Gu Zhao dashed through the fighting crowd towards the bow of the boat. He kicked a would - be assassin under the chin. With a cracking sound, he actually kicked the assassin's neck bone.
The assassin fell into the water. Another masked man swung a long knife at him. Gu Zhao blocked the long knife with the scabbard of his sword, drew his sword, and stabbed the assassin through. Blood spurted out, soaking Gu Zhao's clothes.
In a short moment, Gu Zhao had killed two people.
Xiong Kun, the captain of the guards, had also dealt with the assassin beside him. He rushed over to guard and asked,
"My lord, are you all right?"
Gu Zhao knelt beside Xie Ze, pressed on the wound on his waist and abdomen, and ordered,
"Leave one alive. Deal with the rest quickly. Find a medical clinic on the shore as soon as possible."
Xie Ze's front half of his clothes was already dyed red with blood. The blood gushed through Gu Zhao's fingers and couldn't be stopped at all.
Gu Zhao thought that this pampered young master Xie Ze would cry out in pain or shout in fear after being so seriously injured.
However, although Xie Ze's face was as pale as paper from the pain and his eyes began to lose focus, he didn't make a sound. He just held Gu Zhao's hand pressing on his abdomen and said in a faint voice,
"Cousin, one li back, there's a medical clinic called the Zhu Family Medical Clinic. I just saw a light on the second floor."
...
Zhu Qingyu had just blown out the lamp and gone to bed when she suddenly heard a loud noise downstairs. Then came a rush of footsteps going upstairs.
Zhang Shen had gone to the salt field recently. These days were also the monthly inventory - taking days of the medical clinic. Zhu Qingyu had been busy taking inventory of the medicine until midnight yesterday, so she didn't go back to the Zhang Family Mansion. She stayed in the second - floor of the Zhu Family Medical Clinic at night.
There were five people living on the first - floor of the medical clinic: an old man in charge of guarding the door and delivering medicine, two older women helping with collecting and making medicine, and two young female apprentices learning medicine.
All five of them were bought by Zhu Qingyu due to various opportunities and were servants of the Zhu Family Medical Clinic. Usually, they helped Zhu Qingyu manage the medical clinic, but Zhu Qingyu basically regarded them as employees.
Hearing the urgent footsteps going upstairs, thinking it was one of the women downstairs with an urgent matter, Zhu Qingyu quickly got up to light the lamp. Just as she lit the lamp, the door burst open. A tall man with blood - stained clothes, a long sword in his hand, and blood on both hands rushed in.
At first glance, Zhu Qingyu thought she had met a bandit. She quickly said,
"The money is in the box. Sir, take it and leave. Please don't hurt anyone. Oh, you are Minister Gu?"
Gu Zhao's hair had grown longer and he was wearing a cap. So Zhu Qingyu didn't recognize him at first sight.
Although Gu Zhao recognized her immediately, he stood in the room with his sword in hand, neither speaking nor moving.
He couldn't speak or move. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but that he really couldn't.
For a moment, reality overlapped with a dream. He was struck like a thunderbolt. His mind went blank, his blood boiled, and his heart was pounding so hard that it almost jumped out of his chest.
Just like in the dream, it was still her. She had her long, silky hair loose, was wearing strange and thin inner clothes, holding a lamp, shining brightly under the lamp, looking at him in confusion.
The inner clothes were a bit shorter. The upper part showed her snow - white arms and smooth neck, and the lower part showed her legs from the knees down, with her slender calves and fair - pink feet fully visible.
Zhu Qingyu recognized Gu Zhao. Seeing him covered in blood, she was even more surprised.
"Minister, why are you here? Are you injured?"
That moment was just a moment. It was reality, not a dream.
Gu Zhao thought there was a doctor living upstairs. Unexpectedly, he had accidentally broken into her boudoir and seen her in her inner clothes. Realizing this great impropriety, he immediately turned his back.
Seeing Gu Zhao silent, Zhu Qingyu guessed that he probably didn't recognize her. She added,
"My lord, we met in the capital."
Gu Zhao, with his back to her, held his still - trembling and unsteady hands. He thought he must be possessed. He replied,
"I know you. This is a medical clinic. Is there a doctor? Someone is injured."
Behind him came the rustling sound of her putting on clothes and her voice,
"I'm the doctor. Please wait a moment."
The doctor in the Zhu Family Medical Clinic was her?
The Doctor Zhu who had diagnosed his grandmother's illness in the capital?
Suddenly, Gu Zhao had an epiphany and understood the connection,
"Are you Doctor Zhu?"
Zhu Qingyu had put on her outer clothes and tied up her hair. She walked past Gu Zhao downstairs and replied,
"Yes, it's me. Where is the patient?"
When Zhu Qingyu saw Xie Ze, he was lying in the first - floor consulting room, as pale as paper and unconscious. Two anxious - looking strong men were clumsily pressing a cloth on the wound on his waist and abdomen, but the blood still couldn't be stopped and had soaked the cloth.
Two strong women squeezed through the room full of armed men. One, a stout woman, was holding a kitchen knife, and the other, a burly woman, was carrying a medicine hoe. They both surrounded Zhu Qingyu, warily looking around.
Two petite young women couldn't squeeze in. One was holding a big stick and looking in at the door.
The stout Nanny Tian immediately complained,
"Doctor Zhu, Uncle Qi has been detained by them! Are you all right?"
The loud noise Zhu Qingyu had heard was because Nanny Tian saw strangers break in at night and detain Uncle Qi, so she kicked over a copper basin to give a warning.
Zhu Qingyu looked at Gu Zhao. Before she could speak, Gu Zhao said first,
"It's an emergency. I've offended you, miss. Xiong Kun, go and release the man and apologize properly."
A strong man in the room replied yes, bowed to Zhu Qingyu and the others, and went out.
Zhu Qingyu nodded reassuringly to the two women and bent down to examine Xie Ze's wound. The wound was wide and deep. Fortunately, it hadn't damaged the lungs and internal organs. The patient had lost a lot of blood and was in a very dangerous situation. He needed to stop the bleeding immediately. So she ordered,
"Nanny Tian, go and get some clean gauze, a lot of it. Nanny Zhao, go and bring some hot water."
She also ordered the two young women at the door,
"Su Mu, go and get the anesthetic and wound medicine. Lin Lan, get my medicine box."
The two women and the two young women each took their orders. They ignored the men in the room and rushed in and out in a grand manner.
Zhu Qingyu looked at Gu Zhao,
"The patient has lost a lot of blood. The wound must be sutured, or the bleeding won't stop. Minister, do you agree that I use a needle?"
At that time, no other doctors used the suture method to treat wounds. Zhu Qingyu had experienced this many times in the past two years. For such an extraordinary method, the patient's family might not accept it. If she didn't make it clear in advance and used the needle on the skin rashly, the family might be shocked and cause trouble.
Gu Zhao didn't seem shocked. He just asked,
"Do you have the confidence to suture the wound?"
There is no such thing as a 100% guarantee in the world. Zhu Qingyu never boasted about her medical skills. She replied conservatively,
"I'm not fully confident, but if I don't suture, he will surely die."
