TSWPF -Chapter 116 Departure

Late at night, just as Li Qingling and the others had fallen asleep, loud bang bang bang knocks suddenly sounded from outside.

The noise was so loud that even the sound of the rain couldn’t drown it out. Liu Zhimou climbed out of bed, and as soon as he stepped out of the room, he ran into Li Qingling.

“At this hour, who could it be?” Li Qingling frowned. Hearing such urgent knocking, could something serious have happened?

Liu Zhimou reached out and lightly tapped her on the head. “Go back to sleep. I’ll go see who it is.”

“It’s fine. I’ll go with you to see,” she said. “If something unexpected happens, I might be able to help.”

Unable to argue with her, Liu Zhimou nodded helplessly.

The two were about to grab their rain capes when Ah Huang suddenly dashed outside. Li Qingling tried to call it back, but it was already too late.

Seeing Ah Huang instantly soaked like a drowned rat, she smiled helplessly, quickly put on her rain cape, and hurried out.

She rubbed Ah Huang’s big head hard and warned it, “No matter what, don’t make a sound later, understand?” She was worried that if the visitors were villagers, seeing Ah Huang would definitely scare them.

Ah Huang let out a low whimper. Its big eyes stared straight at the courtyard gate, its whole body tensed, ready to attack at any moment.

“I’m not even nervous—why are you so tense?” Seeing how on edge it was, Li Qingling laughed again and patted its head. “Go hide to the side. I’ll open the door.”

But Liu Zhimou reached out and grabbed her hand, speaking solemnly, “I’ll do it. You go stand next to Ah Huang.” He was a man—this was something he should handle.

Li Qingling tilted her head, looked at him, raised an eyebrow, and under his insistence, finally nodded and obediently went to stand beside Ah Huang.

Once she was in place, Liu Zhimou raised his voice and asked the person outside, “Who are you? What business do you have coming so late?”

The person outside paused briefly, then answered in a sharp, loud voice that he had come under the emperor’s orders to find Imperial Physician Xue and told him to open the door immediately.

The emperor?

Imperial Physician Xue?

Liu Zhimou and Li Qingling exchanged glances, their brows knitting even tighter.

“Brother Zhimou, the old man’s surname is Xue, right?” Li Qingling asked quietly.

She seemed to recall that the old man’s surname was Xue—could it be that he had once been an imperial physician?

That would be something else entirely. Their family casually picked up someone, and he turned out to be either an imperial physician or a general. Who knew whether that was a blessing or a curse?

“Yes, Grandpa’s surname is Xue,” Liu Zhimou replied in a low voice. “But we don’t know if what the people outside are saying is true.” If they were his grandfather’s enemies, things could get dangerous—he had to be cautious.

“May I ask your name?” he called out.

As soon as he finished speaking, another voice sounded. “Young master, this subordinate is a guard under General Liu. I’ve come to request that Imperial Physician Xue come out of retirement to save lives.” After a pause, he added, “An epidemic has broken out in Shuangyang County. The situation is urgent, so we had no choice but to disturb you so late. Please forgive us.”

General Liu?

Hearing this, Liu Zhimou’s heart sank slightly. “Please wait a moment. I’ll invite Imperial Physician Xue out.” He still didn’t open the door, but instead gave Li Qingling a look, signaling her to go call him.

Li Qingling nodded and quickly ran inside, stopping at the old man’s door and knocking.

“Old man, are you asleep? There’s something urgent.”

“What is it?” came the rustling sound from inside—he was clearly getting up.

Li Qingling quickly explained everything. As soon as she finished, the door opened.

The old man’s face was solemn. Saying only “Let’s take a look,” he strode toward the entrance.

Li Qingling hurriedly took off her rain cape and handed it to him. After putting it on, he took the bamboo hat from her head and disappeared into the rain.

Walking up to Liu Zhimou, he patted him on the shoulder and asked who it was.

“Imperial Physician Xue, it’s me—Xiao Zengzi!” came the reply.

Hearing the voice, the old man immediately recognized him. He opened the door and saw Xiao Zengzi and Liu Zhi Hao’s guard standing outside. “So it’s Eunuch Zeng! How discourteous of me—please come in!”

Xiao Zengzi, shivering slightly, stepped inside. The moment he entered, Ah Huang’s watchful stare startled him so badly that he screamed and jumped behind the old man. “Th-this… how is there such a huge tiger?!”

Even the guard was startled and nearly drew his sword.

“Don’t be afraid. It’s raised by our family. As long as you don’t provoke it, it won’t bite,” the old man said with a smile, soothing them. “Come in.”

Xiao Zengzi followed closely beside the old man, constantly glancing back at Ah Huang. Seeing its eyes gleaming in the darkness made his legs tremble even more.

In his heart, he muttered that Imperial Physician Xue truly was extraordinary—even daring to raise a tiger.

