zChapter 1310 - Beiyue] A warning
Chapter 1310: [Beiyue] A warning
“Academy Head, has the patient…been saved?”
“Academy Head, this old man cannot die!”
“Academy Head, what is the situation now?”
Everyone surrounded Gu Beiyue, speaking over each other with their questions. Fourth Miss Ren still hadn’t washed the blood off her hands. Her eyes were red with the threat of tears as she asked in a hoarse voice, “Academy Head, how is everything now?”
When she went to the little room, Vice Head Shen was still taking the patient’s pulse. The old man was just one breath away from death, but still found a dagger from his sleeve to stab himself in the gut. Fresh blood burst out at that instant, scaring her to death! Doctors at her level fought death everyday and were used to such matters, but she was scared this time. She was terrified the Ren Clan would be ruined if the old man died!
Gu Beiyue creased his brows and coldly glanced at the people blocking his way. He didn’t say a word, but only went to sit down on one side. Vice Head Shen answered their questions instead. “He’s still being rescued, so his condition is unknown.”
Everyone gave a start. Still being rescued? But the two strongest doctors in Medical City are right here. Who’s doing the saving?
Then they recalled the servant girl who had speedily wheeled over the Madam to the Academy Head.
It couldn’t be her…Qin Min!
Despite the crowd’s guesses, everyone remained silent. Instead, it was Gu Beiyue who spoke up.
“Qin Min is saving him.”
The silence grew deeper. Even the sound of leaves falling became apparent. Fourth Miss Ren plopped into a chair, her face full of doubts. As the silence mixed with the waiting, time seemed to stretch on interminably. Four full hours passed, but everyone was ill at ease. And Gu Beiyue?
He remained with his head bowed, not moving an inch. He was a quiet man to begin with, but now he simply resembled a statue lost in his own world.
Another hour passed.
Suddenly, Shaoyao flew out of the back doors and ran in front of Gu Beiyue. “Master!” she cried.
Everyone froze at her words. Only Gu Beiyue slowly raised his head.
“He wasn’t saved…” Shaoyao said.
In a flash, she saw the apprehension in Gu Beiyue’s eyes as clear as day. She would never forget for the rest of her life his expression in that instant, because it surprised her that someone like him could even show fear.
The entire world grew not only silent, but dark at her words. But Shaoyao suddenly laughed and added, “…as if!”
Shaoyao saw her master’s eyes light up, another unforgettable sight. For the first time, she realized that people’s eyes could actually shed light!
“Shaoyao! What’s going on, speak clearly!” Vice Head Shen scolded.
“Young Mi…” Shaoyao paused and immediately changed her tone. “The Madam of the Academy Head saved that old man from death. Right now she’s prescribing medicine. She said—”
Before she could finish, Gu Beiyue had already stood up and walked past her with Vice Head Shen hurrying after. A few elders trailed behind him, leaving the rest shocked at what they heard. How could someone of Qin Min’s level save that man? After all, he was already in dire straits and then tried to kill himself. Who could rescue him then? Besides Gu Beiyue, who else had the skills?
By the time the group reached the rear courtyard, Qin Min was already pushing herself out on her wheelchair. She saw Gu Beiyue first, but smiled at everyone. “Finally we preserved his life. Neither the medical academy nor the Qin Clan is guilty of anything.”
Gu Beiyue wanted to speak, but held back and entered the small room with Vice Head Shen and the other elders. They examined the patient before emerging as a group. At this moment, Qin Min finally met Gu Beiyue’s eye and maintained her slight smile. “Husband, I wasn’t lying, right?”
Her use of “husband” plainly caught Gu Beiyue off guard. He need a second to recover before replying, “Madam has worked hard.”
The crowd around them didn’t pay any attention to the abnormal interaction between husband and wife. All of them were looking at Qin Min with astonished eyes. Although they’d witnessed the truth with their own eyes, it was still unbelievable. None of the elders could accept it, to say nothing of the crowd outside. When Gu Beiyue announced the old man was safe and sound without major complications, everyone inside and outside the compound were floored, including Fourth Miss Ren! Meanwhile, the young master of the Qin Clan had long ran back home.
Naturally, Gu Beiyue had to tie up loose ends now that the patient was saved. He punished both the Qin and Ren Clan Heads as well as a few related personas, seizing the chance to suppress them! In front of the crowd, he told Qin Min, “Madam, although you were the one who saved him, the Qin Clan will be hard-pressed to escape their guilt.”
Qin Min’s voice was light. “I understand. Father was improper being angry and refusing to saving a dying life. Husband may do as he wishes, I have no complaints.”
Again with the “husband.” Fortunately, Gu Beiyue reacted quickly enough before he exposed himself before the masses. After all, everyone was staring at him right now.
