As the morning roosters crowed, Chen Ji detached himself from the battlefield of his dreams. He slowly rose, hobbled into the main hall of the medical clinic, and sat on a bamboo chair, waiting for Xi Bing to arrive.

Liang Mao’er, dressed in a grey cloth outfit, had also woken up early and gone out to fetch water.

Chen Ji offered to help sweep, but Liang Mao’er pressed him back into the bamboo chair, saying, “Your injury still needs a month to heal; don’t move around too much. I can handle all the chores at the clinic by myself.”

Chen Ji asked curiously, “You can probably tell that no one minds you staying here, Brother Mao’er, so there’s no need for you to rush to do all the work.”

Liang Mao’er whispered, “It doesn’t matter how much work I do, as long as you don’t blame my brother for not helping yesterday. He has his reasons.”

“Why did he set those three ‘no-help’ rules for himself?”

Chen Ji asked doubtfully, “Did he often deal with the Directorate of Ceremonial in the past?”

Liang Mao’er, carrying the shoulder pole, stood in the main hall in silence for a long time before finally saying, “Actually, I lied before. My sister-in-law didn’t completely disappear after she left.”

“Where did she go?”

Liang Mao’er lowered his head, “When my sister-in-law left the Ning Dynasty, she was discovered by the Secret Intelligence Bureau. Tian Ma intercepted her in a border town, and she was no match for Tian Ma; she was captured on the spot. At that time, the Grand Secretary sent someone to find my brother and told him that he wouldn’t have to imprison my sister-in-law but could send her back to Luocheng. The conditions were that my brother could never be an enemy of the Directorate of Ceremonial again, and he would also have to do three things for them.”

“Then why didn’t your sister-in-law come back?”

Chen Ji suddenly realized that the Directorate of Ceremonial must have suspected the female swordswoman’s identity long ago and had been waiting for her to flee so they could use her to control Liang Gou’er.

Liang Mao’er smiled, “My brother agreed to the Grand Secretary’s terms, but instead of having the Directorate of Ceremonial send my sister-in-law back, he chose to have them release her.”

Chen Ji was silent for a moment; he hadn’t expected such an answer. “That girl Yan’er from Hongyi Alley, she looks a lot like your sister-in-law, doesn’t she?”

“Yes.” Liang Mao’er chuckled good-naturedly as he went out the door, “I’m going to fetch water; I still have to cook later.”

Just as he stepped out, he saw Miss Xi Bing hurrying along the bluestone path of Anxi Street, her skirt lifted. She brushed past Liang Mao’er right at the doorstep.

Chen Ji smiled and rose to greet her, “Miss Xi Bing, why are you at the clinic so early?”

Upon seeing him, Miss Xi Bing quickly said, “Chen Ji, I was just looking for you. Bai Banruo was injured by some villain again, and Madam wants you to treat it. I don’t know who could be so malicious as to harm Bai Banruo twice! It’s truly despicable!”

Chen Ji lowered his head slightly, feeling a bit ashamed. “Miss Xi Bing, I can’t go to the mansion to treat it. A few days ago, I was stabbed by a villain, and the wound on my leg hasn’t healed yet.”

According to intelligence transmission protocols, Chen Ji should ideally convey important information directly to Consort Yun to avoid miscommunication. However, Jin Zhu’s people are still watching from the second floor across the street. If he were to go to the mansion with a limp, it would certainly arouse Jin Zhu’s suspicion.

Chen Ji stood by the mahogany counter, picked up a brush, and said, “I’ll write you a prescription. You can take the medicine back later and apply it externally to Bai Banruo.”

Xi Bing hesitated for a moment. “Alright.”

Chen Ji weighed the medicinal herbs, wrapped them in oil paper, and then tied them with hemp rope. Once tied, he tucked the prescription into a gap in the hemp rope and said, “Go back. Apply it externally twice a day; Bai Banruo will be fine.”

Xi Bing took the medicinal package from his hand and returned to Feiyun Courtyard.

Outside the main building of Feiyun Courtyard, Consort Yun’s gentle voice could be heard from inside: “Bai Li, Mr. Wang says you’ve been dozing off in class lately. This won’t do; your father will certainly speak with you when he returns.”

“Mr. Wang is a great scholar,” Bai Li grumbled, “Why is he talking bad about people behind their backs?”

Consort Yun playfully slapped Bai Li’s palm, feigning anger. “That’s not talking bad about you; it’s being responsible for you. Don’t speak about Mr. Wang like that again.”

“Understood…”

At that moment, Xi Bing quickly stepped into the room. “Madam, Doctor Chen was injured and couldn’t come, but he wrote a prescription and prepared the medicine. Doctor Chen said Bai Banruo only has an external injury and will be fine with some topical medicine.”

“Xi Bing, put the medicine package here for now. Go tell Xi Tang that the Prince sent a fast horse with a message: he has finished gathering military provisions and is ready to return. Tell Xi Tang to have people thoroughly clean the mansion, especially Jing’an Hall and Mingzheng Hall; even the glazed roof needs to be wiped clean.”

After speaking, Consort Yun turned to Bai Li and said, “Bai Li, go review your lessons. You need to give me your calligraphy practice tonight, or I’ll cut off your monthly allowance… Bai Li?”

