The lamplight stood silent as the gentle moonlight shifted a few feet beyond the window screen.

Lu Tong stood in the autumn breeze of Liao Sa, staring directly at the person before her.

This Young Master Pei always carried a touch of bright charm when he smiled, but when not smiling, his features became sharp. The cold moonlight cast a frost-like sheen over his deep crimson official robes, making even his gaze pierce like ice, devoid of any warmth.

Shen Fengying was momentarily speechless, suddenly realizing the situation and inwardly cursing his misfortune.

Just moments ago, he had praised the people at this small medical clinic for being sensible, yet how had they become so tactless in an instant?

What did they mean by “the thief crying stop thief”? Such offensive words! More importantly, now that suspicion had fallen upon the Palace Guard, should he, as a military patrolman, continue the investigation?

If he continued, he would inevitably offend the Palace Guard; if he didn’t, it would appear suspicious in front of so many people.

Of course, he was also quite afraid.

But what if someone loose-lipped spread this matter around? How could he continue working in Sheng Jing in the future?

As Shen Fengying wrestled with these thoughts, that young female doctor tactlessly reminded him: “Is the official not planning to take a look?”

Shen Fengying: “…”

Talk about bringing up the wrong topic!

Meanwhile, Du Changqing, already full of resentment about tonight’s baseless accusations, immediately seized upon Lu Tong’s words to add fuel to the fire, shouting: “When others make accusations against our clinic, without any evidence, you officials bring people to search and wreck our place. Now that they’ve found a corpse as evidence over there, you’re here dawdling about. What’s this called?”

“Aiya,” he sighed loudly, “people are different from one another. What was that poem by Scholar Wu about? Something about sprouts and pines? Something about high and low?”

Lu Tong: “Mountain sprouts and valley pines, their positions following high and low.”

“Ah yes, yes! They’re the mountain sprouts, and we’re just the ground onions!”

Shen Fengying: “…”

It would have been better not to mention this – his face turned green at the words.

Everyone knew that because of Scholar Wu’s case at the examination hall, the entire court was in turmoil. That poem was like a death warrant; in just these few days, who knew how many officials had fallen from grace? Now, except for the Censorate, everyone trembled at hearing this poem, fearing what accusations might fall upon their heads.

Good heavens, he was just following up on a report to arrest someone, how had he ended up being tarred with this brush?

What a wretched clinic, all troublemakers, not one of them with any sense of propriety!

As Shen Fengying found himself in an impossible situation, still wracking his brains for an excuse, he heard Pei Yunying speak: “Let’s go, Official Shen.”

He was startled: “Co-Commander?”

This now involved the Palace Guard, and with the current chaos in Sheng Jing’s officialdom, if the Palace Guard got into trouble now, Pei Yunying as Commander would also face problems.

Pei Yunying smiled as if the coldness in his eyes earlier had been just an illusion.

“Since there’s been a death, and it’s related to the Palace Guard, naturally we should take a look,” he said casually. “I’ll go with you.”

Though his words were directed at Shen Fengying, his gaze was fixed on Lu Tong.

Lu Tong met his gaze with serene indifference.

Shen Fengying, however, breathed a sigh of relief.

With Pei Yunying accompanying him, things would be fine. Whatever handling or resolution was needed, Pei Yunying would decide. This way, if questions arose later, he could rightfully claim no responsibility. After all, Pei Yunying was the heir to the Marquis of Zhaoning, while he, Shen Fengying, was nothing. In his colleagues’ eyes, he was just like what the clinic owner had said – a ground onion, no, a ground pine.

Shen Fengying called to his patrol officers: “Brothers, stop digging! Now follow me to Wangchun Mountain!”

As the officers began gathering their equipment, amid the courtyard’s mess, Lu Tong watched quietly. Suddenly, darkness fell before her as a tall young man’s figure blocked the light.

Lu Tong looked up.

Pei Yunying stood before her, his waist bound with a belt, wearing a silver knife, his features as brilliant as pearls and jade. Moonlight flowed over his gorgeous robes, inexplicably bringing to mind the exam poem Lu Qian had studied in his school days:

The setting sun slants and the autumn wind grows cold.

Will my old friend come tonight?

Making one stand until the parasol tree’s shadow is spent.

It was a pity that this person who made others wait in the autumn wind, though possessing a fine appearance, couldn’t stir even a hint of emotion in her heart – only vigilance.

Lu Tong thought silently.

