After noon, there was no one in the shop.

Du Changqing had taken A’Cheng home, saying that the roof had been leaking for the past few days, and the craftsmen he’d hired were coming today to repair it. They would return to the medical hall tomorrow.

Miao Liangfang wasn’t there either. Half an hour ago, a three-year-old child at the temple entrance had suddenly developed abdominal pain. He had hurriedly left with his medicine chest to make a house call, and no one knew when he would return.

The late summer afternoon sun wasn’t as scorching as before, but it was still stifling hot. There wasn’t a single pedestrian on West Street. The stray cat lying diagonally under the awning was unwilling to move. Occasionally a breeze would blow through, bringing a hint of coolness.

Yin Zheng looked out the door: “It’s terribly hot, Miss. Let me go buy two cups of sweet syrup for us to drink.”

Lu Tong said: “Alright.”

The long street was quiet, with no one coming at this hour. Lu Tong sat at the table in the inner shop, casually flipping through the medical texts Ji Xun had brought. In the leisurely summer day, drowsiness gradually overcame her eyelids.

There was movement outside the door, and a shadow fell across the entrance. Thinking it was Yin Zheng returning with the sweet syrup, she looked up and saw an elderly man with white hair and beard walking through the door.

The old man was dressed simply in hemp clothing with a rattan walking stick. His temples and beard were white, and he moved with some difficulty, clutching a square silk handkerchief in his hand. As soon as he entered, he began coughing softly.

Lu Tong rose and walked out from behind the medicine cabinet to help the elderly man sit down at the table.

“Doctor,” the old man stopped coughing and looked at her, saying: “Recently I’ve been feeling dizzy and listless, unable to sleep at night, weak and sweating profusely. Please trouble the doctor to take a look.”

As he spoke, he extended an aged, wrinkled hand that looked like tree bark and placed it on the soft cushion in front of Lu Tong.

Lu Tong reached out to feel his pulse.

The inner shop was quiet. After a moment, she withdrew her hand.

“Due to dampness, the head feels wrapped, damp heat doesn’t disperse, making it difficult to fill the pulse channels.”

She stood up. “Excessive worry has damaged the spleen and stomach. When the spleen fails to function properly, qi and blood generation lacks its source. Clear yang doesn’t rise, turbid yin doesn’t descend, and the limbs and muscles lose nourishment, causing mental confusion and general weakness.”

“It’s nothing serious. I’ll prescribe a few doses to nourish the heart, calm the spirit, strengthen the spleen, and resolve dampness.” Lu Tong walked to the medicine cabinet and picked up paper and brush from the table to write the prescription. “Will you have the medicine prepared here or elsewhere?”

“Here.”

Lu Tong nodded. Seeing the old man coughing again, she picked up the teapot from the table and poured a bowl of the diabetes-relieving medicinal tea, placing it before him.

The old man tremblingly accepted the tea bowl and thanked her.

Lu Tong turned around again and continued preparing the medicine at the cabinet.

The old man held the tea bowl and looked around the medical hall. His gaze paused when it passed over the golden brocade banner on the wall, and finally lifted to look at the person standing before the medicine cabinet.

The woman was lowering her head to open medicine drawers, extracting medicinal materials according to the prescription.

She worked very seriously, not noticing the gaze behind her. One hand firmly supported the wooden tray containing the medicine, her movements quick and skillful.

“Everyone says Dr. Lu of West Street’s Renxin Medical Hall has excellent medical skills. Seeing you today, I didn’t expect you to be so young.” He suddenly spoke.

Lu Tong paused: “You’re too kind, sir.”

“I heard Dr. Lu isn’t from the capital.”

Lu Tong closed the medicine drawer and brought the prepared medicine to the counter to carefully package it. “I grew up in Southern Su.”

The old man nodded, chatting as if making casual conversation: “Is Dr. Lu a native of Southern Su?”

“More or less.”

“Why do you say ‘more or less’?”

Lu Tong finished packaging the medicinal materials and returned to the table with two large packages, setting them down in front of him.

“I’m an orphan, adopted from childhood. I don’t know who my parents were or where I originally came from, so I don’t know if I can truly be considered a Southern Su person. I only know that since I can remember, I’ve grown up in Southern Su.”

