"Cui Xi," Rong Zhi patted her hand. "She'll know sooner or later."
"Not now!" Cui Xi's voice grew more urgent. "I know my young lady. If she learns that Madam was frightened to death by those thugs, she'll fight them to the death. Her body can't withstand any more hardship. Doctor Lin, please think of a way."
"Don't worry," Rong Zhi pondered for a moment, then said, "You take her to the prison to visit Master Zhang. I'll go to your house to figure something out."
"Okay," Cui Xi nodded vigorously.
"Alright, let's go," Zhang Yajing urged the two of them after finishing her shopping.
Rong Zhi saw that Zhang Yajing was carrying two large bags of pastries and various snacks in each hand, looking heavy.
Cui Xi pulled Zhang Yajing. "Young lady, let's go visit Master in prison first."
"Ah? Why?" Zhang Yajing instinctively frowned at the mention of her own father.
"Because... a few days ago, Madam was thinking of visiting Master in prison, but Madam wasn't feeling well and couldn't go. Now that you're going, you can tell Madam about Master's current situation when you return, to make her happy."
"How good can my father's situation be? If my mother wants to know, I'll just say everything is fine, won't I?"
"How can that be?" Cui Xi was flustered and didn't know how to respond.
Rong Zhi said, "Yajing, just go. Since you're planning to leave Changping County, you should at least bid farewell to your parents."
If she left now, who knew when she could return.
Zhang Yajing thought for a moment. "Alright then."
"I'll go ahead to your house to see your mother. You don't need to worry."
"Okay, thank you."
"You're welcome."
So Cui Xi took Zhang Yajing towards the prison. Rong Zhi watched them walk away before turning and heading to Zhang Yajing's house.
As she was leaving, Rong Zhi sensed a familiar aura not far behind her. When she looked back, she could only see vendors on the street.
Perhaps she was mistaken?
Not far away, Chu Qingze watched Rong Zhi's retreating figure and made a gesture of distress, but his mouth was tightly covered by the person behind him, rendering him speechless.
Xiao Yao glanced around, saw that no one was paying attention to the dark and narrow alley, and then leaped up, taking him to a more remote location. Only when there was no one around did she release the person in her hands.
"I ask you..."
"Blech!" Before she could speak, Chu Qingze suddenly clutched his chest and began to retch violently by the wall. While retching, he pulled out a handkerchief from his chest and forcefully wiped the spot where Xiao Yao had touched him, as if Xiao Yao carried something dirty.
Xiao Yao froze. The thought she had just decided not to treat him too roughly because of his good looks vanished, replaced by boundless anger.
"What are you spitting at?" Her mouth twitched, and her voice deepened, like a Asura from hell about to unleash slaughter.
"Am I ugly?"
When Rong Zhi arrived at the entrance of Zhang Yajing's house, the seal on the door had been half blown away by the wind. There were two guards from the yamen at the door, one of whom was Li Zhao.
He looked somewhat haggard. Although he stood straight, his eyes were staring straight ahead as if his soul had been lost. He didn't notice Rong Zhi's arrival.
It was the other guard who noticed Rong Zhi first.
"Miss Lin, what brings you here?"
This called startled Li Zhao, who was still in a daze. He snapped back to reality and looked at Rong Zhi with some confusion.
Rong Zhi said, "I want to go inside and take a look. Can I?"
"Of course." The yamen opened the door. As Rong Zhi entered, a chilling aura swept over her. In just a few days of no one living there, the human warmth had completely dissipated, leaving only endless desolation and emptiness.
"There's nothing in here. Miss Lin, what business do you have here?"
Li Zhao followed her, his voice filled with loneliness and sadness.
Rong Zhi cut to the chase. "Zhang Yajing is returning to visit Madam Zhang. But Madam Zhang is no longer here. To prevent Zhang Yajing from being stimulated, I have to create a ruse to make arrangements in advance."
After she spoke, there was no response from behind her. Rong Zhi turned around and saw Li Zhao frowning, seemingly deep in thought.
Rong Zhi continued, "I plan to use disguise to get by. If you're here to help, help me set things up. If not, just return to your post."
Li Zhao seemed to have some feelings for the Zhang family. Seeing their decline, he wore a look of bitter regret, which was of no help to Rong Zhi.
Just as Rong Zhi thought he was about to leave, Li Zhao suddenly said, "After Master Zhang was arrested, although the family was not as prosperous as before, their foundation was still there. However, after the previous chaos, the Zhang family abandoned their home, leaving only an empty shell. No matter how we arrange things now, it won't be the same as before."
Hearing this, Rong Zhi began to ponder seriously. Indeed, Madam Zhang could be impersonated through disguise, but the furnishings and arrangements of the entire Zhang mansion could not be restored in such a short time.
If Zhang Yajing returned to see her mother alone in a desolate and empty room, with not a single person around, and even the furniture missing, she would surely think she had seen a ghost.
"It's not difficult to find the furniture and arrange it. Lord Lu has arrested those who caused the disturbance and recovered some of the stolen goods. I'll speak to him and borrow them temporarily."
While Rong Zhi was hesitating, another yamen interjected.
"It's just... if we move the furniture back, arrange it as it was, and then disguise, it will take a very long time."
