The snow in Shengjing kept falling, and before they knew it, it was December.

Most of the red plum blossoms in the small courtyard had bloomed, and the Yazhai Book Store on West Street began selling large quantities of peach wood charms for New Year decorations.

Renxin Medical Clinic put out a new facial oil called “Jade Dragon Balm,” made from spices mixed with medicinal oil fats to create a face cream that could prevent skin from cracking due to freezing cold. Because it wasn’t expensive, common people often bought it along with pastries and Guanyin statues as holiday gifts. The income of Renxin Medical Clinic gradually maintained a stable balance after “Jade Dragon Balm” appeared.

Early in the morning, Du Changqing went out with Yin Zheng and A’Cheng to distribute porridge.

Distributing porridge was a tradition left by Du Changqing’s father, Old Master Du. Every year on the winter solstice, everyone from Renxin Medical Clinic would go to the temple entrance on West Street, set up a tent, and cook “Seven Treasures Five Flavors Porridge” to distribute to the poor.

Since there was no one at the medical clinic and Du Changqing knew Lu Tong was busy preparing for the spring examination, he didn’t ask Lu Tong to come along, leaving her to tend the clinic.

In the inner room, Miao Liangfang sat in a reclining chair with a thin blanket over his legs, squinting as he watched Lu Tong writing examination booklets beside him.

Ever since that morning when he came to see Lu Tong, the two had reached a subtle understanding. Miao Liangfang tacitly agreed to teach Lu Tong medical theory to help her pass the spring examination, and Lu Tong tacitly agreed that if she truly passed the spring examination, she would fulfill Miao Liangfang’s request.

He came every morning and taught Lu Tong until late at night before leaving. Although Du Changqing grumbled, he also provided three meals a day, which was better than going hungry. Thinking that as a former Hanlin Medical Officer Academy medical officer, teaching a doctor or two shouldn’t be too difficult, especially since this female physician from Renxin Medical Clinic had some reputation and was clever—this job shouldn’t be too hard.

But Miao Liangfang soon discovered he was wrong—

“Little Lu, how can you use salt brine water for scabies?” Miao Liangfang glanced at Lu Tong’s booklet and couldn’t help covering his forehead.

“Why not?”

“Salt brine water is highly toxic and will worsen suppuration when applied.”

“That’s for cases with sores and bleeding. Using brine water when there are no sores or bleeding is harmless.”

“How do you know?”

“I’ve used it.”

“You’ve used…” Miao Liangfang’s words got stuck in his throat as he stared at Lu Tong: “You’ve used it?”

Lu Tong nodded.

Miao Liangfang felt like he was punching cotton—soft and frustrating.

She’d used it?

Who would believe that!

It had been over half a month since he started teaching Lu Tong. From initial hidden expectations to current overwhelming frustration, Miao Liangfang was shocked by Lu Tong’s “medical skills” every single day.

Since Lu Tong was preparing for the spring examination and he knew nothing about Lu Tong’s background, on the first day of teaching, he wrote examination papers for each of the nine medical specialties to test Lu Tong’s foundation.

However, it would have been better not to test her. Once he did, this Doctor Lu truly shocked Miao Liangfang.

The medical theory and pharmacology Lu Tong wrote, though not very comprehensive, could barely pass. However, the prescriptions she wrote for various conditions were truly wild and heretical.

Common prescriptions were fine, but for any difficult conditions, while Lu Tong’s symptom analysis was fairly accurate, her prescriptions always included one or two poisonous herbs.

At first, Miao Liangfang thought Lu Tong was just in the habit of writing prescriptions this way, but as she wrote more, some prescriptions were completely unheard of by Miao Liangfang, gradually making him realize something was wrong.

Rather than saying this Doctor Lu understood medical theory, it was more accurate to say she better understood various poisons.

She was skilled at using poison to treat illness!

