Chapter 30: Injured Again? (Part 2)

  Ding Huaiyuan led his men and followed Gao Daren to Changxiaoyuan, while others searched around the various rooms of the Qin Mansion.

  Qin Congwen didn't know why Ding Huaifeng brought his men to Changxiaoyuan in such a hurry, but he could tell that the men following him were all elite troops, vastly different from ordinary government soldiers. Especially those few martial artists dressed in plain clothes - one glance and you could tell they were well-trained fighters, their martial arts skills far surpassing those of the government soldiers who only knew how to eat their salary. This situation could only have one explanation: they must think the person had escaped into Changxiaoyuan. Qin Congwen ignored everyone else and gave a single order before following them towards Changxiaoyuan.

  A group of people swarmed into Changxiao Garden, with Ding Huairen's face sternly ordering the doors inside the garden to be closed, only allowing entry but not exit. The location of this garden is relatively remote, adjacent to the wall of the Qin Mansion. That thief climbed over the wall and entered, it's unlikely that he would abandon the near and seek the far, and it's likely that he is hiding in this garden. Fortunately, the garden is not very large, and after searching through the servants' quarters, storage rooms, and other places with more than 20 people who came along, no clues about the thief were found.

  Now the only place left to search is Qindai Xin's residence, because it was Qin's family member, these officers and soldiers did not rush in like they did when searching other places, but instead went up and knocked on the door...

  The moment someone entered the courtyard, Qin Dai's heart knew something was off. The Qin estate wasn't big or small, if they had searched the front a bit earlier, it would have been easy for this guy to slip away. Judging from the current situation, she was probably right, these people were indeed heading towards Chang Xiao Garden.

  "It's too late, you go out the window and leave the rest to me." Qin Dai quickly put the man's night clothes into the closet and pulled him to the window, instructing: "They will definitely search other places in the garden first, and only then will they search my room. You wait here by the window, and when someone knocks on the door, you break out of the window and quietly go to an inconspicuous place in the courtyard." People often make the same mistake, thinking that a place has already been searched and therefore can't possibly have anything left behind, only putting their hopes in places that haven't been searched yet. When the other person knocks on the door, he will definitely be gone, without a single trace.

  "Do you think this is feasible?" The man's tone was very calm, with a look of letting her take charge.

  "There may be some cost, but I won't betray you. We're on the same boat now, however, to save you, I've suffered no small loss, so I want 50% of this mission's reward."

  The man raised an eyebrow: "Task reward?"

  Just then, the sound of knocking on the door started. Qin Dai Xin didn't have time to think about that much anymore and hastily pushed open the window, signaling him to leave quickly. The man climbed out of the window and left, his movements swift and silent without making a single sound.

  The knocking at the front door grew more urgent, as if the people outside had already made up their minds that the thief was in the three girls' room.

  Qin Dai Xin didn't even close the window, she walked directly to the edge of the table and picked up the dagger she had just placed on it, closed her eyes, and stabbed herself forcefully in the chest...

  Ah~

  Miss Three's miserable cry in the dead of night, was particularly far-reaching. The people outside heard it and were all startled. Qin Congwen and others standing in the courtyard were frightened by this cry. And the soldiers inside the courtyard thought that this was the thief's trick, so they kicked open the door with one foot, and a group of people rushed into Miss Three's boudoir.

  Ding Huaiyuan was the first to enter the house, and on the outer room's kang bed lay a maidservant, who seemed not to have heard anything despite all the commotion outside. She was usually diligent in attending to her mistress, so how could she be sleeping so soundly? Without time to think further, he rushed towards the inner chamber, but what he saw left him shocked. He had thought that the thief, having been discovered, had taken Third Miss hostage and frightened her. But unexpectedly, this young woman was only wearing a thin undergarment, with a dagger still lodged in her chest, blood flowing out profusely like a blooming flower.

  The window in the room was open, and it seemed that the thief had escaped. Ding Huaiyuan didn't even bother to ask for Gao Damin's opinion, and hastily said: "Pursue, quickly pursue him."

  A group of people rushed out, some climbing over the windows and others running through the doors, all hurrying to chase after something outside Changxiao Garden. When Qin Zongwen and his companions entered the house, except for a young man named Gao, there was no one else around. Qin Zongwen picked up his own daughter and loudly shouted: "Quickly go invite the doctor."

  The people in the house and in the courtyard were all stunned, momentarily unable to move. After a while, one of the servants seemed to come to his senses and rushed out of the Qin mansion gate, shouting: "Third Miss has been stabbed, hurry up and invite the doctor! Make way, make way..."

  Time passed slowly, and the news of Third Miss being stabbed and fainting quickly spread throughout the Qin Manor. As a result, Su Shi, who had also been stimulated, fainted as well, and her own Lan Garden was thrown into chaos.

  The Chang Xiao Garden was crowded with people. Gao Da Ren had already opened the acupoints for Chun Li and asked her some questions, but didn't get any useful information out of her. The girl had fainted long ago and didn't know what was going on inside. Seeing that their young mistress was injured so badly, they blamed themselves and cried until they couldn't catch their breath. Ruo Yi was comforting them from the side, but tears were also falling down like pearls.

  It wasn't until someone suddenly shouted "The doctor is here" that the room finally quieted down.

  Mr. Li entered the house and saw that the injured person was Miss San again, he couldn't help but worry about this girl. Didn't she just get hurt in a carriage accident not long ago? How did she get stabbed today? Is it three days of shock and five days of being stabbed? Does this miss have a jinx on her life?

