Chapter 581: Unexpected Death

Gu Jiu Ling hurriedly ordered people to bring Sir Chen into her clinic.

By then, a dark crowd had already filled the outside of the clinic, most of them students from the Imperial Academy.

Each individual was agitated, feeling this place was not a clinic for saving lives but a prison intending to harm their teacher.

Gu Jiu Ling had put on her surgical gown, washed her hands, donned gloves, turned her face and said to Zuo Feichen: "Young Master Zuo, ready, push the patient in."

The operating room had inner and outer layers; the outer layer was the waiting area, where pre‑operative disinfection was prepared.

The inner layer was where the surgery was performed, filled with various precision instruments; only Zuo Feichen and Jiu Yue could normally enter this place.

Even those medicine attendants could enter only if they were Zuo Feichen's long‑term trusted aides.

Gu Jiu Ling first had people place Chen Zhuo in the outer room to await disinfection, while she retrieved the instruments and medicines from the inner space and prepared them.

She had used the shortest time possible, but no sooner had she finished speaking than Zuo Feichen's face drastically changed and he rushed in.

"Where is the person? Hurry and push him in—the head wound needs immediate surgery, otherwise it'll be a huge trouble!"

"Princess Consort, Princess Consort……" Zuo Feichen, who was usually calm and composed, now had a drastically changed face and his speech became incoherent.

Gu Jiu Ling frowned slightly: "What's wrong? What happened? Where's the patient? Push him in!"

Gu Jiu Ling's voice also tightened: Chen Zhuo must not die; if he died today, it would be a great disaster for the Prince.

"Sir Chen…… Sir Chen seems to have died……"

Zuo Feichen's face turned slightly pale.

It felt like a thunderbolt striking down from above Gu Jiu Ling's head, leaving her completely dazed.

She hastily shoved aside the incoming Zuo Feichen who came to report, and rushed quickly to the outer room.

"How could he die? I just took his pulse earlier; it wasn't so serious that he'd die imminently. Although the injury is severe, it's not beyond saving—just the pre‑operative disinfection work on the patient—what on earth are you doing?"

Gu Jiu Ling rushed to Chen Zhuo's side, only to find his complexion already turned ashen.

His whole body went rigid and stiff, even his white hair limp and drooping.

Seeing this, Gu Jiu Ling's heart fluttered anxiously as she rushed forward and lifted her hand to feel the major artery on Chen Zhuo's neck.

There was not the slightest sign of a beat, and Gu Jiu Ling's heart sank instantly.

She tore open Chen Zhuo's collar, placed her hands together, and pressed hard on his chest.

"Quick! Push in to rescue!"

Gu Jiu Ling's voice trembled slightly, almost a low growl.

Zuo Feichen shoved aside the blocking medicine attendants, pushed Chen Zhuo straight into the inner room, and then kicked the door shut.

Gu Jiu Ling then picked up the defibrillator and pressed it repeatedly on Chen Zhuo's chest.

At this moment, the heart monitor attached to Chen Zhuo showed a flat line, with no fluctuation whatsoever.

After this round of resuscitation, both Gu Jiu Ling and Zuo Feichen were exhausted to the point of utter fatigue, then they stared blankly at each other.

Sir Chen was truly dead this time.

Suddenly, shouts came from outside as the Imperial Academy students demanded that someone be sent in to check their teacher's condition.

Xiao Yin had already sent people to surround the clinic on all sides to prevent others from entering, which posed a certain danger to Gu Jiu Ling.

At this moment, two groups faced off below, the shouts of the Imperial Academy students rising wave after wave.

These cries, heard by Gu Jiu Ling, felt like a summons to her doom.

Gu Jiu Ling stood frozen there, realizing she might have stirred up tremendous trouble.

"Princess Consort, hurry—go this way down and first retreat to the Wangfu to avoid trouble."

Even Zuo Feichen, who was not in the court, could see that the situation was extremely unfavorable for them.

Although birth, aging, sickness, and death are natural, we doctors cannot possibly save every person forever, but today's patient is special.

If we can't save him, these few of us could be torn apart by the Imperial Academy students.

"Let's go together!" Gu Jiu Ling thought today's matter was a huge trouble she had brought upon herself.

Zuo Feichen brought Gu Jiu Ling toward another secret exit, moved aside a flower vase by the window, and revealed a passage leading outside.

When they were building this clinic, Gu Jiu Ling had already discussed with Zuo Feichen that in case of emergency they could flee this way.

From now on, whenever there's a medical disturbance! To protect the doctors' safety, when there's no time to call for reinforcements, they can also expose this—originally thought to be just a joke—but they never imagined it would actually be put to use.

"Princess Consort, go first—now that Sir Chen died in our clinic, someone must step forward to take the blame."

"Because of the Prince Rui's involvement, if the Princess Consort shows herself, it will surely arouse even greater dissatisfaction among the Imperial Academy students; for now we should first lay low—those students, though scholars, when they get riled up are even less reasonable than warriors."

Gu Jiu Ling was completely dazed at this moment.

She watched helplessly as Chen Zhuo, right before her eyes, struck his head against the stone statue.

She also watched helplessly as he died in her own operating room, his mind in chaos, feeling as if something had been overlooked about him.

Just moments ago, when I took his pulse, I clearly knew Sir Chen could still survive?

But why, when he was brought to her, while she was preparing surgery in the inner room, did Chen Zhuo die on the operating table—this makes no sense emotionally or logically.

Could it be that some link went wrong, or that Chen Zhuo's advanced age truly made him unsalvageable, yet there must be some weak point in him somewhere?

She couldn't figure it out, but there was no time left for her to think it through.

She knew Zuo Feichen was completely correct—if she stayed here, it would only exacerbate the conflict.

Gu Jiu Ling first had to leave this place; after waiting a while to calm down, investigating the matter clearly would be the safest course.

She patted Zuo Feichen's shoulder and said softly: "Watch your safety, be careful; if those reckless factions refuse to obey, you must strike back as well."

Zuo Feichen nodded and said: "Princess Consort, you go first; although I am a doctor, I still know a few martial moves—those scholars won't get the better of me."

"This time you and the Prince will likely have trouble; you'd better think of countermeasures early."

Gu Jiu Ling nodded and entered through the secret passage.

Zuo Feichen had just moved the flower vase back when the door on the other side of the operating room was kicked open violently from outside.

The leading few students with grim faces rushed in, but upon seeing Chen Zhuo's corpse lying on the operating table, they instantly burst into loud wails.

In a moment, the news of Chen Zhuo's death spread, and the outside of the medical hall instantly became really lively.

The Imperial Academy students blocking the outside of the medical hall, upon hearing that their teacher had died, could no longer hold back and all rushed into the medical hall.

Meanwhile, the guards around Xiao Yin, under Ling Feng's leadership, were somewhat at a loss.

They were facing unarmed students; if they were other sturdy young men, they would have knocked them out with a single punch.

But now they couldn't fight or kill, and were actually forced open a gap by these students.

These students all rushed into the medical hall and smashed it to pieces.