After the cleaned Red Fragrance Silk was sent to the Imperial Pharmacy, the Southern Medicine House wasn’t as busy as before. Without that patch of bright red poisonous flowers in the herb garden, the medical workers felt much more at ease.

Inside the room, Zhu Mao leaned against the pear wood chair, holding his tea while watching the puddles of rainwater under the eaves.

As he watched, he remembered another trivial matter and asked, “By the way, how is that Lu Tong doing lately?”

The newly arrived female medical officer had beautiful features, with a face as delicate as a flower. He had asked people to inquire at the Medical Officials’ Court about whom Lu Tong had offended, but they couldn’t find out anything. Later, when he sent Lu Tong to pick Red Fragrance Silk in the herb garden, he wanted to both humble her pride and probe the Medical Officials’ Court’s attitude.

However, after many days, there was no reaction from the Medical Officials’ Court, as if they had completely forgotten about Lu Tong. Zhu Mao gradually became certain that this female medical officer had been thoroughly abandoned by the Medical Officials’ Court.

The servant at his side replied, “My Lord, these days Lu Tong has been picking and cleaning Red Fragrance Silk in the herb garden, without any disturbance.”

“Oh?” Zhu Mao was somewhat surprised, “She’s quite good at keeping her composure.”

He had secretly instructed Mei Er’niang to make things difficult for Lu Tong regularly. He knew Mei Er’niang’s temperament well, but he hadn’t expected Lu Tong to remain so composed, never coming to beg for mercy even until now.

Thinking of that cold expression on her flower-bud-like face, Zhu Mao suddenly felt an itch in his heart. He put down his teacup and stood up: “In that case, I’ll go take a look at her myself.”

…

In the herb garden, Lu Tong was categorizing fresh herbs with He Xiu.

“Medical Officer Lu, I never knew herbs could be sorted this way. You’re amazing!” He Xiu looked at the neatly sorted medicinal materials in the courtyard, her eyes showing a trace of admiration.

Since Lu Tong’s arrival, her daily work has become much easier. Lu Tong’s method of sorting herbs was different from theirs, both faster and better. Originally, many newcomers couldn’t recognize the herbs in the garden, making the sorting process slow. But Lu Tong was different – she could remember everything after being told just once.

“I dare say even the students at the Imperial Medical Bureau aren’t as skilled as you,” He Xiu praised while secretly feeling sorry for Lu Tong. With such medical talent, how did she end up in the Southern Medicine House? This way, she would have been better off not entering the palace and instead becoming a resident doctor in the city.

Lu Tong continued sorting without pause and asked, “Last time you mentioned not returning home for three years. But Medical Officials’ Court officers have rest days, and even though the Southern Medicine House is busy, you should be able to leave the palace for a few days each year. Why can’t you go home?”

Hearing this, He Xiu’s smile dimmed slightly: “It’s because of Lord Zhu.”

“Zhu Mao?”

He Xiu nodded slightly, speaking very softly: “Lord Zhu holds everyone’s registration in the Southern Medicine House. Even if we want to take regular leave to go home, we have to pay him silver, or… I don’t have that much silver, and I’m not willing to… so I haven’t gone back for three years.”

Lu Tong asked, “Why not report this to the head of the Medical Officials’ Court?”

He Xiu smiled bitterly: “Medical Officer Lu, if reporting worked, how would you have ended up here?”

Lu Tong fell silent.

The Southern Medicine House was technically under the Medical Officials’ Court. Zhu Mao’s tyrannical behavior here couldn’t have escaped the notice of Cui Min, the head of the Medical Officials’ Court.

“Let’s not talk about this,” He Xiu smiled: “The Red Fragrance Silk has all been sent to the Imperial Pharmacy, so things should be easier from now on. I wonder what fabrics are fashionable outside the palace now. I want to have the tailor make something bright for my sister-in-law’s spring clothes this year…”

She was speaking happily when her voice suddenly cut off. Lu Tong followed her gaze and saw Zhu Mao walking into the courtyard with several people.