  After carefully taking Qin Dai's pulse, Li Daifu finally said to Qin Zongwen: "Miss has lost too much blood. Although the position of the knife is dangerous, it's fortunate that it was half an inch off. If it were half an inch to the left, even a great doctor like Luo Jin would not be able to save her. Now I need to operate on Miss Qin and remove the knife. Please forgive me for any offense caused, Mr. Qin!"

  "Nothing is more important than my daughter's life." Although Qin Zongwen was not enlightened, this matter was a matter of life and death after all. When two things are equally wrong, choose the lesser of the two evils; he understood this principle.

  "Also, please have someone cook ginseng soup, the older the better, to help the young lady recover. Also prepare some hemostatic medicine, hot water and towels. I'll write a prescription, have someone grind one portion into powder for external use, and another portion cooked and kept warm, to be drunk after the surgery." Dr. Li didn't waste any words, quickly writing the prescription, Qin Zongwen had someone fetch the medicine, and also sent a trusted servant to find Qin Zichen to retrieve his treasured hundred-year-old ginseng. The maids hurriedly boiled water and prepared towels.

  Li Daifu had just finished administering the injection and said to the crowd, "Leave two people inside to assist me, and everyone else can wait outside. When I'm extracting the knife, I need an absolutely quiet environment."

  Qin Congwen nodded, ordering people to bring up hot towels and other items one by one. He only instructed Chunli, Ruyi, and another servant woman to come forward and wait for the doctor's orders, while the others filed out in a line.

  A door separated Qin Dai's heart from the connection with the outside crowd. Su Shi was also anxiously pacing back and forth in Lan Garden, and since waking up, she had been carrying a heavy heart, with tears streaming down her face like a dam breaking. No matter what, she never thought that just over three months later, she would once again face the possibility of losing her beloved daughter. All sorts of uneasy emotions spread through her mind, Su Yilan almost collapsed. If it weren't for the nanny's constant persuasion, people might have rushed into Chang Xiao Garden by now.

  Qin Congwen, as the master of the house, naturally had to appear calm. However, his anxiety could still be seen in his eyes. Qin Congwen didn't even have time to greet the young man beside him, his gaze constantly darting towards the door. Suddenly, a voice calling out from outside the courtyard was heard, and Ding Huairen hastily walked up to the young man with several people dressed in black, whispering something in his ear. The young man furrowed his brow, similarly giving some low-voiced instructions, before Ding Huairen led the black-clad men away after receiving their orders.

  After a few hours, the sky seemed to have brightened up. The crowd that had stayed up all night finally heard the sound of the door opening. The old woman carried out a basin of bloody water, while Li Daifu walked out with a tired look on his face.

  "Mr. Li, how is your daughter?" Qin Zongwen rushed forward and asked anxiously.

  "The young lady is lucky, she's out of danger now. I've administered an injection to stop the bleeding and removed the knife successfully. However, she hasn't woken up yet due to excessive blood loss, which was unavoidable. Fortunately, this thousand-year-old ginseng can help restore a lot of her vitality, and the maid has already helped feed her the medicine. From now on, we just need to feed her ginseng soup every three hours, and she'll be fine."

  At this moment, Su also arrived at Changxiaoyuan, inquiring about her daughter's injury. Upon hearing that the third young lady was unharmed, she finally put her mind at ease and asked: "Doctor, can I go in and take a look at her?"

  "No, no." Mr. Li waved his hand repeatedly and said hastily: "Auntie, you're emotional and physically weak, it's not suitable for you to go into Miss's room. Wait until she wakes up, you can see her then!"

  Su still wanted to say something, but was persuaded by Qin Congwen on the side. Thinking that it was for her daughter's own good, she didn't insist and returned to her room to rest with the support of the wet nurse.

  Qin Congwen busily sent Li Dafu back to his residence, stating that he had saved his own daughter and would certainly repay him heavily. He would soon send the diagnostic fee to his home. Li Dafu knew this was what he deserved, but feared that Old Master Qin was trying to use silver to shut his mouth. Thinking about the affairs of wealthy families, it's indeed not something to be spoken of. In order to put the other at ease, he didn't decline and said a few polite words before heading home.

  At this moment, a young man who had been awake all night like the people of Qin's mansion suddenly stood up and ordered his men to seize Li Daifu.

  "Sir, what do you mean by this?" Qin Congwen had been in the business world for many years and although he didn't have any official title, it didn't mean he didn't know the rules of the officialdom. Although this young man was dressed in casual attire, judging from Ding Huaifeng's respectful attitude towards him, this person was definitely not an ordinary person, and his official position might even be higher than that of Ding Huaifeng, the city guard.

  "Master Qin, no need to panic, I just want to ask this doctor which servant from the mansion went to fetch him."

  Li Daifu did not know what he meant and hastily asked: "What does this mean?"

  "Last night, the little thief escaped into the Qin mansion, injured Third Miss Qin and escaped. My men searched the entire Qin mansion inside and out but didn't find any trace of the thief. I then ordered my men to search all the streets and residences around the Qin mansion as the center, but still no sign of the thief was found. Later, my subordinates told me that they had been guarding outside the Qin mansion all night and hadn't seen anyone leave except for one person - the servant who went to fetch a doctor. At the time, my men stopped him at the gate, but because they heard about Third Miss Qin being stabbed, they didn't investigate further. Now thinking back, it's possible that the thief secretly wore the servant's clothes and escaped while fetching the doctor. But one thing puzzles me - why did the thief, after escaping, not only not immediately flee, but actually went to fetch a doctor for Third Miss Qin?"