After Pei Yunying’s woven banner was hung up, whether it was imagination or not, more people seemed to come to Renxin Medical Hall for medicine and consultations.

It wasn’t all for medicine though – most of the new patients mainly came to look at the banner.

All the shop owners along West Street came to see it, and after getting Du Changqing’s permission, everyone came to touch the golden characters on the banner for good luck. Blind He calculated at the entrance and said that this place already had excellent feng shui, the plum tree at the entrance grew auspiciously, and now with this banner added, their fortune would rise like bamboo shoots after rain.

This annoyed Bai Shouyi, the proprietor of Xinglin Hall, so much that he developed several large blisters on his lips overnight.

While the neighbors were either envious or jealous, Renxin Medical Hall was full of joy and celebration. Only Du Changqing walked around with a long face all day, complaining that the glittering woven banner hanging on the wall was like a grasshopper’s chest with a wasp’s waist – completely inappropriate.

While Yinzheng accompanied Acheng around a small table peeling oranges for lanterns, Lu Tong had just seen off another neighbor who came to “share in the good fortune” when she turned around and met Du Changqing’s resentful gaze.

Lu Tong walked past him to the medicine cabinet to sort medicines.

Du Changqing followed behind her with an unhappy face, “Doctor Lu, look at this – we’re a medical hall, not a temple. Everyone’s coming to worship this tattered banner. Can we still do our proper work?” He glanced tentatively at Lu Tong, “Why don’t you make a new medicine to remind everyone?”

The weather was getting colder as winter approached. People were wearing more layers of clothing, making waistlines harder to discern, and fewer people were coming to buy “Slender Beauty.”

Usually, the neighbors who came to West Street for treatment were ordinary people, and the consultation fees were very low. Renxin Medical Hall’s income wasn’t as good as before. Du Changqing was thinking of asking Lu Tong to make another ready-made medicine like “Slender Beauty” or “Spring Water” to supplement the medical hall’s income.

Lu Tong said: “Haven’t thought of a formula.”

“You’re fooling me,” Du Changqing said suspiciously, “When you first tricked me into hiring you as the resident physician, didn’t you say something like ‘If I can make nasal congestion tea, can’t I make other medicinal teas’? How come you’re out of ideas now?”

Acheng couldn’t bear to listen anymore and tried to help: “Master, making new medicine isn’t like going to the latrine – you can’t just squat and have it come out. It needs to be thought.”

“How crude!” Du Changqing pointed at him, then looked at the banner on the wall and sighed, “Maybe we should put a basin under this banner and write ‘Ten wen per touch’ – might earn more than running a medical hall.”

Lu Tong was measuring out burdock seeds when she asked, “Master Du if I wanted to become famous – famous enough that high officials and noble households would invite me to make house calls – what would it take?”

Du Changqing was stunned, then sneered: “Aren’t you famous enough now? The Minister of Imperial Granaries and Prince Wen’s mansion – aren’t those officials high enough?”

“Not enough.”

Du Changqing: “…”

He said irritably: “Then please tell me what kind of official would meet your standards, Doctor Lu?”

Lu Tong thought for a moment: “Currently, the Grand Preceptor’s mansion holds the most power in Shengjing. What about a household like that?”

Du Changqing clicked his tongue several times, looking at her admiringly, “I didn’t know you had such ambition.” The next moment, his expression changed to one of despair, “But forget it, it’s impossible. When people in the Grand Preceptor’s mansion get headaches or fevers, the Director of the Imperial Medical Academy personally treats them. Forget about wild medical halls like ours – even medical officials from the Imperial Medical Academy don’t all have the qualification to treat them—”

Seeing Lu Tong’s silence, he glanced at her and continued explaining, “These high-ranking families value their lives like gold. They won’t let outsiders know about any illnesses they have. People of our status might at most treat their servants. No, we don’t even qualify to enter their mansion – their servants probably see doctors from well-known medical halls they’re familiar with.”

Lu Tong’s heart sank slightly.

What Du Changqing said matched exactly with what she had found out.

Grand Preceptor Qi’s mansion was located east of Imperial Street, with guards at both front and back gates, making it difficult for ordinary people to enter. When family members fell ill, they invited doctors from the Imperial Medical Academy. The Grand Preceptor had one son and one daughter – his young daughter was eighteen this year and not yet married, while his only legitimate son, Qi Yutai, currently held a nominal position as Administrative Commissioner in the Ministry of Revenue.

These three people were difficult to approach. Setting aside Qi Qing, both Miss Qi and Young Master Qi traveled with large groups of guards, and their close associates were hard to influence.

The situation seemed to have reached an impasse.