He Xiu pulled Lu Tong, and Lu Tong stood up, both of them bowing to Zhu Mao.

“Rise,” Zhu Mao responded with a smile, looking at Lu Tong, “You’ve just arrived at the Southern Medicine House, and I’ve been too busy with affairs these past few days to check on you. Today I’ve come to ask, how are you adjusting to life here?”

“Thank you for your concern, my Lord,” Lu Tong said: “Everything is fine.”

Zhu Mao nodded, about to say more when his gaze fell on Lu Tong’s face and suddenly stopped.

In the past few days, wary of the Red Fragrance Silk’s poison, Zhu Mao hadn’t visited the herb garden. Now, seeing that lotus-like face after so many days, he was momentarily stunned.

Because of sorting herbs, Lu Tong wore a brown hemp garment like He Xiu. The loose garment made her figure appear delicate, her eyebrows fine and graceful, revealing a snow-white neck that inspired pity and affection.

Perhaps because of the messy herbs around, or perhaps due to the contrast with He Xiu’s red-spotted face, her already beautiful features appeared even more stunning. Standing in the courtyard, Lu Tong made it difficult for anyone to look away.

Zhu Mao’s gaze was also captivated.

He Xiu felt uneasy. Zhu Mao stared at Lu Tong like a hungry wolf eyeing meat, refusing to look away. Then he suddenly made a sound and said: “Why don’t you have any red spots on your face? Haven’t you been to the Red Fragrance Garden?”

Lu Tong paused.

She and He Xiu had spent many days in the Red Fragrance Garden. Despite covering her face with a cloth, He Xiu couldn’t avoid the increasing spots. Lu Tong hadn’t covered anything, exposed to the poisonous flowers, yet her face remained clean and unblemished.

This should have been a fortunate thing amidst misfortune, but at this moment, it became an ominous sign.

Before Lu Tong could speak, He Xiu hurriedly said: “My Lord, Medical Officer Lu was poisoned by Red Fragrance Silk when she was younger at home, but was cured with medicine. Since then, she hasn’t been affected by the Red Fragrance Silk poison.”

“Did I ask you?” Zhu Mao coldly glared at He Xiu, and she dared not speak anymore.

He turned back to stare at Lu Tong, his tone somewhat strange: “Red Fragrance Silk is precious and rarely found outside the palace. Moreover, this poison has no cure. Anyone who picks it must inhale the pollen. If there was a way to resist the poison, it would have already become famous in the Imperial Pharmacy.” At this point, Zhu Mao changed his tone, “I think you’ve just been lazy, never going to the Red Fragrance Garden or getting close to the poisonous flowers, that’s why there isn’t a single red spot on your face!”

Hearing this, He Xiu was startled and fell to her knees with a thud: “My Lord, please see clearly, these days Lu Tong has been picking Red Fragrance Silk with me. Moreover, fearing I would be exhausted, she picked most of the herbs herself. She hasn’t been lazy – everyone in the herb garden has seen it!”

However, the medical workers around all lowered their heads in unison, as if no one had heard He Xiu’s words, and no one spoke up.

Zhu Mao snorted coldly: “Medical Officer Lu, what do you have to say?”

Lu Tong calmly said: “If my Lord doesn’t believe me, let me go to the Red Fragrance Garden to try it and you’ll know.”

“Easy to say,” Zhu Mao sneered, “All the flowers and herbs in the Red Fragrance Garden have already been picked, and the picked Red Fragrance Silk’s potency is much weaker, it might not cause red spots. You’re counting on there being no evidence, thinking I can’t do anything to you.”

Since he had said everything, ignoring He Xiu who was frantically pulling at her skirt, Lu Tong simply looked at him and asked: “Then what does my Lord intend to do?”

Zhu Mao was stunned.

Lu Tong’s expression remained cold as if the trouble wasn’t happening to her. She had been like this since arriving at the Southern Medicine House, standing far away from the crowd, like a faint moon suspended in the sky, impossible to grasp.

