Spring arrives and the land smiles

It took about half a day to travel from the post station to Qingquan Valley. By the time Qingyan and her party arrived, the sun was already setting.

"Yunxuan, do we have to travel this far for such beautiful scenery?" No wonder Yunxuan insisted that she take a carriage instead of a horse; Qingyan was already quite tired when she got off the carriage.

"Look over here." Yunxuan took Qingyan's hand and led her to a lake where a waterfall cascaded down. The lake water was azure and rippling, and the golden-red sunset made it mysterious and alluring.

The scenery here is definitely worth it.

A pool of clear water always makes people want to go in. Qingyan was hesitating whether to do so when Yunxuan hugged her from behind: "The sun has set. I'll take you to play in the water again tomorrow. Now I'll take you to see someone."

"Who are we meeting?" It turns out that sightseeing was just an excuse; the real purpose was to get down to business.

Well, now that we're on the pirate ship, we can only let the pirates do as they please.

Qingyan let Yunxuan pull her along, heading towards a waterside pavilion far from the waterfall.

The water corridor extended to the shore, connecting to the waterside pavilion. Yunxuan led Qingyan along the winding water corridor. As they approached the pavilion, a young boy with twin buns came out to greet them.

"Young master, your master has been waiting at the medicine hut for a long time."

"Thank you for leading the way, young brother." Yunxuan bowed to the medicine boy and led Qingyan to the medicine hut in the waterside pavilion.

The medicine hut was deep within the waterside pavilion. The young apprentice led the two to a bamboo building and then left.

"Scrophularia ningpoensis 2 qian, Ophiopogon japonicus 2 qian, Poria cocos 3 qian, Glycyrrhiza uralensis 2 qian, Platycodon grandiflorus 3 qian, Cornus officinalis 4 qian. This medicine is specifically for treating restlessness due to heart fire and internal heat due to deficiency. This prescription can reduce fire and replenish water, making it most suitable for you." Thud—it sounded like a porcelain bowl hitting a wooden table.

"Xiaoyun, don't be angry. I'll never lose my temper again." It was a humble male voice.

"I'll drink it if you want me to stop being angry." The woman called Xiaoyun was very angry.

"Xiaoyun, please don't make things difficult for me. I was wrong, okay?" The man's tone was so humble it was almost palpable.

"I'll forgive you if you drink it," the woman persisted.

"Do you really want to drink it?" the man asked hesitantly in his last attempt.

"Drink!" the woman shouted sharply.

Hearing the man's dilemma, Yun Xuan shook his head and smiled, then pushed open the door and went in, saying, "It is truly a sin to keep Senior Ghost Doctor waiting."

The Ghost Doctor? Qingyan followed him in, but was startled.

“Young Master Fu, you’ve come at just the right time. Come and judge this.” The man known as the Ghost Doctor pulled Yun Xuan to the woman.

"Old Urchin?!" Good heavens, the Ghost Doctor looks exactly like the Old Urchin in the 94 version of The Legend of the Condor Heroes. Qingyan couldn't help but blurt out.

"Are you calling me?" The white-haired, youthful-looking man saw Qingyan behind Yunxuan and pointed at his own nose as he asked her.

“Yes, it really does look like him.” Qingyan found the quirky old man quite amusing and went to greet him.

"Old Rascal?" The Ghost Doctor chewed on the name, then burst into laughter. "Not bad, not bad, it suits me quite well, Xiaoyun, don't you think?"

"Hmph, whether it's right or wrong, I still have to drink it." Xiaoyun remained insistent on taking the medicine.

The old rascal looked at Yunxuan with a pitiful expression, his cry for help quite obvious.

It's just a bowl of medicine to clear heat and reduce internal fire, so why is the old rascal so resistant? Qingyan felt there must be something more to the medicine.

"Senior, are you afraid of bitterness like me if you don't drink it? That's easy," Qingyan took out a sweet plum from her brocade pouch. "Eat one after you finish drinking it, and I guarantee all the bitterness will disappear."

Before Qingyan could react, the Ghost Doctor spun around and took a few steps to reach her, snatching the sweet plum from her hand with his delicate fingers.

"It's indeed sweet and sour, little girl, do you have any more?" The Ghost Doctor grinned.

"Are you going to drink it or not?" Xiaoyun asked impatiently.

