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

After the three discussed their strategy, Cui Jinrong went to Meng's army to select capable personnel, while Shen Man planned to return to Qiufeng Town to prepare miasma-avoiding pills and retrieve the new firearm—a pistol.

As for Shen Han, because her appearance was too similar to Shen Man's, Shen Man was worried that taking her back to Xiaoyao Village would arouse the villagers' suspicion and Lanxiang's panic, so he left her in the military camp.

Shen Man rode on the horned eagle and was the first to arrive at the Yu Family Medical Clinic in Qiufeng Town.

It was already afternoon, and there were very few patients in the clinic. The doctors were quite relaxed, chatting as they sorted out medicinal herbs.

As Dr. Yu gets older, he rarely sees patients at the clinic anymore. Shen Man's senior brother, Lin Yu, has taken over his position and become the backbone of the clinic.

Upon seeing Shen Man arrive, everyone stopped what they were doing and started teasing her all at once.

"Look, who's back? Isn't this our city lord?" Aqing, the pharmacy apprentice, stood on tiptoe and leaned over the counter, speaking first.

"You little brat, you have no manners!" Second Senior Brother Li Chuan picked up the pestle as if to strike, but couldn't help but smile. "Junior Sister is now a big shot who can fly in the sky. Our dilapidated clinic might not be able to withstand the claws of the harpy eagle."

Before he could finish speaking, a soft laugh came from the corner. The young girl fetching medicine was clutching the scales, her ears burning red.

Lin Yu wiped his hands as he came out of the inner room. His blue cloth robe was stained with a few medicine marks, which made his eyebrows and eyes appear even more gentle.

He took the baggage that Shen Man had unloaded, his fingertips touching the hard mortar and pestle inside. His gaze narrowed slightly: "Junior Sister, you've come back again to make medicine?"

"Senior brother understands me best." Shen Man chuckled playfully. "Two hundred miasma-avoiding pills, we need to get them before dark..."

"Alright, alright!" Lin Yu interrupted her with a laugh. "You, you only ever come back to see us when we need medicine. Do you know how many times Master has been talking about you lately!"

"How is Master's health?"

Shen Man felt a pang of guilt as she realized that she hadn't seen Doctor Yu for a long time.

Once this is over, she must go see him and have a good talk with him.

"Master is still in good health, but his memory isn't as good as it used to be!" Lin Yu replied.

He also knew that Shen Man was a filial daughter, and she wouldn't have gone so long without coming back to see her master if she hadn't been forced to.

As the two were talking, Shun'er came out from behind the medicine shelf, still holding half a piece of angelica root in her hand. "Last time, Aunt Wang from town came to get medicine. When she heard that our junior sister had become the city lord of Biancheng Prefecture, she praised our clinic as a 'celestial abode,' saying that 'Dr. Ding's medicine can bring the dead back to life, and even his mount is a divine beast from heaven!'"

Shen Man was amused and was about to speak when she suddenly heard a muffled "boom" from the backyard.

Everyone's expression changed drastically, and they grabbed their hoes and spades and rushed outside.

Turning the corner of the corridor, we saw a harpy eagle tilting its head and pecking at goji berries drying on a bamboo tray. A few goji berries clung to its gray feathers, making it look like it was wearing a ruby ​​crown.

"You glutton!" Shen Man was both amused and annoyed. "You do know how to nourish yourself..."

"Coo coo... Master, we still have to travel with you later, so I'll just eat a little bit..." The harpy eagle tilted its head and looked at Shen Man, letting out two aggrieved cries, but still couldn't bear to stop pecking at the food.

Shen Man shook her head helplessly, stepped forward, and gently patted the harpy eagle's head. "Eat less, I'm worried you'll get a stomachache."

At this moment, Lin Yu stepped forward and said with a smile, "Junior Sister, your horned eagle is quite interesting." Everyone burst into laughter upon hearing this.

Shen Man smiled and said, "Alright, alright, don't let it eat any more. I still need to hurry up and prepare the miasma-avoiding pills." After saying that, she turned around and went back into the clinic.

Lin Yu and his fellow disciples also returned to their posts and began to help Shen Man prepare the medicinal materials needed to make the miasma-avoiding pills.

The setting sun streamed in through the mottled window frames, bathing the room in a warm golden hue, tinged with the aroma of herbs.

Shen Man felt a warmth in her heart as she watched her senior brothers laughing and joking while working.

Even though the outside world is constantly changing, time remains gentle in this small clinic.

Everyone skillfully ground and mixed various medicinal materials, and by the time of 5 PM, two hundred pills to ward off miasma were ready.

Shen Man carefully put away the miasma-avoiding pill, bid farewell to her senior brothers, and left the clinic with the horned eagle, flying towards Xiaoyao Village.

Fifteen minutes later, Shen Man returned to her own courtyard. The sound of the eagle landing startled Lanxiang and the others who were having dinner inside the house. They put down their bowls and chopsticks and came out to see what was happening.

"Mom, it's me back!" Shen Man found that she felt especially happy every time she called out to her mother.

Lanxiang rushed out, lifting her skirt, the magnolia hairpin at her temple swaying gently with her steps, drawing delicate shimmering light in the twilight.

She grabbed Shen Man's wrist and scrutinized her from head to toe like a comb. When her fingertips touched the dried medicine stains on her daughter's sleeve, her voice suddenly trembled: "Man'er, why do you smell like medicine and have these medicine stains... Are you injured? Let your mother take a look!"

"Mother, I'm fine! I just came back from Yu's Medical Clinic. I went there to have a batch of pills made, so I smell a bit of medicine on me," Shen Man replied.

"It's alright, hurry up and wash your hands and eat. I'll ask Aunt Fang to get you a set of chopsticks and a bowl." Lanxiang was relieved and pulled Shen Man into the house.

"Mother, I smell like medicine all over me. I should take a bath and change my clothes before eating," Shen Man said.

"Alright, I'll have Su Yao bring you some water!"

Shen Man returned to her room, put the packet of pills away, and then started looking for clothes to take a bath.

When she returned to the living room, there was not only an extra set of chopsticks and bowls on the dining table, but also several of her favorite dishes.

Shen Man looked around but didn't see Li Muyun. She couldn't help but ask, "Mom, where's Aunt Muyun? Why didn't she come for dinner?"

“Man’er, you should know that His Highness the First Prince has become the Crown Prince. Yesterday, he sent someone to take your Aunt Mu Yun away,” Lan Xiang replied. “That person said that to thank me for taking care of her these past few days, he insisted on giving me a thousand taels of silver. I couldn’t refuse, so I had to accept it.”

"Oh, I see. That explains why I haven't seen her." Shen Man said, then picked up her chopsticks and started eating.

Now that Chu Zhiyi has become the crown prince and controls the court, it's only natural for him to send someone to take his mother away; there's nothing to be surprised about.

"I'm used to having more people in the house, and I'm still not used to it now that she's gone!" Lanxiang said with emotion.

"His Highness the Crown Prince has already exonerated Duke Ningguo, and it seems he intends to take her back to reunite with Duke Ningguo and the others. Mother, please don't be sad. I'll come back to visit you more often when I have time!"