Not long after the imperial examination case was settled, another major incident occurred in Shengjing.

The secondary consort in Prince Wen’s mansion attempted to poison the pregnant princess consort, trying to harm the royal heir. Fortunately, heaven protected the princess consort and her child – on the day the poison took effect, there happened to be a female physician delivering medicine to the mansion, who saved the mother and child from death’s door. However, the malicious secondary consort was unwilling to accept this outcome. She directed her anger at the female physician, secretly ordering assassins to kill her. The prince’s guards happened to save her by chance.

The culprit confessed everything about the mastermind behind this in the patrol station. Only then did people learn about this court case.

Since the guards were escorting the criminal to the patrol station through the busy market that day, many people witnessed it firsthand. Once the news spread, it immediately became the talk of the town among drinkers and common folk in every street and alley.

Poisoning an unborn child was considered an act that would incur karmic retribution. Even common families wouldn’t tolerate such things, let alone a prestigious noble house. After this incident occurred, although Prince Wen knew something was wrong with those close to him, he didn’t punish the secondary consort and only lightly confined her, attempting to cover it up. With such a heartless and disloyal husband, people felt even more sympathy for the suffering princess consort.

If it had ended there, it would have been fine. Although rumors could damage the reputation of ordinary noble families, they would typically die down after some days. However, this case in Prince Wen’s mansion didn’t subside after several days but instead grew more intense, because it involved a forbidden palace poison called “Child’s Sorrow.”

The poison that Prince Wen’s princess consort had ingested was a forbidden palace poison, Child’s Sorrow.

This had been a palace secret unknown to anyone for many years, but somehow someone had brought it to light again.

It was said that Child’s Sorrow was colorless, odorless, and easily dissolved in pigments. When pregnant women consumed it, there would be no initial reaction. Gradually, they would develop a fever and their skin would darken. After several months, their shoulders and neck would swell. Eventually, there would be signs of abdominal pain and bleeding. However, even then, the fetus would appear stable. Even if doctors examined them, they would consider these symptoms normal pregnancy signs. Taking medicine to stabilize the pregnancy would only allow the poison to penetrate deeper. After ten months, a stillborn child would be delivered, but the mother would remain unharmed.

This poison was extremely insidious and difficult for ordinary people to detect. Even the medical officials in the Imperial Medical Academy might not recognize it, causing widespread panic. If that wasn’t enough, when the Xuanyi Lang mansion in Shengjing learned of this, the over-fifty-year-old Xuanyi Lang knelt in the great hall the next day during court, beating his chest and attempting to crash into pillars to file a complaint, begging the Emperor to thoroughly investigate this matter—

Xuanyi Lang suspected his beloved concubine had also been poisoned with “Child’s Sorrow” when she delivered a stillborn child.

Xuanyi Lang considered himself a romantic. After his concubine died of depression, he was inconsolable, daily writing phrases like “Ten years of life and death are both vast and vague” on various walls and temples. Now that he had a chance to clear his concubine’s wronged death, he became extremely excited, as if he had drunk chicken blood overnight. He united with other officials who believed their family members had been poisoned with “Child’s Sorrow,” requesting the court to thoroughly investigate this matter.

After all, during the previous emperor’s reign, a consort had been discovered using this poison to harm royal heirs. Afterward, the palace banned this poison, and it disappeared. Now that the forbidden poison had reappeared, where did it come from?

Since this involved the inner palace, it alarmed the Empress Dowager who was worshipping Buddha at Wan’en Temple. The Empress Dowager returned to the palace that day and personally investigated the inner palace overnight.

This investigation revealed something.

The palace guards found unused “Child’s Sorrow” in Consort Yan’s palace.

Consort Yan was the cousin of the secondary consort Meng Xiyan.

Under palace torture, Consort Yan confessed that she had obtained the poison from the Imperial Medicine Court and given it to Meng Xiyan at her request. Consequently, everyone in the Imperial Medicine Court was implicated in the crime, and both Consort Yan and Meng Xiyan were imprisoned.

Privately keeping forbidden poison and attempting to harm royal heirs – either crime alone was enough to warrant execution.

These chaotic news items spread from the palace every few days, becoming the talk of the town. Yet the man at the center of this whirlpool seemed to be forgotten, rarely mentioned.

In Prince Wen’s mansion.

Prince Wen stood in front of the courtyard, looking somewhat disheveled – quite unlike his usual attention to appearance. His face had lost the vigor it had shown in recent days as he glared fiercely at the person before him.

“Pei Yunying, get out of my way!”

At the courtyard entrance stood dozens of men who appeared to be imperial guards. Their young leader held a silver knife, glanced inside, and smiled at him with a “shh,” saying, “Be quiet, Baozhu is still sleeping.”

