Dark clouds piled up, a cold wind suddenly arose, chilling to the bone beneath the dilapidated city gate.
Atop a splendid horse, the young man glanced indifferently at the crowd and with a flick of his whip, several people trussed up tightly tumbled before the onlookers with a "thud."
He spoke, "Caught a few little thieves, from Su Nan?"
Cai Fang hurried forward, "Yes, my lord. These n killed the steward of the granary last night and stole the city’s dicinal grain. Thank you, my lord, for capturing the felons!"
The other’s gaze swept past him and said, "Handle it yourself." With another gesture, the guards beside him dismounted upon seeing this, pulling several hefty chests from behind the carriage and bowed to Cai Fang, saying, "Our Lord Pei encountered this group outside the city, found their movents suspicious, and apprehended them. These should be the stolen dicinal grain."
Delighted beyond expectation, Cai Fang quickly approached the chests and lifted the lids. Seeing the dicinal herbs and grain all intact, he breathed a long sigh of relief. Looking again at the man atop the horse, he was filled with gratitude.
"My lord is..."
The guard who had spoken earlier flashed his waist token before Cai Fang’s eyes; Cai Fang looked closely and his face showed a look of astonishnt.
The waist token of the Palace Front Office, are these the Imperial Guards from Shengjing?
Why would the Imperial Guards co to Su Nan?
Considering the reports from the officials coming and going, Cai Fang’s mind whirled with thoughts.
The disorder in Qi Shui lingered, and the court had sent troops to quell the rebellion. Initially, it was said to be General Zhenwei, but now it had been replaced by n from the Palace Front Office.
However, the matters of Shengjing were too remote from Su Nan, even if one inquired, it would be aningless.
Unable to contain his curiosity, Li Wenhu asked, "My lord, what brings you to Su Nan?"
Upon hearing this, the young man on the horse replied slowly, "Did you not write a letter asking to co?"
Li Wenhu was startled.
Cai Fang sheepishly said, "It was I who wrote the letter requesting assistance from Qi Shui... Thank you for troubling yourself, my lord."
He too had sent the letter half-expecting it would be futile, as previous pleas to Qi Shui had been like casting stones into the ocean, without any response. Yet, he hadn’t thought that an official from Shengjing would actually co riding to their aid.
A round-faced youth dismounted from the convoy, his deanor inviting, smiling at Cai Fang, "The county magistrate need not worry. The situation in Su Nan is well known to His Majesty, who especially sent Lord Pei to assist. He pointed to the convoy behind him, "We’ve brought a lot of rice, dicinal supplies, and items for keeping warm, which should be able to provide help."
"Truly? That’s wonderful!"
Cai Fang, with a grave expression, bowed deeply and with folded hands, "The grace of my lord, on behalf of the people of Su Nan, I shall never forget."
"It’s nothing."
The dical officers at his side, recognizing a familiar face, began to whisper among themselves. Lu Tong stood amidst the crowd, her feelings sowhat complicated as she watched the young man on horseback.
She hadn’t expected Pei Yunng to co to Su Nan.
She had heard from Chang Jin that Pei Yunng went to Qi Shui, and when Lin Danqing spoke of it to her, she wondered if he would co to Su Nan.
Lu Tong thought it highly unlikely.
Su Nan was afflicted with an epidemic, and even if he had successfully pacified the tumult, the most pressing matter should have been to return to the capital to report.
Yet here he was.
She looked up at Pei Yunng.
The young man sat tall on his horse, his calm gaze swept past the crowd at the city gate, lingered on her for an instant, and then retracted as if they were strangers who never knew each other.
Lu Tong withdrew her gaze as well.
From beside her ca Cai Fang’s voice, "My lord, you must be exhausted from the journey. I will start by having the guys unload the rice and grain." He then turned to Chang Jin, "Chief Physician, now that we’ve retrieved the dicinal herbs, can we start preparing the plague-preventing dicine to put in the wells?"
Chang Jin’s spirits lifted, roused from the surprise of seeing familiar faces. "Indeed, urgent matters first." He beckoned to the dical officers behind him, "Stop crowding around and let’s check the positions of the wells for dicine-dropping."
Li Wenhu led Chang Jin and a few dical officers to check the position of the wells for the dicinal packets, while the other dical officers, except those assigned in the Plague Hospital, returned to sort and prepare the Plague-Preventing Incense. Cai Fang led others to settle the convoy from Qi Shui.
Lu Tong and Lin Danqing returned to the lodgings of the dical officers to continue working on the Plague-Preventing Incense they hadn’t finished earlier.
dicinal herbs and spices filled the room; Lin Danqing pounded the herbs in the pot vigorously, puzzled, "Why would Marshal Pei suddenly co to Qi Shui? Shouldn’t he be returning to the capital to report?" She then leaned in and teased, "Could it be because of you?"
"How could that be possible." Lu Tong replied calmly, "It’s been said it was by the Emperor’s command."
"That’s true." Lin Danqing nodded, her thoughts then turning to the recent ascension of the New Emperor, and the changes at Shengjing that were unknown to her—changes that might spill over to the Lin Family, she sighed with worry.
After working for a while, Lin Danqing took a batch of finished Plague-Preventing Incense to distribute it outside, leaving Lu Tong alone in the courtyard to sort out the dicinal herbs. After a while, she heard soone call from behind, "Doctor Lu."
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