Chapter 40: Utterly Mediocre in Every Arts and Accomplishments

Amid the clamor raised by the people of the Marquis of Qingyuan's estate, the noble youths watching from the stands had not actually seen Zhao Wuyan’s men resort to violence, but they had clearly witnessed Zhao Wuyan’s large black horse kicking the opponent’s mount.

The impact must have been considerable.

Once startled, Lin Qingzhi had lost all control of his horse, naturally resulting in his fall.

This matter was neither large nor small.

It was common enough for young aristocratic gentlemen in the capital to be thrown by horses, but if one were to be trampled subsequently, death or crippling injury was certain.

Watching Lin Qingzhi clutch his lower leg, beads of cold sweat rolling down his face, a wave of discontent rippled through the crowd as they felt a twinge of sympathy.

"A polo match is just a game. What does it mean to let your own horse kick someone else's?"

"Sounds less like a game and more like an attempt to commit murder for personal gain!"

"Which of our families lacks that paltry amount of silver? If you ask me, he was just terrified of losing and having to bark like a dog, so he resorted to foul play!"

"Enough!"

The referee struck the gong and declared, "Such accidents are entirely normal during a match. Earlier, someone accidentally struck an opposing mount with their mallet. Young Lord Zhao has committed no foul. The polo match will proceed!"

"You call for it to proceed, but my younger brother is injured like this! How can he possibly play now?"

"If he can't play, he can simply concede defeat! How old is Lady Lin? Does she really fail to understand such a simple principle?"

Zhao Wuyan laughed cheerfully. "Oh, that's right, and don't forget to have your brother bark like a dog! After all, in all my years, I've never heard of any young master from a noble house barking like a dog!"

"Hahaha!" A wave of mocking laughter erupted around them.

This infuriated Madam Bai to no end. "Play? What is there left to play? I say this wager should never have been made in the first place. Someone, go fetch a physician immediately! Why are you standing here wasting breath with him now?"

It was all her fault. Zhaozhao had warned her beforehand that something would happen to Qingzhi, and she should have stopped him!

Yet look at things now!

Listening to her son's cries of pain—after all, he was flesh of her own flesh—she felt as though her heart was shattering into pieces.

Zhao Wuyan gave a subtle signal to his subordinates. "Isn't Imperial Physician Liu here today? Why not let him—"

"No need!" Could Madam Bai possibly be unaware of the man's ulterior motives?

"Someone, carry Qingzhi down the mountain and find another physician!"

Yet Lin Wanyue, oblivious to these undercurrents, chimed in, "Mother, are we leaving right now? But there is an imperial physician right here! Moreover..."

If her younger brother left, how would the match continue?

With only her left behind, what would she do when they mocked her?

"Is this really the time to worry about those 'moreovers'?" Madam Bai found herself chilled to the core by the words Lin Wanyue had yet to finish.

"I-I didn't mean it like that!" Lin Wanyue hastily explained. "It's just that with things turning out this way, I... I don't know how to handle it!"

"It hurts so much!" Lin Qingzhi gritted his teeth against the agony.

Lin Zhaozhao reached out to touch the leg, finding the lower calf bruised black and red, swollen to twice its normal size.

It was a fracture.

Lin Zhaozhao told Madam Bai, "He cannot be moved casually right now. Especially with the mountain paths so rugged, his bones must be set immediately."

Lin Qingzhi gritted his teeth and endured the pain to ask, "Didn't you say that imperial physician has... cough, cough. How do you set it? Do you have any anesthetic?"

Anesthetic, indeed!

Lin Zhaozhao was practically tickled with anger. "You were arrogant and proud when playing polo on horseback, but now that it's time to set bones and heal, you want an anesthetic to gamble with your life!"

[I've never seen such a coward who demands an anesthetic just to set a bone! I am truly speechless!]

Lin Qingzhi, "..."

But didn't it genuinely hurt?

Feeling as though he were about to faint, how was he supposed to endure having his bone set? "Do you not have any anesthetic?"

"Not only do I lack anesthetic, but I don't even know how to set bones!"

Lin Wanyue was beside herself with rage. "Then why are you even talking about it here? Quickly find an imperial physician to examine my brother! It's not your flesh that's hurting, so you don't care!"

Just cure him quickly so we can see if this polo match can still go on!

