Year 32 of the Yuanfeng Era, Twenty-eighth Day of the Second Month.

This was my last night in the Crown Prince’s residence. Tomorrow I would leave.

In half a year, not only had no one seen through my disguise, I had lived well.

This was thanks to Suzhi’s meticulous care, thanks to my status as the Shen family’s eldest miss, and also thanks to Bai Zhenshan’s good connections.

Among the Imperial Guards, there was someone who called Bai Zhenshan brother—Chen Yi.

Bai Zhenshan asked him to secretly look after me.

I had my own small courtyard. Three meals a day were delivered into the courtyard.

For the first three months, besides eating, I just slept, never even getting out of bed.

Publicly it was said the female physician had been frightened ill by the Crown Prince residence’s incident.

The best medicine in this world isn’t ginseng or angelica—it’s sleep. My five viscera and six bowels damaged by premature birth, my strength depleted by performing the Thirteen Ghost Gate Needles…

In these three months of drowsy sleep, they slowly recovered.

Three months later, I “recovered from illness and emerged.”

I asked Chen Yi to help me get some ordinary medicinal herbs from Bai Zhenshan and began helping people still alive in the Crown Prince’s residence treat their illnesses.

I did this with a purpose—to find out who was the mastermind behind framing the Crown Prince’s residence.

At this moment, those trapped in the Crown Prince’s residence, having experienced great changes, had no confidence whatsoever in their future fate.

Life and death hung on the nobles’ whims.

When people overthink, they become ill.

No one suspected my purpose. Everyone thought I, Shen Duruo, had a bodhisattva’s heart.

As the saying goes, wild geese leave traces, wind leaves sounds.

When someone does evil, no matter how meticulous and careful, they will leave traces.

Zhao Lin, I will definitely find the person who framed you.

Even if after finding them, this name can only lie forever in my records.

Another three months later, I finally found clues that Consort Xia’s personal maid had framed the Crown Prince.

After Suzhi learned of this, she was grief-stricken. That night she hanged herself from a beam with a bedsheet.

Consort Xia had originally been a maid in the laundry bureau. Suzhi, seeing her skillful hands, recommended her to the Crown Princess.

This was inviting a wolf into the house.

Looking at Suzhi’s body swaying from the beam, I didn’t shed a single tear. In my heart I cursed three times: Damn it, damn it, damn it.

In this world, good people are always blaming themselves, always feeling guilty, while bad people…

Bad people ascend to high positions, rule the realm, taking both empire and beauties into their embrace.

……

Year 1 of the Yonghe Era, First Day of the Third Month.

Midnight, third quarter.

Carrying my bundle, I followed Chen Yi out the back gate of the Crown Prince’s residence.

I stepped one foot over the threshold and was about to turn back to say thanks when Chen Yi reached out and pushed me.

“Female Physician Shen, walk forward. Don’t look back.”

I listened to him and walked forward step by step.

At the end of the road was a carriage.

Bai Zhenshan stood beside the carriage, constantly standing on tiptoe to look around. Suddenly his gaze fell on me, and he came running toward me.

I called out, “Uncle Bai.”

Bai Zhenshan’s eyes immediately reddened. “Come, come, come back home with Uncle. Your aunt made your favorite…”

“Uncle Bai.”

I gently interrupted him. “The capital no longer has a place for me. I’m not going back.”

“Then where will you go?”

“East, south, west, north—anywhere is fine.”

I smiled. “A famine year can’t starve someone with a skill. Uncle Bai, see me off!”

Bai Zhenshan stared at me intently. After a long while, he suddenly laughed heartily. “Come, Uncle will see you off.”

He personally drove the carriage, sending me out of the city, sending me five hundred li away.

Before parting, he gave me the Bai family head’s token. With this token, I could go to any Bai family medicine shop and draw money.

The Bai family had thirty-two medicine shops throughout the Hua Kingdom.

