Time flowed calmly through Wuzhen, and life at the Sacred Lotus Medicinal Hall settled into a comforting routine.
Rouyuan treated patients with calm precision.
Clinic assistants bustled around her.
Master Su Yuelin guided the interns, occasionally stepping in to treat difficult cases.
Everything was peaceful—
Until the clinic doors burst open.
A man staggered in, drenched in sweat, his face streaked with tears.
"P–please… help me," he cried.
"Th-they said… you give free treatment to people like us…"
His voice cracked.
"My wife… she's about to give birth. She's bleeding so much… she's so weak…"
"I—I couldn't even find a midwife in time…"
Rouyuan immediately stepped forward and caught him before he collapsed.
"Calm down," she said gently.
"Come inside first."
Master Su approached.
"How is your wife?" she asked.
"I don't know… she's bleeding so much… please—help her," he begged.
"Prepare the carriage," Rouyuan ordered. "And bring the emergency kit — everything."
She turned to the interns.
"You, you, you and you — come with us. Quickly."
As they stepped outside—they nearly collided with Murong Yexuan and Bai Yunchen, who had come to discuss about medicinal supplies and Rouyuan's inventions for the military.
Yexuan overheard the man's trembling plea.
Without hesitation— "I'm coming too," he said, voice steady.
Rouyuan blinked, touched.
"Thank you, Your Highness. We may require your assistance later."
Yexuan, Rouyuan, and Master Su shared the first carriage.
Interns rode in the second.
Behind them, Great General Bai Yunchen and the 'Snow Wolf Cavalry Elite' followed closely like wolves on guard.
The Crisis at the Poor Man's Home
They arrived at a small, dim house.
Inside, a woman lay on blood-soaked blankets, barely conscious.
Rouyuan knelt beside her. Her fingers pressed lightly over the swollen abdomen.
The baby's position was wrong.
"…Transverse lie," Rouyuan muttered.
"The baby is sideways — it won't come out naturally."
She placed her ear close using Pinard's Scope she created.
"The heartbeat is faint…"
Master Su tested the mother's pulse. "Her pulse is dangerously weak."
"Why not turn the baby?" a young physician asked.
Rouyuan shook her head.
"It's too dangerous," She replied.
"It could strangle the baby if the cord is wrapped… in the past, I'd scan first."
A soft whisper escaped her lips.
"But here… we can't."
"So what do we do?" another young physician asked nervously.
Rouyuan inhaled deeply.
"We need to cut and open the abdomen," she said.
"We perform surgery."
Gasps filled the room.
"A-abdominal… surgery?!" the young physician stammered.
Master Su, however, only nodded.
"Tell us what you need."
Preparing for a Life-and-Death Operation
Rouyuan listed items rapidly, "Disinfectant alcohol, sterile gauze, herbal painkillers, calming incense, calming herbs, clean cloth for screens, herbal antiseptic patch, sharp knife."
"Please bring a lot of disinfectant alcohol,"
An intern scribbled desperately, then ran toward the clinic with a Snow Wolf guard.
Rouyuan ask for knife from his brother, but before Yunchen could move—
Yexuan unsheathed his dagger and offered it to Rouyuan.
"Use mine," he said softly.
"Please disinfect it, heat it up and give it back to me,"
Bai Yunchen grabbed it and sprinted to the kitchen.
"You, please boiled the water.
The interns boiled water, sterilized surfaces.
After all the items listed just now arrive, Snow Wolf soldiers disinfected the entire room with alcohol until the house was stung with sharp medicinal scent.
Clean clothes were hung up.
Masks and aprons tied.
Yexuan stayed outside with the husband, Bai Yunchen, and the cavalry.
Inside—a battlefield had formed.
The Operation Begins
Rouyuan cut swiftly.
The mother cried once, then fainted.
"Monitor her breathing!" Rouyuan instructed.
Master Su assisted, steady hands working beside her beloved apprentice.
"Baby's head—right there—push gently—" Rouyuan whispered.
They eased the baby out.
The room fell silent.
The infant was still.
"Cut the cord," Rouyuan said sharply.
A trembling young physician did so.
Master Su rubbed the baby's back with warm cloths.
"Come on… cry… cry for us…"
Then—
A tiny wail broke through the tense air.
Relief washed over the room.
Outside, the husband collapsed to his knees in gratitude.
But the battle was not over.
"The placenta," Rouyuan said. "Be careful. Gently—"
As they worked—
The intern monitoring the mother suddenly shouted: "Her breathing—! It stopped!"
Rouyuan's eyes widened.
"Move aside!"
She immediately pressed her palms to the woman's chest—
And began 'cardiopulmonary resuscitation.'
"Give her breathing as I taught you before. Every 30 compression, give her 2 breaths," Rouyuan instructed the young physician beside her.
The interns stiffened, disbelief flashing in their eyes. Bai Rouyuan had taught them this technique… but none of them had expected to use it in a real situation.
"Master Su—stitch the incision while I do this!"
Rouyuan commanded between breaths.
They worked like lightning.
Minutes passed like hours.
Then—
A gasp.
The mother jerked, then resumed breathing weakly.
"She's back…" a young physician whispered, shaking.
Rouyuan exhaled a long breath.
"Stabilize her."
Then she checks the wound.
"Herbal antiseptic patch here—good. Keep monitoring her."
After the Storm
Hours later, the baby was washed and fed milk.
The mother rested, bandaged and safe.
When Rouyuan stepped outside—the husband ran to her and collapsed into a bow so deep his forehead hit the ground.
"Thank you—thank you—thank you—" he sobbed.
Rouyuan lifted him gently.
"This is my duty as a physician," she said softly.
Behind her, Murong Yexuan stood silently.
Then he walked forward.
His eyes held admiration so deep it softened his entire expression.
"You saved two lives today," he told her quietly.
"Your skill… your courage… they are beyond anything I've ever seen."
Rouyuan lowered her gaze shyly.
"Thank you for helping, Your Highness."
His heart squeezed. 'If only she knew how much he wanted to help and protect her… always.'