In the laughter, Rong Pu’s hand had already naturally settled on her wrist pulse, while a pill was also tossed into her mouth.

Tie Ci: “…Haha—uh.”

It was cool going down her throat, but warmth flowed through her abdomen, soothing the burning sensation in her internal organs. She felt much better.

Tie Ci knew this must be another good medicine. She smiled gratefully at Rong Pu. “I really had no idea you were a disciple of the Medical Maniac.”

Rong Pu said faintly, “I was weak and sickly from childhood, nearly dying several times. Many doctors said I wouldn’t live past ten. My family exhausted all their resources to get the Medical Maniac to intervene. Strictly speaking, I’m not really a direct disciple—it’s just that Master needs to research medicine, and my family can afford to support him generously.”

Tie Ci nodded, understanding his meaning. In the end, it was all about exchange of benefits.

Thinking of herself, she had always received Master’s support and guidance. In the future, how would she repay this?

Feiyu beside them glanced at Rong Pu.

Such blatant favoritism—clearly her poison injury was more severe, yet the medicine was only given to Shiba.

Second Senior Brother climbed up dripping wet and was about to charge at Rong Pu when Tie Ci extended her arm to block him. “Senior Brother, last time I ordered people to research that gorgeous lace…”

Second Senior Brother immediately forgot about seeking revenge. Looking down and seeing his formal wear was all wet, he sat down heartbroken to wring out water while maintaining an aloof expression. “Since that’s the case, I won’t fuss with you all. Is the lace finished?”

“Almost.”

“Make sure to achieve a thin and transparent effect,” Second Senior Brother earnestly instructed. “And remember to make me a tricorn hat.”

“I remember, and I need to find you fluffy, soft, beautiful feathers,” Tie Ci said. “Don’t worry, Senior Brother, I’ll definitely remember your feathers.”

Second Senior Brother felt something was off about this phrasing, but his yearning for the tricorn hat made him forget to argue about everything.

Suddenly there was a cry of alarm from over there. The two turned to look and saw Feiyu sitting on the ground, scooting backward. Rong Pu looked stunned, his hand frozen in mid-air.

Feiyu covered her face and shrieked, “You scoundrel! It’s one thing to look at my injured foot, but why are you lifting my skirt!”

Tie Ci glanced over and indeed saw that Feiyu’s skirt had been lifted somewhat.

Her gaze fell on the blackened ankle and the bloody knife wound, and for a moment she only felt heartache. She hurried forward to tear cloth and bandage it for her.

Rong Pu looked bewildered. “You… I… I clearly…”

Feiyu looked at him with tearful accusation, her eyes brimming with watery light. At this moment, silence spoke louder than words.

Rong Pu: “…”

Understood.

This was a scheming drama queen.

Rong Pu frowned slightly, examining the woman before him carefully for the first time.

Where did this hostility come from?

But Feiyu acted as if she’d been frightened, hiding behind Tie Ci and whispering in her ear, “This doctor has ill intentions. The way he looks at you is also strange. It’s better not to keep him around.”

Seeing that she was hostile toward Rong Pu, Tie Ci’s mood inexplicably improved. Hearing her say this, her heart stirred, thinking it would indeed be better to distance herself from Rong Pu and not owe him any more favors, lest it be difficult to handle in the future.

She smiled. “I think you’ve misunderstood. Brother Rong isn’t that kind of person.” Then turning to Rong Pu, “Brother Rong, earlier that poison maniac spread poison extensively, and with today’s strong winds, I fear the wind might blow the residual poison toward the academy. The academy absolutely cannot be without a renowned physician presiding over things. I must trouble you to return to the academy and take charge of the situation. As for us two, our poison injuries aren’t too severe. We’ll recover slowly with care, so you can rest assured.”

As soon as Rong Pu heard her speak, he knew he was about to hear words of dismissal. He lowered his eyes slightly. Originally he was mentally prepared and it would have been fine, but hearing that intimate phrase “us two,” he couldn’t help but look up.

He considered himself to understand the Crown Princess fairly well, knowing she was decisive yet cautious in her words and actions, with countless barriers in her heart toward others. Such intimate terms would never slip out casually.

What was this woman’s identity? How had she gained such trust from the Crown Princess?

Looking up, he saw that woman smiling at Tie Ci, one hand on her shoulder. Under her wide sleeves, snow-white fingertips were lightly playing with Tie Ci’s hair, while Tie Ci had obviously grown accustomed to such intimate little gestures and was concentrating on crouching down to bandage Feiyu’s wound.