Bai Zhenshan said, “Miss, even if you just go in and draw one or two taels of silver, let me know you’re still alive.”

“Uncle Bai, I’m not the type to seek death and destruction.”

Bai Zhenshan, a stalwart man, upon hearing these words, turned away and wiped his tears.

When seeing me off, he said the same thing.

“Miss, don’t look back. Walk forward…”

I wouldn’t look back.

Looking back, mountains and rivers had changed, old friends had passed.

I would keep walking forward, seeing mountains and seas for them, enduring wind and rain, bright sun and clear moon.

Seeing every landscape in the world.

I would light incense for them at Qingming, burn paper for them at Zhongyuan, recite the Rebirth Sutra for them again and again.

Come back in the next life.

Perhaps we can meet again.

……

Year 3 of the Yonghe Era, Twentieth Day of the Sixth Month.

In Liangzhou City, I encountered Dong Chengfeng.

From then on, he played music, I practiced medicine, traveling together as companions.

……

Year 5 of the Yonghe Era, Twelfth Month.

On Dong Chengfeng’s birthday, drunk, he said to me, “Shen Duruo, if it really doesn’t work out, how about we make do with each other?”

I poked his forehead. “We’re both living well—why make do?”

……

Year 7 of the Yonghe Era, Fifteenth Day of the First Month.

We traveled to Hetian, exotic frontier scenery.

During the Lantern Festival, a young lady invited Dong Chengfeng to speak sweet words under the moon.

But Dong Chengfeng fell ill.

When I brought him medicine, he said miserably, “Shen Duruo, after great difficulty a young lady takes a liking to me, but my body won’t cooperate.”

I smiled. “This is called ‘no affinity.'”

……

Year 8 of the Yonghe Era, Fifteenth Day of the Seventh Month.

Midnight.

I dreamed my child was trapped in a great fire, calling to heaven and earth but receiving no answer.

Waking, I touched my face—it was covered in tears.

I suddenly felt grief rise from within and wailed loudly.

Dong Chengfeng, hearing the sound, rushed in and asked what was wrong.

These years he had asked many times. I never spoke.

But at this moment, I couldn’t hold it in.

I needed him to tell me this was just a dream, that my child was somewhere in this world, living well.

After listening, he fell into long silence.

As dawn approached, he asked me:

“So you treat people and only charge very little money, or even no money at all, and are willing to stake your life—you’re accumulating virtuous deeds for that child?”

“There’s no secret in this world that can be hidden forever.”

I said through tears, “I shouldn’t have brought her into this world. Her identity makes her dangerous wherever she goes and brings danger to others. Dong Chengfeng, I’m heavily sinful.”

I needed to atone for myself and for her.

Saving one life is better than building a seven-story pagoda.

These years, I’d saved countless lives. I hoped for nothing else—only that she would live peacefully and joyfully in this world, that those raising her would live long lives.

……

Year 8 of the Yonghe Era, Tenth Day of the Tenth Month.

Dong Chengfeng bid me farewell.

I asked where he was going. He said he wanted to do something.

I asked what. He said mysteriously, “Don’t ask. Even if you ask, I won’t tell. Mountains and waters, one journey—you and I each have our own destiny.”

He also said, “Shen Duruo, let yourself off the hook!”

Whether I could let myself off, I didn’t know.

I only knew that days pass one by one, years pass one by one. If one day I grew tired, that would be the time to leave.

Life has no opposite shore—there’s only the scenery along the way.

What can be seen and what cannot—all must be looked at.

At this moment, he suddenly said, “Can you give me that record book you treasure?”

I asked, “Why?”

He said, “The bitter days are all over. Why do you still keep records? Ahead are only good days.”

I asked, “Aren’t you afraid of trouble?”

“Being afraid is useless.”

He was nonchalant. “We’ve known each other for a while. You should at least leave me a keepsake.”

I frowned. “You mean we won’t meet again?”

He smiled gently.

“Yes, farewell forever!”