Miao Liangfang had tried subtle inquiries, attempting to find out if this Doctor Lu had some special hobby or personality issues. He said to her: “Emergency prescriptions with poisonous herbs can make toxicity surge up and down to weaken disease momentum. Gentle prescriptions without poison work slowly because non-toxic means slower efficacy… why don’t you try a different prescription?”

Lu Tong frowned: “I don’t know how.”

The answer was direct and decisive.

After several attempts at probing, Miao Liangfang gradually understood that this Doctor Lu truly didn’t understand medical theory and hadn’t received proper medical training. It seemed her medical learning was entirely self-taught, and her foundation was poison.

Her familiarity with poisons and the ease with which she used them made Miao Liangfang feel alarmed.

Even more alarming were the prescriptions Lu Tong wrote.

Miao Liangfang prided himself on mastering a hundred good prescriptions, but Lu Tong’s prescriptions were completely unheard of. Curiosity got the better of him, so he secretly selected a few mild prescriptions to test on himself and discovered they actually had miraculous effects.

Those prescriptions were real!

And when he asked Lu Tong about them, she dismissed him with just one sentence: “I’ve tried them.”

As if she’d really tried them!

Miao Liangfang didn’t believe it at all. Among those prescriptions were many highly toxic medicinal materials, and the conditions treated were bizarre and varied. If Lu Tong had tried them all one by one, how could she still be alive? Even test subjects didn’t have it this bad.

Convinced that Lu Tong had a mysterious background and that her family must have ancestral prescription collections, but after several fruitless inquiries, Miao Liangfang let it go. After all, his goal was to get Lu Tong into the Hanlin Medical Officer Academy, but looking at the current situation—

Miao Liangfang sighed: “Miss, like this, it’s impossible for you to enter the Hanlin Medical Officer Academy.”

He hinted tactfully: “The spring examination has nine specialties, each with its own format. Your prescriptions might actually cure symptoms, but if you answer like this on the exam paper, you definitely won’t pass.”

“We medical officers at the Hanlin Medical Officer Academy aren’t afraid of prescriptions that can’t cure people—we’re afraid of prescriptions that kill people. You start by adding several toxic medicinal materials, and as soon as the examiner sees the paper, they’ll immediately throw it away. What can you expect then?”

Logically speaking, Lu Tong was intelligent. She grasped many medical principles immediately and had an almost photographic memory. Miao Liangfang dared say that even those noble sons in the Imperial Medical Bureau who had been taught by teachers in all nine specialties for years might not have Lu Tong’s exceptional talent.

But it wasn’t stupidity that was feared in students—it was students who were too opinionated. Lu Tong was ultimately better at poison than medicine. When she answered according to her own ideas, Miao Liangfang felt his vision go dark.

“Those old fogies at the Medical Officer Academy are all cowards. They’re cautious even when writing prescriptions for beauty treatments. You’re so wild, using medicine so boldly—even veterinarians aren’t this daring!”

A voice sounded from behind.

“Who wants to be a veterinarian?”

Lu Tong’s hand holding the brush paused as she looked up toward the door.

The medical clinic door was wide open. A young man entered from outside, wearing a brocade cloak with gold thread borders over his official robes, making him appear even more strikingly brilliant in the snowy weather.

Lu Tong put down her brush and said indifferently: “Why has the Imperial Guard Commander come?”

Since that night when he came uninvited and she helped him avoid Shen Fengying’s search, Lu Tong hadn’t seen this person for many days, not knowing if he was dead or what.

This was good. Honestly speaking, Lu Tong didn’t want too much entanglement with him. She hadn’t forgotten that the day after Pei Yunying was injured, the capital was under martial law for half a month, supposedly because someone had attempted assassination in the palace. An imperial guard who suddenly transformed into an assassin—one could imagine the danger involved.

She just wanted to do her own things. What Pei Yunying did was none of her business. It would be best if it were like that heavy snow at the temple in Sunan—the next day, bridges return to bridges and roads return to roads, with no one knowing anyone else.

