Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

Jiuer leaned closer to her mother, her voice so low it was barely audible, filled with confusion. "Mom, have you ever heard of a miraculous medicine like 'Qilin Blood' before? It sounds like something out of myth."

Sun Yaolang looked at Zhang Jingwei, who was whispering with Li Chen not far away with a determined expression. He sighed softly and shook his head. "Mother has never seen real 'Qilin Blood'. However, when I was young, I traveled extensively and heard storytellers tell vivid stories in teahouses and taverns about a concubine in the past dynasty who contracted a strange disease and was saved by 'Qilin Blood' tributed from an overseas fairy mountain... But it was just a fabrication by scholars to fool the audience."

Jiuer blinked in surprise: "Mom, you also like listening to books?" In her impression, her mother was always busy collecting herbs, diagnosing illnesses, and studying medicine, and rarely had such leisure time.

A hint of bitterness curved Sun Yaolang's lips. "Everyone's young once..." But her thoughts quickly returned to the harsh reality. Her brows knitted together again, her voice filled with confusion and doubt. "But... Jiu'er, I can't figure it out. According to your grandfather's initial diagnosis, it was just a common blood blockage or physical weakness. Even if it was more serious and required a cesarean section... Although cruel, at least after the operation, Ling'er can still live like a normal person. With careful care, she might be able to live to old age in peace. But now the diagnosis points to that illusive and almost impossible-to-obtain 'Qilin Blood'... This doesn't sound like a way out, but rather... a delay."

"Delay?" Jiu'er was startled and subconsciously retorted, "No way? Grandfather is the imperial physician. A doctor is like a parent. Why would he delay? Besides, an imperial physician of his status would most likely be ordered by the emperor to leave the capital for treatment. How could he..."

Sun Yaolang's gaze deepened. She interrupted her daughter, lowering her voice with a melancholy insight: "Perhaps... this is part of the Emperor's order?" She watched her daughter's eyes widen instantly and slowly analyzed, "Jingwei is an official, and a very capable one, with numerous outstanding achievements. With his talent and momentum, barring any unexpected events, he will easily rise to the highest position in the government. With such potential, who among the nobles and leaders in the court would not want to win him over and recruit him into their fold?"

She turned her gaze to the young couple in the distance, leaning against each other and encouraging each other, and spoke in a heavy voice, "In the eyes of the supreme emperor, no matter how outstanding a minister is, he is ultimately just a more conspicuous chess piece. If you want the chess piece to obey, you naturally need to hold something to restrain it. For Zhang Jingwei, what better rein could there be than Ling'er's life?"

Jiu'er felt a chill in her heart when she heard this. She still couldn't accept it: "But...if Ling'er is cured, wouldn't this life-saving grace be exchanged for Zhang Jingwei's loyalty? Why must... "

Sun Yaolang gave a wry smile, raising his hand to gently stroke his daughter's hair, his eyes filled with the helplessness of a man who had experienced it all. "Silly child, loyalty... is sometimes precisely what those in power least need, and least trust. They place greater trust in the control they hold. Gratitude fades with time, but the reliance on controlling life and death is what makes people 'willingly' serve. Mother doesn't fully understand the intricacies of this, but perhaps... this is the unique nature of the court, the struggles that elicit no flashes of swords, yet are just as bloody."

She watched Zhang Jingwei trying to comfort the forced smile of Huangfu Ling with lighthearted words, and saw the unconcealed anxiety and determination in those young eyes. She couldn't help but sigh deeply again. The sigh blended into the cool night breeze, carrying with it endless pity and a hint of powerlessness.

……

It was almost noon, and the sun was shining brightly. Zhang Jingwei personally accompanied Imperial Physician Li Chen to the official post station to rest, having already instructed the postmaster to prepare the finest wine and food. He had also specifically asked Qian Ming to secretly procure some hard-to-find beef and deliver it to the official post station kitchen, striving to provide the most attentive hospitality.

The official post station was located not far from Gaoyang Tower. As I approached the post station, a fierce noise came clearly from the direction of Gaoyang Tower, mixed with scolding and the slightly sharp voice of an old man.

Zhang Jingwei frowned and said to Wang Ergou beside him, "Gouzi, go see what's going on over there? Why is there so much noise?"

Wang Ergou replied "Yes!" and immediately rushed out like a civet cat, his figure quickly disappearing around the corner.

Imperial Physician Li Chen listened attentively, a knowing smile flashing across his face. He stroked his beard and said, "That's all right. Judging from the accent, he must be from Gyeonggi Province."

While Zhang Jingwei was still wondering, Wang Ergou quickly came running back and reported, "Master, I've found out everything. It was from Gaoyang Tower. A skinny old man in an old robe insisted on entering the workshop inside, saying he wanted to see some 'iron monster that puffs out smoke.' Liang Dahai and his men stopped him, and the old man got really stubborn, so an argument ensued."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jingwei apologized to Li Chen, "I'm sorry for disturbing you, Senior. These were just some small things from the workshop, and I didn't expect to cause such trouble."

