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

Zhu Jing sighed, turned around, and stepped into the carriage.

He knew that after this trip to the capital, he didn't know when they would see each other again.

As he gazed at the town receding into the distance outside the car window, he secretly vowed to achieve something great before returning to find her.

Shen Man was unaware that Zhu Jing had left; she continued to live an ordinary yet fulfilling life.

That day, she was busy at the clinic as usual when she suddenly heard the clattering of horse hooves.

Shen Man looked up and saw a group of officials riding tall horses and wearing official robes passing by the entrance of the clinic. The horses kicked up a cloud of dust. The leading official raised a flag and shouted, "The new emperor has ascended the throne, and a general amnesty is hereby granted!"

Shen Man's heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but walk out of the clinic out of curiosity. She stopped one of the officials and asked, "Sir, may I ask who this newly enthroned emperor is?"

When the officer heard someone calling him, he reined in his horse and turned around. He saw a beautiful and refined young woman standing by the roadside, looking up at him. He was slightly taken aback.

He never expected that there would be such a beautiful girl in this remote and impoverished place.

After a moment, he came to his senses and laughed, "Look at the question you asked, young lady. The new emperor is naturally our former Crown Prince! His Majesty passed away suddenly half a month ago, and His Highness the Crown Prince naturally succeeded to the throne."

Shen Man nodded upon hearing this, and then continued to ask, "Does this new emperor's empress have the surname Li?"

Upon hearing Shen Man's words, the official gave a strange smile. "I thought you were so concerned about state affairs at such a young age, but it turns out you're really concerned about the Emperor's harem. However, the Empress's surname isn't Li; it's Cui, and her given name is Jintang."

A hint of disappointment flashed in Shen Man's eyes, but she quickly regained her composure and smiled as she thanked the official.

As the official watched her departing figure, he couldn't help but wonder: Could this young girl be trying to enter the Emperor's harem because of her beauty? If this were in the capital, she might have a chance with her looks. But here, a thousand miles from the capital, it was all in vain.

"Hey, Feng San, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and move on! We still need to get to the border to deliver the message!" The officer in charge urged him loudly when he saw him standing still.

Upon hearing this, Feng San immediately spurred his horse and galloped forward.

Shen Man returned to the clinic, feeling somewhat lost, because she thought of her husband, Li Mufeng.

Ten years ago, Li Mufeng hurriedly returned to Beijing and was never heard from again. The cooperative's dividends, after deducting the wages of Jiang Qi and his wife, had accumulated to a full three thousand taels of silver.

If what the official said is true, and the new emperor is indeed the former crown prince, then it is undoubtedly Chu Dongchen.

For some reason, he didn't make his first wife, Li Muyun, empress, but instead made his concubine, Cui Jintang, empress. What exactly happened? Is Li Mufeng alright?

As Shen Man was lost in her thoughts, Doctor Yu approached her and said, "Man'er, you don't look too well today. There aren't many patients in the clinic, so why don't you go back and rest?"

Compared to ten years ago, Dr. Yu looks much older, but he is still in good spirits.

"Yes, Master!" Shen Man replied and walked towards the door.

For the past ten years, she has never stopped practicing her light-body skills. Now, scaling walls and leaping across rooftops is a piece of cake for her. She usually comes to town alone, never using a carriage, but always relying on her light-body skills.

We flew and stopped frequently along the way, and arrived at our doorstep in about half an hour.

"Girl, you're back! Why are you back so early today?" Granny Fang was washing clothes in the yard when she saw her return and immediately called out to her.

"There were few patients at the clinic today, so I came back. Aunt Fang, where is my mother?" Shen Man stood at the gate of the courtyard, looked around, and did not see Lanxiang, so she asked.

“My wife took Fuling to the jujube grove. She said the jujube blossoms are particularly beautiful this year, so she went to take a look.”

"Then I'll go find them." After saying goodbye to Granny Fang, Shen Man ran towards the jujube grove.

Not long after, she saw her mother.

Lanxiang was bending over picking flowers under the jujube tree, while Fuling was helping her with a bamboo basket.

"Mother!" Shen Man called out softly.

Lanxiang straightened up upon hearing the voice, a smile spreading across her face: "Man'er, you're back. Come and see these jujube blossoms, they're blooming so beautifully."

Looking around, Shen Man saw that the jujube tree was covered with dense clusters of small flowers, and many bees were busy on the flowers, creating a vibrant scene.

These jujube trees have been bearing fruit for three years.

Three years ago, when Shen Man saw that the jujube trees were in bloom, she asked the village carpenter to make her more than a dozen new beehives and placed them on the edge of the field. Unexpectedly, not long after, the bees moved back.

Because they spread the word after the previous batch of beehives was stolen, now only the villagers and Uncle Kong and his wife know that they still have honey.

Shen Man walked to Lanxiang's side, took the jujube blossom from her hand, and examined it carefully. The jujube blossom was small, pale yellow, and emitted a faint fragrance.

"It's really nice," Shen Man nodded. "But Mother, why did you suddenly think of picking jujube flowers?"

Lanxiang smiled and said, "Didn't you say that jujube flowers can be used to make tea, which has the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying? I plan to pick them and dry them in the sun, and then brew them to drink when the autumn and winter are dry. Besides, jujube flowers smell very fragrant and can be made into sachets. I was thinking of picking some to make you a sachet to wear."

Shen Man was deeply moved and hugged Lanxiang, saying, "Thank you, Mother, you are so good to me!"

"You're a grown girl now, and you're still clinging to your mother like a child. Fuling will laugh at you later!" Lanxiang was very pleased, but she teased her.

Fu Ling was already used to this situation and covered her mouth to chuckle.

"Mother, do you know what big news I heard in town today!"

"What news?" Lanxiang asked curiously.

"The new emperor has ascended the throne; a general amnesty is hereby granted!"

"What? Our Crimson Flame Kingdom has a new emperor again?" Lanxiang exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, officials passed through town today, shouting 'The new emperor has ascended the throne, and a general amnesty is hereby granted!'"

"Oh no, the world is going to fall into chaos again. We've only had a few good days, sigh!"

"Mother, what does this have to do with us?" Shen Man asked, puzzled.

"Man'er, you don't know, every time a new emperor ascends the throne, in order to show his benevolence, he likes to grant a general amnesty, pardoning all the prisoners in jail and restoring their freedom."

However, most of these prisoners are criminals; pardoning them will only embolden them to commit even more heinous crimes and harm their neighbors.

Lanxiang said with a worried look on her face. It was clear that the last time Emperor Mingde granted a general amnesty, it left her with a considerable psychological shadow.