Chen Ji watched silently as the killer died, the other party’s eyes gradually losing their luster. Facing the deceased’s eyes in that moment, a natural sympathy arose in his heart. Those dead eyes held regret, despair, and reluctance.

Chen Ji sat leaning against the wall. He felt that tonight was especially long. It had only been a few hours since U Yun had beaten Bai Mao, yet he felt as if he had experienced an entire deep autumn.

He stood up and walked to the killer’s corpse, fumbling through the other party’s clothes, but he found no clues. Finally, he lowered his head and sniffed the scent on the other party’s clothes, suddenly frowning. “Let’s go, go home.”

Chen Ji picked up U Yun and stood up, limping towards Taiping Yi Guan. The parts of his body that had been hit by the killer were still faintly aching. U Yun climbed onto his shoulder and curled up there, steady and proper, as if it belonged there all along.

One person and one cat swayed along, walking into the faint light of dawn. Chen Ji said, “By the time we walk to the medical hall, the breakfast shop should be open. I’ll buy you steamed buns to eat, okay?”

U Yun suddenly perked up. “You asked Yun Yang for eight *wen* of money just now, was it for buying me steamed buns?!”

“Yes.”

“Chen Ji, you’re actually quite a good person.”

“Definitely.”

“Chen Ji, I wish you great wealth in the future!”

“When I cultivate and become powerful in the future, I won’t have to tolerate Yun Yang and Jiao Tu’s nonsense anymore! At that time, if a man blocks me, I’ll kill him; if a Buddha… may my ancestors protect me!”

“Will you take revenge on Yun Yang and Jiao Tu later?”

Chen Ji thought for a moment. “Yes.”

“Hehehe.”

“Hehehe.”

When they returned to the medical hall, the rooster had already crowed, but Liu Qu Xing and She Deng Ke hadn’t gotten up yet. After U Yun ate two steamed buns, he returned to Wan Xing Yuan. Chen Ji then stood in the courtyard, took off all his clothes, and used a gourd ladle to scoop cold water from the water jar, pouring ladle after ladle onto his head and body until the bloodstains were washed away and his whole body was red. Only then did he stop.

He changed into the torn clothes he hadn’t had time to mend and sat on a small chair by the apricot tree, lost in thought. In just a few days, he had already killed three people: Wang Long, the steward, and the killer. Even the most resolute person would feel some hesitation, let alone Chen Ji, who was only seventeen years old.

The sound of a door opening outside interrupted Chen Ji’s thoughts. He wiped his body dry, put on his clothes, and walked out, only to see Elder Yao walking in leisurely, carrying a medicine box on his shoulder.

Elder Yao looked up and glanced at him. In an instant, Chen Ji’s body stiffened, and his heart skipped a beat, as if he was being stared at by a fierce tiger! Strange, why would he have this feeling?

Before Chen Ji could react, She Deng Ke poked half his body out of the apprentice bedroom and said curiously, “Master, why are you back so quickly?”

“What, you don’t wish for me to come back?” Elder Yao glanced at him.

She Deng Ke quickly said, “No, no, just a little curious!”

As he spoke, Liu Qu Xing walked out of the room, tying his belt while complaining to Chen Ji and She Deng Ke, “You two really, didn’t you see Master is still carrying a medicine box? You don’t even know to help him with his things first!”

Chen Ji: “……”

She Deng Ke: “……”

Liu Qu Xing took the medicine box and said curiously, “Master, is Elder Liu of the Liu family cured? You originally said you’d be gone for ten days or half a month, but you came back in just one day.”

Elder Yao said impatiently, “That one from the Liu family is already dead. If I didn’t come back, could I stay there to perform rites for him? I don’t know how to do that!”

Chen Ji said in surprise, “Ah? Elder Liu is dead? Master, you went out and it still didn’t work?”

Elder Yao said, “What do you mean, it worked? That Liu fellow lived in a manor in the suburbs of Lu City. The carriage I was riding in broke down halfway there, and it took most of the day just to repair it. By the time I arrived at the Liu family manor, he was already dead. I didn’t even see his face. It’s truly damn unlucky. People who don’t know the inside story will think my medical skills are no good!”

Hmm?

Chen Ji’s heart was shocked. Was that carriage breaking down too much of a coincidence? That carriage was one that a second-grade official could ride in. How could it just break down?

At this time, Liu Qu Xing said, “You should have arrived at the Liu family manor yesterday evening, right?”

“Yes,” Elder Yao nodded.

“And they sent you back overnight? Aren’t they afraid you’ll be tired?”

Elder Yao sneered, “Stay there for what? If I stay a few more days, I’ll have to share in his family’s… I’ll go rest for a while first. When I wake up, I’ll check the inventory and the accounts. Whoever dares to be sloppy and cause me to lose money, just wait to be beaten!”

Chen Ji inwardly shouted, *Not good*, he still hadn’t bought the ginseng!

…

…

The sky wasn’t fully bright yet, but the maids in Fei Yun Yuan were already busy. They heated water in the side room, carried copper basins with snow-white towels hanging from the edges, and thumped their way up to the second floor of the covered building.

Yun Fei got up and dressed with Xi Bing’s help. She said lazily, “The weather is cool. This morning, have Xi Tang bring the account book and prepare to distribute charcoal to each room. Send someone to the East Market to find people from the transport guild and ask if the silver silk charcoal from the West Mountain kiln has arrived. If it has, buy a batch to use. Give the best of it to Bai Li’s room. She and the Prince will be back from Dong Lin Xue Yuan soon.”

Xi Bing smiled and combed her hair. “Madam is right. That silver silk charcoal, the ash is like white frost and doesn’t extinguish easily, and it’s smokeless.”

