With her deceased husband as her dowry, would Your Highness dare to marry her?

"I only see her as a younger sister, nothing more."

Pei Jinxuan spoke with such conviction that he was practically ready to swear an oath to the heavens.

Lin Ci seemed not to hear him, and only asked, "Do you know which shop makes the best dumplings?"

Pei Jinxuan couldn't continue the conversation and had to give up.

Once outside the palace gates, the wind blowing through the streets made him feel incredibly hungry. He quickly mounted his horse, and once settled, he reached out to Lin Ci, "Come on up, I'll take you to eat some dumplings."

Lin Ci hesitated as she looked at the hand extended in front of her.

"The East Market is far away, don't you think you can just walk there?"

Lin Ci pursed her lips and placed her hand on it.

Pei Jinxuan grasped her hand and pulled her firmly onto the horse's back, sitting her in front of him. He wrapped his arms around her sides and took the reins.

The horse's hooves clattered across the bluestone slabs as it headed towards the East Market.

Lin Ci stood close and smelled a faint fragrance wafting from his sleeve.

Her face flushed slightly, but she wouldn't let him know. She pretended not to care and looked around, looking at the signs on the street, the lanterns under the eaves, looking at everything but him.

The horse turned into a narrow alley, passed through the buildings on both sides, and stopped in front of a dim sum shop.

Pei Jinxuan dismounted, turned around and opened his arms to her, wanting to help her down.

Lin Ci sat on his horse, looking down at him with her cold eyes fixed on him, seemingly lost in thought.

Pei Jinxuan felt a little uncomfortable, thinking that he had probably been too abrupt, so he changed his posture and raised his right arm a little higher so that she could use it to help him dismount.

Lin Ci stared intently, then smiled after a moment of silence.

Her eyes shone with a tenderness that enveloped Pei Jinxuan without her even realizing it.

Pei Jinxuan's heartstrings trembled slightly. He didn't understand what Lin Ci was thinking. He thought she liked him, but when he came to his senses, Lin Ci had already dismounted and hadn't even touched him with the hem of her clothes.

Pei Jinxuan looked extremely embarrassed with his hand raised in mid-air. He lowered his head, clenched his fist behind his back, and followed Lin Ci into the snack shop as if nothing had happened.

Pei Jinxuan didn't know what Lin Ci liked to eat, so he ordered a bowl of fried food, a bowl of boiled food, and also added some fried snails in ghee.

As soon as I sat down, the innkeeper brought me two bowls of hot soup.

Lin Ci held the hot soup in her hands, looked down at the milky white soup, and said softly, "My husband loves to eat 'guoduo' the most. In the past, when we sneaked down the mountain, he would always take me to a dessert shop and order a bowl of 'guoduo' to share."

As she spoke, she smiled, just like the smile she had before dismounting, sweet with a hint of affection.

Pei Jinxuan felt a little unwell, just as the shopkeeper brought out some dumplings. He casually pushed the bowl a few inches towards Lin Ci.

"Do you want to share it with me?"

Lin Ci was stunned for a moment, somewhat at a loss. The shopkeeper brought another bowl of fried food, so Lin Ci pushed Pei Jinxuan's bowl back.

"I'll eat this bowl."

As she spoke, she picked up a dumpling and put it in her mouth, not caring that it was hot.

Pei Jinxuan couldn't figure out what she was thinking. He wondered if she had misunderstood him because of Consort Chang. He had clearly wanted to explain, but she deliberately didn't listen.

Pei Jinxuan's mind was filled with guesses. After guessing for a while, he couldn't hold back any longer and leaned closer to Lin Ci, saying, "She came to see me that night because..."

"Your Highness, I only know how to treat illnesses; I don't know anything else, nor will I ever learn anything else. After we finish eating, let's go to Cheng'an Hall to inventory the medicines; that's the most important thing."

She smiled, and spoke with tact.

But Pei Jinxuan felt that she had drawn a line between them, insisting on keeping their relationship distinct.

A bowl of dumplings tasted bland.

My stomach is full of gas.

