Human beings really are strange creatures.

When traveling afar, telling the absolute truth can be quite dangerous. Although Tingyun did not have much experience traveling outside the capital, both hearsay and books had taught her this single truth.

Talking nonsense and spinning tall tales is actually an essential survival skill. In other words—sigh, don't you try anything funny. I am basically a local here. If you dare to do anything to me, my husband will not let you off easily.

"Go ahead and tell me. I am quite a figure in Xinping Township; there is no one here I do not know."

Xia Lin was curious. He had heard that monks could marry—though he could marry, he had never heard of a working-girl-on-the-roster having a fiancé. He was not asking for his own sake, but rather wanted to find out if that man had any brothers left at home. He still had so many young sisters in his own circle remaining single; many of them were of fairly good overall quality, yet people still minded their background to some degree, and quite a few looked down upon them.

"Xinping Township is so vast, there is no harm in me telling you," Miss Tingyun said with a smiling expression. "His name is Lin Tao, courtesy name Chaosong. He is a tea merchant."

Xia Lin scratched his head. "Oh, then I don't know him. There are simply too many tea merchants over there; tea guests from the south and north all pass through."

Miss Tingyun glanced at his expression and laughed inwardly. In this world, where on earth was there any Lin Chaosong? She had simply recited a line from *Moonlit Night on the Spring River* and accidentally invented such a person on the spot. It was only right that he didn't know; if he did know, it would mean this person harbored malicious intentions.

After chatting a bit more, Miss Tingyun concluded that this fellow was merely a braggart in words, no different from those wine-drinking scholars, and thus she felt somewhat more at ease.

"Me? My name is Zhang Shuo. You certainly don't know me."

"Zhang Shuo? That's not right. I've heard that Zhang Shuo, courtesy name Zhongchun, is already over twenty years old, and you..." Miss Tingyun curled her lips, a trace of disdain in her heart. "I'm afraid you are impersonating him."

"No, no. The Zhang Shuo you mentioned and this Zhang Shuo of mine are not the same person. That Zhang Shuo is one of the premier talents in Luoyang, while this Zhang Shuo is merely a namesake just idling his days away," Xia Lin waved his hand. "As for you, what did you say your name was just now?"

"An Dou Niang."

"Oh, nice name."

"Miss~"

The maid beside her suddenly looked at Miss Tingyun in astonishment and let out a soft cry. However, she was gently stepped on the foot by her mistress. This little action was caught by Xia Lin, who almost laughed out loud.

This woman didn't seem much like a good person, but it didn't matter. She had stolen her family maid's name, and he had usurped his master's name; the two of them were basically evenly matched, fifty steps and a hundred steps—neither could judge the other.

The two of them sat there concocting a web of lies together, neither uttering a single true word. The identity Miss Tingyun made up for herself was that of a young lady from a prominent family in the capital whose fortunes had declined, and who had set out to find her once-despised fiancé to seek a future. Meanwhile, the identity Xia Lin fabricated for himself was that of a down-and-out scholar in Xunyang City making a living by selling calligraphy and paintings.

Both knew the other was talking nonsense, but with tacit understanding, neither exposed the other. By the end, they even seemed to be enjoying each other's company quite a bit. This "Zhang Shuo" marveled that a low-class courtesan could possess such fine learning and cultivation, her diction and knowledge in no way inferior to most scholars. And this "Dou Niang" marveled that a low-ranking battalion officer could casually toss off prose, witty, humorous, and remarkably well-read.

To be honest, although Xia Lin knew full well that this woman was no good egg, she was truly too gorgeous. If she were willing to offer herself for free, he wouldn't mind at all, but obviously, that remained strictly within the realm of wishful thinking. As the saying goes, a gentleman is judged by his actions, not his thoughts; if thoughts were judged, no one in the world would be perfect. No matter how absurd the laws of this world might be, they could never police what a person thought inside their heart.

After finishing their meal, "Dou Niang" paid the bill, stood up, and said to "Zhang Shuo," "We still need to spare some time to take a look at Hongdu Prefecture. I just wonder if one can ascend the Prince Teng Pavilion."

"You can! Prince Teng declared that anyone who can recite the *Preface to the Prince Teng Pavilion* is permitted to ascend, regardless of gender."

"That is simply wonderful!" Miss Tingyun's smile blossomed instantly, almost causing her to lose her composure. "Then I must set off quickly. Let's go, Dou... Xiao Yun."

Her maid also hurriedly stood up, cast a sideways glance at Xia Lin, and quickly followed in her mistress's footsteps. Xia Lin sat there, swaying his foot, smacked his lips, and then simply smiled.

A chance encounter was quite amusing; let it be counted as a little story amidst these boring times.

Another ten days passed. During this period, Xia Lin kept hearing news coming from the prefectural capital through passing travelers. The most frequent news was about the madness of Prince Teng's second heir.

Everyone said this scoundrel had offended the mountain deity, and the deity was coming to take him away. The imperial physicians from the capital had arrived and were completely helpless; shaman doctors from beyond the northern frontiers had also been invited, yet they could do nothing at all.

