Although Ji Qubing was known to be difficult to invite and he was always very mean, according to Wei Changying's experience, he still had Old Madam Song's affection in mind, and he could definitely be invited despite his ill-temper if it was Old Madam Song's children who needed help.

However, this time, even though Wei Changying had tried to please him as much as she could, Ji Qubing still refused to go. The reason was that although the poison that Su Yuwu and Pei Kai had been poisoned with was cured, the process of preparing the antidote had inspired him and he had gained another insight into the usage of You Lai He. Now was the best time for him to focus on it, and he did not want to be distracted.

In the end, Wei Changying was really anxious. Hence, he reluctantly gave in, “Either you send him here without any delays, or stop bothering me!”

At this point, Wei Changying had no other choice but to send someone on a fast horse to report to the minister of the public’s mansion.

By midday, there was a crowd outside the Ji Family. Although Song Zaijiang and his siblings were disappointed to hear the news, they didn’t dare to delay and hastily used the family's largest and smoothest horse-drawn carriage to bring Song Yuwang to the doctor.

The people carried Song Yuwang into the house. When Ji Qubing came out, everyone watched with fear and trepidation as he gently picked up Song Yuwang's wrist and put it down for a moment. Before they had time to ask about his condition, Ji Qubing ordered with a flourish, “All the women, please excuse yourselves. Where are the sons of the Song Family? Stay here and help me.”

The only women around were Wei Changying and Song Zaishui. Song Zaijiang and Song Zaitian were here, so someone had to keep an eye on the mansion, and Mrs. Huo was left behind at the mansion to clean up the mess.

Hearing Ji Qubing's words, both women had a grim expression. Song Zaishui who was worried about her father asked, “How is my father?”

Ji Qubing said in a cold voice without raising his head, “Who should I ask if you ask me? Can't you see that I haven't confirmed the diagnosis yet?”

Although Song Zaishui was pretty strong-hearted, she had been spoiled by her family. Hence, she was stunned by his words. After realizing what he said, she blushed profusely and didn’t know whether to feel ashamed or mad. Wei Changying hurriedly soothed the situation and said, “Cousin, let's go out first. Perhaps Dr. Ji needs us to be excused before he can confirm the diagnosis.”

Ji Qubing grunted and went on, "Even you, a complete amateur in medical science, know what I mean. Miss Song, you look smart, yet you don’t even understand such a simple logic?”

"..." Wei Changying pulled Song Zaishui out of the door and sighed, "That's why no one in the capital is willing to see him unless it’s a last resort. Do you see why now? Don't take it to heart, or you won't get over it. Even I stopped caring about what he said!”

These words really had an effect on Song Zaishui, who knew her temperament well. Song Zaishui stared at her for a moment and said through her clenched teeth, "Even you said that you could only endure him. Do I have any other choices?”

Wei Changying saw that she was still sad because she merely asked a question yet was reprimanded by Ji Qubing, so she comforted her, "Don't be mad. Although he said something bad, it only means that he is really good at medicine. Consider it for my uncle's sake!”

Song Zaishui thought about it and said, "That's more like it. If he can cure my father, it's okay for me to put up with him a few more times."

It was very hot under the sun, so the two women who originally stood in the courtyard wanted to find a place to sit. However, the doctor’s courtyard was different. Although the two rooms on either side were unlocked, the few that were open were filled with herbs and there was nowhere to stand, let alone a place to sit.

The two sides of the corridor had been made to rest on. But at the moment, there were also various herbs hanging out to dry, so there was only room for one person to sit in the small gap.

When Song Zaishui saw it, she asked, "Can we make some room to sit down and put back the herbs to where it was for him later?”

“We’d better not do that.” Wei Changying advised her, "He refused to visit my uncle at your home today because he has learned a lot about You Lai He he got from the northern tribes and has been studying them recently. Going to your home and coming back will waste a lot of time. It's possible that he took these herbs out for it. We don't have anyone here who knows the properties of the medicine. If we get it wrong and make him angry, it will cause another fight."