However, the very instant Lin Qingzhi relaxed his guard, Lin Zhaozhao seized the precise moment and struck directly.

"Crack—"

"Ow, damn it—"

The sharp sound of bone-setting rang out in tandem with Lin Qingzhi's miserable howl.

"Brother, are you alright?!" Lin Wanyue gasped in alarm, utterly disbelieving that Lin Zhaozhao possessed such skill, especially given how wretched Lin Qingzhi's screams sounded. "What kind of reckless treatment are you doing?! If something goes wrong—"

"What could possibly go wrong?"

"It... it seems nothing went wrong..." Lin Qingzhi felt his leg flare with pain for a fraction of a second, after which it suddenly didn't hurt nearly as much. He stared at Lin Zhaozhao in disbelief. "You... I... What...?"

Lin Zhaozhao dusted off her hands. "Done!"

Done with what?

Madam Bai was bewildered. "The bone-setting is finished?"

"Mmhmm!"

"Really?"

Before Lin Zhaozhao could reply, Zhao Wuyan let out a chuckle. "I've long heard that the fifth young lady of the Marquis of Qingyuan's estate is utterly mediocre in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and inept in both civil and military arts, but she has picked up a bit of medical skill. Just like those female doctors, she's got a few little tricks up her sleeve!"

These words grated harshly on the ear, especially the final sentence.

After all, in the Great Yong Dynasty, the status of female physicians was exceptionally low.

Because many medical secrets were passed down only to males and never to females, women who studied medicine lacked proper tutelage, usually ending up doing work like delivering babies.

A man who mastered medical skills could enter the imperial palace as an imperial physician.

And women?

Because men and women should not have direct physical contact, when female physicians treated patients, it frequently stirred up all sorts of gossip and scandal.

In the end, fewer and fewer female doctors were willing to practice openly, and people frequently reviled them as unchaste.

Lin Zhaozhao stood up from the ground.

To be honest, watching these people bicker with Lin Wanyue had been quite entertaining—purely good drama to watch while eating melon seeds.

And when she tried to dissuade Lin Qingzhi from his foolish behavior and failed, she had simply decided not to meddle in other people's karma, fearing the retribution might fall upon her own head.

But if you are going to disparage people and drag me into it?

Well, then, I'm sorry!

"Young Lord Zhao, hearsay is deceptive while eyewitness is truth. What kind of person I am is of no consequence; what matters is that everyone has witnessed with their own eyes how you resort to foul play the moment you start losing a match! Allow me to offer you two phrases: benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, trustworthiness, and loyalty; brotherly love, filial piety, forbearance, courage, and yielding. Wanting to win is not disgraceful, but playing polo so clumsily that it matches your facial features is truly a rare sight!"

Wasn't this cursing him for lacking propriety and loyalty?

Good grief, was Lin Qingzhi his father that he needed to show absolute loyalty to him?

"When a horse throws someone, it is naturally a problem with the beast! If a brute refuses to obey, what use is it for the princess to blame us? Everyone, am I right?"

Zhao Wuyan turned back and let out a hearty laugh.

Instantly, a crowd of sycophantic companions chimed in:

"Indeed! Failing to control a horse you've raised since childhood just shows how utterly incompetent the young master is!"

"If you ask me, they ought to slaughter this horse and turn it into meat!"

"..."

"The beast doesn't know any better, so you'll slaughter the little beast?"

Lin Zhaozhao stepped forward with a gentle smile. "Does Young Lord Zhao truly believe the beast is at fault, and wish for us to dispose of it?"

"Naturally!"

Lin Zhaozhao smiled. "I entirely support Young Lord Zhao's view."

"Pfft—" Several young women standing near Zhao Ruyan giggled aloud.

"Listen to what she's saying, she's completely sucking up to your brother! Just as expected of someone from the countryside, her spine is softer than paper!"

"Besides, the Marquis of Qingyuan's estate truly grows more incompetent with each generation! The Grand Duke of Zhenguo won glorious achievements at the border just a few days ago, yet she's terrified of trouble. How typical!"

"After all, Lin Wanyue wouldn't dare demand justice from us anyway, haha!"

"..."

Listening to the surrounding chatter, Zhao Wuyan felt an immense swell of gratification. Putting on a hypocritical front, he said, "To be frank, if your elder sister and younger brother possessed even half of your sense, how could things ever have reached—"