Chen Jinglun took a panicked step backward, his expression spiraling into chaos.
"Everything I did was correct. It was supposed to be handled this way. Why did it go wrong?"
Yao Lingxuan’s eyes widened in shock. A single thought consumed her mind:
*It’s over! Everything is ruined! My entire plan has fallen apart!*
She glared at Chen Jinglun with intense fury. Wasn't he the grandson of Divine Doctor Chen? Didn't he claim to be certain he could cure Old Madam Shen? How could he drop the ball at such a critical moment?
"Grandmother!"
"Old Madam!"
The onlookers were stunned by the sudden turn of events. Had Old Madam Shen actually died? Those who had been whispering behind Chen Jinglun’s back began to shrink away, terrified of being implicated.
"Didn't you say there was no problem? Didn't you say you could cure her?" Shen Jianian demanded, glaring at Chen Jinglun with rage.
Chen Jinglun shook his head, muttering, "How could this happen? How did it end up like this?"
Shen Jianian shot him a look of pure contempt. What a useless, unreliable man! He had trusted in the reputation of Divine Doctor Chen and believed that Chen Jinglun, branded the "Little Divine Doctor," would be up to the task. He was nothing but a fraud! When it truly mattered, his composure had crumbled faster than anyone else’s.
Shen Jianian looked at the unconscious Liu Congrong, his heart heavy with panic. Suddenly, one name came to mind:
*Su Yan!!*
If Su Yan could cure Old Madam Jiang, he could certainly cure his grandmother. He snapped his head up and spotted Su Yan standing in the garden.
He rushed over to him, his voice laced with desperation. "Mr. Su, you can save my grandmother, can't you?"
"I can," Su Yan replied with a slight nod.
A glimmer of hope returned to Shen Jianian. He bowed his head, pleading, "Mr. Su, please, save my grandmother! If you can cure her, our Shen family will grant you whatever you ask!"
Yao Lingxuan couldn't believe her ears. She never expected Shen Jianian to beg Su Yan for help.
"Fifth Young Master, he’s just colluding with the Jiang family to pull a scam! You can't trust him!" she cried out. "I’ll call Divine Doctor Chen right now and have him come in person. He is the only one who can save Old Madam Shen!"
"Shut your mouth!!" Shen Jianian whipped around and glared at her. Yao Lingxuan recoiled into silence, her resentment toward Su Yan deepening.
Shen Jianian turned back to Su Yan. "Mr. Su, please forgive the earlier slights. I hope you are the bigger man and won't hold them against me. I beg you to save my grandmother. The full weight of the Shen family's network will be at your disposal in the future!"
Yao Lingxuan stared in astonishment. Was this not the very influence she had spent so long trying to secure for herself? She hadn't been able to grasp it, yet the Shen family was offering it to Su Yan? What right did he have?
"I have no interest in the Shen family's network," Su Yan said, shaking his head. To him, their connections were useless.
Shen Jianian grew frantic, assuming this was a rejection. If he didn't even want the Shen family's backing, what could he possibly want? With no time left to weigh his options, Shen Jianian dropped to his knees in front of Su Yan with a loud *thud*.
"Mr. Su, my grandmother is of utmost importance to us. She is not just a respected elder, but our beloved family. Please, save her life. Let her enjoy a few more years of peace, and allow us to fulfill our duty as her descendants!"
The onlookers were stunned. None of them had imagined he would kneel to plead with Su Yan. Hearing his plea, the other members of the Shen family were overcome with grief. Without hesitation, they followed suit, kneeling in a row behind Shen Jianian before Su Yan.
The Shen family was powerful, with a vast number of descendants. Seeing them all kneeling before Su Yan was a massive, surreal spectacle. The others from Yunhai watched with wide, disbelieving eyes. The Shen family was one of the Four Great Families of Yunhai; they were the ones people knelt *to*, not the other way around. Most importantly, the man standing before them was nothing but an ex-convict who had just been released from Longteng Prison!
"Mr. Su, please save our grandmother!" the Shen family members chorused, their heads bowed low.
Yao Lingxuan took two involuntary steps back, refusing to accept the reality before her. The Shen family, whom she had debased herself to curry favor with, were kneeling before Su Yan? They had all gone mad!
"Ms. Yao, don't lose your composure," Wu Li whispered, rushing to her side. "Su Yan only managed to cure Old Madam Jiang because of his conspiracy with that family. It is absolutely impossible for him to save Old Madam Shen!"
Hearing this, Yao Lingxuan slowly calmed down. How could she have forgotten? Su Yan’s supposed talent was built entirely on the Jiang family’s propaganda. He possessed no real skill! Now that the Shen family was begging him, he wouldn't be able to refuse, would he?
"You're right. I was just caught off guard by the scene," Yao Lingxuan said. "How could I forget? He's a loser. He can't possibly cure her illness."
"Exactly," Wu Li agreed quietly. "We have nothing to worry about. We just need to sit back and watch the show. If he kills Old Madam Shen, then it has nothing to do with you, does it?"
Yao Lingxuan paused, a smile spreading across her face. How had she overlooked such an important point? Chen Jinglun had put Old Madam Shen in danger, and if the Shen family pursued the matter, she, as the middleman, would inevitably be dragged down. But now that Su Yan was involved, if anything happened to Old Madam Shen, it would be his fault, not hers.
"You’re very sharp. I'll give you a raise when we get back," Yao Lingxuan said, patting Wu Li on the shoulder. She couldn't wait to see how Su Yan would handle this.
*Try acting tough now! You've backed yourself into a corner, haven't you?*
Su Yan looked at the crowd kneeling before him and shook his head with a faint smile. He had a decent impression of Shen Jianian; when the misunderstanding occurred at the Shen residence, he hadn't jumped in to kick him while he was down like Yao Lingxuan had. At the very least, he wasn't the type of young master who relied on status to bully others. That he would be willing to kneel before a stranger to save his kin showed a sense of devotion that was worth respecting.
He stepped forward, pulled Shen Jianian to his feet, and signaled for the rest of the Shen family to rise. "All of you, stand up. I will treat the Old Madam now."
"Thank you, Mr. Su!" Shen Jianian said, his voice trembling with excitement.
Under the gaze of everyone present, Su Yan walked directly to Liu Congrong’s bedside. Chen Jinglun, having wiped the blood from his face, watched Su Yan accept the Shen family's request and sneered inwardly. He wanted to see exactly how capable Su Yan really was. He refused to believe that an ex-convict who had spent three years in prison could succeed where he had failed.
Su Yan assessed Liu Congrong’s condition, then reached out to press several vital acupuncture points. He picked up the silver needles Chen Jinglun had left behind and inserted them into key locations.
Watching his precise movements, Chen Jinglun stiffened. If he had previously doubted Su Yan's medical skill, the technique he was witnessing now made him realize he could no longer underestimate him.
*This Su Yan... he wasn't just bragging? He actually knows medicine?*