Qi Yutai had a dream.

A very long, long dream.

The dream was chaotic and fragmented, noisy and clamorous. One moment it was a grass hut with hanging birdcages in Mangming Village, the next it became the raging fire at Fengle Tower. In the ash-filled sky, he saw an aged face with blood flowing from eyes and nose. A foolish, vacant-minded idiot smiled at him while an oriole chirped crisply on his shoulder.

He fled in panic but was blocked by a locked door. Looking back, in the Jingzhe Room of Fengle Tower, the beauty in the painting wept, coldly watching him.

“Ah—”

Qi Yutai suddenly opened his eyes and sat up abruptly from the couch.

Hurried footsteps sounded by his ears, followed by the voices of servants and maids: “Young Master?”

Qi Yutai looked around in terror.

On the golden silk mat, the white magnolia and auspicious cloud pattern quilt was bunched into a ball. On the distant table, the incense burner emitted the familiar fragrance of rhinoceros horn incense. He was dazed for a moment, slowly understanding.

This was his own room.

Had he just been dreaming?

“When did I fall asleep?” He threw off the covers, rubbing his forehead as he asked the person beside him.

The maid was stunned, then her face immediately showed delighted surprise: “Young Master is awake?”

She turned around and shouted toward the courtyard: “Quickly tell the master, Young Master is awake—”

Qi Yutai frowned and shook his head, feeling his brain was unbearably heavy, as if he hadn’t slept for several days and nights, drowsy beyond measure.

Trying to recall, he couldn’t remember when he had gotten into bed or what he had done before sleeping.

As he was massaging his temples, he suddenly heard someone speaking outside the door: “Young Master Qi has awakened?”

This voice was very familiar. Qi Yutai was startled.

He looked up and saw a woman standing outside the door, wearing a light blue robe, with delicate features, holding a bowl of medicinal soup as she stepped inside.

Qi Yutai froze, then pointed at the person before him and shouted: “Lu Tong!”

He asked: “Why are you here?”

Why would the female medical officer appear in his room?

The female medical officer placed the medicine bowl in her hands on a nearby table and looked at him: “Young Master Qi, the Grand Tutor ordered me to come.”

“My father?”

Qi Yutai looked suspiciously at the person beside him: “What does that mean?”

The maid lowered her head to explain: “Young Master, a few days ago, you fell ill again. The master ordered someone to summon Medical Officer Lu to treat you.”

He had fallen ill?

Qi Yutai was bewildered. When had this happened? However, when he tried to think carefully, it felt as if someone was stirring his brain with a thin, long needle, causing splitting headaches.

Qi Yutai gathered his spirits and looked at the person before him with a cold smile: “Ridiculous. My illness has always been handled by Cui Min. A mere Hanlin Medical Academy medical officer isn’t qualified to treat me. Where’s Cui Min? Tell him to get over here!”

The maid buried her head even lower: “Young Master, Academy Director Cui has gotten into trouble.”

“Trouble?” Qi Yutai frowned. “What kind of trouble?”

He was about to ask more when a voice calling “Yutai” suddenly came from outside.

Qi Yutai looked forward and saw the steward supporting Qi Qing as he entered the room.

The old Grand Tutor’s usually neat robes were slightly wrinkled, and he coughed as he walked. Apparently hearing that his son had regained consciousness, he had rushed over immediately. Qi Yutai called out “Father,” and Qi Qing’s brow immediately relaxed.

The steward helped Qi Qing forward. Lu Tong stepped aside, and Qi Qing came to the bedside. His gray-white eyes carefully examined Qi Yutai for a long while before saying: “You’re awake?”

Qi Yutai hummed in acknowledgment, then looked eagerly at Lu Tong: “Father, what exactly happened to Cui Min? Why did you have her treat me? Previously at Huangmao Ridge, Qinhu died at this woman’s hands—”

“Yutai.”

Qi Qing’s voice was calm, and Qi Yutai’s remaining words stuck in his throat. He didn’t dare say another word.

But the old Grand Tutor turned to look at Lu Tong.

“Medical Officer Lu,” he said, “thank you for caring for my son. You’ve worked hard these past few days. Someone come, take Medical Officer Lu to rest.”

This meant he wanted to speak with his father and son privately.

Lu Tong nodded and left with the maid in the room. The door was closed.

Qi Yutai sat by the bed, watching Lu Tong leave the room with his own eyes, finally speaking indignantly: “Father, this lowly woman has been entangled with Pei Yunying endlessly, causing my sister heartbreak and publicly humiliating our Qi family’s reputation. How can you be so polite to her? Isn’t this slapping the Qi family’s face?”

His brow and eyes showed agitation, and Qi Qing frowned slightly.

“You’ve just recovered from illness,” Qi Qing said. “You need to calm your mind and recuperate.”

