A’Ru stood under the corridor holding clothes, closing her umbrella and leaning it against the wall.

“Miss,” she called softly first, “I brought them.”

“Bring them in.”

Qi Yue’s voice responded.

Only then did A’Ru step to the door and enter.

The room was the same as when she left—the atmosphere quiet. Qi Yue sat in a chair, leaning against the table leisurely flipping through a book. Chang Yuncheng sat by the small bed with his head lowered, wrapped in a blanket.

Wrapped in a blanket?!

A’Ru was somewhat surprised.

“It’s raining, got cold,” Qi Yue said with her head down, but as if seeing her surprise.

Oh… cold… yes… it was a bit cold.

A’Ru placed the clothes by the bed.

“Young Master, let this servant help you dress…” she said.

“No need, you go out,” Chang Yuncheng said, raising his lowered head.

“Whose servant are you anyway?” Qi Yue also spoke from the side, with some displeasure.

Fine, A’Ru responded and turned to go out.

Chang Yuncheng looked at the clothes by the bed, listening to the sound of pages turning from that direction, not moving.

“Put them on and leave quickly,” Qi Yue said, putting down her hand to look over.

“You, you…” Chang Yuncheng looked at her and said through gritted teeth.

“What about me? Are you afraid of me seeing you now? Are you afraid I’ll molest you?” Qi Yue said in a low voice irritably.

Chang Yuncheng thought of what just happened and his face flushed red. He threw off the blanket, pulled off the torn cloth draped over his body, and naked like that, grabbed the clothes and began putting them on.

Qi Yue just watched like that, holding a feather pen and stroking her temple rhythmically, squinting as if appreciating some beautiful scenery.

Chang Yuncheng’s muscles tensed all over. Somewhat frantically putting clothes on his body—firstly they weren’t his clothes, secondly his heart was nervous. Wanting to dress quickly, he was ironically very slow.

Finally dressed with great difficulty, he was covered in sweat. The clean clothes immediately stuck to his body again.

“I’m leaving,” he said with his head down, stepping toward the door.

“Hey,” Qi Yue called to stop him.

Chang Yuncheng stopped.

“Hat, and take an umbrella,” Qi Yue said. “Such a grown man still getting rained on—it’s on purpose, isn’t it?”

Chang Yuncheng’s neck turned red, and he suddenly turned back.

Qi Yue was startled and instinctively leaned back as he suddenly approached.

“I did it on purpose, so what?” he said through gritted teeth in a low voice.

Qi Yue looked at this obviously embarrassed and angry man.

“Nothing much. I was just saying,” she blinked and said.

Chang Yuncheng felt like fire would come out of his ears. Because he had been tormented by longing for too long, he had almost forgotten how this woman’s mouth could really anger people to death sometimes.

Mouth…

His gaze fell on this woman’s mouth.

Perhaps because of the earlier kiss, it appeared swollen and red…

“You…” Qi Yue opened her mouth to speak.

Just as she opened her mouth, Chang Yuncheng leaned down and covered it, kissing heavily, then turned and rushed out.

Qi Yue here hadn’t recovered yet.

“Young Master, umbrella!”

A’Ru’s shout came from outside. Qi Yue came to her senses and slapped the table.

That boy…

A’Ru came in.

“The Young Master didn’t even take his hat or umbrella. He’ll definitely get sick from the rain going back like this,” she said with a worried face, then looked at Qi Yue with examining eyes. “What did you do to him again?”

What did I do to him? Qi Yue glared. And “again”!

“What can a woman like me do to him? Molest him?” she said with glaring eyes.

Clearly he molested me… and I didn’t even run…

A’Ru looked at her, pursed her lips in a smile, and came closer.

Qi Yue felt somewhat unnerved by her smile and leaned back with some wariness.

“Did you really molest him?” A’Ru asked with a low laugh, then coughed. “How… did you molest him?”