Song Zaishui sighed, "This doctor… Alas! let’s not mention him anymore!”

"I think it will take some time if he wants my cousins to stay and help him out. Why don't we leave someone here while we find a place to sit outside?" Wei Changying suggested, "There are so many herbs here, and the sun is making it smell really pungent."

Song Zaishui responded spiritlessly. There were only three servants here. Hence, they weren’t here all the time. With no one to show the way, Wei Changying, who was not very familiar with the place, went by memory to a courtyard that was seemingly prepared for guests. As she walked, she pushed open a half-closed courtyard door. She saw Su Yuwu playing chess with Pei Kai on a stone table and benches under a grape arbor. They both looked pale. The servants sent by the two families stood aside and watched the two of them with their games.

They heard the sound of footsteps and looked over together, surprised to see that there were two women.

Su Yuwu had obviously misunderstood and immediately put away his chess. Standing up to greet them, he smiled, "Cousin, are you here to see me?"

Only when Wei Changying pushed open the door did she realize that she had gone to the wrong place. She was looking for a place to rest. Instead, she entered the courtyard of the Ji Family’s mansion that was prepared for the sick. Coincidentally, Su Yuwu and Pei Kai were housed at the same place. Coincidentally, the two of them were playing chess quietly. The onlookers were so gentle and made no noise. Therefore, Wei Changying didn’t expect that there were people. As she entered without knocking, she was embarrassed. Upon hearing Su Yuwu’s greeting, she decided to go along with it and answered, “Cousin, you can stand up now?”

Seeing that Pei Kai also slowly stood up to greet her, she nodded to him too, “Mr. Pei, are you feeling much better?”

Su Yuwu smiled and said, “He can stand up, but he still doesn't have much strength in his body. Miracle Doctor Ji said his vital energy has been damaged and he has lost a lot of blood. Hence, he needs to recuperate well."

Pei Kai agreed, “Madam Wei, thank you for asking. I am much better now. I just need to take a few more medications before I can return home."

“Remember to take care.” Wei Changying said a few words of concern. Since Song Zaishui was here with her, she had to introduce her, "This is my cousin. My uncle is not feeling well and came to see Miracle Doctor Ji for treatment. She was worried about my uncle and came along. We came to look as we've been excused by Miracle Doctor Ji.”

Su Yuwu and Pei Kai then proceeded to greet Song Zaishui. Since Su Yuwu called Wei Changying as his cousin, he did the same thing to Song Zaishui. In fact, even if Wei Changying didn't say it, the two of them had guessed it. Song Zaishui left in a hurry this morning without her cap. Hence, her scar was a bit shocking. However, she was still beautiful, and her manners were impeccable, so one could not help but feel sorry for her. As for such a lady, who else would she be if not the former Crown Princess-to-be?

Neither Su Yuwu nor Pei Kai liked gossips, especially when it was concerned with the lady of other people's families. Now that they had seen it in person, they pitied her in their hearts. Although they did not dare to keep looking at Song Zaishui, they stole glances at her out of the corner of their eyes. After greeting each other, Wei Changying said that Song Yuwang was ill. Since he was a first-rank minister of the public, both of them had to ask if he was alright.

Wei Changying didn't know much about it, so Song Zaishui explained, "My father was probably too busy with government affairs and had neglected his health. When he went out today, he suddenly fainted. Luckily, there were servants who held him in time. Hence, my father didn’t fall down. I had asked the imperial doctors for a diagnosis, but they could only slightly relieve my father's pain. My brother was anxious and asked them repeatedly for help. The head of the Imperial Hospital recommended Miracle Doctor Ji. Thankfully, Changying had some connections with Miracle Doctor Ji. Hence, we could…"

Su Yuwu and Pei Kai both sighed and comforted her together, reassuring her that she didn’t need to worry and that Song Yuwang would be all right for sure. After some time, one of Pei Kai’s servants mustered up the courage to remind him that he should go inside and have his medicine.

