It’s the second watch, and I’m a bit tired; perhaps I should revert to one update a day starting tomorrow.

The two of them sat in silence, each nursing their own wine, watching the fragmented reflections of the streetlights shimmer on the river's surface.

With this style of drinking, a pot of wine was quickly emptied.

“Mistress Qi has an impressive capacity for drink,” Wang Qian remarked, turning his head slightly with a smile.

“It’s passable,” Qi Yue replied with a slight smile.

“However, this is all I've invited you for this time. In the future…” Wang Qian continued, “If Mistress Qi should feel inclined again, I shall be honored to keep you company.”

Qi Yue smiled and agreed.

Silence fell between them once more.

Qi Yue sighed, using the hand that held the wine pot to gesture across the water.

“Actually, look,” she said. “Life is quite real over there.”

Wang Qian followed her gaze. Across the riverbank was a row of shops, mostly taverns and tea houses, now bustling at their peak. Waitresses flitted about like colorful butterflies, their clear calls mingling with the stringed melodies drifting from the pleasure boats on the river.

“Naturally. Living in the moment,” he responded.

Qi Yue nodded.

“Yes, living in the moment,” she repeated, then sighed again.

“Of course, words are easy to speak, but hard to enact. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many cultivators,” Wang Qian added.

Qi Yue let out a hearty laugh.

“Precisely,” she chuckled, setting her wine pot down beside her. “We are all cultivating, slowly, slowly.”

Saying this, she pulled a small pouch from her breast.

It contained the broken pieces of the thermometer that A’ru had swept up.

She held it in her hand, gazing at it.

Wang Qian turned his head to look as well.

With a flick of her wrist, Qi Yue tossed the small silk pouch into the river.

In the darkness, not even a ripple was visible before it vanished completely into the water.

“Thank you for the wine. Tell your daughter not to worry; what belongs to her will always find its way back,” Qi Yue said with a smile, pushing herself up with her hands.

Wang Qian tilted his head slightly and smiled back.

“However, what isn't hers will slip away no matter what is done,” she added, still smiling. “You don't need to tell her that now; she’ll understand when she's older. Oh, and don't fret. These things are just externalities to me. If Old Master Wang truly wants peace of mind, he can buy it with external things.”

Wang Qian rose to escort her out, but Qi Yue waved him off and gracefully walked away, quickly disappearing into the crowd.

Wang Qian remained motionless, turning back to silently observe the river scene for a while.

“Life is quite real over there?” he murmured to himself. “Then where is life not real?”

The night deepened, yet the two men in the handyman dormitory remained awake, staring wide-eyed at the small strip of letter paper between them.

“Do we write it, or not?” one of them asked. “Make up your mind quickly.”

“How about we write that the mistress lost her thermometer and is in a bad mood, so she drank with someone tonight?” the other suggested in a low voice. “We just won’t mention who that person was?”

That was true; the person could be a man or a woman. The Young Lord could imagine whatever he pleased.

“No deception,” the first man shook his head, finally resolute. “We’ll tell the truth, the whole truth.”

A carrier pigeon sprang up, flapping loudly as it vanished into the night.

The next day, Old Master Wang indeed arrived. Without a word, he slid a bank note across the table.

“Wow,” Qi Yue exclaimed, letting out a soft sound of astonishment. “Not bad, not bad. That transaction is settled.”

Old Master Wang couldn't help but smile.

“Mistress Qi, I am truly sorry,” he said solemnly, performing a deep bow.

“Forget it, it’s alright,” Qi Yue replied with a smile, returning the courtesy.

“Mistress!” A disciple rushed over, “We have an emergency!”

Qi Yue called out a crisp assent.

“Master Wang, forgive me for being unable to stay,” she said.

“Go quickly,” Wang Tongye cleared the way, watching Qi Yue hurry out.

The emergency room in the hall was busy but orderly: shock countermeasures, stopping blood loss, artificial oxygen, cleaning and disinfecting wounds. Another disciple stood nearby with a small booklet, explaining things to the anxious family members.

“…Abdominal injury, prepare for a laparotomy and exploration,” Qi Yue announced.

The disciples responded in unison and immediately rushed to the back rooms.

“…I am Doctor Qi Yue,” Qi Yue said, standing before the family with hands stained with blood. “Your…”

How should she address them?

“Son, our son,” the elderly couple replied hastily.

“Your son has a closed abdominal injury… that is, after being gored by an ox…” Qi Yue explained in language they could understand, using her own abdomen as a guide for pressure points. “…The puncture test indicated internal bleeding, but since we cannot see exactly where the injury is, I must open the abdomen to explore… Do you understand what I am saying?”

The two elderly people were clearly from the countryside, immersed in the grief of their kin’s injury, their minds somewhat clouded.

Qi Yue was about to continue.

“We understand, we understand,” the man spoke up. “Mistress Qi, rest assured, we understand. We… we saw this…”

He pulled a crumpled paper from his pocket—one of the advertisements for Qianjin Hall distributed by Hu San.

Qi Yue took a deep breath.

“The surgery carries a certain degree of risk; you must be prepared for that possibility,” she stated.

A waiting disciple immediately brought over the surgical consent form and read the stipulations to them one by one.

“Mistress Qi, we comprehend. We won't be like those others. Since you are a doctor, Mistress Qi, you must be one who saves lives. If we don't trust you, whom else can we trust?” the old man said, biting his finger and pressing his handprint onto the form.

Qi Yue nodded and bowed deeply to them.

“Thank you for trusting me,” she said loudly.

The old couple grew even more flustered. When did a doctor ever have to thank the patient for their trust?

