A peasant girl travels through time with a hospital, rising to become an empress.

Old Qiao and Nie Qianqian agreed to meet in the dense forest outside the city two days later. Nie Qianqian prepared 10 jars of wine, and Old Qiao taught her three moves.

After Old Master Qiao left, Nie Qianqian changed into Doctor Qian's clothes and went to Jishetang. As soon as she arrived at Jishetang, she was taken to see Director Zhang by the young medicine boy Tian Dong.

Director Zhang: "You've finally arrived! I was just about to look for you."

Nie Qianqian: "What's the urgent matter?"

Director Zhang: "Are you aware of the Zhao family mansion, the richest family in Fulin County?"

Upon hearing about the Zhao family, Nie Qianqian immediately took it to heart, saying, "I've heard a little about them."

It turns out that the Zhao family is the richest family in Fulin County. No wonder Liu Meiqing was so happy that Qian Yikuang got involved with the Zhao family.

Director Zhang: "Madam Zhao is about to give birth, and Master Zhao is looking for a doctor to check her pulse. He specifically asked you to come to Jishetang."

Nie Qianqian nodded, guessing that Qian Yikuang had acted as the middleman.

Director Zhang: "Are you going to make house calls?"

Nie Qianqian: "Of course we should. He's the richest man in Fulin County. If we don't take advantage of him, who will we take advantage of?"

Director Zhang recalled how ruthlessly Nie Qianqian fleeced Jiang Botao, and felt a pang of sympathy for Master Zhao.

Unfortunately, Director Zhang didn't recognize Qian Yikuang; otherwise, he would surely be exclaiming in perfect agreement with Qian Yikuang right now. When Qian Yikuang went to the Zhao residence to recommend Doctor Qian, he had already felt a pang of heartache for Master Zhao, only hoping that Master Zhao would be healthy and his family peaceful, otherwise…

Director Zhang was also among those invited by Master Zhao. The two of them carried their medicine boxes and boarded a carriage to go to the Zhao residence.

The carriage headed towards the Zhao residence. Director Zhang closed his eyes to rest, while Nie Qianqian pondered how to find the jade pendant once they arrived at the Zhao residence.

Since the jade pendant was intended to provide comfort for Madam Zhao, it must be in her bedroom. We could either steal it while taking her pulse, but that would inevitably lead to trouble later.

Nie Qianqian had a headache, so she opened the carriage curtain to let in some fresh air. As she looked out, she saw a familiar figure jogging behind the carriage, sweat beading on his forehead.

"Ah Ling? Wait a minute..."

Nie Qianqian got off the carriage. "Ah Ling, what are you doing here?"

Ah Ling knelt down with a thud, and said in a tearful voice, "Dr. Qian, Ah Ling wants to follow you!"

Nie Qianqian took a step back. "Huh?"

“If it weren’t for you, Ah Ling would probably have been killed by Steward Zheng and Madam long ago and wouldn’t be alive now. When Ah Ling was injured, it was you who treated my wounds and brought me to Jishetang to recuperate. If it weren’t for you, the truth about the deaths of the First Madam and the Young Master would never have come to light, and the First Madam would probably have died with her eyes open in disgrace. You avenged the First Madam and saved Ah Ling. Ah Ling wants to follow you and take care of you in your old age.”

Nie Qianqian choked, and then there was the matter of caring for her in her old age and seeing her off in her final days

Nie Qianqian: "Aren't you going back to the Qian residence?"

Ah Ling lowered her head and pursed her lips tightly. "After this incident, Master Qian is heartbroken and has decided to move away from Fulin County to the provincial capital. Master Qian is planning to sell the Qian family mansion. Ah Ling stayed in the Qian family mansion to guard the First Madam's belongings. Now that Master Qian is going to sell the Qian family mansion, there is no point in Ah Ling staying any longer."

Looking at A-Ling's youthful and innocent face, Nie Qianqian advised, "A-Ling, you are still young and should not be confined to that one place. Now that you are free, you should go out and see the world and find what you really want to do."

"What do you really want to do?"

When Ah Ling was young, she was brought into the First Madam's mansion. The First Madam was her benefactor. Before her mother died, she told her to serve the First Madam well. After entering the mansion, the old women taught her to be loyal to the Madam and to take the master's will as her own.

