013. No Need for Me to Spend a Penny

Luo Qianxue raised four fingers and asked, “Are you sure it’s forty thousand taels?”

Fu Xiao nodded, his face showing a trace of delight. “I even brought the banknotes with me. Miss Luo, I beg you to help!”

“That’s easy enough. With money on the table, there’s no reason for me to refuse,” Luo Qianxue replied, already approaching the stretcher.

She glanced at the woman’s face, then checked her pulse. There was also a wound on the woman’s chest. Luo Qianxue didn’t look closely, but she already understood the situation.

Her lips curved ever so slightly as she released the woman’s hand and announced, “Prime Minister, you might as well keep your forty thousand taels for the funeral preparations. I cannot save her.”

At those words, Fu Xiao’s expression changed. Normally, he was easygoing, but hearing Luo Qianxue say she couldn’t save his beloved, how could he not be furious?

He clenched his fists. “Miss Luo, you saved the Fourth Prince’s life—why can’t you save mine?”

Luo Qianxue replied solemnly, “I saved the Fourth Prince by sheer luck, only to save my own life. Your beloved’s injuries are far more serious, and I dare not act recklessly.”

“Fifty thousand taels!” Fu Xiao raised the price.

Luo Qianxue waved a hand dismissively. “There’s no need to negotiate, Prime Minister. I simply don’t have the skill, and I won’t risk a life lightly.”

Fu Xiao rose, anger flashing across his face. “Then why could you save the Fourth Prince before? Luo Qianxue, are you making a fool of me?”

But Luo Qianxue remained unflustered. Though Fu Xiao’s anger was intimidating, what had she not experienced before? She’d once had a knife pressed to her throat, forced to treat someone—did they really think she was so easy to intimidate?

With a faint, enchanting smile, she sat down and said, “Prime Minister, I’ll be honest with you. I only used a folk remedy to save the Fourth Prince. You can ask the imperial physicians—they could have saved him too, but they were afraid he wouldn’t survive, and none dared to take the risk.”

With her words so clear, Fu Xiao had to understand. He frowned, his dark eyes fixed on Luo Qianxue.

“So, you mean you simply had the courage to take a gamble, which is why you saved the Fourth Prince and the entire General’s Manor?”

Luo Qianxue nodded. “Who wouldn’t want to earn such a sum? Besides, you’re offering fifty thousand taels. Do you really think I’d lie?”

Fu Xiao thought it over—it really seemed unlikely. He’d investigated and knew Luo Qianxue had discreetly sold off the gifts from the Fourth Prince.

He suddenly grinned, a roguish air about him. “Then how did you know how to draw out poison for Prince Zhan before?”

“Prime Minister, that’s my specialty—poison extraction. As for everything else, I only know a little. You needn’t waste time with me; your beloved is in danger, you’d better find another physician quickly.”

Fu Xiao hesitated, then finally left.

The Clear Rain Courtyard fell silent again. Only then did Luo Qianxue stroke Wangcai’s head and mutter, “Fu Xiao really tried to test me, but his plan was full of flaws. Does he take me for a fool?”

Huatao was puzzled. She poured Luo Qianxue a cup of tea and asked, “Miss, how did you see through him? He seemed so sincere to me.”

She had thought Luo Qianxue would agree, since she treasured money—and fifty thousand taels was no small sum.

Luo Qianxue took a sip of tea and replied slowly, “If that really was Fu Xiao’s beloved, would he treat her so carelessly? Just bringing her over on a random stretcher? And the woman’s wound was almost identical to the Fourth Prince’s—though not as severe, allowing her to survive a few more days. He wanted to see me act, to gauge the extent of my skill.”

Huatao’s hands trembled in shock.

“To test you, the Prime Minister didn’t even care about someone’s life?”

“In their eyes, some lives are worthless. You needn’t feel sorry for her—it was a willing exchange,” Luo Qianxue said. “No, Zhan Lianjing is too suspicious. To test me like this...”

She had to find a way to put his doubts to rest.

Huatao still felt uneasy. If Fu Xiao had discovered something, Luo Qianxue would have been in serious trouble.

“Miss, perhaps you should lay low for a while?”

“No need. The more they suspect me, the more I have to act as if nothing’s wrong,” Luo Qianxue replied.

After leaving the General’s Manor, Fu Xiao went straight to the Prince Zhan’s residence.

From afar, he saw Zhan Lianjing seated before the pond, quietly appreciating the scenery. The Prince’s garden was vast—the pond alone took half an hour to circle by boat.

Fu Xiao approached. Hearing footsteps, Zhan Lianjing turned his head. “Well?”

