Chapter 145: Have You No Shame?

"How is it, miss? How is my son actually doing?"

Seeing Qiao Qingyun return, the old woman stood up once again in anxiety. The entreaty in her eyes was tinged with a hint of resentment—though it was unclear who it was directed at, she was clearly in a state of utter panic.

"I am sorry, but I have bad news for you. In the future, your son may no longer be able to function as a man. Furthermore, our only option right now is to try and sever the pain nerves to save his life, but this surgery is very expensive. It will cost about twenty taels."

"Twenty taels?"

The old woman was evidently terrified by the price, not to mention the fact that Qiao Qingyun had just informed her that her son had been rendered impotent.

The shock was so great that her eyes rolled back and she fainted dead away!

"Oh, my son!"

Qiao Qingyun pinched the old woman's philtrum, and it took quite a while before she managed to bring her back to consciousness. The very first thing the old woman did upon waking up was to burst into loud wails.

"This is no time for crying. Please sign this right now to authorize the surgery, or we won't even be able to save his life shortly."

Just as the words left her mouth, rapid footsteps echoed from upstairs. Xu Lu hurried down to Qiao Qingyun, breathless, and called out to the ground floor, "Teacher! This is bad! The patient has suddenly started having full-body convulsions; he must be unable to bear the pain anymore!"

"What! Quickly use the anesthetic powder to calm him down!"

"Yes!"

Xu Lu immediately spun around and ran back. The old woman also realized the gravity of the situation; she grabbed Qiao Qingyun's arm and shook it frantically. "I beg you, I beg you, please save my son! My eldest son already died on the battlefield; he must not be allowed to die!"

As she spoke, the old woman instinctively pulled two ingots of silver from her bosom and pressed them into Qiao Qingyun's hands.

The young woman immediately took the money, led the old woman straight to the reception desk, found the consent form from the counter, and placed it before her.

"Sign here. Write your name on this one and his on that one."

Without a moment of hesitation, the old woman snatched up the brush and hurriedly scrawled her signature. Qiao Qingyun quickly collected the document and rushed upstairs to begin the emergency rescue.

Because they had administered the anesthetic powder, the patient's agitation had temporarily subsided, but his breathing was rather labored.

With no other choice, Qiao Qingyun instructed Xu Lu to pause what she was doing and use the oxygen bag to assist the patient with breathing.

Since Chun Cheng was a man, it would be of no great consequence if certain areas were exposed during the procedure.

Qiao Qingyun pulled the privacy curtain closed and conferred with Chun Cheng on how to proceed.

A surgery of this nature was bound to be complex, or it wouldn't command such a high price—especially in an emergency like this, where a formal consultation was entirely out of the question.

"How does it look?"

Qiao Qingyun glanced at Chun Cheng, who pondered for a moment before nodding.

The two of them immediately commenced the operation.

Midway through, they administered a little more anesthetic powder to the patient, terrified that he might regain consciousness.

An hour slipped by, and Qiao Qingyun's hands never stopped moving. Beside her, Chun Cheng continuously wiped down various instruments and gently handed them to her.

Blood was splattered everywhere; if not for the disposable mattress, they would have been in a real bind.

"How is it?"

"Done."

Chun Cheng asked for the final time. Two full hours had elapsed. When Qiao Qingyun finally put down her scalpel, she was drenched in sweat.

Because the wound had been treated with anesthetic powder, Qiao Qingyun was not worried about it tearing open; even if it split, it wouldn't hurt.

Fortunately, she had kept her movements tightly controlled throughout, keeping her arms virtually still.

"Quickly, wheel him out. Do not interrupt the anti-inflammatory injections."

Qiao Qingyun issued her instructions, and Chun Cheng promptly complied. Before long, the patient was moved to a general ward, located right next to the maternity ward.

"How is he?"

Seeing her son being wheeled out, the old woman clutched Qiao Qingyun's wrist and asked, trembling all over.

"He's fine, but he won't wake up until the anesthetic wears off."

She wondered if the extra dose they had given him earlier would make him sleep longer than usual.

"He's awake! He's awake, he's awake!"

Xu Lu came running out again, half-running and half-tripping in her haste to inform Qiao Qingyun.

The group hurried inside together, closely followed by Zhong Shi, who had pushed the door open to check if any unexpected complications had arisen.

"Mother."

A hoarse voice sounded. The man's eyes were veiled with a layer of mist, darting toward the old woman with a look of profound helplessness.

With a heart full of anguish, the old woman stepped forward, took her younger son's hand, and began to weep. "My son, it's all because of that wretched woman! From now on... I'm afraid your family line will end with you!"

"What?!"

Hearing this, the man's pupils dilated in shock, leaving even Qiao Qingyun speechless.

Your son has only just regained consciousness, and you immediately hand down a death sentence—he might as well have stayed asleep.

"No! Mother! No! You're lying to me, aren't you? You must be lying to me!"

The man grabbed the old woman's hand in agitation, gripping it with all his might, until Qiao Qingyun used a great deal of effort to pull the old woman aside.

"All right, you must not move around wildly now, and you still have the intravenous needle in your arm. This surgery cost about twenty taels; if you don't want to live, just get out of here, and I simply won't save you."

Qiao Qingyun detested nothing more than people who, after having narrowly cheated death and walked through the gates of hell, put on a theatrical display of wanting to die.

They truly didn't even measure up to a woman.

Perhaps intimidated by Qiao Qingyun's stern demeanor, the man shrank back and said viciously, "It's all because of that bitch Ai Qing! My eldest brother is already dead! What would it have hurt her to belong to me? Look at her now—she's ruined me so I can't even be a man!"

At the mention of Ai Qing, Qiao Qingyun was startled and turned to glance at Zhong Shi and the others.

Everyone else discreetly shut their mouths.

It was best to avoid trouble whenever possible, especially since Ai Qing still had to stay here.

"Right! Who knows where that bitch went off to die? When she comes back, Mother will avenge you!"

The old woman spoke with utter revulsion, making Qiao Qingyun want to curse them both.

Have you no shame at all?

No matter how flawed she might be, she was still your eldest son's child—how could you two have sunk to this despicable depth?

"Very well, all of you go outside first."

Glancing dismissively at the people standing in the room, the old woman barked the command as if she were the mistress of the house.

The young woman frowned. "He must not eat spicy food for the time being. In two days, let him get out of bed to see if he can walk. Also, you must figure out your own meals."

With that, Qiao Qingyun couldn't be bothered to entertain them further. She turned and led the others out.

Afterward, Qiao Qingyun did not walk away directly, but instead turned aside and entered Ai Qing's room.

Under the care of a nurse, both the infant and Ai Qing were doing very well. Changing diapers, changing little garments, and soothing the baby were tasks Qiao Qingyun had hired experienced hands to help manage.

Hearing someone enter, Ai Qing hurriedly stopped nursing and tentatively looked toward the doorway.

Catching sight of Qiao Qingyun, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Miss Qiao, it's you?"

Qiao Qingyun nodded, her face taut as she approached Ai Qing. "Let me ask you, did you kick someone and injure them?"