Lu Tong looked at him thoughtfully.

Jin Xianrong gripped his hem, so nervous that his back was soaked with sweat.

It wasn’t that he had reformed his character, but rather that this girl’s examining gaze was too unnerving each time.

Whether it was Jin Xianrong’s imagination or not, every time Lu Tong looked toward his waist area, her eyes were ice-cold, containing critical scrutiny, always making him feel like she was looking at a piece of dead pork, contemplating how to prepare this dead meat.

Jin Xianrong’s masculine pride, which he had always taken pride in before women, crumbled completely in front of her.

He didn’t dare let Lu Tong personally apply medicine to him, didn’t even dare unfasten his belt to let Lu Tong take a look, fearing that cold gaze would fall on his waist area. The physical ailment might be cured, but a psychological one would develop instead.

The loss wouldn’t be worth the gain.

Lu Tong set aside the bowl containing the medicinal paste: “Very well.”

Jin Xianrong breathed a sigh of relief.

She looked at the water clock again: “Master Jin, please sit properly. This official will now perform acupuncture.”

Jin Xianrong shuddered and quickly straightened up, having the servants in the room remove his outer garments to expose his back for Lu Tong’s needle treatment.

Speaking of which, after Lu Tong had performed acupuncture on him several times, Jin Xianrong’s condition had indeed improved.

Though he still couldn’t engage in intimate relations, at least the kidney abscess problem had eased considerably. This was why Jin Xianrong obeyed Lu Tong’s every word.

Everyone at the Hanlin Medical Academy was useless. If she truly had ability, if she could really cure his hidden ailment, what harm was there in being polite to her?

After all, this concerned the happiness of the rest of his life.

Jin Xianrong was thinking this when he heard Lu Tong’s voice from behind: “Master Jin, this official has a favor to ask.”

Jin Xianrong was startled, then felt a slight pain at the back of his neck as a golden needle slowly pierced his skin. Not daring to move, he asked: “What favor does Dr. Lu seek?”

“To be honest with you, Master, as a medical official, this official still has many duties to attend to at the Medical Academy. Besides treating you, I also need to go to the Imperial Guard Commander’s residence to treat the guards.”

Lu Tong drew another needle from the velvet cloth, aimed it at an acupoint and slowly inserted it, then continued speaking unhurriedly.

“Going back and forth constantly is truly inconvenient. I heard that the Ministry of Revenue has a Bureau of Ceremonies, where ordinary officials also conduct business. The Bureau of Ceremonies is very close to the Commander’s residence, only one street away…”

“…This official was thinking, could I treat you directly at the Bureau of Ceremonies in the future? This would avoid the trouble of running back and forth and save time.”

“That’s it?”

After hearing this, Jin Xianrong said: “Fine, they all know I’m treating kidney abscesses anyway. From now on, just come to the Bureau of Ceremonies for treatment.”

He had prepared himself for Lu Tong to make excessive demands, thinking she would use her current achievements to pose difficult problems for him. He hadn’t expected her to just want some convenience.

Medical officials from the Academy often treated people at various bureaus and guard residences. Though this illness was somewhat disgraceful, the fact was that almost everyone in the court knew about his condition.

Might as well break the pot since it was already cracked.

Lu Tong hesitated a bit: “However, there are other people at the Bureau of Ceremonies. Wouldn’t it be inconvenient? If it delays the masters’ official business or affects them…”

“What official business? Except for me, they’re all idle positions who spend their days drinking tea and daydreaming.”

“Besides, if it were a big man, we’d have to consider whether there was danger and whether to let him in. But what influence could a weak woman like you have?”

Jin Xianrong was eager to please Lu Tong and thought this female physician was indeed from a commoner background with no worldly experience, getting nervous over such small matters. His masculine pride, which had been chopped to pieces earlier, surfaced a little again, so he patted his chest and said: “It’s a small matter. Dr. Lu needn’t worry about it. From now on, just go directly to the Bureau of Ceremonies.”

