No sooner had Ni Su and Xu Hexue left the Wu residence than Vice Commander Zhou Ting of the Yinye Bureau arrived with a crowd of subordinate officials, surrounding the Wu residence so thoroughly not even water could leak through.

“Sir, sir… he no longer knows what’s happening. Why must you torment him!” Old Neizhi was held back by two subordinate officials and could only watch helplessly as Wu Dai was dragged out.

“The Yinye Bureau is questioning Wu Dai by imperial decree. No one may obstruct!” Chao Yisong gripped his sword hilt and barked at Old Neizhi, then immediately followed in Zhou Ting’s footsteps.

Chao Yisong clicked his tongue twice. Zhou Ting furrowed his brow and turned to look at him. “What’s your problem?”

“Commander Zhou, I’m just thinking—Wu Dai was such a high official, basking in glory for so many years… His Majesty always valued the Wu family greatly, yet when it came time to fall from grace, he simply fell… “

Chao Yisong recalled Wu Dai’s demented, disgraceful appearance just now. “He used to be such a proud and dignified official, but in just one night, he lost all face.”

Zhou Ting showed no emotion, only saying: “Take the warrant and go to the palace to summon the Imperial Physicians. If Wu Dai’s illness can be treated, it must be treated, otherwise the Commander won’t be able to question him.”

“Yes…”

Chao Yisong rubbed his nose and stepped out through the Wu residence’s main gate. Looking up, he spotted a figure behind the crowd of onlookers.

“Hey, isn’t that Miss Ni?”

Chao Yisong muttered.

Hearing this, Zhou Ting paused. Following Chao Yisong’s line of sight, he saw beyond the crowd a woman in a pale green dress and skirt, her hair arranged in a triple bun. Her complexion was no longer as pale as before. Perhaps because she stood in the sunlight, her cheeks were tinged with pink, her eyes clear and rippling like spring water.

“Commander Zhou.”

Seeing Zhou Ting approach, Ni Su bent in a bow.

“How does Miss Ni come to be here?” Zhou Ting asked.

“Like them, I came to see the commotion.” Ni Su lightly lifted her chin, looking toward the crowd ahead that was already beginning to disperse.

Zhou Ting followed her gaze with a sweep of his eyes, not knowing what to say, when he heard her continue: “I wonder if Commander Zhou has considered that Wu Dai’s dementia may very likely not be an accident?”

Zhou Ting’s expression sharpened. He immediately scrutinized her. “Miss Ni, do you know what you’re saying?”

“Has Commander Zhou forgotten? I am also a physician.”

Ni Su paid no mind to Zhou Ting’s suddenly cold tone. “When Wu Dai passed by here just now, I picked up two things from the ground. I’ve been waiting here precisely to give them to you.”

As she spoke, Ni Su raised her hand. Two silver needles were clearly pinched between her fingers.

“What are these?”

Zhou Ting froze, extending his hand to receive them.

“Acupuncture needles. I saw very clearly—they fell from Wu Dai’s hair.”

Ni Su continued, “If I’m not mistaken, this is how he contracted his dementia. A physician’s improper acupuncture caused blood stasis in his brain.”

Zhou Ting’s expression became quite serious. Gripping the silver needles, he clasped his fists toward Ni Su: “Thank you, Miss Ni. I understand this matter.”

“Commander Zhou, due to my family’s medical heritage, I also know the art of golden needle acupuncture. This was originally one of our Ni family’s special skills. If you trust me, let me treat Wu Dai. How about it?”

Ni Su finally revealed her intention.

“That cannot be done.”

Zhou Ting shook his head almost immediately.

“Why?”

Ni Su was stunned for an instant, having never expected him to refuse so decisively.

“Miss Ni, Wu Dai is Wu Jikang’s father. Although he wasn’t the one who harmed your brother’s life, after the incident he also used various connections to cover for his son Wu Jikang.”

