Summer nights were stifling hot, without even a breath of wind, the air unusually oppressive.

Ice had been placed throughout the courtyard, yet with heavy rain approaching, even the cool ice couldn’t dispel that thick, stagnant feeling of stuffiness. The summer cicadas chirping in the trees also seemed particularly agitated.

The rhinoceros horn incense in the burner gave off a rich, deep fragrance, but it only made the person at the table more irritated.

The green smoke dispersed through the room like slowly spreading mist. Qi Yutai glanced at it, a flash of irritation crossing his brow, and reached out to open the window.

He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but ever since smelling Jin Xianrong’s “Spring Grass Pond Dream” incense at the Ministry of Rites, whenever he returned to smell the rhinoceros horn incense at the mansion, it felt heavy and dull, just like the Qi family’s strict and antiquated rules—truly annoying.

Jin Xianrong had been generous, giving him many “Spring Grass Pond Dream” incense pills, but he could only burn this incense at the Ministry of Rites. Back at the Qi mansion, he still had to use the rhinoceros horn incense his father had always used.

After all, though the new incense pills had a sweet scent, they were ultimately cheap, just like their maker.

Thinking of the incense pills’ maker, Qi Yutai’s eyes darkened.

It had been five or six days since Qinhu was killed.

During these five or six days, many things had happened to the Qi family.

First, the guard leaders at Huangmao Hill hunting ground who had allowed traitors to infiltrate and been negligent in their duties were people his father had recommended, arousing the emperor’s suspicions and forcing his father to go to court to prove his innocence. Then, someone had submitted memorials to the censors’ desks, collecting cases of vicious dog attacks in the capital over recent years. Though they didn’t mention the Qi family by name, the implications were almost explicit.

Court troubles came one after another, and the Third Prince took this opportunity to add insult to injury. The emperor had always favored Third Prince Yuan Yao, leaving the Qi family overwhelmed with their own problems.

Being busy with one matter meant neglecting others.

Qi Yutai had originally hoped his father would step forward to teach that Pei boy a lesson, but after several days, his father showed no intention of intervening.

This made Qi Yutai feel deeply humiliated.

He had always cared most about face. That day at Huangmao Hill, when Pei Yunying stood up for Lu Tong in front of everyone, forcing him to suffer this loss without being able to seek justice for Qinhu, the subsequent rumors among official circles in the capital portrayed Pei Yunying as young and spirited, flying into a rage for beauty’s sake. Though mischievous and teasing, he was ultimately seen as a hero who drew his sword to help when seeing injustice. Qi Yutai, on the other hand, had completely become the laughingstock in this romantic drama—a cowardly, power-abusing villain who paled in comparison beside the hero.

Hearing the rumors circulating outside, Qi Yutai felt both hatred and jealousy, cutting out several people’s tongues to vent his frustration.

But even after venting, he remained unwilling to accept it.

His father clearly knew everything but wouldn’t stand up for him, only caring about the Qi family’s reputation.

Clearly, he didn’t take this son seriously.

But even if he didn’t take him seriously, surely he cared about Qi Huaying?

Ever since learning that Pei Yunying had stood up for Lu Tong at Huangmao Hill, Qi Huaying had become increasingly melancholy, rapidly losing weight. Qi Yutai was heartbroken and had spoken to Qi Qing several times, hinting that Pei Yunying should be taught a lesson.

Qi Qing turned a deaf ear.

The old steward advised him: “Young Master, the female physician is just a commoner. Even without doing anything, with the Qi family’s reputation, someone at the Imperial Medical Academy will make things difficult for her everywhere. Her future days won’t be easy.”

“Young Master, why must you be so relentless and utterly ruthless?”

Why must he be utterly ruthless?

Qi Yutai dared not say.

He hadn’t told anyone that on that day, when Qinhu pounced on Lu Tong, she was clearly on the verge of death, about to die, but at the last moment, that seemingly fragile woman went mad and attacked Qinhu back, grabbing her hairpin and stabbing Qinhu to death again and again. When he went forward to call Qinhu’s name, that woman suddenly looked up from the pool of blood, and at that moment her eyes—

Cold, ferocious, filled with thick venomous hatred…

So much like, so much like another pair of eyes that had stared at him in the flames.

Qi Yutai suddenly shivered.

Despite the hot summer day, his whole body broke out in fine goosebumps.

The window was pushed open, but the rhinoceros horn incense in the room seemed impossible to dispel, like a heavy boulder pressing down and making his heart restless.

He suddenly stood up, walked to the table, pulled out a stack of silver notes and tucked them into his chest, then turned to go out.

A maid standing nearby was startled and hurried forward to stop him: “Young Master, no matter how uncomfortable you are, it’s better to endure a few more days. Just a few days ago…”

“Get lost!” Qi Yutai cursed.

