Chapter 186: Peacefully Awaiting Early Winter

This year's winter was colder than in previous years, and as soon as November arrived, a snowfall blanketed the world in an instant chill.

People on the streets wrapped themselves in padded jackets and walked briskly. Passing by a shop, someone came out, lifting the thick curtain, and a gust of warm air rushed out, making passersby shiver.

Only a shop that was burning to such comfort could afford it.

Looking up, the passersby saw the signboard—Jiuling Hall.

It wasn't just about being wealthy, the passersby shrugged again; this shop displayed the first emperor's imperial decree.

Although no one had seen the imperial decree firsthand, rumors about it were vivid and detailed.

"This De Sheng Chang from the Fang Family is extraordinary—they once saved the first emperor's life."

"That imperial decree states 'as if I were there myself.'"

"Back in Yangcheng, Miss Jun did not return one night while gathering herbs, and the Fang Family, in their haste to find someone, took out the imperial decree, turning Yangcheng upside down."

"No wonder they could use the imperial decree just because Miss Jun didn't come home from herb gathering. Thousand-Man Commander Lu nearly destroyed Jiuling Hall's signboard—how could the Fang Family let it go?"

As the people from Yangcheng came to the capital, stories about the Fang Family's De Sheng Chang spread, and although the worldly capital citizens didn't pay much attention to these Yangcheng tales, things changed when last month, Jinyiwei Thousand-Man Commander Lu suddenly attempted to remove Jiuling Hall's signboard, and Duke of Chengguo's heir, Zhu Zan, came to its defense, stirring up trouble. Everyone thought the matter would not end there and was ready for a bigger spectacle, but the incident seemed to fizzle out.

This was unlike Thousand-Man Commander Lu's nature.

Although the Duke of Chengguo's heir was formidable and not afraid of the Jinyiwei, if the Jinyiwei wanted to give the Duke of Chengguo's heir a hard time, they'd find a way.

But the Jiuling Hall's signboard was securely hanging over the door, and the past events seemed as if they had never happened, prompting the capital's citizens to inquire once more, and thus the story of the imperial decree spread.

Chen Seven stood in the hall with his hands tucked into his sleeves, watching Fang Jinxiu fiddle with the abacus.

"I've rented out the house," he said, a hint of excitement in his voice, "After New Year's, I'll bring my mother here."

With just over a month until the New Year, Chen Seven planned to go back for the holiday, and Fang Jinxiu, like Miss Jun, didn't plan to return to Yangcheng.

"Then won't you have to go back again for the Third day of the Third month?" Fang Jinxiu said.

Chen Seven laughed, patting his waist.

"For such matters, I'll let others collect for me. Jin Yun Hall's reputation is still reliable," he said.

Moreover, everyone knew he was working for the Fang Family, so they had to give him some respect.

"How do you plan to spend the New Year? The celebrations must be lively here in the capital, right?" Chen Seven asked excitedly. "Why don't I just bring my mother to the capital to celebrate New Year's…"

In the midst of their conversation, a man came in, lifting the curtain, and Chen Seven promptly straightened his demeanor.

"We're not seeing patients today," he said kindly.

The visitor nodded quickly.

"I'm here to pick up some medicine," he said politely, handing over a prescription. "This is prescribed by Doctor Sun from Baohe Hall."

In the capital, it was unexampled for a clinic's doctor to write prescriptions for patients to fill at another clinic—only Jiuling Hall enjoyed that distinction.

Chen Seven took the prescription with an indifferent expression. Before he could fetch the medicine, the visitor respectfully presented a silver banknote.

Fang Jinxiu accepted it, and Chen Seven handed the man a small bottle of medicine. The man left, overjoyed.

"The medicine is running low," Chen Seven remarked, glancing outside through the curtain raised by the departing customer. "She's not at home making medicine, so where did she take Liu'er to play? It's about to snow."

"She's not playing; she has to serve as a bell healer once a month," said Fang Jinxiu without looking up.

"She doesn't see patients, so it's basically just a stroll," Chen Seven murmured, continuing to check the medicine cabinet, calculating which medicines to make and how much of the herbs to purchase.

...............

"Miss, it's going to snow," Liu'er said, looking up at the sky.

Miss Jun paused and looked ahead.

"Let's cut through here," she said, pointing ahead.

Liu'er glanced at the alleyway. She didn't remember the way herself—she simply followed wherever her lady went. Without hesitation, she nodded and proceeded, carrying the flag in front.

