“Pollen?” Feng Jiu walked further into the courtyard, putting some distance between herself and Master Lanyue’s bedroom, before finally looking around.

“Steward Long, this courtyard of yours has hardly any flowering plants at all — it’s all lush trees and grass. Where would pollen come from?”

“It drifts in from elsewhere.” Long Yan looked rather helpless. Although the estate was vast, with a great deal of surrounding land belonging to them.

But pollen drifting through the air couldn’t be contained no matter what — one couldn’t expect every flower in the world to simply vanish.

“Is the Estate Master allergic to pollen?” Feng Jiu frowned.

“Allergic?” Long Yan thought it over, quickly grasping the meaning of the term. He nodded, saying earnestly, “In any case, every year around March or April, the number of times the Estate Master’s condition flares up increases — that’s exactly the season when flowers bloom.”

Feng Jiu carefully surveyed the surroundings — indeed there weren’t many flowering spots, yet the scent of flowers was still present.

“Strange. With an estate this large, the floral scent outside shouldn’t be this strong.”

Long Yan hesitated before saying, “To be honest, our estate has another courtyard… that one is planted entirely with camellias.”

“Camellias?” Camellia pollen wasn’t actually that strong, but for someone especially sensitive to pollen, it could still have an effect.

It was currently the camellia blooming season, and camellias bloomed for quite a long stretch. If he was truly sensitive even to camellia pollen, then other flowers would likely affect him even more.

“Actually, the camellia’s pollen scent really isn’t strong at all. If anything, among all flowers, it’s one with particularly little pollen scent.”

Feng Jiu looked at Long Yan and, after a moment, asked, “Does someone important live there?”

Long Yan seemed reluctant to bring up that courtyard, but since he was seeking help from a divine physician, and since the physician herself was asking, he had no choice but to answer. “Indeed very important. It’s… the Estate Master’s father.”

So it was the Estate Master’s father — but why did he seem so reluctant to mention it?

“May I go take a look? Don’t worry, I won’t barge in recklessly. I just want to see what kind of camellia it is.”

This request made Long Yan even more uncomfortable.

Even the servants rarely dared approach the old Estate Master’s quarters. Aside from a handful of attendants who had served him for years, no one else was permitted to enter casually.

But the divine physician wanted to look at the type of camellia — perhaps that could even help with the Estate Master’s condition…

Yet, given the old Estate Master’s current state, what if the physician encountered him directly?

The Estate Master would absolutely not be pleased to have outsiders see the old Estate Master. So he…

Seeing his hesitation, Feng Jiu simply said, “Since it’s inconvenient, then…”

“I’ll take you to see it.” Long Yan finally steeled himself and said, “But, sir, the old Estate Master’s condition isn’t good. He… he’s suffered a chronic illness for years — it’s an affliction of the heart, so…”

“Don’t worry, I won’t disturb the old gentleman. I’ll just take a look, and if I happen to encounter him, I’ll withdraw on my own.”

Feng Jiu understood — every family had its own difficulties to bear, its own unspeakable matters. She would never go probing into things on her own.

Long Yan waved a hand, his manner ever respectful. “Please, this way.”

Feng Jiu walked alongside him toward the rear courtyard.

The closer they got to their destination, the stronger the camellia fragrance grew, and soon a quiet, secluded courtyard came into view.

Even before entering, one could sense that air of stillness — stillness bordering on deathly silence.

The courtyard walls were very tall, completely blocking any view of the inside from outside. Climbing up the high walls were many green plants — no flowers, only leaves.

The camellia fragrance drifting out from within was already quite strong by the time they reached this point.

Feng Jiu stood outside, utterly unable to see what lay within — not even a shadow of a camellia blossom was visible.

She turned her head to glance at Long Yan.

Long Yan sighed helplessly — since he’d already brought her this far, the Estate Master was certainly going to be displeased anyway, so… well!

“Sir, let me take you in to look.” Long Yan said flatly.

Feng Jiu nodded. It seemed quiet within — the old Estate Master probably wasn’t in this area.

She only needed to look around this part; there was no need to go too far inside.

The two of them walked in, encountering no guarding servants along the way — after all, this was their own family’s property, and besides, the household was essentially managed by Long Yan; everyone treated seeing him as good as seeing the Estate Master himself.

So with Long Yan bringing in a guest, no one would raise any objection.

Though those who saw Long Yan bringing in an unfamiliar face were still somewhat surprised, none of them said anything about it.

The courtyard was indeed filled entirely with camellias — white camellias, symbolizing purity and beauty.

A sacred white, a pure and elegant white, an otherworldly white — at a glance, the courtyard full of blooming camellias looked as if it had been blanketed in a layer of pristine snow.

Feng Jiu had never seen such a beautiful sea of flowers; just stepping in, she felt immersed in a sense of cleanliness.

Yes, exactly that — a feeling of cleanliness, clean to the point of containing not a single impurity.

“Sir, the entire courtyard is planted almost exclusively with this single variety of camellia — I’ve hardly ever seen a second kind.”

Long Yan explained to her, more cautious and solemn than anyone else when it came to matters concerning the Estate Master’s illness. “Sir, do you see anything wrong with these camellias?”

Feng Jiu examined the camellias carefully, bending down to inspect the pollen within the blossoms, and then lowered her head to smell them for quite a while.

Long Yan didn’t dare disturb her, simply standing by and watching.

After some time had passed, Feng Jiu finally spoke. “Camellias are mild by nature — both their fragrance and their pollen are very benign. What I mean is, under normal circumstances, camellia scent and pollen shouldn’t provoke this kind of aggressive reaction.”

Seeing Long Yan looking somewhat lost, she explained further. “Of course, if someone is especially sensitive to pollen in general, even camellia pollen could cause a reaction. It’s just that, in all my years practicing medicine, very few people have ever shown sensitivity to camellia pollen specifically.”

“But our Estate Master, he…”

“If he’s truly sensitive to this degree, I’d suggest letting me take his pulse to be certain.”

Earlier, when she’d gone in, she hadn’t even had a clear look at Master Lanyue — not his features, not even his build. He’d been in the inner hall while she remained outside — hadn’t she been blasted straight back out before she’d even had the chance to enter properly?

Without taking his pulse, she couldn’t diagnose anything. The crucial point now was that she genuinely didn’t believe anyone could be this sensitive to camellia pollen — after all, this was just an ordinary variety of camellia, nothing unusual.

Unfortunately, since Master Lanyue wouldn’t allow her to take his pulse, there was nothing more she could do.