If not mentioning this, it would have been fine, but at the mention of Baozhu, Mu Sheng’s (Prince Wen’s) face turned blue.

Two days ago, he had been dining with others at a restaurant when he suddenly learned that officials had taken Meng Xiyan from the mansion. He hurried back only to discover that the military patrol station had caught an assassin who confessed in front of everyone that Meng Xiyan had ordered him to harm Lu Tong, the resident physician at Renxin Medical Hall because Lu Tong had saved Pei Yunzhu who had suddenly gone into labor.

This should have been a minor matter, and Mu Sheng hadn’t taken it seriously, only enraged that the patrol station personnel were so bold as to dare touch someone from his prince’s mansion. Who knew this small matter would spiral out of control, involving the palace’s forbidden poison, alarming the Empress Dowager, and leading to the imprisonment of both Consort Yan and Meng Xiyan? Even he, a prince, was somewhat overwhelmed.

Mu Sheng didn’t believe this matter was unrelated to Pei Yunzhu, but Pei Yunying’s men guarded the entrance to Pei Yunzhu’s courtyard, preventing even him, the prince, from entering. With no choice, he could only shout Pei Yunzhu’s name loudly at the courtyard entrance, but that usually timid woman had somehow grown bold and completely ignored his shouts, refusing to see him at all.

Mu Sheng coldly stared at Pei Yunying. Pei Yunzhu had only started showing such disregard for him after this brother of hers returned to the capital. This pair of siblings!

He said, “Pei Yunying, what are you trying to do?”

Pei Yunying smiled slightly, reached into his robe, and pulled out a paper, slapping it onto Mu Sheng’s face.

Mu Sheng was furious, pulled down the paper, and saw it densely covered in writing. “What is this?”

“Mu Sheng,” Pei Yunying’s tone could even be called polite, “At this point, you don’t still think you can muddle through this, do you?” He smiled, “I’ve already written the divorce paper for you. You just need to copy it.”

Divorce paper?

Mu Sheng looked down at the paper in front of him, as if stung, suddenly laughing coldly: “So this is what you’re after…”

On the Mid-Autumn Festival, Pei Yunying’s men had taken Meng Xiyan away. Although Mu Sheng knew something was wrong with the mohela, he still ordered Pei Yunying to return Meng Xiyan.

Meng Xiyan was beautiful and eloquent, and Pei Yunying publicly taking Meng Xiyan away was a slap in the face to, Prince Wen. Protecting Meng Xiyan was protecting himself.

Later when Pei Yunying returned Meng Xiyan to the mansion, Mu Sheng waited several days and saw no further pursuit of the matter. He relaxed and even felt somewhat smug. Pei Yunying was still young after all and didn’t dare to confront the prince’s mansion directly.

He had thought the matter was settled, not realizing this person was deeply scheming. The earlier return of Meng Xiyan was just to lower his guard, with the real move waiting for him now. Now not only Meng Xiyan but also Consort Yan in the palace were both imprisoned. From the beginning, Pei Yunying had never intended to let Meng Xiyan go. He wanted to deal with Meng Xiyan and also wanted Pei Yunzhu to leave the prince’s mansion.

From the start, he had been aiming to kill two birds with one stone!

Realizing he had fallen into the trap, Mu Sheng was furious beyond measure. He laughed in anger, staring at the person before him with a cold smile: “Dream on. Forget about divorce papers, I won’t even give her a letter of abandonment.” His tone carried malicious playfulness, “I just want her to waste away in my prince’s mansion. Even in death, she’ll be a ghost of the prince’s mansion!”

“Swoosh—”

In a flash of cold light, the chilling blade forced against his neck, its murderous intent gradually spreading from his throat.

“You… you’re mad?” Mu Sheng froze in place, not daring to move at all.

Pei Yunying’s hand holding the knife was very steady. His face was smiling but his gaze carried bone-chilling coldness as he said: “The prince is quite imposing.”

“I wonder if the prince was also this imposing last year when embezzling the water conservancy funds for the hidden city?”

At these words, Mu Sheng’s expression changed, blurting out: “How do you know?”

“Of course I know.” Pei Yunying smiled faintly, “I’ve always paid close attention to the prince.”

Mu Sheng began to tremble inside.

Besides his people, no one knew about this matter. Mu Sheng didn’t know how Pei Yunying had obtained this information, how much he knew, or how much evidence he had. He held Mu Sheng’s fatal weakness… How could a mere Commander of the Palace Guard achieve this level of influence?

