Fan Yilin personally took the letter to find his third brother.

He didn’t expect to encounter his father there. He wanted to immediately shrink back and retreat, but the servant had already announced him, so he had to steel himself and enter.

“Is it interesting for you to spend all day cockfighting and walking dogs?” Father Fan, like all fathers, looked at his son with a serious expression, especially when facing this disappointing son, he was as harsh as an enemy.

“Not interesting, not interesting,” Fan Yilin said obediently.

“What else have you done? I heard you nearly choked to death on an egg—what else are you capable of?” Father Fan glared and shouted.

He had no privacy at home whatsoever. It had only been a short while, yet how did the whole family know? Fan Yilin complained internally.

“Little brother hasn’t entered the Personnel Ministry yet, but he’s already entered Elder Li’s state ahead of time,” Third Master Fan laughed.

Li Huaiqing, who managed the Personnel Ministry, was a cabinet elder—the kind of figure who could make the court tremble with a stomp of his foot. But this wasn’t praise. Third Master Fan wasn’t complimenting his brother’s status as an elder, but rather that Elder Li had choked on an egg a few days ago and was still lying in bed unconscious, with little hope of survival.

Fan Yilin angrily glared at his elder brother, but having a favor to ask, he didn’t dare say anything.

Father Fan grunted, expressing displeasure at his son’s joke.

Though it was father and son, brothers behind closed doors, joking about such a prominent figure was still inappropriate.

“Didn’t they request Imperial Physician Zhou? How is it?” he asked in a deep voice.

Third Master Fan laughed.

“They could have requested anyone else, but they insisted on Imperial Physician Zhou. What pleasant words could Imperial Physician Zhou possibly say?” He laughed. “Moreover, Imperial Physician Zhou left over twenty days ago, and no one knows where he went. Even appealing to the Emperor, His Majesty said there was no solution—even if the sky fell here, Imperial Physician Zhou wouldn’t return. Don’t count on it, better find another way.”

Then there really was no solution.

“Though Imperial Physician Zhou’s words are harsh, they ring true. As long as he says someone can be saved, even if the King of Hell himself came, he couldn’t take them away,” Father Fan said. This was why Zhou Maochun, despite being difficult to invite and having an extremely poor attitude, remained so popular.

Because he had that ability—you couldn’t help but submit to it.

“This time it seems hopeless. The Li family is already preparing for the funeral,” Third Master Fan said.

Fan Yilin had originally found the conversation uninteresting—these cabinet elders had nothing to do with him. He wanted to leave but didn’t dare. Suddenly he had a bright idea and thought of something.

“There is hope!” he suddenly shouted and stood up.

The father and son, who had been treating him as invisible, were startled by his shout.

“Get out,” Father Fan frowned.

For Fan Yilin, this was exactly what he wanted, but this time he didn’t joyfully obey. Instead, he stepped forward.

“Elder Li can be saved! I know who can save him!” he shouted with joy.

“Who?” Father Fan asked with a frown.

“Lady Qi!” Fan Yilin said. Knowing his father definitely wouldn’t know who Lady Qi was, he thoughtfully explained, “The one who treated me when I choked on the egg today…”

Before he could finish, Father Fan irritably threw him out.

“Your eyes see nothing but women, making noise about everything,” Father Fan said angrily, his beard bristling.

“He means well,” Third Master Fan still protected his little brother, saying hurriedly.

“Lady Qi! Lady Qi from Yongqing Prefecture! Haven’t you heard of her? She made great contributions in preventing the plague epidemic. The court personally commended her… I’m not talking nonsense…”

Fan Yilin’s indignant voice came from outside.

“This troublesome boy…” Father Fan was about to go out angrily, but Third Master Fan held him back.

“Father, Lady Qi from Yongqing Prefecture who treated the plague…” he reminded.

Father Fan stopped, frowning slightly.

The territory was vast, and daily affairs from various places gathering at court were countless. Though he was a court official, he couldn’t possibly know everything. This plague matter was managed by the Personnel Ministry and the Imperial Medical Academy, so outsiders knew few details. He only heard about it briefly when discussing rewards and punishments at court, and because it involved rewarding a woman, which was rare, he had an impression. Now that it was mentioned, he remembered.

Father Fan pondered for a moment, then called Fan Yilin back in from outside to inquire about this Lady Qi.

What did Fan Yilin know? Apart from knowing she was a beauty who had fought with his father-in-law’s family, these two things he didn’t dare mention. Everything else was fragments he’d heard from the Wang family, and he hadn’t paid attention to most of those fragments.

“Anyway, she’s a divine physician. All of Yongqing Prefecture knows,” he said.

Seeing he couldn’t get any concrete information, Father Fan lost interest.

“All of Yongqing Prefecture knows, but the Imperial Medical Academy doesn’t! Divine physician, divine physician—Yongqing Prefecture is such a small place, call someone a divine physician and they’re a divine physician. But coming to the capital and still calling yourself a divine physician? It’s like the imperial examinations—when all the top candidates from various prefectures gather in the capital, who would dare boast about being a top candidate?” he said irritably. “Go, go, don’t make noise about nothing. Those who know would say you mean well, those who don’t would say you’re causing trouble.”

“If this Lady Qi is truly so capable, the Imperial Medical Academy would naturally invite her to treat Elder Li. We laypeople shouldn’t worry about it,” Third Master Fan instructed.

“Perhaps the Imperial Medical Academy doesn’t know Lady Qi has come to the capital yet. We should still remind them, so they can invite Lady Qi to treat patients early and avoid delays,” Fan Yilin thought and said.

“Fine, fine, I know. Who are you asking me to deliver a letter to?” Third Master Fan changed the subject.

Fan Yilin hurriedly handed over the letter.

