Tuoba Yan was immediately speechless.
He had seen with his own eyes how Ah Jiu had cured Madam Qian.
It seemed Ah Jiu was doing this for that man, Yun Hao.
He lowered his gaze slightly, "If I were in danger, would you care about me this much?"
Ah Jiu paused, "Of course, I absolutely would."
Ah Jiu felt a strange emotion in his gaze, something she had never seen before and couldn't understand.
"Really? Actually, I... I don't need you to protect me, I just hope to always be the one protecting..."
"Report, Lord Wang has ordered the release. Miss Meng, you should depart now."
Someone reported.
Tuoba Yan felt a touch of melancholy, "You!"
"I don't believe it. I need to see Yun Hao himself, to hear it from his own mouth," Ah Jiu was now too shaken by this ordeal to trust the officials.
"Jiu'er, I'll go see for you. Don't worry."
Tuoba Yan regained his senses, his eyes alight with purpose. He turned his horse around and said,
"To the yamen."
Behind him, the grand procession of patrol officers and soldiers followed in succession.
"Miss Jiu, please. I am merely acting according to my duty. So many people have died in Nanzhou County, and the higher-ups, the Prince, are pressuring us. The Prefect is powerless."
Although she had entered the carriage, Ah Jiu sat there, refusing to let it depart.
"Powerless? Master Liu of Hualan Medical Hall was a master physician, and he died from exhaustion in the end."
Ah Jiu wanted to say more: the people who could come up with good solutions died from exhaustion, while those who couldn't were busy pushing people into the morgue.
"Ah, yes... he did indeed die from exhaustion, but not many people knew about it. May I ask how Miss Meng knew?"
"Liu Cai'er is my sister-in-law, so naturally, I know." Ah Jiu saw no need to hide this relationship anymore.
"Oh, I see. Then, speaking of which, is Meng Nannxing your elder brother?"
Ah Jiu's eyes lit up, "You know my elder brother?"
"I attended his wedding when he married Liu Cai'er," Zhang Mang said truthfully, occasionally glancing into the distance.
"Then, was your medical skill taught by Master Liu?"
Zhang Mang's question made Ah Jiu wary. She had long known about the rule of not teaching women.
Master Liu hadn't even personally taught his own daughter, her sister-in-law, so how could he teach her? "No, it wasn't."
"Oh," Zhang Mang said, as the sound of approaching horses grew louder in the distance.
Ah Jiu quickly lifted the carriage curtain. It was Tuoba Yan. "How is it?"
"Released. This time, it's for real. However, Ah Jiu, I took the liberty of doing something. If Yun Hao is sent home, Lord Wang will arrest him again at any time. Fortunately, I had someone escort him directly to Nanzhou County. Lord Wang Mian thought this was a perfect solution, so he agreed and issued an order: he wouldn't be allowed back to the city until he was cured."
Tuoba Yan watched Ah Jiu intently, fearing that his unauthorized actions had displeased her.
"Mm, you've thought this through very thoroughly this time." It was also a good opportunity for her to treat Yun Hao's internal injuries.
"That's good. My brothers will be here soon."
Tuoba Yan's prediction was accurate. Half an incense stick later, the heavily injured Yun Hao, though dressed in the uniform of a constable, couldn't hide his haggard appearance.
Ah Jiu administered a few needles inside the carriage.
"Brother Yun Hao, I have implicated you."
Yun Hao leaned back in the carriage, his face contorting with pain with each jolt. He managed a wry smile and said,
"It's not your fault. But, Big Brother is curious. If you could have been cured back then, you wouldn't have defied the imperial decree. Is there some hidden reason behind it?"
Ah Jiu knew Yun Hao would ask. Otherwise, his suffering would be in vain, and people might think she, Meng Jiu'er, had set him up.
"I didn't have a treatment plan before. Brother Yun, think about it. If I could have helped my sister-in-law back then, I naturally would have. Later, after returning home, I discovered a method, and that's how I coincidentally encountered Madam Qian. I just tried it."
Ah Jiu spoke the truth, not hiding anything, including the method involving snake venom.
"Snake venom?" Yun Hao's pupils constricted tightly. "King Cobra venom?"