After leaving Yan Huai’s main tent, Qin Wan first escorted the Empress Dowager back before seeking out Yan Chi. Earlier, Yan Chi had made a circuit of the Northern Wei envoy’s tent but hadn’t completed his investigation when he received word of Yan Qi’s provocations. He had returned halfway through, and now Yan Chi was waiting for Qin Wan to arrive so they could go to the Northern Wei envoy’s tent together. Since everything had been revealed, there was nothing left to hide.

Meanwhile, Yan Qi and Yan Che walked out side by side. Yan Qi remarked, “Who would have thought the person who helped the Crown Prince last time was Ninth Young Lady? The Crown Prince truly has good fortune with the ladies.”

Yan Che narrowed his eyes. “King Cheng should mind his words. Whether Ninth Young Lady is healing the sick or examining corpses to solve cases, she is doing virtuous deeds. Your Highness should not project your unsavory thoughts onto her.”

Yan Qi smiled. “The Crown Prince seems quite protective of Ninth Young Lady…”

Yan Che gave a cold laugh and turned away without further engagement, his sleeves sweeping behind him as he departed. Yan Qi stood there for a moment, his eyes growing cold as some thought crossed his mind.

When Qin Wan found Yan Chi, he was speaking with a guard. Seeing her approach, he waved the guard away. Qin Wan walked up and asked, “How is the investigation going?”

Yan Chi gazed at her with deep eyes, momentarily silent. Qin Wan considered for a moment before saying, “Don’t worry, this situation isn’t necessarily bad. I can handle it. I’ve made plans for when we return to Lin’an City.”

“What plans?” Yan Chi’s gaze remained intense.

Qin Wan’s lips moved slightly, but she seemed unsure how to respond. Yan Chi glanced around to ensure they were alone before sighing. “This situation isn’t just ‘not bad’ – it’s exactly what you wanted, isn’t it?”

Qin Wan hesitated. “Yan Chi—”

Yan Chi raised his hand to stop her words, asking directly, “Does your unfulfilled wish have something to do with this?”

Qin Wan had often mentioned having an unfulfilled wish but never told Yan Chi what it was. Yet she had asked him how to handle something that seemed as difficult as climbing to heaven. Yan Chi knew this referred to her unfulfilled wish. Given Qin Wan’s personality, she wouldn’t normally want to make a big deal of this situation, nor would she desire rewards from the Emperor. Yet today, she had said to wait until the Northern Wei case was solved before accepting rewards. Looking at her now, though Yan Chi didn’t know exactly what she wanted, he somehow felt that what she planned to do was deeply connected to examining corpses and solving cases.

Their eyes met, and Qin Wan could only nod. “Yes.”

That simple affirmative answer made Yan Chi’s heart sink. For Qin Wan to act this way, even willing to make public her skills as a coroner, she must have something she desperately wanted. But what reward would she ask from the Emperor?

Seeing the complex emotions in Yan Chi’s eyes, Qin Wan stepped forward. “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”

As they stood outside, Yan Chi’s eyes remained deep and thoughtful. After studying her for a long while, he finally stepped aside. “We found someone with injuries, fresh ones. Come with me to examine them.”

As Yan Chi cleared the path before her, Qin Wan suddenly felt as if he was clearing the way for her chosen path. No one knew what she intended to do, but Yan Chi must have guessed something. Yet he still set aside his questions and let her proceed.

Qin Wan’s heart filled with complex emotions, but she didn’t hesitate to walk forward. When they reached the Northern Wei envoy’s tent and lifted the curtain, they saw seven or eight Northern Wei warriors inside. Two of them had their robes open at the front, revealing bruises on their chests and arms. Upon closer inspection, Qin Wan recognized one as Xu Chang.

“Pull up your clothes and roll up your sleeves,” a Da Zhou soldier commanded. Xu Chang and the other man complied immediately. Yan Chi brought Qin Wan closer, and she examined them carefully before declaring, “These are indeed fresh wounds, probably received within the last six hours.”

As she said this, Qin Wan’s brows furrowed deeply. These injuries were from last night, matching the time of the perpetrator’s actions. But why did two people have injuries? If there were two people, how did Fu Desheng manage to escape?

Yan Chi asked coldly, “How did you two receive these injuries?”

Xu Chang glanced at the man beside him, whose face immediately showed shame.

“Speak up!” Xu Chang barked.

The warrior lowered his head and said, “Last night… after His Highness the Crown Prince brought people to inspect, I saw Deputy Commander Xu and others leave. I secretly drank some hidden wine. Later… when Deputy Commander Xu returned, he was furious. I was drunk and unclear-minded, so I fought with the Deputy Commander…”

Qin Wan examined their wounds. “What did you hit each other with?”

Xu Chang replied, “I didn’t use anything. He grabbed a stick from beside the door. These marks on my body were all from his beating.”

Upon hearing this, the other warrior knelt. “I know I was wrong—”

Xu Chang frowned slightly. “Your Highness, the Crown Prince hasn’t awakened yet. I don’t wish to make this matter bigger. Please help us keep this discrete.”

