After the cleaned Red Fragrant Catkins were sent to the Imperial Medicine Academy, the Southern Medicine House was temporarily not as busy as before.

With the patch of bright red poisonous flowers gone from the medicinal garden, the medical workers all felt much more relaxed.

In the room, Zhu Mao leaned against a yellow pear wood chair, holding tea while looking at the puddles accumulated under the eaves from the rain.

While watching, he remembered another idle matter. Zhu Mao asked: “By the way, how has that Lu Tong been lately?”

The newly arrived female medical official had a beautiful appearance, her plain face like a flower. He had asked people to inquire at the Medical Academy about who Lu Tong had offended, but never found any leads. Later, when he sent Lu Tong to the medicinal garden to pick Red Fragrant Catkins, firstly he wanted to dampen Lu Tong’s arrogance, and secondly, he also wanted to test the Medical Academy’s attitude.

However, after many consecutive days, there was no movement from the Medical Academy, as if they had completely forgotten about Lu Tong. Zhu Mao gradually gained confidence in his heart—it seemed this female medical official had been completely abandoned by the Medical Academy.

The servant beside him replied: “In response to Your Lordship, these past days Lu Tong has been picking and cleaning Red Fragrant Catkins in the medicinal garden, with nothing unusual.”

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

He had secretly instructed Mei Erniang to make things difficult for Lu Tong in daily life. Zhu Mao was clear about Mei Erniang’s temperament, but hadn’t expected Lu Tong to remain calm, never coming before him to beg for mercy even until now.

Thinking of the cold expression on that flower-bud-like face, Zhu Mao suddenly felt an itch in his heart. He set down his tea cup and stood up: “Since that’s the case, this official should also go take a look at her.”

…

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

“Physician Lu, this is the first time I’ve seen herbs sorted this way. You’re amazing!” He Xiu looked at the neatly sorted medicinal materials in the courtyard with a flash of admiration in her eyes.

Since Lu Tong arrived, her daily work had become much easier. Lu Tong’s method of sorting medicinal materials was different from theirs—both fast and good. Originally, newcomers didn’t recognize many of the herbs in the medicinal garden and were slow at sorting. But Lu Tong was different—she could remember everything after being told just once.

“I dare say even those students at the Imperial Medical Bureau aren’t as skilled as you.” He Xiu praised while secretly feeling sorry for Lu Tong in her heart. With such medical talent, why did she end up in the Southern Medicine House? This way, it would have been better not to enter the palace at all, but to be a sitting physician in the marketplace instead.

Lu Tong continued sorting without stopping, asking: “Last time you said you haven’t returned home in three years. But medical officials at the Medical Academy have rest days. Even if the Southern Medicine House affairs are complicated, 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: “It’s Master Zhu.”

“Zhu Mao?”

He Xiu nodded slightly, her voice very low: “Master Zhu controls the roster of everyone in the Southern Medicine House. Even if you want to follow regulations and take rest days to go home, you have to pay him money, or… I don’t have that much money, and I’m not willing to… so I haven’t been back in three years.”

Lu Tong asked: “Why not report to the Director of the Medical Academy?”

He Xiu smiled bitterly: “Physician Lu, if reporting were useful, how would you have ended up here?”

Lu Tong fell silent.

The Southern Medicine House nominally belonged under the Medical Academy. Zhu Mao acting tyrannically here—Director Cui Min might not be unaware.

“Let’s not talk about this,” He Xiu smiled. “The Red Fragrant Catkins have all been sent to the Imperial Medicine Academy, so things should be easier from now on. I wonder what fabrics are fashionable outside the palace now. For my siblings’ spring shirts this year, I want to have the tailor make them in brighter colors…”

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

He Xiu pulled Lu Tong, and Lu Tong stood up, bowing to Zhu Mao together with He Xiu.

“Rise.” Zhu Mao responded with a smile, looking at Lu Tong. “You haven’t been at the Southern Medicine House long. I’ve been busy with affairs these past days and haven’t had time to see you. Today I came to ask—how are you adjusting to life at the Southern Medicine House?”

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

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

In recent days, fearing the poison of Red Fragrant Catkins, Zhu Mao hadn’t been to the medicinal garden. Now, not having seen her for some time, suddenly seeing such a lotus-like face, he was momentarily stunned.