Zhu Mao’s heart itched again, gnawing at him, desperately wanting to swallow this alluring cold moon into his belly.

His thumb impatiently rubbed once, but his face maintained a righteous expression as he said: “Just entering the Southern Medicine House and already being lazy, though not a serious crime, still deserves punishment. Since that’s the case, you’ll be punished to kneel before the statue of Shennong in his shrine for three days, to properly reflect on your actions before the great deity.”

As the words fell, Lu Tong’s heart stirred.

Just kneeling for three days?

She had thought that with Zhu Mao’s methods since he deliberately came to cause trouble, the outcome should have been much more severe. She hadn’t expected it to be just kneeling as punishment.

While He Xiu was still quietly pleading, Lu Tong pondered for a moment, then softly said to the person before her: “Yes, my Lord.”

…

After Zhu Mao returned from the herb garden, Mei Er’niang followed him.

“I heard my Lord sent Lu Tong to kneel in the shrine as punishment?” As soon as she entered the room, Mei Er’niang closed the door.

Zhu Mao found a comfortable position on the soft couch, casually pulling Mei Er’niang into his arms and kissing her: “Jealous?”

Mei Er’niang turned her head away with coquettish anger, only saying: “Why did you suddenly think of her?”

These days, Zhu Mao had ignored Lu Tong, only having people count the Red Fragrance Silk daily as if he had forgotten about her. Who would have thought he would suddenly give Lu Tong trouble today?

“After all, she’s from the Southern Medicine House. If she doesn’t understand the rules, naturally she needs to be taught,” Zhu Mao said while touching the face of the person in his arms. The skin under his hand was delicate, but when he thought of that other fair face he had seen earlier, as white as a peeled egg, looking at the person before him now inevitably felt somewhat bland and aged.

Mei Er’niang seemed to notice his hesitant touch, but pretended not to see it and continued asking: “If you want to teach her, why only send her to kneel as punishment? This isn’t like my Lord’s usual style.”

Zhu Mao was usually harsh with his subordinates. Whenever he targeted someone, they couldn’t escape without being flayed. Having set his sights on Lu Tong, yet only punishing her with kneeling, was indeed very different from his usual methods.

Zhu Mao snorted lightly: “What do you know?”

Even when beating a dog, one must consider its master. Lu Tong was, after all, a newly appointed medical officer. Though he had designs on this woman, he still needed to observe the Medical Officials’ Court’s reaction. The Southern Medicine House and Medical Officials’ Court shared information – when he had sent Lu Tong to pick Red Fragrance Silk earlier, the Medical Officials’ Court had shown no reaction. If news of the kneeling punishment reached them and they remained as indifferent as before over these three days, it could only mean that Lu Tong truly had no backing to rely on.

That also meant that after three days, the beautiful young medical woman would completely become his captive in the Southern Medicine House, at his disposal.

Thinking of this, Zhu Mao’s desires blazed, and he couldn’t help rubbing his fingers as he slowly smiled.

…

The spring days in the herb garden grew darker later than in previous days.

In the dim shrine, Lu Tong knelt on a grass mat. Above her, the tall statue of Shennong held a spiritual herb, looking down at her with a benevolent smile.

Through a small window high in the shrine’s stone walls, a crescent moon casts silver light onto the ground, illuminating the empty hall and giving it a cold atmosphere.

Lu Tong reached out to rub her stiff knees.

After Zhu Mao’s visit during the day, she was brought to the shrine to reflect quietly.

The shrine was damp and cold. At night, even the kind-faced statue became eerie in the candlelight. For a young woman to spend the night alone here, setting aside whether her body could endure it, she would inevitably feel frightened.

However, for Lu Tong, who was used to walking among graves, it made no difference where she stayed. This place was better than the dormitory – quieter, quiet enough for her to have sufficient time to think clearly about what she needed to do next.

The candle on the table suddenly flickered, and a voice came from behind: “Medical Officer Lu!”