“I’m not ill at all. Father,” Qi Yutai said, “why isn’t Cui Min here?”

“From now on, she will treat you.” Qi Qing paid no attention to him. “For the Tianzhang Platform ceremony, you cannot make any mistakes.”

“Father! I’m not ill at all!” Qi Yutai raised his voice.

The room fell silent for a moment.

The servants lowered their heads, and no one dared speak.

Meeting Qi Qing’s calm gaze, Qi Yutai shrank back and softened his tone: “Father, I’m really not ill. Didn’t Cui Min say I was just startled…”

His words gradually faded in Qi Qing’s silence.

Qi Yutai gripped the bedding beneath his hands.

He didn’t think he was ill.

He didn’t remember what he had done during his episodes. When he woke up, apart from some dizziness, he felt no discomfort anywhere in his body. But he also knew that his father had always valued the Qi family’s reputation. The previous incident at Fengle Tower had already caused rumors that displeased his father. This relapse would surely disappoint his father greatly.

Perhaps because he had just recovered from serious illness, his face was particularly pale and worrying. After looking at him for a moment, Qi Qing finally relented: “After you recover, you may deal with her as you wish.”

Qi Yutai was stunned, then suddenly delighted: “Really?”

Qi Qing had always controlled all his affairs. Actually, he had wanted to move against Lu Tong before, but had delayed out of consideration for his father. Later came the incident at Fengle Tower…

“Go to the Bureau of Ceremonies tomorrow, then rest at home afterward.” Qi Qing coughed a few more times. “Don’t run around anymore before the ceremony.”

Qi Qing hadn’t blamed him, and though his tone was bland, it was still caring. Qi Yutai responded with surprised gratitude, exchanged a few more words with Qi Qing, and then the steward helped Qi Qing leave. Qi Yutai sat alone on the bed.

His head was still drowsy. He looked around – the antique vases in the room seemed to have been put away, the shelves were empty, and the personal maid was unfamiliar. Qi Yutai carefully thought for a while, unsure whether he had killed another maid, so he simply sat on the bed in a daze.

Someone walked in and said: “Young Master Qi, remember to take your medicine.” A bowl of medicine was handed to Qi Yutai.

Qi Yutai lifted his eyelids and saw Lu Tong had entered again.

She held the bowl with both hands, the brown medicinal soup right before his eyes. Qi Yutai didn’t take it, only glanced at her and spoke with confusion: “How did you convince my father?”

Qi Qing hadn’t told him about Cui Min’s affairs, but even if Cui Min had problems, knowing this woman harbored ill intentions and had previously made him lose face, why would his father still have her treat him? Qi Yutai couldn’t understand it at all.

“It was Lord Qi who personally sought out this humble official,” Lu Tong said.

Father had actively sought her out?

Qi Yutai frowned, even more puzzled by Qi Qing’s intentions.

The woman stood before him with lowered brow and submissive eyes. Thinking of what Qi Qing had just promised him, Qi Yutai glanced at the medicinal soup in her hands: “There’s no poison in this, is there?”

“Young Master Qi jests.”

“I suppose you wouldn’t dare.” Qi Yutai sneered, then looked her up and down, his mouth suddenly curling with malicious intent: “In that case, please trouble Medical Officer Lu to feed me.”

Lu Tong looked at him.

Qi Yutai smiled contemptuously.

So what if she was a medical officer? Having entered the Grand Tutor’s mansion, she was just another dog of the Qi family, like Cui Min.

At others’ beck and call.

After a moment of silence, Lu Tong lowered her eyes, picked up the medicine bowl, and brought the spoon to Qi Yutai’s lips.

Qi Yutai’s smile became increasingly satisfied.

Her fingertips touched Qi Yutai’s face, cold as if not belonging to a living person. However, unexpectedly, the medicinal soup wasn’t very bitter. Compared to the medicine Cui Min had previously brewed, it was much more refreshing and sweet. Whether it was his imagination or not, the clear sweetness and fragrance seemed somewhat similar to the “Pond Spring Grass Dream” incense burned in the Bureau of Ceremonies.

Before he knew it, he had finished the entire bowl of medicine.

Lu Tong set down the empty bowl, and Qi Yutai watched her with narrowed eyes.

She turned to clean up the remaining medicine on the table, still wearing that plain, indifferent expression, as if she hadn’t taken the small humiliation to heart at all.

Watching her calm demeanor, a flame suddenly flared in Qi Yutai’s heart.

“Last time at Huangmao Ridge, you’d rather die than kneel. I thought Medical Officer Lu was so noble, but I didn’t expect to see such a servile side of Medical Officer Lu.”

Qi Yutai mocked: “What about your good lover Pei Yunying? He let you come serve me. If he saw you humbly serving another man, I wonder if he’d still want you.”

