Chapter 12: Noble Guest

Wei Yunlan assisted Madam Gao in helping Cheng Yue’e into the room and laying her down on the bed. “Mother, you and Father should go rest. I’ll stay here with my Eldest Sister-in-law. I’ll call for you when the physician arrives.”

This was a rural inn situated by the official road, intended for traveling merchants to stop and rest. It didn’t have many rooms. The two most spacious upper rooms were taken—one by Xie Guan, and the other, rather than given to his subordinates, was offered to the Liang family.

Of the remaining ten mid-sized rooms, the constables and the Liang family took four each. The Wei family only managed to secure two, and that was likely due to the presence of an ill member in their household.

Wei Yunlan had originally intended for her parents to take one of the rooms, but Wei Maolin insisted on giving the rooms to the womenfolk. He took Wei Mingxuan, Manager Wang and his son, Dong Da, and Liu Quan to stay in the shared sleeping quarters by the kitchen.

The women of the Feng and Bai families were arranged in another shared sleeping area.

Altogether, nearly ninety percent of the guests in the inn belonged to their exiled caravan.

Wei Yunlan had only been sitting in the room for less than half an hour when Ningshuang knocked and entered. “Young Madam, the physician has arrived.”

“Please, bring him in quickly,” Wei Yunlan rose to greet them.

Following Ningshuang into the room was an old man with a scruffy beard and a slightly hunched back. Draped over his heavily faded short tunic was a tattered white sweat towel.

Were it not for Ningshuang’s prior announcement that this was indeed a “physician,” no one would have thought of him as such. Anyone looking at him would have assumed he was just an old farmer from the countryside.

A flicker of surprise flashed through Wei Yunlan’s eyes, but her demeanor remained unchanged.

She remained perfectly courteous as she said, “Sir, thank you for going out of your way to come here so late at night.”

The old man waved dismissively. “No need for thanks. You pay the silver, I do the work. This is the patient, yes?”

He pointed at Cheng Yue’e, who was lying on the bed with her eyes closed, fast asleep.

At a time like this, no one fussed about propriety between men and women. They had already been exiled from the Capital—such rules no longer mattered. Wei Yunlan paid no heed to the Capital’s formalities and immediately offered the stool beside the bed to the physician. “Please take a look at my Sister-in-law. She developed a fever last night. She drank two doses of decoction on the road today, and it’s only just started to ease.”

The old man took the prescription Wei Yunlan handed him and gave it a quick glance. Then he extended two fingers and placed them on Cheng Yue’e’s wrist to check her pulse.

A moment later, he withdrew his hand, stroked his beard, and let out a sigh. “She’s got a strong fate.”

“Oh?” Wei Yunlan raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?”

“This Madam recently gave birth and suffered a loss of vitality. She’s also burdened by repressed emotions, which left the root of illness buried within. Had it not been for this bout of illness triggering the symptoms early, by the time it flared up in the future, it would’ve been far more than just a few bouts of fever.”

“She took the two decoctions just in time. The prescription itself isn’t bad, but the herbs are a bit too strong. If she keeps taking it, her body won’t be able to handle it. I’ve adjusted two of the ingredients in the formula—follow this new prescription and brew the medicine three times a day. After two more days, she’ll be fine.”

After finishing his explanation, the old man took out a brush and ink from his medicine box and made a few quick revisions directly on the prescription Wei Yunlan had handed him.

Watching him take pulses and prescribe medicine with such confidence and composure, Wei Yunlan was increasingly convinced that this physician truly possessed genuine skill.

Seeing that he was about to leave with his medicine box in hand, she quickly stepped forward to stop him. “Please wait, sir.”

“What is it now? The consultation fee was already paid when you called for me.” The old man patted the money pouch hanging at his waist.

The more Wei Yunlan observed this elderly physician, the more she felt he carried an air of a reclusive master hidden among common folk.

“I have some medicinal herbs here and would like to ask you to prepare a few prescriptions to treat common ailments using only these ingredients. As for the payment, we’ll settle that separately. Rest assured, you won’t be shortchanged.”

The old man had been frowning at first, but upon hearing her final words, his brows suddenly relaxed and he grinned. “Well, that’s no trouble at all. I thought it was something difficult. Bring the herbs over, and I’ll mix a few formulas for you on the spot.”

Wei Yunlan instructed Tingxue to bring out all the medicinal herbs.

