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Chapter 104: Yunshan's Recall of Zhongsi's Life and the Confusion in the Imperial Hospital

As night fell, Yunshan lay on the carved bed, tossing and turning under the brocade quilt, unable to fall asleep.

Outside the window, the moonlight was like water, shining into the house through the carved window lattices, forming patches of mottled light and shadow, but the quiet night could not soothe her restless heart.

A name kept echoing in her mind - Zhong Si, a woman who made her wary but also forced her to explore deeper.

"Where should I begin to investigate this Zhong Si?"

Yunshan pondered inwardly. She knew she had to be wary of Zhong Si, who was like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, poised to strike a fatal blow at any moment.

It would not be wise to confront her head-on. The investigation must be carried out quietly and without being noticed.

Zhong Si was about thirty-one or thirty-two years old. He had a pair of phoenix eyes that were bright and charming when he looked around, but his eyes often revealed an unpredictable shrewdness and sharpness.

Yunshan had once asked Aunt Zhuang about her background. She was a distant relative of the late Concubine Dowager. Her father was an open-minded county magistrate in charge of the county's medicinal fields.

As the eldest sister in the family, Zhong Si has been busy working with her father in the medicinal fields since she was young. She helps register and manage the fields, and through her daily work, she has accumulated a wealth of pharmacological knowledge.

Compared to those girls who only know how to recite "The Rules for Women" and never go out of the house, Zhong Si naturally has a different kind of pride.

Later, Zhong Si married, but her husband was a man with a strong desire for control. He also liked to go to brothels and spend his days in debauchery. He often used the "Three Obediences and Four Virtues" to restrict Zhong Si, causing her great suffering.

However, when Zhong Si was young, she had beautiful dreams of love and pursued a lifelong partnership. Such completely different ideas led to frequent conflicts and quarrels between the couple.

Once, her husband drew his sword in a rage and threatened to kill her. Then one day, the man fell off a cliff while drunk, and this nightmare marriage ended.

At that time, Zhong Si was less than 20 years old and became a widow. Since then, Zhong Si has vowed not to remarry and not to burden her family, and to make a living on her own.

However, for officials' families, the six occupations of common women, such as cooks and matchmakers, were not considered elegant. Her father had no choice but to send several letters to the imperial concubine's family, begging for help, and finally obtained a recommendation for Zhong Si to join the pharmacy.

After entering the Pharmacy, her initial days were smooth. Because the former imperial concubine was favored, Zhong Si also benefited from it and thrived in the Pharmacy. People around her praised her and admired her endlessly.

She enjoyed the crowd.

However, the good times did not last long. As the power of the former concubine gradually weakened, Zhong Si's status also plummeted. The former excitement and popularity disappeared in an instant, and were replaced by indifference and alienation from the public.

How could Zhong Si, accustomed to the spotlight, endure such a disparity? To maintain her position, she spent all her savings and went to great lengths to win over her colleagues. Only through such painstaking efforts could she barely maintain a semblance of stability.

The new emperor ascended the throne and issued a general amnesty, bestowing grace on all quarters. As a result, Zhong Si was promoted to a sixth-rank female official.

Over the years, her status as a court lady became her greatest asset. Whenever she returned home during the Spring Festival holiday, she was treated like a star by her fellow villagers, sparking a passion among many young women for pharmacology.

"She is a proud woman after all."

Yunshan wondered if Zhong Si felt threatened by her entry into the Pharmacy, realizing she was no longer in control, which was why she kept getting mad and targeting her. Aunt Zhuang, a woman with a rich history of experience in the palace, had a deep understanding of the elders there. According to her, Zhong Si's relationships within the palace were relatively simple.

After the death of the late Concubine Dowager, she no longer had any close relatives.

She also bought a small courtyard outside the palace. Although the courtyard was not big, it was a small safe haven for her outside the cold palace. She would go home after her shift.

Yunshan tossed and turned in bed for a long time before finally getting out. She put on a coat and, under the cool moonlight, slowly walked to the table.

There were pens, ink, paper and inkstone on the table. She subconsciously picked up the pen and gestured unconsciously on the paper, but her mind was full of Zhong Si's figure.

Zhong Si and Yang Fei were very close, and Yunshan and the others had noticed this a long time ago.

Concubine Yang was a treacherous and cunning person, and her actions were extremely cautious. Finding a way to break through her was practically impossible. Furthermore, Concubine Yang was the mistress of a noble family, and Yunshan usually avoided her, so she was thankful that she hadn't been secretly plotted against or harmed by her.

So, what about the other people around Zhong Si? Her servants and pharmacists who served her closely?

They were just a bunch of opportunists, like mosquitoes flying around rotten meat, gathering together for a little bit of profit. Zhong Si was not stupid, and there was no way these people would be someone he could tell secrets to.

Yunshan was thinking while casually drawing on the paper. When she came to her senses, she found that she had drawn the Pixiu at the entrance of the Imperial Hospital.

A light suddenly flashed through Yunshan’s mind—the Imperial Hospital!

Today, Li Meng told Yunshan that Zhong Si had been slandering her in front of his colleagues and making up stories with exaggeration.

It is said that one day Yunshan found a young and handsome imperial physician as her master; one day when a medicine bag fell to the ground, the two of them bent down to pick it up together, and their fingertips touched inadvertently, and it is hard to guarantee that they would not develop a secret love affair.

Yunshan was extremely confused. How did Zhong Si know such details?
Could it be that she has someone very close to her in the Imperial Hospital?
However, given Zhong Si's flaunting personality, if he really had acquaintances in the Imperial Hospital, he would have spread the news everywhere long ago. How could he have never mentioned it to anyone?
Unless——their relationship is not open to the public!

Under the watery moonlight, Yunshan put pen to paper and wrote down a few names.

The owners of these names all have families and are about the same age as Zhong Si.

Zhong Si is a woman who has a persistent pursuit of love. According to common sense, it is impossible for her to easily give up her dignity and become someone else's mistress.

"Then, if there really is a private affair, this person must be extraordinary."

Either he has outstanding talents and can deeply resonate with Zhong Si spiritually;
Either he has an irresistible charm, whether it is a gentle and considerate character or a handsome and extraordinary appearance, which is enough to make Zhong Si fall in love with him;

Or perhaps, this person occupies an important position in the vortex of power and can give Zhong Si a sense of security and protection that is difficult to obtain in this deep palace.

Yunshan quickly walked to the bed, bent down and carefully took out the bottle of musk deer essential oil that Lin Xiao gave her from the camphor wood box under the bed.

"Tomorrow, help me again!"