It was… very upsetting to watch.

Two women being so clingy, clinging in such an eye-searing way.

However, stubbornly staying would be useless and would only make Her Highness’s heart grow more distant.

He needed to stay there, for a long, long time, becoming a pillar of strength in stormy weather, a stabilizing force in turbulent waves. One day Her Highness would understand that all the charm and grace, all the coquetry and acting cute, could not compare to someone who could always guard her back, stay by her side permanently, never betray her, and always help her stabilize the realm.

He wore a faint, mysterious smile, stepped back, and said, “What you say makes sense. In that case, I’ll leave a prescription. When you reach the next town, be sure to get the medicine promptly for recuperation. Though the poison injury isn’t fatal, the Poison Maniac’s toxins often have lingering adverse effects. Both of you must take good care of yourselves, avoid fighting carelessly. When this busy period is over, remember to tell me your whereabouts so I can check your pulses again.”

Tie Ci agreed and asked Second Senior Brother to escort him back, but Rong Pu said it wasn’t necessary—his people would surely come looking soon. He calmly brushed his sleeves and left. After walking a distance, he turned back to look and saw Tie Ci carrying that woman on her back. The woman was laughing, her wide sleeves hanging down to cover Tie Ci’s eyes. Tie Ci knocked her hands away but then pulled her hands tighter around her own neck.

There was a kind of natural intimacy.

Rong Pu’s gaze lingered on Feiyu’s figure several times. Strictly speaking, he shouldn’t look at a woman this way, but he always felt something was wrong.

For the moment he couldn’t figure out what, and watching them was upsetting, so he could only leave first.

Over there, Tie Ci had only carried Feiyu a few steps when Feiyu slid down from her back, absolutely refusing to let Tie Ci, who also had poison injuries, carry her.

So she put her arm around Tie Ci’s shoulder and hopped forward. After hopping a few steps like this, Second Senior Brother, who had been smoothing out the wrinkles in his clothes caused by water, suddenly said coldly, “Hopping like this, when will we get anywhere? I’ll carry you.”

Tie Ci was dumbstruck and looked up at the sky. The sun hadn’t risen from the west.

Feiyu immediately refused. “No, men and women shouldn’t have physical contact.”

Second Senior Brother laughed in exasperation, pointing at Tie Ci. “Isn’t he a man!”

Tie Ci had dressed as a man since childhood and had become so natural at it that she often forgot she wasn’t a man. Not to mention her fellow disciples, who saw her in men’s clothing every time and mostly didn’t remember she was a woman.

So even if Tie Ci hadn’t interrupted earlier, Second Senior Brother would probably have said “This is my junior brother.”

But Feiyu giggled, laughing while resting her chin on Tie Ci’s shoulder, saying coquettishly, “He’s different. He’s the man I like.”

Tie Ci’s heartbeat suddenly skipped a beat.

She turned to look at Feiyu. In the morning light, that person’s eyes were usually flamboyant and spirited when laughing, angry, or cursing, but now they held a hazy, profound elegance. Only her slightly upturned lips held a smile that was both cute and seductive.

It made one want to believe her wholeheartedly, yet also fear her. Not knowing whether she hid three parts genuine feeling, or was simply accustomed to casual romantic entanglements.

Tie Ci just smiled. “The two of us look like we’re dancing.”

Second Senior Brother curled his lip and said coldly, “More like spasmodic disco.”

Tie Ci laughed. “Senior Brother, you’ve always been good at dancing. How about giving us one?”

Second Senior Brother said nothing. When it came to dancing, all the senior brothers and sisters had learned from Master, but he was outstanding among them—outstandingly bad.

He was naturally uncoordinated and tone-deaf. In Master’s words, “He looks like a perfectly fine person, but every time he dances, it makes you want to send him to the ICU.”

Feiyu seemed quite interested and said she wanted to see Tie Ci dance. Unable to resist her pestering, Tie Ci taught her a few dance steps—ballroom dancing that Master had taught her. She danced the male part, teaching Feiyu the female part.

The sun was just rising, green grass spread out like a velvet carpet in the distance. The two danced on the meadow. Tie Ci took Feiyu’s hand, and she gracefully spun in a circle. Her dress billowed up, and dewdrops on the grass tips scattered brilliantly, creating rainbow halos in the sunlight.

The pale yellow flowers in the grass trembled and scattered golden fragments everywhere, then were gathered into the gently falling hem of her skirt.

Second Senior Brother’s gaze was drawn by that hem, following it all the way to the golden radiance of the sun.