Yan Chi looked at Qin Wan, who nodded, and he responded, “This is an internal Northern Wei matter. I naturally have no right to interfere.”

After leaving the tent, Yan Chi said, “I noticed all the wounds are fresh, and the injuries on both men are different. What do you think?”

Qin Wan frowned. “They are indeed fresh wounds, and as the warrior said, they were inflicted last night. This suggests their injuries are not unusual.”

Yan Chi’s expression darkened. “So we’ve hit another dead end.” Then he added, “By the way, were there others present yesterday when you sent the medicine boy to get new medicines from the storehouse?”

Qin Wan thought for a moment. “No one in particular. At the door, there were only the guards you assigned and two Northern Wei guards, though I didn’t recognize them. Why?”

Yan Chi explained, “Last night, the medicine boy left the pharmacy on his own, while the outside guards were called away. I suspect the perpetrator knew beforehand when the medicine boy would leave. Otherwise, just removing the guards wouldn’t be enough – they’d need to get the medicine boy out too, which could have been risky to arrange.”

Qin Wan’s eyes brightened. “That’s true. Would you like me to identify those two guards?”

Yan Chi nodded. “I’ll take you around, and you can point out which ones they were.”

Qin Wan agreed, and Yan Chi led her to inspect the Northern Wei warriors’ tents again. Xu Chang and the others assumed they were continuing their investigation and didn’t suspect anything. After leaving the tent, Qin Wan informed Yan Chi, “The two tall, thin men standing against the left wall in the second tent – I’m certain they were the ones guarding the door at the time.”

With this information, Yan Chi immediately assigned people to watch those two. He wanted to discuss more with Qin Wan, but Tuoba Wu came running urgently from the direction of Tuoba Hong’s tent. “Qin Wan! I saw my brother’s finger move!”

Tuoba Wu’s voice was very loud. Upon hearing this, Qin Wan thought Tuoba Hong might be waking up.

Qin Wan grabbed Yan Chi’s hand. “Quick, let’s go see—”

She hurried back to the tent, but upon entering, they found Tuoba Hong still lying there unconscious. Tuoba Wu followed them in. “I just saw his finger move I’m not lying.”

While checking the pulse, Qin Wan replied, “I didn’t say you were lying.”

She concentrated intensely for a moment before withdrawing her hand. “It was probably just involuntary movement. Though his finger moved, there were no signs of him waking up. His pulse is indeed stronger than the past few days, but it’s still quite weak.”

Tuoba Wu’s eyes, which had just lit up with hope, immediately dimmed upon hearing these words. Outside, Yan Chi, who had been waiting, understood the result when Qin Wan didn’t emerge for a while. When she finally came out, her expression was indeed grave.

However, Yan Chi asked, “Is he close to waking up?”

Qin Wan’s instinct was to shake her head, but when she met Yan Chi’s eyes, a flash of understanding crossed her mind. She quickly nodded, “Yes, he is indeed close to waking up. His pulse is much better than the previous days. He might wake up tomorrow…”

……

……

As Tuoba Hong’s condition improved again, within just one night, news of Qin Wan’s skills as a coroner and her solving of the Gold Robbery Case spread throughout the camp. With so many people in close quarters, any news traveled extremely fast. By early the next day, the entire camp knew of Qin Wan’s deeds.

Some expressed admiration, others showed contempt, and many couldn’t understand why a woman would choose to work as a coroner, considered a lowly occupation. When Qin Wan walked outside, whispered discussions followed her everywhere.

“That’s the Ninth Young Lady of the Qin family…”

“Indeed it is. I heard besides medical skills, she can also examine corpses and help solve a major case.”

“She’s a favorite of the Empress Dowager, so why would she learn the art of examining corpses? Coroners are invariably from the lowest class. How could a young lady from a Marquis’s family do such dirty work?”

“Who knows? These noble families are truly unfathomable.”

As Qin Wan walked through the camp with Fu Ling, these whispers drifted to their ears. Fu Ling frowned and huffed, “What do these people know? My Lady’s aspirations are beyond common understanding! My Lady’s determination rivals any man’s. They’re all ordinary folk who only know how to gossip behind her back.”

Qin Wan’s expression remained unchanged as she consoled Fu Ling, “It’s alright. I expected this. This is precisely why I kept it secret before. After all, we’re all just ordinary people.”

Fu Ling snorted lightly, “Even if we’re all ordinary people, My Lady is different. My Lady can do things they cannot. My Lady has helped so many people – can they do the same?”

Patting Fu Ling’s shoulder, Qin Wan smiled, “That’s enough. People have different thoughts from us, and we can’t stop them from speaking. Let’s just pretend we don’t hear it.”

While Fu Ling still pouted with indignation, Qin Wan entered the pharmacy.

As soon as she entered, two medicine apprentices came forward to bow. Qin Wan gathered new medicine for Tuoba Hong, and as she was about to leave, a thought struck her. “Did anyone unusual visit the pharmacy before the incident the other night?”

