Lin Hong had been exceptionally exhausted lately. The completion of Jujing Garden’s sleeping quarters was in sight, but there were still many details that needed deliberation. Lin Hong burned the midnight oil every night studying blueprints and racking his brains. The display arrangements for the investiture ceremony banquet were also a difficult task to complete. Besides teaching the Hanlin Academy eunuchs daily, that ancient pine tree he needed to create from nothing was utterly draining his mental and physical energy. First, he would sketch the ideal tree shape in his mind, then carefully select from the tree branches and stumps provided by the imperial garden’s gardeners. He used woodworking tools to process the thick branches, while the graceful lines of the finer branches were usually formed by bending them one by one with his bare hands. Even with apprentice helpers, if he saw their work didn’t meet his standards, he would inevitably redo it himself. He always strived for perfection in his work. Even if others praised the branches he designed, he would silently examine them repeatedly. When he noticed what he felt were flaws, he would modify them again and again. Facing the ancient pine daily, he would often stand working for six or seven hours straight, during which he wouldn’t even want to stop to drink water or eat. After revising Jujing Garden’s blueprints at night, he had less than two hours left for sleep.

After many such days, he looked quite haggard. On this day, while assembling tree branches as usual in the eastern corridor of Daqing Hall, he suddenly felt dizzy and swayed. Zhang Zhibei, the Director of Palace Affairs who was watching his work, quickly reached out to steady him. Seeing his pale complexion and dark circles around his eyes, he immediately called several young eunuchs to escort Scholar Xuanyi to the Hanlin Medical Academy.

Seeing that Director Zhang had sent someone, the Hanlin Medical Academy didn’t dare delay and immediately invited Guo Siqi to diagnose Lin Hong. After Imperial Physician Guo examined him through observation, listening, questioning, and pulse-taking, he determined it was caused by fatigue. He instructed Lin Hong to rest temporarily in the Medical Academy and not to work anymore that day, and had Han Suwen massage Lin Hong’s head and neck. After a moment, Lin Hong recovered his senses. Seeing his complexion improve, Han Suwen smiled and suggested he go to the hall to smell fragrances and taste tea.

The Medical Academy’s main hall was bright and clean, with fragrance dominated by borneol drifting from the incense burner, refreshing the mind and clearing the senses. Lin Hong slowly entered and, under Han Suwen’s introduction, began looking up at the portraits of famous physicians from past dynasties hanging in the hall. The first few paintings depicted legendary doctors familiar to the world, such as Bian Que, Hua Tuo, Zhang Zhongjing, and Sun Simiao, followed by some imperial physicians of the current dynasty, mostly famous medical officials from the Hanlin Medical Academy.

Realizing the identity of those later physicians, Lin Hong’s heartbeat accelerated, his breathing gradually became rapid, and his forward steps grew increasingly heavy. When he was about to reach the last portrait, he hesitated somewhat, but under Han Suwen’s enthusiastic guidance, he finally continued walking slowly toward that last imperial physician.

It was indeed him. That gaunt face and stern expression were exactly the same as in his memory. Lin Hong suddenly felt blood rushing to his head, unconsciously clutched his chest, and began gasping for breath.

Han Suwen remained completely unaware, staring at the portrait of his idol with fervent eyes, still introducing eloquently: “This is Zhang Yunqiao, Imperial Physician Zhang, the Great Imperial Physician most trusted by His Majesty, who has cured many people… Not only is his medical skill excellent, he probably became immortal too. Praying to his portrait for help is especially effective. I always worship him before exams. Unfortunately, last time during exams, this hall was being renovated and the famous physicians’ portraits were taken down and stored in the warehouse, so I couldn’t pray to him for blessings, which is why I failed…”

His narration was interrupted by a “thud” – the sound of the unconscious Lin Hong’s head hitting a nearby pillar. Han Suwen looked aside in surprise and saw Lin Hong crossing paths with the wooden pillar, falling diagonally.

Lin Hong fell into darkness and chaos. In a moment, he seemed to regain consciousness and found himself transformed into a four or five-year-old child, with fragmentary images occasionally flashing before his eyes:

His mother, with red swollen eyes, opened his bedroom door, took his hand, and said: “Hongning, come, let’s go see your father.”