The old man led them into the main hall. Li Qingling had already prepared tea. The old man glanced at her approvingly and discreetly waved his hand, signaling her to go back to sleep.

“Come, have some hot tea to warm yourselves,” the old man said, pushing a cup toward Xiao Zengzi. “May I ask how this young hero should be addressed?”

“This subordinate is General Liu’s guard, Liu Yi. The general was afraid Eunuch Zeng wouldn’t recognize the way, so he sent me along to guide him.”

The old man nodded, poured another cup of hot tea, and handed it to Liu Yi as well.

After finishing his tea, Xiao Zengzi felt much warmer. He then took out an imperial edict from his sleeve, stood up, and read in a shrill voice, “Imperial Physician Xue, receive the edict—”

The old man pulled Liu Zhimou, who was standing nearby, down to kneel. “This subject receives the edict—” Strictly speaking, he had long retired and was no longer an imperial physician, so he shouldn’t have addressed himself as a subject. But the edict named him as “Imperial Physician Xue.” If he didn’t say it, it would be tantamount to slapping the emperor in the face.

Better to offend anyone than offend the emperor.

So he had no choice but to comply.

By the time he finished his internal grumbling, Xiao Zengzi had already finished reading the edict. Its content was straightforward: an epidemic had broken out in Shuangyang County, and he was ordered to go there to save lives.

Earlier that day, Li Qingling had just asked him whether he would go if an epidemic broke out.

By nightfall, the task had arrived.

“Imperial Physician Xue, please accept the edict.”

“Long live His Majesty, long live, long live!” After speaking, the old man accepted the edict and stood up. “Eunuch Zeng, do we depart now?”

“Yes. We leave immediately.”

Hearing that, the old man nodded and asked them to wait while he packed his belongings.

He pulled Liu Zhimou back into the room. Once inside, the smile on his face vanished. Looking at Liu Zhimou seriously, he said, “Mo boy, I don’t know when I’ll be back this time. I’ll leave the household to you.” What he worried about most were the children at home, but with an imperial edict issued, he had no choice. “Shuangyang County already has an epidemic. I don’t know whether it will spread here. You must take precautions. Use the remaining medicine at home—boil a dose every day and have the children drink it.”

He went on and on with instructions. Liu Zhimou couldn’t interrupt and could only keep nodding.

It wasn’t until the guard came to urge him that the old man finally stopped, quickly packed his clothes, took them in hand, and opened the door.

Seeing Li Qingling standing there, he paused, then smiled again. “Ling’er, I’m leaving. I’ll leave the house to you and Mo boy. Take good care of the children and wait for me to come home.”

Li Qingling pressed her lips together and nodded. “Old man, take care of yourself. We’ll wait for you at home.” Epidemics were no joke—even doctors could easily get infected.

The old man rubbed her head, smiled, nodded, and strode out.

Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou walked them to the courtyard gate and watched them board the carriage.

“The rain is heavy—go back inside. Take care of the home,” the old man said, waving to them as he entered the carriage.

“Grandpa, take care!” Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou said in unison.

The old man nodded and resolutely entered the carriage.

Only when the carriage disappeared from sight did Li Qingling’s shoulders slump.

She was truly worried this time. She hoped the old man would return safely.

Liu Zhimou locked the courtyard gate again, put an arm around Li Qingling, and led her back inside. “It’ll be fine. Grandpa is blessed with great fortune—nothing will happen to him.” He reached out and smoothed her furrowed brows.

Leaning her head lightly against his chest, Li Qingling asked softly, “Is Shuangyang County far from us?” If it was too close, the chances of the epidemic spreading would be high.

Liu Zhimou gently stroked her hair. “Shuangyang County borders Anyang County.” He understood her worry—it was his too. “Tomorrow morning, I’ll inform the village chief and suggest strengthening village defenses and restricting people from coming and going. Hopefully, that will help.”

“Mm…” Li Qingling nodded and sighed softly. Recently, she had experienced almost everything she hadn’t in her previous life. As someone who had once lived in a peaceful era, it was becoming hard to bear.

Comparing her past life to this one only made her realize how fortunate she had been to live in peaceful times.

Liu Zhimou lowered his head and kissed the top of her head. “Don’t think too much. I’m here.” He released her, led her back to her room, and pushed her gently onto the bed. “Sleep.”

If the sky falls, I’ll hold it up.

Li Qingling stared at him wide-eyed. At that moment, she found him especially manly.

Unable to help herself, she sat up, kissed his cheek, wished him good night, and lay back down.

Liu Zhimou’s face flushed uncontrollably. He cleared his throat, forced himself to say good night, then turned and strode away.

Seeing his reaction, Li Qingling hid under the blanket and laughed softly.

She felt that this life, too, was very happy.