The old man seemed somewhat surprised, looking at her with eyes that held hidden pity. “How pitiful. So you were already in Southern Su when you were about five or six years old.”

Lu Tong nodded: “It should have been when I was three or four, perhaps even younger.”

“Three or four years old…”

The old man pondered for a moment, then smiled. “That would be about thirteen or fourteen years ago. Speaking of which, thirteen or fourteen years ago, this old man also visited Southern Su once.”

“Southern Su is in the south, different from the capital. This old man still remembers that in front of Southern Su’s moat, there was once a stone bridge covered with carved Buddha statues. Were the carvings on it of the Sleeping Buddha or Manjusri Bodhisattva…”

“This old man is getting on in years and can’t remember clearly. Since Dr. Lu grew up in Southern Su, could you tell this old man what Buddha was carved on the stone bridge?”

Lu Tong raised her eyes.

The old man before her looked at her kindly.

The plum tree outside blocked most of the sunlight. In the dim light, she could now clearly see that the old man’s eyes seemed to have a faint white film, appearing cloudy and dull. He looked at her with a compassionate expression, quietly waiting for her answer.

Thirteen or fourteen years ago…

At that time, she was only four years old.

“I don’t remember very well.”

After a moment of silence, Lu Tong spoke: “I wasn’t interested in Buddha statues.”

The old man slightly narrowed his eyes and reached out to finger the prayer beads on his wrist, one by one.

The next moment, Lu Tong’s voice rang out.

“Besides, there was no stone bridge over the moat back then.”

The motion of fingering the prayer beads paused.

“Precisely because there was no bridge, my elders specifically warned me never to play by the river when I was young. Later, because too many children fell into the water, the government ordered repairs, but that was only five or six years ago.”

Lu Tong looked at the person before her, her gaze full of confusion: “Sir, have you perhaps remembered the date incorrectly?”

He didn’t respond, his smile fading slightly as he continued to scrutinize her.

Lu Tong’s expression remained calm.

After a moment, he smiled again, his gaze toward Lu Tong becoming even more gentle. “So why did Dr. Lu suddenly come to the capital after living in Southern Su for so many years?”

“My master was from the capital,” Lu Tong said. “After she passed away, I had no remaining relatives in Southern Su. My master’s only wish before dying was to return to her hometown, and I’m carrying on her legacy.”

“Then why did you think to enter the Hanlin Medical Academy?”

“My medical skills seem rather wasted just sitting in a clinic on West Street.” She smiled slightly, as if joking. “Among the medical officers in the Medical Academy, some have medical skills inferior to mine.”

The old man laughed heartily.

He shook his head: “Others all say Medical Officer Lu is wooden and quiet, but this old man finds Medical Officer Lu quite interesting, not as dull as the rumors suggest.”

Lu Tong looked at him: “This humble official feels that the Grand Tutor is as kind and benevolent as the rumors say.”

At these words, the old man’s smile froze.

He looked at Lu Tong.

“When did you recognize me?”

He had clearly changed into simple hemp clothing, his carriage wasn’t stopped in front, and he hadn’t even brought a single guard.

“I figured it out when taking your pulse just now.”

“Oh?”

“Elderly men in the capital have weak pulses, but Your Excellency’s pulse, though not strong, shows signs of long-term nourishment with precious medicinal materials. Those who come for treatment on West Street are all poor common people, accustomed to toil and hardship. They wouldn’t specially come to a medical hall just for weakness and insomnia – for them, it’s unnecessary.”

“Though Your Excellency wore commoner’s clothes, you couldn’t change your noble bearing. The difference between noble and humble is immediately apparent.”

She smiled slightly: “Moreover, this morning, this humble official just met Academy Director Cui.”

“I see. Medical Officer Lu is perceptive and intelligent.”

“Your Excellency flatters me.”

Qi Qing nodded and coughed a few times: “Since that’s the case, do you know why this old man came today?”

“To say I don’t know would seem too false.” Lu Tong said calmly: “This morning when Academy Director Cui came, he already told this humble official everything. Young Master Qi’s old illness has relapsed. Academy Director Cui stole my prescription but didn’t know how to apply it properly. After carelessly making errors in his haste, he can’t cover up the mess now and finally thought of me.”

