8. Whom Does the Miracle Doctor Serve?

Lin Qingsheng, overwhelmed with anger, paid no heed and rushed forward, scolding Lin Yuejiao sharply, “Lin Yuejiao, how shameless you are! Who gave you the audacity to ride in the heir’s carriage? With your lowly status, how dare you share the carriage with the heir! Get down this instant!”

His sudden ferocity startled the coachman, causing the carriage to jolt violently. Lin Yuejiao, who was just about to step down, stumbled and fell.

In a flash, Rong Yu reached out and caught Lin Yuejiao in his arms as she fell from the carriage.

His robes fluttered as he took a few steps to steady himself.

Lin Yuejiao hadn’t even had time to react before she found herself cradled in his embrace.

The scent that met her was uniquely his, reminiscent of fresh grass after a mountain rain.

For the first time, she saw his face up close: his features were sharply defined like a jade carving, his complexion flawless and pale, his thick eyelashes delicate as feathers, and his long, narrow eyes cold yet mesmerizing.

His gaze was usually indifferent, but when he looked at you seriously, it felt as if you were the only one in his world.

An intoxicating illusion that was impossible to resist.

“Thank you, Young Master, for your help,” Lin Yuejiao said, her face stern, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

Rong Yu watched the slight curve of her lips and gently set her down.

Lin Qingliu and Lin Qingsheng both stood frozen in astonishment.

Yuan Wei was startled and anxiously asked, “Miss, you scared me to death. Are you alright?”

Lin Yi, who was preparing to get off the carriage, was equally shaken. “Sister, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry,” Lin Yuejiao reassured them, then turned to Lin Qingsheng, her gaze icy.

Before she could speak, Rong Yu flicked the wide sleeve of his robe, channeling his inner energy. Without even touching Lin Qingsheng, it was as if an invisible force had slapped her hard, sending her crashing to the ground.

“Who I ride with in my carriage does not require your permission, is that understood?” Rong Yu’s expression was as cold as ice; the atmosphere around them seemed to freeze.

Lin Qingsheng, her left cheek swelling high and tears streaming down, whimpered, “Young Master, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Lin Yuejiao is the legitimate fourth young lady of your Lin family, yet you dare call her lowly? Is your family’s education so lacking that you cannot distinguish between legitimacy and common birth?” Rong Yu sneered, his gaze chilling to the bone.

Though early summer, his anger brought a cold so biting that even Lin Yuejiao felt as if winter had come.

Lin Qingliu’s heart leapt in alarm. Lin Qingsheng had acted recklessly. Though she had also wanted to scold Lin Yuejiao, she failed to consider who Rong Yu was and how bold it was to act so brazenly in his presence.

The commotion outside alarmed the Grand Matriarch. The heir’s carriage had stopped at the Lin estate gate—a grand occasion that demanded the main gate be opened in celebration. But as the Grand Matriarch approached the gate, she heard Rong Yu’s harsh reprimand, leaving her heart uneasy.

“Young Master, please calm your anger. If our young ones have done anything improper to offend you, please forgive them,” the Grand Matriarch apologized.

Rong Yu twisted his lips coldly. “Your family scared my horse. She must apologize to it.”

At these words, even Lin Yuejiao glanced sideways.

The Grand Matriarch’s expression stiffened. Lin Qingliu quickly leaned close to whisper the entire sequence of events.

Surprised, the Grand Matriarch looked at Lin Yuejiao, then said to Rong Yu, “Young Master, Qingsheng spoke disrespectfully and should apologize to Yuejiao. Let her apologize to Yuejiao, and I shall have her soundly punished with twenty strokes of the cane as well. What do you think?”

Better to apologize to a person than to an animal, salvaging some dignity.

Rong Yu gave her a sharp glance. “I do not concern myself with your family’s affairs. She frightened my horse; she must apologize to it.”

Tearful, Lin Qingsheng shook her head desperately at the Grand Matriarch. If she apologized to a mere horse, she would become the laughingstock of Xin Prefecture and lose all standing.

“The Young Master has already been lenient by only demanding an apology. In the Great Zhao Dynasty, those who offend the heir’s carriage rarely live to tell the tale. Consider yourselves fortunate,” the coachman sneered, clearly disgruntled by the Lin family’s ingratitude.

Lin Yuejiao’s mood brightened inwardly, secretly delighted.

“I’ll say it one last time: kneel and apologize,” Rong Yu’s tone hardened, a deadly glint flashing in his eyes as Lin Qingsheng remained defiant.

The Grand Matriarch knew all too well that if they did not comply, not only would Lin Qingsheng’s life be in danger but the entire Lin family would suffer. She immediately shouted at Lin Qingsheng, “You wicked girl, do as you are told!”

Terrified by Rong Yu, Lin Qingsheng had hoped the Grand Matriarch would defend her but instead saw the old lady ready to sacrifice her to appease Rong Yu. Trembling, she approached the horse and knelt with a thud, crying, “I’m sorry.”

Her humiliation and fear overwhelmed her completely; she had lost all dignity.

“Hey, what’s going on here? To see Miss Lin kneeling to the Young Master’s horse right upon arrival? What’s all this about? Get up, get up!” Li Moqian arrived and, seeing the scene, clicked his tongue. “You maids, hurry and help your lady up. The Young Master was joking; how could you take it seriously?”

Everyone at the Lin estate wore stiff faces. Joking?

The Grand Matriarch had no choice but to say, “Qingsheng was wrong and deserves to apologize. She offended the Young Master’s carriage, showed disrespect, and bullied her cousin—she is truly incorrigible. Someone, drag Lin Qingsheng away for fifty strokes of the cane!”

“Fifty strokes? Won’t she die?” Qian Yaoxian pleaded anxiously.