From start to finish, except for that moment when he heard the name “Duan Xiaoyan” and his eyes showed a flash of coldness, no other emotional fluctuations could be detected.

Even though he now clearly knew she had framed him.

She withdrew from her thoughts and looked back at Pei Yunying: “Does the official have any further instructions?”

Pei Yunying looked down at Lu Tong, suddenly giving a light laugh, the dimple at the corner of his lips appearing and disappearing in the lamplight.

“Apologies for the disturbance tonight.”

“Doctor Lu,” he spoke, his tone meaningful, “we’ll meet again.”

Over there, Shen Fengying was urging his officers to hurry up, bowing and scraping as he escorted Pei Yunying out. As he left, he shot a fierce glare at Bai Shouyi, who stood to the side with an uncertain expression.

When making the accusation, he had spoken with such certainty, making Shen think tonight would bring some great achievement, but it had all been for nothing. Instead of properly treating patients, these clinics spent their time slandering and framing each other. Once this matter was over, he would report to the Medical Bureau and have those quacks properly manage these street clinics!

Their arrival had been grand and imposing, but their departure was quiet and unremarkable.

In an instant, only scattered debris remained in the courtyard.

A bloody half-pig carcass still lay on the ground. Dai Sanlang, who had come to help, looked at Lu Tong and kindly offered: “Doctor Lu, do you still need this pig? If not, I can help you move it away. Though it’s cool weather, such a large piece of pork will start to smell if left overnight.”

Dai Sanlang was very warm towards Lu Tong; to him, she was a living bodhisattva who had saved his life. If not for Lu Tong creating “Xianxian,” how could he have such a strong and healthy body now, let alone won Widow Sun’s affection? One must show gratitude.

Lu Tong bowed to him: “Thank you, Brother Dai.”

Dai Sanlang quickly waved his hand: “It’s nothing, no need for thanks.” With that, he walked to the tree in the courtyard, returned the bag containing the pig, crouched down, and with one swing, easily hoisted the meat onto his shoulder. He also picked up the pig’s head that hadn’t started to rot and strode out of the clinic.

After he left, Bai Shouyi also bowed to Du Changqing, forcing out a smile: “Manager Du, since this was just a misunderstanding, I’ll take my leave now.”

Du Changqing said nothing, only staring at him with a cold smile.

Bai Shouyi bit his lip, seemingly very unwilling to leave empty-handed today. He made a pretense of shame with a slight bow, then left the clinic without looking back, not even acknowledging Xia Rongrong who gazed at him pitifully.

Xia Rongrong watched helplessly as Bai Shouyi abandoned her amidst the mess, and her eyes immediately reddened. She instinctively looked toward Du Changqing: “Cousin…”

Tonight’s events had developed far beyond Xia Rongrong’s expectations.

Initially, she thought that although Du Changqing might be angry about her private meetings with Bai Shouyi, since it involved a matter of life and death, by helping him see Lu Tong’s true nature, Du Changqing would ultimately understand her good intentions – after all, this was also for the clinic’s benefit.

But she hadn’t expected that in the end, Lu Tong would emerge unscathed, she would become a laughingstock, and even the “merit” she had hoped would “redeem her fault” had vanished. Thus, her connection with Bai Shouyi became an unforgivable offense.

“Cousin…”

“No need to say more,” Du Changqing said. “It’s too late tonight to discuss it, I’ll send you back tomorrow.”

Xia Rongrong froze, the tears in her eyes forgotten.

Did Du Changqing mean to send her away?

She had known Du Changqing for many years and understood this cousin’s character perfectly – soft-hearted and easily swayed. Otherwise, how could he willingly let her parents fleece him like a fat sheep for so many years without a word of complaint?

But for him to drive her away so mercilessly?

Seeing Xia Rongrong stunned by Du Changqing’s coldness, Xiangcao quickly spoke up: “Young Master, tonight was just a misunderstanding. The young miss only acted this way because she was worried about something happening to the clinic. Please don’t misunderstand.”

But today’s Manager Du was not his usual agreeable self.

Du Changqing stood on the steps, expressionlessly looking at the mistress and servant, his tone somewhat sarcastic.

“Misunderstanding? There’s no misunderstanding – how could there be any misunderstanding between family? Since cousin has already formed a connection with Manager Bai of Xinglin Hall and now has more reliable support in Sheng Jing than me, I, as her cousin, can finally rest easy.”