After leaving the snack shop, Pei Jinxuan led Lin Ci to Cheng'an Hall. From afar, they could see a large crowd of people standing in front of the hall, stretching from the front to the back door, all eagerly waiting.

Pei Jinxuan was confused and stopped his horse to try to push through the crowd, but he couldn't move them and was blocked by others.

A burly man turned around and cursed, "What are you doing? If you want to see a doctor, go to the back of the line. I've been waiting here since after noon."

"That's right, everyone else got here before you, why are you cutting in line? Go to the back!"

……

Everyone chimed in with their own words, leaving Pei Jinxuan completely bewildered.

Fortunately, the manager of Cheng'an Hall had sharp eyes and recognized Pei Jinxuan from afar. He quickly led two shop assistants to squeeze through the dense crowd and dragged him out.

Pei Jinxuan grabbed Lin Ci's wrist with one hand and protected her with the other. After squeezing through a few steps, Lin Ci cried out, "Oh no, my shoes! My shoes!"

Pei Jinxuan looked down and saw that one of her shoes had been stepped on and fallen off.

With so many people, if you bend down, your head will probably be crushed into mud.

Pei Jinxuan simply picked Lin Ci up and carried her into Cheng'an Hall, then turned back, squatted down, and retrieved the shoe from under countless feet.

When he returned, he was covered in dust and dirt. As he brushed the dust off his shoes, he asked, "Why are there so many people at Cheng'an Hall today?" He then gently placed his shoes at Lin Ci's feet.

Lin Ci's eyes flickered slightly, and she suddenly grabbed Pei Jinxuan as he turned around.

Pei Jinxuan was slightly taken aback. He looked down and saw Lin Ci carefully brushing away the dust that had been smeared on his clothes.

The shopkeeper bowed and scraped closer, smiling broadly, and said, "Your Highness, you've gone to so much trouble. These villagers outside are all waiting for you and this physician, aren't they?"

"Wait for us?" Pei Jinxuan was completely confused.

The shopkeeper pointed to the plaque hanging by the door, which had four large characters that read "Free Clinic Today".

"Our old man Xu specially wrote a note and sent it out of the palace. The note said that a very skilled doctor would come to the hall after noon. As soon as the news spread, all the neighbors came."

Pei Jinxuan understood immediately. The story had spread far and wide, but by the time it reached Cheng'an Hall, everything had changed. They had assumed that Lin Ci was there to oversee things.

"Go and summon Xu Chengyan to me!" Pei Jinxuan's face darkened, and he shoved the tea the waiter brought him away. "Does he not want his official hat?"

The shopkeeper blinked, wondering what he had done to offend this deity. Wasn't he supposed to come to the hall to see patients? Why was he suddenly angry?

"Your Highness, please have a seat. Old Man Xu's shift isn't over yet. There are so many people outside, you see..."

The shopkeeper winked at the door.

Among the dense crowd, many were dressed in tattered clothes with miserable expressions, and there were women holding wailing children. All eyes were fixed on the hall, anxiously waiting.

"Let your doctors take over first."

"I'm exhausted, aren't I?" The shopkeeper said, pointing to a corner where an old man with a white beard was leaning against a small couch, his chest heaving heavily, clearly very tired.

The shopkeeper added, "Some of the villagers outside suffer from incurable diseases, while others cannot afford treatment. They are taking advantage of the free clinics offered by renowned doctors to find a way to survive."

"I'll treat him," Lin Ci said, getting up.

Pei Jinxuan pressed her back into her seat. "You've been busy all day without a proper rest. With so many people around, you're bound to get exhausted."

"The shopkeeper said these people just want to find a way to survive." Lin Ci looked towards the door, her gaze falling on the woman holding a child, her eyes filled with tears. "Look, how pitiful that child is, so sick. How worried the mother must be."

"The doctor is right."

The shopkeeper blurted out, and Pei Jinxuan glared back at him.

"Cheng'an Hall really knows how to climb the social ladder. I never agreed to today's free clinic! Arrange your own manpower; if you can't manage, then have Xu Chengyan come himself!"