The middle-aged woman was clever; she had now realized that something was amiss and nodded to Yunyi, panic written all over her face. "I understand."
Doctor Qiu, having served as a military physician, naturally understood that such an incident was likely no simple matter.
The three returned to the ward. Doctor Qiu did not step forward. Firstly, acupuncture was a hereditary skill passed down in Yunyi’s family, and secondly, it would have been inappropriate for him to intervene.
Yunyi asked the middle-aged woman to help open the pregnant woman’s cotton coat to distract her. "Tell me, what delicacy did you sneak a taste of?"
At this, the middle-aged woman said with a hint of anger, "Juanzi, the time for secrecy has passed. Can’t you see what state you’re in?"
The pregnant woman, Juanzi, was in so much pain that her face had lost all color. It took her a while to say, "Mrs. Shunzi gave me some turtle soup to drink. I don’t know if it has anything to do with this."
Upon hearing Mrs. Shunzi’s name, Yunyi’s heart tightened. Could Mrs. Shunzi be one of those lurking in the shadows?
She casually probed, "In this freezing weather, where did she get a turtle?"
Perhaps due to the effect of Yunyi’s silver needles, Juanzi was now speaking more easily. "She said it was from a distant relative."
So, another person has been brought into this—a distant relative, Yunyi thought. She then said aloud, "Her distant relative must be quite considerate, thinking of her in this cold weather."
The middle-aged woman, catching on, also asked, "Juanzi, have you ever met this distant relative of Mrs. Shunzi’s family?"
While speaking, she pulled out a handkerchief and helped wipe the sweat from her daughter-in-law’s forehead.
The young pregnant woman, perhaps a little flustered, stammered, "I’ve seen him a few times, but he always looks so stern, I don’t dare look too much."
Her movements sped up significantly.
Soon, the young pregnant woman felt something amiss with the arm Yunyi had been treating and quickly turned her head to look.
She saw that her arm had turned a tea-brown color, and Yunyi had already taken a small scalpel from the tray and made a cut on her middle finger. Startled, she was about to cry out in shock.
But her mother-in-law quickly covered her mouth and eyes. "Don’t make a fuss; it will disturb the doctor’s treatment. She’s helping you; I’ll explain everything to you later."
The young pregnant woman was no fool. She understood now that her mother-in-law had kept something from her and nodded silently, saying no more.
They waited until the blood flowing out returned to a normal color. Only then did Yunyi bandage her finger. "Alright," she said, "you should be fine for now. However, it’s best to stay in the hospital tonight for observation, so any issues can be dealt with promptly."

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