Denghuangtai

Seeing the bright smile on Yun Zheng's face, Pei Qingyan thought to himself, "I can't tell the year the letter was made. Even if it's a forgery, I can't tell. What's the point of looking at it? I'll wait for Yuan Fox to come over and have him take a look. Then I'll know."

Thinking this to herself, she still smiled at Yun Zheng and said, "Have you had breakfast yet? If not, how about we have some together?"

Yun Zheng nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Pei Qingyan said to Yun Zheng, "Then have someone prepare it." She waved the lacquer box in her hand and then said, "I'll put this away."

"Put it away?" Yun Zheng frowned slightly.

Pei Qingyan nodded. "This can be considered evidence of your care for me over the years. Why? Can't you leave it for me as a keepsake?"

As she spoke, the smile on her face gradually disappeared, replaced by a pitiful look.

"Sure, of course it's possible." Yun Zheng agreed immediately without hesitation.

Pei Qingyan's sorrow turned to joy, and she happily turned around to place the lacquer box next to her pillow. However, she didn't notice that in the instant she turned around, Yun Zheng's eyes narrowed, and a look of inquiry appeared in them.

The chief clerk quickly brought breakfast, and the two sat next to each other this time, occasionally bumping into each other's wrists and elbows.

Pei Qingyan asked casually, "When I was in the North, I heard that your career seemed to be going smoothly all these years, but in reality, there were hidden dangers. What's going on? Is there any danger?"

This was, of course, something she made up. In reality, she had heard that Yun Zheng's career was going smoothly and that he was rising rapidly through the ranks.

But if she didn't make this up, she wouldn't be able to naturally steer the conversation toward the political affairs Yun Zheng participated in when he served as the Imperial Physician.

"Danger..." Yun Zheng frowned, pondered for a while, and then said calmly, "They're just some petty scoundrels, nothing serious."

Hearing his vague words, Pei Qingyan secretly rolled his eyes in his heart, feeling extremely annoyed.

She thought to herself, "Damn it, if your great-aunt asks you a question, just answer honestly! What's with this half-hearted answer?!"

She cursed inwardly, but outwardly maintained her composure, feigning concern for Yun Zheng, "A petty villain? Is he an opponent in the court, or outside the court?"

"Naturally, it's the court's." Yun Zheng laughed. "I don't lead troops to suppress bandits, so I pose no threat to people outside the court."

Hearing him steer the conversation towards "leading troops," Pei Qingyan's eyes lit up. "You don't lead troops, but I remember that both the Imperial Physician and the Grand Minister of Works are responsible for military supplies and preparedness. Are these positions dangerous?"

"No," Yun Zheng said firmly. "When I was the Imperial Physician, I was only responsible for cleaning up the court and reforming the officials. Military supplies and preparations were not under my jurisdiction."

Upon hearing this, Pei Qingyan was stunned. She thought to herself, "How did they manage to get that information out of me so easily?"

Immediately, Pei Qingyan secretly regretted it in his heart, "If I had known it was this simple, why did I have to pretend to be weak and cry, and pretend to be gentle and considerate? I could have just chosen one of the two and fooled Yun Zheng. Now look what I've done, all that effort wasted."

Looking at Pei Qingyan's conflicted expression, Yun Zheng found it amusing and thought to himself, "So easily fooled, I wonder how he'll lead troops into battle."

"In a couple of days, I'd like to sneak out for a visit. Could you help me cover it up?" Pei Qingyan thought it over and over and felt that his "sacrifice" was too unfair, so he decided to use Yun Zheng to get some more benefits for himself.

"Then you should take good care of yourself these next few days and conserve your energy."

Yun Zheng's agreement was too readily accepted, leaving Pei Qingyan feeling uneasy, as if she had fallen into his trap.

"You don't want to?" Seeing her hesitation, Yun Zheng raised an eyebrow and threatened, "You're not going out until you've had enough energy."

"I'm willing!" Pei Qingyan slammed his hand on the table. "It's a deal!"

Pei Qingyan agreed without hesitation, but she soon regretted it!

She lay on the couch, watching the old doctor take out silver needles. Her eyes widened instantly. Pointing at the needles, she exclaimed, "I'm just treating my body, is it necessary to use such long needles?"

The old doctor didn't reply. With a stern face, he turned to look at Yun Zheng, who was standing to the side. "Young master, please hold her down so that I can administer acupuncture."

Yun Zheng nodded and took a step forward.

Seeing this, Pei Qingyan propped herself up on the edge of the bed and sat up. "I'm all better now! I just need some medicine, no need for acupuncture!" As she spoke, she tried to get off the bed, but just as her toes touched the top of her shoes, Yun Zheng pressed down on her shoulders with both hands and pulled her into his arms.

"Yun Zheng!" Pei Qingyan struggled, but she was injured and Yun Zheng had improved his physical strength over the years. The difference in physical strength between men and women was fully displayed at this moment. No matter how she struggled, she could not escape.

"I don't need it..."

She screamed, making a final struggle, but before she could finish speaking, everything went black...

It turned out that while Yun Zheng was holding her down, the old doctor had acted swiftly and inserted the needle directly.

Caught off guard, Pei Qingyan felt a sharp pain that made her vision go black. It took her a long time to recover before she angrily cried out, "Old doctor, you tried to murder me!"

The old doctor calmly pulled another silver needle from his cloth bag. "I am a doctor, not an executioner. This needle is not a tool for killing."

As he spoke, another needle was neatly and cleanly inserted.

This time, Pei Qingyan was on guard, and perhaps because the acupoints were different, she only frowned slightly, unlike before. She said unwillingly, "But I don't need to..."

The old doctor grabbed her wrist, inserted a needle into it, and threatened her fiercely, "If you keep being stubborn, I'll fill every acupoint on your body with needles."

Pei Qingyan pursed her lips, tilted her head, buried her face in Yun Zheng's arm, and cursed inwardly, "Only a quack doctor would stick needles into every single acupoint on a patient!"

She only dared to think these words to herself, not to actually say them aloud. Based on her understanding of the old doctor, if she dared to call him a "quack," he wouldn't actually turn her into a hedgehog with needles, but he would definitely change her prescription and give her a bitter, agonizing decoction.

Forget it, she shouldn't make things difficult for herself over a temporary difference in status.

Seeing that she had given up, the old doctor's expression finally softened. As he administered acupuncture, he said, "You were seriously injured and had old ailments. Your heart and lungs were damaged, so your body was already weaker than that of an ordinary person. The other day you used that potent medicine, and you didn't die. It's thanks to your good fortune and my medical skills that you survived."

Upon hearing this, Yun Zheng's shoulders stiffened.