As if not noticing Lu Tong’s coldness, Pei Yunying entered the inner room and said: “I came to get Bao Zhu’s medicine.”

Bao Zhu’s medicine was collected by someone sent by Pei Yunshu every few days, and Lu Tong occasionally made house calls. Bao Zhu’s residual poison was already very minimal. If things went well, she could recover completely after another half year of care.

As an uncle, it wasn’t unusual for Pei Yunying to make a trip for his niece. Lu Tong got up and went behind the medicine cabinet to get the pre-packaged medicine.

Miao Liangfang sat in the corner with his head down, looking like a patient being examined. Pei Yunying casually glanced back, and his gaze suddenly stopped.

“I… I’ll go to the back courtyard to get medicinal materials!” Miao Liangfang jumped up, grabbed his walking stick, and hurriedly turned to run behind the felt curtain.

However, after just two steps, he was called back by the person behind him.

“Why are you running, Medical Officer Miao?”

Lu Tong looked up in surprise.

Miao Liangfang froze in place, not daring to move for a long time.

Wind rose on the long street, slipping through the medical clinic’s main door and blowing the papers on the table into a rustling chaos. Lu Tong’s gaze moved between the two men, and she slowly frowned.

In the suffocating silence, Miao Liangfang slowly turned around and forced a smile at Pei Yunying that looked worse than crying.

“Young, Young Master Pei.”

Pei Yunying looked at him quietly: “It’s been quite a long time.”

“Does Master Pei know Master Miao?” Lu Tong put down the medicine in her hand and asked.

Pei Yunying casually put down the payment and sat at the small table in the inner room.

“Medical Officer Miao, whose prescriptions were once in great demand at the Hanlin Medical Officer Academy,” the smile at the corner of his mouth was faint, “how did you end up here?”

Lu Tong’s gaze fell on Miao Liangfang. Miao Liangfang stood awkwardly with an unpleasant expression, so Lu Tong said: “Master Miao is the teacher I invited to teach medical theory.”

“Teacher?” Pei Yunying glanced at him. “When Medical Officer Miao left the Medical Officer Academy years ago, his whereabouts were unknown for many years. I didn’t expect to have the fortune of meeting him here today.”

Lu Tong’s eyes moved slightly.

Pei Yunying’s attitude toward Miao Liangfang couldn’t be called friendly. She didn’t know if they had any past grievances. No one knew what happened at the Hanlin Medical Officer Academy back then, or why Miao Liangfang ended up lame and expelled from the Medical Officer Academy. Du Changqing had asked Miao Liangfang about it, but Miao Liangfang was unwilling to discuss the matter in detail, only saying he would explain once Lu Tong passed the Imperial Medical Bureau spring examination.

Lu Tong knew nothing about Miao Liangfang’s past, but in the subtle atmosphere between Pei Yunying and Miao Liangfang, she glimpsed some clues.

Miao Liangfang stood in front of the felt curtain, hands clasped together, looking up with some discomfort: “Yes, yes, yes, quite a coincidence indeed.”

Lu Tong pondered silently. Miao Liangfang left the Hanlin Medical Officer Academy over ten years ago, while Pei Yunying ten years ago was just a green youth of about ten years old. What kind of grudge could these two have?

“Medical Officer Miao has changed quite a bit over the years.” Pei Yunying looked him over with a smile, his gaze pausing momentarily on his lame right leg.

Miao Liangfang’s expression became even more rigid.

Actually, since Miao Liangfang started teaching Lu Tong at Renxin Medical Clinic, compared to the previously slovenly, alcoholic dirty man who was worse than beggars, he was like a different person. At least his straw-like messy hair had been combed neatly, and his clothes had been changed to clean cotton garments—Du Changqing was afraid it would affect the clinic’s image.

Lu Tong hadn’t seen Miao Liangfang’s previous appearance, but hearing Pei Yunying’s reminder, she could probably guess how spirited Miao Liangfang had been in the past.