As for the Kuaihuo Tower, given that it involved the Grand Preceptor’s mansion, the shrewd Master Cao certainly wouldn’t risk danger for a bit of silver, and might even become suspicious, drawing unwanted attention.

This path was blocked.

Du Changqing was still complaining: “That Qi Yutai just relies on having the Grand Preceptor as his father, thinking he’s above everyone else. Who knows what kind of grand display he’ll put on at the Yuxian Tower for his birthday this year? Who cares to see it?”

Lu Tong’s eyes flickered, catching the key point in his words: “Birthday?”

“Yes, the first day of the tenth month, just a few days away.” He remembered Qi Yutai’s birthday particularly clearly, “That wastrel celebrates at Yuxian Tower every year, spending over a thousand taels of silver just on cups and tea sets.”

Yinzheng couldn’t help asking: “Being so extravagant, isn’t he afraid of drawing attention and causing resentment towards the Grand Preceptor’s mansion?”

“Qi Yutai’s maternal grandfather’s family were imperial merchants in earlier years, supposedly with accumulated wealth, but who knows?” Du Changqing snorted, “Without evidence, no one can make wild accusations.”

By the end, his words were dripping with sourness.

Lu Tong remained silent.

Du Changqing sighed and spoke to her earnestly, “So, Doctor Lu, people should be more down-to-earth, not trying to reach heaven in one step. What’s so good about the Grand Preceptor’s mansion? Apart from having more silver, higher status, and greater power – I think it’s not as comfortable as our small medical hall.”

“Don’t you agree?”

“Yes.”

Du Changqing was startled.

“You’re very right.”

Lu Tong looked up, with a strange expression: “People should be more down-to-earth, not trying to reach heaven in one step.”

…

In the Grand Preceptor’s mansion, Grand Preceptor Qi Qing was having his meal.

The Grand Preceptor was fond of healthy living. Despite being nearly seventy, he ate sparingly but well. He enjoyed fish and meat, among which “Golden Sauce Jade Sashimi” was his favorite dish.

The so-called “Golden Sauce Jade Sashimi” was made with a sauce of garlic, ginger, salt, white plums, citrus peel, cooked chestnut meat, and rice served with fresh, fatty perch that had been deboned, skinned, dried, and sliced thin, to be dipped in the “golden sauce” before eating.

The Grand Preceptor ate quietly, methodically picking up a sauce-covered slice of fish sashimi and carefully chewing it while his steward poured him light tea and said, “Master, it will be young master’s birthday in a few days.”

Qi Yutai was still under house arrest and couldn’t go out, but after nearly a month, he was going stir-crazy. In a few days, it would be the first day of the tenth month, and Qi Yutai had already become restless, hoping to use this opportunity to get some relief, pleading with the steward.

“Continue the confinement.” Qi Qing lifted his sleeve to drink tea. His black gauze robe was loose, his bones thin and stark, sitting by the window drinking alone, resembling a sophisticated Taoist immortal.

The steward lowered his head: “Yes.” Then he brought up another matter: “By the way, master, there’s news about the good woman you asked people to investigate.”

Qi Qing raised his eyebrows: “Speak.”

“The good woman’s married family name is Ke, they run a porcelain kiln business in Shengjing. Previously, due to the young master’s connections, all the cups and dishes used for the old madam’s birthday celebration were supplied by the Ke family.”

“However, the Ke family is gone now.”

Qi Qing paused his chewing: “Gone?”

“Yes.” The steward bowed his head and said: “On the first day of the fourth month this year, the Ke family’s master, the good woman’s husband Ke Chengxing, was found drowned in the liberation pond at Wan’en Temple. The coroner concluded it was accidental drowning while drunk. Since he was found dead while worshipping former dynasty deities, there was no follow-up.”

“After Ke Chengxing’s death, his wife returned to her maiden family, his mother died of illness, and the Ke family had no other heirs.”

Qi Qing put down his bamboo chopsticks, silent.

The steward said: “Master, this matter is suspicious, there may be someone manipulating things behind the scenes.”

Qi Yutai hadn’t intended to cause the good woman’s death – it was just a small matter. But now looking back, Fan Zhenglian who helped handle the aftermath had met with trouble, the Ke family had met with trouble, and Fan Zhenglian had spread rumors about the Qi family before his death.

Those rumors had appeared suddenly, spreading everywhere overnight. When the Qi family dealt with Fan Zhenglian in prison, some people suspected the Grand Preceptor’s mansion of silencing witnesses. It was only when Grand Preceptor Qi went to court dragging his old bones and weeping, saying directly that such actions would be like covering one’s ears while stealing a bell, and because no evidence could be found, that the emperor half-believingly stopped pursuing the matter.

But this didn’t mean the matter was over.

