14：The Turmoil of the Heart

Upon hearing this, Shen Hao realized that buying a maid seemed to come with trouble.

No wonder Yongci looked like the daughter of a prominent family; her father was a royal physician.

Shen Hao then looked at the body wrapped in a straw mat.

Is this Song Yongci's father, Song Youli?

A royal physician?

For some reason, Shen Hao wanted to store this body in his space.

A royal physician... If he absorbed his memories, Shen Hao could become a master of Chinese medicine.

Knowing medicine also meant knowing poison. With this ability, Shen Hao would have more confidence in his safety in this world.

After all, poisons are silent and deadly; you wouldn't necessarily even know it when you're poisoned.

Let's first check what kind of official position this Jinxiu Si holds, and whether it has great influence.

If this Jinxiu Censor holds a high position, buying Song Yongci might not only be worth it, but could also help him form a good relationship.

As for the emperor, Shen Hao had no reverence for him. This world has many dynasties, and he could always move somewhere else if needed.

As a modern person, Shen Hao had no fear of imperial authority. Besides, with the space at his disposal, he was not afraid.

Worst case, he could hide in his space and throw a few grenades. Everyone would be in trouble then.

"Sorry, sir, for causing you trouble," Song Yongci said softly.

Hearing this, Shen Hao shook his head and said, "It's not troublesome. Let's see first. Where is your creditor?"

"Don't worry, sir. The Jinxiu Si is well-informed. They should be here soon."

"Why didn't this Jinxiu Censor help you bury your father directly?"

"She is a person in the court and can't be too blatant."

Seeing Song Yongci's weary expression, Shen Hao stopped asking more questions.

For now, it seemed that Song Yongci wasn't an ungrateful person.

At this moment, suddenly, a shadow appeared on the wall. In the blink of an eye, the figure lightly landed next to Song Yongci.

The person was dressed in black, wearing a conical hat, and holding a sword in her hand.

Her frame was small, about 1.6 meters tall, clearly a woman by her body shape.

However, her face was obscured by a layer of black gauze on the hat.

Shen Hao was stunned. Could this be the legendary lightness skill? She truly moved like a ghost.

This made Shen Hao even more intrigued.

The woman in black sized up Shen Hao and said, "You spent 200 taels to buy her?"

Shen Hao shook his head and replied, "Not yet, I will buy after confirming her safety."

"Hmph," the woman snorted lightly, "You are cautious. Don't worry, just buy her. I have some connections with her, and you don't need to worry about the guards."

Song Yongci looked worried and asked, "You won't...?"

"Exactly, a few greedy guards, just kill them. The foolish emperor can no longer control the court, and here, far from the emperor's reach, you don't need to worry. I still have some power in Jinxiu Si."

After saying this, the woman in black turned to Shen Hao and added, "Since she will be your maid from now on, treat her well. If you don't want her, you can buy her freedom instead. No need to worry about other matters. Rest assured, the governor of Yangzhou, Li Chongyan, does not get along with the foolish emperor. Song Yongci won't bring you trouble."

"This is also a favor I owe to Song Youli. He saved me once, and now I'm saving his daughter. If anyone causes trouble, just show this token."

The woman in black then threw a token at Shen Hao, which had the characters Jinxiu Si written on it.

Though Shen Hao didn't know what Jinxiu Si was, he decided to go ahead and spend the money.

He handed over 200 taels of silver.

The woman in black opened the purse, checked the silver, and weighed it in her hands. Satisfied, she said, "Nice, the silver is of good quality, and the amount is sufficient. You can now peacefully bury your father and never worry again."

Then, with a light tap of her toes, the woman floated like a feather up to the wall and disappeared.

Shen Hao watched in awe. Now, this was a true expert.

Looking at the token with Jinxiu Si written on it, he thought, What kind of organization is this?

Since the money had already been spent, Shen Hao decided to do a good deed to the end. He bought a coffin and burial clothes for Song Youli.

Half an hour later, the people bringing the coffin arrived.

Shen Hao said, "Let's bury your father first."

"Thank you, sir."

Then, they dressed Song Youli in his burial clothes and placed him in the coffin.

This deeply moved Song Yongci. In this era, filial piety was highly valued, and it was a sign of respect and devotion when a deceased elder could wear new burial clothes and have a proper coffin. It was a display of children's filial duty.