Zhou Ting paused, looking at her. “Don’t you hate him in your heart? How could you still want to treat him?”

“Wu Dai is indeed detestable, and I’m not repaying evil with virtue.”

“If so, why must Miss Ni wade into these muddy waters?”

Zhou Ting’s attitude was firm. “You are a woman. You also know what the Yinye Bureau’s prison is truly like. Moreover, there will always be a distinction between men and women. You should not…”

“Commander Zhou, must you also use the distinction between men and women to constrain me?”

Ni Su abruptly cut him off.

Zhou Ting fell silent for a moment. He met the eyes of the woman before him—they were so clear that one could see her anger at a single glance.

“In this matter of vindicating my brother, Commander Zhou and Commander Han have both helped me greatly. The reason I say these things today is because I believed I still had some use, that I could repay this favor to you and Commander Han. That’s all.” As she spoke, Ni Su noticed the wind kept tugging lightly at her sleeve, so she continued, “However, since Commander Zhou is unwilling, Ni Su will say no more. I’ll take my leave now.”

She bent in a bow and, without waiting for Zhou Ting to speak, turned and left.

Zhou Ting stood in place, while the people in front of the Wu residence had scattered completely. Chao Yisong asked carefully from the side: “Commander Zhou, should I… still go to the palace to summon the Imperial Physicians?”

Zhou Ting returned to his senses: “Go.”

“Hey, Miss Ni seemed angry, but in this matter… you truly couldn’t agree to it.”

Chao Yisong actually also felt this matter absolutely could not be agreed to. After all, Wu Dai still had a daughter serving as a consort in the palace. Who knew when Consort Wu might regain favor? His Majesty had only allowed them to question Wu Dai, not to torture him. Being cautious was certainly not wrong. Though Miss Ni had family learning, who knew how much a woman could truly learn properly at home? If something went wrong under her care, not only would she face imprisonment, but all of them involved from the Yinye Bureau would likely be held accountable as well.

But Zhou Ting was thinking about her earlier words—”Must you also use the distinction between men and women to constrain me?”

He seemed to have said something that angered her.

Rumors flow from tongues and can kill invisibly. Just as Wu Dai had previously deliberately spread rumors about him and Ni Su having an affair, Zhou Ting had avoided suspicion until now to prevent the gossip from escalating and excessively harming her reputation, rarely setting foot in the medical hall on South Sophora Street.

The great defense between men and women—it should be thus.

But Zhou Ting didn’t understand why she could not care one bit about those slanders, could even dare to step through the gates of the Yinye Bureau again, when she had been tortured more than once, when she knew best the cruelty of punishment.

How did she dare involve herself in these matters that had nothing to do with her?

He couldn’t understand this woman. She was too different, too bold. If she continued this way, it would likely bring her no benefit.

Zhou Ting did not comprehend this sharp edge of hers.

“Now that her brother’s matter is concluded, she shouldn’t entangle herself further in these court affairs.”

Zhou Ting mounted his horse and instructed Chao Yisong: “Hurry along, don’t delay any further.”

The spring light was at its peak, carrying a rare warmth.

Ni Su walked through the bustling marketplace, lightly shaking her sleeves, causing the pale mist clinging to the edge of her cuffs to disperse and transform into the figure of a young man.

“Why didn’t you let me go?”

She said as she walked forward.

Those two silver needles had not been discovered outside the Wu residence. Rather, just as they were about to leave, after Wu Dai had spoken those absurd mad words, Xu Hexue had noticed something amiss, walked before him, and extracted them from his grizzled, disheveled hair.

Wu Dai’s dementia was not an accident, but deliberate.

Seeing those two silver needles Xu Hexue had drawn out, Ni Su immediately understood.

After all, Wu Dai still had a daughter serving as a consort in the palace. Moreover, His Majesty didn’t want to sentence Wu Dai to death. If Wu Dai died under mysterious circumstances at this time, wouldn’t it be clearly telling people that there was an even deeper pool of water behind this, waiting for someone to wade into?

