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

As winter deepened, snow fell one after another in the west of the city.

Inside Yang's clinic, however, there was a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

In the pharmacy, Lu Yan carefully arranged the newly arrived medicinal herbs one by one and labeled them with small notes. She was originally a pampered young lady from the Duke's mansion, but after falling on hard times and ending up in this remote area, she managed a pharmacy with remarkable efficiency.

"We have enough medicinal herbs for this winter," she said as she stacked the drawers. "Even on the coldest days, people coming to seek medical help won't be cold."

Lu Rou was setting up the curtains in the front hall. Over the course of the year, she had meticulously recorded every single item, from the clinic's income and the profits from the herb garden to the monthly stipends for rice and medical treatment.

"Young master," she said, fiddling with her abacus, "the herb garden's profits have increased again this month. I've continued to send rice and grain to those households in the south of the city who ran out of food."

"You did the right thing." Yang Hu nodded. "There are many poor families in the west of the city. Don't be stingy in helping those who need it."

"I remember everything," Lu Rou replied readily.

Over the past year, she has gradually transformed from a maid who always had to be mindful of her mistress's wishes into an indispensable accountant at the clinic. Yang Hu simply entrusted her with making all the decisions regarding income, expenses, and supplies, without having to worry about a thing.

Liu Ye returned from the suburban medicinal herb garden, her feet crunching through the snow. As usual, she carried two wild game pieces, placed them on the stove, and grinned, saying, "The best stuff from the mountains on a snowy day."

She rubbed her frozen, red hands, moved closer to the charcoal brazier, and lowered her voice to add to Yang Hu, "I've thoroughly checked two more sections of that road leading out of the city. I've memorized the names of the gatekeepers and vendors along the way."

Yang Hu nodded very slightly, without asking any further questions. This matter couldn't be rushed.

Qin Ying sat by the window, wiping a worn-out short knife in the snowlight. She had been hiding her identity in this courtyard for more than half a year, and had no freedom whatsoever. She rarely even stepped out of the gate. But the lively atmosphere of this courtyard had somewhat diminished the ruthless aura she had honed in the midst of countless battles.

"What are you thinking about?" Yang Hu handed over a cup of hot tea.

Qin Ying answered the call, but didn't look at him; her gaze was fixed on the swirling snow outside the window.

"This courtyard is more peaceful than my general's mansion," she said softly. "Before, in the capital and in the army, all I saw was scheming and fighting. Now, living in this small courtyard as a medicine boy, I feel at ease."

Yang Hu smiled but didn't reply.

Her general's mansion, all its former glory, had long since turned to ashes in a military report announcing her "fight to the death for her country." To find a semblance of peace in this dilapidated courtyard in the frontier was already an immense achievement.

Clutching his newly acquired skills, Aji squatted by the charcoal brazier, repeatedly flipping through the medical book Yang Hu had given him, muttering to himself. He still hadn't quite grasped the method his master had used to treat that bald spot during the day, and would occasionally look up to ask a question.

Wild game that Liu Ye had hunted was stewing on the stove, its aroma filling the room. Outside, snow was falling heavily, but inside, the charcoal fire was keeping the house warm.

Looking at the people in the room, Yang Hu felt a sense of comfort.

After more than half a year in the city, from squeezing into an inn to now living in a three-courtyard house with blue bricks and tiles, a clinic in the front yard and a home in the back, everyone in the courtyard has their own things to do and their own peace and quiet.

This is what he earned little by little from nothing, starting from nothing, in this chaotic frontier region.

No matter how heavy the wind and snow are outside, it's always warm inside this courtyard.

But beneath this peaceful facade lie two unresolved matters.

One of them is the secret thread that leads to the prefectural governor's office and plunges into the city. Liu Ye is still quietly exploring deeper into it.

Another thing is the pair of eyes staring at this courtyard from the house diagonally opposite—the eyes of the young master of the Zhao family in the west of the city.

The Zhao residence is located in the west of the city.

These days, Zhao Yanei has truly lost his temper.

