The morning written examination concluded. Names were concealed on the submitted papers, and in the afternoon, the eunuchs from the Directorate of Ceremonial brought them to Anle Hall.

Anle Hall was where the palace concentrated sick palace maids and eunuchs. Ill people could not serve the nobles, and there were two Anle Halls in the Forbidden City. One was located at □□, housing palace servants with severe illnesses. If they died, they could be immediately transported outside the palace gates for cremation to prevent plague outbreaks.

The other was the Inner Anle Hall, located southeast of the Wet Nurse Palace, next to the Imperial Workshop under the Directorate of Ceremonial. This housed those with minor ailments.

The Inner Anle Hall was in a secluded location, and because it sheltered the sick, it was rarely visited. Ordinary people wouldn’t come here to wander around—it was cold and desolate. In the past, during the Chenghua reign, when Noble Consort Wan—the “abortion expert”—monopolized the imperial favor, Emperor Chenghua secretly raised the eldest imperial prince here to preserve the imperial lineage while not provoking his beloved consort. This showed just how concealed this place was.

The afternoon examination was diagnostic treatment. Each person drew lots to treat ten patients—all palace maids or female officials—then conducted consultations, prescribed medicine, and administered acupuncture, with imperial physicians supervising and scoring nearby.

If disrobing was needed for acupuncture or cupping, female imperial physicians supervised and scored.

The first patient Wei Caiwei treated was an elderly palace maid over fifty years old. It wasn’t any serious ailment—loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, constipation, yellowed complexion with physical weakness, and a perpetually worried expression.

Wei Caiwei diagnosed it as qi stagnation syndrome. She first used fire moxibustion, burning moxa at the upper, middle, and lower stomach points, then at the two Shiguan acupoints. She prescribed Six-Flavor Rehmannia Pills, Four-Substance Decoction, and Two-Chen Decoction.

After completing the acupuncture and prescribing medicine, Wei Caiwei said gently, “Half of your condition is psychological illness. Did your symptoms begin when you started fearing dying alone in the palace with no one to care for you?”

The old palace maid was startled, then nodded. “An old sister of mine left the palace with her life savings and entrusted the money to her nephew—enough for her to live comfortably in old age. But after the nephew got the money, he turned heartless, giving her a dilapidated room to live in with cold tea and cold rice. She was tormented to death within half a year. When I learned this news, my health deteriorated.”

Wei Caiwei sighed. “You’re feeling the sorrow of the rabbit’s death and the fox’s grief. Among those who left the palace, some live poorly, but others live well. Don’t always immerse yourself in sadness. Go inquire about how those elderly palace maids who live well manage it, and gradually open your heart. Otherwise, no amount of medicine will help, and the condition will repeatedly relapse.”

The female imperial physician asked, “What is your basis for this treatment?”

Wei Caiwei replied, “I learned this from a new medical text—the treatment method for qi stagnation recorded in Tan Yunxian’s ‘Miscellaneous Remarks on Female Medicine.’ The medical book mentions an elderly woman who developed qi stagnation symptoms after her husband was promoted and began taking concubines. Doctors prescribed qi-regulating medicine, but the more she took, the weaker she became. Tan Yunxian first supplemented her qi, then used Atractylodes macrocephala and Atractylodes lancea to resolve phlegm and clear the orifices. This shows that this syndrome mostly arises from women’s depression and overthinking.”

The female imperial physician bowed her head. “So it was Doctor Tan. She was previously a registered female imperial physician with the Directorate of Ceremonial, awaiting summons to serve the court. Later, when her family was exterminated for crimes, everyone died—all children and grandchildren perished, only she survived alone. She then withdrew from the court. I didn’t expect she hadn’t abandoned medicine and had become a medical authority writing books and establishing theories.”

Wei Caiwei said, “Because she was a woman, ‘Miscellaneous Remarks on Female Medicine’ remains obscure among medical texts. However, I think her case studies and treatment methods are excellently written, always beginning with the female patients’ circumstances and psychology, showing compassion for heaven and mercy for people. More doctors will gradually discover it, and it will surely become a famous medical text in the future. She passed away four years ago at ninety-six—a good person with a good end.”