In the distance, Rong Pu stood on high ground, watching from afar the scene of the young man and woman dancing hand in hand.

After a long while, he coughed softly, then again.

…

Leaving the valley and reaching the main road, carriages were waiting.

Master had properties throughout the country. To avoid suspicion, Tie Ci usually never inquired about them, but she had a token from Master that could be used in emergencies.

Originally Tie Ci had planned to go to Yongping Prefecture, but now both she and Feiyu had unhealed poison injuries, making it inappropriate to deal directly with that female commander. So she changed course toward Dongming County.

After that day of strong winds, there was only half a day of clear weather before continuous heavy rains began. Their journey was thus delayed, stranded in Pingchang Town a hundred li outside Qingyang Mountain, waiting for the rain to stop while drinking medicine to dispel the poison.

Originally they didn’t need to pass through Pingchang Town, but Tie Ci had the carriage make a detour.

She knew clearly why they were taking a detour—it was simply because that day Rong Pu had brought back Rong Wei’s farewell gift, saying it was local specialties bought in Pingchang Town. Tie Ci didn’t know what she was doubting, but subconsciously wanted to come and verify.

She had quietly opened that box later on the road. Inside were specially made dried fish with writing on top: “For the younger brother of Ye Shiba’s sister.”

Tie Ci was speechless. Was this gift you brought back for me or for Rong Yi?

Looking at this dried fish, it was probably for Rong Yi.

She felt a bit annoyed.

She pushed open the window. Rain was still falling outside. Feiyu was reclining on the couch, beckoning to her with seductive eyes: “Young Master, come here.”

Tie Ci had booked this entire inn, but Feiyu insisted on sleeping with her, saying she could add fragrance with her red sleeves and warm the bed at midnight. Tie Ci didn’t dare sleep with her, claiming she had body odor and foot odor, driving her back to her own room every day.

Even so, she couldn’t stop the top courtesan from lounging on her bed when she had nothing else to do, hugging her blankets and rolling around, making her bed look like a dog’s nest.

At times like this, Tie Ci would start missing her close friend Gu Xiaoxiao, thinking that Xiaoxiao had sworn to follow but still hadn’t succeeded. She wondered if his father had broken his legs, because if he were here, her blankets would definitely be as neat as tofu blocks, and Feiyu would definitely be beaten by him three times a day.

She herself was actually someone who habitually liked neatness and order, but she was too lazy to argue with Feiyu. She went over to pick up the blanket that had fallen off the bed, wrapped it haphazardly around Feiyu, and pushed her into the couch like shoveling garbage, then sat on the edge of the couch and put on her outer robe.

“Young Master, are you going out?” Feiyu poked her head out from the blanket.

Snow-white blanket corners wrapped around an equally snow-white face, with dark, lustrous eyelashes. From this angle, looking at someone was soul-stirring.

Tie Ci pinched her face and smiled. “Young Master is going out to find you a sister for company.”

“Then I want to personally check her out,” Feiyu also sat up.

“Take good care of your foot. I’ll bring you something to eat when I come back. What do you want to eat?”

Feiyu lay on the blanket, smiling as she looked at her, drawing out her tone: “I want to eat—”

She drew out the tune for a long time. Tie Ci waited for ages and she still hadn’t finished, so she waved her hand and stepped out the door, too lazy to wait any longer.

After she left, Feiyu finally stopped the drawn-out tune, raised her eyebrows, and said in a sultry voice: “…you!”

…

Tie Ci went to the busiest temple area, where vendors usually gathered. Sure enough, under the eaves of a Taoist temple, she saw someone selling that type of dried fish. It was a local specialty, only found in local rivers, and only local people knew how to make it.

So Rong Wei had indeed gone back to Liaodong.

Having confirmed this, Tie Ci felt somewhat dejected. She sat in front of a wonton stall, watching the heavy rain outside. She listened to people taking shelter from rain discussing the two days of torrential rain and how the water level of Mirror River, which crossed Haiyou, had risen dramatically. They also talked about how fishermen had good harvests recently, but fishing taxes had increased again, how a fisherman got tangled in water grass and drowned, and his family still had no money for a funeral—typical idle chatter.

In the distance, she saw a carriage approaching. Someone sat on the carriage shaft, holding a map and asking for directions. In this humid, muggy weather, the carriage curtains were pulled tight, presumably because inside was a well-bred young lady who couldn’t show her face.

