After administering the anesthetic, Zheng Qian took a pair of medical gloves from her space.
All eyes were fixed on her hands. People exchanged bewildered glances—what was this strange thing? So tight against the skin, yet transparent… could it be human skin?
A chill ran through the room.
Where did the young lady get these bizarre items?
Meanwhile, Fifth Young Master Zheng Run, who had been wailing like a banshee just moments ago, suddenly stopped crying.
He sat up in surprise and shook his injured foot: "Huh… why doesn't it hurt?"
Zheng Qian quickly pressed him down, her voice firm: "Don't move!"
The bleeding had only just been controlled; if this brat loosened the tourniquet, it would be a huge mess.
Zheng Run ignored her warning, simply stunned. He looked up at the Marquis: "Father Marquis… it doesn't hurt anymore!"
The Marquis felt a jolt in his chest.
Doesn't hurt?
Such a deep wound, blood barely stopped—how could it not hurt?
Doctor Lu muttered: "Little Young Master, are you mistaken?"
"You're the one who's mistaken!" Zheng Run, spoiled by the Marquis, was fearless and defiant. "Do you think I don't know if it hurts?"
Doctor Lu: "…"
Impossible!
Concubine Zhou leaned closer: "Not hurting? How could that be?"
"Really… it doesn't hurt," Zheng Run tried to pull away from Concubine Zhou's reaching hand.
At fourteen, he was in that awkward rebellious age, moody and stubborn. He disliked everyone in the household, including his own mother.
Older sisters? Second sisters? He had nothing but contempt for them, thinking them foolish and trivial.
And yet… this seemingly mundane "Big Sister" had made his pain vanish. He was astonished.
The Grand Lady stayed silent, suspicious, wondering if Zheng Qian was performing some kind of sorcery.
Second Miss Zheng Yutan squinted slightly, her surprise betraying her, and a hint of regret crept in—had she been duped by Big Sister?
"It's the anesthetic. Nothing miraculous," Zheng Qian said.
"Anesthetic?" Doctor Lu asked, baffled. "Never heard of it."
"It's a medicine that stops pain. Old Doctor, the world has many good things—you can't know them all. Or else you'd be a deity yourself," Zheng Qian said with a laugh.
Doctor Lu: "…"
This little girl was driving him mad.
The anesthetic had taken effect. Following Zheng Qian's instructions, Zheng Run's maid fetched the hot water from the copper kettle, now cooled by the well water, and brought it over.
Zheng Qian signaled the maid forward.
She began rinsing Zheng Run's wound with the hot water.
"No! You can't wash it! The wound will fester—he'll die!" Doctor Lu panicked.
The Grand Lady gasped. She remembered a maid once who had cut her hand on broken porcelain while washing clothes. By the next day, her hand was swollen, she ran a high fever that night, and a few days later… she was gone.
Everyone knew wounds shouldn't touch water. Yet here, Zheng Qian was washing such a severe injury.
"It needs to be cleaned," Zheng Qian said, not looking back. "The wound is contaminated—powder, blood, and other debris must be removed."
She had intended to use saline, but her small box couldn't hold such a large bottle, and she couldn't refill it now. So she rinsed with cooled water first, then followed with a small bottle of saline to prevent infection.
As she cleaned, she even pried the wound open.
Everyone gasped, thinking Zheng Run must be in agony.
Yet he sat calmly, staring curiously at his Big Sister.
The Grand Lady almost stopped her, but the words stuck in her throat.
Once clean, Zheng Qian examined the wound—it was about six centimeters long.
"…The dorsum of the foot has a six-centimeter wound, edges mostly intact, reaching the joint capsule, slight damage to the deep fascia, active bleeding present, distal circulation intact," she mentally diagnosed.
Fortunately, the wound wasn't too severe. With proper treatment and rest, the boy would fully recover.
"It doesn't hurt, Big Sister… why doesn't it hurt?" Zheng Run pressed, curious.
"Isn't that good?" Zheng Qian smiled. "It will hurt soon enough. Don't move, lie still."
Zheng Run: "…"
After cleaning and ensuring no debris remained, Zheng Qian retrieved a willow-leaf-shaped scalpel from her space. She needed to enlarge the wound and cut through the deep fascia.
During debridement, the deep fascia must be opened; otherwise swelling could increase internal pressure, causing tissue ischemia. Any damaged fascia must be removed entirely.
Seeing Zheng Qian cut into Fifth Young Master's wound, the faint-hearted turned away.
The Marquis was shocked: "You… you're cutting him? And it doesn't hurt?"
"Father Marquis, it really doesn't hurt," Zheng Run reassured him.
Zheng Qian removed the damaged fascia and tidied the irregular wound, excising necrotic tissue.
It was a bloody process.
From the Marquis' perspective, Zheng Qian seemed to be worsening his son's injury. Zheng Run had previously cried his heart out, yet now his foot was being cut repeatedly with no sign of pain. How could this be?
"Father Marquis, this is for Fifth Brother's own good," Zheng Qian said.
After debridement, she began suturing.
By now, the household had gone numb with shock. No one dared speak.
They watched as Zheng Qian stitched the wound like sewing fabric—three layers in total.
The strangest part? Fifth Young Master showed no sign of pain, his face relaxed, simply observing his Big Sister.
Concubine Zhou couldn't stand it and vomited at the door.
"All done. Three layers sutured, tetanus and anti-inflammatory injections given, wound disinfected again—a simple debridement complete," Zheng Qian noted mentally.
Even during the injections, everyone stared wide-eyed, silent as before.
Finished, Zheng Qian was sweaty, bloodied, and slightly disheveled as she stood.
"Remember, Fifth Young Master's foot must stay dry and rest completely for several days. Light diet, no alcohol, little raw or spicy food," she instructed.
She checked her supplies and handed the box to her maid, Caiyuan.
Looking around, she noticed her cat had somehow climbed onto the beam, watching from above.
"Achou, time to go," Zheng Qian called.
The cat leapt to a cabinet, then into her arms.
"I'm covered in blood—don't get dirty. Can you walk yourself?"
The cat seemed to understand and jumped down, trotting ahead of the pair back toward Huining Courtyard.
"Miss, Achou knows the way!" Caiyuan marveled at the cat's intelligence.