Volume 1, Chapter 9: You Are No Longer Pure

Su Yi'an scanned the furnishings of the bedchamber, finding nothing worthy of her notice save for the swords adorning the walls. She could not help but feel disappointed: the Prince of Zhenbei’s estate was grand and majestic in its architecture, so why was the interior decor so drab and meager?

She walked over to the bedside and, catching him off guard, lightly patted Xiao Beiming’s fist, where the veins were bulging. "Relax~"

"Insolent!" Xiao Beiming roared, throwing her a look that could kill.

"My apologies, Your Highness. I was impolite. When administering acupuncture, one must be completely relaxed. If you clench your fists like that, the treatment will be ineffective." Su Yi'an bowed her head in a display of utter submissiveness, yet her heart was filled with triumph: *You germaphobe prince, you let me touch your hand. You’re tainted now—what are you going to do, chop your own hand off?*

Xiao Beiming felt a fire raging in his chest that he desperately needed to vent; he nearly ground his back teeth to dust. "Get out!"

Su Yi'an was determined to annoy him. "My apologies, Your Highness, but I cannot comply. During acupuncture, patients occasionally experience convulsions or vomiting. It would be dangerous if a physician were not present. If I am too unsightly for Your Highness to look at, you may simply close your eyes."

Once these words were out, Xiao Beiming found himself in a dilemma: closing his eyes or keeping them open were both equally frustrating. To keep them open meant looking at her, which he found irritating; to close them meant acknowledging her claim that she was "too unsightly." One’s appearance was a gift from one’s parents, and criticizing someone’s looks was deeply immoral. Furthermore, her disfigurement was her own tragedy, and he refused to validate the idea that she was an eyesore to him. *I simply dislike all women equally,* he reasoned.

With this thought, Xiao Beiming turned his head and stared at the canopy of the bed, bitterly counting the ceiling beams. Yet, the stifled anger in his chest was suffocating; his pale, cold complexion was visibly flushed with blood.

Su Yi'an stepped closer, pinched a needle from the tray with two fingers, and inserted it into the Yintang acupoint on Xiao Beiming’s forehead. The sudden piercing between his brows brought an overwhelming sense of pressure. Xiao Beiming glared at her, his expression pained. "Are you seeking death?"

Su Yi'an lowered her eyes, handling him with ease. "I have no intention of offending Your Highness; it is simply my duty. If you glare while I am administering acupuncture, you risk permanent bulging of the eyeballs. You wouldn't want to end up with toad eyes, would you~"

*Toad eyes?!* Xiao Beiming cursed her as a savage, but finally chose to close his eyes.

Su Yi'an curled her lips into a smile, withdrew the silver needle from the Yintang point—drawing a bead of blood—and then raised her hand to press around the puncture site. Xiao Beiming’s brows furrowed, his jaw tightened, and he kept his eyes shut in silent endurance. After the bloodletting, the crimson flush on his face faded, returning to its usual cold, pale hue.

***

By then, Xiao Beiming also felt that the tightness in his chest had eased, and the fire in his heart had largely dissipated. *This savage woman truly has some skill; no wonder she is so arrogant...*

When the consultation ended, Wu Er escorted Su Yi'an out of the estate. "Doctor Ling, I will see you home."

Su Yi'an stopped in her tracks. Without a second thought, she pulled down her veil, her eyes filled with desperate pleading. "General, you must not. A few days ago, I merely exchanged a few words with a man who was asking for directions at the mouth of an alley. My hot-tempered mother-in-law accused me of being unchaste and flirting with a stranger, and she used a hairpin to slash my face. If you escort me home, my mother-in-law will surely cause a scene again."

Wu Er was shocked, both by the appalling scars on her face and by the irrational behavior of her mother-in-law. "That is simply preposterous! Is there no one in your family to keep her in check? How can they just stand by and watch her act so wildly?"

