A crown princess who doesn't do infrastructure construction isn't a good doctor.

With the date set, the Prince An's Mansion officially entered into intensive preparations, and a tense atmosphere unconsciously permeated the air.

After discussions with Prince Tong'an, it was decided that the news of Beitang Yan's surgery would be kept secret, and the preparations would be handled mainly by key personnel. Therefore, the others only felt that the atmosphere in the mansion was different, and those who were a little more anxious thought that something bad was going to happen, and they gathered together to discuss it.

"I've noticed that Yuqing Courtyard has a lot more staff these past few days. Why is that?"

"Who knows? The manager even told us to keep quiet and not say anything."

"Yuqing Courtyard is Mr. Li's residence. It seems that the young master moved there a few days ago. Could something have happened?"

"Nonsense! The Crown Prince is wise and brave, a true hero. How could anything happen to him!"

"But the young master has been unconscious for so long, how can anyone still be alive..."

"Cough cough."

"Commander Shuo."

Today, Shuohan and He Dabao were leading a patrol of guards. They were almost done with their shift and were about to change shifts. However, they were thinking of taking a shortcut to get there faster, and just as they were about to turn the corner, they overheard a few gossiping maids talking.

He Dabao coughed to interrupt and asked, "Where did you guys serve them?"

With the towering iceberg of Shuo Han there, and a well-trained and imposing squad of royal guards, the maids were trembling with fear, none of them daring to be the first to step forward.

Shuo Han's expression remained unchanged, but one could sense his impatience. His voice was completely flat as he said, "Answer me."

Two simple words were enough to scare everyone so much that they all knelt down with a thud.

"This servant, this servant, this servant knows she was wrong. We are all maids in the laundry room. This servant did not mean to talk about her master in private. Please forgive me, Commander Shuo."

After the first maid finished speaking, she began to kowtow repeatedly, and the others followed suit, shouting "Forgive us!" and banging their heads on the ground. After a few times, the ground was covered in blood.

"Silence."

Those two words made the group stop instantly, trembling and afraid to make another sound.

Shuo Han looked at He Dabao, and He Dabao instantly understood.

"The rules and taboos that you usually talk about should be constantly reminded by the steward. Today, you all dare to talk about the master behind his back. If you are not punished properly, who knows how many rumors you will spread in the future. Each of you will go to the steward's office and receive ten strokes of the cane and be fined one month's salary. If I find out that you have been negligent, being expelled from the manor will be the least of your worries."

"Yes."

After watching the maids rush off to receive their punishments, He Dabao sighed.

"Boss, I think there's no hope of you salvaging your reputation. Putting that aside, if you make even the slightest mistake in front of you, you're afraid of losing your head."

"Why try to win them back? If you had nothing to hide, you wouldn't be so afraid."

"Too."

In the Wutong courtyard.

Why does he have a bad reputation?

"I've inquired about it. It's said that a few months ago, when Beitang Yan had just returned from the Northern Region, a maid somehow offended Shuo Han, who was on duty. He immediately drew his sword and beheaded her. There were many servants and maids present at the time. When others asked, they all said that the maid had committed a serious offense, but he took a life without saying a word. This still made many people in the Prince An's mansion terrified of him."

Lu Xi used both hands and mouth to describe the gossip she had just heard to Qin Suiyou, and then shook her head with a regretful expression.

Qin Suiyou asked with a slight smile, "Why do you have that expression?"

"Ah~"

Lu Xi sighed and slumped back in her chair.

"A big iceberg, expressionless, and so brutal, tsk tsk tsk."

Qin Suiyou gave Lu Xi a look to sit down, then said, "I remember telling you that gossip can be a fearsome thing. Why are you starting to listen to other people's side of the story?"

"That's not what I want to think."

Lu Xi said aggrievedly, "Think about it, Shuo Han came from the battlefield. He was said to be a ruthless martial arts master who killed without shedding blood. Later, he was recruited into Beitang Yan's personal guard. People like him are the most indifferent to human life. You know how loose my tongue is. What if I offend someone without even realizing it and he cuts me into eight pieces? Then you won't be able to see my cute little fairy deer anymore!"

As she spoke, Lu Xi pouted, looking utterly pitiful, as if she wanted to cry but had no tears.

"Then you should just stop bothering them."

“But he is Beitang Yan’s personal guard captain. When I was with you treating Beitang Yan’s injuries, I would run into him from time to time. You have no idea how he looked at me.”

Lu Xi curled his hands into circles over his eyes, revealing his round, doe-like eyes, and continued, "Just staring at me like that is really creepy."

Qin Suiyou raised his hand to cover his mouth to hide his smile, then coughed lightly.

"Maybe they're just staring at you because they think you're pretty."

"what?"

Lu Xi raised his hand to cover his collar in alarm, looking like he was determined to be a "chaste and virtuous man" to the death, and said: "How could that be! Don't talk nonsense!"

As Lu Xi recalled Shuo Han's tall figure, she swallowed hard, but not because she was craving it.