The times truly had changed…

“Prepare for surgery,” Qi Yue commanded. “Go fetch Xiao Guan.”

Seeing this, Wang Tongye let out a breath of relief and stepped out. His steps were light, a stark contrast to the heavy air when he arrived.

Returning home, Old Mistress Wang was currently rummaging through chests with her daughter-in-law and a maid, searching for hairpins.

A table was already covered with all manner of hairpins.

“Old man, you arrived just in time! We’ve never seen it—what does that hairpin actually look like?” Old Mistress Wang asked urgently.

“What hairpin?” Wang Tongye asked. “Truly lacking in vision. If it were just a hairpin, would Mistress Qi care so much?”

“But they said it was one of a kind in the world?” Old Mistress Wang countered. “It must be precious.”

“It’s a tool for Mistress Qi’s medical practice. I asked Doctor Liu; Mistress Qi’s master left her many rare treasures, but most have been used up by now,” Wang Tongye sighed. “There was a medicine, just a tiny bit of it, that could render a person insensible to pain—allowing for cutting or beating without feeling a thing…”

Everyone in the room stared wide-eyed.

“…And there was a piece of paper; if you dripped a person’s blood onto it, you could find someone with the exact same blood type. That way, in cases of severe blood loss, one wouldn't die, as long as you could ‘borrow’ that person’s blood…”

Wang Tongye’s eyes shone as he spoke.

“It’s a pity all those things are gone,” he sighed again. “And do you know what these things were used for?”

“Such rare and precious items must surely have been used on people of rare and precious standing,” Old Mistress Wang asserted.

If these items were taken out, they could easily fetch mountains of gold.

“One was used for a servant’s brother, one for myself… one for the young guard…” Wang Tongye recounted.

Servant? Guard? What value were the lives of such people! Such unique treasures used on them?

“So, do you think Mistress Qi cared about this object being gone?” Wang Tongye asked.

The people in the room nodded, then shook their heads.

“She didn't care that the object was gone; she cared about how it disappeared,” Wang Tongye mused. “It is the utility that makes the treasure precious.”

Everyone suddenly understood and nodded in agreement.

Old Mistress Wang waved her hand, and the women in the room promptly withdrew.

“Call Yixiu,” Wang Tongye ordered.

Wang Qian soon appeared and bowed respectfully to Wang Tongye.

Wang Tongye stared at him, seemingly quite annoyed.

“Your daughter broke someone’s property,” he began. “What do you intend to do about it?”

What to do? Didn't you already handle it?

Wang Qian smiled slightly, bowed, and saluted.

“Grandfather, as the saying goes, the child’s debt is the father’s repayment,” he stated. “Naturally, I shall repay it.”

Wang Tongye snorted.

“Repay, repay. How can you possibly repay it?” he said irritably. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. How could he have been fooled by the sweet demeanor and soft pleading of that little girl, Qiao’er, to cause such trouble? It was the father’s failure to discipline the child. “I told you to teach your daughter well, but you wouldn't listen! How could you raise such a duplicitous little thing!”

Wang Qian smiled and bowed again.

“Yes, it is this grandson’s fault,” he admitted, straightening up. “Grandfather has repaid it with externalities; therefore, I can only repay with my person.”

What?

Wang Tongye froze, then understood. He appraised Wang Qian from head to toe.

Oh…

Saying it so righteously—isn’t he just taken with her? Such pretense! No wonder he raised the mischievous, pretense-loving girl, Qiao’er!

Without saying a word, he made his grandfather prepare the dowry, and now he puts on this air of helpless acceptance…

“Oh,” Wang Tongye smoothed his robes and leaned back in his chair, his expression softening. “Yixiu, Mistress Qi naturally accepted my repayment. That is maintaining my face. However, your repayment, ha ha…”

Mistress Qi! That’s Qi Yue! Did you think she was one of those sheltered ladies from noble houses who blush easily around men and overthink a casual glance? Did you think that as soon as a matchmaker arrived and you flaunted your family status, you could simply prepare for marriage? This debt, you will be paying dearly…

“Alas,” Wang Tongye sighed, shaking his head. “Children and grandchildren have their own fortunes. I am already a great-grandfather; I won't interfere, I won't interfere.”

But didn't the old man himself stir up this mess? Now he claims he won't interfere, just to watch his grandson’s predicament unfold…

Wang Qian smiled, bowed his head, and assented without saying another word.

Compared to Wang Tongye’s buoyant mood, the Marquis of Dingxi, Marquis Dingxi, and Lady Xie were deeply depressed.

Under Lady Xie’s repeated urging, even showing up to confront her, Madam Yang finally relayed the reply from the Rao family in Shandong.

“…Because we waited too long, the Rao family daughter has already been betrothed elsewhere,” she said with a hint of apology. “We can only thank Madam for her kind intentions.”

What?

Betrothed elsewhere?

“What do you mean waited too long! It was agreed upon back then! Don't they know that? How can you say ‘waited too long’?” Lady Xie was furious.

Madam Yang was quite surprised to hear this.

“Agreed upon beforehand?” she asked in astonishment. “Madam, please do not speak carelessly. At that time, your noble house still had a primary wife. How could you have made arrangements with another family? That is a grave offense of suspending the wife to marry another!”

Lady Xie’s clenched hands trembled incessantly.

Now they bring up that point? Now they remember that rule? Back then, when they were trying so hard to get close, the elders acting haughty and demanding favor, while the younger ones sent shoe designs and inquired after her health—didn't they recall the grave crime of suspending one wife to marry another?

A group of scoundrels! Scoundrels!