As they were about to seal the coffin, Shen Hao asked, "Do you want to take a final look at your father?"

Song Yongci's eyes filled with tears, and she leaned over the coffin, crying uncontrollably.

Then, she suddenly fainted.

Song Yongci had been running a fever for days and had hardly eaten anything. The overwhelming sadness caused her to pass out.

Taking advantage of the situation, Shen Hao quickly placed Song Youli's body into his space. He wanted to find out if Song Yongci and the woman in black had lied to him.

A corpse wouldn't lie.

Then, he threw a stone of similar weight into the space.

Finally, he sealed the coffin, nailed it shut, and buried it in the land he had bought.

After finishing all of this, Shen Hao returned to his room to check on Song Yongci.

He took her temperature, and it was 39.1°C. Shen Hao had no medicine in his space, so he returned to the modern world and ordered some fever medicine and antibiotics through an online delivery service.

Although he wasn't a doctor, he knew basic treatments for common illnesses.

At this time, Shen Hao didn't hurry to return to the other world. After all, time was frozen there, so there was no rush.

Instead, he entered his space and chose to absorb Song Youli's memories.

As soon as he entered the space, the white mist filled the space and rushed toward Shen Hao.

In an instant, memories of Song Youli flooded in.

Song Youli's medical skills were passed down through generations.

He was part of the "You" generation in his family.

The Song family's generations were ordered as follows: Gong Zhong and Xiao You, forever prosperous.

But by his generation, the Song family had only one child left.

His eldest daughter, Song Yongzhen, went missing when she was six, likely dead.

Only his youngest daughter, Song Yongci, remained.

Thanks to his inherited medical skills and years of research, Song Youli's medical abilities were among the best even in the Imperial Medical Department.

As for his family's downfall, it all began with him treating the Empress Dowager.

Early last month, Empress Dowager Liu had a poor appetite and felt nauseous. She called for several physicians, but none of them could figure it out.

When Song Youli was called, he immediately recognized that she was pregnant. He told the truth to the Empress Dowager: "Your Majesty, you're pregnant."

To be sure, Song Youli was a skilled physician, but not a politically savvy court physician.

Empress Dowager Liu was the former Empress of Emperor Xuan.

Now that Emperor Xuan had been dead for two years, how could she be pregnant?

Clearly, something was amiss.

As a court physician, it wasn't just about knowing medicine, but also understanding the political landscape.

Other physicians had recognized the pregnancy but kept silent, while Song Youli, being straightforward, couldn't stay silent.

It was said that the late Emperor Xuan had died because of a misdiagnosis by the head physician of the Imperial Medical Department.

Emperor Xuan had a cold, but all the physicians insisted it was a fever.

The medicine made him weaker, and eventually, the head physician killed him by accident.

Song Youli was too blunt and didn't understand the politics of the court. As a result, he was punished, and his family was affected.

Shen Hao thought to himself that Song Youli deserved it. He wasn't political enough and wasn't fit for the position.

The crime was considered treason, for insulting the Empress Dowager.

After absorbing Song Youli's memories, Shen Hao had a better understanding of the general situation of the Dayang Dynasty.

He also learned that this world indeed had powerful martial artists.

Body Forging, Post-Heaven, Pre-Heaven, and True Yuan.

The most powerful in the Dayang Dynasty were the True Yuan realm experts.

Shen Hao was particularly interested in Yang Wuxian, the true Yuan expert who was killed by Emperor Yang Wen.

Yang Wuxian was the pillar of the kingdom, but he was poisoned by his nephew and suffocated to death in prison.

It was a pitiful death.

The world was vast, and the Dayang Dynasty's northern borders led to the Northern Wilderness, while to the south was the Da Kun Dynasty.

These three neighboring dynasties were all vassals of the Tianwu Dynasty.

These three dynasties paid tribute to the Tianwu Dynasty every year.

Sure enough, after absorbing Song Youli's memories, Shen Hao had a clearer understanding of the world's big picture.

However, he was disappointed to find that Song Youli's memories did not include any martial arts techniques.

After all, he was just a physician.

For some reason, Shen Hao became eager to find the body of Yang Wuxian.

Since he was a true Yuan realm expert, he must have martial arts techniques.

Knowing that such powerful experts existed in this world, Shen Hao's desire to practice martial arts became even stronger.

He set a small goal for himself: to reach the Post-Heaven Realm.