It was said the Prince's hair had turned completely white with anxiety, and the Princess Consort wept bitterly day and night. They had already sent men to Mount Zhongnan to invite the Medicine King Sun Simiao. If even this Medicine King proved useless, then this second heir truly had no hope left.

Hearing this news, Xia Lin roughly calculated the time. If he didn't head over soon, Sun Simiao might actually arrive, and fooling an ordinary person was easy, but fooling a doctor of immortal-like stature would probably be rather difficult.

That simply won't do!

He had no time to spare. He packed his belongings overnight and set off for Hongdu Prefecture early the next morning. Although this was about ten days ahead of his original schedule, at this critical juncture, he couldn't afford to worry about such details anymore.

When he arrived in Hongdu Prefecture, it happened to be the twenty-second day of the second lunar month—precisely ten days before the Emperor's birthday. By now, Miss Tang should have already arrived in the capital to present her tribute to the Emperor. Originally, Xia Lin had planned to let the little princess have her Guanyin dream ten days later; this would coincide with the Emperor's birthday and be an act of complete loyalty and filial piety, meaning there would be no problems whatsoever no matter how anyone tried to pick it apart.

The problem, however, was that plans always change slower than circumstances. The Medicine King was coming, and the biggest variable in this plan was undoubtedly this towering figure. He was practically like a cultivator from a martial arts world—though somewhat exaggerated, it was a gamble he couldn't afford to lose. If he slipped up by even a single step, Xia Lin wouldn't know what to do next.

After surviving an entire night, he strolled over to the outer walls of the Prince Teng's Mansion early the next morning. As dawn broke, he could hear the ghost-like wails echoing from within, imagining the kind of torment that second brother had endured over the past month or nearly two months.

After waiting for about two hours, the little princess's personal maid, Qiuhe, emerged. This was one of her daily duties: heading out to purchase necessary daily consumables for the little princess.

Just as she passed through a small alley not far from the Prince Mansion, a hand suddenly reached out from within and pulled her inside. Qiuhe almost screamed, but upon seeing who it had grabbed her, she instantly broke down in tears. "Young Master Xia, you've finally come... Please, you must help our princess."

"What's wrong?" Xia Lin asked curiously. "What happened to her?"

"Ever since the second young master contracted that strange malage, Her Highness the Princess has been weeping bitterly every day. A few days ago, she somehow listened to the nonsense of some charlatan, and now she wanders around everywhere daily, bowing to every temple she sees. Everyone says she has also been possessed by a demon. Yesterday, she suddenly collapsed and has been bedridden ever since. Please, you must help her."

Xia Lin frowned. "Can you bring me into the mansion? I'll go take a look."

"Yes! Young master, follow me."

Following Qiuhe through the back garden gate of the Prince's Mansion, navigating through winding corridors, they finally arrived at the little princess's private courtyard. The scenery of the Prince's Mansion was exquisite, but Xia Lin had no mind to admire it now. He strode straight into the little princess's bedchamber.

Stepping inside, he saw her lying on the bed, her complexion pale and her eyes tightly closed. Xia Lin walked up, felt her forehead, palms, and soles of her feet, and found them burning hot to the touch. Disregarding the traditional boundaries between men and women, he directly ripped the quilt off the little princess's body.

At this moment, the little princess wore only a bellyband, but this was certainly not the time to appreciate scenery.

"Go, fetch some high-proof liquor and sewing needles."

Qiuhe trotted away, and when she returned a moment later carrying the items, she saw Xia Lin holding the little princess's feet in his lap and massaging her toes.

"Light the lamp."

Following Xia Lin's instructions, Qiuhe lit the lamp. Xia Lin first splashed the high-proof liquor over the little princess's chest, back, palms, and soles of her feet, then heated the finest sewing needles over the flame for disinfection before pricking the tips of the little princess's toes. Fresh blood oozed out, staining the bedsheets in a way that looked rather peculiar.

The pain caused the little princess to frown even in her deep sleep. As the fourth toe was pricked, the intensity of the pain grew, causing fine beads of sweat to form on her forehead.

Once the sweat appeared, it became unstoppable. In the blink of an eye, her sweat was pouring down like a waterfall, and the cooling effect brought by the massive amount of perspiration directly lowered her body temperature.

With her body cooled down, she naturally grew more comfortable. Xia Lin looked up and told Qiuhe, "Go, make a large bowl of salted sugar water. One bowl of water, one spoonful of salt, five spoonfuls of sugar. Hurry."

While dispatching Qiuhe to work, the little princess slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze was hazy at first, and it took her a long while to realize she was being held in Xia Lin's arms. Feeling as though she were dreaming, she instinctively reached out and wrapped her arms around Xia Lin's neck.

"I'm afraid I'm going to die," the little princess murmured softly. "My vision is blurring."

At this, Xia Lin chuckled and gave her a light slap on her bare buttocks. "Die of what? It's not that easy to die."