He tried to stop people in the street, but they were overpowered; he spread rumors, but they were easily dispelled; he even had to ask the constables of the yamen to help him. In the end, it was that guy surnamed Yang who, with the help of Zhou Ji and the city defense battalion, easily and skillfully blocked him.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. A quack doctor from out of town, with a few unremarkable women, had repeatedly humiliated him, the son of the Zhao family in the west of the city. Now, who in the city didn't know that the son of the Zhao family had been defeated by Yang Ji in the east of the city?

He couldn't get over this anger himself.

After much deliberation, he finally steeled himself and went to beg his father.

Judge Zhao was warming himself by the fire in his study. He listened to his son recount the events of the past few days with a mournful face, but at first he didn't take it seriously.

"Just a quack doctor," Zhao Tongpan said, stroking his beard. "For something as trivial as this, you want my father to handle it personally? If word gets out, won't people laugh at us?"

"Father!" Young Master Zhao cried out anxiously, "That man surnamed Yang has repeatedly humiliated our Zhao family! He keeps three or four beautiful women in his courtyard, especially that one—her striking presence is undeniable, she's clearly not from an ordinary family!"

Judge Zhao paused, his hand stroking his beard.

"You mean...not an ordinary woman?"

He had served as a government official in the capital, and had experienced the ups and downs of life there. He had seen far more of the world than the people in this small county town.

Why would a quack doctor from out of town be so eager to be backed by a major grain merchant like Zhou Ji? Why would he be so protected by officials like the city garrison? It was all very strange. And now, hiding in the courtyard was a woman of unknown origin, whose heroic spirit couldn't be hidden even by smearing on her clothes…

A cloud of doubt slowly settled in Judge Zhao's mind.

Ordinary women fleeing from war cannot cultivate that kind of demeanor. Families that can cultivate that kind of demeanor are either military families or noble families. But how could such families end up on the frontier, hiding in the courtyard of a quack doctor, not daring to even show their faces?

There are probably some things here that even he, as the father, hasn't figured out yet.

"This matter," Zhao Tongpan said slowly, "should not be publicized for now."

He put down the fire tongs and squinted.

"Your underhanded methods of stopping people in the street and spreading rumors are beneath you; they'll only give others leverage against you. To investigate someone, you have to get to the bottom of things. Where did he come from? What are the backgrounds of those women? How did they get involved with Zhou Ji and the city defense battalion? We can investigate everything thoroughly before we take action."

"What does Father mean?"

"I will thoroughly investigate the background of Yang's family in the east of the city for you," Magistrate Zhao said, stroking his beard. "Once we find out whether his borrowed power is genuine or just a bluff, then I will decide whether to take action or let him go."

Having served as an official for half his life, he knew one thing well: those who resort to violence in the street are just reckless fools; those who can truly take lives are those who first thoroughly investigate a person, grasp their vital points, and then quietly close the net.

In that Yang family's courtyard, the more people who hide and refuse to show themselves, the more worthy of investigation are of knowing what they don't want others to see.

Zhao Yanei was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly.

He assumed his father was avenging him and venting his pent-up anger. In his mind, his father was the powerful prefect of the west side of the city, and dealing with a quack doctor from out of town was a piece of cake.

He had even started thinking that once his father had investigated the matter thoroughly and had that man surnamed Yang under control, he could then openly and legitimately invite all the beautiful women from that courtyard into the Zhao residence.

He didn't know that his father's words, "Investigate thoroughly," were a hundred times more ruthless than his despicable methods of stopping people in the street and spreading rumors.

No one knew that the woman in the courtyard east of the city, whom Zhao Yanei had his eye on, whose heroic spirit couldn't be hidden even with ash, was Qin Ying, the granddaughter of the Duke of Zhenguo, who should have fought to the death for her country but was instead hiding alive in this border city.

The secrets hidden in that courtyard, once investigated inch by inch by Zhao Tongpan, a former official in the capital with a deep mind...

It seems we won't be able to keep it a secret any longer.