“Both the Ren Clan and the Council of Elders have responsibility,” Gu Beiyue finally went back to the main topic. “My Medical City is full of doctors, yet this patient kneeled an entire day within the city without treatment. What was the Council of Elders doing? What about the medical supervisors? If the superiors are unjust, do the subordinates follow crooked as well? If you’re all like this, what about the doctors below you? Seeking profit and gains, seeing death but not saving it, treating human lives like grass! His Majesty’s complaints against Medical and Medicine City can already reach the Heavens!”
Gu Beiyue grew angrier the longer he spoke. Even though it was all just an act, his words came from his heart. After all, this was the truth. It had to be said that he was terrifying when he was furious. The quiet face turned cold and severe as if carved by the Heavens. Every angle was handsome yet cold, like a heartless god who had been offended past his bottom line and now showed no mercy.
Nobody had ever seen Gu Beiyue so cold and angry before, including Qin Min. She stood next to him and studied his face. It didn’t scare her, but it made her feel like she was looking at a strange. For a moment, she couldn’t tell whether he was acting or revealing his true colors. In the silent hall, Gu Beiyue’s icy, majestic tones seem to come from the very skies.
He said, “Vice Head Shen, from this day on, revoke the Sage ranks of the Ren and Qin Clan Heads. They’re demoted to Medical Slaves! All those involved in the matter will be demoted one rank. As for the Council of Elders…we’ll discuss it later!”
Gu Beiyue left as soon as he finished while Qin Min had Shaoyao push her wheelchair to follow him. When they were far enough, the crowd finally burst into exclamations and scattered. The smart ones could tell from Gu Beiyue’s words that there would be a huge upheaval in Medical City.
Fourth Miss Ren was the last to leave. She didn’t head for the Ren Estate, but went in the completely opposite direction. She ended up in a small clinic hidden in an alley, where Gu Beiyue used to secretly teach lessons. She had been one of the students he had his eye on. Truthfully speaking, she should be calling him her master.
But he didn’t allow it for her or any of his other students. In the past, everyone called him Dcotor Gu; nowadays, they called him Academy Head Gu. Her fellow classmates had all been scattered across Medical City and various parts of Great Qin. Yet this small medical clinic hadn’t fallen into disuse because she followed his example to teach here in secret. She accepted a bunch of talented, kindhearted students who for various reasons couldn’t attend the medical academy.
There were no classes today, so the area was deserted. Fourth Miss Ren sat back in her old seat as a student and inexplicably, started shedding tears. She hadn’t cried so bitterly when he went to the Qin Clan for a matchmaking session, or on the day of his wedding. She had endured all those, but it was unbearable today.
She knew she had made a mistake—a huge, massive one.
She long knew he wanted to reform Medical City and suppress the Qin and Ren Clans. In fact, she was even involved in her reformation plan and initiated changes in the field of obstetrics and gynecology. But today she had no choice but to be ruthless.
She long knew the patient had been bribed by her father and the whole thing was his plot to drag down the Qin Clan Head and Qin Min. This way, the Qin Clan’s second old master could seize an advantage. Her father had thoroughly researched the old man’s strange illness and recorded several similar cases with treatment methods. There were many cures for the ailment, but the first step was identical to what the Qin Clan Head had tried by forcing out all the symptoms first.
Since this was the Qin Clan Head’s first time encountering this disease, he didn’t know the ins and outs of it like her father, who had manipulated the entire situation from beginning to end. After discovering the truth, she tried multiple ways to tell Gu Beiyue or Vice Head Shen, but couldn’t pass her own obstruction: she didn’t want to sell out her father. She could only try persuasion.
When she found out all coaxing was useless, she went to steal her father’s treatment records and learn them herself. Then she heard Qin Min said she could cure the old man and panicked. She stood out without second thought to seize the chance for herself. She never meant to make things difficult for Qin Min, but guessed that she’d been placed there by Gu Beiyue. She knew that if he made a move, he could take this chance to get rid of her father.
Losing all logic in the face of anxiety, she strove to redeem herself and atone for the sins before they were convicted. She was still immersed in her regrets when a blade flew in from outside to land at her feet. Fourth Miss Ren recognized it at a glance: this was the dagger the old man used to commit suicide! She looked up and saw Gu Beiyue strode in with a chilly face.
Fourth Miss Ren’s tears instantly started flowing again. Gu Beiyue stopped far away and looked at her icily. He was quite surprised when she showed up at the Qin Estate. But he soon realized she already knew the truth about the Ren Clan Head’s conspiracy. The reason he didn’t give Qin Min any warning was precisely because he wanted her to bring the matter to him and Vice Head Shen instead. He chose Fourth Miss Ren because of her higher medical rank, but also so he could collect ample proof that the Ren Clan was capable of treating the old man, only pretended to be innocent so they could push all the blame onto the Qin Clan.