Nineteenth Century Medical Guide

Chapter 495, Section 491: All Accidents
The carriage rolled onto the iron bridge, quickly crossed the Urumea River, the city's mother river, turned left onto the main road, and then, carried by the sea breeze blowing in from Shell Bay, headed south into the expanded new urban area.

The old town that Ian had just seen had been completely transformed, and even the sound of horses' hooves seemed much lighter.

In contrast to the sweeping expansion of Paris, the redevelopment of the small town was remarkably subtle, and outsiders would hardly notice it unless it was publicized.

Over the past 20 years, San Sebastián has only developed less than 5 kilometers to the south. 500 meters of that was used to build a city park, planted with olive and oak trees, which brings the sweet fragrance of jasmine and orange blossoms to the city in spring and summer. The remaining area has been divided up into tennis courts, a racetrack, and cattle ranches.

One was for the common people, two were for the aristocracy's leisure, and the remaining one belonged to the major taxpayers; the allocation was quite appropriate.

In the three years since Ian took over as secretary, the expansion has stalled, but the redevelopment of the southern community continues. The interests involved in this development, as part of the expansion project, are far more complex than the expansion itself.

He acts as a lubricant, meticulously reciting every fundraising, negotiation, and coordination effort. Of course, listening to the residents' objections is also a crucial part of his work.

"Mr. Ian, we'll be at St. Anthony's Hospital soon."

“Yes, I know,” Ian immediately picked up on the driver’s implication. “What’s wrong? Is there trouble at the gate?”

"Yes, a lot of people came."

Ian knew they were all reporters.

If Gallardo stole the show from the bullfight and was a highly coveted prize in their eyes, then Ian, one of the organizers, was a piece of trash—their primary source of interview material.

It's rotten to eat, but a pity to throw away. Watching him make a fool of himself is a good thing, as it can get a few more words in newspapers and magazines.

Ian was determined not to let them have their way: “Let’s go around to the side gate, not the north one, there must be a lot of people there too. Go straight first, then turn right onto Carias Street, there’s a French restaurant there. Drop me off when we get there, and I’ll go through the alley behind the kitchen.”

"Ok."

The coachman lowered his hat brim and steered the carriage silently around the crowd, easily escaping the swarm of annoying flies as long as he didn't slow down.

Ian also drew the curtains, leaving a crack to observe the street, but a carriage parked by the roadside came into his view.

Both were two-horse-drawn carriages, but the other carriage didn't have an oil lamp hanging in front; instead, it had a beautiful bouquet of flowers. The carriage was painted a rare light brown instead of the traditional black lacquer, and the horses were also chosen to match.

The carriage sat there quietly, its doors closed, and the coachman stood beside the horses, stroking their manes. It seemed they had been there for quite some time.

Ian recognized the car owner, but felt awkward and hesitant.

However, the moment he hesitated, his mind was filled with that person's sweet voice, as if someone had stirred it up with a stick, and he couldn't stop thinking about it: "Never mind, stop the car, I'll get off here."

The coachman thought he had misheard: "Mr. Ian, what did you just say?"

"I said stop the car!" Ian stuck his head out of the window and pounded on the car door. "Right here, I want to get out!!!"

No need to identify himself; his shout alone was enough to attract the attention of reporters. Before the door was even unlocked, several heads with notebooks crowded around, and cameras that had been waiting in the distance were all pointed at him.

Ian glanced back, seemingly observing the reporters, but his gaze was fixed on the beautiful woman in golden light. He watched as she lifted her long skirt, jumped out of the car, and slipped through the commotion into the hospital. Ian then feigned great difficulty, complaining, "Excuse me, everyone, I can't open the car door!"

After dealing with the reporter ten minutes later, he went into the ward alone.

Ian didn't go directly to Galado, but instead went to see the hospital's director, who was also the former head of the clinic and the head of surgery.

"Dean, is that guy badly injured?"

"He's not seriously injured and is perfectly fine." The dean was looking at the newspaper, his tone indifferent. "I'm more concerned about Mr. Anders. I heard he was also injured during a performance. Why wasn't he brought here?"

Ian didn't reply, but muttered to himself, "He's really tough."

The dean glanced up at him, knowing this question was difficult to answer, and thought it would be another day of bickering, so he looked at the newspaper again: "Even Mr. Anders couldn't avoid getting injured, so this guy's ability to escape unscathed might really be due to his talent, a born bullfighting genius."

Ian got what he wanted and turned to leave.

The dean panicked and jumped to his feet: "Hey, wait a minute, how can you just leave like that!"

"what happened?"

"The mayor said before that all the injured from this bullfight would be brought here. Why did only a thief end up here? This is not what we agreed on!"

“There was a slight mishap,” Ian explained. “There are some people I can’t afford to offend, so this is the only way to handle things for now.”