The two apprentices exchanged glances and shook their heads. One said, “Ninth Young Lady, His Highness the Crown Prince’s people have already asked. There were no strange visitors or unusual occurrences that entire day.”

Having experienced the incident in the pharmacy, both apprentices were extremely anxious, fearing they might fall under suspicion.

Qin Wan hadn’t suspected them, and upon hearing this, she nodded without further questions. Yan Chi would have thoroughly investigated everything. Perhaps she was being too sensitive. With this thought, she turned to leave, but just as she reached the doorway, she heard one apprentice ask, “Is the bruise medicine ready for Deputy Commander Xu?”

The other hurriedly replied, “Ah, I forgot! I’ll prepare it right away.”

Qin Wan turned back. “Bruise medicine for Deputy Commander Xu?”

The first apprentice nodded. “Yes, Deputy Commander Xu said he was injured and needed bruise medicine.”

Thinking of Xu Chang’s injuries, Qin Wan asked, “Did he come asking for it today?”

The apprentice shook his head. “No, it was last night. We met Deputy Commander Xu at the medicine storehouse. He had been injured earlier from sparring, then seemed to get some minor injuries during the hunt, and then while searching for Crown Prince Tuoba. He had quite a few wounds, so he came asking for medicine.”

Qin Wan nodded but remained silent as she walked out. She had seen that Xu Chang indeed had many old wounds. He had represented Northern Wei in the martial arts competition with the three kingdoms’ warriors, participated in the hunt, and then followed Lin Zhang to search for Tuoba Hong. It wasn’t surprising he was injured, but how did Xu Chang find the two apprentices at the storehouse? Had he come to the pharmacy first and, finding no one there, gone to look for them, or…

Upon this thought, Qin Wan quickly called to Fu Ling, “Go tell Bai Ying to report exactly what the apprentices just said to His Highness the Crown Prince. I’m returning to Crown Prince Tuoba’s tent.”

Fu Ling nodded and immediately turned to leave. Qin Wan stood there for a moment before walking forward, but after just two steps, she suddenly felt as if eyes were boring into her back.

She stopped and quickly turned around, but saw no one on the small camp path behind her. Qin Wan pressed her lips together – it was too strange. She rarely had such feelings, yet when she turned around, there was no one there.

It was still early, and the morning camp paths were quiet and empty. Looking further, she could only see an endless succession of tents stretching into the distance. As she gazed out, an inexplicable chill crept into her heart. Her breathing quickened as she hurriedly turned and left, walking rapidly along the camp’s main northern road. Soon she saw Tuoba Hong’s main tent, but upon closer inspection, she noticed that the Northern Wei guards had been replaced by Xu Chang and another person.

Seeing Qin Wan’s approach, both Xu Chang and his companion showed great respect – after all, she had saved Tuoba Hong’s life. Qin Wan nodded to them and was about to enter when she paused and said, “Deputy Commander Xu Chang.”

Surprised at being suddenly addressed, Xu Chang quickly turned. “Does Ninth Young Lady have any instructions?”

Qin Wan smiled slightly. “I noticed earlier that besides your new injuries, you have old wounds as well. Do you need medicine for the bruises?”

Upon hearing this, Xu Chang’s smile widened. “Thank you for your concern, Ninth Young Lady. I had already gone to your pharmacy to request medicine, just the evening before last at dusk. The medicine apprentice said they would deliver it to me.” He laughed heartily. “Although it’s been a day and I haven’t seen it yet, it’s fine. As long as Ninth Young Lady takes care of our Crown Prince, that’s what matters. I’m tough-skinned – it’s no problem. Perhaps they’ll deliver it soon.”

Xu Chang spoke candidly, showing no signs of concealment. Qin Wan asked, “Oh? Did you go to the pharmacy?”

Xu Chang thought for a moment and shook his head. “No, it was your medicine storehouse, I think. I was going to the pharmacy, but one of my men said the pharmacy staff would be getting supplies from the storehouse that day, so the pharmacy would be empty. So I asked around and went to the storehouse instead.”

Qin Wan thought of the two tall, thin men and nodded without further comment.

After entering the tent, she still felt something strange, though she couldn’t quite place what. Tuoba Wu hurriedly said upon seeing her, “I think my brother’s wounds are starting to heal. A scab just fell off, but it didn’t bleed.”

Hearing this, Qin Wan quickly went forward. She had been wanting to examine the wounds on Tuoba Hong’s back, but his injuries were so severe and dangerous that she hadn’t dared move him these past few days. With this in mind, she first examined his wounds, changed his bandages, and then carefully turned him over. After turning him, she took some alcohol and began cleaning the wound marks on Tuoba Hong’s back.

After lying motionless for many days, Tuoba Hong’s wounds were either beginning to heal or showing signs of infection. Qin Wan carefully examined and treated each one before applying new medicine to his back. After applying the medicine and laying Tuoba Hong back down, she looked again at the bruise on his waist. Somehow, compared to the wounds on his back, this bruise seemed unusually dark…