A divine healer, a general, a young marquis! Who can rival them!

Three matches, three victories, and he publicly impressed Song Yitie, a doctor with fifty years of experience. Now, in this border town, no one dares to question Yang Hu's reputation as a "miracle doctor."

People seeking medical help lined up from inside the city to outside. The small clinic in the east of the city saw two or three times more patients a day than before. Consultation fees and medicine money poured in, and the amount of medicine prescribed also increased several times over.

As usual, Yang Hu allocated a portion of his consultation fees to help the homeless people outside his clinic who couldn't afford medicine. Even so, his income was several times greater than before. Lu Rou managed the accounts, her face never faltering as she worked on her abacus after closing time. The atmosphere in the city also changed. Those respectable people who had previously gossiped behind his back, calling him an inexperienced young man, now greeted him with warm smiles, vying to invite this miracle doctor to their homes.

This discovery has unearthed a new and exciting story.

The major pharmacies in town had previously disregarded this young doctor. Now, seeing him use medicine so readily and buying large quantities every day, they were all green with envy, vying to get on his good side. One day one pharmacy would send over top-quality angelica, the next day another would bring in freshly arrived ginseng, each trying their best to siphon off this miracle doctor's medicinal herb business into their own shops.

Yang Hu responded calmly to the scrambling for the medicinal herbs, showing no favoritism and refusing to accept any offer. He had a clear sense of right and wrong. The medicinal herb business might seem like a small matter, but it was actually connected to the entire commercial network of the city. When choosing a supplier, one had to consider not only the price and the quality of the goods, but also the integrity of the shop and its access to information.

On this day, the visitor was from Jichuntang, the largest pharmacy in the city.

It wasn't a waiter who came; it was the owner of Jichuntang, Boss Su, who personally came to the door.

Old Master Su was a plump man in his fifties with fair skin, dressed in silk and wearing a thumb ring; he was clearly one of the wealthiest merchants in the city. As soon as he entered, he beamed, bowing and scraping, being extremely polite. His manner was different from the previous pharmacy owners who had come to scout the place. Those owners still retained some of the arrogance of merchants; Old Master Su, however, had lowered himself considerably, putting on a very affected air.

"Dr. Yang, I've heard so much about you!" Boss Su shook Yang Hu's hand tightly. "I've run a pharmacy in this city for thirty years and have seen all kinds of doctors. But I've never seen anyone as young as Dr. Yang, whose medical skills are so extraordinary. I've come here today specifically to establish a long-lasting and amicable relationship with you."

To put it bluntly, his "goodwill" was simply that he wanted to monopolize Yang's entire supply of medicinal herbs.

The price offered by Boss Su was extremely fair, even 10% lower than other places, yet all the medicinal herbs were top-quality. Yang Hu knew that Jichuntang was after his reputation as a "miracle doctor," aiming for future fame and long-term profits.

Yang Hu had the same idea. Jichuntang was the largest pharmacy in the city, and it knew better than anyone the source of medicinal herbs and the activities of other merchants. Ostensibly, befriending them was for better herbs and prices, but secretly, he wanted to use the pharmacy's informants to investigate the shady dealings in the city. For example, the grain store in the west of the city that quietly delivered grain to the border every night.

The two sides quickly reached an agreement. A contract was immediately signed. Jichuntang would then take over Yang's medicinal herbs, delivering them monthly and settling accounts quarterly. Boss Su personally tucked the contract into his sleeve, his fair, plump face crinkling with smiles, as if he had secured not just a business deal, but a powerful backer.

Just as they were getting along well, Boss Su suddenly sighed and changed the subject.

"To be honest, Divine Doctor, I've come here today not only to discuss business, but also to seek your advice."

"Please go ahead, Mr. Su."

"I have a young daughter," said Boss Su, stroking his beard with a mixture of pride and worry on his face. "This girl has been with me in the pharmacy since she was little. She knows how to identify and distinguish medicines better than the old clerks in the shop. Later, she apprenticed under an old doctor and studied medicine for a few years. Now she has a small reputation in this city, and the neighbors all call her 'Dr. Su the Young Doctor.'"

Yang Hu's heart stirred slightly. A pharmacy heiress who also knew and practiced medicine was indeed a rare find.

"This should have been a good thing." Boss Su frowned, "But the problem is that this girl is too proud and stubborn. A few days ago, for some reason, she got into a fight with someone and caused a problem that's not a big deal but not a small one either. I'm really worried and don't know what to do."

As he said this, the smile on the face of this usually shrewd and sophisticated old businessman faded, and a genuine look of worry flashed across his eyes.

He stopped there, as if he had something difficult to say, and shook his head, refusing to continue.

Yang Hu didn't press further. He sensed that beneath the surface of Jichuntang's facade, things were likely far from calm. A knowledgeable daughter of a pharmacy owner, and an unspeakable trouble—these two things, like two pebbles, had been thrown into his heart, creating ripples that were difficult to describe. Merchants, driven by profit, rarely revealed their family's difficulties. For Boss Su to reveal this aspect today meant either he was truly desperate, or the difficulties were too great for him to bear alone.

After finalizing the deal, Boss Su left, expressing his deepest gratitude.

Yang Hu saw him to the door, and stared at the departing blue sedan chair for a while, lost in thought.

Lu Yan had somehow walked up behind him.

"Then Boss Su only said half of what he wanted to say," she said softly.

"Hmm." Yang Hu nodded slowly. "The trouble his daughter caused is probably not as simple as he makes it out to be. A businessman doesn't come here without a reason. He really came today to talk business, but he also really wants to sound me out and use my reputation to back him up."

Lu Yan frowned slightly: "We're already dealing with enough troubles of our own. Should we get involved in this mess with Jichuntang or not?"

Yang Hu stared at the street corner where the sedan chair had disappeared, his gaze deepening.

"Whether or not to wade in depends on what's hidden beneath the surface," he said slowly. "Jichuntang is the largest pharmacy in the city. They know exactly where the medicinal herbs and money go. Establishing a relationship with them would be a huge advantage for me in investigating that line of work. As for his daughter's troubles, we'll deal with that when we encounter them."

Qin Ying, who had been listening silently, suddenly spoke up, her voice low: "A large pharmacy like Jichuntang might have military connections among the medicinal herbs it handles. The wound medicines and antiseptics for the military camps always need someone to supply them. If you really want to investigate that supply line, this pharmacy might be an unexpected lead."

Yang Hu's eyes flickered. He hadn't even considered this possibility. Qin Ying had led troops and knew the flow of supplies within the army better than anyone. His words had been a wake-up call, and the importance of Jichuntang in his mind grew even more.

"It seems we have no choice but to deal with Jichuntang," Yang Hu said slowly. "We need to continue the medicinal herb business, and we also need to find a pretext to probe the depths of that Miss Su's troubles."

He didn't say anything more.

Little did he know that the woman he had never met, Ms. Su, and the inexplicable trouble she had caused, would in ways he could never have imagined, deepen and jeopardize his already complicated situation.