Qi Huaying had given him some silver a few days ago, and he had quickly snuck out while his father wasn’t home to find a tea house for a session. He had been suppressing it too long, and the sudden indulgence was absolutely blissful.

However, the more blissful the enjoyment, the more unbearable the restraint afterward.

After one session, his craving seemed even greater.

Previously, it was once every two or three months, but this time, not even a month had passed and he was already missing the taste of “freedom.”

The maid beside him continued trying to dissuade him: “The young lady specifically instructed me to watch over you. If the master finds out, there will be trouble.”

Qi Yutai was already agitated, and hearing this, he grabbed a vase from the table and smashed it at her. With a “thud,” the maid was struck bloody and lay on the ground dazed, repeatedly begging for mercy.

Qi Yutai didn’t even glance at her, stepped over her body, and muttered a curse under his breath.

“Cheap slave.”

…

After the summer hunt, another half month had passed. The pomegranate flowers in front of the gate gradually turned crimson, and in the blink of an eye, it was the fifth day of the fifth month.

Lu Tong spent the Dragon Boat Festival on West Street with Du Changqing and the others before carrying her medical box back to the Imperial Medical Academy.

The Imperial Medical Academy was the same as before. The shops selling Dragon Boat Festival items in front of the gate still had some unsold miscellaneous goods. Colored strings, mugwort flowers, silver drums, fancy painted fans… There were also perilla, calamus, and papaya cut into pieces, mixed with fragrant medicines and stored in plum-colored wooden boxes.

Lu Tong returned in the early morning, just in time for the morning report, so she went to the main hall first to sign the duty roster. The person managing the roster was an older physician, not Chang Jin. When she entered, the other working physicians all looked up, their gazes holding various meanings as they studied her.

Lu Tong ignored them, took the duty roster, turned to leave the main hall, and just as she reached the door, she ran into Lin Danqing.

Lin Danqing was also startled to see her, quickly pulling her aside and whispering: “Why did you come back so early?” She looked her over suspiciously. “Are you completely healed already?”

Lu Tong said: “Just surface wounds, they heal quickly.” After a pause, she asked: “Where is Chief Physician Chang?”

Usually, it was Chang Jin who managed the duty roster.

Lin Danqing sighed and said gloomily: “He was transferred to the Medical Records Archive.”

Lu Tong was stunned.

The Medical Records Archive was to the Imperial Medical Academy what the Southern Pharmacy was—not much better. Physicians there preserved old medical records, preventing insect damage and deterioration. Essentially, it was just cleaning and maintenance work.

If life at the Southern Pharmacy was hard, physicians transferred to the Medical Records Archive wouldn’t suffer, but they couldn’t see patients or practice medicine—their career prospects were essentially over with no hope of advancement.

For Chang Jin, an experienced chief physician who had worked at the Imperial Medical Academy for many years, to suddenly be demoted to the Medical Records Archive clearly meant he had offended someone.

As for whom he had offended…

Not long ago at the hunting ground, he had spoken up for her.

Lu Tong’s gaze turned cold. After a long moment, she said: “I implicated him.”

Seeing this, Lin Danqing quickly tried to comfort her: “How is this related to you? Position changes at the Imperial Medical Academy are common. Besides, with Chief Physician Chang’s temperament, the Medical Records Archive is good for him—saves him from dealing with these sick-minded people all day. When he left, he even told me he had long envied the calamus at the Imperial Pharmacy for being able to get paid just by passing time. Now it suits him perfectly, like early retirement, no need to be busy all day until his hair falls out…”

As she spoke, she seemed to realize her words weren’t very convincing and gradually fell silent.

Lu Tong was quiet for a moment, then asked: “What about you? Haven’t you been troubled?”

At the time, when Qi Yutai was being aggressive, Lin Danqing had also spoken up for her.

Lin Danqing’s expression relaxed: “Who would dare trouble me?”

She blinked: “Director Cui still has to give my father face, and the Qi family can’t be too obvious about it. Besides, if they really trouble me, at worst I’ll quit. My Yiniang’s ‘arrow poison’ is almost completely cured now. If I’m really kicked out, I’ll take my aunt to your West Street, join your Renxin Medical Hall as partners. My medical skills aren’t bad either—I can also run consultations, with the same monthly salary you had before!”

Her tone was light, and Lu Tong couldn’t help but smile slightly.

“As for you,” Lin Danqing looked around, then said to her: “Although Physician Ji vouched for you and Commander Pei spoke up for you, Qi Yutai’s precious dog died, so he can’t possibly let it go. I thought you’d wait a few more days before coming back—not just to recover from injuries, but to avoid trouble for a while. Who knew you’d come back so early.”

Returning to the Imperial Medical Academy inevitably meant social obligations. And social obligations in the capital’s official circles mostly had to consider the Qi family’s attitude.

It was difficult, but there was no choice.