Lu Tong softly agreed.

Having helped her once and demonstrated his generosity and capability, Jin Xianrong’s heart, which had just been extinguished, began to stir restlessly again.

As golden needles were inserted into his body one by one, he gradually felt some numbness, like ants crawling over him, and his heart also felt itchy.

So he said: “Dr. Lu, it’s still early today. How about we have lunch together?”

What answered him was Lu Tong’s somewhat cold voice.

“That’s not necessary. This official still needs to go to the Commander’s residence to deliver medicine afterward. If I go late, Commander Pei might be displeased.”

Hearing the words “Commander Pei,” Jin Xianrong fell silent.

After a while, he snorted and said quietly: “Pei Yunying…”

Lu Tong’s eyes moved slightly. She continued her hand movements and deliberately said: “Commander Pei holds a high position and is not as approachable as you, Master. This official is of low rank and little influence, and dare not easily offend him.”

Due to his fear of Pei Yunying’s power, Jin Xianrong couldn’t say much, but his newly emerged masculine pride was instantly beaten back to its original form, making him lose face somewhat. So he snorted twice and spoke disdainfully: “What’s the use of being capable? As for high position…”

“His own father was so busy earning merit that he wouldn’t even save his wife. How could His Majesty not give him promotions and titles?”

“With such a father who sells his wife for glory, what good could Pei Yunying be…”

Before he finished speaking, Jin Xianrong suddenly cried out in pain, startling the maids in the room.

“What are you doing?!”

“Needle insertion has normal sensations. Master, please don’t move randomly.” Lu Tong calmly removed another needle and suddenly thrust it at an acupoint.

“Aiya—”

“Master, please sit properly. It wouldn’t be good if I hit the wrong acupoint.”

“…”

“Stop shouting, Master.”

This needle session lasted longer and was more painful than usual.

When the sun moved from the window crack to the center and Lu Tong removed the last golden needle, Jin Xianrong was soaked through as if pulled from water.

Supported by a maid to lie on the couch, his face pale, he looked at Lu Tong and spoke weakly: “Dr. Lu, why did today’s needles hurt so much more than last time?”

It was almost like an enemy deliberately coming to torment him.

Lu Tong packed up her medicine box on the table and seriously explained to him: “This time I used different acupoints than last time. Master’s condition has improved, so I changed the needle technique.”

“Severe illness requires strong medicine. Good medicine is often bitter. Master must not avoid treatment out of fear.”

Jin Xianrong shivered.

“There’s improvement?”

He relaxed somewhat, touching what seemed like a large swollen area on his back, feeling a sense of comfort that all his efforts hadn’t been in vain. “Improvement is good.”

“Dr. Lu,” Jin Xianrong said seriously, “then please trouble yourself to needle me even more severely next time.”

Lu Tong nodded: “Very well.”

…

After leaving the Jin residence, Lu Tong went to the Imperial Guard Commander’s residence.

Seven days had passed, and today she should change the prescriptions for those guards.

As soon as she reached the entrance of the Commander’s residence, she saw the guard from last time. He went in to announce her arrival, and all the guards came crowding out.

The young men were all very happy to see Lu Tong, enthusiastically welcoming her inside to sit down. Some brought tea, others brought water, and some took out preserved fruits and pastries they had treasured for a long time. The five hundred ducks raised at the Commander’s residence began making noise again.

Chi Jian stood at one end holding his sword, watching from afar as the girl was surrounded by everyone in the center, unconsciously frowning.

He was different from those fools blinded by beauty. Those fools only saw this woman’s delicate and fragile side, not knowing that she could kill and rob without changing expression, frame and shift blame, like a danger hidden in the shadows, not knowing when she might threaten their master…

Everyone at the Commander’s residence was blind.

A young guard holding a bouquet of wildflowers picked from somewhere was about to squeeze into the crowd when Chi Jian grabbed him back.

“What are you doing?”

