That Damned Old Man
Seeing the two arguing, Dr. Rowan Lin frowned and simply went outside to wait.
"So what if I die!? Are the White Family cowards who fear death?" Sophie White let out a bitter laugh, looking at Alexander Hayes. "General, if I die, I can finally go down and reunite with my father and my family."
Her words stabbed at Alexander Hayes’s heart. The tragedies of the White Family were the one thing he could never bear to hear. As soon as Sophie mentioned it, he felt as if his insides were burning with grief. "Sophie, your father entrusted you to me before he died, asking me to take good care of you. Are you really going to make me break my promise?"
Sophie White gave a mournful smile. "But men and women shouldn’t touch each other. My wound is on my abdomen—how can I undress in front of a man?"
"Sophie! What will it take for you to let me treat your wound!?" Alexander Hayes was at his wit’s end with Sophie’s stubbornness.
Sophie White clung weakly to Alexander Hayes’s wrist. "Alex, you took me in when I was ten and raised me by your side. My whole family is gone—I have no one left, no relatives. I only see you as my family. Alex, if you don’t mind, why not recognize me as your sister? If I’m your sister, then my brother can check my wounds. You can report my condition to Dr. Rowan Lin, and he can guide you in treating it. You’ve spent years in the army and know how to handle wounds and bandages. You’re smart enough, and with Dr. Rowan Lin’s guidance, I’m sure you’ll heal me."
"No, absolutely not!" Alexander Hayes refused immediately. As soon as he heard about seeing another woman’s body, he instinctively rejected the idea, feeling that it would be a betrayal of Lily Evans.
"Alex, I want you to be my brother, but you’re so unwilling. If you won’t agree, then I’ll just wait for death..." Sophie White’s tears fell as she closed her eyes. "Father, Mother, Sophie is coming to join you. On the road to the afterlife, our family will be together and won’t be lonely."
"Sophie, you’re not allowed to say such things again!" Alexander Hayes was truly torn.
"Anyway, the general despises me. He thinks I, the traitor’s daughter, am not fit to be his sister. Even my only family in this world looks down on me, so what’s the point of living? I might as well die and be done with it." Sophie put on a look of utter despair, though inside she was certain Alex couldn’t bear to let her die and would surely agree to her request.
As long as Alexander Hayes saw her body, all that talk about being siblings would be nonsense. Sophie White could then proceed step by step with her plan—she was sure she’d get what she wanted eventually.
Just as Sophie White was driving Alexander Hayes to distraction, a cough sounded from outside the door. Dr. Rowan Lin’s voice came through: "Ahem, sorry to interrupt you two. It’s not that I want to eavesdrop, but with my martial arts, my hearing is just too sharp—I can’t help it. Anyway, even if you’re sworn siblings, it’s still improper for a man to see a woman’s body. If Miss White doesn’t want a man to examine her wound, it’s simple: find a woman skilled in medicine to check it and relay the details to me. Isn’t that better than having the prince do it himself?"
Alexander Hayes suddenly saw the light. He’d been so flustered by Sophie White that he hadn’t thought of this solution. Now, hearing Dr. Rowan Lin’s suggestion, he immediately said, "Good! I’ll go fetch Peony right away! Peony is a woman, skilled in medicine, and she used to be one of the Hayes family’s shadow guards—she’s trustworthy and reliable!"
With that, Alexander Hayes dashed out of the room like a gust of wind to find Peony, leaving Sophie White behind, gritting her teeth and cursing Dr. Rowan Lin’s ancestors: That damn old man, why does he have to meddle in everything!