Tang Si wasn’t lying. When she was young, she had indeed seen this pattern before.

However, her memory of it was quite hazy and indistinct!

Ji Yinshu was half-doubtful about her words. She tucked the wooden token into her waist sash, keeping it well protected.

She simply said, “Miss Tang, I’ll just take what you said earlier as a joke. You should leave quickly now.”

“I wasn’t joking!”

She stamped her foot in protest, but Ji Yinshu had already pushed the door open and entered, closing the door from the inside.

Tang Si raised her fist, planning to pound on the door, but just as she lifted her hand, she dismissed the thought.

She could only pathetically lower it!

Pouting, she felt like the entire world was being unfriendly to her.

However, the thick skin she’d cultivated since childhood still allowed her to naturally loiter around the yamen. The yamen officers, utterly pestered by her, had no choice but to find her a clean room and casually toss in two quilts.

Before leaving, they didn’t forget to deliberately remind her, “You leave first thing tomorrow morning. Our yamen doesn’t have much grain to spare.”

“This lady has plenty of money.”

A pillow flew over.

The officer helplessly departed.

She then curled up on that small bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Staring at the dusty gauze canopy overhead, her mind kept dwelling on the pattern on the wooden token. As she thought about it, her fingers began tracing it bit by bit in the air.

Gradually, she fell asleep…

That night, Ji Yinshu sat by the bedside the entire time, staying awake through the night watching over Wei Yi.

Near dawn, a maid came to knock on the door, asking her to go eat something.

“No need.”

“Master Ji, if you don’t eat, what if you hurt your stomach? I’ll help you watch over Young Master Wei. Don’t worry, if anything happens, I’ll notify you immediately.”

She shook her head, “I want to watch over him myself.”

Her somewhat weary and distracted gaze remained fixed on Wei Yi without wavering an inch.

Wei Yi’s complexion had improved somewhat. The light streaming in from outside the window fell on his clean and flawless profile, making him look so languid and relaxed. The threads of cool breeze pouring in through the corner of the window ruffled his long and thick eyelashes.

They trembled faintly!

As if he might awaken at any moment!

Seeing her so determined, the maid could only leave dejectedly.

Just as she exited, she ran into Muruo who was arriving.

“Young Master Muruo.”

“Go fetch the medicine.”

“Yes.”

The maid went to fetch the medicine.

Muruo stepped inside, walked to the bedside, felt Wei Yi’s forehead, then pried open his eyes to examine them.

Ji Yinshu asked in a heavy voice, “Will he wake up?”

“He will. As long as he rests for a few days after waking up, he’ll be fine.” After speaking, he curled his finger and tapped Wei Yi’s head once, “Foolish boy, your life is really tough. If I hadn’t been by your side when this happened to you, you’d probably be having tea with the King of Hell right now. But you foolish boy are indeed adorably foolish—blocking an arrow for your sweetheart like that. Your courage is commendable, admirable.”

More than just commendable courage!

In fact, like Jingrong, Ji Yinshu was someone worth sacrificing himself for.

After Muruo finished teasing, he turned to Ji Yinshu and said, “You go rest quickly. I’m here.”

She rubbed her aching temples and just opened her mouth, “I…”

But was interrupted.

“Don’t worry, I guarantee I’ll return you a completely healthy Wei Yi. He’ll be like before, even better than before.” Definitive.

She hesitated for a moment, nodded, and said, “Thank you.”

Then she shuffled out with heavy steps.

After returning to her room, she had just removed her outer garment to rest when, after freezing for a few seconds, she put the outer garment back on.

She went out…

In Jingrong’s room, Lang Bo had just rushed in hurriedly.

He reported, “Your Highness, everything has been arranged properly. The message has also been sent to the capital immediately. Those few who died have all been locked in prison carts with black cloth over their heads, bound hand and foot, ready to be escorted to the capital.”