Seeing Miao Liangfang’s hands at his sides clenching tighter and tighter, she spoke up: “The fresh artemisia just delivered to the kitchen hasn’t been sorted yet. Master Miao, please go inside and help me sort it out first.”

Hearing this, Miao Liangfang cast a grateful glance at Lu Tong, agreed, lifted the felt curtain, and quickly escaped.

Pei Yunying looked at Lu Tong, and Lu Tong looked back at him calmly.

After a while, he smiled: “To have the once-glorious Medical Officer Miao personally instruct you, Doctor Lu has quite extensive connections.”

“After all, we’re of humble status and can only rely on ourselves in everything. Without a medical officer’s instruction, how could we compete with those noble sons at the Imperial Medical Bureau?”

Lu Tong placed the pre-packaged medicine for Bao Zhu on the small table and sat down across from Pei Yunying.

He looked at the medicine on the small table and asked: “You’re going to take the Imperial Medical Bureau spring examination?”

“Didn’t the Imperial Guard Commander know this long ago?”

This matter had caused quite a stir. With Pei Yunying’s extensive network of informants, Lu Tong didn’t believe he was only finding out now.

“What others say is one thing; hearing it personally is another.” He leaned back against the chair lazily: “I thought Doctor Lu would grab onto the big tree that is the Grand Secretary.”

“Why?”

“Young Master Dong has always been obedient, but he fell out with his mother because of you. Taking the spring examination at this time is slapping the Grand Secretary in the face. If you don’t pass, that’s one thing, but once you do pass, the grudge will be formed.” He glanced at the medical texts piled everywhere in the inner room and the booklets Miao Liangfang had compiled for Lu Tong, his eyebrow slightly raised: “Doctor Lu can’t be serious, can she?”

Lu Tong: “As you can see.”

“Isn’t Doctor Lu afraid of offending the Grand Secretary?”

“Not afraid.”

His expression became more serious as he stared intently at Lu Tong. After a long while, he spoke thoughtfully.

“Not afraid of officials, not afraid of assassins, not afraid of killing, not afraid of burying bodies…”

“Doctor Lu,” he asked, “is there nothing in this world you fear, no one you’re afraid of?”

Lu Tong’s heart trembled.

The young man’s eyes were clear and bright, but their depths were unfathomable. When looking at people, they seemed caring at first glance, but upon closer inspection, held an elusive sharp edge.

Always ready to dissect people from inside out.

She lowered her eyes and suddenly smiled.

“There used to be. But…”

“But what?”

“But,” Lu Tong raised her head, “those things have already happened, so there’s nothing left to fear.”

Pei Yunying was stunned.

The woman’s voice was as gentle and indifferent as always, but beneath the calm surface, certain deep hatred and world-weariness still leaked through the cracks, like revealing a corner of an iceberg.

No one spoke. The inner room was very quiet, and they could faintly hear the north wind brushing through the treetops outside, with accumulated snow rustling down.

After an unknown amount of time, Pei Yunying nodded, reached for the medicine package on the small table, and stood up.

He looked down at the seated Lu Tong, the corner of his mouth lifting: “Then I wish Doctor Lu good luck.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m taking the medicine.” The young man’s voice became light again. After glancing toward the felt curtain leading to the back courtyard, he walked out carrying the medicine package: “No need for change on the consultation fee—consider it tea money.”

His figure gradually receded.

Lu Tong sat without moving, just watching this person gradually disappear at the end of the medical clinic. Miao Liangfang emerged from the courtyard at some point, craning his neck to look outside. After confirming the other party had indeed left, he patted his chest with a mixture of confusion and lingering fear: “Finally gone… Um, Little Lu, are you very familiar with Young Master Pei?”

Lu Tong was silent for a moment, then turned to face him.

“Master Miao.”

“Hmm?”

“Why are you afraid of Pei Yunying?”