Someone was targeting the Grand Preceptor’s mansion from behind the scenes, but who this person was and what forces backed them remained without a trace until now.

After a long while, Qi Qing suddenly asked: “What was the name of the deceased good woman?”

“Master, her surname was Lu. She was a woman who married far from Changwu County.”

The good woman had been dead for a long time – as the wife of a mere merchant, her status was too lowly for her name to be worth remembering even in death.

Qi Qing said: “Go investigate her family.” He added: “The household members before her marriage, their current situation, and what relatives remain in her maiden family.”

“Master suspects…” The steward’s eyes flickered.

“‘Managing the inner chambers with propriety, showing kindness to relatives, maintaining harmony both inside and out, establishing family prosperity.'”

The old Grand Preceptor picked up his chopsticks for sashimi again, saying calmly: “Family members inevitably help each other.”

…

Mid-ninth month, the air grew stern and congealed, as dew turned to frost.

The grass under the window in the courtyard was covered with a thin layer of white frost at night. Yinzheng gathered the half-finished orange lanterns in a basket and brought them back inside.

Lu Tong sat at the table combing out her undone braids, wearing only a thin inner garment. The garment was made too large, making her appear even more frail.

Yinzheng looked at her with concern, saying: “Why does it seem Miss has grown thinner again? It must be from being too busy these days. You were already thin, but now it looks like a breeze could blow you away.” She muttered to herself, “Tomorrow I’ll ask Dai Sanlang to pick some meaty bones for soup.”

She always paid attention to Lu Tong’s daily needs. Lu Tong raised her eyes to look at her reflection in the mirror.

The woman in the mirror had a graceful neck and lustrous black hair cascading over her shoulders. Her face was smaller than a palm, too delicate, with a pair of deep, cold eyes quietly gazing back at her.

Perhaps because she had rarely looked in mirrors during those years at Luomei Peak, now when she faced her reflection, staring at that familiar face, she felt a hint of strangeness.

Yinzheng was still worrying about her thinness, saying from behind: “You eat the same as us daily… Miss, did you not like eating when you were little? Is that why you won’t grow now?”

Didn’t like eating when little?

Lu Tong shook her head, “No, I always ate a lot when I was little.”

Yinzheng looked dubious: “Really?”

“Really.”

The refined lady in the mirror gazed at her, that beautiful delicate face blurred by lamplight, gradually transforming into another face – plump, white, and full of childish innocence.

It was a little girl’s face.

The little girl wore her hair in two buns, each adorned with a black gold butterfly, as adorable as a white rice ball. Lu Tong smiled, and the little girl in the mirror smiled back at her, her smile carrying a hint of mischievous pride.

Lu Tong’s gaze grew distant.

She hadn’t lied.

In her childhood, she was greedy for food and always ate a lot. Before leaving Changwu County, Lu Tong had been a chubby girl.

Among the three children in the family, Lu Rou was graceful and beautiful, and Lu Qian handsome and clever. Perhaps heaven had been too generous with the looks of the first two Lu children, by the time it came to Lu Tong, it had grown careless.

She loved food. When the family bought fruits or sweets, she always grabbed the most, and she got hungry quickly, often complaining of hunger before meals were even ready. Everyone in Changwu County knew her – when she was little, neighbors found her round face cute and often gave her peanuts and preserved fruits. Gradually her cheeks grew fuller, like a white soup dumpling.

While plumpness was considered auspicious in childhood, as one grew older, it made one appear less intelligent. Especially when compared to her sister, the greatest beauty in Changwu County.

Liu Kun’s sons, Liu Zide and Liu Zixian mocked her behind her back: “Fat pig, be careful you won’t find a husband when you grow up!”

When she heard this from others, she ran home crying all the way, encountered by Lu Qian returning from school. After learning what happened, he went to fight the Liu brothers.

The fight was fierce. When their father returned home, he made Lu Qian apologize to the Liu family with a rod on his back, and punished both Lu Rou and Lu Tong for copying texts as well – it was the Lu family tradition that when one person erred, all three were punished.

Lu Tong was already upset, and this made her even more so. She cursed the Liu brothers while copying texts, not forgetting to swear that she would become as slim and graceful as her sister within half a year, vowing to cut her food intake by half starting that day.

But she got hungry before half a day had passed.

At night she was so hungry her eyes saw stars. After her parents were sound asleep, she couldn’t bear it anymore and secretly climbed out of bed to look for leftover food in the kitchen. After searching without success, Lu Rou and Lu Qian came in from outside.

Lu Tong’s face fell: “Why isn’t there any leftover food?”

“Who told you not to eat during the day? Father gave it all to me to eat,” Lu Qian deliberately teased her.