Lu Tong turned around to see a familiar face peering through the bars of the high window, calling to her softly.

It was He Xiu.

Lu Tong stood up and walked to the window: “Why did you come?”

“I came to bring you food.” He Xiu passed a cold steamed bun through the bars, “You haven’t eaten all day. This won’t do – it’s too cold here, you’ll get sick.”

Lu Tong took the bun, knowing He Xiu had saved it from her dinner, and said “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me,” He Xiu said dejectedly, “You picked so much Red Fragrance Silk for me, and now that you’re locked in the shrine, I can’t help at all. I’m useless…”

“It’s just kneeling for three days, it’s nothing.”

“This isn’t a small matter. Mei Er’niang back then was also…”

She suddenly stopped speaking, but Lu Tong immediately understood.

It seemed that when Mei Er’niang first entered the Southern Medicine House, she had also been like this – Zhu Mao finding an excuse to lock her in the shrine to break her spirit and crush her will, until finally Mei Er’niang willingly submitted to him.

He Xiu looked at Lu Tong, her eyes full of deep sorrow: “Medical Officer Lu…”

She looked like someone watching a companion about to sink into a quagmire, anxious and suffering yet helpless, only able to blame herself repeatedly.

Lu Tong was quiet for a moment, then said: “Xiu, help me take something to Mei Er’niang.”

He Xiu was startled, “What?”

Lu Tong took out a folded note from her bosom and passed it through the bars to her.

“This is…”

He Xiu nervously hid the note in her clothes.

“Give Mei Er’niang a message for me.” Lu Tong finished speaking, then leaned close to He Xiu’s ear and whispered a few words.

The woman listened and showed shock: “Why does Medical Officer Lu want to do this?”

Lu Tong didn’t speak, lowering her head to take a bite of the steamed bun.

The bun was cold and hard; when swallowing, she could feel its coarseness in her throat. The food in the Southern Medicine House was always like this – all the money went into Zhu Mao’s pocket, and the ordinary medical workers here lived worse than Zhu Mao’s dogs.

But people weren’t dogs.

After a while, she looked at the person before her.

“Because I want to leave this place.”

…

News of such trivial matters in the palace’s inner court didn’t take long to reach the Three Departments.

It was already late at night when Duan Xiaoyan learned that Lu Tong had been punished to kneel in the Shrine of Shennong.

In the guard post, everyone else had gone on duty, leaving only Xiao Zufeng reviewing documents at his desk. Duan Xiaoyan walked around inside and outside his room, not seeing Pei Yunying’s shadow, so he asked Xiao Zufeng at the desk: “Why isn’t Brother Yunying here?”

“He went out of the city,” Xiao Zufeng didn’t look up, only asking: “Why?”

After hesitating, Duan Xiaoyan went forward, half-lying on the table, leaning close to Xiao Zufeng and lowering his voice: “I just passed by the Hanlin Medical Officials’ Court and heard something. Doctor Lu, the one who was the resident physician at Renxin Medical Hall, didn’t she go to the Southern Medicine House earlier? I don’t know what she did wrong there, but she’s been locked in the Shrine of Shennong as punishment, made to kneel.”

Xiao Zufeng’s expression paused, but he quickly recovered, making a sound of acknowledgment.

He was always taciturn. Duan Xiaoyan knocked on the table, “Shouldn’t we help her?”

Xiao Zufeng looked up, expressionless: “Why should we help? What is she to you?”

Duan Xiaoyan choked.

Previously, Duan Xiaoyan had considered himself and Lu Tong to be friends. But later, the incident with the Wangchun Mountain sachet proved that this friendship was just his one-sided wishful thinking. By rights, what happened to Lu Tong in the palace shouldn’t concern him.

However, whenever he heard that Lu Tong was being bullied or in trouble, he couldn’t help but worry about her. Duan Xiaoyan knew he wasn’t usually the type to court abuse, but after much thought, he figured it was probably because Lu Tong was too beautiful, making it difficult for anyone to harbor ill feelings toward her.