Li Chen waved his hand, his smile deepening: "It may not be a trouble."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the thin old man in the direction of Gaoyang Tower burst out with brute force from nowhere, and suddenly broke free from the obstruction of Liang Dahai and other sturdy craftsmen. Like a nimble skinny monkey, he ran towards the official post station at an incredible speed!

The old man spotted Li Chen standing at the entrance to the inn and immediately pointed in anger, shouting, "You old freak Li! You're really here! I had a hard time finding you!"

Upon seeing this, Wang Ergou immediately stepped forward and shouted, "How dare you! This is a key official post station. How dare you trespass? You've disturbed the county magistrate and his distinguished guests. How many heads do you have left to chop off?"

The skinny old man was stopped, but he was not afraid at all. Instead, he straightened his skinny back and cursed back in authentic Jingji dialect: "Bullshit! You idiot! Open your dog eyes and see clearly! I am the Director of the Gongjian Division of the Ministry of Works! A dignified third-rank official! Tell your little county magistrate to come out and salute me!"

Zhang Jingwei was stunned. The Director of the Ministry of Works' Contribution Construction Division? A third-rank official? That was quite a figure! He looked at Li Chen suspiciously, "Senior, do you know this... gentleman?"

Imperial Physician Li Chen deliberately put on a stern face and shook his head, his tone flat and even a little disdainful: "I don't know him. How could a high-ranking official from the capital behave like this? He's probably just an old swindler who's just eating and drinking for free, pretending to be him."

When the thin old man heard this, he was so angry that he jumped up and down, and blurted out Beijing curses: "Wet you! Old monster Li! You are not a human being! You are crossing the river and destroying the bridge, right? I will never let you go! (I will never let you go)"

Seeing this, several yamen runners immediately stepped forward and tried to grab him.

Zhang Jingwei was nearly distracted by the infectious dialect. He tried to keep a straight face and gave orders in a rather oddly accented dialect: "Since he's an imposter... bring him to the county yamen and hand him over to Huang Zhubu for a good beating. Considering your age, I won't let them give you a beating."

The thin old man struggled and yelled, "Ahhh! I'm so angry! Old Monster Li! Li Shizhen! You're so bad! I'll report you to the court when I get back! What are you waiting for? (Just wait and see)"

At that moment, Liang Dahai ran over breathlessly and said to Zhang Jingwei anxiously, "Master! This is bad! This old man... when he broke free just now, he picked up a pickaxe and poked holes in several gas pipes in our boiler room! Steam is hissing out!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chen laughed and added fuel to the fire, "Oh? You dare to damage public property? Cause trouble?! Magistrate Zhang, it looks like you're going to have to give him a beating."

Zhang Jingwei became anxious when he heard the boiler was damaged. He walked up to the old man and asked, "Why did you poke a hole in my boiler?! It's so precious!"

Although the skinny old man was twisted, he held his head high and glared at Zhang Jingwei like he was an idiot: "What the hell do you know! You don't want to poke a hole? If you don't poke a hole, your iron lump will explode sooner or later! You idiot!"

Zhang Jingwei tried to regain his composure. "Uh... Ugh! I have a pressure relief valve! It will automatically vent if there's overpressure!"

"That broken valve of yours is useless!" the old man sneered. "Just when I walked in, I saw your pressure relief valve was blasting out steam! The pressure keeps fluctuating, it's totally unreliable! The valve's opening and closing randomly, and the steam spurting out is like a knife. If something falls on it, it'll kill someone! You can't even maintain that pressure! You know what tillering means (separation, instability), right? I'll poke a few small holes in those pipes in front of you to let some of the air escape slowly. That way, the pressure won't surge! The ones further back will be more stable! That's called equalizing pressure! Get it?"

Zhang Jingwei looked at Liang Dahai, half believing it. Liang Dahai thought carefully, scratched his head, and said, "It seems... that's indeed the case. Ever since the pipe leaked, the boiler has become less scary, the roar has quieted down, and the pressure gauge... is indeed more stable. At least it hasn't hit the top and alarmed again."

Zhang Jingwei's eyes lit up when he heard this! This guy is an expert! He immediately put on a smile and stepped forward to shout at the runner to leave: "Oh! Misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding! Let him go! Let the old man go!"

He personally helped the old man who called himself Gongshu Dan to his feet, and said in a tone of great respect: "I am sorry that I was reckless and offended you, sir! May I ask your name and what position you hold?"

The thin old man straightened his ripped robe, snorted coldly, and said proudly, "My surname is Gongshu, my given name is Dan, and my courtesy name is Jifu. I'm from Pingyang, Yongzhou!"

Li Chen then stepped forward with a smile: "Hahaha, brother Ji Fu, your way of appearing is still so unique. Come in quickly, the food and drinks are almost cold, I'm waiting for you."

Gongshu Dan was still furious, pointing at Li Chen and scolding him with a smile, "Old Monster Li! Don't try to play tricks on me! I'm done with you! Are you deliberately trying to make me look bad?"

Zhang Jingwei looked at these two old men, who were obviously old acquaintances, with a mixture of amusement and surprise. The Director of the Gongjian Division of the Ministry of Works? Someone from the Gongshu family? This was a true treasure!