It was not that she was being magnanimous — it was simply that there was no longer any point in holding a grudge.

In the past, Yan Qin had stood in constant opposition to her, finding fault with her at every turn. Now Yan Qin’s reputation was in ruins, her own position precarious. She no longer had the energy to continue fighting.

Besides, Yan Qing could tell from Yan Qin’s expression that she had come to ask for a favor.

“Sixth Sister, you are truly generous. I owe you yet another apology.” Yan Qin had not expected Yan Qing to genuinely let it go.

“Fifth Sister, if you have something to say, please say it.”

Yan Qin finally sat down. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, as though she were hesitating — while Yan Qing continued to drink her tea at an unhurried pace. If Yan Qin would not speak, she would not press her.

After a short while, Yan Qin could no longer hold it in, and at last she said, “A friend came to see me today and said there was an ailment she couldn’t quite identify. Since Sixth Sister is a doctor, I thought I’d come and consult you.”

“What symptoms?”

“Well, it’s a certain… area with an unusual odor, and it’s very itchy, and then…” She held out her arm and pushed her sleeve upward to reveal it — and there on her arm was a patch of dense red rash, so thick it was alarming to look at.

Yan Qing raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t Fifth Sister say this was a friend’s problem?”

Only then did Yan Qin realize that in her panic she had forgotten to keep up the pretense. She quickly pulled her sleeve back down, her face flushing as red as if it had been boiled.

“Fifth Sister, have you been running a fever lately, with aching joints all over your body?”

“Yes, yes, exactly.” Yan Qin nodded vigorously.

“Open your mouth and let me take a look.”

Yan Qin opened her mouth at once. To make it easier for Yan Qing to see clearly, she opened it very wide.

Yan Qing examined her carefully, her pair of willow-leaf eyebrows furrowing as she did.

“How is it, Sixth Sister? What illness is this?” Ever since Yan Qin had begun to feel unwell — and in such an intimate area — she had not dared to seek medical help. She had only been able to have a trusted maid buy various remedies haphazardly for her to take.

As time went on, not only had her symptoms failed to improve, they had grown increasingly severe. For the past two days she had run a continuous fever, her leg joints were agonizingly painful, and the affected area below was a source of constant torment.

Driven to desperation, she had thought of Yan Qing. Yan Qing knew medicine, and was staying right here at the Yan Mansion. Consulting her would not let outsiders know.

“Fifth Sister, did Zhang Qingjun have contact with many women?”

At the mention of Zhang Qingjun, Yan Qin ground her teeth with hatred. It was because of that hypocrite that she had come to this state. She had heard he was sent to prison, but she was still not satisfied — she had even gone to Yan Qi, demanding that he pull strings to have him sentenced to death by firing squad. But Yan Qi was busy with the Yan Family’s business and had no time to concern himself with her mess. He had agreed with his mouth but taken no action.

“That filthy man.” Yan Qin ground her back teeth, her eyes cold with venom. “He had contact with countless women. Not to mention the ladies and noble wives — just the women in the dance halls alone, he’s been through more than a few.”

“This illness of yours was most likely transmitted to you by him.”

“I — what illness do I have?” Yan Qin asked tensely.

“Syphilis,” Yan Qing said plainly. “And it has already progressed to the second stage.”

“What?” Upon hearing this, Yan Qin’s legs immediately went weak, and she slid straight off the chair to the floor. “Syphilis? How — how could it be? Sixth Sister, please look again. How could I possibly have contracted such a disease?”

Yan Qing said, “You should have felt it yourself, shouldn’t you? Otherwise you would not have avoided seeing a doctor for so long. This kind of illness, when caught in the very earliest stages, can still be managed — but now…”

This disease was a stubborn affliction even in the modern era. How much more so in this day and age.

“Sixth Sister, please think of something — please, I beg you, think of something.” Yan Qin crawled from the floor to Yan Qing’s feet, gripping her skirt hem tightly in both hands. “Everyone says your medical skill is exceptional. You must have a way, don’t you?”

The terror in Yan Qin’s expression was written plainly across her face — greater even than the shock she had felt upon learning that Zhang Qingjun was a fraud.

Seeing her weeping in fear, Yan Qing could only say, “There is currently no specific cure for this illness. I know some folk remedies, but I cannot promise they will work. I will write you a prescription, and you can have someone fetch the medicines and take them. Also, you must keep yourself clean — change your bed sheets and covers regularly.”

“Am I still able to be saved?”

“Fifth Sister, I do not want to deceive you. As this illness progresses, it will affect the entire body in many ways. Without a specific cure, one can only rely on fate.”

Hearing Yan Qing’s words, Yan Qin felt the world go dark before her eyes. In other words, having contracted this illness was the same as receiving a death sentence from the Grim Reaper himself.

“Sixth Sister, I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die!” Yan Qin clutched Yan Qing’s legs and wept loudly. “Please save me, I beg you.”

Jing Zhi, hearing Yan Qin’s cries from outside, could not stay calm and pushed open the door. She came in to find Yan Qin kneeling on the floor before Yan Qing in tears — thoroughly bewildered.

“Fifth Sister, go home for now. I will have someone send the prescription over to you.”  Yan Qing’s head was aching from all the crying.

“Sixth Sister, you must find a way to save me. My life is entirely in your hands. What I did in the past — please treat it as if I had been possessed. I beg you to forgive me.”