There's nothing she really wants to do.

What she wanted to do was to be loyal to her master and repay her benefactor; this was her guiding principle.

The young girl's face was firm, and she said righteously, "What Ah Ling wants to do is to serve her master well and never betray him."

Nie Qianqian looked at the little girl and felt a pang of pity. At such a beautiful age, in her world, she would be in junior high or high school, full of dreams and looking forward to the future.

Unfortunately, here, Ah Ling was taught from a young age how to be a loyal and devoted servant.

Nie Qianqian: "Ah Ling, people should live for themselves."

Ah Ling repeated herself, still puzzled, "Doctor Qian doesn't want Ah Ling to follow you? Ah Ling is very obedient and diligent."

"Sigh..." It's hard to explain to the little girl in a short time; she's so stubborn.

If she doesn't take care of Ah Ling, that girl is simple-minded and not very strong, she'll probably be swindled out of everything.

Nie Qianqian genuinely liked A-Ling, who was pure-hearted and single-minded. After a moment's thought, she said, "Alright, then you can come with me for now and be my little medicine boy at Jishetang. But you are not my servant. You have complete freedom. When you find what you really want to do, you can leave at any time."

When Ah Ling heard Nie Qianqian ask her to come along, she was overjoyed and immediately kowtowed to Nie Qianqian.

Nie Qianqian grabbed her and said, "The first requirement for being my little medicine apprentice is that you are not allowed to kneel before me or kowtow."

Ah Ling couldn't hide her smile; she was truly someone whose joys and sorrows were written all over her face. She replied sweetly, "Ah Ling understands."

It was already quite a distance from Jishetang. Nie Qianqian helped A-Ling into the carriage and told her to follow behind her obediently when they arrived at the Zhao residence, not to run around or say anything out of line.

Director Zhang dozed off, woke up groggily, wiped the drool from his mouth, and opened his eyes to find that there was an extra person in the carriage, a little girl who still looked a bit childish. He was immediately startled.

Director Zhang instinctively tried to stand up, but his head hit the roof of the carriage.

"Oh dear, this...this..."

It's like a magic trick!

Nie Qianqian explained, "Director, this is my newly recruited apprentice. He will be working with me at Jishetang from now on. Is that alright?"

Director Zhang blinked. "Newly recruited? When were they recruited, and where were they recruited?"

Nie Qianqian pointed outside, "They were just hired, hired on the street."

Ah Ling sat up as straight as possible, trying to appear obedient and well-behaved, afraid that Director Zhang wouldn't let her stay.

Director Zhang was speechless. Fine, he had gotten used to Nie Qianqian's unpredictable behavior.

"Since you've confessed, I naturally have no problem with it."

Nie Qianqian always kept her doors tightly closed when treating patients, not allowing anyone else to be there. Director Zhang guessed that it was because her medical skills were passed down from a reclusive clan, and she was afraid that others would steal her knowledge. He never expected that she would recruit a young apprentice.

The three arrived at the Zhao residence, where servants were already waiting at the gate. Upon seeing the carriage of Jishetang, they stepped forward to bow and lead the way. Their every move was disciplined and orderly, clearly indicating that they were well-trained and not servants that could be trained by an ordinary nouveau riche.

Gu Xiao is right, the Zhao family is not an ordinary wealthy family.

Upon entering the Zhao residence, one is greeted by pavilions, towers, carved screen walls, and covered walkways, all exuding the noble air of the owner. Compared to the Qian residence, this mansion is worlds apart.

As Nie Qianqian followed the servants through the gates, she sensed hidden presences in every corner. The Zhao family had deployed twice as many people as when she last investigated. What were they guarding against, and what were they afraid of?

The servants led the three into the hall, where three people were already seated, drinking tea and talking in hushed tones. Behind each of them stood their servants, and beside each of them was a medicine box. The medicine boxes were engraved with different patterns: one with an osmanthus pattern, one with an orchid pattern, and one with a flowing water pattern.

Zhang Zhongjing was shocked. "The provincial capital's top midwife, Granny Huang; the master of turning babies into different positions, Aunt Cui; and the maternal expert, Master Fu!"

Any one of these three is a renowned midwife in the provincial capital, yet the Zhao family managed to hire three of them at once!