Onlookers had gathered all around the pavilion. The woman was dressed in luxurious clothing and had an imposing demeanor, appearing to be someone of significant status.

She was accompanied by numerous guard matrons, with the tall guard at the front looking particularly familiar. Lu Tong recalled that yesterday when she and Yin Zheng went up the mountain, they had been forced aside at the temple gate by an ornate carriage that had seized the right of way. The arrogant and overbearing carriage driver who had shouted at them then was the same guard standing before them now.

This woman must be the owner of that carriage.

Lu Tong looked calmly at the imposing group of master and servants and spoke quietly: “Your son has a pre-existing lung condition. He seems to have inhaled something that disrupted his lung function, causing labored breathing and qi stagnation in the upper burner. If his postnatal essence isn’t nourished in time, his life could be in danger.”

Yin Zheng added: “That’s right. If it weren’t for my young mistress’s timely treatment just now, your young master would have nearly suffocated.”

Upon hearing this, the woman’s face turned ashen with anger. “Complete nonsense!”

“My son was perfectly fine! How dare you, a commoner, spread such lies and slander my son’s reputation. Sheng Quan!” She ordered her guard without hesitation: “This woman speaks outrageously and has done this to my son. Arrest her and take her to the authorities. Give her several dozen strikes with the board and see if she dares to speak nonsense again!”

The guard moved to grab Lu Tong at her command, but before he could touch her, a hand gripped his arm.

The hand gripping his arm was long, fair, and well-defined, yet seemed to contain boundless strength. There was a crackling sound of joints, causing even the tall guard to show signs of pain.

The young man said with a half-smile: “I wasn’t aware the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial had become so imperious.”

Those words caused the woman’s expression to shift slightly.

Lu Tong looked toward Pei Yunying. Pei Yunying released his grip, and the guard suddenly freed, seemed unwilling to back down, and was about to grit his teeth and step forward again.

There was a sharp “swoosh.”

A bright blade was half-drawn from its scabbard, its killing intent palpable – half exposed in deadly gleam, half hidden in its dark sheath with a cold glint, much like the cold smile on his face.

Pei Yunying stood beside Lu Tong, one hand on his partially drawn sword, his smile fading: “Who wants to make a move?”

Seeing this, Xiao Zhufeng and Duan Xiaoyan stepped forward to stand in front of Pei Yunying. Duan Xiaoyan said: “How dare you show such disrespect to the Young Master!”

“Young Master?” The woman was slightly startled.

Duan Xiaoyan removed his waist token and walked to the woman, allowing her to see clearly: “Madam, perhaps you intend to take our Young Master away as well?”

The woman seemed somewhat defiant at first as if suspecting Duan Xiaoyan was lying. After seeing the characters on the waist token clearly, her expression suddenly became rigid. She looked at Pei Yunying again, her gaze containing traces of fear, and said: “So it’s Commander Pei.”

Lu Tong’s heart stirred at these words.

The other party had called him “Commander Pei” rather than “Young Master,” suggesting that Pei Yunying’s position as Palace Guard Commander carried more weight than his status as the heir of Marquis Zhaoning.

Looking at this woman’s expression… could it be that during his time in office, Commander Pei had done something to inspire such fear?

The woman smiled and said: “My husband has mentioned before that Commander Pei is accomplished at a young age and talented. Seeing you today, the reputation is indeed well-deserved.” While she stiffly exchanged pleasantries with Pei Yunying, her gaze anxiously fell on her son who was being supported by servants.

Pei Yunying smiled slightly, sheathed his sword, and looked at her indifferently: “You’re too kind.”

He wasn’t accepting her goodwill.

The woman looked at Lu Tong again, perhaps wondering about her relationship with Pei Yunying. After some hesitation, she gritted her teeth and said: “I was anxious earlier and misunderstood this young lady in my words. I hope the young lady won’t take it to heart.”

Lu Tong lowered her eyes: “It’s fine.”

Just then, the young master being supported by the servants began gasping for breath again, his expression extremely pained. Seeing this, the woman’s face changed, and no longer concerned with Lu Tong and Pei Yunying, she held the young master in her arms, nearly crying with anxiety: “Lin’er!”

She urged the maid beside her: “Has the doctor been called?”

The maid shook her head, also anxious: “The temple’s doctor went down the mountain and hasn’t returned yet.” She suddenly lowered her voice: “Young Master’s attack came so suddenly today, and seems even more severe than usual. What should we do?”

Lu Tong noticed that in their panic, they had dislodged the gold needles she had inserted into the patient earlier. Her expression paused slightly.

Pei Yunying glanced at her, then suddenly spoke to the woman: “It seems your son is in quite a bad state right now. Why not ask a doctor to take a look?”

Hearing this, the woman could no longer even force a smile, and just wept: “Where can we find a doctor on this mountain…”

Pei Yunying gave a light laugh: “Isn’t there one standing right here?”

At these words, both the woman and Lu Tong were startled.

Pei Yunying’s lips curved in a smile as he spoke slowly: “This Miss Lu is the resident doctor at Renxin Medical Hall. The ‘Spring Water Life’ that was popular in the capital recently was made by her. Madam Dong,” he addressed her familiarly, “Doctor Lu just saved young master Dong once, and if she wishes, she can save him a second time.”

Lu Tong was startled and instinctively looked at Pei Yunying.