"Xiaoyun, I know you put Cixiang Powder in it, I'll drink it." Knowing he couldn't avoid it, the Ghost Doctor had no choice but to pick up the medicine bowl.

Cixiang Powder?

Qingyan's eyes darted around.

"Ouch—" She suddenly swayed and fell towards Yunxuan, startling the Ghost Doctor so much that he knocked over the medicine bowl in his hand.

"Yan'er." Yunxuan immediately reached out and hugged her. The moment they made contact, Qingyan winked at him.

This little girl is so naughty.

The Ghost Doctor understood immediately and quickly said, "Quickly, carry him to the bed."

Xiaoyun glanced down at the overturned medicine bowl and followed it over.

"Make way." Xiaoyun pushed through the crowd to take Qingyan's pulse.

Yunxuan tugged at the Ghost Doctor's sleeve, and the Ghost Doctor quickly made a shushing gesture.

"Grandma Yun, how is it?"

"Purifying Soul? How could she use Purifying Soul to cleanse her marrow? What kind of poison is she suffering from that she needs to use Purifying Soul to remove it?" Granny Yun asked Yun Xuan.

"Purify the Soul?" Yunxuan was even more puzzled than Granny Yun.

Qingyan, who was pretending to faint, felt a sinking feeling in her heart: It's over.

Upon hearing "Jingpo," the Ghost Doctor immediately understood. It turned out that she was the girl who had been given a fake pregnancy drug by that brat Lan Zhen.

The Ghost Doctor said guiltily, "She accidentally ingested the medicine I made. I haven't developed an antidote yet. The only way to completely detoxify her is to use the Soul Purifier."

"You've accidentally ingested this! You old bastard, you've made this kind of harmful medicine again, forcing a young girl to use a cleansing potion to remove the poison. How much suffering must she endure? You old bastard, I'll beat you to death!" Granny Yun leaped up and slapped the Ghost Doctor with her palm.

The Ghost Doctor dared not retaliate and quickly dodged. Fearing that he would hurt his back if he dodged too fast, he pretended to let Granny Yun hit him a few times. Only after Granny Yun had hit him enough did he help her sit down.

Granny Yun glared at the Ghost Doctor, then turned to Yun Xuan, "Young Master Fu, who is she to you?"

“Grandma Yun, she is my wife,” Yun Xuan replied. “But Grandma, what is this Jingpo?”

"We'll talk about that later. Let's check on your daughter first."

Granny Yun turned around and gently pressed on Qingyan's pulse. Qingyan cried out in pain and opened her eyes.

“Little girl, you’ve been pretending for so long, it’s time to wake up.”

"As expected of the Immortal Physician, you can tell I'm faking it just by touching my chaotic pulse. I hope you won't blame me for spilling your medicine." Qingyan no longer tried to hide it and admitted it frankly.

"You're quite clever, little girl. I like you. Don't call me 'senior' so formally. Just call me Granny Yun like your husband does." Granny Yun looked at Qingyan with a smile, very pleased.

"This junior obeys." Qingyan said without any pretense.

"Little girl, tell me, has anyone used the Soul Cleansing and Poison Removal Technique on you?"

Qingyan stole a glance at Yunxuan and saw that he was listening intently. She said cautiously, "Grandma Yun, may I speak to you in private?"

Granny Yun smiled and glanced at Yun Xuan, then glared at the Ghost Doctor: "You two go out first."

The Ghost Doctor quickly nodded in agreement and pulled Yunxuan outside.

But Yunxuan was full of doubts and didn't want to go out. He kept turning back as the Ghost Doctor pulled him along.

"Little girl, you can speak now." Granny Yun patted Qingyan's hand.

Qingyan recounted the important parts of the story about how Lan Zhen had given her a fake pregnancy drug, and how Luo Qing came to detoxify her.

"I see," Granny Yun nodded knowingly. "Girl, the Guanyin Pill that Qing'er gave you is too slow to take effect. If you take this pill, I guarantee it will be effective within three days, and you and your husband will soon be able to hold a big, healthy baby boy."

Granny Yun handed Qingyan a reddish-brown pill.

"Thank you, Grandma, but I have a problem I can't talk about, so I can't take this medicine yet."

Qingyan harbored a selfish motive. If she remained unable to conceive, what would her father, the Emperor, do with a crown prince without an heir?