She spoke clearly and explicitly, and Qi Qing’s eyes flickered slightly.

This small medical woman of humble status didn’t avoid mentioning the Qi family’s position in this matter at all. Was this arrogance or confidence?

“Cui Min asked you to treat the illness?”

“Yes, this humble official refused.”

“Why?”

“Academy Director Cui has no real talent or learning. For years he’s gained fame by stealing others’ work. Why should I become a stepping stone for such a petty person? Though this humble official comes from humble origins, I still have pride. As long as my feathers remain, where can I not soar? With medical skills, I can shine anywhere.”

The woman sat at the table, her calm tone hiding indignation.

Qi Qing fingered the prayer beads in his hands.

She was very young, only seventeen now. When she said these words, she reminded him of Huaying. At Huaying’s similar age, children of this age were naive and impulsive, easily becoming ignorant of their limitations.

But Huaying was the Qi family’s daughter – no matter how proud she was, the Qi family stood behind her for support. The person before him was just an orphaned commoner girl…

If she were truly as arrogant and brainless as she appeared, she wouldn’t have made Pei Yunying and Ji Xun devoted to her, much less made the stable Cui Min panic and seek desperate remedies.

If she wasn’t being too clever for her own good, then she was acting.

Qi Qing sighed.

“But my son is critically ill now, and Cui Min’s treatment is ineffective. If, as Medical Officer Lu says, only Medical Officer Lu in the capital can save my son, what would it take for Medical Officer Lu to agree to treat him?”

Lu Tong pressed her lips together, saying nothing.

He smiled, his tone gentle as if troubled: “This old man knows that Yutai had conflicts with you in the past. Regarding the Huangmao Ridge incident, this old man has already severely punished him… When he recovers, this old man will have Yutai personally apologize to you. It’s this old man’s failure in teaching his son that caused this trouble. I hope Medical Officer Lu can understand this old man’s love for his son and give Yutai a chance.”

“Whatever Medical Officer Lu wants, this old man will agree to.”

For the powerful Grand Tutor to personally come to a civilian medical hall on West Street and speak humbly to a commoner medical officer was already giving tremendous face.

To continue being aloof would seem ungrateful.

Lu Tong looked at him, remained silent for a moment, then spoke.

“The attending physician at Renxin Medical Hall is called Miao Liangfang, formerly the Deputy Director of the Hanlin Medical Academy.”

“Eleven years ago, Cui Min framed Deputy Director Miao, expelled Miao Liangfang from the Medical Academy, and appropriated his work ‘Miao’s Good Prescriptions,’ renaming it ‘Cui’s Pharmacology.'”

She continued: “For over ten years, Miao Liangfang has been dejected and destitute, drowning his sorrows in alcohol, living under false accusations in a muddled existence. Until he came to Renxin Medical Hall.”

“The Grand Tutor is known for clean governance and high moral standards. I hope to borrow the Grand Tutor’s reputation to clear Deputy Director Miao’s name, make the events of that year public, and let the villain Cui Min reap what he sowed.”

As her words fell, Qi Qing’s brow twitched slightly.

He asked: “You’re negotiating conditions with this old man?”

He had told her to name her conditions – gold, silver, and valuables – which was already being quite courteous to her.

She actually wanted to use dealing with Cui Min as a condition.

Truly ignorant and fearless.

Lu Tong lowered her eyes: “This humble official wouldn’t dare. It’s just that Cui Min is vindictive. If this humble official returns, perhaps one day I’ll be framed and slandered by Cui Min, ending up like Miao Liangfang did years ago. As long as Cui Min remains safe, this humble official doesn’t dare return to the Medical Academy. Unless Cui Min leaves, otherwise this humble official would rather remain at the West Street clinic forever and never return to the Medical Academy.”

Never return to the Medical Academy.

Such naive words, yet they made the kindly old man’s face instantly turn cold.

This was a threat.

If he didn’t deal with Cui Min, she would refuse to treat Qi Yutai.

“Do you know what you’re saying?”

Lu Tong raised her head, her voice neither servile nor arrogant.