His mother led him into a place like a dark tunnel, where there were locked doors with several guards standing beside each one. They looked at the credentials in his mother’s hand and coldly unlocked the doors. His mother thus led him toward the deepest part of that cold, damp tunnel with prison cells on both walls.

A man emerged from the innermost cell, carrying a medical box. Upon discovering the mother and child, he stood still and coldly observed them.

His mother’s whole body trembled. Overcome with rage, she rushed forward and loudly demanded of the man: “Why are you here? What have you done to my husband?”

The man didn’t answer. His mother, usually such a gentle lady, was now unable to suppress her overwhelming indignation and began striking the man repeatedly on the head and face. The man didn’t dodge, letting her hit him many times before grasping her wrist, pushing her away, then striding out with large steps, disappearing into the light at the entrance.

He followed his distraught mother into the cell and saw his father lying in a pile of straw on the ground, his prison clothes covered with bloodstains from wounds, most already dried to brown, eyes tightly closed, brow deeply furrowed, without any trace of color, looking like a stone sculpture.

His mother tested his father’s breathing. Her expression and movements instantly froze. After a long time, she embraced his father and wailed.

He just stood to the side watching blankly, not yet understanding that this was death, and what his father’s death meant.

His mother suppressed her grief and summoned strength to change his father into clothes she had brought, and combed his hair. When she lifted his father’s head, she seemed to feel something, quickly turned his father on his side, parted the hair at the back of his head, and searched intently.

From there, she slowly extracted a silver needle, its purple-red bloodstains at the tip making the needle point’s gleam particularly bright.

Staring at that cold point of light, he couldn’t stop trembling, feeling deep fear about the loss of life for the first time.

The prison cell scene gradually faded, replaced by his mother’s room during her final moments.

Her trembling hand picked up a wooden box from beside her pillow and handed it to him.

He opened it in bewilderment, unprepared for that cold gleam of the needle to pierce his eyes once again.

“That person… was called Zhang Yunqiao, Imperial Physician Zhang Yunqiao…”

His mother murmured with her last breath.

This was the nightmare that had repeatedly appeared over the years, impossible to escape, often occurring between sleep and waking, making him unable to distinguish whether it was a dream or memories escaping from the depths of his locked heart. From childhood to adulthood, he didn’t know how many times this nightmare had awakened him, often leaving him in tears or even crying out loudly. Fortunately, there was Luo Wei – every time she heard him cry out, she would rush to his side, hold him, and comfort him softly: “Sister is here, don’t be afraid…”

Lin Hong slowly opened his eyes. The air was filled with warm medicinal fragrance, and because of the surrounding quiet, he could even hear the bubbling sound of medicinal liquid boiling in the pot over the fire.

He sat up from the couch, feeling the scene before him swaying, momentarily confused about where he was.

In a corner of the room was a small tea stove with a clay pot for brewing medicine on it. A graceful young woman with her back to him was sitting beside the stove, fanning the fire with a cattail fan, occasionally looking down to check the color of the liquid in the pot. After a moment, probably feeling the heat was about right, she stood up, gently stretched her waist, and sighed with relief.

Lin Hong’s eyes moistened. He walked toward her with floating steps and embraced her from behind.

She was startled and struggled briefly, then realized it was him, became quiet, and obediently nestled in his embrace, maintaining silence.

As if afraid she would suddenly escape, he held her tighter, his chin lightly resting on her forehead. He closed his eyes, controlling the sourness in his nose, and called out like talking in his sleep the name that had been lingering in his heart: “Luo Wei…”

Her whole body trembled, and her posture instantly became stiff. Then she gently broke free from his embrace, turned to face him, and tried to smile: “Teacher Lin, the medicine is ready. Let me pour you a bowl.”

Liu Luo Wei had been quite troubled lately. Seeing the Empress Dowager’s poor health, she had searched everywhere and spent heavily to buy many rare medicinal materials and supplements to send to Cifu Palace, only to have them returned untouched by the Empress Dowager, who had someone deliver this message: “This old body is weak and fears being unable to handle such strong tonics. Lady Liu should use them herself. If there’s anything wrong with your heart, liver, intestines, or lungs, please treat them quickly and bear His Majesty another prince soon.”

