“Eldest Young Miss—” Lai Fu had been watching Hua Zhi closely the entire time, and the moment she collapsed, he dove forward. Not daring to touch her directly, he hurriedly untied the large outer cloak from his own shoulders and draped it over the eldest young miss, then raised his voice to a shout: “Go fetch Miss Shaoyao — quickly!”

Haoyue nearly ground her teeth to dust. This was the very move she had been about to use!

She had made thorough inquiries and learned that this Hua Zhi was by no means an easy person to deal with. Someone who dared to contradict even the Emperor himself would never swallow an insult when faced with her provocation. She had planned that the moment Hua Zhi talked back, she would feign a fainting spell — making Hua Zhi culpable. Even if nothing could be done to her outright, making her suffer a little was certain. And above all, she was carrying an imperial child right now!

And yet this person had fainted first — at the exact right moment?!

Shaoyao arrived with remarkable speed. The one who had gone to fetch her was a member of the Seven Lodges Division — within those ranks, everyone knew that Hua Zhi was the Chief’s most treasured person. They took it very seriously.

Shaoyao gave Haoyue a fierce glare as she passed, took Hua Zhi’s pulse in a matter of moments to understand the situation, and without hesitating, she hoisted Hua Zhi onto her back and took off running toward the side hall that served as her quarters in the palace. She even kept up her performance on the way, hurling a warning at Haoyue: “If anything happens to Hua Zhi, don’t think you’ll come out of it well!”

Haoyue was about to explain that she hadn’t done anything, but Shaoyao was already far away with the person on her back. Within the walls of this palace, the only person who dared to run through the halls ignoring every rule of decorum was none other than Shaoyao.

“Your Ladyship…”

“Silence.” Haoyue closed her eyes briefly and turned to walk toward the warm pavilion. In the end, was it not a matter of where the Emperor stood? Everything in this palace came down to that.

Inside the side courtyard, heavy with the fragrance of medicine, Shaoyao ran all the way while calling out, “Master, Master, come quickly!”

A full head of white hair, yet spirited and bright-eyed, with not even a wrinkle on his face — Yu Lao poked his head out, took one look, and stepped outside. “What is the matter?”

“This is Hua Zhi. Please come examine her quickly.” Even as she spoke, Shaoyao was making urgent gestures to her master with her eyes.

Yu Lao did not know what had happened, but he understood his apprentice — who seemed reckless on the surface but had an exceptionally clear sense of right and wrong in the matters that truly counted. The person she chose to protect would not be anything less than worthy. Besides, the name “Hua Zhi” had been ringing in his ears so often they were practically calloused — things like: “Master, this snack was made by Hua Zhi’s idea — delicious, isn’t it?” and “Master, Hua Zhi says there are people on the other side of the sea who look different from us. When we have time, let’s go see together,” and “Master, Hua Zhi thoroughly put someone in their place today — impressive, right? Ha ha ha!” and “Master, all these treats were brought for you by Hua Zhi’s instructions. You’ve eaten so much of her good food — you must be kind to her in the future.” And so on and so forth. For a time, he had even assumed Hua Zhi was the girl’s actual name, only to learn later that the person was in fact called Hua Zhi.

Whatever else might be said, this young woman had clearly been genuinely good to his foolish little apprentice. He had only ever heard what was given to Shaoyao, never what was coaxed out of her. And rightly so — if she had been that sort of person, his apprentice would never have thought well of her, let alone looked out for her.

This was the quarters the Emperor had arranged for the master and apprentice pair, situated close to the imperial study. The attendants here naturally answered to the Emperor. Seeing that Shaoyao had made no move to send anyone away, Yu Lao understood what was needed. He sat down and took Hua Zhi’s pulse.

“How has this child’s body come to be this depleted?” Yu Lao frowned — and this was no performance. It was genuinely rare to see a young woman’s body in such a weakened state, especially in a household of this kind, where one would expect nothing but the finest care and nourishment.

“Hua Zhi has been injured several times. Once she barely kept her life. I’ve been working to restore her ever since, but she has far too much on her plate — she’s never been able to truly rest and recuperate. Half a winter has gone by and there’s barely any improvement. I’ve also been attending her closely — see if there’s anything else that can be done.”

