Chapter 4 - The First Patient Goes Awry

"Are you really okay?" Ziling asked with a gentle smile.

Her voice was so soothing that it could create ripples in the water. There was no denying that this maidservant was extremely timid, trembling hands and a voice on the verge of shattering. If Ziling wasn't even gentler, she could have easily frightened the maidservant into tears right then and there.

But even with such gentleness, the maidservant could still detect an impatient expression on Ziling's face that seemed to say, "You're ruining my good mood by barging in." With a blush on her face, the maidservant turned pale, shivered involuntarily, and quickly said, "The young mistress hasn't eaten anything all day. The food on the table has gone cold. The servant came to ask if she wants something warm?"

Just as well she mentioned it, because Ziling was indeed hungry. She replied, "Send it in after fifteen minutes. You may leave now."

The maidservant felt as if she had received a pardon and curtsied, hastily turning around to leave.

As soon as the maidservant left, Ziling closed the door behind her, sliding the bolt into place.

When she returned to the bedside, the young master of the Zhenguo Residence had already been pierced with seven or eight silver needles. Seeing this, the maidservant's face turned ashen, regret filling her heart. If she had known that the young lady wanted silver needles to be used on the young master, she wouldn't have bought them for her. The young master was already unconscious, so how could the young lady be so heartless? Even though they were bandits, they still had to be gentle bandits.

The maidservant rolled up her sleeves and said, "Young lady, if you need to use needles, you can use them on this servant. This servant has tough skin and can endure the pain."

Ziling ignored her and simply said, "Don't speak."

The maidservant covered her mouth and dared not utter another word.

After inserting all eighteen silver needles, Ziling also pricked Gu Yunfeng's fingertip, collecting the dark blood that dripped into a teacup.

After nearly half a teacup was filled, Ziling put away the silver needles. When the final needle was removed, a muffled groan escaped the man's lips, resounding clearly in the quiet room.

The man's eyes twitched a few times, and the maidservant exclaimed with joy, "Young lady, is the young master waking up?"

"He won't wake up until tomorrow morning, at the very least," Ziling replied, pouring a basin of cold water over her words. The smile on the maidservant's face froze.

With Ziling's medical skills, it would be no problem to wake Gu Yunfeng up. However, after a tiring day, she just wanted to lie down and sleep peacefully without having to deal with someone who would inevitably despise her. It was better to just sleep quietly and do as she pleased.

After collecting the silver needles, Ziling took out a piece of paper she carried with her and pressed Gu Yunfeng's still bleeding hand onto it.

The fingerprints were clearly visible, and a pleased smile curved on Ziling's lips.

Curious, the maidservant leaned closer and glanced at it, her almond-shaped eyes widening. Two large characters came into view: Divorce letter.

She had thought the young lady had secretly prepared something else, but it turned out to be a divorce letter. The maidservant splashed the cold water back

She thought the girl had prepared something secretly, but it turned out to be a divorce letter. Qianqian splashed cold water on it and said, "Miss, just pressing a handprint on the divorce letter is not enough."

Ziling fell silent and said, "You're right, we should also have the imprint of the rooster's claw."

Qianqian remained silent.

What she wanted to say was that the divorce letter had to be personally written by the master for it to be valid.

Just as she was about to speak, Ziling instructed, "Go and fetch that rooster for me."

Since Master Gu was unconscious, the Duke's Mansion considered the rooster to be a substitute for him in the wedding ceremony, so it was acceptable for the rooster to divorce her on his behalf.

Qianqian knew that Ziling was intentionally provoking the Duke's Mansion, and she also felt that they were going too far. If they could play the role of the first day of the month, then naturally the girl could play the fifteenth day, and she would be an accomplice.

Qianqian stepped out and quickly returned.

Empty-handed.

Ziling asked, "Where's the rooster?"

"... It's stewing in the pot."

Ziling's mouth twitched.

Qianqian continued, "The kitchen told me not to worry, it'll be stewed and delivered shortly."

While they were talking, a maid knocked on the door from outside. "Madam, the food is ready."

"Come in."

The maidservants entered one after another, and as they entered the room, a fragrance of food filled the air, making one's stomach grumble with hunger.