Because she needed to sort medicinal materials, Lu Tong, like He Xiu, only wore a brown hemp garment. The hemp clothing was loose, making her figure appear slender, her eyebrows delicately furrowed, revealing a section of snow-white neck that inspired pity.

Perhaps because of the messy medicinal materials around, or perhaps because He Xiu’s face covered with red spots served as contrast, the already beautiful face gained several more points of beauty. Standing in this courtyard, Lu Tong made it difficult for people to look away.

Zhu Mao’s gaze was also drawn in.

He Xiu felt uneasy. Zhu Mao stared at Lu Tong like a starving wolf seeing fat meat, unwilling to let go, then suddenly “hmm”ed and said: “Why don’t you have red spots on your face? Did you not enter the Red Fragrant Garden?”

Lu Tong paused.

She and He Xiu had stayed in the Red Fragrant Garden for many days. He Xiu covered her face with a cloth, yet still couldn’t avoid the increasing spots. Lu Tong wore no protection, exposed among the poisonous flowers, yet her face remained clean without anything on it.

This should have been a blessing in misfortune, but at this moment, it became an ominous sign.

Before Lu Tong could speak, He Xiu hurriedly said: “In response to My Lord, Physician Lu was poisoned by Red Fragrant Catkins in her early years at home, then cured with medicinal soup, and since then has not been troubled by Red Fragrant Catkin poison.”

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

He turned back to stare at Lu Tong, his tone somewhat strange: “Red Fragrant Catkins are precious—besides the palace, they’re rarely found elsewhere. Moreover, this poison has no cure. Anyone who picks them will inevitably inhale flower pollen. If there really were a method to overcome the poison, it would have been famous at the Imperial Medicine Academy long ago.” Speaking to this point, Zhu Mao changed his tone: “I think you were just being lazy. These past days you never went to the Red Fragrant Garden, never approached the poisonous flowers, so 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 past days, Physician Lu and I picked Red Fragrant Catkins together, and Physician Lu, fearing I would be overworked, picked most of the herbs herself. There was absolutely no laziness—everyone in the medicinal garden saw it!”

However, the surrounding medical workers unanimously lowered their heads, as if no one heard He Xiu’s words, and no one spoke up.

Zhu Mao snorted coldly: “Physician Lu, what do you say?”

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

“Easy to say,” Zhu Mao sneered. “The flowers and plants in the Red Fragrant Garden have all been picked clean. The medicinal properties of picked Red Fragrant Catkins are far weaker than before—they might not produce red spots. You’re determined that there’s no evidence, thinking this official can do nothing to you.”

He had said everything, leaving no room. Ignoring He Xiu who was desperately tugging at her skirt, Lu Tong simply looked at him and asked: “Then what does My Lord intend to do?”

Zhu Mao was startled.

Lu Tong’s expression was cold, as if the person in trouble wasn’t herself. She had been like this since arriving at the Southern Medicine House—standing far outside the crowd like that pale cold moon hanging in the void, impossible to grasp.

Zhu Mao’s heart itched again, clawing and scratching at his insides, wishing he could immediately swallow this tempting cold moon whole.

His thumb rubbed impatiently, but his face maintained righteousness as he said: “Being lazy just after entering the Southern Medicine House—though not a major crime, it’s hard to escape punishment. Since that’s the case, you’re punished to kneel before the Shennong statue in Shennong Shrine for three days, properly reflecting on your mistakes before the great Shennong.”

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

Just kneeling for three days?

She thought that with Zhu Mao’s methods, since he was deliberately looking for trouble, the consequences should be much more serious. She hadn’t expected it to be merely kneeling.

He Xiu was still pleading in low voices. Lu Tong considered for a moment, then softly said to the person before her: “Yes, My Lord.”

…

After Zhu Mao returned from the medicinal garden, Mei Erniang followed.

“I heard My Lord sent Lu Tong to kneel in the shrine?” As soon as she entered the room, Mei Erniang closed the door.

Zhu Mao found a comfortable position on the soft couch and pulled Mei Erniang into his arms for a kiss: “Jealous?”

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

These past days, Zhu Mao had paid no attention to Lu Tong, only having people count Red Fragrant Catkins daily, as if he had forgotten this person. Who would have thought he would suddenly target Lu Tong today.

“After all, she’s a person of the Southern Medicine House. If she doesn’t understand the rules, naturally she must be instructed.” Zhu Mao spoke while stroking the face of the person in his arms. The skin under his hand was delicate, but when he thought of the other tender face he’d seen earlier, white as a peeled egg, looking at the person before him, he inevitably felt somewhat bland and aged.