“Have you used gold needles on her?”

“I didn’t dare. You said gold needles stimulate one’s latent potential — use them too often and they lose effectiveness over time. I was afraid that if the need truly arose one day… pfft, pfft, pfft.” Shaoyao clapped a hand over her own mouth. “Right now is exactly the time when her body should be recovering properly. I thought it could come back on its own — but this winter has been far from quiet. She’s taken several blows to her spirit, so naturally…”

Yu Lao withdrew his hand. “Her foundation was fortunately strong enough to begin with, or she would never have survived being put through this. Go and write out the prescriptions you’ve used for her — bring them here for me to look over.”

Shaoyao went to the writing table and quickly wrote out several prescriptions, bringing them back to him. Yu Lao stroked his beard and nodded approvingly. Having such a gifted apprentice was truly a comfort to an old man’s heart. “This is the most recent one in use?”

Shaoyao leaned in for a look. “That’s the last one used. Hua Zhi had been drinking medicine for so long that it ruined her appetite — she couldn’t even eat properly. So I switched her to medicated cuisine instead.”

“That works as well.” Yu Lao handed the prescriptions back to her. “She still needs to rest and recuperate. A young woman’s constitution, once damaged, will bring regrets later that cannot be undone. I’ll write a restorative prescription for her — it won’t ruin her appetite. Use it without worry.”

“Yes, Master.” Shaoyao instantly broke into a smile, then as quickly turned unhappy again. “Master, are there prescriptions you know for health restoration that you haven’t taught me yet? You said you would teach me everything!”

“Can’t an old man with a poor memory be allowed to forget one or two things?” Yu Lao shot her a look. “This prescription isn’t one most people could afford anyway. If it weren’t for your involvement getting me into the palace, it would have been many years since I last treated patients from wealthy households.”

“It’s all this apprentice’s fault, it’s all this apprentice’s fault. Please hurry and write the prescription.” Shaoyao swept her gaze around the room, and seeing that two of the attendants had already quietly disappeared, she felt reassured. “All of you, withdraw. You are not needed here.”

“Yes.”

Once everyone else had retreated to a distance, Shaoyao went to close the door, then walked to the bedside and said softly, “Hua Zhi — there’s no one else here now.”

“If you hadn’t called out soon, I’d have actually fallen asleep.” Hua Zhi opened her eyes and sat up, then got off the bed and greeted Yu Lao with a proper bow. “I have long heard of your great name, and today is the first time I have had the honor of meeting you. This humble woman Hua Zhi pays her respects.”

Yu Lao helped her up. Her eyes were clear and steady, and the sight warmed him. Growing old, one always found joy in seeing capable young people of good character.

“Not many people can make my apprentice actually listen. That alone shows you have treated her with genuine sincerity. She may seem foolish, but she reads people’s hearts better than anyone.”

“Master!” Shaoyao bared her teeth in protest. “You’ve always called me foolish — I’ve been made foolish by you saying it.”

Yu Lao paid her no mind and continued speaking to Hua Zhi. “Your body is ultimately your own — it must be cherished. If things end swiftly and painlessly in the future, that’s one thing. But what one fears is giving others cause to make things difficult for you, forcing you to pay a price you cannot afford to bear. A young woman faces more constraints than a man. You’re a clever young woman — you ought to understand this.”

“I understand the principle. But sometimes it truly is impossible to have both. When someone threatens my life, I must protect myself. When someone threatens the lives of my family, I cannot stand by and watch. The Hua family has so many people depending on me — I must bear that responsibility.” Hua Zhi laughed with a gentle shake of her head. “Health matters a great deal, I know. But some things cannot simply be cast aside. All I can do is try my best to have both. And I am fortunate — I have a physician watching over me, so things will not go too badly. Isn’t that right, Lady Physician?”

Shaoyao made a sound or two of protest, but in the end, she nodded obediently.

Yu Lao shook his head — this was truly a case of one thing taming another. He turned and walked to the writing table to draft the prescription.