“Moreover, we’ve received some new medicines these days, and the storehouse is full. It would be perfect to use cousin’s room for storing medicine.”

“Tomorrow you’ll move out of the clinic. My place is small, too cramped for a great Buddha-like cousin. You’d better find a higher branch to perch on.”

“Cousin, don’t you agree?”

Xia Rongrong was dumbfounded.

After all, she was a young lady who had never suffered any hardships since childhood. How could she have ever been spoken to so harshly? Unable to hold back, she burst into tears with a “wa” and ran into her room, ignoring everyone else in the courtyard.

Xiangcao anxiously stamped her foot and hurried after her.

Even fewer people remained in the courtyard.

Du Changqing, ignoring the weeping Xia Rongrong hiding in her room, turned to Lu Tong.

“Alright, that’s all been said, now let’s talk about you, Doctor Lu. Look how pale you’ve become with fright, tonight what exactly…”

Lu Tong took her lamp, turned, and entered her room, shutting the door with a “bang,” leaving only the words “It’s too late today, let’s talk tomorrow.”

Du Changqing stood holding his lantern, taking a moment to realize Lu Tong had slammed the door in his face and pointed at the door angrily: “Look at her attitude!”

Yinzheng came to smooth things over: “Manager Du, our miss has been busy all day, and then got such a fright tonight. She should rest well. Whatever you need to ask can wait until tomorrow. Look how late it is. We need to get up early tomorrow to clean the courtyard, there’s much to do.”

Du Changqing was left speechless, and with A-Cheng also urging him to return first, he snorted and left sullenly.

After he left, Yinzheng stood before Lu Tong’s room and knocked gently.

“Miss?”

The light in the room went out, and after a moment, Lu Tong’s calm voice came through.

“I’m tired, you should rest early too.”

Yinzheng always followed Lu Tong’s words exactly, and hearing no unusual tone in Lu Tong’s voice, she responded with a sound of acknowledgment and returned to her room with her lamp.

The shadows outside the window departed, and the moonlight grew thin again.

Only after confirming no one was around did Lu Tong finally release her hand, letting out the painful groans she had been suppressing.

Large drops of cold sweat seeped from her forehead, her lips white to the point of transparency. That spine which had always been held straight was now completely bent, and clutching her chest, she finally couldn’t hold on any longer, collapsing to the ground with no strength left to get up.

The old ailment had struck again.

This condition of hers typically flared up two or three times a year. Earlier in the small courtyard while confronting Pei Yunying, she had already been barely holding on.

But at that time, she couldn’t let anyone notice anything amiss, so she forcibly endured it, biting her lip to maintain color, while simultaneously enduring the severe pain and having to navigate interactions with others without showing any sign.

That’s why after the patrol officers left when Du Changqing wanted to talk with her, she unhesitatingly shut the door in his face.

It wasn’t out of arrogance; one moment longer and she would have been exposed.

Intense pain spread from her heart, pain that seemed alive, randomly coursing through her chest and limbs, as if someone was taking a blade and peeling away her flesh piece by piece, or as if a giant hand had grown inside her abdomen, gripping her internal organs and roughly kneading them.

Lu Tong collapsed sideways in pain, curling into a ball, clenching her teeth tightly to prevent any sound from escaping her lips. Her long hair was soaked with sweat, a strand sticking to her cheek.

The floor was strewn with the mess left by the patrol officers’ careless search, papers from the desk scattered everywhere, lying on the ground like large snowflakes.

She lay there among the scattered frost-like papers, in such pain that her mind was becoming unclear. In her dizzy state, a shadowy figure seemed to appear before her eyes.

The figure slowly walked up to her, wearing a rouge-red jacket and fine white silk skirt, with a thin face and slender waist, clothes rustling.

She walked unhurriedly down from Jade Peak covered in red plum blossoms, carrying a carved lantern that illuminated the muddy, snowy ground, like a weak firefly light in a graveyard at night.

Lu Tong murmured: “Yun Niang…”

The woman looked down at her, and smiled slightly, her tone calm yet eerie.

“Little Seventeen, where do you think you can escape to?”

…

That was Lu Tong’s second year at Luomei Peak.

She had decided to escape.

Young Lu Tong could neither adapt to the cold weather on Luomei Peak nor endure the pain of Yun Niang’s frequent drug testing. One night, after once again enduring the torment of a new medicine, Lu Tong lay on the ground covered in sweat, gazing at the bright moon outside the window, and determined she must escape this hellish place.