The small table in the room couldn’t hold them all, so the rest were laid out on a cloth bundle, spreading out to cover nearly the entire floor.

The old man truly had some skill—he was intimately familiar with the properties of every herb.

Upon learning that Wei Yunlan’s group was heading north, he specifically included several prescriptions geared toward preventing and treating cold-related illnesses. Among them were two particularly gentle formulas, crafted with Cheng Yue’e and the children in mind.

“Do you folks need any topical ointments?” the old man asked, as if unveiling a hidden treasure.

He fished out two coarse ceramic jars from his medicine box. “During the autumn harvest, villagers often come asking for this. Rub it on your feet to relieve fatigue, or on your hands to prevent blisters from farming tools.”

Wei Yunlan’s mind immediately jumped to her father—this ointment would be perfect for applying to the areas rubbed raw by the wooden cangue!

“I’ll take everything you have of this ointment!” she said without hesitation.

“Straightforward girl!” the old man chuckled, clearly pleased, and took the silver with satisfaction. Then, almost as an afterthought, he pulled out two yellow paper packets from his box. “This here’s my own blend of realgar powder. Good for warding off insects and snakes. Consider it a bonus gift for you, miss.”

Six taels of silver bought them a stack of pre-portioned medicinal packets, four jars of topical ointment, and two packets of realgar powder.

Looking at the items spread out across the table, Wei Yunlan’s heart—so anxious and restless all day—finally began to settle.

She had Ningshuang see the old man out, and in the quiet that followed, she couldn’t help but reflect: their group truly needed a doctor.

Stocking up on herbs and prescriptions was only a temporary solution. Sooner or later, if the chance arose, she had to find a way to bring a doctor—or at least a skilled medical woman—into their ranks!

……

Late at night, while Wei Yunlan was coaxing little Jiarong to sleep—

Inside Wangyue Pavilion in the capital, Feng Ping handed a sealed letter—freshly removed from the leg of a carrier pigeon—to his master.

“Master, this just arrived from Seventh Lady Yu.”

The man at the desk, brow furrowed over a scroll, raised a sharp brow as he accepted the note.

He scanned its contents quickly, then handed it back to Feng Ping. “You take a look as well.”

The message was a brief report on the past couple of days of the exile journey—mainly about the Wei family, with a few words on the other three families.

After reading, Feng Ping remarked, “I hadn’t realized before, but that Miss Wei… She’s remarkably decisive. The Wei family is fortunate to have her exiled along with them.”

The report had mentioned it was Wei Yunlan who insisted on having the eldest madam weaned so she could take medicine, and who sought out a barefoot doctor. It was also she who had independently left the marquis’ estate, pawned items at Tianshu Pavilion, and hired guards—every move along the journey had her fingerprints on it.

Step by step, she had revealed a strength that truly defied expectations.

The man’s deep, dark eyes held a growing admiration.

“Feng Ping,” he said, “prepare some food suitable for infants. Find a chance to have someone sell it to the Wei family along the way.”

“Have Ying Yi come see me.”

Feng Ping acknowledged the order and withdrew. Not long after, the top floor of Wangyue Pavilion silently welcomed a new presence—Ying Yi, the man’s most trusted shadow guard.

“Go personally and investigate when the Empress Dowager first began colluding with the second prince.”

Hidden partially in shadow, the guard stiffened in surprise at the command.

The man’s face, however, remained calm as ever. “Go.”

A light breeze stirred the still air, and soon, he was the only one left in the room.

Holding the intelligence report between his fingers, his lips curled into a slow, cold smile.

That second brother of his had been stirring quite a bit lately—clearly impatient to snatch the throne.

Their weak and incompetent father had always seemed more inclined toward the son born of the woman he loved than toward him, the legitimate heir raised by the late emperor himself.

These things he had long known. But what he hadn’t known was that his imperial grandmother—the ever-affectionate Empress Dowager who always seemed to show him extra concern during their visits to Cining Palace—had already turned to their side.

Was it when the emperor named Lady Ling a noble consort? Or perhaps even earlier?

No matter. It didn’t matter anymore.

With a flick of his long fingers, the letter caught fire from the candle flame, curling and blackening as it burned to ash.

They wanted him dead?

Then he would live even more splendidly.

And come to think of it—if it weren’t for Miss Wei hiring the Tianshu Pavilion guards, he wouldn’t have uncovered the Liang family’s treachery at all.

This Miss Wei… might just be his lucky star.