Late at night.

Deep within the Chen residence, boisterous laughter, music, and the singing of song girls could still be heard.

Chen Liqin’s direct subordinates, unable to wait for the banquet three days later, brought their servants and gifts, arriving in droves and practically wearing down the threshold of the Chen residence.

However, the lively atmosphere of the Chen residence had nothing to do with Mingquan Garden.

At this moment, Chen Ji lay on the elevated bed in Mingquan Garden, staring blankly at the canopy above. Wu Yun lay beside him, also staring blankly.

On the bed, there were three layers of bedding. The bottom layer was a palm mat woven from palm leaves for moisture prevention. The second layer was a freshly fluffed cotton mattress, and the third layer was a silk sheet.

The bed was soft, many times more comfortable than the communal beds in the apprentice dormitory. There was no foot odor or snoring here, yet Chen Ji couldn’t sleep.

He always felt there were many things he needed to do before leaving Luocheng, but for a while, he couldn’t sort them out.

Wu Yun stared with his round, glassy eyes: “Chen Ji, if you really can’t sleep, why don’t you sneak back to the medical hall to sleep and come back at dawn?”

Chen Ji laughed: “I don’t have to live in the medical hall, I just can’t sleep in a new place.” Besides, those people who snore, toss and turn, and kick their legs randomly aren’t in the medical hall now anyway.

Chen Ji opened his mouth and asked: “Wu Yun, after we rescue the county princess, shall we go to sea together? We can also take a boat from Qiming all the way to Lüshunkou, to the Jing Dynasty.”

Wu Yun turned over, sipping with curiosity: “Go find your uncle?”

Chen Ji thought for a moment and said: “Don’t look for anyone, don’t look for anyone. We’ll go into the mountains and be hunters. We’ll build a hut in the mountains and live there. In winter, I’ll take you to catch hibernating bears and silly wild boars. In summer, I’ll take you to dig for frogs and catch cicadas. In late autumn, we’ll pick all the pears and make them into frozen pears to eat… Then we’ll go further north to see the aurora and ride a sled.”

He was immersed in the beautiful hometown that Wu Hongbiao had once described, and even Wu Yun seemed a little yearning.

Chen Ji thought to himself, he was now an official at the Innate realm, wouldn’t he walk horizontally in the mountains? Dealing with animals might be much better than dealing with people.

Wu Yun was curious: “But if you hide in the mountains, there might not be any ice flow on the path of the Mountain Lord. Before you reach the Seeking Dao realm at thirty-six, you can’t live a long life.”

Chen Ji’s tone was relaxed: “What’s the point of living that long? Master said, longevity brings many insults.”

Wu Yun was silent for a moment: “But I see Master is quite happy every day.”

Chen Ji was doubtful: “Happy? The few of us in the medical hall almost bothered him to death every day.”

Wu Yun said casually: “He just says that. Master looks through the crack in the window from the main room and watches you all fight and play in the courtyard, laughing quite happily.”

“Is that so…”

While they were talking, there was a knocking sound from outside Mingquan Garden.

Chen Ji lifted the quilt, got out of bed, put on a large robe, and walked into the courtyard: “Who is it?”

Chen Liqin’s warm voice said: “It’s me.”

Chen Ji pulled open the door bolt.

As soon as he opened the door, he smelled a pungent smell of alcohol. He saw that Chen Liqin’s dark face had a reddish-purple hue, and his drunkenness was clearly visible on his face.

Chen Ji asked doubtfully: “Lord Chen, why have you come in the middle of the night?”

Chen Liqin was already used to hearing the three words ‘Lord Chen’ and didn’t frown at all: “Why lock the courtyard door when you’re living in your own home? Don’t worry, our Chen residence’s family soldiers patrol at night and won’t let bad people in.”

Chen Ji smiled and didn’t answer.

Chen Liqin suddenly realized that Chen Ji wasn’t guarding against bad people outside the Chen residence, but bad people inside the Chen residence.

He was speechless for a moment, then said softly: “Aren’t you going to invite me in for a sit?”

Chen Ji stepped aside: “Lord Chen, please come in.”

Chen Liqin entered the courtyard and looked around: “Is this place satisfactory?”

Chen Ji laughed: “Naturally satisfactory.”

The two stood in the courtyard, suddenly looking at each other without speaking, the atmosphere strangely quiet.

After a long time, Chen Liqin coughed lightly: “When we arrive in the capital, the residence will still reserve a separate courtyard for you. Don’t worry, it won’t be like the difference between Wen Zong and Wen Xiao.”