“You!”

“Shh, keep your voice down.” Lu Rou smacked Lu Qian, “Stop teasing her.”

Lu Qian pulled out several sweet potatoes from behind his back: “It’s too late now, let’s roast some sweet potatoes to eat. Otherwise, you’ll wake mother and father, and father will make you copy more texts.”

Just thinking about copying texts made Lu Tong’s head hurt, and she hurriedly said: “Alright, alright, sweet potatoes it is.”

Starting the kitchen stove was too much trouble, so Lu Qian found the heating brazier and placed it at the door, lit it, and buried the sweet potatoes in the coals.

The kitchen gradually filled with the fragrance of sweet potatoes.

Lu Qian used tongs to dig them out of the fire, Lu Rou peeled them and handed them to Lu Tong, who sat against the wall eating. Taking a bite of the steaming sweet potato, her whole body felt warm and content.

Lu Rou said: “Eat slowly, be careful not to burn yourself.”

Lu Qian set aside the others to cool for her.

After finishing one whole sweet potato and reaching for a second, Lu Tong caught a glimpse of Lu Qian’s bruised and swollen face. She suddenly paused, feeling inexplicably dejected.

Lu Qian saw her look at him and stop eating, and asked puzzled: “What’s wrong?”

“Your face is too ugly…”

The young man grew angry: “Lu Three, don’t you know this is all for you!”

Lu Tong said dejectedly: “I’m thinking, if I get so hungry after missing just one meal, maybe I’m destined to be a fat pig forever?”

Lu Rou frowned: “Tong Tong, you’re growing now, how can you not eat? Don’t listen to Liu Zide and Liu Zixian’s nonsense.”

“But they said I won’t be able to get married in the future…”

“Who asked them to worry about it,” Lu Qian said irritably: “They’re not feeding you, what does it matter what they say?”

Sorrow welled up in Lu Tong: “But neither of you is like me… could it be that I’m not mother and father’s child?”

Lu Qian: “…You want the father to beat you?”

Lu Rou sighed, reaching for a sweet potato: “Then we’ll eat with you, and we can all become little pigs together?”

Lu Qian laughed: “So the Lu family will have three little pigs? Alright, I’ll eat one too… smells so good!”

With her siblings sitting on either side, the steaming sweet potatoes drove away the winter cold. In the kitchen filled with sweet fragrance, Lu Tong wiped her tears, and somehow, her heart didn’t feel so heavy anymore.

The next morning when their mother went to the kitchen and found the burned-out coals and sweet potato peels in the corner, she couldn’t help but laugh and cry, poking Lu Tong’s forehead as she scolded: “You think too much. Just eat your food properly, don’t worry, everyone in our Lu family is beautiful, none of us will be ugly.”

“In the future, you’ll grow up to be as beautiful as your sister!”

At the time, Lu Tong always thought these were just her mother’s comforting words.

Later…

Later she was taken to Luomei Peak by Yun Niang, gathering herbs all over the mountains, and testing medicines. Perhaps due to exhaustion, hunger, or perhaps it was simply time for her growth spurt. One day, after who knows how long, while washing clothes by the stream, she saw a strange young woman’s face reflected in the water.

Peach-blossom cheeks and apricot face, elegant and graceful, completely different from that round, soft chubby girl.

She lay by the stream looking for a long time.

So mother had spoken true – she had grown as slim and graceful as her sister, becoming a beautiful young lady.

So… without realizing it, she had grown up.

A soft sound – Yinzheng closing the window – broke Lu Tong’s reverie. The autumn night was desolate and cold, the smiling little girl in the mirror gradually faded away, replaced by another woman in plain makeup, gazing at her indifferently.

Lu Tong’s expression shifted slightly.

She had grown up, from an innocent little girl into a graceful young lady, but unfortunately, none of her parents or siblings, no one from the Lu family, had seen it.

They never got to see how she looked grown up.

Those embraces and tears of reunion she had imagined countless times in her dreams, the joy and concern, all came to an abrupt end, like that brazier of coals in the little kitchen years ago, forever extinguished in a cold winter night.

Never to live again.

But the fire in her heart blazed up, growing fiercer and fiercer.

The window was closed, and the late autumn night was cold.

“I want to go to Yuxian Tower,” Lu Tong suddenly said.

Yinzheng, who had reached the door, was startled and instinctively looked back at Lu Tong in surprise.

Lu Tong raised her finger, gently tracing the eyes and brows of her reflection.

The person in the mirror gazed back with eyes calm as still water, yet beneath that stillness, invisible currents surged.

She withdrew her hand.

“On the first day of the tenth month, Qi Yutai’s birthday…”

“I want to go to Yuxian Tower,” she said.