Lu Tong shook her head.

“You can avoid it for a while but not forever. What’s coming will come eventually.”

Lin Danqing thought about it: “That’s true. We just need to be careful.” She then looked at the duty roster in Lu Tong’s hand. “But you’ve just recovered from your injuries and just returned to the Imperial Medical Academy—are they already arranging consultations for you? Isn’t this too rushed?”

Lu Tong looked down at the paper in her hand.

The paper was thin. The new chief physician hadn’t arranged many consultations for her—just one item: going to the Ministry of Rites to treat Jin Xianrong, which she had requested herself.

“Minister Jin’s illness is almost cured.”

Lu Tong smiled slightly: “Just finishing up, I won’t go there anymore after this.”

…

When Lu Tong arrived at the Ministry of Rites, Jin Xianrong was sitting in a reclining chair randomly cursing at people.

When a servant said Dr. Lu had arrived, Jin Xianrong was stunned for a moment, hesitating uncertainly, not warmly welcoming her as usual.

Lu Tong entered the room and, as usual, placed her medical box on the table, saying to Jin Xianrong: “Minister Jin.”

Jin Xianrong looked up.

The female physician’s robe was elegantly simple, her features delicate and beautiful, like an orchid in an empty valley. Upon entering the room, she seemed to dispel some of the restlessness in the air—truly a sight for sore eyes.

Without beauty, she probably wouldn’t have caught the eye of the proud heir of Duke Zhaoning, who even competed openly with Qi Yutai in full view of everyone.

Thinking of this, Jin Xianrong sighed inwardly.

He slowly straightened up, took a couple of steps then stopped, looking at her with evasive eyes, very much like someone avoiding a plague.

“Dr. Lu,” he politely gestured, “please sit.”

Lu Tong sat down at the table, took out a silk cloth, and indicated for Jin Xianrong to extend his hand so she could take his pulse.

Jin Xianrong extended his hand and placed it on the cloth pouch. Lu Tong’s fingers rested on his wrist—the soft, cool touch that usually made his mind wander today felt like a hot potato, so heavy he wanted to immediately withdraw it.

“How has Minister Jin been feeling these past days?” Lu Tong asked.

Jin Xianrong answered absent-mindedly: “Good, good. Thanks to Dr. Lu’s blessing, it’s the same as before—no, I should say even better than before.”

Lu Tong nodded: “Fortunately.”

Her expression was serious, genuinely happy for him, which made Jin Xianrong feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Speaking of it, this Dr. Lu was beautiful and had excellent medical skills—practically like reborn parents to him. Jin Xianrong had quite favorable feelings toward her.

Who would have known that disaster would strike—at the Huangmao Hill summer hunt, Lu Tong had stabbed Qi Yutai’s beloved dog to death with a hairpin.

That was the Qi family’s dog!

Jin Xianrong frowned, his two broken eyebrows rising up.

Even if it was just a dog, as long as it belonged to the Qi family, it wasn’t an ordinary dog.

Outsiders might not understand Qi Yutai’s personality, but Jin Xianrong, who often worked with him at the Ministry of Rites, had gotten some sense of it. He seemed gentle and even-tempered, but was actually vindictive and petty-minded, caring most about face.

Originally, when Qi Yutai wanted to prosecute Lu Tong over the dead dog incident, Jin Xianrong had boldly spoken up once out of concern for his “reborn parents'” life, thinking that after all these years working together at the Ministry of Revenue, even if Qi Yutai was displeased with him, it wouldn’t reach the point of enmity.

Who would have thought that at the crucial moment, Pei Yunying would intervene.

Others might not understand the implications, but Jin Xianrong had palace connections to gather information—the Qi family intended to form a marriage alliance with the Pei family.

For the Qi family’s chosen son-in-law to publicly antagonize the Qi family over another woman—this created a huge rift.

Moreover, rumors had been flying wildly these days. After Huangmao Hill, Qi Yutai hadn’t even come to the Ministry of Rites. Jin Xianrong could see clearly that this matter couldn’t end well.

Having served as an official for so many years, he could see clearly that this incident was no longer just romantic news.

The Qi family was close to the Crown Prince. With Lu Tong’s involvement, the likelihood of the Pei family siding with the Third Prince’s faction increased. The struggle between the Third Prince and Crown Prince was unending, and the emperor’s thoughts were still unknown…

When the situation was unclear, one shouldn’t rashly take sides. The best approach was to stay wise and safe, offending neither side. Therefore, he needed to keep Lu Tong at a respectful distance.

Jin Xianrong was just calculating how to tactfully suggest finding another physician for consultations when he heard the person in front of him say: “Minister Jin, today is my last consultation with you.”

“I won’t come again in the future.”

His belly full of words stuck in his throat, and Jin Xianrong only managed to utter an “Ah?”

Lu Tong withdrew the silk cloth used for pulse-taking.