Wei Changying was ready to leave. When she saw Su Yuwu didn’t budge after Pei Kai apologized and followed the servant into the house, she asked curiously, “Don't you need to drink the medicine too, cousin?”

Su Yuwu said, "Miracle Doctor Ji prescribed different medicine for us, and the time to drink differs, too. I only need to drink it two hours later."

In that case, it wouldn’t be right for Wei Changying to walk away just like that. After thinking of a topic, she asked him about his injuries, "How did all five of you get so badly injured?" Actually, Wei Zhengyin had already told her about this. It was said that they had been ambushed. but the northern tribes had underestimated their strength, they ended up with a disastrous victory. No matter how disastrous it was, the word "victory" mattered most to the Emperor.

"It's a long story." Su Yuwu seemed to recall the blood and tears on the battlefield where life might disappear in an instant. His pupils shrank slightly as he sighed and briefed them about the situation on the Eastern Hu and the story of this disastrous victory he was in.

At first, only Wei Changying asked questions. Gradually, Song Zaishui also became interested and stopped looking out of the courtyard due to her eagerness to find out how Song Yuwang was doing and started to ask questions.

The three of them gradually increased the intensity of their discussion. Su Yuwu said that after the ambush, the soldiers put their life on the line to fight back, and they tried their best to gather the team and charge on. But because the northern tribes suddenly appeared from all sides and there were archers hiding in high places, they aimed their arrows at them from above. The team was in chaos and could not be controlled at all. As arrows shot down, the sound of the killings was deafening. There was blood and corpses everywhere. Everyone's eyes were red, and they were ready to die. Although they were now far away from the Eastern Hu and were now sitting in a vineyard in the comfort of the capital, Su Yuwu who was describing the battle that he won with two elegant women still choked up upon mentioning the death of his comrades. Embarrassed, he looked away.

Song Zaishui looked solemn as she lifted the bowl of tea in front of her and sighed, "Some wine would be perfect at this very moment." Su Yuwu and Pei Kai were both recovering from their wounds. Of course, there was no wine in the courtyard. But if wine wasn’t present with such a generous and intense story, it was kind of incongruous and inexpressive.

"Although it’s just tea, three thousand loyal souls have died on the frontier, including many of them from other countries. Even if there is no wine, I think I would be happy enough to drink a cup of fresh tea from the Great Vi." Su Yuwu could not help but turn back. With his teary eyes, he slowly poured out the tea in front of him on the floor by the stone table.

Wei Changying and Song Zaishui did the same, and the latter wished, "May the border troops fight bravely to avenge our country. May the souls of the loyal return to their homeland as soon as possible. May the Great Vi be blessed for a long time!"

Without saying a word, Su Yuwu ordered his servant to pour a large bowl of tea and downed it fiercely as if he had been drinking wine fiercely. He raised his sleeve and wiped the water from the corner of his mouth with a casual pale smile after putting down the bowl. Suddenly, he turned the tea bowl upside down and clasped it backward on the table with his fingers. With the sound of the clasp, he sang in a loud voice, “The autumn grass is burning in the sky, and the haze is molten gold. The sad reed is blowing down the blue feathers of the sea while the drums are waiting for the white banner!"

He sang it loudly a few times. Gradually, in the rich courtyard where the summer flowers were shining brightly and the sun was shining freely, a sudden vibe of loneliness, anger, and almightiness dawned upon them, too. It was as if they had been transported to the late autumn on the grassland where the grass was dry and long and the two armies were lined up with their drums clamoring. The battle was about to start!

However, when Su Yuwu repeated the last line of the song "The drums are waiting for the white banner", he shook his head and laughed bitterly. With tears, he said, "Yet the white banner does not have a drum. What can be done about it?"

When Wei Changying and Song Zaishui heard this, they were puzzled and wanted to ask questions. But when they saw Su Yuwu’s bitter and complicated expression, they both understood what happened.