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell your father about what you’re doing?” Mu Sheng, still unwilling to give up, tried to use the Duke of Zhaoning to pressure the man before him. Marriage between two families was never just a personal matter – clan relations and family ties involved many considerations. Pei Yunzhu’s wishes were the most insignificant factor compared to the overall interests of the Pei family.

Pei Yunying looked at him as if he’d heard something ridiculous, speaking with incredulity: “Prince, don’t you understand the Duke of Zhaoning? If he knew about these things, he would only cut ties with you more quickly.”

He thought for a moment, “Though perhaps if you stir things up well enough, you might even get to see a scene of father and son destroying each other.”

In the young man’s handsome features, there was an unmistakable coldness and perversity.

Mu Sheng felt terrified – this man truly feared nothing.

Pei Yunying withdrew his hand, carefully sheathing the silver knife, looking at him with an ambiguous smile.

“Choose one, Prince – either the divorce paper or the court petition.”

…

When news of Princess Consort Wen’s divorce from Prince Wen spread, everyone found it unexpected yet reasonable.

After all, having a husband who would shield someone who tried to murder his wife and heir – any ordinary person would find it difficult to continue living with such a man. Among Shengjing’s noble families, divorce was rare, not for any other reason but because husbands were unwilling to be laughed at, not wanting others to think they couldn’t even manage their household. Thus, most couples who had grown apart, regardless of whether they could continue living together or not, were forced to waste away in a withered marriage.

But Princess Consort Wen, Pei Yunzhu, successfully divorced Prince Wen. Not only did she divorce him, but she also took away their newborn young lady, fearing the child might be harmed if left in the prince’s mansion.

The Liang Dynasty’s marriage laws stipulated that if a husband attempted to harm his wife, it violated ethical principles and should result in “severance of righteousness.” Even if one party disagreed, as long as the other party petitioned, divorce was mandatory.

In the Liang Dynasty, it was rare for women to divorce their husbands, especially in noble households. However, in the case of Prince Wen’s mansion, though it appeared to be a divorce on the surface, discerning people could see it was essentially no different from a wife dismissing her husband. For a time, mockery and ridicule of Prince Wen were endless, while mentions of the departed princess consort and her daughter were met mostly with sighs of sympathy.

Who would want to marry such an inhuman beast?

The day after Princess Consort Wen moved out of Prince Wen’s mansion, early in the morning, Renxin Medical Hall’s entrance welcomed a group of people beating gongs and drums.

A line of strong men dressed in blue carried a piece of colorful brocade, making their way down West Street with their drumming and beating. The vendors of West Street had never seen such a spectacle, and all gathered around the medical hall’s entrance with curiosity to watch the excitement.

Du Changqing was sweeping the ground with Acheng when they were suddenly confronted by a dense crowd at the door, startling them. He shouted, “What are you doing? Are you causing trouble?”

Lu Tong came out from the inner shop carrying a bamboo tray of herbs for drying, while Yinzheng walked to the door and smiled at the crowd, asking, “What’s happening? Why is everyone gathered at the medical hall’s entrance?”

The lead strong man turned and took the colorful brocade from behind him, handed it to Yinzheng, and announced loudly: “Doctor Lu of Renxin Medical Hall showed great kindness and skill in saving our young lady and her daughter. The clan is grateful for Doctor Lu’s great kindness and has specially ordered us to deliver this token of appreciation!” After speaking, he signaled to those behind him, and all the eight-foot-tall men rolled up their sleeves and gave Lu Tong several resounding kowtows, shouting in unison: “Your medical skills are trustworthy, your medical ethics admirable! Healing the world with your hanging gourd, miraculous hands creating beauty!”

The sound was thunderous, the presence overwhelming.

Lu Tong: “…”

She rarely had extra reactions to external matters, but at this moment, faced with the crowd gathered at the medical hall’s entrance on West Street, Lu Tong experienced an unfamiliar feeling of… embarrassment.

Perhaps even a touch of shame.

The lead strong man was completely oblivious, only eagerly watching the fabric in Yinzheng’s hands: “Please look, Doctor Lu!”

Lu Tong looked.

The piece of colorful brocade was about a person’s height, woven very delicately, like a thick carpet, with colored bells attached below, and auspicious pattern ribbons on both sides. In the middle, two lines of golden characters were embroidered in flowing calligraphy.

“A kind physician cures illness with compassion, divine skill removes ailments without a sound—”

At this moment, even the typically flamboyant Du Changqing couldn’t help but choke.

The surroundings fell silent.

Only the young apprentice Acheng joyfully took the woven carpet from Yinzheng’s hands, marveling at the golden characters, and asked happily: “This is for our Doctor Lu? Can we hang it on the main entrance wall of the medical hall?”