Chi Jian snatched the bouquet from his hands. The bouquet was carefully arranged with red and white flowers, tied with pink ribbon. Held by the tall man, it could be called tender masculinity.

The guard reached out to take it back: “Give it back!”

Chi Jian threw the flowers back to him with disgust: “What is this thing?”

“I was planning to give it to Dr. Lu.” The guard recited, “A beauty like a flower beyond the clouds. Look, don’t these flowers match Dr. Lu perfectly?”

This was more sour than the two baskets of plums Deputy Envoy Xiao had sent to the Commander’s residence last year.

Chi Jian suppressed his urge to vomit, looked at the person surrounded in the center, and couldn’t help but ask: “What’s so good about her? It’s not like we haven’t seen women come to the Commander’s residence before.”

This wasn’t false.

Because the Commander’s residence was full of young martial guards with exceptional skills, they had done quite a few heroic rescues over the years. Lu Tong wasn’t the first woman to come to the Imperial Guard Commander’s residence.

There had been women coming to express gratitude, women bringing gifts, and even female physicians from the Medical Academy coming for treatment. Among them were many beautiful women. Though Lu Tong was beautiful, the Commander’s residence had seen pretty girls before.

But it seemed only Lu Tong’s visits created such commotion.

Chi Jian felt puzzled, not understanding why only Lu Tong could successfully raise these five hundred ducks at the Commander’s residence.

“Dr. Lu is different from other women.”

“How is she different?” Chi Jian humbly asked for instruction.

His colleague glanced at him, moved closer and whispered: “Look, the brothers in our Commander’s residence are tall, heroic, and quite good-looking. The girls we rescued before treated us well at first, but once they saw the Commander, they couldn’t see anyone else. There’s nothing wrong with that—after seeing the best, who would be willing to settle for less? We understand, completely understand.”

“…But Dr. Lu is different!”

“I’ve observed. Though Dr. Lu isn’t very warm toward people and seems cold, but—”

“She’s also cold and indifferent toward the Commander. She doesn’t treat people differently—she treats everyone equally coldly.”

Chi Jian: “…”

“So,” the guard said excitedly, “clearly she doesn’t like the Commander, which means us brothers have a chance. We should naturally try our best.”

“Since she doesn’t fancy the Commander, what if, just what if she takes a liking to us?”

Chi Jian was speechless for a moment, then said: “Find a mirror and take a good look at yourself.” He turned and walked away.

At the table, Lu Tong finished examining all the guards’ arms squeezed together. The sun had passed noon.

An enthusiastic guard couldn’t help but invite her: “It’s getting late, and Dr. Lu hasn’t eaten yet. The Commander’s residence has delicious food. Why don’t you eat before leaving?”

“Thank you, but I still need to return to the Medical Academy to organize medical records.”

Lu Tong politely declined. Since Pei Yunying was at martial training today, she handed the newly written prescriptions to Qing Feng, explained the medical instructions to him, then shouldered her medicine box and left.

Outside the gate, the sun blazed. Duan Xiaoyan followed behind Xiao Zhufeng with a troubled expression, sighing: “I never thought that at such a young age, I’d already become a grandfather.”

Xiao Zhufeng had a headache listening to him.

In his arms, four fluffy black puppies huddled together like a mass of black sesame dumplings, whimpering and squirming.

A few days ago, the Palace Guard’s dog Gardenia had somehow been seduced by some wild male dog outside, silently giving birth to a litter of puppies. Duan Xiaoyan had stood at the Commander’s residence gate pointing to heaven and earth, cursing for three days without finding out which bastard male dog was responsible, leaving him to clean up the mess of orphans and widows.

Over a month had passed, and the puppies had all opened their eyes and could toddle around on the ground. Duan Xiaoyan took them to the rear martial field to sunbathe every day, and today was the same.

“Since you hate that male dog so much,” Xiao Zhufeng said, “why are you keeping them?”