“Physicians treating illness is natural and proper. Young Master Qi should watch his words.”

Bright sunlight filtered in from outside the window. Lu Tong stood in the shadows under the window, eyes half-lowered, moving neither hastily nor slowly. She didn’t engage with his provocations, only lowered her head and said: “Young Master Qi should remember to take medicine on time daily, not move about too much, and rest more at the mansion. Lord Qi has instructed that as autumn approaches, bedding shouldn’t be too thin, room incense should be changed regularly, you must sleep before the xu hour, and meals should be light…”

She spoke at length, repeatedly mentioning “Lord Qi,” making Qi Yutai increasingly irritated. He said coldly: “Don’t you come daily to prepare the medicine?” He glanced at the low couch by the door, his expression playful. “You’ve already shared a room with me.”

“Previously, when Young Master Qi was critically ill, this humble official stayed at the mansion to treat Young Master Qi. Now that Young Master Qi has awakened and his condition has improved, Lord Qi has permitted this humble official to return home. Henceforth, I will visit every other day to check Young Master Qi’s pulse and provide treatment.”

Qi Yutai’s face darkened.

He had originally planned to properly torment Lu Tong.

Lu Tong stepped back, holding the organized medicine tray and bowing to him. “Young Master Qi has just recovered from serious illness. Please remember to calm your mind and recuperate. Previously during your illness, Lord Qi cared for you in every detail. Young Master Qi must not disappoint Lord Qi’s fatherly love.”

Having said this, she bowed to Qi Yutai and withdrew with lowered head.

Qi Yutai was already irritated, and Lu Tong’s words made it worse. Looking at the newly changed bedding, unfamiliar maids, and even the rhinoceros horn incense burning on the table became unpleasant to his eyes.

His father was already strict in control, and now being confined to the mansion would leave him with even less freedom.

That bit of agitation grew like sparks into a blazing fire, but with nowhere to vent, he directed this resentment toward the figure who had just left.

“Lowly woman,” he said.

“After the ceremony, let’s see how I’ll torment you.”

…

Lu Tong left the Grand Tutor’s mansion carrying her medicine chest.

As soon as she stepped out of the Grand Tutor’s mansion gates, the world suddenly became much broader. The refreshing wind blew against her face, sweeping away the stagnant, cloying feeling of recent days, and even the nauseating disgust in her chest dissipated considerably.

She boarded a carriage and returned directly to West Street. Yin Zheng and the others were very happy to see her return.

“Is that son of the Qi family better?”

Miao Liangfang pulled her aside to ask quietly.

Lu Tong nodded.

Miao Liangfang breathed a long sigh of relief: “Buddha be praised, I was worried something might happen.”

Miao Liangfang had been very worried about Lu Tong.

From his final meeting with Cui Min, Cui Min’s words had left Miao Liangfang uneasy. With Qi Yutai falling ill and Cui Min imprisoned at this critical juncture, Lu Tong had stepped in. But madness had always been difficult to treat – this was a hot potato that could backfire if handled carelessly.

Du Changqing squeezed over and examined her carefully for a moment: “Look how haggard you’ve become. Tsk, I told you those wealthy families are no good – working people like livestock, aren’t they? Look at those dark circles under your eyes, black as if painted with ink… How much silver did they give you? They need to pay more!”

“Money, money, money – the boss only knows about money. Can’t you see how exhausted the young lady is?” Yin Zheng pushed Lu Tong into the small courtyard. “I’ll draw bath water for the young lady. You looked like you hadn’t rested well at all these past few days at the Grand Tutor’s mansion. Now that you’re back, rest for several days.”

Hot water was quickly prepared. Lu Tong changed clothes and lay in the wooden tub. The steaming hot air blurred her vision but relieved some of the fatigue from recent days.

Yin Zheng came in carrying clean clothes and hung them on the screen.

“Miss,” she sat at the small table behind the screen, picking up unfinished needlework while speaking softly, “Is Young Master Qi really better?”

Lu Tong hummed in acknowledgment.

Yin Zheng was somewhat puzzled.

Lu Tong had come to the capital to take revenge on the Qi family. Now with her enemy close at hand, Lu Tong had actually cured Qi Yutai.

She didn’t understand.

Yin Zheng wanted to ask, but the words stuck in her throat. Even if she asked, Lu Tong wouldn’t say anything. Lu Tong always silently did her own things, never letting others know.

After thinking, she brought up another matter: “Miss, in a few days it will be Qixi Festival. Mr. Miao has made new medicinal tea – for women it nourishes blood and qi, for men it strengthens yang and kidneys. They’re sold together in the same grass basket. I see many medical halls in the capital doing this, and Shopkeeper Du says we should learn from them too.”