Mei Erniang seemed to sense his hesitation too. Pretending not to notice, she continued asking: “If you wanted to instruct her, why only send her to kneel? This doesn’t seem like My Lord’s temperament.”

Zhu Mao had always been harsh with subordinates. Whenever he deliberately targeted someone, it was impossible without making them shed a layer of skin. Having set his sights on Lu Tong yet only punishing her with kneeling was truly very different from his usual methods.

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

Even when beating a dog, one must consider the owner. Lu Tong was, after all, a newly appointed Medical Official. Though he had designs on this woman, he had to see the Medical Academy’s reaction. The Southern Medicine House communicated with the Medical Academy. Earlier when he sent Lu Tong to pick Red Fragrant Catkins, the Medical Academy showed no response. If news of the punishment got out and these three days remained the same as before, it would only prove that Lu Tong truly had no backing.

That would also mean that after three days, that beautiful young female physician would completely become his forbidden possession in the Southern Medicine House, for him to manipulate at will.

Thinking of this, Zhu Mao’s desires blazed. He couldn’t help rubbing his fingers and slowly began to smile.

…

Spring days in the medicinal garden grew dark later than previous days.

In the dim shrine, Lu Tong knelt on a straw mat. Above her head, the tall Shennong statue held a spirit herb, looking down at her with a lowered head and gentle smile.

High on the shrine’s stone walls, a crescent moon shone through a small window, casting silver light on the ground, illuminating the empty hall inside and showing a bit of cold gloom.

Lu Tong reached out and rubbed her stiffened knees.

After Zhu Mao came during the day, she had been brought into the shrine to quietly reflect.

The shrine was damp and cold. At night, the kindly statue became eerie in the candlelight. A young woman spending the night here alone—not to mention whether her body could endure it—would inevitably feel frightened.

However, for Lu Tong, who often walked among burial mounds, living anywhere made no difference. This place was even better than the dormitory—quieter, quiet enough for her to have sufficient time to think clearly about what to do next.

The candle flame at the table suddenly flickered, and a voice came from behind: “Physician Lu!”

Lu Tong turned around to see a familiar face showing through the barred high window, calling to her softly.

It was He Xiu.

Lu Tong stood up and walked toward the window: “How did you come?”

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

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

“Don’t thank me,” He Xiu said dejectedly. “You picked so many Red Fragrant Catkins for me, yet when you were locked in the shrine I couldn’t help at all. I’m useless…”

“It’s just kneeling for three days, no problem.”

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

She suddenly stopped, not continuing, but Lu Tong immediately understood.

It seemed that when Mei Erniang first entered the Southern Medicine House, she was treated the same way—Zhu Mao found an excuse to lock her in the shrine to break her spirit and crush her will, until finally Mei Erniang willingly submitted to him.

He Xiu looked at Lu Tong with deep sorrow in her eyes: “Physician Lu…”

She looked like someone watching a companion about to fall into a quagmire—anxious, pained, and powerless, only able to blame herself repeatedly.

Lu Tong was silent for a moment, then said: “A’Xiu, help me take something to Mei Erniang.”

He Xiu was stunned: “What?”

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

“This is…”

He Xiu nervously hid the paper in her bosom.

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

After hearing, the woman looked shocked: “Why would Physician Lu do this?”

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

The steamed bun was cold and hard. When swallowing, her throat could feel the coarseness. The food at the Southern Medicine House was always like this—all the money went into Zhu Mao’s pocket, while ordinary medical workers lived worse than Zhu Mao’s dogs.

But people were ultimately not dogs.

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

“Because I want to leave this place.”

…

These trivial palace matters didn’t take much time to reach the Three Bureaus.

When Duan Xiaoyan learned that Lu Tong was punished to kneel in Shennong Shrine, it was already late at night.

Others in the guard post had all gone on duty, leaving only Xiao Zhufeng reviewing documents at his desk. Duan Xiaoyan circled inside and outside the room but didn’t see Pei Yunying, so he asked Xiao Zhufeng at the desk: “Where’s Brother Yunying?”

“He went outside the city.” Xiao Zhufeng didn’t look up, only asking: “What is it?”