When Yun Niang wasn’t making new medicines, she was mostly away from the mountain. In the small house on Luomei Peak, only Lu Tong remained.

She spent a long time mapping out a safe route and prepared enough dried meat and clean water, believing she had shown sufficient patience and caution.

After another time when Yun Niang went down the mountain, Lu Tong, carrying her bundle, followed suit.

She thought, once down the mountain, she could return to Changwu County. Though Su Nan was some distance from Changwu County, she could figure something out along the way, whether by boat or on foot. Given enough time, she would surely make it back home.

The day Lu Tong escaped was a spring night.

The snow on Luomei Peak had just melted, and blood-red plum blossoms covered the mountain, their fragrance sweet in the air. She walked for a day and a night, and just as she could see the small town at the foot of the mountain within reach, her chest suddenly began to ache.

The pain wasn’t severe at first but gradually became unbearable. She curled into a ball, rolling on the ground in agony, not knowing what had happened to her.

Just when Lu Tong thought she was about to die, Yun Niang appeared.

Yun Niang came down the mountain carrying a lantern to find her.

She stood on the steps, looking down at Lu Tong writhing in pain below, the lamplight illuminating Yun Niang’s face and the smile on her lips.

Yun Niang’s tone was gentler than usual, her expression as if she had never noticed the fact of her escape.

She smiled and asked: “Little Seventeen, what are you doing here?”

Lu Tong let out a groan.

The woman looked at her thoughtfully, speaking in sudden realization: “Could it be you were trying to escape?”

She was in too much pain then, too much to speak, almost biting through her lip.

Yun Niang’s unhurried voice came through, like an inescapable curse.

“Back then you sold yourself to me, exchanging it for the lives of your family of four. The debt isn’t cleared, how could you think of leaving?”

“Where do you think you can escape to?”

It was spring, the mountain snow had melted, and the mud after the thaw was colder than winter, seeming to seep into one’s heart.

Lu Tong knew she couldn’t escape, and so spoke with difficulty: “I’m sorry, Yun Niang, I… I missed my family.”

Yun Niang sighed.

She said: “When we made our agreement, I made it very clear – unless I die, you cannot leave the mountain.” She glanced at Lu Tong’s pained expression, her lips curling into a smile, “Understand?”

If Lu Tong hadn’t understood before, she certainly understood at that moment.

She could not leave Luomei Peak, and Yun Niang would never allow her to leave. Yun Niang was the best healer in the world, and also the most skilled poison master. Long before Lu Tong knew it, Yun Niang had already poisoned her; she could never leave Luomei Peak.

Lu Tong’s tears fell.

The little girl crawled forward a few steps, beside her the scattered dried meat and provisions from her fall. She crawled to the woman’s feet, grabbed her skirt hem, and pleaded chokingly as she had when they first met.

“Yun Niang… I was wrong… I won’t try to escape again…”

“Save me…”

She couldn’t die.

She couldn’t die here.

She had to live; only by living could she see her parents and siblings again. Only by living would she have a chance to plan for the future.

The spring snow on the mountain was half melted, the red plum blossoms delicate and fragrant. Yun Niang’s skirt carried a faint plum scent as she stared at her with interest for a long while – as she had countless times before.

She crouched down, set aside the carved lantern, took out a silk handkerchief, and gently wiped away the sweat on Lu Tong’s forehead, smiling slightly.

“I forgive you, Little Seventeen.”

“Consider this a lesson, don’t think about escaping again in the future.”

She earnestly instructed her, like a patient elder master.

“A person without trust is worthless. You must keep your word.”

…

The clear moon shone dimly, outside the window the cold buds had not yet opened, only the craggy plum branches cast their shadows on the paper window, leaving an elegant silhouette.

Amidst the scattered mess on the floor, Lu Tong lay on her back, her entire body soaked in sweat, silently reciting as she had years ago on Luomei Peak.

“Unmoved by favor or disgrace, the liver wood finds peace… Still or active with respect, the heart fire calms… Eating and drinking with moderation, the spleen earth doesn’t leak… Breathing regulated and words few, the lung metal stays whole… Mind at peace with few desires, the kidney water suffices…”

She would endure it; all pain could be endured.

It had been this way for so many years, nothing different.

From the small courtyard came the faint sound of a woman’s quiet sobbing – it was Xia Rongrong crying to Xiangcao in her room.

And so the weak groans from the small room were covered up.