Su Yi'an’s eyes immediately welled with tears. "My husband passed away long ago, and my mother-in-law has always asserted her authority as an elder. If I dare to talk back even once, the weight of 'filial piety' would crush me to death."

Wu Er felt a surge of helplessness, as if he were unable to strike a blow against that savage old woman. He gritted his teeth. "This is outrageous! How can such a shrewish and vicious woman exist in this world? I will go and demand an explanation for you!"

Su Yi'an looked dejected. "If you go, General, wouldn't that only confirm the rumors that I am flirting with strange men? My mother-in-law has always forbidden me from practicing medicine; in her eyes, treating a man is even more unchaste and intolerable. She wouldn't even need the authorities—she would drown me in the pond herself."

Wu Er, full of righteousness, looked determined. "She wouldn't dare! No one dares to pin anything on the Prince of Zhenbei’s estate!"

Su Yi'an’s gaze was desolate, making her look pitiful and helpless. "Even if she spares me for the sake of the Prince’s estate, my disobedience would be an established fact. With that mouth of hers, she would surely spread it throughout the neighborhood and among our relatives. The charge of being 'unfilial' would prevent me from ever holding my head up again, and I fear my son would be doomed to remain a bachelor for life."

Her reasoning was sound and logical. Wu Er could no longer insist. "In that case, I will not escort you. If you ever need me to step in, do not hesitate to ask."

"Thank you, General."

"Then, thank you for your hard work, Doctor Ling. Please come earlier tomorrow."

"Yes."

Su Yi'an pulled her veil back up. "Stay here, General. I shall take my leave now~"

Wu Er watched her go with great courtesy. "Farewell, Doctor Ling."

As soon as Su Yi'an turned away, her eyes were filled with disdain: *I’ve already given you the prescription and the acupoints, what more do you want? Only a fool would come back!*

***

Su Yi'an wandered around the city to ensure no one was following her before returning to the Su residence. She would pack her bags, and as soon as the city gates opened at dawn tomorrow, she would make her escape.

No sooner had she entered the courtyard than Su Huairen arrived, asking anxiously, "Yi'an, have you taken anything from the storeroom?"

Su Yi'an remained calm and composed. "Father, I don't even know which way the door to the storeroom opens."

Su Huairen looked heartbroken. "Oh! Who could have done this? The betrothal gifts sent by the Prince of Chu have all gone missing!"

Suddenly, his eyes fell upon a wooden box on the table—exquisite, carved sandalwood, clearly no common item. "What is this?"

Su Huairen picked it up; it was heavy. Curious, he opened it. It was filled with gold melon seeds, their luster catching the light and making his eyes gleam. "Yi'an, where did these come from?"

Su Yi'an answered without hesitation, "The Prince of Zhenbei gave them to me."

Su Huairen murmured to himself: *Her face is ruined, so why would the Prince of Zhenbei give her gold? It must be a severance payment to wash his hands of her.*

The greed in Su Huairen’s eyes could not be hidden. "Yi'an, there’s a thief in the manor. Let Father keep these for you, shall we?" As he spoke, he tucked the box into his robes; it was not a request, but merely a notification.

Su Yi'an rolled her eyes at her biological father in her mind. She snatched the box back and put on a naive expression. "No way! The Prince of Zhenbei gave me these to skip across the lake. I’m going to throw them into the water to hear them splash~"

By invoking the Prince of Zhenbei, she instantly suppressed the greed in Su Huairen’s eyes. His mouth twitched. "Well, then, throw them into the lake in our manor, but don't throw them away outside~"

"Mm-hmm!" Su Yi'an nodded obediently. Intending to tease her father, she added, "Father just said the storeroom was robbed. Since those were betrothal gifts from the Prince of Chu, they certainly belong to me. I must take them all with me when I marry. Father, you had better report this to the authorities and find them. Otherwise, if I arrive empty-handed, the Prince of Chu’s household will surely gossip about my maiden family for withholding my dowry~"