Gu Qiurong planted one foot against the wall, grabbed Qingzhi's arm with both hands, and put every ounce of strength she had into pulling her out at last.
Once they were out, Qingzhi looked thoroughly embarrassed, her face flushing crimson as she said, "My lady, I'll eat less from now on. My backside is definitely going to shrink."
Gu Qiurong: "……"
She couldn't help letting out a soft laugh.
Qingzhi was always like this. Back in the prison, during those agonizingly difficult moments, wanting to spare her from sadness, she would always find ways to make her smile.
"Just make the dog hole a bit bigger tomorrow; there's no need to mistreat yourself like this."
She quickened her pace, heading toward Huichuntang Medical Hall in the capital.
Right then, Huichuntang was completely dark, its candles extinguished.
With Gu Qiurong on her back, Qingzhi raised a hand and knocked on the door of Huichuntang, pleading, "Please, Physician, save my mistress……"
Awakened by the noise, the physician of Huichuntang wearily got up and invited them in. "Which part of the young lady's body is feeling unwell?"
The moment she stepped inside Huichuntang, Gu Qiurong straightened up. Raising her eyes to look at the middle-aged man before her, she asked, "You must be…… Physician Chu, Chu Yan?"
Chu Yan was momentarily taken aback. Although he had practiced medicine for many years and enjoyed a certain reputation in the capital, people generally knew only that his surname was Chu, not his full name.
"I am looking for Elder Chu, Chu Jing."
"You're looking for my father?" Chu Yan found the behavior of the frail young woman before him increasingly bizarre. His father's name was known almost throughout Anyuan as the preeminent medical sage of the region.
Yet very few people knew that his name was Chu Jing, let alone that he was right here at Huichuntang in the capital.
Shocked for a brief second, Chu Yan tightened his lips, his gaze turning somewhat solemn. "My father is indisposed and not receiving guests."
"In the prison, Elder Chu once promised me that if I ever had need of him, I should come to Huichuntang to find him. I beg Physician Chu to let me see Elder Chu."
As these words left Gu Qiurong's lips, Chu Yan's expression grew even more astonished. Chu Jing had previously instructed him that if anyone ever claimed to have received such a promise in prison, that person was a benefactor who had saved his life, and must never be treated lightly!
Chu Yan hurriedly stood up and said respectfully, "Please follow me, my lady."
Gu Qiurong followed Chu Yan to the backyard of Huichuntang.
Chu Jing had already retired for the night.
Raising his hand, Chu Yan gave a gentle knock on the door. "Father, the person you wanted to see has arrived."
A rustling sound came from inside, and the door was pulled open from within. Gu Qiurong lifted her eyes and instantly met that pair of aged, weathered eyes.
Her pupils trembled slightly, and her eye rims reddened in an instant.
"Elder Chu……" Unable to hide her choked voice, Gu Qiurong called out softly.
"Miss Qiurong!" With trembling hands, Elder Chu hurried over to guide her inside. "I heard the news of your release from prison earlier today, but my health hasn't been good, and I'm not very mobile……"
"Elder Chu, there is no need for such formalities between us. Since I am out of prison, I naturally had to come and see you."
Chu Jing and Gu Qiurong had been cellmates.
A year ago, Chu Jing had been falsely accused of killing a patient with his treatment and thrown into prison without cause. Given his advanced age, he could barely endure even a few days of harsh torment. It was Gu Qiurong who risked being beaten by the prison guards to plead for him.
At the time, she had vaguely perceived that the elderly man with his white beard possessed an otherworldly, ethereal demeanor quite unlike ordinary mortals.
The guards vented all their remaining fury on Gu Qiurong and left Chu Jing alone thereafter. In less than three days, Chu Jing was rescued from prison by a powerful figure. Before leaving, he told Gu Qiurong that he was a healer, and if she ever needed him after getting out, she should simply come to Huichuntang to find him; he would teach her the skills to make her own way in the world.
"After I got out, I sent people to inquire everywhere, hoping to rescue you from prison, only to learn that the Marquis of Pingding had issued a strict order forbidding anyone from bringing you out early."