Initially, due to Wei Caiwei’s age and Lu Bing’s recommendation, the imperial physicians and female physicians looked down on her. The morning written examination hadn’t been graded yet, so they couldn’t assess her abilities. But in the afternoon, seeing her skilled consultations, accurate acupuncture techniques, and how she kept up with the times by thoroughly reading medical books and applying the newly published ‘Miscellaneous Remarks on Female Medicine’ in treatment, they realized she had been recommended by Lu Bing based on real skill.

With over thirty years of experience from her previous life, Wei Caiwei smoothly completed treating all ten patients. By evening, her hair was soaked with sweat from exhaustion.

Carrying her medical bag, she queued to leave the palace. At Xi’an Gate, Wang Daxia had long been waiting with a horse cart to take her home.

Wang Daxia quickly helped Wei Caiwei into the cart. “I’ve prepared delicious food in the cart, but don’t eat too much. Today Ding Wu is personally cooking your favorite chicken stewed with mushrooms and made flatbread, waiting for you to come home and celebrate.”

Wang Daxia cut open watermelon that had been cooled in well water and provided a bowl of grapes he had personally peeled, carefully removing the seeds so Wei Caiwei could conveniently eat them with a small spoon—truly, whatever Wei Caiwei had done for him during his injury period, Wang Daxia could reciprocate during her exam preparation period.

Wang Daxia was like a mirror, reflecting back however much light Wei Caiwei gave him.

As Wei Caiwei scooped the grape flesh, her thoughts flew to her previous life. The Wang Daxia who lived off her had treated her exactly this way. Now that he was doing the same things, the grape flesh in her mouth tasted even sweeter.

It was the height of summer, so the cart’s doors and windows were all open. Wang Daxia, sitting on the cart shaft, frequently turned back to look at her. “You’re smiling—you’re in a good mood. It seems you did well and can achieve top honors.”

With experience from two lifetimes and having intensively studied medicine for a month, Wei Caiwei was naturally confident. This lifetime was going more smoothly than the last.

Wei Caiwei replied modestly, “We’ll have to wait for the results to know.”

The horse cart crossed the capital from north to south, from North Xisi Pailou Street to South Xisi Pailou Street, then to Xinjiekou. By then it was already dark. Wei Caiwei had eaten grapes and watermelon and was dozing against the cart wall. Wang Daxia knew she was extremely tired, so he didn’t chat with her anymore and silently drove the cart.

When the cart reached Desheng Bridge, they suddenly heard a woman’s shrill crying from below the bridge: “Stop hitting!” along with the muffled sounds of fists and feet striking flesh.

This voice sounded somewhat familiar. Wei Caiwei woke from her half-sleep and said, “Stop the cart!”

Wang Daxia had also heard it and said, “It’s just some gambling den thugs collecting debts—a common occurrence. With so many onlookers, the Northern City Military Commissioner’s patrol will arrive soon. Nothing serious will happen. Ding Wu is still waiting for us to come home for dinner.”

Wei Caiwei vaguely heard the woman’s crying again: “Let go of Brother Chen!”

Desheng Bridge was near Shichahai, and the sound came from the lakeside of Shichahai—the Yuan people called lakes “haizi,” and the Ming Dynasty continued using this term.

This seemed to be Li Jiubao’s voice!

Wei Caiwei quickly got out of the cart. “It’s someone I know. Come on, let’s go see.”

It was indeed Li Jiubao and Chen Jingji.

Speaking of last month’s Dragon Boat Festival, Li Jiubao’s father and brother were busy constructing a burial site in Sanlitun and couldn’t return home for the holiday. Chen Jingji drove his family’s mule cart to take Li Jiubao and half a cart of food to see them.

On the return trip, Li Jiubao’s father and brother gave her all the wages and bonuses they had recently earned to take home, wanting her to eat well at home and buy fabric during her free time to sew new clothes for the whole family, so everyone could wear new clothes for New Year.

Li Jiubao thought her father had quit gambling and reformed, which made her very happy. She bought fabric and made clothes, even making a set of longevity celebration clothes for Chen Jingji’s grandmother to thank Chen Jingji for his care.

But good times didn’t last long. During the recent dog days when it was extremely hot, some workers collapsed from heatstroke and would have died from the heat if work continued. The Sanlitun construction site stopped for several days, waiting for the weather to cool slightly before resuming.

Li Jiubao’s father and brother finally returned home with their wages to rest. Li Jiubao’s father, Li Wei, was an old gambling addict. When busy, he was fine—focused only on work, then too exhausted after work to even move a finger.

