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

To find out about the people across the street, Yang Hu had a plan in mind.

Scarface from the South of the City!

After saving one of the underlings of the "Living Tiger" and helping to solve a poisoning case, Scarface's gang had been keeping a close eye on Yang Hu. Finding information about him was a simple matter for him.

The next morning, he made up an excuse to go out and buy medicinal herbs, and went to the south of the city.

Scarface was lying in the tea stall eating morning tea, with several of his men sitting casually scattered around. When he saw Yang Hu coming over, he waved for his men to make way, chuckled, and his hideous scars twitched a few times.

"Dr. Yang, it's been a long time!" Scarface poured tea for Yang Hu. "Is there anything I can do for you, old man?"

Yang Hu didn't waste any words and recounted how he ran a small business across the street from their clinic but kept an eye on the people in their yard every day. Then he mentioned that in the past few days, several strangers had disguised themselves as patients and come to their clinic to gather information.

Scarface's smile immediately faded.

"The guy who rents a place in the east of the city and keeps these idle people watching you for days..." Scarface squinted and tapped his knuckles lightly on the table. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Alright, find out where these guys are from and who they've been working for for three or five days, brother."

"This is troublesome." Yang Hu clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"It was nothing!" Scarface waved his hand, not in a hurry to see him off. Instead, he lowered his voice and asked, "Dr. Yang, if I may say something, anyone who can rent a house in the east of the city and keep idle people watching you for so long without making a move, and who's been holding back, is no ordinary family. Someone has their eye on your yard. Be careful not to become some kind of reckless thug seeking revenge!"

Yang Hu was slightly startled, grateful for the reminder, and after chatting about other things, he returned to the east of the city with a belly full of worries.

Who on earth has caught the eye of such an important person? How could he not know?

On the surface, it's Zhao Yanei, who got humiliated in the street. But how could a spoiled brat like him tolerate having idle people watching him and spying on him for so long? There's more to it than meets the eye.

Since his courtyard cured Old Master Zhou and helped protect the grain in the north with the city defense battalion, it has probably attracted the attention of more than just Young Master Zhao. Moreover, he has been secretly investigating along Zhou's grain route. No matter how well he tries to hide his activities, it is impossible for him not to notice the finger that he has not yet found.

He had kept these thoughts buried deep in his heart and hadn't intended to think about them any further, but now Scarface's words, "You've attracted the attention of a big shot," had rekindled his suspicions.

It was already noon when they returned to the courtyard. There weren't many people at the clinic. Lu Yan was organizing the medicinal herbs in the pharmacy. She arranged each cabinet meticulously, with small notes attached to each one, indicating what kind of medicine it was and whether it would clash with another medicine. Her practices were even more formal than those of the old men in the city.

Seeing that Yang Hu had returned, she put down the medicine scale and handed him a cup of warm tea.

"Did the young master go to the south of the city?" Her voice was very soft.

Yang Hu accepted the tea and told her about Scarface's visit to her, as well as Scarface's words: "You're attracting the attention of important people."

After listening, Lu Yan raised her eyebrows and thought about it for a long time.

"Young master," she said slowly, "the family across the street may not only have Zhao Yanei as their only relative."

Yang Hu looked at her.

"I've seen this kind of tactic in the Duke's mansion over the past few years." Lu Yan put down her needlework and became serious. "Those who arrest people on the street and do it openly are just reckless and impatient. The truly vicious ones are like this—renting a house, finding some unsightly people to watch you silently, observing how many people come out of your courtyard, when they come out, who you often hang out with, and recording everything in a notebook."

She spoke very slowly.

"This isn't the kind of thing you do to get revenge, settle personal scores, or settle scores. This is about using this information to make a big deal out of it."

Yang Hu felt a chill in his heart.

This sentence is surprisingly similar to Scarface's line, "catching the eyes of big shots," which is quite similar!

Lu Yan was a woman from a wealthy family. Ordinary women would only be afraid and dare not go out if they saw that they were being watched, but she could see through the methods these people used to watch people and see what was hidden underneath.