Bai Li came back to her senses, stood up, took the medicine package from Xi Bing, and pulled out the prescription tucked inside. She examined it meticulously, over and over, but found no clues other than a few minor typos. However, ordinarily, the medicine package should have been given directly to a servant. Why would her mother have Xi Bing leave the package in the main building and then find an excuse to send Xi Bing away? There must be something wrong here.

At this moment, countless questions flooded Bai Li’s mind. She suddenly remembered: when she had just returned from Donglin Academy, she had also seen Chen Ji in Feiyun Courtyard, but hadn’t paid attention at the time. Now, knowing Chen Ji’s identity was suspicious, remembering his past house calls made her feel that he was shrouded in even more mystery. Outsiders might not understand the situation, but she was familiar with the clinic staff and naturally knew that the three apprentices were not qualified to make house calls. Why would someone being investigated by the Secret Plotting Bureau be connected to Feiyun Courtyard?

At this moment, Consort Yun casually took the prescription from Princess Bai Li’s hand. “What’s wrong, Bai Li? Why are you suddenly so interested in this prescription?”

Bai Li shook her head, “Nothing, just looking to see what medicine the Imperial Medical Bureau prescribed for Bai Banruo…”

Outside Taiping Medical Clinic, an ox cart slowly came to a halt. Shopkeeper Yuan jumped down from the cart and, smiling, walked into the clinic, bowing with cupped hands. “Imperial Physician Yao, it’s time to replenish your medicinal herbs again; I’m here to deliver them.”

Old Yao glanced up at him. “Let’s see the quality.”

He slowly approached the ox cart, untied a sack on the cart, and reached to the bottom of the sack to pull out a handful of monk fruit, holding it in his palm to examine it. Old Yao cast a glance at Shopkeeper Yuan, then tossed the monk fruit back into the bag. “The quality looks good; it seems you were diligent when sourcing the herbs.”

Shopkeeper Yuan said with a smile, “When has our Bailu Pavilion’s merchandise ever had a problem? It’s always the best. Take a look, see what herbs you want to stock up on.”

Old Yao pulled a list from his sleeve. “Follow this list, and also add ten aged wild ginseng roots. Remember, I won’t accept any that aren’t at least fifty years old.”

Chen Ji paused in the clinic. *Why would Master suddenly need ten ginseng roots?*

But he heard Shopkeeper Yuan outside the door, sounding troubled: “Imperial Physician Yao, who would just carry ten ginseng roots around? There aren’t any on the cart, only common medicines.”

Imperial Physician Yao calmly replied, “No matter, just deliver them before evening. Make a note of it, and I’ll inspect the quality of the other herbs.”

At that moment, Liang Mao’er returned to the clinic, striding briskly with his shoulder pole. Chen Ji immediately saw a long gash on the chest of Liang Mao’er’s grey cloth outfit. “Brother Mao’er, what happened to your clothes?”

Liang Mao’er looked down when he heard this and immediately became anxious. “It must have been the person who just bumped into me! I’ll go find him! This is She Dengke’s clothes!”

When Liang Gou’er and Liang Mao’er came to the clinic, they hadn’t brought any change of clothes, so he had to borrow She Dengke’s clothes for now. Now that the clothes were torn, Liang Mao’er was distressed. How was he going to explain this to She Dengke?

Old Yao, his face grim, held back Liang Mao’er, who wanted to confront the thief. “It must have been a habitual thief; you won’t find them. You go fetch water back to the courtyard first. Later, ask Liu Quxing to mend it with needle and thread.”

Liang Mao’er was so anxious he was almost in tears. “But it will still show after it’s mended! She Dengke only has two sets of clothes, and his family isn’t well-off…”

Old Yao sighed, “Don’t be sad; he won’t blame you.” The usually harsh Old Yao couldn’t bring himself to be harsh with Liang Mao’er.

While Old Yao and Liang Mao’er were talking, Shopkeeper Yuan walked back into the clinic with a smile. He stood next to Chen Ji and whispered, “Xi Bing just came, did she confirm the time and location for the second delivery?”

Chen Ji replied calmly, “Tonight at midnight, at Hongyi Gold Exchange, you’ll still find the madam and mention Luo Tian. Ideally, we shouldn’t conduct two transactions in the same place, but my leg injury makes it impossible for me to meet directly with the person from the mansion. So I had to use the prescription to convey the information and stick with the old location.”

“The old place it is, then.” Shopkeeper Yuan slowly let out a breath and smiled, patting Chen Ji’s shoulder. “Excellent, excellent! With this success, I will report truthfully to the Bureau Chief and recommend you for commendation.”

Chen Ji was silent for a moment. He turned and gazed at Shopkeeper Yuan. “Why did you injure someone today?”

Shopkeeper Yuan chuckled merrily, “I didn’t know if you had done as I instructed. Besides, it’s good for you to know that even if Liang Mao’er and Liang Gou’er are by your side, they won’t be your reliable support. Serve the Military Intelligence Bureau well, and don’t have any other ideas.”

“Understood.”

Chen Ji watched emotionlessly as Shopkeeper Yuan and his assistant departed in the ox cart, then turned and returned to the backyard. Two small tabby cats followed behind the ox cart.

In the courtyard, a crow perched on an apricot tree branch, watching Chen Ji lie on the bamboo chair, growing increasingly calm. Chen Ji slowly closed his eyes, returning to the battlefield of his dreams. There was still much to do today.