How did he know that “Spring Water Life” was her creation?

Meanwhile, Madam Dong turned her gaze to Lu Tong, her expression still somewhat doubtful.

She hadn’t seen Lu Tong save Dong Lin earlier and didn’t know the extent of her abilities. Moreover, she was so young, and a maiden at that…

In her arms, Dong Lin’s brows were tightly knitted as he groaned in pain, his breath feeble.

Madam Dong’s expression changed several times. There were no other doctors now, and waiting for someone to come up the mountain would be too late. With Pei Yunying vouching for her, this girl couldn’t be a fraud. At this point, they had to try anything that might work.

She made up her mind and turned to look at Lu Tong, sincerely pleading: “I beg Doctor Lu to save my son. If Doctor Lu can save my son’s life, our Dong family will certainly reward you generously with gold!” As she spoke, she was about to bow down.

A pair of hands caught her arms, preventing Madam Dong from bowing.

Lu Tong said calmly: “Madam need not be so polite. As a healer, saving people is my duty.”

Madam Dong looked at her, barely containing her fear of Pei Yunying, and tilted her head back coldly to say: “But if you’re just a fraud who harms my son and delays his treatment…”

The threat in her words was clear.

Lu Tong didn’t speak, silently acknowledging as she picked up the fallen gold needles. When she turned her head, she met Pei Yunying’s meaningful gaze.

He raised his eyebrows, leaning down slightly to ask her in a low voice: “Can Doctor Lu cure him?”

The young man was very tall, and Lu Tong was enveloped in his shadow – an extremely intimate posture. She discreetly created some distance between them and said: “I’ll try my best.”

He nodded, then said seriously: “Then Doctor Lu must treat him well, otherwise if something goes wrong, I’ll be implicated too.” Despite his words, his eyes and brows were full of mirth, his tone light and unconcerned, clearly not taking the matter seriously.

Lu Tong said no more and walked to the young man’s side, having the servants support him properly as she cleaned the gold needles and began to insert them again.

The crowd of onlookers had all been driven away by the Dong family servants, leaving only Xiao Zhufeng, Duan Xiaoyan, and a few others.

Madam Dong watched Lu Tong’s movements, her expression extremely tense as she secretly worried. In contrast, Yin Zheng was much more relaxed.

Seeing this, Duan Xiaoyan quietly moved closer to Yin Zheng and spoke familiarly: “Sister, is Doctor Lu’s medical skill truly so excellent?”

Yin Zheng had witnessed this young man showing the waist token to Madam Dong earlier and guessed his status was also extraordinary, so she said: “Of course. My young mistress can do anything.” Then she suddenly sighed, “It’s just a pity she’s too young, and others often don’t believe in her. Just like that Madam Dong,” as she spoke, her tone carried some resentment, “My mistress kindly saved her son’s life, but not only was she ungrateful, she wanted to have my mistress bound up. How can there be such ungrateful people in the world?”

Duan Xiaoyan burst out laughing.

Yin Zheng turned to look at him: “What are you laughing at?”

“Sister,” Duan Xiaoyan tried to suppress his laughter, “Think about it – Master Dong is the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial in the capital, yet his son has a chronic illness. If this news got out, what good family would dare marry their daughter to him? They can’t cover it up fast enough. When Doctor Lu revealed young master Dong’s condition in front of everyone just now, of course, Madam Dong was angry. Only by binding Doctor Lu and accusing her of fraud could young master Dong’s illness be proven false.”

Yin Zheng listened in shock: “How can this be! Besides, they can’t hide it forever. What sin did the daughters of good families commit to deserve being deceived into such a marriage?”

“Shh, keep your voice down!” Duan Xiaoyan hurriedly said: “Don’t be anxious, Sister. Even if just for our master’s sake, Madam Dong wouldn’t dare to bind Doctor Lu now. Besides, if Doctor Lu truly cures young Master Dong, the Dong family will be grateful beyond measure. They’ve always doted excessively on their younger son – how could they slight their son’s lifesaving benefactor?”

“Who needs their gratitude?” Yin Zheng said angrily, “With such character, our mistress should stay far away from them!”

Duan Xiaoyan coughed lightly and dared not speak further.

Meanwhile, Lu Tong was carefully applying acupuncture to young master Dong.

Young Master Dong was somewhat overweight and probably rarely exercised. His pulse was deep and weak in all three positions, indicating a deficiency in both lungs and kidneys.

Lu Tong precisely targeted his various acupoints one by one, applying balanced supplementation and drainage. She occasionally instructed Yin Zheng to fetch warm moxibustion materials. Gradually, young master Dong’s complexion improved and his labored breathing became less urgent than before, seeming to slowly calm down.

Seeing this, Madam Dong repeatedly muttered “Amitabha” and almost wept with joy.

Fine beads of sweat gradually appeared on Lu Tong’s forehead. Seeing this, Yin Zheng hurriedly went over to offer a handkerchief. Lu Tong took it without looking up and casually wiped her face.

She was wearing a plain white short jacket and long dress today. When she raised her arm, a stretch of fair wrist was revealed, bare of any bracelets or jade bangles, clean and soft.

Pei Yunying had glanced over carelessly at first, but his gaze suddenly fixed, the smile slowly fading from his lips as his eyes grew sharp.

On that wrist, there was a faint red mark – a fresh, deep wound that wound upward.

It was a fresh blood mark.