Standing to the side, Charles Clark finally realized who these two people appearing before him for the first time were. The old madam was Ethan Foster's grandmother, and the stern-looking man who had just entered was Ethan Foster's father—William Foster.

William Foster, seeing the old madam in grief, comforted Ethan Foster and then turned to persuade the old madam, saying, “Mother, I have already sent for Dr. Dr. Cooper from Renji Hall. Dr. Dr. Cooper is one of the most renowned physicians in Bianjing. With him here, everything will surely be fine.”

The old madam just shook her head angrily and said, “You’ve had people look at her before, listened to the doctors, listened to the fortune-tellers, and still nothing got better! I watched Ethan and Yvonne grow up. Now that Ethan has ended up like this, how can I not worry? Your daughter is in this state, and yet you remain so calm—what kind of father are you?”

Yvonne Foster just stood to the side, sobbing and wiping her tears. A look of helplessness appeared on William Foster’s solemn face as he meekly replied to the old madam, “Yes, I know I was wrong.”

Just as the scene was in chaos, a steward hurried in from outside and said, “Master, Dr. Dr. Cooper has arrived.”

In a moment, a thin doctor entered, carrying a medicine box on his back. He had triangular eyes, a goatee, and his eyes were half-open, half-closed, exuding the air of a famous physician. Dr. Dr. Cooper and William Foster exchanged greetings, then without further pleasantries, went straight to the bedside. He hooked his hands around Ethan Foster’s wrist, pondered for a while, and stroked his goatee as he asked, “How long has she been ill?”

Charles Clark, being a doctor himself, had heard of Dr. Dr. Cooper’s superb medical skills and felt a glimmer of hope. He quickly replied, “More than two months.”

Dr. Dr. Cooper shook his head and said, “That’s strange. Has she seen any other doctors before? Bring me the prescriptions to have a look.”

The old madam hurriedly ordered a maid to fetch the prescriptions. Dr. Dr. Cooper examined them, his brows furrowing even tighter. In fact, his diagnosis was the same as Charles Clark’s: wind-cold. But for a wind-cold to persist for two months without improvement, and now seeing the young lady’s pulse so disordered and weak, it was clear she was at the end of her strength. Dr. Dr. Cooper had wondered if she had taken the wrong medicine, but upon reviewing the prescriptions, they all contained the right remedies for cold damage—ephedra, schizonepeta, white fungus—nothing was amiss.

Dr. Dr. Cooper’s expression grew even grimmer. The usual medicines for wind-cold had not worked, which meant… perhaps the eldest Miss Wen was not suffering from wind-cold at all. Now, with her breath so disordered and her life hanging by a thread, if he prescribed medicine carelessly and she died, wouldn’t the blame fall on him?

Wanting to protect his own reputation and avoid entanglement with the Wen family, Dr. Dr. Cooper thought for only a moment before sighing and saying, “Old madam, Assistant Wen, your daughter’s illness is beyond cure. Forgive my incompetence—I am powerless to help. It would be best to seek another expert, or… perhaps make preparations for the worst.”

“Ah…” The old madam cried out in shock, then looked at Ethan Foster, her eyes filled only with despair.

Yvonne Foster wiped her eyes, sobbing loudly, and shouted, “You’re lying, you’re lying…”

At this moment, Charles Clark was struck as if by lightning, his face full of disbelief. He said, “Dr. Dr. Cooper, could you have made a mistake? Her symptoms are only wind-cold…”

“Nonsense!” At this point, William Foster, who had been barely holding himself together, flew into a rage at Charles Clark’s words and shouted, “Let me ask you, was it your idea to go to Xizhao Temple this morning?”

From the bed, Ethan Foster quickly said, “Father, it was my idea. It has nothing to do with my husband.”

But William Foster continued to glare coldly at Charles Clark, ignoring Ethan Foster’s defense. In his heart, if not for his daughter’s illness, how could his daughter have been hastily married to Charles Clark? He had already investigated Charles Clark’s background—just a bookworm, nothing more. Such a person, William Foster looked down upon.

William Foster let out a cold laugh and said, “You knew she was ill, yet you still took her out and about. If you hadn’t taken her out this morning, how could Ethan’s illness have gotten this bad? Are you satisfied now? If my daughter dies, I will make you pay with your life.”

But Charles Clark paid no heed to William Foster’s scolding and insisted, “If it’s wind-cold, it can definitely be cured. There must be something wrong. Dr. Dr. Cooper, please check again.”

Dr. Dr. Cooper only shook his head.

Charles Clark felt a surge of frustration and looked at Dr. Dr. Cooper with disdain, saying, “Since Dr. Dr. Cooper is shirking responsibility, then I will treat the illness myself.”

Dr. Dr. Cooper sneered at Charles Clark and said, “If you can cure her, why bother calling me? I have only done my duty. If you wish to treat her, go ahead.” With that, he slung his medicine box over his shoulder and left quickly.

William Foster was stunned for a moment, glanced at his half-unconscious daughter, and finally his anger erupted. His eyes bloodshot, he glared at Charles Clark, strode over, and though thin, he was after all a man of martial background. Like a furious leopard, he pointed at Charles Clark’s nose and shouted, “At a time like this, what’s the use of pretending to be a good person? If anything happens to my daughter, don’t think you’ll leave the Wen family alive.”

Yvonne Foster, both crying and frightened, saw her father truly enraged and quickly grabbed William Foster, saying, “Father, let’s check on sister first.”

On the bed, the delirious Ethan Foster saw this and cried out in alarm, her emotions overwhelming her, and she immediately fainted completely.