“If a tool is useful, then noble and humble receive equal treatment. To Your Excellency, Cui Min and this humble official are no different. Rather than using a mediocre doctor who only knows how to steal others’ prescriptions and has no real talent, wouldn’t it be better to use someone more capable?”

Qi Qing looked at her quietly.

The afternoon sun was at its peak, gradually thick clouds drifted from afar, and the bright street was instantly shrouded in gloom.

After a long silence, he smiled.

“Medical Officer Lu, you have great courage.”

Qi Qing stared at Lu Tong, his tone full of appreciation: “This old man has a daughter about your age. If she were as clever as you, this old man could rest easy.”

Lu Tong only said she didn’t dare accept such praise.

He nodded: “You uphold justice, which is good. Academy Director Cui has been in the Medical Academy for many years. If what you say is true, that Cui Min truly stole others’ prescriptions, then even if he were family, he must be punished. This old man will certainly give you justice and make the events of that year public.”

He stood up, supporting himself with his rattan cane, intending to leave.

Lu Tong called after him: “Your Excellency forgot your medicine packages.”

“No need.”

Qi Qing smiled and said: “Heart ailments require heart medicine. When Medical Officer Lu resolves this old man’s heart disease, I imagine my symptoms will heal without medicine.”

After saying this, he no longer looked at Lu Tong, only slowly walked out of the shop, gradually disappearing under the plum tree.

It wasn’t until Qi Qing’s figure could no longer be seen in front of the door that the smile on Lu Tong’s face suddenly vanished. She looked coldly at the tea bowl on the table.

In the tea bowl, the light brown tea was clear and still, without a single ripple.

From sitting down to leaving, Qi Qing hadn’t taken a single sip.

Extremely cautious.

She lowered her eyes and released the fist she had been clenching in her sleeve.

Her palm was covered with sweat.

…

In the carriage, Qi Qing closed his eyes slightly.

The Grand Tutor’s mansion had bronze bulls with ice blocks placed in them during summer, cool and comfortable. But the sun on West Street was completely unobstructed. Even though Renxin Medical Hall wasn’t hot due to the shade from the branches in front, staying in that narrow pharmacy was still suffocating compared to usual.

The steward held a silk handkerchief, gently wiping the sweat from his forehead.

“Master, what Lu Tong said – is it true or false?”

“False.”

“How so…”

Qi Qing kept his eyes closed, saying indifferently: “She absolutely couldn’t be there for Miao Liangfang.”

As Lu Tong said, having her prescription stolen by Cui Min was coincidental, and she used this coincidental flaw as a condition for trading with the Qi family, all just to vent anger for Miao Liangfang.

But if it were just to vent anger for Miao Liangfang, why offend the Grand Tutor’s mansion to such an extent?

When someone’s efforts far exceed what they seek, there must be something suspicious.

The steward was puzzled: “But before this, she couldn’t possibly have known about the young master’s condition.”

Qi Qing didn’t respond.

This was also what he couldn’t understand.

Lu Tong couldn’t possibly have started planning from the spring examinations.

“Master,” the steward said: “Regardless of what she’s plotting, the young master is ill now, Cui Min has no solution, this medical woman claims she can treat him but her behavior is suspicious. We don’t know if it’s true or false. Do you really plan to let her treat the young master?”

“Treat.”

Qi Qing fingered his prayer beads. “Cui Min is useless now and can be discarded. Yutai is the same. Might as well let her try.”

The steward’s heart trembled, and he no longer spoke.

The prayer beads were smooth and warm. Qi Qing looked at them quietly, but in his mind appeared the composed demeanor of the woman when she faced him earlier.

Whether she was being too clever for her own good or not, her composure and calmness were something even Cui Min, when he had already become Academy Director years ago, couldn’t achieve to this degree.

Lu Tong was actually right – she was more useful than Cui Min.

What a pity she was born a commoner. If she were the Qi family’s daughter…

But she had to be surnamed Lu.

Surnamed Lu…

The hand fingering the prayer beads paused, and Qi Qing suddenly opened his eyes and asked: “What was the name of that good woman who died at Fengle Tower earlier?”

“She was called Lu Rou.”

“Lu Rou, Lu Tong…”

Qi Qing’s expression changed slightly.

