard that you dislike the odor of medicinal liquid, so you can continue with pills. However, your body is much stronger now compared to when you were three years old, so I have adjusted the dosage of the medicine accordingly, aiming for a swifter recovery."

Chu Yu extended her other hand and touched her forehead. The high fever had indeed abated.

When she had just opened her eyes, she had experienced excruciating headaches, but now they were gone.

At this moment, apart from feeling slightly sticky due to perspiration, she had no discomfort.

Observing the sky outside, it was just past noon. She had alerted Qingyu in the morning to summon the doctor, and then Doctor Xu had arrived at the city lord's residence. It had taken only a few hours for him to employ acupuncture and cure the so-called wind-cold illness.

From this perspective, he genuinely possessed extraordinary medical skills, achieving incredibly swift results.

Chu Yu remained unconvinced and stated, "Earlier, I had a severe headache and dizziness, and my nails were vivid purple..."

She mentioned a few prominent and observable symptoms.

The old man looked at her with surprise and offered a faint smile. "Third Miss, your keen observations are quite impressive. It appears that Third Madam wasn't mistaken when she mentioned your interest in studying medicine wasn't a mere passing fancy."

"Is Third Madam testing me? The symptoms you described don't resemble those of a wind-cold; rather, they indicate poisoning. However, when I examined you upon my arrival, I found no signs of these symptoms in your body."

None?

Chu Yu locked her gaze onto him, carefully noting every subtle expression. "Doctor Xu, when did you arrive?"

The old man seemed to find her inquisitive nature amusing and didn't shy away from her penetrating stare. He responded honestly, "Approximately one shichen ago."

One "shichen," is equivalent to two hours