Qi Yue looked at her, suddenly reached out to grab her underarms.

“Like this!” she shouted.

The room filled with A’Ru’s continuous screaming laughter. The sound of women’s playful fighting spread through the rain and mist.

Here at Marquis Dingxi’s mansion, Chang Yuncheng knocked on the door. Like a drowned rat and wearing clothes worse than a servant’s, the gatekeeper almost thought a beggar had come to the door. Seeing the person rush into the house, he was about to raise his club when Chang Yuncheng lifted his face in time.

“Oh my lord, how did you come back like this?” the gatekeeper was shocked.

Chang Yuncheng smiled at him without speaking and went straight in, his steps getting faster and faster, taking the steps two at a time, disappearing into the rain.

The gatekeepers here were dumbfounded.

“They say if you get too wet in the rain, water gets in your brain…” a young servant murmured.

Before he finished speaking, he was slapped on the head by the older gatekeeper.

“You’re the one with water in your brain! Get lost, go close the door!”

Marquis Dingxi soon learned Chang Yuncheng had returned. Immediately he couldn’t care about listening to Concubine Zhou play the zither and hurriedly came looking.

Chang Yuncheng’s courtyard had returned to how it was before, with only two or three maids serving and no other attendants. Because of the rain, Marquis Dingxi walked all the way to the door before a maid saw him and flustered to receive him.

Marquis Dingxi pushed the door and entered.

“How are you…” he raised his voice to shout, looking around the room, then saw Chang Yuncheng lying face down on the bed with his head buried in the pillow, occasionally pounding the bed with his hands. The questioning words were immediately forgotten. “Yuncheng, what’s wrong?”

“The Marquis has arrived,” came the maid’s belated announcement.

Chang Yuncheng hurriedly got up.

“Father,” he called, with some embarrassment.

Marquis Dingxi examined him—clothes soaked, face flushed, eyes bright.

“Yuncheng, you’re not sick, are you?” he asked in alarm, reaching out to feel Chang Yuncheng’s forehead.

Indeed, it was burning hot.

“Quick, quick, go get Yueniang, Yuncheng is sick!” Without asking another question, Marquis Dingxi turned and ran out, as if his sick son wasn’t in front of him but outside waiting for his comfort.

Chang Yuncheng didn’t even get a chance to say “Father, I’m not sick.”

Marquis Dingxi’s shouting came from the courtyard.

“…Quick, quick… you go personally…”

“Oh my, Yuncheng is sick! This won’t do!”

The tone sounded more excited and jubilant than worried, as if he had been waiting for this day for a long time.

Chang Yuncheng was stunned for a moment, then smiled and again threw himself face down on the bedding.

“Young Master, please wash up. The water is prepared,” Que Zhi said respectfully, with some concern. “If you really get sick like this, Lady Qi will definitely worry.”

Chang Yuncheng sat up.

“She would worry?” he asked.

This was the first time since the Young Master and Young Mistress divorced that he had looked at her directly. Que Zhi was so excited her eyes lit up.

“Of course, she would definitely worry,” she nodded hurriedly.

Worry, she would definitely worry…

But though that woman looked stubborn on the surface, her heart was actually soft. She would worry even if she saw a sick cat or dog…

Besides, even if she worried about him, it would mostly be out of gratitude.

Thinking of this, he felt somewhat dejected again and sighed.

If he really wanted what was best for her, it would be better not to make her worry…

He got up glumly and headed to the washroom. In a daze, a pair of soft small hands reached to his waist, untying the wet clothes sticking to his body…

Que Zhi blushed, finally managing to keep her hands from trembling. Just as she untied the waist sash, she was pushed away forcefully.

“Young Master… this servant… will serve you…” she said in a trembling voice, holding back her panic.

“Get out,” Chang Yuncheng said impatiently.

Que Zhi retreated, her face ashamed. Under the eaves, Qiu Xiang was cracking sunflower seeds. Seeing her come out, she spat.

