After flirting with the aloof prince, the concubine ran away pregnant.

The next day, just as dawn broke, Xie Xun developed a high fever, his exposed skin showed prominent veins, and he fell into a coma.

After taking the pulse, Doctor Lu frowned more and more deeply, and after a long silence, he finally spoke: "Since the medicine was taken last night, this shouldn't be the case."

He took the pulse for a while longer, and said, "It must be that the blood-activating agent was added too early, causing the cold nature of the medicine to dissipate and reducing its potency."

After a pause, he suggested, "Next time, it would be best to drip the blood directly into the medicine bowl and drink it while it's hot, so as to ensure the full efficacy of the medicine."

Standing to the side, Granny Wen's eyes flickered when she heard "the blood essence was added too early," but her expression remained calm: "Tao Yao was afraid of delaying the young master's medicine, so she thought of preparing it early, but she didn't think of this."

Without giving it much thought, Dr. Lu nodded and said that next time he should time it more precisely.

Granny Wen lowered her eyes and replied with a "Yes," but in her heart she was thinking: If we need to use Afu's blood in time next time, we should probably find a way to control her as soon as possible. As for Doctor Lu's suggestion, it's easy to fool him.

After Dr. Lu administered acupuncture, Xie Xun's high fever gradually subsided, but he was still somewhat drowsy.

Changsong was serving by the bedside. While changing the handkerchief, he accidentally dripped water onto Xie Xun's neck, and Xie Xun, who had just woken up, glanced at him.

Changsong immediately wiped it clean guiltily. Noticing Xie Xun's depressed expression, he waited until Xie Xun fell asleep, then turned and ran to the side room, dragging Afu, who was recovering from her injuries, over.

Afu couldn't understand what was going on, that she, with bruises still on her knees and bandages wrapped around her arms, was being asked to go to work.

Upon entering the main room, Afu saw Xie Xun's pale lips from the fever, and she finally decided not to refuse again.

Afu took the handkerchief from Changsong's hand, soaked it in cold water, wrung it until it was half-dry, and gently placed it on Xie Xun's forehead.

Xie Xun's breathing gradually calmed down, but her brows remained furrowed. Chang Song, feeling as if granted a pardon, quietly retreated to the outer room, leaving her alone to guard the room.

Afu moved a low stool and sat by the couch. She changed her handkerchief several times. Seeing that Xie Xun was sleeping more peacefully, she leaned against the bed frame and pretended to doze off.

In her half-awake state, she heard Xie Xun's breathing suddenly become rapid.

Afu immediately opened her eyes and saw Xie Xun with his brows furrowed and his lips moving as if he were trapped by something.

"...Get out of here..."

His voice was low, filled with a near-hysterical disgust, "...Disgusting...Get away..."

Afu got up to wipe the sweat from his forehead, but the moment her fingertips touched his skin, Xie Xun suddenly opened his eyes and shoved her hand away: "Get out!"

The force was considerable; Afu's hand slammed against the edge of the couch, aggravating her injury and causing her to gasp in pain.

Xie Xun was panting, his gaze slowly focusing after he realized it was her, and his shoulders and back gradually relaxed.

Seeing that he had regained consciousness, Afu poured him a glass of warm water and handed it to him. Xie Xun took it and drank a few sips, and his breathing finally calmed down.

He leaned back on the couch, his gaze falling on the exposed gauze on her arm, then sweeping over her still unsteady legs, and said, "You're still injured, why aren't you resting?"

Afu naturally wouldn't say that she didn't want to come and was dragged here by Changsong, so she said, "I heard from Changsong that the young master has a fever. I was worried about the young master, so I thought I would come and take care of him."

As she spoke, she changed to a dry handkerchief, lifted a corner of his sweat-soaked undergarment, and placed the handkerchief inside to absorb the sweat.

Xie Xun leaned back without speaking, quietly letting Afu wipe the sweat from his back.

Even his mother had never taken such meticulous and gentle care of him since he was a child. He had only ever seen his older brother's aunt wipe his sweat like this when he was a child.