After hesitating, Duan Xiaoyan stepped forward, leaning half his body on the desk, moving close to Xiao Zhufeng and lowering his voice: “I just passed by the Hanlin Medical Academy and heard about something. Physician Lu—the one who sat in consultation 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 was locked in Shennong Shrine to kneel.”

Xiao Zhufeng paused, quickly recovered, and said “Oh.”

He was always taciturn. Duan Xiaoyan knocked on the desk: “Shouldn’t we go help her?”

Xiao Zhufeng looked up expressionlessly: “Why should we help? What is she to you?”

Duan Xiaoyan choked.

Speaking of before, Duan Xiaoyan still felt he and Lu Tong could be called friends. But later, the incident with the pouch frame-up at Wangchun Mountain proved this friendship was just his wishful thinking. By rights, how Lu Tong fared in the palace had nothing to do with him.

However, every time he heard Lu Tong was being bullied or in bad circumstances, he couldn’t help worrying about her. Duan Xiaoyan considered himself not someone who rushed to demean himself before, but thinking it over, it was probably because Lu Tong was too beautiful, making it hard to feel ill will toward her.

“How about having Qing Feng send word to Brother Yunying? He always cares about Physician Lu’s affairs…” Duan Xiaoyan’s remaining words gradually died under Xiao Zhufeng’s reproachful gaze. After a long while, he said quietly: “This won’t work either?”

“Don’t do unnecessary things.” Xiao Zhufeng warned: “This matter has nothing to do with the Palace Guards.”

Duan Xiaoyan was unconvinced but didn’t dare argue.

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

…

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

In the room, Cui Min sat quietly.

The Imperial Medical Bureau’s new medical text compilation was being reorganized. As Director of the Hanlin Medical Academy, Cui Min was responsible for editing and organizing the entire medical text. Besides improving and adjusting old prescriptions, the medical book also needed to include some new medicinal formulas.

However, good prescriptions were hard to find. A new, effective medicinal formula wasn’t so easy to create. These past two years, to compile the new medical text, Cui Min’s gray hair at the temples had increased considerably. Others advised him not to be so hard on himself—after all, just his《Cui’s Pharmacology》from years past was meritorious enough to make him famous for a hundred years—

With a creak, the door opened.

Someone quietly entered from outside, walked before Cui Min, and reported in a low voice: “Director, today there are rumors from the Southern Medicine House that Medical Official Lu made a mistake and was locked in Shennong Shrine by Master Zhu to kneel for three days.”

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

Since Lu Tong entered the Southern Medicine House, there had been no news. However, information about her would always reach Cui Min’s ears through various coincidences.

Lu Tong went to pick Red Fragrant Catkins, Lu Tong went to organize poisonous herbs, Lu Tong was bullied by medical workers…

Lu Tong was punished to be locked in Shennong Shrine.

This was naturally Zhu Mao’s deliberate action—this crude probing, Cui Min never responded to.

Even though he was clear that entering Shennong Shrine meant Zhu Mao’s patience had run out, eagerly wanting to crush this delicate flower that had mistakenly entered the wasteland.

“No need to mind him.” Cui Min said.

His confidant looked up and couldn’t help asking: “This subordinate doesn’t understand. The Director insisted against opposition to specifically name the common-born Medical Official Lu as first place on the red list. When she entered the palace, you sent her to the Southern Medicine House. Even considering the Dong family, it shouldn’t be to this extent.”

Specifically having Lu Tong enter the palace just to torment her? Then why go to such trouble?

After the words fell into silence with no one speaking, just as the confidant’s heart grew uneasy, Cui Min’s calm voice sounded in the room.

“You’ve also heard that saying: ‘It’s not that one must send charcoal in snow, but merely dress up the scenery for poetry.'”

The confidant was suddenly shocked: “The Director intends to…”

“Now is not the time yet.” He lowered his head, his gaze falling long on the thick stack of paper scrolls on the desk.

The new medical text had not yet been compiled, and new prescriptions were always insufficient. The young person who could write ten new prescriptions in one breath during the spring examination had remarkable talent.

But talented people were always arrogant due to their talent, which wasn’t good.

So, he must first let her suffer torture, become completely desperate, unable to seek death, and then extend a helping hand. At that time, he could harvest her gratitude, awe, and wholehearted trust.

To be the person who sends charcoal in snow.

But the current snow wasn’t cold enough yet.

“Let’s wait a bit more.” Cui Min closed his eyes: “Until the day she actively seeks help.”