“Minister Jin’s illness is nearly cured. From now on, with ordinary care, other physicians can also prescribe medicines. As long as you exercise some restraint in the future, it won’t be like before.”

Jin Xianrong mumbled an acknowledgment.

Lu Tong looked at him, paused, and said: “Regarding the hunting ground incident, thank you for speaking up to help, Minister Jin.”

She spoke sincerely, which made Jin Xianrong feel a pang of guilt.

Suddenly changing physicians without reason—no one would believe there wasn’t something fishy about it.

Most likely, Lu Tong had also realized she had offended the Qi family and was voluntarily distancing herself to avoid implicating him.

Jin Xianrong felt melancholy. What an understanding and considerate delicate flower—if not for the need to avoid offending the Grand Tutor’s mansion, he really wanted to take her back to his mansion to cherish and keep her as a hidden beauty for life.

Just as he was feeling regretful, the person in front of him asked: “Has Minister Jin used up his incense pills?”

Jin Xianrong was startled: “That spring dream thing? Only one left.”

He smiled embarrassedly: “You haven’t come for over half a month, and there weren’t many incense pills left. I dug out the last few from Yutai’s incense burner and burned them. Only one left—I really can’t bear to use it… Dr. Lu, could you give me some more?”

Lu Tong smiled and brought out a ceramic jar about the size of a small wine vessel from her medical box.

Jin Xianrong was puzzled. He watched her pick up the incense burner on the table, remove the last “Spring Grass Pond Dream” pill from inside and put it back in her medical box, then open the ceramic jar and use small silver tongs to fill the burner with new incense pills one by one. After filling it with the last pill, she put the ceramic jar back in her medical box and took out a letter from the box, placing it in front of Jin Xianrong.

She said: “Your illness is nearly cured, and thinking there will be few opportunities to visit in the future, I’ve prepared a new prescription and left these for you. The prescription is also included—if you want to use them in the future, you can have any pharmacy make them. You won’t need to keep running to the Imperial Medical Academy either.”

Jin Xianrong was stunned, then deeply moved: “Dr. Lu, you’re so thoughtful.”

He thought to himself that he had contracted this illness, and all the physicians at the Imperial Medical Academy were helpless. Fortunately, he had encountered a divine physician like Lu Tong who brought him back from the brink, preventing him from following his father’s path. Although he had now offended the Grand Tutor’s mansion and his future prospects were uncertain, Lu Tong had treated him with complete sincerity, never being perfunctory or careless. If not for fearing the Qi family, he would definitely marry this girl and take good care of her.

Thinking of this, he momentarily forgot about Pei Yunying and felt like he and the woman before him were like the star-crossed lovers in operas who understood each other but were torn apart by cruel fate. At the moment of parting, there was inevitably some reluctance and unease.

He looked at her, his two eyebrows rising with deep emotion as he spoke tenderly: “Dr. Lu, I’m powerless and can’t help you much. I’m truly ashamed. I hope you won’t blame me.”

Lu Tong lowered her head, reached out to close the medical box lid, locking the empty ceramic jar and the remaining single “Spring Grass Pond Dream” pill together in the box, then looked up.

“What are you saying,” she smiled gently, “Minister Jin has already helped me greatly.”

…

Returning from the Ministry of Rites, it was almost noon.

Lu Tong had just entered the main hall of the Imperial Medical Academy when a physician intercepted her: “Dr. Lu, you’ve returned just in time. The director was just looking for you, saying he had something to discuss with you.”

Lu Tong followed this physician to Cui Min’s room. The physician knocked on the door, and after a moment, hearing a “come in,” Lu Tong walked in carrying her medical box.

In the room, Cui Min sat behind a desk piled high with medical books like a small mountain, and he sat behind this mountain with his expression obscured.

Lu Tong said: “Director.”

The room remained silent for a long time.

After a while, Cui Min put down the medical book in his hands, looked up, and glanced at the medical box on her back: “Went to the Ministry of Rites for consultation?”

Lu Tong: “Yes.”

He nodded: “From now on, Physician Wang will take over the Ministry of Rites. You don’t need to go there anymore.”

“Yes.”

Perhaps surprised by her compliance, Cui Min paused, then straightened up and pulled out a card from the corner of his desk, handing it to Lu Tong.

“The Bureau of Military Affairs sent a medical consultation request, specifically asking for you.”

Lu Tong accepted the card. The black card had cold, hard gold lettering with a seal clearly showing two characters: Yan Xu.

Lu Tong was slightly stunned.

It was a card from Bureau of Military Affairs Commander Yan Xu.

She looked up.

Cui Min sat at his desk with his usual calm, detached expression, but Lu Tong could see a hint of hidden satisfaction—or perhaps schadenfreude—in his eyes.

“Go on,” he said, “don’t keep Minister Yan waiting.”