Qin Suiyou heard Lu Xi say tremblingly, "I can't beat him with just fists and feet. If, if I use magic, you have to protect me."

Before Qin Suiyou could respond, Lu Xi muttered to himself, "No, no, the situation is quite serious. I have to go and remind Lu Yu to be more vigilant, otherwise he won't even know if his adorable little brother is gone one day."

Before he could finish speaking, Qin Suiyou saw Lu Xi dash out quickly with her legs moving.

Turning his gaze back to the book in his hands, Qin Suiyou shook his head and sighed softly, "Still so impulsive."

After a moment, two knocks were heard.

Qin Suiyou looked up and saw that the person who had come was Li Yuanyuan.

"come in."

After Li Yuanyuan entered, she bowed and said, "I apologize for disturbing you, Young Master Qin."

"Sit down first."

After everyone was seated, Qin Suiyou said, "We've known each other for quite a while now, but you're always so polite. It makes it seem like I'm the one pretending to be familiar with you."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanyuan immediately put on a bitter face and said, "It's because I wanted to become your apprentice but you disagreed. In my heart, you are an extraordinary senior, and I certainly wouldn't dare to call myself a brother. Besides, you've been so busy lately that I haven't had a chance to discuss anything with you other than the prescription. I'm not sure about this..."

Li Yuanyuan gestured back and forth between Qin Suiyou and herself, and continued, "I'm not sure what role I should play in our relationship."

"Well..."

Seeing Qin Suiyou pondering, Li Yuanyuan quickly said, "Actually, I think the best relationship between us is that of master and disciple. Please accept me as your disciple."

Qin Suiyou didn't quite understand why Li Yuanyuan was so obsessed with becoming his disciple. After witnessing some of Qin Suiyou's strength in Xinyang City, she kept asking him until they parted ways. Fortunately, they didn't meet again because they took different routes, until they both arrived at the Prince An's Mansion.

"As I told you, I am happy to pass on my medical skills without reservation, so that they can be carried forward and benefit the people. You don't need to become my apprentice. As long as you have the will and the ability, I can teach you."

"I……"

Li Yuanyuan knew that there was still no hope today, so she murmured a few times but didn't bring it up again.

Then, Qin Suiyou said, "By the way, have you finished copying the 'Rare Treasures Scroll' of my 'Ten Thousand Herbs Manual'? It was supposed to be within ten days, and it seems like it will be tomorrow..."

Li Yuanyuan's body trembled. Tomorrow would be the tenth day, but these past few days he had been so engrossed in studying Beitang Yan's medicinal bath prescription that he had only copied less than half of the 'Rare Treasures Scroll'!

Seeing Li Yuanyuan's expression, Qin Suiyou roughly guessed the situation and said, "If it's still far from enough, I'll wait a few days..."

"Need not!"

Before Qin Suiyou could finish speaking, Li Yuanyuan interrupted him with a blank expression.

“I will definitely be able to deliver the ‘Scroll of Rare Treasures’ to you tomorrow without missing a single word.”

"actually……"

Qin Suiyou wanted to say that there was no need to rush, but Li Yuanyuan said again: "I came here to ask if I could participate in the surgery, just to observe from the side. I have practiced what you taught me in Xinyang City until I know it by heart, and I will definitely not make any mistakes."

This is a serious matter. Qin Suiyou became slightly more serious and asked, "Have you ever done any practical work with it?"

"Practical training?"

Qin Suiyou patiently explained, "It means using real techniques in treating illnesses and injuries, rather than just memorizing a bunch of theoretical knowledge."

"Oh."

Li Yuanyuan understood and said with slight excitement, "It's been tested in practice, and the results are quite good, especially with me..."

She stopped Li Yuanyuan from sharing her experience with a look and said, "It's good that you've had hands-on experience. I believe you're not the type to talk big. You remember Lu Yu and Du Heng, right? Lu Yu was the assistant surgeon, and Du Heng was the deputy commander. Go find them and they'll arrange for you to be an assistant nurse. You can observe up close. Make sure your responsibilities are clear on the operating table. Du Ruo will train you. Just remember to follow the instructions."

After receiving a satisfactory reply, Li Yuanyuan, thinking that there were still more than half of the 'Rare Treasures Scroll' left, prepared to take her leave.

Qin Suiyou added, "This surgery is quite difficult, and I will be highly focused. There won't be a chance to explain or teach you during the procedure. You'll have to memorize it yourself, write it down, and then come to me for answers to any questions you have."

"clear."

After Li Yuanyuan left in a hurry, Lan Ya, who brought in tea and snacks, felt a little regretful. She quite admired men like Li Yuanyuan and had asked Liu Jia to let her take over the work, but who would have thought that he was already gone.

Just as Qin Suiyou was about to dismiss the others, Liu Jia came over again, her expression still somewhat unnatural.

"What's the matter?"

Liu Jia clutched the handkerchief in her hand, her fingertips turning slightly white, but since her mistress had already asked, she dared not hesitate any longer.

"The concubine sent someone to say that she will pay her respects to you later."