“Of course,” the strong man leader answered earnestly, “Doctor Lu’s miraculous hands and kind heart deserve praise.”

Du Changqing couldn’t help covering his face, “How embarrassing…”

Widow Sun at the entrance poked the man’s muscular arm, asking curiously: “Young man, who is your young lady?” She glanced at the line of men at the entrance – such an imposing presence couldn’t have been raised by an ordinary family.

The blue-clothed man cupped his hands and said: “Our master is the eldest young lady of the Duke of Zhaoning’s mansion,” he paused, then added, “the former Princess Consort Wen.”

When people heard about the eldest young lady of the Duke of Zhaoning’s mansion, they were confused for a moment, but when he mentioned Princess Consort Wen, the onlookers suddenly understood.

Oh, it was that unfortunate princess consort from some days ago!

Across the street, Tailor Ge’s sunflower seed-cracking motion stopped as she couldn’t help adding: “So you’re saying the female physician who saved the princess consort and her daughter was Doctor Lu?”

“Exactly!”

At these words, the crowd burst into another commotion.

Everyone in Shengjing knew about the affair at Prince Wen’s mansion now. However, the mysterious female physician in this strange incident had never been mentioned before. Firstly, Du Changqing and Lu Tong weren’t the types to show off, so they didn’t deliberately mention this matter to others. Secondly, in Prince Wen’s mansion affair, with its estranged couple, favored concubine plotting against the wife, harboring criminals, palace forbidden poison… each element was more shocking than a mere female physician.

She was like an insignificant weed, overlooked in the blink of an eye. Now hearing people mention it, the West Street crowd finally realized that the female physician – the one who saved Pei Yunzhu and her daughter, and who was later targeted for assassination by the malicious secondary consort – was an indispensable key figure in this story.

The West Street crowd’s gaze toward Lu Tong instantly changed.

She was the one who saved Princess Consort Wen!

Their West Street was full of small business owners – previously, even having a wealthy merchant visit was a big deal, and someone like Master Hu was treated as an honored guest. Having an official appearance was considered quite rare. But Renxin Medical Hall was different – first, they saved the son of the Minister of Imperial Granaries and developed a connection with him, and now they had saved the princess consort and her daughter. Though the princess consort was divorced, wasn’t she still the young lady of the Duke of Zhaoning’s mansion?

What kind of luck had Renxin Medical Hall stumbled upon? Where did the wastrel Du Changqing find such a golden nugget? If Doctor Lu’s reputation spread, those noble people would all come for treatment – maybe their entire West Street would prosper along with it!

If not curry favor now, then when?

Thinking of this, the crowd surged toward the medical hall with a “whoosh,” saying “congratulations” and “felicitations,” almost pushing Du Changqing out the door.

Yinzheng smiled and greeted everyone, while Acheng had already climbed onto a chair with the huge woven banner, comparing different spots to find the most conspicuous place to hang it. The small medical hall suddenly became lively and crowded, with Du Changqing’s angry scolding echoing through West Street.

Lu Tong stood in the inner shop, watching the noisy and comical scene before her. As she watched, somehow, a trace of a smile gradually appeared in her eyes.

Pei Yunying’s grand gesture of sending this colorful banner was ostensibly to express gratitude, but in reality, it was also to boost her status. After today, the entire West Street, or perhaps half of Shengjing, would know that she was the one who saved Pei Yunzhu and her daughter.

It was also a warning to Prince Wen’s mansion.

Now everyone knew that Meng Xiyan had hired assassins to deal with her. If she remained safe, that was fine, but if anything happened to her in the future, everyone would naturally suspect Prince Wen’s mansion. At least for the short term, Mu Sheng wouldn’t move against her – even if Mu Sheng had no shame, Prince Wen’s mansion couldn’t withstand successive blows to its reputation.

She was safe for now.

This was good – she would have more energy and time to do her things.

Like… dealing with the Grand Preceptor’s mansion.

Lu Tong looked up. Acheng had hung the banner straight and proper on the wall facing the main door. The banner was thick and huge, its embroidered text gleaming with gold – once hung, it gave the entire medical hall a kind of crude grandeur, a sense of incongruous luxury.

Du Changqing’s angry shout came from behind: “It’s hideous, take it down! Take it down right now!”

Acheng protested: “Master, I think it looks good, don’t be too picky.”

The gongs and drums outside started up again as if determined not to rest until they had spread through all of West Street.

Amid the chaos, Lu Tong lowered her head and smiled slightly.

Pei Yunying’s gesture of thanks might have been a bit over the top, but still…

At least for now, he had helped her out of her immediate crisis.