Now back home, with daughter Li Jiubao serving him good food and drink, Li Wei lived too comfortably. His fingers began to itch, and his gambling addiction relapsed.

The gambling den owner knew Li Wei had earned some money recently and lured him to the gambling house. At first, they deliberately let him win, making Li Wei think his luck had finally turned after losing for half a lifetime—that he was finally going to win money.

Li Wei kept raising his bets, not only losing all his earned money but also owing the gambling house a mountain of debt.

Li Wei accepted his bad luck, signed an IOU, and that night a heavy rain slightly relieved the heat. The Sanlitun employer was urgently demanding work completion, so Li Wei anxiously wanted to earn wages to pay his gambling debts and immediately took his son back to Sanlitun.

Because Li Wei felt guilty, fearing his daughter Li Jiubao would discover he had gambled again and cause another scene, he didn’t tell his daughter.

Li Wei hadn’t expected that the gambling house owner’s intentions weren’t really about the money—he had no intention of having the debt repaid, but was targeting his daughter Li Jiubao.

The flower of Machang Alley—what a beautiful, fresh girl, perfect as a beautiful concubine for the household’s entertainment.

Li Jiubao was completely unaware of the approaching danger. Chen Jingji’s business had been doing well recently. Through rentals and sales, several properties had changed hands, earning him considerable commission fees. Combined with his previous savings, he had exactly one hundred taels of silver.

This money should be enough for the betrothal gifts and wedding.

Chen Jingji planned to ask a matchmaker to propose marriage when Li Wei and his son returned home.

But before that, Chen Jingji still wanted to ask Li Jiubao’s opinion. Of course, he was certain Li Jiubao also liked him—there’s a difference between liking someone in your heart and saying it out loud.

Like countless young men falling in love, Chen Jingji simply wanted to hear those words from his beloved’s lips.

That evening, Chen Jingji changed into a blue satin robe he only wore when meeting clients, wore a hairnet with a green peacock feather decoration on the left side.

The two met at the scenic lakeside of Shichahai.

Li Jiubao had been watched by people from the gambling house since leaving Machang Alley. At Shichahai, when it grew dark and tourists became scarce, a group of thugs swarmed forward to seize Li Jiubao and carry her to a cart.

Hearing Li Jiubao’s cries, Chen Jingji rushed to protect her, blocking the cart. “This is the capital! How dare you kidnap a woman in broad daylight!”

The thugs produced the IOU Li Wei had written. “Debts must be repaid, and fathers’ debts must be paid by daughters—it’s natural justice! Even if we go to court, we’re in the right!”

Only then did Chen Jingji realize Li Wei had secretly gambled again. He said, “It’s only fifty-some taels of silver. I’ll repay it for him. Come back with me, and I’ll give you the silver on the spot.”

The thugs wanted the person, not the money—how could they agree? “Get lost! You poor neighbors in Machang Alley always band together. If we go home with you, won’t we be beaten out by your neighbors? We’re leaving!”

Chen Jingji tried to rescue the person but was surrounded and beaten by the thugs. Li Jiubao was locked in the cart, only able to cry for help through the narrow window.

Chen Jingji’s two fists couldn’t fight four feet. He was knocked to the ground as the cart began moving. In desperation, Chen Jingji lunged forward and tightly gripped the horse’s reins, his body dragging on the ground, stopping the cart.

A mounted thug escorting the cart whipped him with a lash. Chen Jingji lay on the ground but wouldn’t let go of the reins. The thug, in frustrated rage, spurred his horse forward, pretending to use the hooves to scare him away.

Chen Jingji wasn’t afraid. He said, “I’m a law-abiding citizen. If you dare kick me to death, you’ll pay with your life!”

The mounted thug had to make his horse retreat, but his horsemanship was poor. The horse’s hooves missed Chen Jingji’s head, but when the legs came down, the hard horseshoe iron viciously trampled on Chen Jingji’s lower body.

Chen Jingji let out a terrible scream, then fainted from pain, blood flowing freely from his lower body…

Author’s Note:

Now everyone should understand why Chen Jingji appeared even earlier than the male lead—because he took the script that belonged to Wang Daxia, the eunuch, in the previous life. You might not have noticed his name—he’s called Chen Ju, the future Eastern Depot Director during the Wanli reign, a eunuch with a very good reputation.

In the previous life, he bled to death. In this life, Wang Daxia and Wei Caiwei saved him.