Xie Manyu ran downstairs crying and bumped right into the family doctor who had just arrived.
The man wore a moon-white long gown and thin gold-rimmed glasses. He was tall with a handsome, elegant face and a sharp jawline, yet the aura he exuded was entirely gentle and accommodating.
"Dr. Gu," Xie Manyu stopped in her tracks, wiping her face in a slight panic.
Gu Qinghuai gave a slight nod.
Pretending not to notice her disheveled state, he asked, "Where is the patient?"
"My... my sister-in-law is on the third floor. I'll take you up."
Remembering the urgent matter at hand, Xie Manyu quickly stifled her sobs. As she led him up to the third floor, her gaze could not help but drift toward the first room on the left. The door was already closed, and her heart pounded with anxiety.
Did this mean her brother had left Bai Liuyue's room?
Or was he still inside?
With the door shut, even.
She was somewhat distracted until she brought Gu Qinghuai to the guest room where Bai Baozhu was resting, finally snapping back to reality.
Bai Baozhu had unexpectedly woken up. She was leaning against the pillows, gazing out the window with a sorrowful look in her eyes.
It was a look of profound sadness.
Xie Manyu caught a glimpse of it and felt her own eyes grow hot and misty again. She wanted to cry alongside her.
"Sister-in-law," she called out softly. "You're awake."
Bai Baozhu finally pulled her gaze back and forced a weak smile to her lips.
"Manyu, you're here."
"Yes. You terrified us when you suddenly fainted just now, so we hurriedly called Dr. Gu over to take a look."
Xie Manyu then pointed to the simply bandaged wound on Bai Baozhu's forehead and said, "Dr. Gu, please take a look. I did some basic first aid, but I'm not sure if I did it right."
Gu Qinghuai stepped forward, carrying his medical kit.
He unwrapped the white gauze to inspect it. The wound on her forehead was red and swollen, clearly the result of a hard knock.
After applying some mercurochrome and re-wrapping it with clean gauze, he deemed it nothing serious.
"It is fine. Just change the dressing on time," Gu Qinghuai said.
Xie Manyu was still uneasy and asked nervously, "Could you check my sister-in-law's pulse as well? Why would she faint so suddenly? Is her body too weak?"
"Dr. Gu, maybe you should prescribe some traditional Chinese medicine."
Gu Qinghuai came from a long line of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, but he had also studied Western medicine abroad for several years as an adult.
He had a stellar reputation in the Northwest region. The only place that could employ him as a mere family doctor was the Northwest Marshal's Mansion.
Seeing her concern, Gu Qinghuai prepared to take her pulse.
However, Bai Baozhu sensitively pulled her hand back and said, "It is inappropriate for men and women to be so close. Let's just leave it."
Xie Manyu looked astonished, as if she no longer recognized her sister-in-law.
She could not help but say:
"But sister-in-law, you used to tell me that in front of a doctor, there's no need to avoid contact between men and women, because everyone is just a patient."
"You even said that those coy, overly modest women were merely shadows of the old era, and told me never to be like them."
"Why are you now..."
Why had she now become the very type of person she used to despise the most?
Bai Baozhu turned her head away unnaturally.
"Manyu, you don't understand. My relationship with your brother is tense right now, and I don't want to deepen any misunderstandings."
Xie Manyu pouted and said instinctively, "But you were tricked by Xu Yanci..." As she spoke, she realized Gu Qinghuai was still in the room and quickly bit her tongue.
Half a year ago, the scandal of Bai Baozhu's elopement had been suppressed.
Very few people knew she had run off with another man.
Most just assumed she had a fight with the Young Marshal and ran back to her maiden home in a fit of pique.
Gu Qinghuai was very tactful. Before leaving the room, he said, "Then I will prescribe some tonics to replenish the Young Marshal's Wife's vital energy."
"Thank you, Dr. Gu," Bai Baozhu said with a grateful expression.
It was not until only the two of them were left in the room that Xie Manyu could not hold back any longer and continued:
"Sister-in-law, you were deceived by Xu Yanci back then."
"Haven't you explained this to my brother?"
Bai Baozhu frowned, her face full of sorrow. "I have, but the Young Marshal doesn't believe me."
"Then I'll go talk to my brother." Xie Manyu hurriedly tried to stand up, but Bai Baozhu grabbed her and said, "Wait."
"What's wrong, sister-in-law?"
"Your brother has a stubborn temper. He responds to persuasion but never to coercion. If you insist on confronting him about this, I'm afraid the Young Marshal will only get angrier."
"Then what should we do? Are we just going to sit back and watch you and my brother separate?"
The mere thought of losing a sister-in-law she got along with so well made Xie Manyu feel as if her world was turning dark.
Remembering the scene she had just witnessed, she grew even more furious.
"Sister-in-law, and then there's that cousin of yours from your hometown. Her status hasn't even been settled yet, and she's already trying to usurp your place!"
Seeing how desperately anxious she was on her behalf, Bai Baozhu could not help but smile gently.
She patted Xie Manyu's back and consoled her:
"Alright now. Xiaoyue was only pushed into this by the elders in our family. She grew up by my second aunt's side, learning nothing but the three obediences and four virtues. She doesn't have any schemes of her own; she's very innocent."
In the past, Xie Manyu might have listened to this.
But now, hearing Bai Baozhu defend her cousin again, she finally snapped.
"Innocent?"
"How is she innocent?!"
"If I hadn't suddenly shown up just now, she would have seduced my brother right into her bed!"
Bai Baozhu looked horrified. "..."
What?
Her dull and foolish cousin, seducing the Young Marshal?
How did those words even fit together? It sounded utterly impossible.
Since the words were already out, Xie Manyu no longer cared whether the truth would break her sister-in-law's heart. She recounted everything that had just happened in vivid detail.
"That's exactly what happened. If I hadn't suddenly appeared, who knows how much longer my brother would have kept his head pressed against her chest!"
"I thought my brother was different from other men, a true gentleman."
"Hmph! Who would have thought that all crows in the world are equally black. He's no exception."
Bai Baozhu was still in a daze.
The scene Xie Manyu had just described was too outrageous, so outrageous that it didn't seem real.
But she also knew that Xie Manyu was fiercely loyal to her and would never lie.
So...
Her traditionally raised cousin had actually done something as brazen as seducing the Young Marshal?
Bai Baozhu took a deep breath, telling herself not to panic.
She possessed an entire lifetime of memories more than anyone else here. Even if Bai Liuyue wasn't as innocent as she seemed, it didn't mean she would lose.
...
Meanwhile, right after Xie Manyu ran off crying.
Xie Chengxiao realized that lingering in his wife's cousin's room was highly inappropriate.
Furthermore, his coat seemed to have caught her scent, a faint, slightly sweet fragrance of lily of the valley that lingered at the tip of his nose.
Feeling somewhat unsettled.
The usually composed Young Marshal Xie left with slightly hurried steps.
From behind him came the young woman's soft, sweet voice.
"Goodbye, brother-in-law."
Bai Liuyue closed the door, the innocent expression on her face gradually fading away.
A captivating smirk curled on her lips.
She turned her ear to the door, listening as the sound of Xie Manyu and another person walking upstairs echoed shortly after.
The footsteps headed toward the innermost guest room on the third floor.
A little while later, another set of footsteps tapped against the floorboards.
Timing it perfectly.
Bai Liuyue pushed her door open with a soft creak just as the footsteps were about to pass her room.
She looked up innocently, her gaze meeting the gentle eyes behind a pair of thin, gold-rimmed glasses.