“It’s just that the grass baskets look too crude. I was thinking of making colorful silk cords to hang on them. After all, women also like making cords to give to their sweethearts on Qixi.” Yin Zheng held up a string of silk cords high for Lu Tong to see. “Miss, look – doesn’t this make it less monotonous?”

Lu Tong looked over.

The colorful silk cords in Yin Zheng’s hands looked like various flower garlands, quite beautiful. She nodded: “Beautiful.”

“I think so too. If Miss wants to learn later, I’ll teach you.” Yin Zheng smiled. “It’s not difficult at all. Making a suitable one to hang at the waist would look perfect with skirts.”

Lu Tong was about to nod when she suddenly remembered something: “Isn’t Qixi the seventh day?”

“Yes, what’s wrong?”

“I have something to do that day.”

Yin Zheng was startled: “What is Miss going out for?”

She looked at Lu Tong tentatively: “Are you celebrating the festival with someone?”

“No,” Lu Tong answered. “I’m going to wish someone a happy birthday.”

The seventh day of the seventh month, Qixi Festival, was Pei Yunshu’s birthday. Pei Yunying had mentioned it when he came to the Medical Academy last time.

She had almost forgotten about this.

…

In the Pei mansion, Pei Yunshu was holding several garments up to Pei Yunying for comparison.

Pei Yunying stood there with some slight impatience already showing on his face. Bao Zhu sat on the low couch holding a golden butterfly, watching the two and giggling.

“Even Bao Zhu can’t watch anymore.” Pei Yunying raised his hand to push away the garment Pei Yunshu was holding against him, then turned and sat on the low couch, scooping up Bao Zhu to escape Pei Yunshu’s continued fussing.

“Sister, rather than making so many new clothes, why not make a new cabinet?”

Pei Yunshu released her grip and looked at him sideways: “Oh? I make so many new clothes, yet you wear official robes every day. I thought you looked down on them and threw them all away.”

“You’re slandering me again.” Pei Yunying smiled. “Naturally I wear official robes when on palace duty. During rest days, haven’t I worn them?”

“Worn, worn, worn – anyway, I’ve never seen it even once!” Pei Yunshu glared at him. “Get up! The day after tomorrow is my birthday, and you must pick something suitable to wear.”

Pei Yunying remained unmoved: “It’s your birthday, not mine. Why should I dress up so splendidly?”

“Miss Lu is also coming the day after tomorrow. If you wear official robes, people will think you’re on official business.”

Hearing this, Pei Yunying’s eyes flickered slightly, but he still sat unwilling to rise, saying unhurriedly: “Dr. Lu isn’t someone who judges by appearance. Besides,” he paused, “I’m not bad-looking. Why do I need clothes to add brilliance?”

Seeing him like this, Pei Yunshu sighed and put down the pile of clothes in her hands, sitting at the round table across from Pei Yunying.

“A-ying,” Pei Yunshu spoke earnestly, “Sister isn’t a fool. What feelings you have for Miss Lu – can’t I see?”

“I know you’ve been praised since childhood and won’t speak without complete confidence in anything. But matters of the heart are inherently unreasonable. Your heart isn’t under your control. If you want to handle your feelings like dealing with official business, that’s absolutely impossible.”

She continued: “If you have feelings for Miss Lu, you must show them genuinely. Ask what she likes and give her that. Take her out often to have fun and make her happy. You know better than anyone how tiring palace duty is. As an ordinary person, it’s only more difficult for her.”

Pei Yunying listened carelessly, retrieving his hair that Bao Zhu had grabbed. Bao Zhu giggled and held up the golden butterfly, placing it on his head.

Pei Yunshu continued: “Moreover, Miss Lu has that fiancé whose existence is uncertain…”

Speaking of this, she suddenly looked at Pei Yunying: “A-ying, on my birthday the day after tomorrow, how about I help you ask Miss Lu if she has anyone she fancies?”

Pei Yunying was speechless: “Don’t.”

“You won’t do this and won’t do that.” Pei Yunshu became angry. “I heard from Duan Xiaoyan that Miss Lu is very popular in your Marshal’s mansion. Indeed, such a beautiful, kind-hearted, clever girl – if I had a son, I’d want to arrange a match for him. When would it be your turn…”

She talked for a long while, seeing he still looked unconcerned, and angrily pushed the clothes onto the table: “I’ve said everything that needs saying. You don’t listen to anything. Don’t regret it later!” With that, she snatched back Bao Zhu and said angrily: “Let’s go, don’t bother with him.”

Pei Yunying: “…”

The room returned to quiet.

The young man lowered his head and picked up the golden butterfly Bao Zhu had left by the couch.

The butterfly wings gleamed brilliantly, blooming at his fingertips. Like the faint starfire in his dark eyes, beautiful enough to illuminate the entire room.

He looked down at it for a while, then cupped his palms to hold the butterfly within, smiling faintly.