Given the narrowness of this alley, even if bell sounds were heard, no one would come out to watch. The mistress and maid quickly crossed it and stood at the mouth of the alley. Liu'er exclaimed softly.

"Miss, isn't this the place..." she said, "where the princess got married?"

Yes, it was right here. She had been in the capital for nearly half a year. She first came here under the guise of the princess' grand wedding and now under the well-known alias of the bell healer.

Miss Jun took a deep breath and was about to step forward when a thought struck her.

There shouldn't be any trouble this time, right?

Like with Sister Bing'er's incident, she hadn't made it the first time she tried, and the second time she went, Sister Bing'er had vanished.

The thought flashed by, and she chuckled to herself. Sister Bing'er's mysterious move had been confirmed to have nothing to do with her. It certainly wasn't due to suspicions about her own identity; Sister Bing'er herself must have been the subject of suspicion.

In the capital, she needed to be cautious, but not overly so, lest she tie her own hands and feet with her suspicions and unwittingly give herself away.

"Yes, let's go," Miss Jun said to Liu'er with a smile, "There's a shop on the street to the right from here that serves delicious mutton leg stew."

Eating this would be perfect in the upcoming snowy weather, thought Liu'er cheerfully, nodding her head.

The master and servant proceeded forward.

The streets here were already deserted, and with the cold pointing towards an imminent snow, it became eerily quiet, the sound of bells ringing unambiguously as they moved.

Although the sound couldn't penetrate the deep interior of the household, the lodge keeper behind the gate could hear it clearly.

"What's that sound?" one lodge keeper said, rising to peek through the crack of the gate with a surprised look on his face, "Is that a bell healer? The bell healer?"

His words immediately drew others over.

To the people of the Lu Mansion now, there was only one bell healer.

"Is this the bell healer who enraged the master so much?"

"And she's just a young girl."

They watched and whispered among themselves in low voices.

"Because she ruined that woman over there, the master was so furious…" someone blurted out, only to be interrupted by others.

"Don't talk nonsense."

"Itching for a beating, are you? Talking about this side and that side."

They all scolded him; though everyone in the capital knew Lu Yunqi had many women outside, it was forbidden to mention it inside the Lu Mansion.

The last time a maid had run to Princess Jiuli to gloat about this, she disappeared the next day.

For a moment, people behind the gate fell silent.

"Nevertheless, this young girl has actually come to our door disguised as a bell healer," someone else said, breaking the silence and shifting the topic, "This must be a provocation, right?"

Indeed, the street was long but had only two households on it, the Lu Mansion and Prince Huai's mansion, and the gates of both were nearly always closed, never to seek any bell healers, a fact known to all in the capital.

Miss Jun would surely know this too, and yet here she was, ringing her bell right outside; it was a clear provocation.

So, Lu Yunqi wants to smash my signboard? Go ahead and smash it.

"What can you do, there's an imperial decree in hand."

"Actually, even with the imperial decree, it didn't matter. What happened then, happened. The decree would be useless afterward; if it weren't for Heir Zhu's intervention, she wouldn't have had the chance to come provoke us at our door now."

"This Miss Jun is quite bold."

Anyone else in this situation, even if not afraid, ought to have been more low-key. Yet, she was openly flaunting herself at the doorstep.

"Just like Heir Zhu."

"Maybe she has an ambiguous relationship with Heir Zhu."

The people inside were abuzz with more and more off-topic discussions, while the sound of the bell outside grew fainter.

Meanwhile, Miss Jun was approaching the place that concerned her most.

Even under the overcast clouds, the plaque of Prince Huai's mansion was clearly visible to her, and her gaze fell upon the door.

The ornate door of the Prince Mansion appeared as if someone cleaned it every day, spotless and like new.

But what of it? This gleaming new door was like the door to a tomb, designed to entrap the people inside.

She really wanted to rush over and push that gate open.

Miss Jun clenched her hand, the bell sound pausing.

And at that moment, the door opened.

The gate opened.

Miss Jun's body stiffened.

How... the door opened?

The flakes of snow began to flutter down at that moment, settling on the man stepping out from behind the gate.

He appeared to be around thirty, dressed in a simple stone-blue cotton robe, with hair pulled up by a bamboo pin, presenting an elegant demeanor with steady eyes. He closed the door and looked up at the sky.

"It's snowing, huh," he muttered to himself, then turned his gaze to the street.

Across the increasingly fierce snowflakes, two girls were staring at him.