Chapter 8: My Mother-in-Law Has Been Dead for a Long Time
They all hadn’t forgotten how the rewards the system granted just moments ago saved them from the brink of death. If they completed this system mission, there would surely be even better rewards waiting for them! So, all these roadblocks—they were all targets for the father-daughter duo to deal with!
Yu Luo’s voice forcefully rang in everyone’s ears. “We, the second branch, live in the secondary courtyard of the Marquis’s mansion, right next to the servants’ quarters, eating stale meals and enduring a life where even the servants have to trample us. How well do you high-and-mighty people know my mother? My mother suffered endless hardships to marry my father. And you, these so-called family members—when have you ever treated her like one of your own? If you don’t understand my mother’s capabilities, then shut your mouth! Stop delaying Commander Wu’s treatment!”
Seeing Yu Luo’s cold, sweeping gaze, the Yu family once again felt a strange detachment from her.
Amid the shock and doubt over whether Ye Jiamai truly knew medicine, Wu Dahai reached out and snatched the hemostatic medicine from Ye Jiamai’s hand, swallowing it directly as he declared firmly. “I believe in you—heal me!”
Ye Jiamai didn’t dare waste any time. She quickly tore off her thin prison garment and used it to bind above Wu Dahai’s wound. Yu Luo and Yu Haojie each grabbed a torch to light the area for Ye Jiamai.
Using the iodine solution provided in a ceramic bottle from the system’s gift box, Ye Jiamai disinfected the wound for a while before picking up a special pair of forceps to begin suturing.
The several officials clustered around Wu Dahai watched in hushed awe at Ye Jiamai’s skilled movements.
Though the conditions were crude, years of professional skill allowed Ye Jiamai to swiftly assume the role of a doctor—focused and diligent, undisturbed by any outside distractions.
“Scissors,”
Yu Haojie urgently retrieved a pair of scissors from the ceramic case and handed them to Ye Jiamai.
It wasn’t until he saw Yu Haojie’s ungloved hands that Ye Jiamai realized where she was.
Soon she regained her composure and continued suturing the muscle.
Without any anesthetic, the raw suturing made Wu Dahai quickly break into cold sweats on that bitter winter night.
“Bear with it—although it’ll hurt, your wound is too deep. It must be stitched up to speed healing. The suture in the muscle need not be removed; I’ll monitor the healing of the outer layer and remove those stitches later. If there’s no infection, it should take at most ten days.”
Feeling the tension in Wu Dahai’s body, Ye Jiamai resorted to her usual operating-room routine, chatting with the patient to divert his attention.
At her words, Wu Dahai’s focus was indeed diverted. He had thought tonight he would bleed to death—yet to him, this wound, in the eyes of this woman, seemed trivial. Wu Dahai asked, “Removing stitches? For such a deep wound, you think it can heal in six or seven days?”
“It might heal in five to six days at best, but you must not get it wet or exert yourself, or else the wound could reopen. I meant that the sutures could be removed at the most in ten days—perhaps even sooner.”
Before long, Ye Jiamai had finished suturing the outer skin and quickly tied off the knots.
Only after she used the bandages and gauze from the box to properly dress Wu Dahai did the surrounding Yu family members finally realize—they had just witnessed firsthand the extraordinary skill of Ye Jiamai!
Her calm expression, her swift and proficient actions, and the fact that the wound was no longer bleeding—Ye Jiamai had truly accomplished everything!
“He’s not bleeding anymore—really, it worked!”
Some guards suddenly cried out in astonishment, and the other guards, as well as Wu Dahai, looked at Ye Jiamai with expressions full of admiration.
“I had heard that the second branch of the Yu family was useless, but I never imagined that among the Yu clan, there was a capable woman like Second Madam. Thanks to her today, I might have lost my life here!”
Though the suturing process was agonizing, it was a fight for survival. Enduring the pain, Wu Dahai managed to hang on. And looking at the composed manner in which Ye Jiamai worked—recalling her focused demeanor just moments ago—Wu Dahai no longer dared to underestimate this woman.
Ye Jiamai gathered her tools and stood up, once again urging the group. “Thanks to Commander Wu protecting us, otherwise if we fell into the hands of the bandits, the consequences would have been unimaginable. But right now, with all these corpses around us, we’d better move on—otherwise, this strong stench of blood will surely attract wild beasts.”
No sooner had she spoken than Yu Meiyao’s voice suddenly rang out from behind the officials:
“Ye Jiamai, Grandmother is injured too! Aren’t you going to come over and treat her?
Grandmother still has an arrow stuck in her calf! Even if you please, Commander Wu, you can’t neglect your own mother-in-law, can you?”
Hearing Yu Meiyao’s words, Lan closed her eyes wearily. She didn’t understand how she came to have a daughter so oblivious to propriety. At a time like this, still targeting the members of the second branch—she was truly dumber than a pig.
She was certain that, in the face of danger, her husband and the people she used to curry favor with would only cast her aside as cannon fodder to secure their own safety.
“Yes, my dear Meiyao is so filial—Ye Jiamai, you better get over here quickly; I’m about to be in so much pain!”
The old matriarch of the Yu family, who had once been nothing more than a country woman in her youth, had risen to become a marquise’s wife thanks to Yu Hui’s military exploits.
Yet, even after decades, her mind had made no progress. Apart from putting on airs in front of her inferiors, she was a laughingstock outside. And now, on this road to exile, that fact was laid bare.
Hearing the back-and-forth between the grandparents and grandchildren, Ye Jiamai, who was packing up her tools, couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation, “What mother-in-law? My mother-in-law has been dead for a long time! Who in the world is your mother-in-law?
Frankly, with your attitude, I don’t even want to treat you. Besides, I’ve run out of medicine—after you all slandered me earlier, I nearly went mad before treating that old hag!”
“Outrageous! Ye Jiamai, are you trying to rebel? You insolent wretch—how dare you treat your elders with such disrespect! How does your Ye family teach you to be filial? Dare you to talk back to your own mother!”
Not only was she clueless, but even old Yu Hui was clueless. Exhausted, Ye Jiamai tossed her tools aside to Yu Haojie and no longer bothered with these people.
Yu Zhengqing, unable to bear hearing anymore, looked at his parents and helplessly interjected as a mediator. “Father, stop it already. Prince Qiu Yun sent some medicine; I’ll remove the arrow from Mother’s leg and bandage her up. I’ve already checked—it’s a miracle that no bone was damaged.”
He had now realized that the second branch had truly changed. Instead of begging Ye Jiamai here, he might as well do it himself so that his mother suffers less.
Yu Hui, true to his martial roots, utterly failed to grasp the situation. “Mind your own business—I, as a father-in-law, always see her as my own in-law. Doesn’t she still want to defy us?”
Upon hearing his words, Yu Zhengqing felt utterly powerless.