The dean, with an air of "You can't afford to mess with him, so you're messing with me?", got up and stepped forward to say something more, but was immediately reassured by the other party: "Dear Dean, I know you have a hard time. As soon as that person leaves, I will send them all to you."

"Leave? Who's leaving? When are they leaving?"

"That person we can't afford to offend, he's a guest of honor of the new emperor, originally going to Madrid for the coronation ceremony, but..."

Ian hesitated, unable to admit that he was the one who kept the man there, so he turned the conversation back to Gallardo: "Let's get that thief treated first. Since he left the bullring alive, he's the focus of the reporters' attention. For your sake and for the sake of this hospital, we can't afford any accidents at this time!"

"He only has minor injuries and can be discharged tomorrow." The hospital director pondered the mysterious man's identity. "A distinguished guest of the new emperor? A doctor? Who is he? I've never heard of him before?"

"You are interested in?"

"As colleagues, I always want to..." The dean immediately realized his mistake and waved his hand with a smile: "No, no, no, I was just asking casually."

Ian's expression didn't change, but his tone had lowered: "There are some people you can't ask casually. Asking too many questions can easily lead to misunderstandings. Think carefully about where the money for this hospital's renovation and expansion came from, and whose side you are on."

“Of course I’m Duke Montpensier’s man!” The dean immediately became serious. “Alright, alright, I understand.”

"Then, Dean, I'll take my leave now."

Gallardo, now only wrapped in two bandages, leaned awkwardly against the mattress, recounting his experiences in the bullring to the girl. Seeing Ian arrive, he stopped smiling, patted his chest, and said, "I survived."

"I saw it all, congratulations."

Ian glanced at the girl, then took out an official document from his pocket: "As previously agreed, the mayor and the police chief have waived your guilt and imprisonment. You only need to pay a small fine."

"I have to pay a fine? Where am I supposed to get the money?" Gallardo knew who was behind this, but he held back the words. "It can't be someone else."

The girl immediately denied it: "It definitely wasn't my father, he wouldn't do such a thing."

Gallardo was still somewhat doubtful, but his face showed relief, and he even smiled to ease his "offense": "I didn't doubt him, I absolutely didn't mean it that way, you have to believe me!"

"This has nothing to do with Mr. Jose; it's a new regulation that was introduced this year. Even I just found out about the fine. But it's only 20 pesetas, and Olni has already paid it for you."

Ian walked to the other side of the hospital bed, gave a brief explanation, used a teacup to weigh down the documents on the cabinet, and then looked up at the pretty girl: "Why did you come straight from the bullring without even changing your clothes?"

The girl gripped the hem of her skirt tightly with both hands and said in a low voice, "Thank you for helping me distract so many reporters earlier."

Ian felt uneasy, but his face remained indifferent: "I asked the director, and he only suffered superficial injuries. If you have nothing else to do, you should go back quickly." "My father doesn't know I'm here."

The girl wasn't as conflicted as Ian. When their eyes met, she didn't look away, staring straight at him: "Besides, so what if I knew? I just came to see a friend, is that wrong?"

“Friend? Which friend?” Ian countered.

This seemed to touch a nerve with the girl, forcing her to look away and tighten her grip on her skirt. Ian knew he had gone too far; words spoken cannot be taken back, so he could only remain silent, his gaze following his body as he looked out the window.

Gallardo looked at the two men with a puzzled expression, thinking it was his fault, and explained again, "The old man really misunderstood me. This whole thing has nothing to do with me. I didn't do anything, I'm innocent!"

Two people:
Galado panicked and looked at the girl: "Luna, my dear Luna, I only mustered up the courage to confess to you once, and he thinks I'm a bad person, a piece of trash who's going to hurt you, and wants me to die on the yellow sand."

"No, that's not the case!"

Luna shook her head repeatedly, comforting him, "I tried to persuade him, saying that this is just how young people express their affection, it's normal, and he shouldn't react so strongly. But, but Father..."
I know this whole thing has nothing to do with you, but he said that even if you didn't do anything, you were still an accomplice and had to be punished! At that time, all I could do was pray for you, pray that you would come back healthy.

From the moment Luna entered the ward, Galado no longer cared about any of that. He was content as long as he could see her and breathe the same air as her.

He really wanted to act impulsively, to grab Luna's hand tightly, and confess his love one more time. If it had been the day before yesterday, yesterday, or before he entered the bullring, with such an opportunity right in front of him, he would never have let it slip by.

But things are different now.

For once, reason took hold of his mind. After struggling for so long, he seemed to have learned to give up: "Luna, I know Mr. Jose doesn't like me. He says my family is poor and I have no future. But now I've found my purpose in life, I can make a lot of money, and he'll definitely like me then, really!"

Luna glanced at Ian again, shifted slightly back, and asked cautiously, "What target?"