“Eh, where is Bai Ban Ruo?” Yun Fei frowned. “I haven’t seen it all morning.”

“It probably just slipped out to play, right?”

As she spoke, Bai Ban Ruo limped up the stairs. Its originally clean white fur was covered in blood, its face looked as if it had been beaten, swollen in several places and crooked, and its eyes were teary.

Yun Fei: “……”

Xi Bing: “……”

*Bang*, the bronze mirror was thrown onto the wooden floor.

After a long time, Yun Fei started laughing. “Jing Fei Sister has made progress.”

Xi Bing whispered, “Madam, please calm down.”

Yun Fei looked at Bai Ban Ruo, thought for a moment, and said, “Take it to Taiping Yi Guan and let a doctor take a look. Just let that apprentice named Chen Ji see it. The clothes promised as a reward to that little apprentice should be ready. Go ask Xi Tang if they’re done. If they are, send them together. Don’t neglect him; I’ll have use for this person later.”

Xi Bing whispered, “Yes.”

In the morning, Xi Bing carried Bai Ban Ruo and brought a little maid of twelve or thirteen years old to the medical hall. Just as they reached the door of the medical hall, Liu Qu Xing came out with a smiling face. “Xi Bing girl, why have you come to the medical hall today?”

“To see a doctor,” Xi Bing said, then stood on tiptoe and looked towards the backyard. “Where is Chen Ji? Have him come out to see the doctor.”

Liu Qu Xing’s face suddenly fell. He shouted towards the backyard, “Chen Ji, Chen Ji! Xi Bing girl is looking for you!”

As he spoke, he still looked at the clothes the little maid was holding. “Xi Bing girl, what are these things?”

“These are rewards from my madam to Chen Ji,” Xi Bing smiled and touched the cloth. “These were all personally made by embroiderers from the Jiangnan clothing bureau. Look at this needlework, it’s very fine.”

Liu Qu Xing’s face was bitter. Hadn’t Master said that entering the palace to diagnose a disease was a great ominous sign? Master is biased!

At this moment, Chen Ji was wiping the water from his hands on his sleeve and said curiously, “Xi Bing girl, this is…”

Xi Bing said, “I don’t know which evil person did it, but they actually beat my madam’s cat and injured it. It hasn’t touched water since morning and is listless, so she sent me to bring it to see a doctor.”

Chen Ji said awkwardly, “Master just went to sleep not long ago. How about waiting until he wakes up?”

Xi Bing shook her head. “My madam specifically asked you to treat Bai Ban Ruo. There’s no need for your master to come. Here, those are the clothes my madam said she would reward you earlier, and this is the consultation fee prepared for you.”

She saw the little maid take out a small silver ingot from her sleeve, about one tael. One must know that medical hall apprentices had no qualifications to receive consultation fees. Even Master Tai Yi Yao received only five taels of silver for a single consultation. Now, Yun Fei was so generous just to treat a cat, her intention to recruit Chen Ji was practically obvious. But once he accepted this money, he would have to choose a side between Yun Fei and Jing Fei.

Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, “I’ll feel Bai Ban Ruo’s pulse first, okay?”

Xi Bing was slightly stunned. “Can you feel a cat’s pulse too?”

Chen Ji was silent for a moment. “…Yes.”

*Ba?*

After a long time, Chen Ji hesitated and said, “Xi Bing girl, Bai Ban Ruo’s external injuries are easy to treat, but to help it recover faster, it probably needs some qi and blood tonics. I’ll prescribe a formula for it.”

Just as Chen Ji was prescribing the medicine, Elder Yao pushed open the door of the main room. He was seen with his hands behind his back, looking around the backyard. There wasn’t a single fallen leaf on the ground. He then went to the kitchen and looked around, and even the kitchen was spotlessly clean. In the past, these young apprentices were lazy about cleaning, sometimes not even wiping the stove clean, but today was different. It was so clean it was like a different place. Not only that, but the water jar in the courtyard was also filled.

Elder Yao pursed his lips and walked towards the main hall. “When you offer such diligence, if you’re not after something, you must be a thief!”

He walked into the main hall of the medical hall just as Chen Ji was stuffing the wrapped medicine into the little maid’s hands and sending Xi Bing away. He turned back and saw Elder Yao saying with a gloomy face, “Didn’t I say you’re not allowed to diagnose patients? Although I, Yao Qi Men, love money, I absolutely don’t disregard human life. Before you graduate, you must let me check any prescriptions you give to people!”

Chen Ji quickly said, “Master, I wasn’t diagnosing a person. I was treating that cat of Yun Fei’s for an external injury.”

Elder Yao raised his eyebrows. “That white cat was beaten?”

“Should be…”

Elder Yao reached out. “Let me see the prescription you wrote.”

Chen Ji handed it over, a little hesitant. “It’s just *she chuang zi* and other medicines to stop bleeding and clear bruises… I also prescribed some medicine to nourish its body.”

Elder Yao took the prescription and his eyebrows furrowed tighter the more he looked. After a long time, he looked up at Chen Ji, his face showing shock. “You prescribed a fifty-year-old ginseng for that cat?!”

“Ang.”

“And the other party actually agreed to put it on account?”

“Ang.”

Elder Yao took a deep breath and praised, “You’re truly a damn business genius… If Yun Fei’s side needs me to diagnose in the future, you’ll come with me.”

Chen Ji: “Ah?”

Elder Yao seemed to remember something and said, “Oh yes, I saw your father on the road yesterday. He should have just returned from the river dike to rest. You should also rest for a day tomorrow and go home to ask for the tuition and medicine money.”

Chen Ji was stunned. Father?