“She really doesn’t seem to know much about medicine,” Fu Xiao said. “I also sent someone to the Imperial Hospital—turns out the Fourth Prince’s injuries were treatable, but the physicians were too afraid to intervene.”

So, Luo Qianxue had simply benefited from coincidence.

Zhan Lianjing’s gaze sharpened. His slender fingers rested on his thigh, where a few silver needles lay—tools of the Ghost Doctor.

Fu Xiao glanced at them. “The Ghost Doctor can’t be Luo Qianxue, right? You should look into the martial world instead.”

Was it really not her? Yet, somehow, he just felt it was.

Zhan Lianjing said, “Then we’ll test her again.”

Fu Xiao pouted in protest. “What? Again? Don’t you know I sacrificed a maid for this?”

Zhan Lianjing was unmoved and outlined another plan.

Fu Xiao’s eyebrows shot up, then he laughed. “Sounds fun. I’ll play along one more time.”

That day, Luo Qianxue went out to walk her dog, Huatao following closely behind.

The street was bustling; Luo Qianxue, fond of shopping, wandered from stall to stall, occasionally haggling over small items.

Luo Yongcheng had returned to the Western Mountain military camp. After the last incident, Concubine Xu had become much more subdued—no longer forced to marry or embroiled in household struggles, she was quite content.

Luo Qianxue picked up a hairpin, simply carved from common wood and rather rough, but she liked it at first glance.

“Only a girl like you would fancy such an item,” came a mocking voice.

Turning slightly, Luo Qianxue saw Yang Ning’er and several official’s daughters, all looking at her with disdain.

But Luo Qianxue didn’t care. Yang Ning’er, with her sharp tongue, was always unpleasant.

The other girls laughed. “Don’t say that, Ning’er. She never cared for appearances. She used to stick straw in her hair as pins; now she’s improved—wood instead.”

Yang Ning’er laughed again. “What progress indeed!”

Huatao was already angry. In the past, when her mistress had been somewhat dull-witted, she’d suffered enough bullying. Even now, being mocked—it was hard for a maid to stand by.

But Luo Qianxue remained calm. She was about to pay when Yang Ning’er tossed a silver tael ahead of her. “Luo Qianxue, consider this a gift from me. It’s just a cheap piece of wood—don’t be polite. It suits you, as cheap as you are!”

“You!” Huatao stepped forward, ready to retort.

But Luo Qianxue stopped her, smiling. “If I don’t have to pay, then thank you very much.”

She placed the wooden pin in her hair, brushed past Yang Ning’er, and walked on.

Yang Ning’er hadn’t expected Luo Qianxue to be so tolerant—she was a bit surprised.

After passing her, Luo Qianxue weighed a purse in her hand. Yang Ning’er was quite wealthy—there were plenty of silver coins inside. Before Yang Ning’er noticed, Luo Qianxue deftly removed the money and tossed the empty purse aside.

At that moment, someone ahead shouted, “The Qianjin Restaurant is on fire! It’s burning!”

The crowd froze. The Qianjin Restaurant was renowned—what a pity if it burned.

Luo Qianxue frowned and looked up—sure enough, thick smoke billowed into the sky. Was Yin Susu inside?

Instinctively, she hurried toward the restaurant, but Yang Ning’er’s voice floated behind her, not loud but clear: “How odd. We were halfway through our meal when we were all told to leave, and now there’s a fire. What a coincidence.”

Luo Qianxue stopped. Fortunately, Yang Ning’er’s comment reminded her.

She turned, no longer concerned whether the fire was real.

Hidden in the shadows, Zhui Xing, who was observing her, felt puzzled—was his prince wrong? Was Luo Qianxue really not the Ghost Doctor?

No matter. Zhan Lianjing had another move prepared.

That night, Luo Qianxue sent someone to investigate. The Qianjin Restaurant had indeed burned, and there were rumors of casualties. She worried about Yin Susu’s safety—martial arts were no defense against fire.

She sent someone to Drunken Painting House, where rumors abounded that Yin Susu was badly burned and at death’s door.

Gnawing her lip, Luo Qianxue felt uneasy. If Yin Susu truly was injured and she didn’t help, she would be thought heartless.

Determined, she fetched a set of night clothes, preparing to slip away.

Huatao, seeing her mistress ready to go out, quickly closed the door. “Miss, are you really going?”

She understood the situation and knew Luo Qianxue was taking a risk.

Luo Qianxue’s eyes twinkled. “Huatao, lie in bed and pretend to be me. No matter who comes, just feign sleep.”