“Prince Chang Yuncheng of Marquis Dingxi,” he said. Speaking of this, he became animated again. “This Lady Qi is his ex-wife!”

What?

Both Father Fan and Third Master Fan were stunned.

When the court gave commendations, they didn’t mention Lady Qi was also the young marchioness of Marquis Dingxi—they only said she was Lady Qi of Qianjin Hall. There was this connection between them?

“The young marchioness of Marquis Dingxi?” Father Fan asked.

“Ex,” Fan Yilin clarified.

If at first Father Fan had half-believed the “divine physician” claim because of her plague prevention achievements, after hearing this sentence, his faith immediately vanished.

The young marchioness of Marquis Dingxi was a divine physician? What a joke!

“Get out, get out, get out,” Father Fan said no more and waved him away.

Fan Yilin felt quite insulted being driven out twice in succession.

“Judging people by status! Ignorant and ill-informed! Unable to recognize gold inlaid with jade!” He was also angry, indignantly flinging his sleeves, feeling that further argument would insult the beautiful divine physician.

Naturally, Qi Yue knew nothing about the argument between the Fan family father and son because of her.

Having found another channel—and what should be a very reliable channel—to send letters to Chang Yuncheng, Qi Yue was in excellent spirits. She took A’Ru and the others to properly tour the capital, incidentally gathering some gifts to take to Chang Yuncheng. They didn’t return to the Chen family home until dark.

Chen Shi was already home, feeling somewhat anxious. She was about to send people to look for them when she saw Qi Yue return laden with purchases and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Have you eaten?” she came forward and took Qi Yue’s hand, asking.

Qi Yue nodded. A’Hao couldn’t help but excitedly count on her fingers, telling the second wife what they had eaten.

“You talk as if you’ve never been out before,” A’Ru couldn’t help but pull A’Hao’s sleeve and whisper.

“Haven’t I never been out before? The capital is so prosperous—I’d only heard about it before, this is the first time seeing it,” A’Hao pouted.

Qi Yue just smiled, letting them talk freely.

The second wife, listening to A’Hao’s words, became slightly dazed. Turning to see Qi Yue’s gentle smile, that familiar expression made her even more stunned.

“I don’t know what the outside world is like…”

The young man stood on the rocks, looking at the high walls.

When he said this, his face still bore a gentle smile.

“…Have you been to the capital’s markets? What kind of liveliness is it?”

He turned his head, his clear eyes unable to hide some curiosity.

“…I can’t get out, I’m not even as good as birds. Birds that fly out of here might be shot dead the next moment, but at least they can see the outside world. I can’t even climb the walls.”

The second wife covered her face with her hands.

So, in the end, he died without ever seeing it…

Only then did Qi Yue notice her abnormality and was startled.

“Aunt, what’s wrong?” she hurried to support the second wife and asked.

A’Hao and A’Ru didn’t dare speak either.

“I’m fine,” the second wife said with a smile, not lowering her hands. “I had a couple extra drinks at home and feel a bit dizzy.”

Without waiting for Qi Yue to speak, she patted her arm.

“I’ll go sleep first. You should rest early too—you’re very tired after playing all day,” she said, supporting herself on a nearby maid’s hand.

Qi Yue saw her eyes were slightly red—this wasn’t from drinking, she was about to cry.

Perhaps seeing family members made her emotional…

“Alright, go quickly,” she said, while mouthing words to Cai Qing.

Call me immediately if anything happens.

Cai Qing understood and nodded, supporting the second wife as they walked away.

A’Hao was frightened into silence.

Qi Yue turned back and stuck out her tongue at her with a smile.

A’Hao couldn’t help but be amused again.

The tense atmosphere immediately dissipated.

“Come on, let’s go back and sort things out. Don’t mix up everyone’s chosen items, especially mine—don’t you dare covet them,” Qi Yue said with a wave of her head, walking ahead.

A’Hao responded affirmatively, happily following with the items.

A’Ru sighed behind them, looking at Hu San nearby.

“Following the young madam is truly a blessing cultivated from a previous life,” she said.

“Indeed,” Hu San rarely showed deep emotion, sighing. “Thinking back to that day when I went to your house to treat Yuan Bao, it must have been my dead father and grandfather desperately pushing me to go…”

A’Ru couldn’t help but laugh, glaring at him.

Hu San chuckled, his serious expression completely disappearing.

“Alright, go wash up and rest early,” A’Ru said. “Tomorrow we still need to find an escort agency.”

“Escort agency?” Hu San said. “Are we really going?”

A’Ru nodded.

“Whatever she says, she will definitely do,” she said, looking at the woman ahead who was walking and chatting with A’Hao.

“But it’s so far…” Hu San frowned with worry, then looked at Xiao Qu nearby. “Still can’t contact the prince? It would be best if he came back to see master.”

Xiao Qu sighed.

“The prince, fearing the madam would be uncomfortable, completely severed contact with us. We sent letters through the usual channels, but for some reason there’s been no response,” he said.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. If we go, we go. Like the madam said, we’ll travel this flourishing world and see the beautiful rivers and mountains,” A’Ru said. “Maybe halfway there, the prince will come to meet us.”

This was quite possible, and both Hu San and Xiao Qu nodded.

“You should rest early too,” Hu San advised.

A’Ru nodded, and only then did Hu San walk away with Xiao Qu.

Night covered the mansion. This was the second night since coming to the capital, and Qi Yue slept more soundly.

But in another room, the second wife couldn’t sleep. She sat on the bed, by the light of a small lamp, looking at a jade pendant in her hands, tears streaming down her face.

“Why do you want my things? My things are all unlucky…”

In her ears rang the young man’s slightly reproachful words, and her hand gripped the jade pendant tightly.

Your things—everything under heaven belongs to you. How can you be content when you can’t see or obtain what you want, how can you be content…