Chapter 13

Su Ci and Su Yan, along with a few medical boys, had been busy behind closed doors for seven or eight days when Yang Yanzong brought back a large jar from outside. Two strong young soldiers carried the jar and placed it on the ground with a heavy “bang.”

A’ Kang explained, “Our people first searched around Yangdu. The temples hadn’t heard of it, but an old pharmacy seemed to have something similar, so the brothers brought it back.”

However, it wasn’t called Green Mustard Brine but Pickling Juice. The townsfolk said it was good for reducing heat and treating throat ailments, which was different from what Su Ci described, but the searchers didn’t want to miss it and bought it after a long discussion with the old pharmacist.

Su Ci opened it a bit, and a pungent smell immediately wafted out, catching A’ Kang and the others off guard. Su Ci pinched her nose and peeked inside; it was all liquid, dark, and hard to see in the dim light.

“Thank you for your hard work. If this works, it will be handy,” Su Ci said, quickly closing the lid. A’ Kang replied, “Miss Su, you’re too kind.”

A Kang and the others knew that she was likely the future mistress, so they were even more respectful.

Su Yan, who had come with Su Ci, was excited about the task and insisted on joining. Su Ci didn’t mind, but the work was quite specialized, and Su Yan could only do some simple tasks for now. However, Su Yan was willing to do anything, from grinding powder to cutting slices and carrying things. She was strong from martial arts training and could handle heavy labor better than the medical boys. She was afraid Yang Yanzong would send her back, so she kept a low profile and quickly carried the jar inside.

Yang Yanzong glanced at her but said nothing. The man’s aura was too strong, and even Su Yan and the pharmacy apprentices quickly ran away, leaving the large front hall quiet.

The afternoon sunlight filtered through the half-old window screens, and several large plaques of medicinal herbs were drying in the corridor. The air had a bitter, dry smell, and the room was quiet.

Yang Yanzong leaned back in the first grand master’s chair on the left side, with sunlight covering his left shoulder. He leaned against the chair back, his eyes slightly closed, and his left hand slowly turned the black jade thumb ring on his right thumb.

Su Ci knew the situation outside was quite bad, and this hurdle was not easy to overcome. However, Yang Yanzong’s face showed no signs of panic or gloom. His every move was calm and composed, as always.

Su Ci had been a little worried, but it all disappeared in an instant. She sat on the other side, opened the medicine box, took out the pulse pillow, and placed it on the table. Her movements were quite skilled. She could also take pulses, having been raised by her grandparents when her parents were too busy with work. Who knew that she would end up doing this again?

Yang Yanzong placed his right hand on the pulse pillow, and Su Ci listened to his pulse for a while and then checked his rehabilitation and recovery status.

Yang Yanzong’s hand had long fingers and calloused fingertips, and it was powerful. Even when relaxed on the pulse pillow, it still gave a strong and powerful impression. This hand was full of explosive power.

A hand like its owner.

Su Ci carefully observed his fingers’ movements and grip, then asked about his sensations and compared them to before the injury.

“The recovery is quite good, but you need to be careful not to rush. The tendons in your hand need time to heal completely. Overexertion too soon could cause the sutured parts to tear again. You must proceed gradually.”

“It will take about four to six months to recover fully.”

Yang Yanzong nodded. After the follow-up examination, Su Ci put away the pulse pillow. Yang Yanzong moved his wrist and said lightly, “We are still looking for Green Mustard Brine. Check if this is suitable for now.”

He could tell at a glance that Su Ci was barely satisfied with the pickling juice, which fell short of her expectations.

“Mm-hmm! Thank you for your hard work.”

Su Ci had planned to mention it, but she didn’t need to anymore. What a good person!

Her big eyes sparkled as she mentally awarded Yang Yanzong a “good person” badge. Her cheerful, youthful voice was exceptionally clear and bright: “I’ll prepare the medicine and have A Kang deliver it to you later.”

“Mm.”

Yang Yanzong glanced at her, nodded, and stood up without further ado. Su Ci escorted him to the door and saw Yang Yanxin and Yang Yanzhen walking briskly towards them from the courtyard. The group left while talking in low voices. As the group left, the pharmacy courtyard returned to its quiet state. Su Ci shrugged and turned towards the inner hall pharmacy. Besides researching penicillin, her main task now was to prepare medicine for Yang Yanzong. His injuries were severe, much worse than her father’s, and his rehabilitation required the aid of medicinal plasters.

Su Ci walked briskly towards the inner hall. As she passed through the back room door into the courtyard, she suddenly smelled a faint pickling odor in the air, and her brows immediately furrowed!

—It was the smell of the pickling juice. The scent in the front hall had dissipated, and it couldn’t linger in the back courtyard. She had just instructed that the lid should not be opened casually.

Su Ci took three steps in two strides and rushed up the corridor, pushing open the door to her private pharmacy!

