“Who did you say wants to see this old man?” Physician Li dug in his ear.

“Marquis Guanjun.” Seeing Physician Li’s expression change, Chi Can’s heart sank.

This wretched old man surely wasn’t going to be stubborn again? Fortunately, he had already sent word to Shao Mingyuan, so the man should arrive soon.

With this thought, Chi Can immediately relaxed, folded his arms across his chest, and asked with a smile: “Does the Divine Physician not want to meet him?”

Even if he didn’t want to, it wouldn’t matter – with his skills, stopping this old man would be no problem at all!

Physician Li’s expression was very strange. He slapped the table and said: “Want to? Of course I want to! Where is that brat?”

Upon hearing that he was to meet Marquis Guanjun, Physician Li immediately stopped caring about the threats and provocations from the young man before him.

Marquis Guanjun? Wasn’t that the little bastard who had harmed Miss Qiao?

He had been worrying about not having a chance to torment that little bastard, and now he was delivering himself to the door.

“He should arrive soon.”

Physician Li snorted and laughed, then poured himself a cup of tea with a stern face, took a sip, and closed his eyes to rest.

Chi Can drummed his fingers on the table in boredom.

Just as Physician Li was about to doze off, footsteps sounded in the corridor. He immediately opened his eyes and saw a tall, slender young man walk in.

The tall young man removed his rain cloak and handed it to the guard following closely behind. The guard silently withdrew and stood guard outside the door.

Despite using rain gear, the hem of Shao Mingyuan’s robe was still wet, and his damp hair hung in strands, dripping water down his cheeks.

Chi Can stood up: “Did you ride here?”

“Yes.” Shao Mingyuan’s gaze moved past Chi Can to rest on the old man sitting steadily inside. He strode forward, cupped his hands in greeting: “Mingyuan pays his respects to the Divine Physician.”

Physician Li lifted his eyelids with a look of disgust: “You’re dripping water all over this old man’s face!”

Shao Mingyuan was taken aback.

This divine physician he’d never met before had a problem with him?

As a commanding general who had wielded heavy military power for years, Shao Mingyuan was certainly not someone to be pushed around. He smiled and said gently, “The Divine Physician jests. Mingyuan may not do other things well, but I have decent control over my strength. I certainly wouldn’t splash rainwater on your face – you can rest assured.”

“Stop bragging!” Physician Li directly wiped his mouth, took the opportunity to spit some saliva on his hand, spread it out, and waved it in front of Shao Mingyuan: “If you didn’t splash my face, why would it be so wet?”

Chi Can, on the side, directly rolled his eyes and sneered: “Which cloud rains white foam?”

Physician Li’s face darkened. He pointed at Chi Can and said to Shao Mingyuan: “Do you have something to ask this old man for help? If you want my help, first make this brat get out!”

These two little bastards were indeed birds of a feather!

Seeing that Physician Li wasn’t someone who played by normal rules, Shao Mingyuan decisively looked at Chi Can: “Shixi—”

“Fine, you’re tearing down the bridge before you’ve even crossed it!” Chi Can slapped Shao Mingyuan’s palm and strode out.

As he left, he saw the guard Shao Mingyuan glance at him. He couldn’t help but get angry and shouted: “Keep looking and I’ll gouge your eyes out!”

The guard silently lowered his eyes, thinking: You still couldn’t beat me anyway.

Chi Can walked outside in a few steps and leaned against the railing to look at the street scene below.

The rain seemed even heavier now, the connected beads forming curtains without interruption. From far away, it looked like a waterfall cascading down, and barely a soul could be seen on the main street.

He was both curious and sighing.

He wondered what matter required Tingquan to see the divine physician, riding through such heavy rain to get here. Oh, hopefully the wound on his shoulder that he had reopened yesterday wouldn’t fester.

Inside the private room.

Seeing Chi Can leave, Physician Li relaxed even more, leaning back in his chair and saying unhurriedly: “Speak up, do you want this old man to treat your illness?”

He looked up and down at the young man standing before him and sneered: “No wonder – with all your ailments, if you don’t get proper treatment, you’ll probably die young!”

Shao Mingyuan lowered his eyes, his expression unchanged, and politely stated his request: “Mingyuan would like to ask the Divine Physician to take a look at my uncle-in-law—”

Physician Li directly interrupted Shao Mingyuan’s words: “Coming to find this old man for some distant relative? Which uncle-in-law is it? I won’t treat him!”

If this brat were seeking medical treatment for himself, he could properly make things difficult and vent some anger for Miss Qiao. As for others, what random cats and dogs were they? He didn’t have that kind of free time!

“As long as the Divine Physician agrees to examine my uncle-in-law, whatever conditions you wish to propose can be discussed.”

“I say, what does your uncle-in-law count as— Wait!” Physician Li suddenly stopped speaking, his expression strange: “Your uncle-in-law, which one is he?”

“Mingyuan has only one uncle-in-law, the son of the late Vice Censor-in-Chief Qiao, Qiao Mo.”

“Late? What late? You brat, explain this clearly to this old man!” Physician Li’s heart skipped a beat, and he directly stood up with both hands on the table.

Shao Mingyuan’s expression grew heavy as he explained: “Mingyuan’s in-laws’ family suffered a great fire. Of the entire household, only my uncle-in-law and his younger sister escaped, and they’re currently staying at Minister Kou’s residence.”

Physician Li gasped and collapsed back into his chair, unable to recover for a long time.

Shao Mingyuan also remained silent.

The rain outside was pouring down, raindrops continuously hitting the window lattice, making listeners feel irritated and restless.

Physician Li finally came to his senses, looked deeply at Shao Mingyuan, and asked: “What happened to Qiao Mo? Is he injured?”

Shao Mingyuan nodded: “Yes, my uncle-in-law injured his face.”

Injured his face?

Physician Li’s complexion changed slightly.

He was a physician, and one who had seen countless injured patients. He understood all too well how terrifying people looked after being burned by fire.

“When did this happen?”

“Over two months ago. Word recently reached the capital, and now everyone knows.”

Over two months? At that time, he had been in the south and hadn’t paid attention at all!

Damn that Prince Rui, actually keeping outside affairs completely secret. No wonder he said entering the prince’s mansion was no different from being imprisoned!

Physician Li immediately blamed Prince Rui, completely forgetting that the man had no idea about his connection to the Qiao family, so how could he have specifically informed him of this matter?

“So you want me to treat Qiao Mo’s facial burns?” Physician Li glanced at Shao Mingyuan, thinking: Didn’t expect this brat to have some conscience. Just wondering how much he’s willing to pay.

He wanted to test his sincerity.

“Very well, having me treat his injuries isn’t impossible, but you must agree to several conditions.” Physician Li said methodically.

Shao Mingyuan’s eyes were deep as he said gently: “Please state your conditions, Divine Physician.”

He could see that this divine physician probably had old ties with his in-laws’ family. Perhaps even without agreeing to any conditions, the physician would still treat his uncle-in-law.

But he was unwilling to take that risk. This was the only way he could show some care for his uncle-in-law.

“First, you go tell Prince Rui that this old man doesn’t want to stay in Prince Rui’s mansion anymore, and Prince Rui must not interfere with my comings and goings. Second, while this old man is in the capital, you must be responsible for my safety. As for the third condition, I haven’t thought of it yet – this old man will demand it later. How about it, can you agree to these?”