“Fifth Sister, this kind of illness still requires proper treatment at a formal hospital. What I can do is limited.”

“No, no — I won’t go to the hospital.” The thought of going to a hospital — where people came and went constantly — was humiliating beyond bearing for Yan Qin. “Sixth Sister, I won’t go to the hospital. Just write me a prescription — whatever you prescribe, I’ll take. As long as you cure me, I’ll work for you like a servant for the rest of my life if you wish.”

Yan Qing let out a sigh. “Fifth Sister, what would I need you to work for me for? I can write the prescription — but you truly do need to go to the hospital. I am not a specialist. I can only make a basic assessment of your symptoms and write remedies to alleviate them. If you want to treat this properly, you still need to go to the hospital.”

Under Yan Qing’s patient persuasion, Yan Qin still refused to go. In the end, Yan Qing had no choice but to agree to her request for the time being.

“Sixth Sister, your elder sister is counting entirely on you. You must find a way.”

Yan Qing glanced at Jing Zhi, and Jing Zhi stepped forward to help Yan Qin to her feet.

Until Yan Qin had left, the sound of her weeping could still be heard — but it grew more distant with every moment, until at last it faded entirely into the darkness of the night.

“Serves her right.” Jing Zhi spat. “If she hadn’t gone out making trouble, how would she have caught this kind of illness? When she was scheming against you before, she never thought about a day like today.”

Yan Qing picked up her brush and began writing out a prescription. “All right, all right — this isn’t retribution for her?”

“Miss, are you really going to treat her?” Jing Zhi huffed. “You really are too kind-hearted.”

“I am a doctor. Curing illness and saving people is my responsibility. I cannot sit back and do nothing with a patient right in front of me.”

“You are a forensic physician,” Jing Zhi corrected.

Yan Qing laughed and handed the prescription to her. “This illness of hers has no cure. The later stages will be extremely painful. The medicines I’ve prescribed can only ease her suffering somewhat.”

When all was said and done, the two of them were still sisters, still connected by the same blood. Yan Qing would not kick Yan Qin while she was down — but neither did she feel sympathy. As Jing Zhi had said, everything that had befallen Yan Qin was entirely of her own making. There was no one else to blame.

Yan Qi learned of Yan Qin’s situation from Yan Qing, and forcibly took her to the hospital. After a full battery of examinations, the doctors also indicated that the condition was deeply concerning and had rapidly progressed to the late stage.

On the doctors’ recommendation, Yan Qi had Yan Qin remain at the hospital for treatment. Yan Qin was unwilling, but she could not win against her own elder brother.

**

On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, Shun Cheng’s New Year goods market came alive with festivity. Not only were there daytime stalls, but evening markets as well.

The evening market was strung with lanterns and colorful decorations, and the atmosphere of the coming New Year could be felt early on.

Yan Qing wanted to visit the evening market, so she talked it over with Shi Ting. Naturally, Shi Ting gave his full support to whatever his wife wanted to do.

Hearing that she wanted to go enjoy the lively evening market, he cleared his schedule and prepared to accompany her.

He was worried about the crowds.

“Let’s invite Ling Ai and Yi Ran along,” Yan Qing suggested. “There’s more fun with more people.”

“All right.” Shi Ting gently ruffled her hair. “Whoever you want to invite, invite them. I’ll just be your bodyguard.”

“Bodyguard Big Brother really knows how to say nice things.” Yan Qing blinked. “Thank you for your hard work, Bodyguard Big Brother.”

He couldn’t resist pressing a kiss to her lips. “Let me check whether you’ve been eating honey — your mouth is this sweet.”

Yan Qing dodged backward with a laugh. “I won’t let you kiss me.”

“Are you certain?” The man narrowed his eyes slightly. “That’s not something you get to decide.”

“Are you going to force yourself on me?” Yan Qing made a face at him.

“What do you think?” Without standing on any ceremony, he scooped her directly into his arms, pressed his lips to that lovely, dewy mouth, and kissed her. “In this particular matter, you have never had the right to call the shots.”

“Shi Xingzhi…” Yan Qing’s protest was quickly swallowed by his kiss.

The next morning, Yan Qing went to look for Ling Ai. These days, Ling Ai liked to spend her free time in the great library of the Shi Mansion, which housed an extensive collection of books, including some of her most beloved rare classical medical texts.

When Ling Ai had first come to the Shi Mansion, she had visited this library once, and had even borrowed books from it.

Now, after many twists and turns, this library had somehow become a part of her world — because she, too, had become a part of the Shi Mansion.

Yan Qing pushed open the door and saw Ling Ai sitting by the window. Sunlight poured in from outside, falling on her dark hair, the elegant bridge of her nose, and a pair of eyes tinged with melancholy.

Yan Qing recalled the first time she had seen her — a face radiant with a smile brighter than sunlight itself, etched so deeply into her memory that even now it could not be erased.

Back then, she had been pure and carefree, with a childlike heart. When she smiled, there were stars in her eyes.

And with Zheng Yun by her side, Ling Ai had carried an even softer quality — like the gentle flow of sunlit water.

Yan Qing had believed they would walk all the way to the end together. But fate was unpredictable. No one could know which direction the wheel of destiny would ultimately turn. They had done their best to steer it toward what they hoped for — only to find their efforts thin and powerless.

“Ling Ai.” Yan Qing forced down those dark thoughts and walked over with a smile.