In times of chaos and famine, I traded one pound of rice for two royal flushes.

The next morning, Eunuch Li, with his delicate fingers, came to collect the prescription.

When he saw the list filled with rare medicinal herbs, his face turned green.

"Dr. Qin! Are you treating an illness or robbing me? This 300-year-old wild ginseng alone is enough to buy half a street!"

"Is the Emperor's health not even as important as a street?" Qin Shaolang retorted.

Speechless, Eunuch Li could only pinch his nose, take the prescription, and return to report.

The Wei residence, study.

Wei Zhongxian looked at the prescription with no expression on his face, but his fingers tapped rhythmically on the table.

Xue Yi stood beside him.

"Godfather, this Qin Shaolang is testing us." Xue Yi's voice was cold.

"We know." Wei Zhongzhongxian picked up the prescription and pointed to "Cicada Flower" on it. "There's something wrong with this herb."

"The golden cicada flower can reveal hidden injuries in the meridians," Xue Yi said succinctly.

"Hehe, it seems he figured things out yesterday." Wei Zhongxian laughed, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Interesting. This little sparrow from the countryside wants to fight our eagle."

He handed the prescription to Eunuch Li.

"Go, get the medicine as prescribed. But..."

A sinister glint flashed in Wei Zhongxian's eyes.

"Replace this cicada flower with ordinary cicada molts. The effects are similar, and ordinary doctors can't tell the difference, but they won't be able to detect anything."

"I want to see what kind of show he can put on after taking fake medicine."

"Yes, Godfather." Eunuch Li accepted the order and left.

Wei Zhongxian then looked at Xue Yi: "Send someone to handle it. Remember, make a big fuss and do it cleanly."

"I understand."

Xue bowed and stepped back, a flash of murderous intent passing through his eyes.

Thus began a fierce competition and intrigue surrounding medicinal herbs.

Qin Shaolang had already laid the groundwork, and Wei Zhongxian had also laid his inescapable trap.

For two days in a row, the villa remained calm and peaceful.

No news came from Wei Zhongxian's side, as if the expensive prescription had sunk without a trace.

The monkey was so anxious that it kept pacing around in the yard.

"Sir, do you think they've discovered your plan? Why haven't they made a move?"

"Don't rush." ​​Qin Shaolang was changing the dressing on Wei Qing's leg injury without looking up. "The bigger the fish, the less it makes a sound before it takes the bait."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Eunuch Li rushed into the courtyard with a "grief" expression on his face.

"Oh dear! Doctor Qin! Something terrible has happened!"

He let out a yell as soon as he came in, almost tripping over the threshold.

"Our Blood-Clad Guards, whom we sent out to purchase medicinal herbs, were attacked on the official road thirty miles outside the city!"

"What?!" Both Monkey and Su Jin were taken aback.

"Seven or eight people are dead, and the worst part is... all the medicinal herbs prepared for the Emperor have been stolen!" Eunuch Li pounded his chest and stamped his feet, acting as if it were real. "What are we going to do! If the Emperor's health is compromised, even a hundred heads wouldn't be enough to pay for it all!"

Qin Shaolang put down the gauze in his hand and watched Eunuch Li's performance with perfect clarity.

That was such a convincing performance.

If I hadn't known their plan beforehand, I probably would have been fooled too.

"Didn't the authorities investigate?" Qin Shaolang asked, feigning concern.

"We've investigated! But those thieves came and went without a trace, leaving no clues at the scene. The people from the Jingzhao Prefecture are at a loss!" Eunuch Li wiped his eyes, which had no tears at all. "Doctor Qin, what... what should we do?"

"Since we've run out of medicine, let's wait until we find it before treating you," Qin Shaolang replied casually.

Eunuch Li was speechless again.

He had intended to use this opportunity to put pressure on Qin Shaolang, forcing him to treat him with the available medicinal herbs, but he didn't expect the other party to simply not take the bait.

"This...this won't do!"

"Then I'll trouble you to find the medicinal herbs as soon as possible, Father-in-law." After Qin Shaolang finished speaking, he ignored him and continued to bandage Wei Qing's wounds.

Having made a fool of himself, Eunuch Li had no choice but to leave dejectedly.

However, the next morning, something even stranger happened.

A huge package was quietly placed at the gate of the villa.

The Blood-Clad Guards at the gate were completely unaware.

Zhang the butcher mustered his courage and dragged the package into the yard. When he opened it, everyone was stunned.

Inside were the very rare medicinal herbs that had been stolen, not a single one missing!

"What...what's going on? Did those thieves have a change of heart and send it back?" The monkey scratched his head, completely baffled.

Qin Shaolang didn't speak. He quickly stepped forward, opened each medicine packet, and carefully examined them.

Ginseng, Ganoderma lucidum, snow lotus... all of top quality.

When he opened the last paper package and saw the few perfectly shaped little golden flowers inside, his heart skipped a beat.

It's Cordyceps militaris!

Genuine Cordyceps militaris!

He calmly closed the medicine packet, turned to look at Wei Qing, and nodded slightly.

The fake medicine that Wei Zhongxian replaced was secretly replaced back!

The mantis catches the cicada, and the oriole is behind.

Sure enough, there was a third-party force secretly watching Wei Zhongxian in the capital!

Qin Shaolang's gaze fell on the coarse cloth that wrapped the medicinal herbs.

The fabric was very ordinary, the kind of blue cotton cloth that you could find anywhere.

But in the corner of the fabric, he found a somewhat blurred circular mark printed with cinnabar.

That's not a mark of any business.

Qin Shaolang leaned closer and carefully examined the pattern in the mark.

It was a galloping horse, and beneath its hooves was half of the incomplete character for "post station".

This is... the mark of an official post station!

They could utilize the official postal system, intercept the Blood-Clad Guards, and uncover Wei Zhongxian's plans...

This "crocodile" is definitely not a simple person.

Qin Shaolang held the piece of coarse cloth, lost in thought.

Besides Wei Zhongxian, this bottomless pool of water in the capital seems to harbor an even more mysterious fish...

"Dr. Qin, what do you think of this...?"

With delicate, orchid-like fingers, Eunuch Li presented the genuine Cordyceps flower packet to Qin Shaolang, his expression more bitter than if he had eaten bitter melon.

This "thief crying 'stop thief!'" act backfired spectacularly.

Qin Shaolang didn't even glance at him, and directly put the coarse cloth with the post station mark into his pocket.

"Now that we have all the medicinal herbs, that's good." He said calmly, "However, this Cordyceps flower is a rare and precious medicine from ancient prescriptions. How to combine it and how to use the fire are crucial. Even the slightest error can lead to disastrous consequences. My master was quite knowledgeable about this back then, and I need to consult him in person to avoid any mistakes that neither of us can afford to make."

Are we going to see our master?

Eunuch Li's heart skipped a beat; he couldn't make that decision.

"Well...we need to go and inform Father-in-law first."

Half an hour later, Qin Shaolang once again entered the cold and damp dungeon.

Compared to the Wei family's villa, this place is practically hell on earth.

Master looked even worse than last time, huddled in a pile of dry hay in the corner, like a withered branch that had been drained of moisture.

Two blood-clad guards stood like door gods inside and outside the prison gate, their eyes fixed on them.