The little medicine boy glanced back and quickly pushed Song Qingchao into the room. "Miss Song, please don't worry. Master will handle this. Please rest for now."
Then, with a "snap," the door closed.
Song Qingchao looked at the closed door in front of her, feeling a mix of amusement and helplessness.
Before she could even find out what was going on, someone had intervened.
She slowly walked to the table, poured herself a cup of tea, and took a sip. Her fingertips gently caressed the teacup.
As expected, Bai Youan would come.
Indeed, in less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Bai Youan appeared outside her room.
She looked at his shadow reflected on the door and softly called out, "Enter."
The door then swung open, and Bai Youan slowly walked in.
He was wearing his white silk eye covering again.
Song Qingchao pushed the freshly poured tea towards his side. "Where is your eye patch?"
"Lost."
Bai Youan casually and playfully picked up the teacup and drained it. "You promised to get me a beautiful one, yet you made me wear that ugly thing. It's good that it's lost now."
With a "snap," he placed the cup in his hand in front of Song Qingchao. "Pour me some water."
Song Qingchao rolled her eyes at him before placing the teapot directly in front of him. "Pour it yourself. Don't you have hands?"
Bai Youan looked down at his hands and then hid them in his sleeves. "I really don't."
"Immature," Song Qingchao took another sip of tea.
"Immature?" Bai Youan raised his eyebrows. "Alright, I'm immature. Someone is looking for me outside right now. Should I go or not?"
"Do you want to go?"
Bai Youan spread his hands. "Of course, I don't want to."
Song Qingchao slowly put down her tea. "I'm afraid this time it won't be as you wish."
"How so?" Bai Youan asked, raising his eyebrows.
Song Qingchao glanced at him sideways. "The person who has come this time should be the master of the Lin family, about whom there have been rumors."
She tapped her fingers rhythmically on the tabletop. "If nothing unexpected happens, something must have occurred."
Bai Youan chuckled softly. "Something has happened, and you're still so calm?"
"What else am I supposed to do?" Song Qingchao shot him a look. "The best I can do right now is change my clothes first, my Mr. Bai."
Bai Youan looked down at his own dirt-stained clothes and also curled his lips in disdain. "Alright, you handle things here for now?"
Song Qingchao nodded, agreeing to his request.
Not long after Bai Youan left, Xiang Yunling indeed knocked and entered.
He looked at the neatly dressed Song Qingchao. "You already know?"
Song Qingchao nodded in affirmation and then slowly stood up. "Is he threatening me with my younger brother and sister?"
Xiang Yunling also nodded. "Yes. Did you already know this, which is why you sent Chang Pinghe to find them?"
Song Qingchao couldn't help but smile. "It seems that Young Master Xiang is not entirely engrossed in medical texts; you can guess such things."
"There's no other way," he said, turning his wheelchair to face Song Qingchao. "So, what have you decided? Are you really going to use Bai Youan to exchange for your brother and sister?"
Song Qingchao lightly fiddled with the jade bracelet on her wrist, her gaze drifting towards the door. "Impossible."
She slowly stood up and then, mimicking Bai Youan's movement, loosened the muscles in her neck and shoulders. "Have they left?"
Xiang Yunling nodded. "They've left. Are you planning to go fight them?"
Song Qingchao gave a bright smile. "How could I?"
She held up her handkerchief and pointed to herself. "Do I look like someone who fights well in this state?"
"Very much so."
Song Qingchao didn't wish to talk further with him and directly pushed him out of the room. "Don't worry about this matter. I have my own ways. However, there is something I need your help with."
The two stood under the pavilion, moonlight gradually falling upon them.
"I know you are preparing the prescription for this epidemic. Bai Youan and I have made some progress, but the efficacy of the medicine is still lacking."
She released her hand from the wheelchair. "And I see the medicine boys in your garden interacting with the sick every day, yet they haven't fallen ill. There must be a preventative method. If you and Bai Youan join forces, this prescription can be formulated. What do you think, Young Master Xiang?"
Xiang Yunling pondered for a moment. "These are all Miss Song's wishes. How can you represent Mr. Bai's intentions?"
Song Qingchao patted his shoulder. "You can rest assured about that; I can handle it."
She walked around to the front of Xiang Yunling and slowly squatted down, bringing herself to his eye level. She also removed her mask, revealing the ugly and terrifying wound. "Young Master Xiang, I hope you can help us. We need your assistance."
Xiang Yunling was initially surprised to see the wound on Song Qingchao's face, but after she finished speaking, he understood why she had shown it to him.
She was sincerely asking for his help and acknowledging his medical skills.
He also let out a smile. "Since Miss Song trusts me so much, I would be remiss to refuse."
Song Qingchao also curved her lips in response. "Then I will trouble you, Young Master Xiang."
She stood up and bowed. "As for the Lin family's affairs, I will handle them. Young Master Xiang, you don't need to worry. You only need to tell me what medicinal ingredients you need, and I will surely be able to acquire them from the Lin family."
"You're still going to the Lin family to get medicinal ingredients?"
Song Qingchao nodded as a matter of course. "All the doctors and medicinal herbs in the city have been taken by him. I can only go to him to get them."
"Master Lin is not someone who can be easily dealt with."
"The wise man has his own plans."
Xiang Yunling looked at Song Qingchao's confident expression and couldn't bear to dampen her spirits. "Follow me. Perhaps it will be of some help to you."
Song Qingchao followed Xiang Yunling back into the pharmacy.
Along the way, Xiang Yunling told her much about the Lin family.
The Lin family was a prominent aristocratic clan, with a lineage of only sons for three generations.
Therefore, the Lin family placed great importance on offspring.
Master Lin often went out for business. Once, the Lin family prepared goods for half a year to trade to the north. Due to the preciousness of the items, Master Lin was uneasy and decided to accompany the caravan himself.
On the day the caravan was ready to depart, Madam Lin suddenly began to vomit uncontrollably and suffered severe abdominal pain while seeing them off.
Because of this, the planned journey was also delayed.
That evening, the doctor took her pulse and diagnosed a happy omen.
Master Lin, who already valued his descendants, was naturally overjoyed to hear this.
The next day, someone from the advance party rushed back to the Lin family, reporting that the heavy rain of the previous day had caused a landslide, bringing down mud and rocks with the rain. The goods were lost, and no one escaped.
Master Lin had thus narrowly escaped a disaster and from then on, believed that the child in Madam Lin's womb was a lucky star.
After that incident, Madam Lin no longer suffered from morning sickness.
Later, to welcome the birth of the little lucky star, Master Lin fasted and bathed for three days, and even gave birth in a temple.
Song Qingchao leaned against the counter, listening to Xiang Yunling's story. She interrupted him at the opportune moment. "So, Lin Tingwan is that lucky star?"
Xiang Yunling's hand paused as he reached for the medicine, then continued, "She is, and she isn't."
"What do you mean?"
Xiang Yunling took down the prepared herbs, then stuffed them into a small sachet. "Because the night of the birth was also a rainy night, and there were two ladies giving birth that night, Wanwan and Wanwan, and they were switched."