“Why not have Qingfeng send a message to Brother Yunying? He’s always concerned about Doctor Lu’s affairs…” The rest of Duan Xiaoyan’s words gradually died under Xiao Zufeng’s reproachful gaze. After a while, he asked quietly, “Is this not allowed either?”

“Don’t do unnecessary things,” Xiao Zufeng warned, “This matter has nothing to do with the Palace Guard.”

Duan Xiaoyan was unwilling to accept this but didn’t dare argue.

Xiao Zufeng glanced at him coldly: “Don’t let her affect Pei Yunying.”

…

Since the Three Departments had received the news, the Medical Officials’ Court adjacent to the Southern Medicine House couldn’t possibly be unaware of Lu Tong’s current situation.

In his room, Cui Min sat quietly.

The Imperial Medical Bureau was compiling a new collection of medical techniques, and as the head of the Hanlin Medical Officials’ Court, Cui Min was responsible for the compilation and organization of the entire medical text. Besides improving and adjusting old prescriptions, new formulas needed to be added to the medical books.

However, good prescriptions were hard to find, and it wasn’t easy to create new, effective formulas. In the past two years, while compiling the new medical book, Cui Min’s temples had grown considerably grayer. Others advised him not to be so harsh on himself, after all, just that volume of “Cui’s Pharmacology” from many years ago was enough for him to be renowned for a century—

“Creeak,” the door opened.

Someone quietly entered from outside, walked to Cui Min’s front, and reported in a low voice: “Chief, today there’s news from the Southern Medicine House that Medical Officer Lu made a mistake and was locked in the Shrine of Shennong by Lord Zhu, punished to kneel for three days.”

Cui Min’s wolf-hair brush paused, and after a moment, he put down his pen, picked up the paper he had just written on, set it aside, and said: “Zhu Mao couldn’t wait any longer.”

Since entering the Southern Medicine House, Lu Tong had been quiet. However, news about her always reached Cui Min’s ears through various coincidences.

Lu Tong went to pick Red Fragrance Silk, Lu Tong went to organize poisonous herbs, and Lu Tong was bullied by medical workers…

Lu Tong was punished and locked in the Shrine of Shennong.

This was naturally Zhu Mao’s deliberate doing, and Cui Min always ignored such clumsy probing.

Even though he knew that entering the Shrine of Shennong meant Zhu Mao’s patience had run out, and he was eager to crush this delicate flower that had strayed into the wilderness.

“Leave it be,” Cui Min said.

His confidant looked up, unable to help asking: “Your servant doesn’t understand. Chief, you overcame opposition to specifically choose a commoner-born Medical Officer Lu as the top candidate on the red list, but after she entered the palace, you sent her to the Southern Medicine House. Even considering the Dong family, this seems excessive.”

Specifically, bringing Lu Tong into the palace just to torment her? Why go to such trouble?

After these words, silence fell. As his confidant grew anxious, Cui Min’s calm voice sounded in the room.

“You’ve heard that saying too – don’t just add poetry for scenery’s sake, send charcoal in snowy weather.”

The confidant suddenly trembled: “Chief, you mean to…”

“It’s not time yet.” He lowered his head, his gaze lingering long on the thick stack of papers on his desk.

The new medical texts weren’t finished being compiled, and there weren’t enough new prescriptions. A young person who could write ten new formulas at once during the spring examination had talent that couldn’t be underestimated.

But talented people were often proud and unrestrained, which wasn’t good.

So, she needed to be thoroughly tormented first, until she was completely desperate and seeking death, then extend a helping hand. At that time, he would gain her gratitude, reverence, and wholehearted trust.

To be the one sending charcoal in snow, ah.

But the current snow wasn’t cold enough.

“Let’s wait a while longer,” Cui Min closed his eyes: “Wait until the day she comes seeking help of her own accord.”

Cui Min: I want to send charcoal in the snow!

Liu Tong:? You seem pretty well off yourself!