A figure quickly flashed past the medicine table. The smell of pickling juice was even stronger inside the room. On the medicine table were the raw materials she needed to make ointment for Yang Yanzong: Chuan Duan for connecting bones and tendons, Saffron for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, Dragon’s Blood for wound healing, and so on—all of which were used for post-injury recuperation.

The figure was dressed in dark blue, with a headscarf, and was a pharmacy apprentice. He quickly bent over to identify the herbs on the medicine table, then swiftly dashed into the small resting room. The window lattice made a “click” sound as it opened and closed.

Traitor.

Damn it! Su Ci cursed loudly. At her shout, the people in the front yard’s tea room and the guards at the gate rushed over, but the person had already jumped out of the window and over the wall.

Su Ci followed, jumping out of the window. She ran seven or eight steps and barely managed to grab the top of the wall. The gravel on top made her grit her teeth in pain. She kicked and climbed up quickly, jumping down from the nearly three-meter-high wall.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

The person didn’t expect her to be so fierce and was a step slow. He covered his face and ran forward. Su Ci quickly untied her hair. She had dressed very simply today, without even a hairpin, just a string of beads tied into a small bun. She pulled the beads apart and threw them forward!

The person slipped, and she grabbed him. But he was a man, stronger than her. They struggled and turned a corner at high speed, “Bang!”

They collided head-on with someone. Su Ci crashed heavily into a person’s chest and abdomen, seeing stars and almost being knocked back. The person extended an arm, encircling her waist, and she bumped back, her nose hitting the chest muscle, nearly bringing tears to her eyes. But she managed to stand firm and didn’t fall.

Still in shock, Su Ci covered her nose and widened her eyes. Why were there so many people in this alley? Hadn’t Yang Yanzong left?!

This was a dead-end alley, with no one in the surrounding barracks. If Su Ci hadn’t chased so urgently, the person wouldn’t have randomly dashed in.

Yang Yanzong, his expression unchanged, steadied Su Ci and glanced at the pharmacy apprentice who had collided with A Kang and was now kneeling on the ground. He said calmly, “Kill him.”

The medical boy, kneeling on the ground, looked panicked. Before he could struggle or speak, his mouth was covered, and he was dragged back a few steps. A Kang, without hesitation, drew his long sword. With a muffled “thud,” it pierced through the heart and out the back.

Su Ci swallowed and stole a glance. The person lay motionless, his young face still showing signs of struggle, his eyes wide open. Blood quickly stained the brown-yellow ground, and someone soon dragged him away.

Su Ci swallowed again and quickly looked away, not daring to look more. She whispered, “Did I ruin something…?”

Yang Yanzong hadn’t left, and his expression wasn’t surprised.

Su Ci was worried. Had she unintentionally ruined something?

“No harm.” Yang Yanzong didn’t say much, only, “It’s not a big problem.”

Su Ci, an unmarried girl, was outside with her hair down, which was very improper. Yang Yanxin and Yang Yanzhen immediately turned their backs, as did A Kang and the others. Yang Yanzong took off his outer robe and draped it over her head, saying, “I’ll have someone take you back.”

Su Ci felt a bit uneasy but couldn’t ask anything. It wasn’t appropriate for her to stay outside like this. She cursed this annoying ancient time in her heart, adjusted the robe, and followed A Kang back.

“Our sister-in-law is really something, isn’t she?” Yang Yanzhen, the youngest, couldn’t hold back his words. He exclaimed, “She just climbed over a wall that’s nearly ten feet high!”

His brother gave him a look, and he fell silent, then worriedly asked, “Brother, what do we do now?”

Anyone who saw them had to be killed. But this spy was sent by the Heir to gather information. Their original plan was to let the spy see what they wanted him to see and then let him go back.

“No big deal.” Yang Yanzong adjusted the leather wrist guard on his right hand and said calmly, “The message has already been sent once.”

His hand was fine, and the information Yang Yanzong wanted to convey to the Heir had been delivered. If the Heir weighed the situation and accepted it and both returned to their previous state, there would be no problem.

Yang Yanzong squinted his eyes. But it was unlikely. Once a mirror is broken, restoring it to its original state is hard. Even if he was willing, it was unlikely that both sides would return to their previous state.

“Brother, what should we do?” His brother hadn’t been reinstated yet. The Heir seemed very proactive, but there were always various obstacles.

“Adapt to the situation.” Yang Yanzong said calmly. He glanced at the bloodstains left in the corner, “It’s good that this person was killed.”

If the Heir couldn’t accept him, it would only lead to another extreme, fear. The more fear, the better. Yang Yanzong coldly lifted his lips.

…

The Heir’s Eastern Courtyard, Sixth Prince’s Residence.

With a loud “crash,” everything on the large desk was swept to the ground. The Heir angrily said, “Yang Yanzong has a lot of nerve!!”

