Young Crush and the Ninth Royal Uncle’s Jealousy

Reid Yale lay injured, surrounded by four or five imperial physicians. Su Wan was merely frightened, yet she had two imperial physicians and two maidservant-healers attending her.

But the seven guards bitten by snakes and the fifteen other wounded men had only three medicine boys doing basic cleaning and bandaging.

Watching the medicine boys flustered—some searching for medicines, others wiping sweat—Serena Feng sighed but said nothing. She told the guard captain she needed to wash her hands first.

She said she was washing her hands, but in reality, she was looking for a chance to retrieve medicine from her Smart Med‑Pack.

When Serena returned, she had already wrapped the necessary medicines around her waist. She asked the guard captain to drive the medicine boys out so they wouldn't interfere with her treatment.

The guard captain obeyed immediately. The medicine boys, though lacking skill, were full of attitude. Hearing this, they put their hands on their hips and scolded, "You want me to leave? What, you look down on me? Fine, I'll go! If someone dies, don't blame me, and don't beg me to come back. You really think you're something. You think I want to deal with you big-headed soldiers? Go ahead and wait for death here and see if an imperial physician ever comes for you."

The guard captain broke out in a cold sweat, repeatedly apologizing to the medicine boys, insisting it wasn't about looking down on them—just that someone among them could handle snake venom, and he didn't want to trouble the medicine boys further.

The medicine boys didn't believe him. They snorted and let their eyes linger on Serena Feng for a moment. Though they didn't know her, her noble attire made it clear she was a person of status. Dissatisfied but intimidated, they left without further protest.

With the medicine boys gone, the room fell quiet. The injured guards lay on wide pallets, which made things easier for Serena. Right in front of the guard captain, she removed the equipment and medicines she had tied around her waist.

The captain stared in shock, thinking to himself that this Miss Feng had somehow managed to bring all these tools into the palace—how impressive! That gleaming silver blade was a knife, and judging by the edge, it was as sharp as his own sword.

"Go, bring me two jars of the strongest liquor." Serena didn't let him linger, finding excuses to send out everyone in the room who wasn't injured. Once only the wounded remained, she took out syringes and serum, injecting the snake-bitten guards and carefully re-examining their wounds.

"Damn it! How could this happen?" When the captain returned with the liquor, he heard Serena cursing.

"Miss Feng, what's wrong?" The captain hurried over.

Serena was furious. Seeing the captain come in, she scolded without thinking: "How could you miss the venomous fang left in the wound? Do you know how dangerous this is? One careless mistake could cost a life! You weren't careful at all, that's not responsible to your patient, your instr..."

She forcibly swallowed the last few words—damn, she was actually repeating what she'd say to a surgical assistant. Serena took a deep breath and told herself to calm down.

With the Master of the Mystic Healer Valley's antidote pill, this patient's situation wasn't hopeless—his life could be saved. But the leg was severely poisoned and probably... beyond rescue.

The captain was terrified. He didn't fully understand Serena's words, but he knew he'd made a mistake and apologized repeatedly. Serena had no time for him: "Go out and see if my medicine chest has arrived. If it has, bring it in quickly—I need it."

Serena had been crouching too long and her legs were numb. She knelt on one knee, pressed down on the guard's lower body, and used her knife to gouge out the venomous fang along with the surrounding flesh.

"Ah..." The unconscious guard convulsed from the pain. The captain shivered all over, gulping hard, and his gaze at Serena grew strange.

Splat—the poisonous blood spurted out. Serena had prepared for this, leaning back with her eyes half-closed to avoid the spray. She grabbed the white cloth the medicine boys had readied earlier, wrapping it around the wound to contain the blood. Turning around, she saw the captain still standing there and snapped, "Why are you just standing there? Go!"

"Yes, yes, I'll go right away!" The captain dropped the liquor and dashed out as if a vicious dog were chasing him.

Serena had planned to bandage the other wounds, but for now she had to focus all her attention on the guard with the venomous fang.

The poisonous blood kept flowing, and the guard's face grew paler. If it went on, he'd bleed out completely. But she couldn't risk a blood transfusion here in front of everyone.

"Do all you can and leave the rest to fate. The rest is up to you—hold on, and you might save your leg. If you can't, I'll have to amputate. Losing a leg is better than losing your life."

Her words made the other wounded guards shiver. They glanced at their own wounds, both hoping and fearing Serena would treat them—afraid she'd also tell them their legs had to go.

Serena stood up, slipped out of sight, and found a hidden corner. She activated her Smart Med‑Pack again, took out more injections and blood-replenishing medicine. By the time she returned, the blood flowing from the guard's wound was turning red again.

"The antidote pill and serum are working." Serena finally allowed herself a small smile, though she couldn't relax yet—the venomous fang had been inside too long, and she couldn't be sure there wouldn't be complications.

Once the blood flowing from the wound was fully bright red, Serena sprinkled medicine and bandaged it. "Tonight is the critical period. As long as the snake venom doesn't flare up again, there's a seventy percent chance your leg can be saved."

Why only seventy percent? The guard had lost too much blood. Serena would have to think about whether a transfusion might be possible later.

Aside from the seven bitten by snakes, the other fifteen wounded weren't much better off. Several had been thrown down by giant pythons; one had a shattered lower leg. He was only seventeen, yet hadn't cried out in pain once since the injury.

Serena thought of modern youths who scream at a mere cut, and admired this boy's composure. He was obviously nervous but gritted his teeth and endured. Serena gave him a thumbs up and comforted him: "You're amazing! Don't worry, trust me—you'll be fine."

"Oh..."

The less seriously injured guards winked at the boy. Boom—his face turned red, and he dared not look at Serena.

Serena didn't know what the boy was thinking. After she finished setting his injury, he still hadn't reacted. Only when she said, "Your wound is tricky. I can only stabilize it for now. Later, come with me out of the palace for further treatment," did he snap back to himself.

"Okay, okay!" The boy nodded vigorously, his eyes glued to Serena, unable to look away. Wherever she went, his gaze followed—like a youth with his first crush, and the object was Serena.

Just then, Prince Nolan walked in and saw the scene—his face instantly darkened...