Furthermore, she is not yet at the optimal age for conception. If she could wait three to five years and her body matures further, the quality of her offspring might be better, and she would suffer less.

“Alright,” Granny Yun put away the medicine. “Girl, if you ever want to have a baby, come find Granny Yun, and Granny Yun will make sure you get what you want.”

"Thank you, Grandma," Qingyan said, blushing. "Grandma, could you please not tell my husband about this?"

"Are you afraid he'll settle scores with that brat Lan Zhen?" Granny Yun chuckled.

"I don't want my husband to get hurt. Since I'm already in this state, why should we let them both suffer?" Qingyan sighed.

"Okay, I promise you."

"You two come in," Granny Yun instructed the people outside the door.

As if receiving a royal decree, the Ghost Doctor quickly pulled Yun Xuan back in and made him stand obediently in front of Granny Yun.

"Young Master Fu, your wife is alright now, you can rest assured," Granny Yun said.

"Thank you, Grandma." Yunxuan sincerely bowed deeply to Grandma Yun.

"Alright, young Fu, the girl you brought is quite amusing. Why don't you stay here a few more days?" Granny Yun dragged the Ghost Doctor out, then turned back and gave Qingyan a look that said, "You'll have to explain this to him yourself."

Qingyan nodded in thanks.

"Speak," Yunxuan said, sitting down leisurely.

"You go first," Qingyan said, settling into her seat with ease. "Why did you bring me here and become so familiar with the Ghost Doctor and the Immortal Doctor?"

Qingyan deliberately raised her eyebrows, dragging out the last syllable, and spoke to Yunxuan in a questioning tone.

"Yan'er, is it your turn after I finish speaking?" Yun Xuan wasn't stupid, and naturally he wouldn't be so easily fooled by Qing Yan.

"I don't care, you just say it first." Qingyan started to whine and act spoiled.

“Alright, I’ll tell you.” Yunxuan smiled. “On the second day after I arrived at Yushan, I went to check out the iron ore area. There was a mining area that had just been opened up, and the terrain was extremely dangerous. I happened to see Granny Yun picking herbs there. She accidentally twisted her ankle, and I saved her. She even insisted on granting me three requests, but I couldn’t refuse.”

“That’s not right. If the old rascal is so worried about Granny Yun, why wouldn’t he accompany her when she’s gathering herbs?” Qingyan asked.

"Grandma Yun said she was arguing with the Ghost Doctor those few days, and she ran away on her own in a fit of anger," Yun Xuan replied.

That makes sense.

"Alright, it's your turn." Yunxuan crossed his arms and looked at Qingyan.

There was no escaping it after all!

Qingyan sighed inwardly and pondered for a while before making a decision: "Yunxuan, promise me that you will stay calm after listening to this."

"it is good."

"Do you remember back in Suizhou, when Lan Zhen gave me a fake pregnancy drug to avoid Hai Tu's entanglement?" Qing Yan started from the beginning.

Yunxuan nodded.

"The fake pregnancy drug was given to him by the Ghost Doctor. It was newly developed and there is no antidote yet. Therefore, the Ghost Doctor did not tell him that the side effect of the fake pregnancy drug was lifelong infertility."

"What?" Yunxuan exclaimed.

"Don't be nervous, let me finish," Qingyan comforted him. "After Lan Zhen found out, he asked Luo Qing to detoxify me. Jingpo is used to remove poison, but the medicine is very strong, so I will suffer. That's why Granny Yun reacted this way."

Upon hearing this, Yunxuan's hand clenched into a fist.

Qingyan held his hand: "You promised me you would stay calm. Besides, it's all over now, and I'm not seriously injured. Lan Zhen really didn't know before he gave me the medicine. He almost went into a qi deviation while trying to save me. Listen to me, let it go."

Yunxuan remained silent for a long time before finally speaking: "Yan'er, have you fallen for him?"

Huh? Qingyan was stunned for a moment before she understood.

This Yunxuan, how come he can bring up anything related to that?

"You should go and settle the score with Lan Zhen. You should beat him so badly that he'll be left with half a life, if not dead." Qingyan glared at him angrily.

Hearing Qingyan say this, Yunxuan knew that his Yan'er was worried that he, a civil official, could not defeat Lan Zhen, a military general, so he felt relieved: "Don't worry, Yan'er, I will naturally do what I promised you. However, I will remember this matter and have him return it to me later."