“Master, do you suspect she’s from the Lu family of Changwu County?” The steward was confused. “But that good woman’s family was from Changwu County, while Lu Tong is from Southern Su.”

Qi Qing frowned.

Lu Tong was indeed from Southern Su.

He had also suspected this woman’s background before, but during the test in the pharmacy earlier, she had dispelled his doubts – she was indeed from Southern Su.

Moreover, when the people sent to Changwu County returned, they said the Lu family of Changwu County had no other relatives. Their only distant relative, the Liu Kun family, had also died or gone mad and left the capital long ago.

But being too seamless was itself suspicious. Compared to evidence, he trusted more his decades of intuition, which had helped him avoid disasters over the years and kept the Qi family safe and sound in this turbulent world.

“Send people to Southern Su again.”

“Ask the medical establishments in Southern Su if there’s a medical woman named Lu Tong,” he said.

…

Night fell completely.

In the Cui mansion, Cui Min sat on the floor in front of the bookshelf.

Medical books and pharmacological texts were scattered all over the floor in complete disarray. In the midst of this chaos, Cui Min sat on the ground, buried his head in the mountain of medical books before him, his eyes bloodshot.

Since returning to the mansion during the day, he had locked himself in the study, not eating or drinking, frantically searching through medical books like a madman.

His wife and son had both come to persuade him several times, but he turned a deaf ear and continued his frenzied work. Others said he was possessed, but only Cui Min himself knew clearly –

There was no time left.

He was running out of time.

The Grand Tutor’s mansion wanted him to restore Qi Yutai to consciousness before the ritual ceremony, which was already extremely urgent, but Lu Tong was even more terrifying – she could replace him at any moment.

When geniuses want to replace mediocrities, it’s always effortless. Everything he had painstakingly built over the years was vulnerable in her eyes. Cui Min couldn’t accept this reality.

He searched frantically, muttering: “I can do it, I can also create prescriptions…”

He was the Academy Director. He had been Academy Director for so many years, had seen all the medical texts and case records in the Medical Academy. He had also passed the spring examination red list based on his own real talent and learning. It was impossible that he couldn’t even compare to a young medical woman from a commoner background.

He could definitely cure Qi Yutai. He just needed a little more time…

Suddenly there came faint shouting from outside the door, accompanied by shrill screams. Then, with a “bang,” the study door was ruthlessly kicked open.

Cui Min turned around abruptly.

The heavy wooden door crashed down in Cui Min’s horrified gaze.

A team of red-clothed officers rushed in. The leading officer looked at the disheveled, haggard man on the floor, his tone cold as ice.

“Hanlin Medical Academy Director Cui Min, someone has accused you of stealing subordinates’ medical prescriptions and using them as your own, slandering and framing colleagues—”

“No—”

Before the officer could finish speaking, Cui Min jumped up, interrupting him.

Like something he had always feared had finally happened, the long period without sleep or rest had brought him to the brink of collapse. The last string in his mind snapped. He jumped up, pushed past the officer in front of him, and tried to run outside.

The next moment, intense pain shot through his back. He was kicked to the ground and could no longer get up.

The severe pain made his previous madness instantly dissipate, and he suddenly became much more lucid.

Officers poured into the room, quickly searching through the study. Medical texts were swept to the floor one by one, and his carefully collected vases were smashed to pieces.

A boot stepped on his face, pressing Cui Min’s face against the ground. He stared dazedly at the chaos in the room, and as he watched, time became blurred. He seemed to return to over ten years ago, to the day Miao Liangfang had his incident. People from Consort Yan’s palace rushed into the Medical Academy and pushed down Miao Liangfang, who was organizing medical texts in the case library. In the hasty confusion, someone stepped on Miao Liangfang’s leg bone, making him cry out in pain. This cry seemed to please those officers, and they deliberately ground their feet on his calf, listening to his agonized screams.

At that time, Miao Liangfang was also pinned down like this, his face pressed against the ground. As if sensing his gaze, he struggled to turn his head to look at Cui Min standing in the doorway, his eyes full of disbelief.

The young Cui Min watched coldly as his former close friend was trampled underfoot, his eyes red with blood, like meat on a chopping board at others’ mercy.

Just as he was now.