Chen Ji cupped his hands in thanks: “Many thanks, Lord Chen.”

After saying this, Chen Liqin didn’t know what to say for a while. Chen Ji also wasn’t in a hurry to speak, just waited quietly.

After another long time, Chen Liqin sighed and said: “Today, in front of outsiders, I couldn’t directly expose the family scandal to them. The face of the Chen family is not my face alone. You and I, as members of the Chen family, should maintain it well and not bring shame to the Chen family’s name. Letting outsiders know about the family scandal won’t make anyone truly worried, they will only make fun of our Chen family.”

Chen Ji hummed in agreement.

Chen Liqin put his hands behind his back and stood in front of a wax plum tree: “I know you have suffered a lot and endured many grievances over the years. Don’t worry, in the future, you won’t suffer this kind of unwarranted grievance again.”

Chen Ji cupped his hands in thanks: “It’s good that Lord Chen knows I’m innocent.”

At this point, Chen Liqin turned around and took out a paper deed from his sleeve, handing it to Chen Ji.

Chen Ji was doubtful: “This is?”

Chen Liqin said: “The Eunuch Supervisor inspected and confiscated the property of the Jing Wang residence and the Liu family. Some unimportant properties were sold on the spot. This one in your hand is the land deed for Taiping Medical Hall. I know you lived there for two years and have feelings for the place, so I simply entrusted someone to buy it back. I thought, although we are going to the capital, this can also be considered leaving a memory in Luocheng…”

Chen Ji’s expression changed. He quickly unfolded the land deed and saw five large characters at the top of the deed: Fen Mu Gui Hu Ticket (Returning the Coffin to the Grave and the Scroll to the Lake).

“Thirty-three Du, Six Mian Feng, this residence clearly shows measured fields and ponds, Anxi Street Number Twelve…” Chen Ji carefully folded the land deed and tucked it into his sleeve. Then, he clasped his hands together and bowed deeply: “Many thanks, Lord Chen. Lord Chen is thoughtful.”

Chen Liqin looked at Chen Ji with a complex expression. When he sent cucumbers worth a thousand *wen*, Chen Ji didn’t react. When he talked about arranging for him to study at Donglin Academy and paving the way for the imperial examination, Chen Ji also didn’t react.

Only at this moment did he finally feel Chen Ji’s heartfelt gratitude.

Chen Liqin felt a little awkward for a moment. He helped Chen Ji up: “What are you doing? You and I are father and son. It is only right for me to do this little thing for you…”

Before Chen Liqin could finish speaking, he saw Chen Ji go back into the room, put on his clothes, pick up Wu Yun, and stride out of the courtyard: “Lord Chen, I’m going out for a trip.”

“Where are you going…” Chen Liqin looked at Chen Ji’s retreating back, raised his hand, and finally slowly put it down.

Liu Family Alley.

In a dilapidated household, a man’s rough roar could be heard: “At first the old man said don’t learn medicine, don’t learn medicine, but you boy had to go learn, saying you could earn money for the old man. The old man spent so much silver arranging connections to send you to learn, but you haven’t even earned the money back, and the medical hall is gone. Now all the silver the old man spent is gone. Tell me, how should this account be settled?”

In the room, a weak oil lamp burned on the table.

The corner of the blue brick floor was missing, and the vermilion Eight Immortals table was also peeling paint.

A man over thirty years old sat on a chair, panting. His fat body trembled slightly, and his mouth reeked of alcohol.

Liu Quxing knelt at the door of the main hall, head lowered. His mother knelt beside him, on the verge of tears: “Master, it’s no fault of Xingxing that the medical hall is gone.”

“No relation?” The man laughed coldly: “You say no relation and it’s no relation?”

Liu Quxing said in a low voice: “Then tell me what to do?”

The man narrowed his eyes: “That person who spoke to you in the Secret Service Yamen that day, isn’t he a big official? I saw him before, he was also an apprentice at your medical hall, wasn’t he?”

Liu Quxing hummed in agreement.

The man asked again: “I heard he is from the Chen family?”

Liu Quxing hummed in agreement again.

The man said: “He was willing to help that day, which shows you still have some schoolmate friendship. Tomorrow, go find him and ask him to arrange a position for you. When you work at the Eunuch Supervisor, who in Luocheng’s high officials and nobles won’t want to pinch whoever they want?”

Liu Quxing stubbornly said: “I’m not going, I have no friendship with him.”