After pondering these words several times, Liu Luo Wei sent people to invite Cheng Yuan to Furong Pavilion. Only after repeated invitations did Cheng Yuan reluctantly come, bowing and asking what she needed.

Liu Luo Wei told him about the Empress Dowager returning the gifts and asked: “All these years I’ve served the Empress Dowager with utmost dedication, yet she has never favored me. Previously, following Master Cheng’s reminder, I rarely cook for His Majesty anymore and no longer dance, yet why does the Empress Dowager remain so cold toward me?”

Cheng Yuan said: “The Empress Dowager spent the first half of her life wandering with the Late Emperor, and the second half in this palace that’s like a battlefield. What kind of person hasn’t she seen? She has observed what you’ve done, and she knows your intentions without looking. No matter how much you honor her in the future, she will probably find it difficult to eliminate her prejudice against you.”

Liu Luo Wei dismissed her attendants and smiled at Cheng Yuan: “Master Cheng, please tell me what the Empress Dowager has seen me do.”

Cheng Yuan said indifferently: “The Imperial Kitchen, Hanlin Academy, and Ceremonial Department’s massive falsification of accounts probably began three years ago, precisely when His Majesty had you replace Pei Shangshi as the imperial food taster. Initially, you only substituted for Pei Shangshi in tasting imperial meals or cooking for His Majesty, but later you interfered in supervising the Imperial Kitchen’s accounts. From then on, accounts related to imperial meals and banquets became unclear.”

Liu Luo Wei chuckled: “Master Cheng, watch your words. I’m just a weak woman – how could I command those officials to do such things?”

“Therefore, you must have already cultivated people in the Internal Palace Administration and the Bureau of Palace Affairs beforehand,” Cheng Yuan said. “You used the Imperial Kitchen, Hanlin Academy, and Ceremonial Department to accumulate wealth, then used the obtained funds to continue bribing court officials. After several rounds, you probably have many loyal followers both in the palace and at court.”

Liu Luo Wei didn’t deny it, sighing softly: “I come from humble origins and have no foundation in the palace. If I don’t find some people who can help me when needed, I would have probably disappeared silently in the inner palace long ago.”

“You should stop, my lady. Continuing will inevitably bring trouble upon yourself. The Empress Dowager has long seen through your intentions. Seeing His Majesty’s exclusive favor toward you, but finding it inconvenient to speak directly, she devised the method of recruiting civilian women to enrich the Royal Kitchen. In the end, by chance, Wu Zhenzhen appeared and changed your situation of controlling and manipulating the Imperial Kitchen. With her there, even if you give birth, you can’t resume control of imperial food tasting, so there’s no reason to supervise those accounts…” Cheng Yuan paused, deliberately looked at Liu Luo Wei, and continued, “Speaking of this, shouldn’t you explain Wu Zhenzhen’s encounter with danger outside the palace?”

“What danger? It has nothing to do with me. Master Cheng, please don’t make baseless accusations,” Liu Luo Wei said coldly.

Cheng Yuan bowed to her: “Cheng Yuan spoke out of turn. Please forgive me, my lady.”

Liu Luo Wei showed a gentle smile again: “Master Cheng, you’re being too serious. I know every word you say comes from the heart and is for my own good. I have no relatives in the palace and am very grateful for your care and protection. I would like to take you as my adoptive father. From now on, I will serve you like a father, and I hope you can also regard me as a daughter. Please speak well of me before the Empress Dowager and give me guidance in all matters…”

“This old slave doesn’t have such fortune,” Cheng Yuan interrupted, raising his voice slightly. “I’ve said these things to you today only because I think you bear some resemblance to someone I once knew, so I couldn’t help but offer some reminders. As for how you should conduct yourself in the future, please consider it yourself. How dare this old slave interfere in your affairs again?”

Having said this, Cheng Yuan turned to leave, but Liu Luo Wei called out: “Master Cheng!”

Cheng Yuan stopped but didn’t turn around.

Liu Luo Wei stood up, slowly walked to face him, and asked with a meaningful smile: “How is Lady Ju doing lately?”