There were two other people in the study, one in his thirties and the other around twenty-five or twenty-six, with square faces, dressed in brocade robes and long boots. One of them said in a deep voice, “Brother Yan, don’t be angry.”

These two were the nephews of the Sixth Princess, the Heir of the Marquis of Zhenbei, and his second legitimate son. According to the rules of etiquette, they were also the Heir’s cousins.

The interests of the Marquis of Zhenbei’s and the Sixth Prince’s residences were already tied together. The support a hereditary marquisate could bring was undoubtedly greater and more far-reaching. In the critical situation back then, they could only save one, and in the end, the Heir chose to save the brothers of the Marquis of Zhenbei’s residence.

“So, Yang Yanzong’s hand has indeed healed.”

“Hiss, it’s really unbelievable. Where did he find such a skilled doctor?”

The Heir of the Marquis of Zhenbei, Shi Shiqian, did not comment much on Yang Yanzong’s actions. He only said implicitly, “Now, it seems things might be a bit difficult.” Then he fell silent.

Ji Yan’s face was as dark as water. Yang Yanzong was not someone who would submit to being manipulated. The matter of the military town had even alarmed his father, and it was still being handled.

—If they wanted the military town to return to its rightful place smoothly, then during this process, Yang Yanzong’s reinstatement was imperative.

Moreover, Yang Yanzong had a special status. He and the Heir were true first cousins. Previously, they had no choice, but now that he was back, the Heir couldn’t just deal with him casually, or it would dishearten the people below.

Ji Yan’s expression was uncertain. After discussing with the Shi brothers for a while without any results, footsteps sounded outside the door. Ji Chen arrived. The three people in the study fell silent in tacit understanding. The Heir responded, and the door opened. With his distinct eyebrows and fair face, Ji Chen immediately understood that the Heir was discussing something confidential with the Shi brothers. He smiled as if he hadn’t noticed, respectfully greeted the Heir, and then smiled and cupped his fists to the Shi brothers. His expression was fresh and gentle, and he said, “Heir, Aunt Yan is not feeling well and wants to see you.”

At this, the Shi brothers sensibly stood up, cupped their hands, and said, “Heir, we’ll take our leave for now.”

“Go ahead.” Ji Yan personally escorted them to the study door, watched them walk away, and then frowned, “What’s wrong with Mother? Why is she suddenly not feeling well?”

…

Aunt Yan said she felt chest tightness and was angry, but Su Ci thought she was just being pretentious. She came over acting all high and mighty, expecting people to bow and flatter her. Normally, Su Ci would have entertained her patiently, but today, she was worried about whether she had messed up Yang Yanzong’s plans, so she wasn’t as proactive.

But today, Aunt Yan specifically came to see her. After all, Aunt Yan valued Yang Yanzong highly, and as his fiancée, Su Ci was naturally someone she paid close attention to.

Su Ci had prepared the ointment and brought it home. As she and her sister entered the courtyard, they saw Aunt Yan bringing a large group of maids and old women. The sisters exchanged a glance and silently cursed their bad luck.

Su Ci pretended to be stupid, which didn’t please Aunt Yan. Aunt Yan was very good at sensing people’s emotions; otherwise, she wouldn’t have risen from a maid to a concubine of the Sixth Prince and then become the birth mother of the Heir, still favored to this day. She could tell if someone was genuinely flattering her, for example, Su Yan, Su Ci, and Su Rong.

Su Ci was polite but silent, which displeased Aunt Yan. She went back complaining of chest pain, saying she was angry and used it as an excuse to see her son.

The relationship between biological mother and son was different, even if she didn’t raise him or see each other often. Aunt Yan, supported by her son, drank a cup of Astragalus tea and frowned as she criticized Su Ci from head to toe.

Aunt Yan noticed her son’s unusual mood and asked, “Heir, what’s wrong? Is something bothering you outside?”

“Nothing major.”

The Heir smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. He patted Aunt Yan’s back, and after a while, his smile faded. A great man must make decisive choices; those who achieve great things have all made sacrifices. He didn’t regret his initial choice, but now it had become a problem.

Aunt Yan continued to complain, and the Heir hugged her shoulder, squinted at her, and said, “If she doesn’t listen, then replace her!”

…

The opportunity came unexpectedly. Su Ci had been worried for two days, but Yang Yanzong remained calm. She went to deliver the medicine herself, and he showed no signs of panic or gloom. He was like a stabilizing force, unmoved by any storm, making her feel inexplicably reassured.

Su Ci was relieved as long as she hadn’t disrupted the plan. She feared her actions might have unintended consequences, but fortunately, everything was fine. With her worries gone, Su Ci became lively again. She prepared medicine, drew diagrams, and set up equipment and beds, arranging the medical camp and laboratory according to her ideas. She was incredibly busy, but sometimes luck comes unexpectedly, and an opportunity presented itself right in front of her!