The rain continued to fall. Though the road was paved with azure stone, the countless puddles made the carriage ride less than pleasant. Fortunately, the Li Residence was located on West Main Street, so it didn’t take too long to arrive.

The Li Residence’s main gate was tightly shut. The gatekeeper sat in the gatehouse, listlessly cracking sunflower seeds out of boredom. Hearing the knock at the door, he rose with displeasure, patted his bottom, and walked out to open a crack in the door.

“Who is it?”

The coachman asked in a deep voice, “Excuse me, is this the Li Residence?”

“Yes, it is.” Seeing that the coachman’s clothing was of fine quality—a servant from a wealthy household—the gatekeeper’s tone immediately became much more courteous.

Hearing that he’d found the right place, the coachman smiled and said, “Please trouble yourself to inform your master that Physician Li has come to pay a visit.”

“Physician Li?” The gatekeeper craned his neck to look at the carriage quietly parked in front of the residence gate, then quickly nodded, “Please wait a moment, I’ll go report this immediately.”

Lady Jiang, the Rural Lady, was reclining on a beauty couch, having Nanny Dong, who had some knowledge of medicine, massage her eyes.

Nanny Dong silently kneaded and rubbed for Lady Jiang, who let out a long sigh: “My eyes are getting worse and worse. Fortunately, you’re here to provide some relief.”

Nanny Dong consoled her in a gentle, soft voice: “I think the new prescription the Rural Lady obtained from the imperial physician recently has been quite effective.”

Lady Jiang shook her head: “It’s just so-so. My right eye is completely blind now, and I can only see with my left eye. When my left eye goes blind too, life will lose all its meaning.”

“Rural Lady, don’t think like that. Your left eye is fine.”

Lady Jiang glanced at Nanny Dong and smiled: “Don’t try to comfort me. I know my own eyes well. Since switching to the imperial physician’s prescription, this left eye is at best deteriorating more slowly. I’m afraid in another year or two, it really won’t be of any use.”

Nanny Dong fell silent.

After a good while, Lady Jiang shifted to a different reclining position and said lazily, “What, not speaking anymore?”

Nanny Dong pondered for a moment before speaking: “Actually—”

“Actually, what?” Lady Jiang felt drowsiness coming on and asked with closed eyes.

“This servant once heard my master say that for eye ailments like the Rural Lady’s, there is a method of treatment.”

Lady Jiang suddenly opened her eyes and sat up straight. Her remaining left eye blazed with intensity as she stared at Nanny Dong: “What method?”

“My master once said that the Golden Needle Cataract Removal technique can treat this illness.”

“Golden Needle Cataract Removal technique?”

“It involves using golden needles to remove the white obstacles covering the eyeball, and vision can naturally be restored,” Nanny Dong explained.

“If such a method exists, why didn’t you mention it earlier?” Upon hearing that it involved scraping the eye with golden needles, Lady Jiang felt somewhat queasy, but the temptation of regaining her sight made her heart race with excitement.

Nanny Dong quickly said, “It’s not that this servant intentionally concealed it, but I heard from my master that this Golden Needle Cataract Removal technique has long been lost. In today’s world, only one person can perform this technique.”

“Who is it?”

“That elusive Physician Li. This servant heard that the divine physician has come to the Capital, which is why I felt I should mention it to you. If we could invite that divine physician to treat you, the Rural Lady’s eye condition would surely be cured.”

Lady Jiang narrowed her eyes.

From the information she had gathered later, that divine physician was staying at Prince Rui’s residence, so inviting him would likely not be easy.

At this moment, a maid came in to report: “Rural Lady, there’s a guest here to visit.”

“Who is it? A male or female guest?” Lady Jiang was currently in an agitated mood and felt rather indifferent about having visitors.

She hadn’t received any visiting cards in advance. If it were a female guest, it showed a lack of proper etiquette. If it were a male guest, with her son at the government office and the old master having returned to his hometown recently and not yet back, she did not incline to trouble herself with receiving anyone on such a rainy day.

“He says he’s Physician Li, here to visit.”

“Who?”

Lady Jiang’s voice, usually steady and composed, suddenly shot up in pitch, startling the maid delivering the message, who stuttered: “Phy-Physician Li—”

Lady Jiang had already gotten off the beauty couch and walked outside, saying as she went: “Quickly prepare fruits and tea. Remember to notify the kitchen to prepare a first-class banquet for lunch!”

Lady Jiang hurried out of the room and walked quickly through the covered walkway.

Early summer rainy days were still somewhat chilly, and the slanting rain splashed in, making her shiver involuntarily.

The senior maid responsible for Lady Jiang’s daily care quickly chased after her, draping a jacket over Lady Jiang’s shoulders: “Old Madam, be careful not to catch a cold.”

She glanced at Lady Jiang’s appearance and wanted to remind her master that this wasn’t appropriate attire for receiving guests, but seeing her anxious state, she wisely swallowed her words.

“Where is the divine physician?” Lady Jiang rushed to the main gate and asked the gatekeeper.

“He’s waiting in the carriage outside.”

“Fool! Why didn’t you invite him in?” Lady Jiang’s face darkened as she ordered, “Quickly open the main gate!”

Open the main gate?

The gatekeeper was stunned.

Usually, this main gate was rarely opened, yet now they were to open it to welcome a guest? Was this so-called divine physician so prestigious?

Though puzzled, the gatekeeper didn’t dare delay and quickly opened the main gate.

The vermilion-lacquered gate creaked open, and Lady Jiang stepped out, walking quickly forward as she called loudly: “Not knowing that the divine physician was coming to this humble residence, I failed to welcome you properly. Please don’t take offense, Divine Physician.”

The senior maid behind her hurried to follow, holding an umbrella for Lady Jiang.

The carriage curtain lifted, and a tall, slender guard stepped down. The guard turned and extended his hand, but the elderly man inside ignored it and nimbly jumped down from the carriage himself.

Physician Li’s feet touched solid ground, and he looked up at the Li Residence’s main gate, then his gaze fell on Lady Jiang’s face. His small eyes squinted.

Strange, this old woman looked different from the one he’d seen before.

The more Physician Li looked, the less she resembled the previous one. Since he’d only seen her once and so much time had passed, he wasn’t entirely certain, so he confirmed again: “This is the Li Residence?”

Lady Jiang was taken aback by the question but smiled courteously: “Indeed, this is my humble residence. It’s raining outside, please come in quickly, Divine Physician.”

“The place looks right, but how is the master different? This old man remembers that the old lady he saw that day was more pleasant to look at.” Physician Li muttered.

Though he spoke quietly and the sound was masked by the rain, Lady Jiang’s hearing had become exceptionally acute since developing her eye condition, and she heard his self-directed comments crystal clear, immediately causing her face to twitch with anger.

“That’s not right. The person this old man saw that day wasn’t you—that old lady didn’t have eye problems!” Physician Li finally reached a conclusion based on his solid professional knowledge.

Lady Jiang immediately understood what was happening and explained with embarrassment: “Divine Physician, you may not know that our Li family is divided into East and West residences. You might have gone to the West Residence before, which is only separated from the East Residence by one alley—”

Before Lady Jiang could finish speaking, Physician Li turned and jumped back into the carriage, not forgetting to pull Shao Mingyuan, who was disguised as a guard: “So we went to the wrong place. That coachman is truly useless—let’s go quickly!”

At this, Physician Li even sighed with relief: “Fortunately, it’s only one alley away!”

The carriage turned around without hesitation and departed leisurely, leaving only Lady Jiang standing in the wind and rain with exceptionally turbulent emotions.