Volume One, Chapter 13: Reckless Disregard for Life Deserves Consequences

Jiang Tianbao trembled violently all over, shattered jade Buddha lying broken in two on the ground.

Just a moment ago, he had carefully cleansed his hands, clutching the stolen precious treasure with delight; the next instant, an excruciating pain tore through both his hands.

“What… what’s happening, ah!”

Cold sweat poured down like a torrential rain as Jiang Tianbao knelt on the floor, violently hitting himself and jumping about in a frenzy.

He felt as if ants had swarmed over his skin, flesh, and bones, gnawing away relentlessly.

The servants watched him in panic, helpless and at a loss.

When the masked Hammerstone leapt down from the courtyard wall, he saw the room in utter disarray, with the wretched figure wailing in the center.

With formidable agility, he crossed the crowd before anyone could react, then with a swift strike of his blade, severed the two sources of Jiang Tianbao’s unbearable agony.

“Ah!!!”

Hammerstone returned to the royal mansion to report, finding Liang Jiang still painting at his desk.

The scene depicted a snowy mountain landscape dotted with red plum blossoms, under which two small figures, one tall and one short, conversed peacefully.

Closing his eyes briefly, Hammerstone thought to himself that since His Highness met the Imperial Physician Wen, it was as if he had been drunk, half his soul having been stolen away.

“Oh? So I was just acting unnecessarily?” Liang Jiang’s lips curled into a sly smile.

The moment that useless scion of the Jiang family touched A Yan’s collar, his fate was sealed—he no longer belonged to him.

Hammerstone dared not answer ‘yes’ and swiftly changed the subject. “The severed hand I brought back was examined by Steward Jin, who said it’s a very special poison. It causes no reaction on contact, but once it meets water, it burns like a branding iron scorching the flesh—worse than death. It’s a cruel and insidious trick.”

“Poison?” Liang Jiang’s mind flashed with a thought but quickly dismissed it. “I thought A Yan was a compassionate healer who only saved lives. I must have underestimated him.”

He chuckled softly, tinged with melancholy. “Three ruffians couldn’t harm him; A Yan is so formidable that His Highness now seems less important.”

Bored to no end.

Hammerstone’s scalp tingled. “Shouldn’t Your Highness say that his methods are underhanded, differing from the upright image he usually projects?”

At that moment, Wen Shiyan sneezed inside the room.

She rubbed the tip of her nose, wiped away the poison smeared on the contract, and stored it carefully.

They could not let those who sought to harm their ‘wife,’ ‘sister,’ or ‘daughter-in-law’ get away so easily.

Those who disregard human life must pay a price.

Three days and nights of pain were a leniency.

---

The next day, before dawn, Wen Shiyan was fully dressed and rode out in a rattling carriage to return to the palace for her duties.

The snow along the road had been cleared, leaving only the silver-white on tiles and treetops to mark the night’s snowfall.

Upon arriving at the palace gate, she was called from behind the moment she alighted.

“Are you Imperial Physician Wen?”

The voice was gentle, as if afraid to startle her.

Turning around, she saw a young man in a pristine white robe, handsome and upright, though slightly frail.

She recognized him and bowed slightly. “Young Master Zhu.”

He was a hostage from the Qiong Kingdom, the least favored youngest son of the Qiong ruler.

Also, the ‘kind stranger’ who had gifted her a fox fur cloak two days prior.

Zhu Fenghua returned the gesture with a bow and walked beside her. “To meet you by chance today seems to be fate between me and Lady Wen?”

His smile was warm, like spring sunshine in the dead of winter.

Yet, given his long history of mistreatment, it was impossible to tell how much of his face was genuine.

Wen Shiyan chuckled awkwardly. “Why are you up so early, Young Master?”

After speaking, she felt uneasy and added, “I don’t mean to pry into your affairs; you need not answer if you prefer not to.”

Zhu Fenghua shook his head and spoke naturally. “Last night, several princes gathered on a pleasure boat and invited me along. Amidst the drinking, I couldn’t refuse and lost track of time.”

“I see.” Wen Shiyan smelled the faint scent of alcohol but saw his steady gait and polite speech—it seemed he was invited but still excluded from the circle.

Lowering her eyes, she noticed several red, swollen chilblains on his long fingers and felt a pang of sympathy.

She reached to her side, took out a small jar from a cloth pouch.

Opening it, half the transparent ointment inside had been used, looking rather shabby.

“Never mind...”

She was about to put it away when Zhu Fenghua asked, “What is this?”

Wen Shiyan hesitated, then honestly replied, “It’s a chilblain ointment I made myself. Recently, my palms were often soaked in cold water, so I prepared some as prevention. Just now... I saw you suffer from the same, so I wanted to give it to you.”

Zhu Fenghua smiled. “Thank you.”

---

“Um...” Wen Shiyan felt a little embarrassed. “This jar is almost finished. Shall I make another for you?”

She would never give someone something she had already used—it was too rude.

Zhu Fenghua didn’t mind. “Lady Wen, please don’t trouble yourself on my account. I am already grateful just to receive this.”

The more he said this, the more uncomfortable Wen Shiyan felt.

“All right.” She placed the ointment into his hand and added, “When you finish it, come to the Medical Library to ask me for a new one. I should be working there for the next half month.”

Holding the warm little jar in his palm, Zhu Fenghua said, “Very well.”

Neither mentioned the white fox fur cloak that had been ‘thrown back.’

Their conversation soon ended at a fork in the road where they parted ways.

---

Over the next three days, Wen Shiyan took time to visit the Yong’an Clinic, arranging for Jiang Ruoyu and her daughter to stay in the small courtyard where she had once rented. She returned the filigree gold hairpin she had previously collected, knowing that money was indispensable for survival in the vast capital.

What surprised Wen Shiyan was that every afternoon after lunch, Zhu Fenghua came to the Medical Library to help her organize the bookshelves and sweep the floors.

He worked meticulously, not missing even the high corners or hidden nooks.

Thanks to him, Wen Shiyan could find more time to study ancient texts and learn treatments for various ailments.

For Zhu Fenghua, just having someone to talk to as an equal was enough to satisfy him, and he gladly stayed by her side.

The spacious, quiet Medical Library often echoed with their cheerful laughter. Zhu Fenghua was skilled at reading people, speaking just the right words to comfort and amuse, as if all worries could be banished.

Since his hands must not touch water, Wen Shiyan simply sat by the basin, holding a book while waiting for him to hand her used cloths to wash and return.

One day, Liang Jiang pushed open the door and saw this very scene.

“A Yan, what are you two doing?”

Wen Shiyan sat on the stairs, about to change the water when she suddenly heard Liang Jiang’s voice. She didn’t notice the wet floor and nearly slipped and fell.

Fortunately, Zhu Fenghua was quick and strong; he dropped the cloth and caught her in a protective embrace.

Liang Jiang took a half step forward but stopped, a surge of unnamed fury rising and then suppressed.

How could his A Yan secretly befriend others without telling him?