As the sweat subsided and he felt clean and refreshed, Xie Xun relaxed completely, though the dream from earlier still weighed on his chest.

He had just dreamt again of the time when he was eight years old, hiding in the cabinet in his father's study, and seeing his father and the maidservant beside his mother entangled together.

He dared not make a sound until the maid discovered him. Fearing that the matter would be exposed, she tried to smother him in the cupboard.

He remembered the strong scent of perfume and a sweet, fishy smell as she pressed her hand against the cabinet door, her strength terrifying.

If his father hadn't heard the noise and returned, he would have died in that cabinet long ago.

From then on, he loathed all the maids; the sweet, cloying scent of their cosmetics disgusted him.

But Afu was different. She never had that cloying sweet smell; she only had the fresh, astringent scent of grass and trees, clean and bland, like a courtyard after a rain.

Xie Xun's gaze slowly moved from the gauze on her arm back to her face.

Those eyes were unlike any of the other maids he had ever seen; she seemed to have no desires or ulterior motives, and her gaze was exceptionally clear and pure.

"...Come," he said, but his voice was much lower than before, "sit next to me."

Afu hesitated for a moment, but finally sat down. She didn't sit too close, but just stretched her legs, which had been bent while sitting on the stool, on the edge of the tatami.

Xie Xun turned his head to smell the scent of herbs on her body before falling asleep again.

Xie Xun didn't wake up until evening. He seemed to be in good spirits. Doctor Lu came to check on him again and said that the remaining poison had been cleared and he was fine.

Seeing that Changsong had taken over the service, Afu excused herself and returned to her side room.

As soon as she stepped into the courtyard, she saw Yunxi peeking out from the doorway. Upon seeing her return, Yunxi immediately came forward and asked, "Sister Afu, is the young master... feeling better?"

Afu didn't want to deal with her, but thinking about Yunxi's usefulness, she forced herself to let her in.

"Come sit down," Afu said gently, pointing to the footstool by the bed.

Yunxi did as she was told and sat down.

"I haven't been feeling well lately and haven't had time to take care of you. I'm sorry to have troubled you."

Afu looked at her with a hint of guilt on her face, "We are, after all, master and apprentice. Since you are going to take over my job in the future, I should naturally teach you all my best skills."

Yunxi suddenly raised her head, a look of surprise and delight flashing in her eyes.

She thought that what Afu had taught her was the end of it. In this era of knowledge and technology monopoly, no master would pass on their true skills to their apprentice.

"elder sister……"

"What I taught you before was nothing more than some rough cleaning and superficial service," Afu interrupted her, her tone serious. "You haven't even figured out the young master's true preferences yet."

Afu leaned closer and said to her, "For example, the mugwort incense that the young master often uses is not as simple as the kind you buy in shops outside. That smell is too strong, and it gives you a headache if you smell it for too long."

"You have to use aged mugwort, mix it with three qian of dried orange peel and one qian of mint leaves, crush it with a stone mortar and pestle, and then mix it with honey to make incense balls. Only then will the aroma be refreshing and not pungent."

She paused, then added, "And the rosin used in the study also has its own intricacies; I'll teach you about them one by one later."

Yunxi's eyes lit up; she hadn't expected Afu to tell her all this. She quickly stood up, curtsied, and said with genuine gratitude, "Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, sister. Yunxi... Yunxi has remembered it all."

"Go ahead, do as I say, go to the storeroom to get the things, and try making it yourself." Afu waved her hand.

Yun happy responded and quickly retreated, her steps much lighter than when she arrived.

After she had walked away, Bai Zhi came in from outside with hot water. Seeing that no one was in the room, she put down the basin, leaned close to Afu, and whispered, "Sister, did you really teach her all of this? She is..."

"You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub," Afu said, taking the cloth Baizhi handed her and wiping her hands. Her eyes were icy. "If we don't give her some real treats first, how will she believe we can feed her the bait later?"

Bai Zhi nodded as if she understood but not quite.