After listening, Jingrong didn’t respond immediately. His index finger tapped repeatedly on the table. Beside his hand lay a small package wrapped in yellow paper, flat and thin, looking like a packet of medicinal powder.

After a moment of silence, he held that small package between his index and middle fingers and handed it to Lang Bo.

He instructed, “When someone comes to intercept them midway, you must capture them alive. To prevent those corpses from committing suicide, quickly use this packet of medicine to knock them unconscious. You should… be able to manage to deliver one living person to the Supreme Court’s prison.”

“Yes.”

“Also, have Ziran personally escort the prisoners to the capital, so he can also observe the situation in the capital.”

“Understood.”

Jingrong paused, “After last night’s incident, have the common people we pacified been affected?”

Lang Bo clasped his hands together and said, “Those common people were indeed frightened, but fortunately we eliminated those black-clothed men in time yesterday, and the news didn’t leak out, so it was a close call without real danger.”

He made an acknowledging sound, then asked seriously, “When will the newly appointed county magistrate arrive?”

“He’s already on the road. The court issued the document and directly arranged someone from nearby. They said it’s temporary—the Ministry of Personnel will select and send another official to take over later.”

“Alright, you may go.” He waved his hand.

“That…” Lang Bo hesitated.

Jingrong’s cold eyes glanced at him once, “Speak.”

“A young lady called Mujin is outside right now.”

Mujin?

“How did she get here?”

“I don’t know. She says she came to find Your Highness. Your subordinate knows she was with Your Highness last night, so I didn’t feel right sending her away.”

Jingrong felt puzzled—how would Mujin know he was at the yamen?

After thinking for a moment, “Let her in.”

“Yes.”

He acknowledged and departed.

Before long, Mujin entered. Just like last night, her bearing was clear and open, and between her lowered and raised glances, her temperament revealed green elegance.

Upon entering, she performed a courtesy, “This commoner woman Mujin pays respects to Prince Rong.”

Compared to last night, she had gained a bit more of the propriety of a young lady from a modest family.

Unlike the carefree woman at the banquet table who discussed poetry and prose with others.

But it wasn’t strange either. After all, now their statuses were different.

Jingrong stood before a folding screen, his hawk-like eyes sweeping over her, “How did you know?”

Mujin raised her eyes and candidly said, “How difficult would it be to know? Anfu County itself isn’t large and can’t hold many new faces. Moreover, Your Highness and the others encountered assassins by the river last night with such a big commotion. Mujin used a bit more cunning than others and went through the recent Anfu County magistrate corruption case once, so naturally I guessed it.”

Hearing this, Jingrong smiled.

“Miss Mujin is very clever.”

She smiled at this, her gaze falling on Jingrong’s injured and bandaged palm.

Revealing a pained expression, she immediately presented the ointment she had brought, “Last night I saw Your Highness’s hand was injured. Today, I took the liberty of coming to deliver medicine to Your Highness.”

“Thank you.”

He accepted it and set it aside, with no intention of using it.

Mujin’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, “This medicine must be applied.”

Hm?

Before Jingrong could react, he had already been pulled down to sit, and the bandage wrapped around his hand was being carefully unwound by her, revealing the wound on his palm.

On the wound was smeared a thin layer of powder—medicine applied by Muruo, though no one knew what it was.

For a brief moment, Jingrong was dazed, so much so that he forgot to “resist” Mujin’s sudden behavior.

When Mujin saw his wound, her eyes brimmed with tears from distress. She quickly opened her own ointment to apply medicine for him.

As she worked, she said, “Arrow wounds cannot be neglected—they can be serious or minor. Medicine must be applied promptly. This medicine was passed down from my ancestors and is very effective for treating arrow wounds. Apply it for two or three days and it will heal.”

Jingrong watched her apply medicine for him so carefully. In his heart he felt both resistant yet also warmly comforted.

He thought to himself, if only it could be Ji Yinshu instead, how wonderful that would be.

But how could he know that outside the door, a slender figure paused for a moment, then left!