She currently lacked anesthetic, needing to concoct it overnight before she could remove Yunniang's facial scars.
"I'll prepare some medicine for you to drink first."
Taking paper and brush, Feng Jin wrote down a prescription. These were all anti-inflammatory and antibacterial drugs, intended to prevent post-operative infection.
"Ling Wan, fetch the herbs and decoct them according to the prescription."
Ling Wan had been studying medicine with Feng Jin for the past two days, and could vaguely understand some common prescriptions.
"Sister-in-law, these are all anti-inflammatory medications."
Feng Jin nodded in confirmation. "I need to perform a minor surgery on Yunniang. This is to enhance her body's resistance and prevent post-operative infection. Go fetch the herbs first; I'll teach you the rest slowly."
Ling Wan had good talent in medicine; with proper guidance, she could indeed achieve great things.
"I'm going now..."
Feng Jin took out her long-cherished surgical tools and immersed them in high-concentration alcohol.
There was no high-pressure cooker here, making high-temperature sterilization somewhat difficult. Only the simplest, high-concentration alcohol sterilization was available.
After half an hour of work, the anesthetic powder was finally prepared.
However, the effect of this anesthetic powder lasted only for an hour, meaning she had to complete the surgery within that time.
But facial surgery required extreme meticulousness; not a single detail could be overlooked. Moreover, the area of Yunniang's scars was not small. It seemed she would be very busy tomorrow.
Furthermore, the surgical thread for suturing facial wounds needed to be extremely fine. The catgut she had on hand was too coarse; she needed to find a way to refine it.
"Cai Qing, go buy some sheep intestines."
"Young Madam, are we going to eat sheep intestines tonight?"
Cai Qing's mind immediately conjured up recipes: stir-fried sheep intestines, spicy sheep intestines...
"No, I need them for surgery. You're always thinking about food. Be careful of gaining weight and not being able to get married."
Feng Jin said this intentionally. Cai Qing had indeed gained some weight recently, her face becoming rounder, likely due to the excellent food.
"Really..." Cai Qing, frightened, quickly touched the flesh on her face, which seemed to have indeed gained some weight. "It's over, it's over... I won't eat dinner tonight."
She really needed to lose weight...
"If Cai Qing doesn't eat dinner tonight and gets too hungry, what then? I think you look quite good as you are, not fat at all."
Lu Shi, standing at the doorway, had overheard Cai Qing lamenting her weight. He chimed in. Cai Qing was indeed plumper than her previously slender appearance, and her complexion had become more ruddy.
"Really?" Cai Qing asked uncertainly.
Lu Shi nodded earnestly. "Of course. You look much better than before."
Feng Jin coughed lightly, interrupting their conversation. "Lu Shi, why are you here instead of staying with Ling Mohan?"
"The Young General sent me to deliver this," Lu Shi said, placing the food containers on the table. "These are pastries and preserves the Young General bought for Madam, so that Young Madam can have a little treat."
"Put them down. It's almost mealtime. Stay and have dinner before you go. Cai Qing, buy the sheep intestines and then come back to cook."
"Young Madam, I'll go buy the sheep intestines," Lu Shi said, and then darted away without a trace.
Feng Jin's brows furrowed slightly, her gaze falling on Cai Qing. She instantly understood what was happening, and a smile curved her lips.
...
After dinner, Feng Jin began to refine the catgut. Sterilizing, drying... After an hour of work, she finally obtained satisfactory catgut.
This catgut was now even finer than a strand of hair, yet its tensile strength was sufficient to minimize post-operative wound closure.
"Young Madam... it's getting late, should we go back?"
Cai Qing knocked on the room door from the outside, a man with a frosty expression standing beside her.
"Young General, Young Madam hasn't replied to me," Cai Qing said timidly.
Ling Muhan's face turned extremely grim, his slightly furrowed brows a sign of the extreme anger he was suppressing.
After returning from the barracks, he had waited in his room for two full hours without seeing Feng Jin. He had summoned an暗卫 (ànwèi - hidden guard) to investigate and only then discovered that Feng Jin had not yet returned from the medical hall.
He rushed over immediately, only to be met with a closed door.
The man stepped forward to knock, but the door opened from the inside. Upon seeing the person he longed for, Ling Mohan suppressed his emotions and said sternly, "Do you still know how to go home?"
Feng Jin frowned, glancing out the window, and only then realized it was already dark.
"I was busy and lost track of time. I'll head back now."
Feng Jin glanced at everyone with an apologetic look. She hadn't expected to be so busy.
"Yunniang, you should come back with us. Tomorrow morning, I will treat you." Feng Jin was still worried about Yunniang, an unmarried girl, staying alone in the medical hall might not be safe.
Moreover, some of her equipment was still in the manor; it would be safer to perform the surgery there.
"Then... thank you, Madam," Yunniang said, lowering her head.
As Feng Jin was about to get into the carriage, the man behind her grabbed her wrist and directly pulled her onto the horse.
"You all go back to the manor first," Ling Mohan said sternly to the group, then rode away.
"Where are you taking me?"
The man behind her remained silent, only the sound of the wind whistling past her ears offered a response.
"Ling Mohan, I'm talking to you. Don't be a mute."
Feng Jin's patience wore thin, and she spoke with an unfriendly tone.
"We're here." The man said in a deep voice.
Feng Jin breathed a sigh of relief, easing the frustration in her heart. She lifted her eyelids to look ahead and was instantly captivated.
"This..." Feng Jin pointed at the brightly lit and bustling street ahead, momentarily speechless and unsure of what to say.
"Didn't you say earlier that you wanted to see the temple fair? I inquired for a long time and finally found out that there's a temple fair here tonight. People also say that the matchmaker temple here is very efficacious. Perhaps we can go pay respects to the matchmaker together."
Ling Mohan's deep, magnetic voice sounded near Feng Jin's ear. The breath expelled by the man completely brushed against Feng Jin's neck, sending a tingling sensation that spread throughout her entire body.
"Since we're already here, let's go down and take a look," Feng Jin said, then quickly jumped off the horse and hurried forward.
This was her first time attending a temple fair in ancient times; it was truly lively.
Ling Mohan grabbed Feng Jin's hand, pulling the lively little woman into his embrace. "Be careful, don't run around."
This place was a mixture of all sorts of people.
"I know..."
The two walked side by side, fingers intertwined. Their appearances alone attracted attention wherever they went.
Countless gazes converged on them, making Feng Jin feel uncomfortable. She felt like a monkey in a circus, being stared at by everyone; this feeling was truly unpleasant.
It would be better to be ugly, at least then no one would pay attention.
Feng Jin pulled Ling Mohan and ran forward rapidly.