Gallardo didn't notice her strange reaction, his mind filled with fantasies about the future: "Once I recover from my injury, I'll go to Madrid. Give me two years, no! Just one year, and I'll become the strongest bullfighter in all of Spain! Then, all of Spain will cheer for me! And he won't criticize me anymore."

Luna nodded gently, smiling all the while. After hesitating for a moment, she said, "You must all be thirsty. I'll go find a nurse and get some wine."

"OK, thanks."

"."

As soon as the man left, Ian's attitude changed, losing the composure he had displayed in the dean's office: "Why are you still thinking about bullfighting? Don't you understand? Don't you understand why we suggested you spend money to join the mounted police?"

Gallardo dismissed it: "What's so great about being a mounted policeman? They have to walk back and forth on mountain roads, exposed to the sun and rain, and deal with bandits and robbers."

Ian turned and stepped forward, pressing his entire body against the hospital bed, pointing a finger at his forehead: "How can you still not understand? Mounted police can get promoted! Bullfighting can? Mounted police can join the army with Olney's recommendation! Bullfighting can? Once you're in the army, you can..."

"Come on, even if I joined the army, I would never get ahead with a background like mine."

“But Olney and I are both your friends. He’s willing to pay for you and find the best doctors for you. I can also put in a good word for you. You definitely have a chance.” Ian then remembered that Olney had visited Kavi before the bullfight. “Wait, shouldn’t you be at the St. Mattia Foundation Hospital? Why are you here?”

Gallardo didn't understand.

"Olni has found the best surgeon in the world for you, and he is now treating Mr. Anders at Mattia Hospital."

“Kavi? The guy who got me into the bullring? How could I possibly let him treat me?”

Gallardo scoffed, not seeing anything wrong with his choice: "Being a mounted policeman isn't a good job. You saw it yourself, I was led astray by that old man Manuel, and I deserved to be whipped!"

“You know me. I would never dare to rob anyone, much less kill anyone. It’s all that guy named Kavi’s fault. You don’t need to try to persuade me anymore, and it won’t do any good anyway. I’m not going back to the RCMP.”

"Sigh, it was all an accident."

While Ian said this, he attributed it all to fate: "Bullfighters can indeed make money, and ranch owners certainly like bullfighters, but it's all business. He might let his son-in-law do business, but he would never let a part of the business become his son-in-law."

Gallardo understood this time, but he was still unconvinced and turned his face away from his old friend.

"Never mind, just focus on recovering."

Ian wasn't stupid; he knew it was impossible to get Kavi to come here again: "Once you've recovered from your injuries, I'll try to think of a solution for you."

"No! Please don't!" Gallardo said firmly. "I know you and Olni mean well, but please respect my decision. I'm going to Madrid!"

Ian shook his head and left the ward, with Luna standing at the door.

Holding a glass of red wine, she had clearly been there for quite some time, and her complexion was far less pleasant than before: "Men are all the same, all they know is bullfighting."

Ian snatched the glass of red wine, poured it all into his mouth, handed the glass to a passing nurse, and then grabbed her wrist to leave: "Go quickly, staying here will only make your father angry."

But I kept it from him.

“You’ve been gone for so long and haven’t gone home. Anyone with a brain would know you’ve come to the hospital.”

Upon hearing this, Luna slowly frowned and stopped in her tracks.

"What? You don't actually think Mr. Olney will come here, do you?" Ian hit the nail on the head. "To tell you the truth, he's much more law-abiding than you. He hasn't shown his face in front of Gallardo since he was arrested. Of course, he's also much smarter than you; although we haven't met, he's been helping to solve problems at every turn."

"Stop talking!"

Luna covered her ears: "Alright, alright, I'm going back now!"

Seeing her turn to walk towards the main entrance, Ian grabbed her wrist: "There are still a few reporters at the main entrance. Let's go through the back entrance. My carriage is parked there."

Luna assumed the secretary had feelings for her and politely declined, saying, "No need."

“It’s too late for you to go back now.” Ian glanced down at his pocket watch. “Why don’t you come with me to the St. Mattia Foundation Hospital and see Mr. Anders and his assistant, even if it’s just to make a show of it.”

"Don't go!"

Ian was at his wit's end with her: "Fine, I was wrong just now. Let's go. If your father finds out you're here, you won't be able to leave the house again until you get married."

Luna didn't understand other things, but she knew her father's personality very well; this was indeed the old man's way of doing things. But right now, she was still angry and wouldn't consider the consequences; she just wanted to vent her emotions first: "I'm not going."

After saying that, she shook off his hand and continued walking towards the main entrance.

"You really aren't going?"

"Don't go."

"As you just heard, Olney and Mr. Anders are old acquaintances, and he also has a good relationship with Dr. Kavi. Dr. Kavi is currently treating Mr. Anders at Mattia Hospital. Do you think Olney will go there?"

(End of this chapter)