“The children are innocent. At worst, I’ll banish the father but keep the children.” Duan Xiaoyan hugged the little bundles in his arms tighter, then spoke uncertainly, “But can our Commander’s residence really support so many puppies?”

It was just four more mouths to feed. The Commander’s residence could afford to keep four dogs, but the puppies were energetic, and Gardenia alone often tore the courtyard fences into chaos. Duan Xiaoyan didn’t dare imagine the pandemonium if there were suddenly four more.

After thinking, he said: “Better find some good families to adopt them.”

As they were talking, they saw someone lift the curtain and walk out of the small courtyard of the Commander’s residence—blue clothes and cloth skirt, carrying a medicine box on her back. It was that female physician Lu Tong.

Duan Xiaoyan’s eyes lit up with delight: “Isn’t this perfect timing?”

“Dr. Lu—” he enthusiastically approached her.

Lu Tong had just stepped outside when she heard someone calling her.

Looking up, she saw a shadow floating toward her like wind. Duan Xiaoyan stood before her, holding several fluffy bundles and smiling at her, showing a row of neat white teeth.

“Look—”

Lu Tong followed his gaze and her mind went blank.

Four black puppies were suddenly lifted by their necks by Duan Xiaoyan, suspended in mid-air, futilely kicking their soft little legs while whimpering quietly.

Duan Xiaoyan enthusiastically introduced: “Just-weaned puppies, clever and adorable. You can pet and cuddle them, and they can guard the house. They’re truly essential mascots for travel and home. Would Dr. Lu like one?”

Lu Tong froze in place.

For an instant, countless distant scenes flashed rapidly through her mind—foul blood and mud, choking and storms, broken and scattered bodies, mountain graves with helpless crying sounds. She suddenly felt an absurd sense of disorientation, not knowing whether she was in the capital thousands of miles away or on Falling Plum Peak with its lonely flickering lamp.

The noon sunlight poured down through the wisteria flower arbor in the courtyard, so bright it blurred her vision. Though it was March’s warm sun, she felt as if she had returned to the days when she was poisoned by “Cold Silkworm Rain,” as if falling into an ice cellar, bone-chillingly cold.

In front of her, Duan Xiaoyan continued chattering: “Dr. Lu, look, here are four puppies, each one lively and clever, two females and two males. When they grow up, they’ll be as mighty and beautiful as our Gardenia. You can pick one to take back to the Medical Academy, or take it back to the Renxin Medical Hall on West Street. They can guard your home, and occasionally when you have free time, let the mother and children meet…”

Lu Tong didn’t hear clearly what he said next. Those black furry balls were almost touching her face like a huge shadow. She could feel the itchy sensation of the puppies’ warm fur touching her skin—soft, making her unable to stop trembling.

She began to have trouble breathing, her face gradually turning pale.

Just then, a figure suddenly intervened.

Someone stood in front of her, blocking Duan Xiaoyan’s approach and obstructing her view.

Like being suddenly rescued from suffocating water, her breathing was saved. She looked up hazily.

Pei Yunying stood before her.

He must have just returned from the martial field, holding a silver sword in one hand. He glanced at her slightly then turned his head to ask Duan Xiaoyan: “What are you doing?”

Duan Xiaoyan held the four puppies: “…Gardenia’s puppies. I thought the Commander’s residence has too many dogs, so I wanted to give Dr. Lu one…”

“No need.”

Lu Tong interrupted him.

Pei Yunying turned his head to look at her without speaking.

Lu Tong kept her head down, not looking at the puppies in Duan Xiaoyan’s arms. She shouldered her medicine box tightly and just said “I don’t like dogs” before quickly walking away.

Duan Xiaoyan watched her retreating figure with his mouth agape. After a long time, he finally reacted, looking at the bundles in his arms and couldn’t help saying: “She… they’re so cute, and she actually doesn’t like them? Brother… brother?”

The young man withdrew his gaze, glanced at the puppies in his arms, and said: “Shut up.”