"If you don't want your prince to turn into a fool, hurry up and go!"
Li Jin scolded the guard.
Hearing how serious it was, the guard hurriedly went to find liquor.
Waiting for the guard to leave, Duoduo ran inside.
"Master, what's wrong with my father?"
Li Jin was untying the Prince of Pingyang's clothes, preparing to wipe him with liquor to bring down his fever.
"Princess, the prince has a fever. Leave quickly, lest you catch it."
"No!"
Not only did Duoduo not leave, but she took off her shoes and climbed onto the bed.
"Princess, be good! The prince has caught a cold, and it's contagious!"
Duoduo shook her head. She reached out her small hand and placed it on the Prince of Pingyang's forehead.
"If father is unwell, I won't leave!"
Saying this, Duoduo pressed herself closely against the Prince of Pingyang.
"The liquor is here!"
The guard sprinted in from outside, holding a jar of liquor in his hands.
Li Jin had no time to worry about Duoduo and hurriedly took the jar.
"Get me a handkerchief."
Li Jin reached out to the guard, who was just about to turn around to fetch one.
Duoduo pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and handed it over.
Li Jin poured the liquor into a bowl, then took Duoduo's handkerchief and soaked it.
Li Jin wrung the handkerchief half-dry and wiped the Prince of Pingyang's armpits, inner thighs, palms, and the soles of his feet...
Duoduo also helped lift the Prince of Pingyang's clothes to make it easier for Li Jin.
Busy trying to save the man, Li Jin couldn't bother to stop Duoduo.
After wiping the Prince of Pingyang repeatedly, he stopped.
The room was filled with the strong scent of liquor, so potent it could almost make one drunk.
Duoduo reached out her little hand and touched the Prince of Pingyang's forehead.
"Master, father's fever seems to have broken?"
Duoduo cried out happily.
Li Jin reached out to feel it; his temperature was indeed starting to drop.
He did not relax.
Because he knew that a fever from a cold would keep coming back.
"Go and see why the doctor hasn't arrived yet."
Duoduo blinked.
"Master, does your method not work?"
Li Jin sat on a chair, looking at the Prince of Pingyang with a worried expression.
"My method just now can only provide temporary relief so he doesn't keep burning up."
"If the prince is to be fully cured, we still need a doctor to examine him and prescribe medicine."
Duoduo bit her lip.
"Master, is father very sick?"
Li Jin nodded.
"The prince must have stayed in the water for too long today and then wore wet clothes without changing, which led to him catching a severe chill."
"The prince will have recurring fevers. If my method just now hadn't brought his temperature down, the prince would have..."
Li Jin couldn't continue. A severe chill could be fatal.
It was also his own carelessness today, forgetting to remind the Prince of Pingyang.
Duoduo lowered her eyes, staring intently at the Prince of Pingyang.
Li Jin reached out to pat Duoduo but pulled his hand back.
"Everything will be fine once the doctor arrives! Don't worry!"
At this moment, the guard ran back in.
"Master Li, the road out is blocked. What should we do if we can't get a doctor?"
The guard's voice was filled with anxiety.
Only then did Li Jin remember that the landslide on the mountain had blocked all the roads.
"I know another way. Have someone take that path and detour around."
"No matter what, we must bring a doctor here tonight!"
"The prince's condition is critical. If we can't get a doctor, his life will be in danger!"
Hearing this, the guard instantly panicked.
He had only been temporarily promoted by Ling Yu to manage things, and he never expected to encounter such a massive crisis.
If anything happened to the Prince of Pingyang, he wouldn't survive either.
"Please tell me, Master, which way should we go?"
"Bring me paper and a pen, and I'll show you!"
Li Jin walked over to the table, spread out some rice paper, picked up a brush, and spoke as he drew.
Neither of them noticed that Duoduo had pulled out a set of silver needles from her pocket.
She dried her hands with the handkerchief from earlier.
Then, Duoduo knelt beside the Prince of Pingyang.
She calmed her mind, recalling the acupoints taught by Master Zhang.
Duoduo had only studied acupuncture with the master for half a day.
But before that, Master Zhang had made her memorize the meridian charts for treating various illnesses.
Duoduo had a photographic memory. When Li Jin said the Prince of Pingyang had a severe chill, the treatment meridians instantly appeared in her mind.
Duoduo had no experience in inserting needles.
The only time was when the Prince of Pingyang had insisted she practice on him.
Just now, Duoduo understood that the doctor couldn't come and her father was in grave danger.
In her heart, there was only one conviction.
She had to save her father!
Duoduo pressed her lips tightly together and closed her eyes.
The image of the meridians surfaced in her mind, and every acupoint that needed to be needled automatically began to throb.
Duoduo opened her eyes and quickly picked up the first silver needle.
Inserting a needle, picking up another, inserting a needle, picking up another...
"Have you memorized it? Go quickly!"
With a life at stake, Li Jin shoved the drawing into the guard's hands.
"Yes, I leave the prince in your care, Master!"
The guard bowed to Li Jin and rushed out.
Li Jin turned his head, preparing to check on the Prince of Pingyang's condition.
He walked to the bed and was startled out of his wits when he saw the Prince of Pingyang.
At this moment, the Prince of Pingyang's body was covered in silver needles.
Meanwhile, Duoduo's lips were pursed, her expression unusually serious.
Her forehead was covered in sweat.
However, her small hands gripped the silver needles, inserting them with speed and precision!
Li Jin wanted to stop Duoduo, but he was intimidated by the look on her face.
He was worried that if he made a sound and startled Duoduo, causing her to insert a needle into the wrong spot, it would be disastrous.
Duoduo finally finished inserting the last needle. She raised her small hand and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Only then did Li Jin dare to speak.
"Princess, is this the acupuncture technique Master Zhang taught you?"
Duoduo hesitated for a moment, nodding and then shaking her head.
"The master taught me, but he hasn't taught me how to insert the needles yet."
Li Jin's expression changed.
He walked to the door, looked around, and immediately closed it.
"Princess, quickly remove the silver needles!"
Duoduo shook her head again.
"No, the time isn't up yet. I can't remove them."
Li Jin grew anxious and lowered his voice.
"If you accidentally harm the prince with these needles, we'll be in huge trouble!"
Duoduo inspected the silver needles on the Prince of Pingyang's body.
"Master, are you sure father has a severe chill?"
Li Jin nodded.
"Almost certainly!"
"Then there's no problem. I inserted the needles exactly according to the technique the master taught for treating a severe chill."
"How confident are you?" Li Jin was very worried.
Duoduo tilted her head and thought for a moment.
"Fifty percent."
"What?" Li Jin couldn't help but exclaim.
Duoduo calculated the time, then raised her hand and began to remove the needles.
"It's my first time, so it's only fifty percent. But if I do it a second time, I'll be ninety percent confident."
"What?"
Li Jin felt like he was hallucinating.
It wasn't enough for the Princess to insert the needles once; she wanted to do it a second time?
In the blink of an eye, Duoduo pulled out the silver needles.
She placed the silver needles into a bowl on the side, soaking them in the strong liquor.
"Princess, how about we wait for the doctor to arrive?"
"I just touched the prince's forehead, and he's no longer burning up. Perhaps he's already recovered."
Li Jin tried to stop Duoduo.
"No! I have to do it one more time!"
