She's skilled in medicine, martial arts, and even understands animal language—the abandoned dau

The person sitting in the carriage was none other than Liu Tong, the newly appointed prefect of the border town.

Upon hearing Shen Man's words, Liu Tong's face turned deathly pale.

"You woman, stop talking nonsense! I am perfectly healthy!"

But there was a slight tremor in his voice.

Shen Man could tell from his expression that he was indeed unwell.

She knew all too well that what those in high positions feared most was that their health would fail them and they would be unable to enjoy their immense wealth.

Knowing this man's weakness, she was secretly delighted, but on the surface she remained serious. "My lord, please do not deceive yourself. I have some medical knowledge, and what I said just now is true. However, I do have a way to save your life."

A glimmer of hope flashed in Liu Tong's eyes. "What's your plan?"

Shen Man slowly said, "My family has an ancestral secret recipe that can cure this disease. However, the medicinal materials are precious and require a lot of money. Moreover, it takes a long time to prepare, and I will have to go back and concentrate on preparing it."

Liu Tong frowned and pondered for a moment, "If you can truly cure me, a little money is nothing. It's just that time..."

Shen Man hurriedly said, "If you trust me, sir, please let us in to carry out our business. Once I've finished, I'll rush home to prepare your medicine. As long as you take my medicine, your illness will naturally be cured."

The guard commander scoffed, "You little brat, you make it sound so easy. Who knows if you're lying to the prefect!"

Shen Man remained calm and took out a few herbs from her bundle. "My lord, please take a look. These are some common herbs that I picked on the road. I can prepare a health-preserving tea on the spot. If you drink it and try it, you will know whether I have real skills."

The guard general was skeptical, but in the end he decided to try Shen Man's tea.

Shen Man followed the guards up to the city gate tower, and then personally washed the herbs and put them in a pot to boil.

Half an hour later, the tea was ready.

To confirm that the tea was not poisonous, Shen Man drank one cup first, and then gave the other two cups to the guard general and the prefect in the carriage.

Soon after they drank it, they felt refreshed.

"My lord, now you should believe what I'm saying, right?"

Liu Tong hesitated for a moment, then, thinking of his own illness, gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, seeing your sincerity, I will allow you to enter the city. But you must deliver the medicine to me as soon as possible."

Shen Man immediately replied, "Don't worry, my lord, I will definitely keep this matter in mind."

Upon hearing Liu Tong's words, the guard commander immediately leaned forward and whispered, "Sir, if we let them in, how are we going to explain this to the Gu family?"

Upon hearing the words of the guard general, Liu Tong looked troubled.

He knew that the Gu family wielded immense power in the capital, and offending them was no small matter.

But his life was now in this woman's hands; if she didn't let them in, he was afraid he would lose his life.

Seeing this, Shen Man's eyes darted around, and she said softly, "My lord, as long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn. Based on my many years of medical experience, you don't have much time left..."

Upon hearing this, Liu Tong immediately waved his hand at the guard commander, saying, "Do as this girl says, and I will bear all the consequences."

After saying that, he waved his hand, indicating that Shen Man and the others could enter the city.

Shen Man breathed a sigh of relief, quickly mounted her horse, and led the group into the city.

After making some inquiries, Shen Man and the others quickly found Caiyi Street, located in the south of the city.

At the very center of Caiyi Street, a signboard with the three large characters "Xiu Tianxia" (绣天下, meaning "Embroidery Under Heaven") shines brightly in the sun.

Shen Man dismounted, looked up at the signboard, and felt a surge of joy.

She turned to the people behind her and said, "You wait here, I'll go in and take a look first."

Shen Man walked into the store and saw a dazzling array of exquisite embroideries.

A middle-aged man approached, his eyes gleaming with shrewdness: "Young lady, welcome to Embroidery World. Are you here to select some embroidery pieces or is there something else?"

Shen Man smiled and asked, "May I ask if the owner here is surnamed Ji?"

The man looked Shen Man up and down, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes, but he still smiled and replied, "Our master's surname is indeed Ji. What business does the young lady have with our master?"

Shen Man hurriedly said, "I'm looking for your young master, Ji Qiuniang. I came here today specifically to deliver goods to her."

The man smiled and said, "Please sit here for a moment, young lady. I will go and fetch my mistress down right away."

A moment later, soft footsteps could be heard on the stairs.

Shen Man looked up and saw a woman dressed in light green slowly walking towards her. Her face was delicate and gentle, and it was undoubtedly Ji Qiuniang.

"Qiu Niang!" Shen Man greeted her happily upon seeing her.

“Man’er, it’s you! How did you get into the city? I heard that the city gates have been very strict lately. Except for the cloth from the Gu family’s weaving workshop, cloth from other weaving workshops is not allowed to enter the city. I’ve been worried about it these past few days!” Ji Qiu Niang asked Shen Man in confusion.

“We were indeed stopped when we entered the city, but I used a little trick and got in!” Shen Man smiled slyly at Ji Qiuniang and replied.

"Oh? Tell me quickly what the brilliant plan is." Ji Qiuniang leaned closer to Shen Man curiously.

Shen Man whispered in Ji Qiuniang's ear, "When we entered the city, we happened to run into the prefect. I could tell from his complexion that he was unwell, so I exaggerated his condition."

I told him that if he would let me into the city on business, I would cure his illness. He then agreed to let us into the city!

Ji Qiuniang widened her eyes and scolded, "You, if he finds out you lied to him, it'll be terrible."

"He knows perfectly well whether he's sick or not," Shen Man said, sticking out her tongue.

"Anyway, it's good that the goods have been delivered. Everyone is waiting to use them. By the way, where are the goods?" Ji Qiuniang asked, holding Shen Man's hand.

"It's right outside."

“Alright, please sit here for a while. I’ll have someone go and fetch the managers from the other shops to collect their goods,” Ji Qiuniang said, and walked towards the counter.

Before long, several managers rushed over. Shen Man led everyone to the carriage at the shop entrance to retrieve the goods.

Everyone was delighted when they saw the goods.

After they finished counting the goods, they settled the payment for Shen Man according to the price agreed upon by both parties.

They earned over a thousand taels of silver on this trip, and Shen Man, Meng Zhuo, and the others were very happy.

After all the goods were distributed, Ji Qiuniang invited Shen Man to stay at her home. Meng Zhuo and the others, on the other hand, found an inn to stay at.

After dinner, Ji Qiuniang said to Shen Man, "Man'er, you've come all this way, why don't you stay in the city and play for a few more days?"

"Qiu Niang, I promised the prefect I would go back to prepare medicine for him, so I won't be able to stay long. I'll probably just wander around the city for a bit tomorrow before I have to go home."

"Then I'll go with you tomorrow..."

"No need, you have a lot to do at your shop, go ahead and do your work."

Shen Man thought that she would have to go to the jewelry shop again tomorrow to buy a suitable wedding gift for Ji Qiuniang.

She wanted to surprise her, so she declined her offer to accompany her.