As he spoke, Chu Jing unconsciously clenched his jaw. "They say even a fierce tiger will not eat its own cubs. That man's heart is venomous indeed, treating his own daughter with such cruelty. Truly……"
The curse remained unspoken.
Inside, the candle flame flickered softly. Squinting slightly, Chu Jing fixed his sharp, aged gaze on Gu Qiurong's complexion. "Your body is in serious trouble."
Gu Qiurong lowered her eyelashes. Having endured three years of torment in prison, her vitality was undoubtedly severely depleted, but she had no time to worry about that right now.
Gu Qiurong stood up, gathered her skirts, and dropped to her knees on the floor. "Elder Chu, I want to beg you to teach me medicine……"
Hearing these words, Chu Jing became all the more convinced that the overwhelmingly powerful Marquis Estate must have been unimaginably cruel to Gu Qiurong, driving her to come beg him to learn a skill the very moment she stepped out of prison.
"Those beasts at the Marquis Estate! You are of their own bloodline, yet those blind dogs find it insufficient to have sent you to rot in prison for three years?!"
Helping Gu Qiurong to her feet, Chu Jing grew so furious that his chest heaved violently, and a fit of coughing racked his frail frame.
"Elder Chu, please take care of your health."
With a taut face and exceptionally bright dark eyes, Gu Qiurong said, "Elder Chu, ever since I entered that prison, I have had no expectations left for those people. From now on, I want to rely only on myself. But in this world, it is too hard for a woman to make her own way. If I had any other choice, I would never have come to disturb you, Elder Chu……"
"Old man understands your grievances; you don't need to explain." Throughout his life of practicing medicine and saving lives, Chu Jing had encountered injustices as numerous as the hairs on an ox, but this was the first time he had ever witnessed a family as utterly devoid of conscience as the Pingding Marquis Estate.
"Since you wish to learn medicine, I will impart everything I know to you without reservation. However, my lamp is nearly burnt out, and I fear I do not have much time left……"
"Elder Chu……" Chu Jing's words made Gu Qiurong's heart tighten. If not for her ordeal in the imperial prison, Elder Chu's health surely would not have deteriorated to this extent.
"Miss Qiurong, you should take my son as your master. That way, after I am gone, there will still be someone to protect you. If the day ever comes when you can no longer bear that den of wolves and tigers at the Marquis Estate, come back to Huichuntang. Huichuntang will be your home."
Gu Qiurong felt an intense, aching sourness flood her chest.
She and Elder Chu were merely strangers who had crossed paths by chance, yet Elder Chu was willing to go to such lengths for her. Meanwhile, the Marquis Estate—her own flesh and blood—had cast her into prison to suffer endless torment. It was truly the height of irony.
Fortunately…… fate had not treated her too unkindly, allowing her to cross paths with Elder Chu.
"Your body is far too weak. Build your health back up before we talk about learning medicine," Elder Chu said firmly. He took Gu Qiurong's pulse and instructed Chu Yan to prepare herbal medicine for her to take home and decoct.
Being short on funds and unable to pay, Gu Qiurong silently engraved all of this into her heart, determined to repay the kindness in the future.
Without testing her aptitude, Elder Chu had Chu Yan take her on as a disciple, asking for nothing in return except to ensure she had a home to return to when she had nowhere else to turn.
As a daughter of the Marquis Estate, Gu Qiurong was bound by the numerous strictures noble families placed on women, making it difficult for her to leave the estate casually. Elder Chu therefore gave her several medical texts to study on her own first.
By the time she left Huichuntang clasping the medical books to her chest, it was already the hour of the midnight watch.
The night watchman walked the empty streets, striking his bronze gong and calling out the hour.
Two slender, petite figures crept stealthily forward through the deserted street.
They had barely run a few steps when the sound of chaotic footsteps echoed from behind them.
"They ran that way!"
The uniform sound of marching shook the ground. Breath catching in her throat, Gu Qiurong hurriedly dragged Qingzhi into the shelter of a nearby alley.
Moments later, imperial soldiers carrying torches completely surrounded the entire street.
Poking her head out to take a look, Qingzhi turned pale. "My lady, what is happening?"