After leaving the palace, Jingrong rode his horse back to the residence, but unexpectedly encountered Ji Li on the way.

He had just come out from the Ministry of War office!

“Greetings to Prince Jingrong.”

Previously on the journey back to the capital, the two sides had some unpleasantness, and coupled with the Ji family matter, Jingrong appeared particularly cold toward Ji Li.

“General Ji, are you returning to your residence? Or did you deliberately wait for this prince?”

“This subordinate heard someone say Your Highness entered the palace. Because there are some matters I wish to consult Prince Jingrong about, I waited here.”

“What matters?”

“Might this subordinate visit Prince Jingrong’s residence to discuss the details with Your Highness?”

He cannot visit!

If he encounters Ji Yinshu, wouldn’t they start fighting?

However, Jingrong was not a petty person. After thinking it over, he nodded.

The two traveled together and soon arrived at Prince Jingrong’s residence.

Just as the two were entering the residence, Lu Jiang brought the news to the Eastern Courtyard.

“Teacher Ji, His Highness asked me to inform you that General Ji Li has arrived at the residence. He asks whether you wish to avoid him?”

Ji Li?

Ji Yinshu was tinkering with the pigments in her box when her hand trembled, and pale pink liquid immediately spilled onto her gray long sleeve.

“What else did His Highness say?” she asked.

“Nothing more.”

Ji Yinshu put away her things, saying as she did so, “Never mind, I was just about to go out anyway.”

“Where is the teacher going?” Lu Jiang was extremely nervous.

Because of several previous lessons, Jingrong had already issued orders throughout the residence that whenever Ji Yinshu wanted to leave the residence, she must obtain his consent.

If something happened, the entire residence would suffer!

Ji Yinshu placed the box in her hands onto the shelf while asking, “Uncle Lu, in which direction is Yuhua Pavilion?”

“Is the teacher going to Yuhua Pavilion?”

“Yes!”

“Then I’ll have someone escort the teacher there.”

Escort? Why not just say monitor?

After placing the sandalwood box properly, Ji Yinshu didn’t respond but called out toward the courtyard, “Wei Yi!”

She heard Wei Yi’s high-pitched response, and he ran in, still holding an embroidered handkerchief in his hand.

“Shu’er, you called me?”

“Yes.” She nodded, pointing at the handkerchief in his hand. “Go return that item to Chuchun. I’m taking you out.”

Hearing he could go out with Ji Yinshu, Wei Yi was overjoyed. He quickly returned the handkerchief to Chuchun, and when he came back, he had even changed into clean clothes.

“Why are you changing clothes?” Ji Yinshu asked, puzzled.

“Because we can go out! Father said before going out, one must change into new clothes.”

So innocent and carefree!

At this moment, Lu Jiang had already summoned several guards from the residence to escort Ji Yinshu out and head toward Yuhua Pavilion.

Upon reaching the street, Ji Yinshu said to Wei Yi, “Pick out some items to give as gifts later.”

“Give to whom?”

“Just pick something.”

“Oh!”

Wei Yi began carefully selecting items along the way. Entering a jade shop, he looked left and right and took a fancy to a hairpin.

“Shopkeeper, I want this one!”

That hairpin was a jade hairpin. Looking at the craftsmanship and color depth, it was clearly a superior item.

The shopkeeper carefully took out the hairpin and quoted a price, “Young masters, fifty taels!”

Fifty taels?

Too expensive!

Feeling her pouch—about ten taels.

Ji Yinshu asked, “Will ten taels do?”

Upon hearing this figure, the shopkeeper’s expression immediately changed. He quickly moved the hairpin intentionally back behind the counter, and his gaze swept over Ji Yinshu and Wei Yi like a scanner.

With a contemptuous tone, he said, “Ten taels? That barely gets you a look.”

Ji Yinshu remained calm and asked Wei Yi sideways, “You want to take this hairpin to give as a gift?”

“Yes!”

He nodded vigorously.

Ji Yinshu smiled faintly and turned to the shopkeeper. “Ten taels—will you or won’t you?”

“No! Go, go, go—don’t interfere with my business.”

Having said this, he was about to come around the counter to drive her out.

Ji Yinshu then said, “Shopkeeper, your fingers are curved, you lack gripping strength, causing your shoulder bones to swell, injuring the meridians. When you lift anything three feet high, you feel weak all over, correct?”

“Eh?”

The shopkeeper was startled and immediately hid his left hand inside his sleeve, extending it behind his back.

Ji Yinshu continued, “Because your scaphoid bone is damaged, your sesamoid bone cannot extend. Since the five fingers are connected, naturally this causes the lunate and triangular bones to also lack strength. The proximal, middle, and distal phalanges of all five fingers are curved and cannot straighten due to this pulling force. Actually, hand bone injuries are very easy to treat, but Shopkeeper, because you constantly have to move and lift things, your hand bones are connected through the meridians, resulting in even your shoulder bones being unable to exert force. When it rains or the wind blows, the pain becomes unbearable. Despite seeing physicians and taking medicine, you cannot recover, correct?”

The shopkeeper had long since frozen in place!

He stared at her in shock, as if his entire eyeballs were about to pop out.

Those medical terms he hadn’t understood clearly described his hand’s condition in every detail.

“Young master… how did you discern this?” His voice trembled.

“It’s not difficult. When you took out this jade hairpin earlier, I noticed it.”

“Then do you have a method to cure my hand? Over these years, I’ve seen many physicians, and all said it couldn’t be cured.” The shopkeeper wore a bitter expression, looking at her with hopeful eyes.

Ji Yinshu’s lips curved upward, but her gaze rested on that jade hairpin. “If you can sell this jade hairpin to me for ten taels, I’ll tell you the treatment method.”

The shopkeeper was half-believing, half-doubting. “Truly?”

“If you don’t believe me, forget it. I imagine treating this hand of yours has also cost quite a bit of silver?”

Yes, over the past several years, it had cost several hundred taels.

Wei Yi blinked his eyes, watching Ji Yinshu haggle.

His mind turning, he reached out to tug at her sleeve. “Shu’er, if he won’t agree, let’s go to another shop. This hairpin isn’t that nice anyway.”

“Really? Then you don’t want it anymore?”

Waving his hand, “Don’t want it anymore!”

Ji Yinshu smiled secretly and nodded. “Fine, then let’s go.”

With that, the two prepared to leave. Seeing this, the shopkeeper gritted his teeth and quickly came around the counter to stop them.

“Alright, ten taels it is!”

He immediately placed the hairpin in an exquisite brocade box and handed it over.

Looking at the shopkeeper’s face, twisted out of shape, his heart was probably bleeding continuously.

Ji Yinshu took out ten taels, stuffed them into the shopkeeper’s hand, and said, “Remember this: take some fig leaves, crush them, then soak them in the strongest white liquor for half a month. Then apply it to your hand three times a day—morning, noon, and evening. After one month, your bones will naturally become flexible and strong, and your fingers will be able to move freely. If after one month you still cannot recover, go to Yuhua Pavilion and find a physician named Muruo. He will compensate you for your losses.”

“Yes, yes, yes, thank you, young master, thank you, young master…”

He thanked them repeatedly.

Holding the jade hairpin, Ji Yinshu pulled Wei Yi and left.

Along the way, Wei Yi kept exclaiming “Shu’er is amazing!”

She smiled without speaking.

Though she wasn’t a physician, she was exceptionally proficient in matters concerning bones.

The two bypassed the bustling market, and before long arrived at Yuhua Pavilion.

The entrance was filled with people, all there to see physicians and obtain medicine.

Outside, young attendants were handing out number tokens!