This yamen had overheard Rong Zhi and Li Zhao's conversation and was genuinely trying to help.
Rong Zhi said, "As long as we can find it, it's no problem. I'll arrange the rest. Brother, please go and tell Lord Lu. I'll go back to get help."
"Yes," the yamen agreed and went back to get people.
Rong Zhi didn't delay and used her lightness skill to rush home. Soon, she returned with someone, who was Xia Yunting.
"You're going to such great lengths just to conceal the truth?"
On the way, Xia Yunting had already heard Rong Zhi explain the whole story. He was both surprised and touched by Rong Zhi's earnestness.
Rong Zhi said, "I put in so much effort to pull her back from the brink of death. I can't let her grieve excessively and ruin her health. Wouldn't that be a waste of my internal energy?"
It sounded like mere concern from a doctor for a patient, but what doctor in the world would go to such lengths for a patient?
Xia Yunting touched her head. "With you like this, you're destined for a life of toil."
"You're quite right."
In her previous life, she had traveled all over the world searching for medicinal herbs, accepting disciples, and practicing medicine. Wasn't that a life of toil?
There was a knock on the door outside. Rong Zhi opened it to find that the yamen had arrived with three carriages under the moonlight. The flatbed carts were filled with furniture and decorative items, large and small, as well as antique vases.
"Lord Lu said that the incident at the Zhang residence was due to his poor supervision, and he owes the Zhang family a favor. These items will be returned to the Zhang family and will not be confiscated."
Previously, because there was no one in the Zhang family, Lu An had not returned these items.
Rong Zhi nodded in agreement. "Lord Lu truly cares for his people."
"Miss Lin, this is the diagram I drew. Arrange the furniture and decorations according to this layout."
Li Zhao walked over with a piece of paper. The paper showed a floor plan of the entire house, drawn in great detail.
Rong Zhi was surprised. "I didn't expect you to know the Zhang family so well."
"Miss Zhang and I have known each other since childhood. I used to come here often before I became a constable."
A brief look of nostalgia crossed Li Zhao's face, quickly replaced by melancholy.
"No time to delay, let's get started!"
Rong Zhi said.
Li Zhao and the yamen nodded. As they approached the carriages to start, two black shadows flashed by, creating a gust of wind, and then the rosewood tables, chairs, and screens on the carriages disappeared.
Li Zhao and the yamen turned to look inside simultaneously, only to see Rong Zhi and Xia Yunting already arranging things at high speed.
"Did I see that correctly? That was too fast."
Li Zhao's mouth twitched. He struggled to take out a seven-foot-tall antique vase from the innermost part of the carriage.
With Rong Zhi and Xia Yunting, the Zhang mansion was soon restored to its original state. Rong Zhi lit candles everywhere in the courtyard. In the candlelight, the courtyard no longer felt so eerie.
Next, they needed to find someone to impersonate Madam Zhang.
Rong Zhi looked around and finally fixed her gaze on Li Zhao.
"Is there a problem?"
Li Zhao looked at himself, not realizing Rong Zhi's intention.
"You will impersonate Madam Zhang."
"Me?" Li Zhao pointed at himself, disbelievingly. "I'm a man!"
"I didn't spend much time with Madam Zhang and don't know her mannerisms and speech. If I were to impersonate her, it would be easy to reveal myself. Their physiques don't match, so you are the most suitable. I will disguise you. You should speak less and try to imitate Madam Zhang's speech and actions as much as possible."
Li Zhao looked back at the yamen and then at Xia Yunting. Indeed, these two were too tall. Since they couldn't find anyone else at the moment, he gritted his teeth and nodded.
"Alright!"
By the time Zhang Yajing came out of the prison, it was already very late at night. The two of them walked in silence. The pastries in Zhang Yajing's hands had decreased significantly.
Cui Xi followed behind, her expression tense, unsure of the situation at home.
As they approached, she saw flickering lights from afar and heard voices inside. Cui Xi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed Doctor Lin had made preparations.
"Young lady, let's go in."
"Mm."
The two pushed open the door. Although she had anticipated that it wouldn't be lively inside, Zhang Yajing was still startled by the desolate atmosphere.
"Have all the people in the mansion left?"
Clearly, when she had left, there were still a few trustworthy servants. Now, there wasn't a single one.
"Young lady, Master is in prison, and the family doesn't have spare money. It's fine that those idle people have left. They would only anger Madam if they stayed home anyway," Cui Xi consoled from behind.
"Setting aside other things, someone has to look after my mother!"
Zhang Yajing said as she walked towards Madam Zhang's room. Under the lamplight, two figures were cast inside, one dressed as a woman, the other looking like Rong Zhi.
"Mother, I'm back."
Zhang Yajing adjusted her mood and called out in a cheerful voice. There was no response from inside, but the shadow stood up.
Zhang Yajing, impatient, pushed the door open and rushed in.
"Mother!"
She embraced Li Zhao, who was dressed as Madam Zhang.
Li Zhao was extremely flustered, afraid to embrace her back or speak. He could only nod.
"Mother, it's been a long time. Why have you lost so much weight?"
Zhang Yajing squinted in the candlelight, wanting to get a closer look, but found that her mother seemed different from usual.