The man picked up the wine bowl on the table and smashed it over. Liu Quxing turned his head to dodge. With a crash, the wine bowl smashed to the ground in the small courtyard behind him.

Liu Quxing’s mother quickly hugged her son: “Master, if Xingxing doesn’t want to go, then don’t go. There are many ways to earn money. Didn’t the dividends from the Manufacturing Bureau all go to you before? That silver is enough for our family to live comfortably for several years.”

The man sneered: “Talking about silver makes me angry. I was doing well in the gambling house, but you had to come and bring me bad luck, making me lose all my silver. You woman are simply a jinx! Since I married you, nothing has gone smoothly!”

The woman knelt foolishly in place: “It’s all gone? Master, you lost all five hundred taels of silver? At first, we agreed that if Xingxing couldn’t become an imperial doctor, this money would be saved for him to open a medical hall. How could you lose all the silver?”

The man stood up, kicked the woman in the face, and knocked her to the ground: “Who are you to question the old man?!”

The always-enduring Liu Quxing suddenly raised his head, his waist straight: “Don’t hit my mother!”

The man was stunned for a moment, then slapped Liu Quxing across the face: “You rebel, sending you to learn medicine, has it made your wings hard?”

Liu Quxing was slapped to the side, but his face turned back again: “Don’t hit my mother!”

The man laughed ferociously: “I don’t know how that old geezer in the medical hall taught you, actually teaching you to rebel against your dad!”

Liu Quxing stood up and said fiercely: “Don’t scold my master!”

The man slapped Liu Quxing across the face again: “Did that old geezer teach you to be a human like this?”

Liu Quxing turned his head and said word by word: “I said, don’t hit my mother again, don’t scold my master again.”

The man laughed in extreme anger: “What if I scold him?”

Liu Quxing hesitated for a moment, turned around, went out the door, and carried a kitchen knife out of the kitchen. Holding the kitchen knife, he trembled all over and said: “Try hitting my mother again? Try scolding my master again!”

The man pulled open the front of his clothes, exposing his fat belly: “Can you really chop me to death? Come on, chop your old man…”

Before the words fell, the man dodged to the side.

With a thud, the kitchen knife chopped onto the Eight Immortals table behind him. The man was shaken. If he hadn’t dodged, this knife would have probably cut open his belly. He turned his head to look at Liu Quxing, but saw a fierce look on the other party’s face, something he had never seen before.

Liu Quxing pulled the kitchen knife out of the table surface and said sternly: “Divorce my mother. Write the divorce paper now. If you don’t, no one will live!”

The man retreated a step backward: “For all these years, you and your mother have eaten and drunk mine…”

Liu Quxing held the kitchen knife and took a step forward: “Five hundred taels of silver isn’t enough to repay you? My mother and I don’t owe you anything anymore! Write it or not? If you don’t write it, I’ll chop you to death now!”

The man’s body trembled slightly: “I’ll write it, I’ll write it! I’ll see where you and your mother go to eat the northwest wind after leaving me. This house is mine. You two roll out of my house tonight!”

Liu Quxing laughed coldly, staring at the man as he wrote the divorce paper: “Press your handprint!”

The man cursed: “There’s no ink paste in the house.”

Liu Quxing cut a wound in his own palm, stirred his palm open, and held it out in front of the man: “Dip it in my blood and press it!”

The man’s body shook: “You boy must be possessed by some evil thing. I see you won’t live long. Tomorrow, I’ll let the City God Grandpa take you away.”

Seeing the man press his handprint, Liu Quxing tore off the edge of his clothes to wrap his hand wound. He took the divorce paper, pulled up his mother, and headed outside.

As he pushed open the door, Liu Quxing stood at the door, blank… Where to go?

But at this moment, his mother said in a low voice: “Xingxing, what is this on the ground?”

Liu Quxing lowered his head to look and saw that on the bluestone road of the small alley in front of the door, someone had used two ingots of silver to press down a piece of white paper. He bent down, picked up the silver, and picked up the white paper on the ground to examine it: “This is… this is the land deed of Taiping Medical Hall!”

The woman exclaimed, turned her head to look at the man behind her, and said in a low voice: “How did the medical hall’s land deed get here?”

Liu Quxing didn’t answer. He anxiously scanned both ends of the alley, only seeing a thin back just reaching the end of the alley, turning into the night without looking back.

He ran at full speed to chase, but outside the alley, he couldn’t see that figure again in the night. Liu Quxing suddenly squatted on the ground and wailed: “Don’t go, come back!”