I approached Rose’s bedside calmly. I needed to keep my head clear first. If the patient was unconscious and I appeared flustered while taking care of her, it would only make everyone else in the room anxious.
“The sheets are soaked with sweat. That must be uncomfortable. Let’s start by changing the sheets to something sun-dried and fluffy. And since they might get sweaty again soon, bring two sets if possible.”
A maid fetched new sheets and a blanket from the cabinet and changed them.
“Has she taken any fever reducers? She must be thirsty from sweating so much.”
She needs to drink water.
‘Wait, instead of just water, it should be glucose water…’
I didn’t know the exact ratio for oral rehydration solutions, but I had heard that losing a lot of sweat disrupts the body’s electrolytes.
‘The exact ratio was something like so much salt and sugar per liter… Well, since I don’t know that, let’s settle for a large amount of water with a little salt and a bit of sugar.’
Not cold water, but lukewarm water, similar to body temperature.
“Have her drink water mixed with sugar and salt.”
“My lady, we have water, but for sugar and salt… we need to go to the kitchen.”
The maid looked at me, puzzled.
Bang, bang.
Outside the door, Sir Lucion tirelessly demanded the return of his sister.
“Please, my lady! Rose needs to receive treatment!”
Opening the door now would risk Rose falling under the quack doctor’s knife at any moment.
“Alright, I’ll open the door.”
“My lady!”
“I’ll convince Sir Lucion. Bloodletting is absolutely not an option.”
I smiled reassuringly at Lady Temerly, who was tightly holding Rose’s hand, speechless.
“Apple, open the door.”
“Lady Annette!”
As soon as the door opened, the first thing I saw was Sir Lucion kneeling, as if bracing himself for something.
I signaled to Apple with my eyes. Apple, with a determined expression, nodded and quietly left the room.
“Rise, Sir Lucion.”
“I am aware of the numerous rudeness my sister has shown towards you, my lady. I have no words if you blame me for not teaching her properly. I’ll accept any punishment, but please, do not deprive my sister of the chance to receive treatment.”
“Sir Lucion, it was me who saved Rose Temerly in the willow forest last night.”
In this era, bloodletting was seen as cutting-edge medical technology performed by highly educated doctors.
Sir Lucion’s attitude now was like begging to administer an unproven new drug to his dying sister.
That’s why it was hard to change his desperate heart.
“Sir Lucion, how many days have passed since you swore an oath to me, and now you doubt your lady?”
“Lady, I understand that bloodletting seems dangerous to ladies who don’t see blood often. But Dr. Orwell isn’t any ordinary doctor. He has a lot of experience treating patients.”
No. It doesn’t matter if he’s an ordinary doctor or a renowned one; bloodletting won’t work. It’s just a method of killing people.
“If I wanted to kill Rose, it would have been easier to just leave her to die in the willow forest last night. If left alone, your sister would have died of hypothermia.”
I grabbed Sir Lucion’s hands.
“I ask you, Sir Lucion, I sincerely want to save Rose. Please trust me.”
“What are you talking about! This isn’t child’s play. Even as we speak, Miss Rose’s condition is getting worse!”
At that moment, Dr. Orwell criticized me.
“If Miss Rose dies because you obstructed the doctor’s treatment, will you take responsibility, my lady?”
“No matter what you say, I will never allow a knife on Rose’s body!”
I was scared.
This wasn’t in the original story. I don’t know any magical solutions.
But I know for sure that bloodletting will kill Rose.
Of course, who knows? This is a fantasy world, after all. The method that kills people in my common sense could actually be a real treatment here.
So, what if my treatment doesn’t help Rose recover?
And what if Rose’s family regrets later, thinking they should have used bloodletting?
“Annette.”
It wasn’t the voice of Owen and Sir Lucion, who were doubting and blaming me.
“Do you have another way to treat Rose?”
Darius’s voice almost made my legs give out.
“Yes.”
He only asked one thing: if I had a plan.
“Your Grace!”
Sir Lucion bit his lip.
“Your Grace’s wife is Lady Annette, but Rose is my sister!”
“Are you saying my trust in Annette is just because she’s my wife, Lucion?”
“Lady Annette has no knowledge of medicine.”
In this critical moment, Darius remained cool and unchanging.
“Lucion, it was Annette who found Rose in the willow forest last night.”
One person who unwaveringly supported me.
“Annette, I trust you. Please take care of Rose.”
The person who bolstered my weakening knees. My reliable male protagonist.
‘Yes, I’ll protect Rose from that quack. I won’t betray Darius’s trust in me.’
I swallowed back the tears that threatened to come. Now was not the time to cry.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