What do you think?

"It's still unclear what kind of article it is," Lu Yan shook her head, her expression serious. "It might be to give Young Master Zhao a legitimate reason to make a move. Or perhaps... someone wants to thoroughly investigate this courtyard before making a decision. Young Master has gained considerable fame these past few days for curing Old Master Zhou and for his meritorious service in protecting the grain with the city defense battalion. Big trees in the city are easily broken by the wind, and it's not just Young Master Zhao who's eyeing our courtyard."

She glanced at Yang Hu, her eyes filled with genuine worry.

"and……"

She didn't name the person. But Yang Hu knew what she meant.

It was Qin Ying. Their deepest secret in this courtyard, and also the most difficult to uncover. Those watching them were meticulously recording everything, and the more they recorded, the easier it became to trace back to that man who deserved to die at the border.

"I know," Yang Hu said. "That's why I wanted to find out who was targeting us first. Only by knowing your enemy can you find a way to deal with them."

Lu Yan nodded without saying anything. She continued to pick up the medicine scale and arrange the medicine in her cabinet.

After arranging it for a while, she suddenly muttered something to herself.

"Back in the Duke's mansion, it was all these shady power struggles and backstabbing. I wanted to stay as far away as possible, to hide from them." Her voice was soft, as if she were talking to herself. "I never imagined that after coming to the border, I would have to rely on the shrewdness I learned from reading people's faces back in the Duke's mansion to help you with some things."

Yang Hu watched her retreating figure.

What about this time last year?

She was still very ill, hiding in a prison van, feverish, and pale, looking as if a loved one had died.

Now her face is rosy, and she handles the medicine with practiced ease. She even sees through the petty schemes and underhanded dealings of those corrupt officials and businessmen…

"I'm with you," Yang Hu said. "Don't try to learn how to avoid trouble; learn how to take charge."

Lu Yan paused in her work of arranging the medicine!

She didn't turn around, but her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her ears turned red.

"Young master, you're talking nonsense to me again!" She said this in a soft voice, but the corners of her mouth turned up.

"I……"

Just then, Lu Rou returned from doing the accounts outside. As soon as she entered, she shouted, "That guy surnamed Sun in the south end of the city lowered his prices again today. We'll be able to save more than half of our medicine money this month..."

"Oh," Lu Rou said as Liu Ye carried two large pheasants she had cut down in the mountains into the house, put them down under the fire pit, and opened her mouth wide to say that there would be something good to eat that night.

"Aji!" The little girl followed behind and ran into the kitchen to help pluck the feathers.

The pheasant meat jerked and poked her nose. She slammed it to the ground in pain, cursing, "You wretched bastard!"

Aji yelled at the top of his lungs, "Ouch, Mom!"

Lu Rou, listening from the side, couldn't help but laugh and said, "Oh my, I'm telling you women, don't you ever considerate of men? When you're killing a chicken, you don't even leave me a single hair on its butt, so when I need to wear underwear, I have to spend money to buy new ones..."

"Oh, what are you saying!" Lu Yan tied on an apron and walked towards the kitchen. "What's delicious today?"

The whole house in the courtyard was bustling with activity, and the smoke from the chimneys was rising, creating a lively atmosphere.

But beneath this lively atmosphere, a gloomy, oppressive cloud hangs in the air.

Yang Hu stood in the courtyard, looking at the rented house across the street.

The door was ajar, and it was quiet inside. I wondered what might be hidden there.

But he also knew that several eyes inside the gate were currently fixed on his courtyard. Who went out today, who came back today…

I wrote them all down.

It was recorded in a notebook that was kept out of the light.

The news from Scarface's side can be delivered to him in a couple of days.

Then we'll know whose eyes were watching my back the whole time.

He wanted to see if the stinky cat peeking through the crack in the opposite door had actually crouched down.

Either it was Zhao Yanei's pent-up resentment, or another hand had already quietly crept to the gate of his courtyard.

Yang Hu laughed.

That's what he's best at!