“It’s fine. After being slapped a few times, you’ll get used to it,” she said indifferently.

Que Zhi’s face alternated between red and white as she lowered her head and left.

“Oh right, did you hear?” Qiu Xiang called to stop her again. “Nowadays everyone calls A’Ru ‘Lady Jade.'”

“Lady Jade?” Que Zhi turned back confused.

“They say she’s a jade maiden from beside Guanyin Bodhisattva who descended to earth, so they respectfully call her Lady Jade,” Qiu Xiang smiled. “We women don’t understand other things, but we know that now men wanting to marry her are crowding each other out. Common families don’t even dare approach. They’re all wealthy households competing to have her as their primary wife.”

Que Zhi looked shocked.

“How is that possible? She, she’s just of servant origin…” she said urgently.

“How is it not possible?” Qiu Xiang said while cracking seeds. “Nothing else compares. I heard in the capital, the Imperial Medical Academy has female physicians who serve nobles in the palace. When they’re released, not just common families, but even princely houses compete to bring them into their homes. Female physicians aren’t available just anywhere.”

Que Zhi bit her lower lip.

“She’s not from the palace,” she snorted and turned to leave.

Qiu Xiang pursed her lips.

“This time Lady Qi has great merit. The days of entering the palace for rewards and the Imperial Medical Academy aren’t far off,” she said.

Que Zhi walked away quickly, but this sentence still reached her ears.

She didn’t believe it! She didn’t believe it! How could things go so well!

If things really went that well…

I’m so smart, if it were me, I would definitely do much better than her…

Why would I end up in such a shameful situation like now…

Que Zhi stamped her foot, covered her face with her hands, and ran away.

After the rain, the weather became several degrees cooler. Entering September, the summer heat gradually retreated. With the arrival of autumn’s footsteps, life in Yongqing Prefecture gradually returned to calm. Though there were many new graves outside the city, the living had to continue their lives.

The garrison troops on the streets withdrew, replaced by local officers for patrol.

Withdrawing with the garrison troops were some people in prison carts.

While epidemic prevention proceeded, strict investigation by higher authorities also continued. Though it was a natural disaster, natural disasters inevitably came as punishment because people’s moral conduct angered the gods. So with so many common people dead, naturally there had to be people of poor character to take responsibility.

This decision was easy to make, because without asking, all accusations pointed to Yongqing Prefecture’s Medical Judge Wang Qingchun.

The responsibility for dereliction of duty was established no matter what.

In fact, the moment the plague broke out, the Prefectural Judge had already ordered Wang Qingchun imprisoned. Now with official documents going back and forth, his crimes were determined and transferred to the Governor’s Office for investigation.

Besides Wang Qingchun getting his just deserts, Prefect Huang Lingshan was also scared half to death.

Not knowing which scoundrel had also reported him, if not for his son Huang Ziqiao being at the forefront of everything, even with family connections maneuvering in the capital, he would have found it hard to escape prison this time. Even so, he was ultimately reprimanded by superiors in an official document and dismissed pending reassignment.

The new prefect hadn’t been designated yet, so the Prefectural Judge temporarily assumed the prefect’s position. But according to messages from above, the temporary position was just transitional—this position was definitely the Prefectural Judge’s.

The Prefectural Judge prepared to see the garrison troops off in high spirits, but before leaving the office, he heard reports that the city gate was blocked by citizens.

The shadow of the plague hadn’t completely lifted yet—how could there be trouble again?

The Prefectural Judge and other officials hurried to the city gate.

The city gate was indeed clamorous with voices, blocking the road—more precisely, surrounding the prison cart holding Wang Qingchun.

“Kneel at the city gate! Kneel at the city gate!”

“Sentencing is sentencing, the wager is the wager!”

“Even in a prison cart, he must kneel at the city gate!”

Shouts echoed through the city gate.