The Grand Matriarch snapped, “Such a disaster to the family deserves death. Drag her away immediately. And you, Madam, for failing to educate your adopted daughter, you will be confined for half a month to reflect!”

Qian Yaoxian was unjustly caught in the crossfire.

Lin Yuejiao admired inwardly. Fifty strokes—whether she lived or not, she would be beaten half to death. The Grand Matriarch truly feared offending Rong Yu to be so harsh.

“Mercy! Grandmother, mercy! Mother, save me! Grandmother wants to kill me! Mother, help...” Lin Qingsheng cried as she was dragged away.

Qian Yaoxian was silenced as two maids covered her mouth and pulled her inside.

Only then did the Grand Matriarch breathe a sigh of relief and, turning to Rong Yu and Li Moqian, politely ask, “May I inquire the purpose of the Young Master and Mister Li’s visit to our Lin estate today?”

“Grand Matriarch, no need for formalities. We are here for a medical consultation,” Li Moqian said, pointing to the elderly white-bearded man behind him. “This is the Young Master’s personal physician, the esteemed Master Sai Huatuo, specially come to treat your young master, Lin Yi.”

Lin Yuejiao immediately looked at the white-bearded man. He appeared to be in his seventies or eighties but was vigorous, his eyes bright and piercing—a true sage beyond worldly affairs.

“Medical treatment?” The Grand Matriarch was stunned and glanced at Lin Yuejiao, wondering if this girl had some special talent to garner the Young Master’s aid.

But she quickly recovered and gratefully said, “My grandson has been plagued by congenital ailments since birth. We have sought many famous doctors with little success. Now, with the divine healer Sai Huatuo attending him, there is finally hope. Thank you, Young Master! Thank you, Mister Li! Thank you, Master!”

“Grand Matriarch, no thanks necessary,” Rong Yu returned to his usual aloof tone, devoid of emotion.

Master Sai Huatuo smiled at Lin Yi. “I have spent my life studying difficult and rare illnesses. Come, young one, sit down and let me take your pulse.”

“Divine physician, please come in. Thank you for your help; I am deeply grateful,” Lin Yuejiao said earnestly, treating the old healer with even more warmth than she had shown Rong Yu, which made him slightly envious. He replied coolly, “Sai Huatuo, treatment is free, but the medicine costs are not, understood?”

At this, Li Moqian chuckled quietly.

Lin Yuejiao glanced back at Rong Yu, silently grumbling.

Rong Yu met her gaze unflinchingly.

Lin Yuejiao was flattering the wrong person—not knowing who Sai Huatuo was affiliated with.

The Grand Matriarch kindly invited Rong Yu and Li Moqian to rest a while inside the Lin estate, but Rong Yu, who never gave face, did not even enter the gate. He left with Li Moqian.

“Yuejiao, Lin Yi and the Young Master are strangers to each other. Why would he send a divine healer for Lin Yi’s illness? Is it because of you?” the Grand Matriarch asked.

Lin Yuejiao had already prepared her explanation and bowed respectfully, “Grandmother, I am unworthy of the Young Master’s help. Today, Lin Yi and I went out for a spring outing and happened upon the Young Master. He mentioned my father with some emotion, glanced at Lin Yi, and said he could not allow the descendant of an old friend to perish young. So he had Mister Li fetch the divine healer from his mansion and sent Lin Yi home himself. I was merely an incidental part of this.”

She pinned everything on her father, whose fate was still uncertain. The Grand Matriarch would not question whether Rong Yu truly knew him.

“Your third brother actually knows the Young Master?” The Grand Matriarch was genuinely astonished.

Lin Yuejiao explained, “The Loyal and Righteous Young Master served in the military early on. Father was also a subordinate under the Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness. It’s not surprising they knew each other. Otherwise, the Young Master wouldn’t have sent a divine healer to treat Lin Yi and personally escorted him home.”

The Grand Matriarch pondered and found the explanation plausible. Otherwise, there was no way to make sense of Rong Yu’s actions today. It was unlikely the Young Master had suddenly taken a fancy to Lin Yuejiao.

“That the Young Master can help Lin Yi is truly a blessing. Keep this matter quiet; no one should know how much the Young Master cherishes old ties. Focus on your studies and work harder lately. When the Phoenix Morning Academy holds its talent selection, you may have a chance,” she advised.

Lin Qingliu had witnessed everything and secretly hated Lin Yuejiao deeply. But unlike the foolish Lin Qingsheng, she was cunning and kept a friendly smile. Hearing the Grand Matriarch, she warmly added, “Grandmother speaks truly. I didn’t realize our fourth sister was so formidable. When the Phoenix Morning Academy selects talents, if we sisters are chosen together, it would be a great joy. If you need anything, feel free to ask me.”

“Thank you, Sister Liu,” Lin Yuejiao smiled politely, knowing well that Lin Qingliu’s teeth itched with hatred.

The Phoenix Morning Academy’s talent selection was not about choosing imperial consorts but ranking the finest young ladies of the realm by their talents and beauty.

Much like the imperial civil service exams, it was a path of advancement for noble maidens, though with different criteria.

Being selected into the Phoenix Morning Academy was the opportunity for all noble daughters to rise and become phoenixes.

Lin Qingliu looked at Lin Yuejiao, already harboring murderous intent.

Yun Sheng Water Pavilion.

After the consultation, Master Sai Huatuo reported to Rong Yu, “Lin Yi suffers from a congenital condition present from birth, extremely difficult to resolve. This is the first time in my life I have seen such a case. Treatment will take at least a year or more. Ordinary medicinal herbs are manageable, but five rare and precious ingredients are needed as catalysts, of which even you, Young Master, possess only one.”