Exquisite dishes were arranged on jade plates, a mix of land and sea delicacies, fragrant and tempting.

Ziling sat at the table and pulled out a chicken claw from the braised chicken. The golden claws were now curled up.

"So cruel."

Ziling sighed, and Qianqian agreed deeply. However, before she could nod, her mistress had already started gnawing on the chicken claw. Seeing her dumbfounded, the mistress mumbled with a mouthful, "What are you staring blankly at? Sit down and eat together."

Qianqian sat at the table in a daze, and the mistress and servant swept through the food on the table in no time.

When the maidservants entered the room to clean up, looking at the few remaining dishes on the table, Qianqian's mouth twitched. The young madam had quite the appetite.

The maidservants were efficient, and Ziling rubbed her stuffed belly, looking at the bed with some hesitation. How should she sleep tonight?

Ziling decided to sleep on the floor, just get through tonight. When Gu Yunfeng woke up tomorrow, he would definitely not want to share a room with her, and then the whole room would be hers.

Ziling had thought it through, but Qianqian searched around the room and couldn't find any blankets. She looked at Ziling with a helpless expression and said, "Miss, should I go find someone to get them?"

"Go ahead, just tell them I get cold at night."

Qianqian turned around three times before walking away.

Coming back empty-handed once again, blushing, she said, "They said Young Master can't tolerate heat, so it's warmer for two people to sleep together with one blanket."

Can't tolerate heat?

Since it was said so, she could comfortably occupy the entire bed with the blanket.

Ziling took off her wedding clothes, slept on the inner side of the bed, and habitually wrapped herself up in the blanket, yawning, "I'm tired from the day, let's sleep."

Looking at a certain young master who was only wearing undergarments, Qianqian was once again dumbfounded, "Where is Young Master?"

Ziling looked at the sleeping face of Gu Yunfeng, he wasn't sleeping soundly. She actually sympathized with him, not just because he had bad luck, but because everyone in the Duke Zhen's Manor knew that "she" had feelings for him, yet they dared to put them in the same room, not to mention the pulse...

Suddenly, Ziling felt a bit of empathy and gave up some of the blanket to cover him.

Qianqian covered her mouth and laughed, she knew that the girl's heart wasn't as hard as her words.

After a tiring day, she was indeed exhausted, and Ziling didn't have the habit of letting down the curtain and sleeping, so Qianqian yawned and left.

But as soon as she closed the door with her front foot, Ziling turned over and took away half of the blanket with her back foot.

The night was slightly cool.

Inside the room, a pair of dragon and phoenix candles burned quietly, occasionally making a flickering sound.

Ziling slept soundly. On one hand, she was truly tired, and on the other hand, she was confident in her medical skills. If she said Gu Yunfeng would wake up tomorrow morning, he wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night.

However, Ziling hadn't considered that this was ancient times, and the first patient she treated after transmigrating, something went wrong.

The dragon and phoenix candles burned for most of the night. As the wind blew into the room, it brought a slight chill. Gu Yunfeng was indeed afraid of heat, but that didn't mean he wasn't afraid of cold. He tugged the blanket twice, but couldn't pull it. His eyebrows furrowed, and he pulled harder.

The blanket was pulled over, but along with the blanket came Ziling, who wriggled into his embrace and found the most comfortable position to sleep.

The feeling of an arm pressed against his chest was unfamiliar, as well as the faint scent of a daughter and the murmured words, all telling him that there was someone in his bed, and she was a woman.

A jolt of shock coursed through Gu Yunfeng as his eyes snapped open, only to be harshly pierced by the bright red bridal canopy before him.

Dazzling red. Blinding red.

It was his room, yet it didn't feel like his room.

Was he dreaming?

And dreaming about a woman, no less?

Gu Yunfeng glanced into his embrace, and a familiar face came into view, flooding his mind like a tidal wave of memories of being publicly robbed.

Disgust and disbelief flickered in Gu Yunfeng's bewitching eyes.

He had dreamt of sharing a bed and pillow with a female bandit!

Had he gone mad?

Without further thought, Gu Yunfeng swiftly lifted Ziling off him.

Poor Ziling, who had been sound asleep, suddenly banged her head on the bed board, causing her to cry out in pain.