“Since you know Wu Dai’s dementia was inflicted by someone, you should understand that once you enter the Yinye Bureau to treat him, whoever harmed him could also harm you.”

Xu Hexue stopped. At this moment, he had not manifested before others’ eyes. He reached up to remove his veil. Under the bright sunlight, his features were pale and refined. “Ni Su, I’ve told you before—your willingness to light lamps for me, your willingness to stay in Yun Jing for me, is already the greatest help to me. That is already very good.”

“You can endure torture for your brother, can risk your life for him, because he is your close kin. But I cannot let you take risks because of my affairs.”

“My brother is my close kin, so my taking risks for him is natural human feeling. But what connection do you and I have?” Ni Su looked at him. “Chance acquaintances meeting like duckweed on water? Is that it?”

“Chance acquaintances meeting like duckweed on water, with no names exchanged”—were these words said for Military Commissioner Miao to hear, or were they actually also said for her to hear?

“It’s not like that.”

A ripple appeared in Xu Hexue’s cold, desolate eyes.

“Then tell me.”

Ni Su pressed her lips together. “Xu Ziling, when you don’t say things, I can only guess for myself, but I don’t always guess correctly.”

The spring sun fell on his shoulders, yet Xu Hexue felt not a trace of its warmth. He stood before her, taking a moment to recover his composure from her words.

“I depend on you.”

He said.

The sharp spring wind stirred his frost-white robes. “You summoned my remnant soul, gave me shelter. You can have me do anything, but I should not let you do more for me.”

“You still have your aspirations. I never doubt that a woman like you can accomplish whatever you wish to do. But my matters are too grave. I don’t want to involve you in them.”

He insisted on using the words “depend on”—not merely referring to the restriction that he couldn’t stray too far from her. Beneath the literal meaning lay another interpretation.

“But what will you do alone?”

The more Ni Su heard him speak this way, the more she could perceive the solitude deep in his bones. “There’s no such principle in this world. Give and take between people should be mutual. You did it for me first, so I’ll do it for you too. I can light lamps for you, and I can help you with many things—as long as you trust me.”

He retreated one step; she advanced another.

It was now March. The willow branches were newly green. With just a glance upward, Xu Hexue could see the verdant silk-like leaves swaying. “Of course I trust you. But Ni Su, you must live well, live your own life, complete that medical text.”

This mortal world had once been cruel to him.

But at this moment, present in this spring-filled human realm, he felt in his heart that being alive should also be a very good thing—at least, it should be so for her.

Ni Su was nearly lost in thought. People came and went around her. Occasionally glances fell upon her, but no one knew what she was looking at, much less why she stood there in such a daze.

She suddenly said something, but her voice was very small.

“What?”

Xu Hexue hadn’t heard clearly, so he leaned down slightly.

Ni Su looked at his profile—his jawline clear and smooth. She repeated: “Do you truly believe I can do it?”

“Mm.”

Having heard her clearly, Xu Hexue lightly raised a pair of cool, crystalline eyes. “You certainly can.”

He had already straightened up again.

Even standing in the pale golden sunlight, his entire being remained cool and detached, like mist.

Ni Su looked at him, somehow finding that the heart in her chest beat so hard it nearly slowed her breathing.

Apart from her brother, no one had ever affirmed her this way.

He never spoke to her of the distinction between men and women, but rather told her that aspirations recognize no distinction between men and women.

He didn’t tell her what she should or shouldn’t do, but told her that whatever she wished to do, she could accomplish.

Ni Su suddenly lowered her eyes and saw the white gauze of the veil in his hand being lifted by the wind. She actually thought of Wu Dai’s mad words.

“Ni Su?”

He suddenly called softly.

“Ah?”

Ni Su looked up at once, meeting his eyes.

Her cheeks were somewhat flushed.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing… Let’s go home.”