The carriage was spattered with mud and the wheels were worn, clearly belonging to travelers from far away. A bunch of local idlers immediately surrounded it. Most of these were procurers for various underground brothels—mostly aging prostitutes and local thugs working together, renting rooms and regularly catching out-of-town travelers who were unfamiliar with the area. Like a pack of female spiders entrenched in a spider’s cave, they would extend long silken threads, catching whoever they could stick to. If lucky, one might enjoy a night of soft jade and warm fragrance and still have underwear left when leaving. If unlucky, disappearing forever was also possible.

Tie Ci was an outsider too. When she first arrived a couple days ago, she had also been approached, but once Feiyu showed her face, those people left disappointed. Obviously, with such a beauty beside her, who would go visiting underground establishments?

Second Senior Brother, however, often traveled outside. At the time, he had flicked out a piece of broken silver, breaking the leader’s skull. In Second Senior Brother’s words, this was a warning demonstration to the local thugs and ruffians, letting them know not to think they were fat sheep and get any crooked ideas. Stay honestly aside and everyone would be peaceful.

So it was indeed quite peaceful. Tie Ci’s gaze swept over that carriage, not caring about this outsider’s upcoming romantic encounter, and got up to leave.

When leaving, she didn’t forget to bring back some snacks for Feiyu, wrapped in oiled paper and tucked in her chest.

She held an umbrella, passing by that carriage asking for directions, and felt the curtain move slightly, as if someone inside softly said “Oh?”

But Tie Ci didn’t pay attention. The large oiled paper umbrella covered most of her body, and she quickly disappeared at the end of the street.

When she returned to the inn, she was collecting her umbrella under the eaves when she saw Second Senior Brother standing there, posing in front of a puddle. This guy had changed clothes today—iron armor, long boots, red cloak—clearly knight’s clothing from Master’s picture books. A Western sword hung at his waist, and he held a huge bag in his hand.

Tie Ci stopped, thinking this guy was bored and playing cosplay again. What was in that bag? Probably another set of clothes.

Second Senior Brother loved cosplay and also liked dragging his fellow disciples into it, but unfortunately most of them wouldn’t give him face. Tie Ci had a good temperament and would play along when she was little, but when she grew up she politely declined everything. What a joke—those bizarre costumes often exposed chest and thighs. If others saw her in them, impeachment memorials could pile up and fill Chongming Palace.

She watched from afar as Second Senior Brother preened like a peacock for a while, then picked up his bag and strolled upstairs. He first peeked into Feiyu’s room, probably saw no one there, then went to Tie Ci’s room and stood at the door, chin up, waiting for someone inside to greet him.

No movement from inside.

Feiyu was hugging Tie Ci’s blanket, sleeping soundly, and ignored the noise.

Second Senior Brother coughed once.

After a while, he coughed again.

After a long time, unable to bear it anymore, he knocked on the door.

Only then did Feiyu lazily turn around. Seeing the person at the door, she was startled and instinctively reached for her knife, then realized this was that fool.

The fool stood proudly at the door, eyelids drooping, asking her: “How is it?”

“How is what?”

“This outfit of mine… how is it?”

Feiyu glanced at him and commented: “Like a beetle.”

Second Senior Brother was silent for a moment, then chuckled. “You women…” He raised his hand and threw over a bundle.

The bundle fell on the bed and burst open, revealing piles of dresses, petticoats, gauze skirts, satin skirts, various ribbons, lace, flower hats, ruffles… instantly burying Feiyu.

She struggled out of this pile of random stuff. “What is this junk?”

“Put them on,” Second Senior Brother said with his chin up, but his eyes fell on her face. “Let me have a look.”

Feiyu suddenly cried “Ouch!” and pulled out something like a fishbone from under her bottom.

Second Senior Brother: “That’s a petticoat frame. It can make your skirt hem round and full, making your waist look slimmer and legs longer, noble and graceful.”

Feiyu picked up a piece of golden-yellow, soft, slippery material that hung down like waves.

“This is a wig I had made at great expense—brilliant golden hair made from real human hair, specifically sought from overseas. I don’t let just anyone wear it.”

Feiyu nodded, finally picking up one garment. It was a low-cut gauze dress that would definitely show everything if worn, with a hollow back and countless ribbons crisscrossing.

“Hmm?”

This questioning sound had a slightly dangerous tone, but Second Senior Brother was completely oblivious. He nodded and said as if bestowing a favor: “The most intimate piece. I measured your figure—absolutely perfect to the millimeter. Speaking of which, your frame is a bit too large, so you’re more suited to this Western court style dress. Don’t worry, these ribbons are all at the back. I’ll help you tie them later…”

The room fell silent.

Tie Ci was just walking toward the side staircase.