The Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord and Jiang Yunshu returned to the palace, taking with them the entourage of attendants and a hundred imperial guards.
The imperial physicians all remained behind, along with a few maidservants and several guards. The maidservants stayed to care for Concubine Qiao, while the guards stationed themselves at the gates of her courtyard.
No one in the Marquis's Mansion dared to meet the cold gleam of the guards' armor. Who would dare lay a finger on Concubine Qiao now?
Only after the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord's carriage had vanished into the distance did Lady Hou dare to support her daughter, tears streaming down her face. "Zhaozhao… did the baby stir? Quickly, fetch a physician!"
The Marquis scolded, "What nonsense! Where would you find a physician now?"
Lady Hou froze. It was true—the imperial physicians were all in the Marquis's Mansion at that moment.
But not in the main courtyard. They were all in Concubine Qiao's quarters…
Who would dare approach Concubine Qiao now to summon a physician for Jiang Zhaohua?
Lady Hou immediately said, "Then send someone to fetch a doctor from the city!"
"Zhaozhao, don’t be afraid… Mother will have someone fetch the finest physician from the best clinic to tend to you!"
Marquess Xiping, seeing Lady Hou's excessive indulgence, frowned and reprimanded her sternly. "Look at the daughter you’ve spoiled! How dare she speak recklessly in front of the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord? Does she want to doom the entire household?"
Jiang Zhaohua had never seen her father so harsh before—he had always been gentle with her. Terrified, her eyes reddened.
Lady Hou pleaded, "Zhaozhao is pregnant and has been beaten so badly… Surely you can reprimand her later, my lord?"
"Zhaozhao, let Mother help you lie down. Does your stomach hurt?"
At first, Jiang Zhaohua hadn’t felt any pain, but once she lay down, the ache grew worse…
"Mother! Mother!" she cried out in fear and agony.
Lady Hou gripped her hand tightly, tears falling uncontrollably. Jiang Zhaohua’s face was swollen on both sides, her eyes nearly shut from the swelling—she had suffered terribly.
All Lady Hou could pray for was that the child in Jiang Zhaohua’s womb would be unharmed.
But the more she feared something, the likelier it became. Jiang Zhaohua’s wails suddenly shifted in tone, her face twisting in horror. "Mother… I’m bleeding!"
"Is my baby lost?"
Lady Hou squeezed her daughter’s hand. "It’s nothing. Many women bleed a little during pregnancy."
"The doctor will be here soon. The child will be fine."
In truth, Lady Hou was terrified too, but she forced herself to appear calm for her daughter’s sake.
The physician from the clinic arrived swiftly.
When he heard the summons was from the Marquis's Mansion, his heart sank. Shouldn’t noble households call for imperial physicians? Why fetch a doctor from the city? Was this for some favored concubine?
Not daring to refuse, the physician gathered his supplies and followed the servant to Marquess Xiping’s residence. To his shock, he learned the patient was not a concubine but the legitimate daughter of the house.
When the maid lifted the curtain, the physician nearly gasped aloud.
How… how had the Marquis's daughter been beaten so severely?
Who would dare strike the daughter of a noble house like this?
The secrets of powerful families were not his to pry into, so he focused solely on treatment. "First, apply ice, then a poultice of white medicine…"
Lady Hou cut him off urgently. "Physician, first tell us how to save the baby!"
Instantly, cold sweat dripped down the physician’s face. The Marquis's daughter, beaten so badly, was also pregnant?
He hurriedly took her pulse, then learned of the bleeding. He prescribed medicine at once, sending an apprentice to prepare it, while he used acupuncture to stabilize Jiang Zhaohua temporarily…
"This isn’t the first time the baby has been at risk, is it?" the physician deduced from her pulse.
Fearing entanglement in noble affairs, he took extra care to distance himself from blame.
"Didn’t you call a physician the last time this happened?"
"Surely the previous physician warned that she must rest and avoid further distress…"
Seeing that he had discerned the prior episode, Lady Hou grew more confident in his skill.
Of course, they had called a physician last time—an imperial physician, no less—who had given the same advice. But how could Jiang Zhaohua avoid distress today?
Lady Hou herself had yet to recover from her poisoning, and her physician had warned her to remain calm, avoiding extreme emotions.
Yet… how could she possibly stay composed under such circumstances?
Her head throbbed with dizziness and pain, but she couldn’t collapse—Zhaozhao needed her mother…
"Physician, will Zhaozhao’s baby be saved?" Lady Hou pressed anxiously.
The physician thought it likely, but he dared not promise. His evasive answer left Lady Hou’s heart in turmoil.
Still, he was skilled enough to preserve the pregnancy.
Yet he emphasized sternly, "Saving it this time was no small feat."
"From now on, she must rest, remain calm, and avoid agitation at all costs."
"If this happens a third time, even a miracle worker couldn’t save it!"
Lady Hou nodded fervently. "There won’t be a third time."
As the physician packed his kit and left the Marquis's Mansion, he mused that the intrigues of noble houses were truly unfathomable…
The Marquis's daughter’s distress today hadn’t been caused by the beating—facial injuries didn’t affect the womb. It was fear and fury that had endangered the child.
The terror she had endured was immense, and her pulse revealed seething anger and resentment…
In over twenty years of practice, he had never felt such a pulse in a young woman.
He could treat the body, not the heart.
If the Marquis's daughter couldn’t heal her own turmoil, he doubted the baby would survive.
Frowning, the physician worried—what if they called him again next time?
If the Marquis's Mansion saw his success today, would they summon him for another crisis?
In the capital, aside from the imperial physicians, he was among the most renowned specialists in women’s ailments. Surely, the Marquis's Mansion had sought him for his reputation.
Fame was a double-edged sword…
After much deliberation, he decided it was safest to leave the capital for a few months. Returning home, he discussed it with his family, and his wife and children agreed at once. His wife began packing immediately, urging him to take refuge at her family’s home two hundred miles away.
