Guard C went back and told his master, Master Ding, about this matter.
The father and son were both astonished and deeply moved.
They couldn’t really be said to have much of a connection with the Third Young Master. Before this, when Guard C had helped the Third Young Master sell eggs at the market, it was only because he wanted to run an errand and earn a few copper coins.
But who could have expected that, when the two of them fell on hard times—Master Ding’s two apprentices even lifted his bedding and acted all fierce and vicious, and none of Guard C’s fellow guards offered a single copper coin to help. Instead, they sneered and mocked.
In the end, it was actually the Third Young Master who quietly came to their aid!
That day, after leaving behind the packet of medicine, he even placed beside it instructions for decoction and dosage. If Guard C hadn’t discovered it, the handwriting—clearly the Third Young Master’s—might have gone unnoticed. It seemed that even after helping them, the Third Young Master hadn’t intended to mention it at all!
“If not for that packet of medicine for wind-cold, I’d probably already be lying in a coffin now,” Master Ding sighed. “This is what they mean by ‘adversity reveals a person’s heart’! Think of that steward—knowing full well I was gravely ill, yet he falsely accused me of theft, wanting to force me to pack up and leave! And yet, it was the Third Young Master who saved us.”
“I coughed up blood just a few days ago, and now I’m completely healed.”
“This is a kindness as great as the heavens!”
Guard C was overwhelmed with shame, tugging at his hair in frustration. “But tonight, I actually went and stole the Third Young Master’s chicken, not knowing what’s good or bad… Ah, I’m so ashamed I wish I could crawl into a hole!”
Master Ding gave a bitter smile. “I suppose the Third Young Master, though young in age, has a generous nature. He likely won’t hold this against you. His kindness to us is as weighty as a mountain, we must repay it properly one day!”
Guard C nodded at once, over and over.
When the father and son learned that the Third Young Master was the very same “young divine doctor” everyone in the capital had been talking about, they were even more shocked than when they’d first realized he was their benefactor.
But after the shock came a sense that, somehow, it all made sense.
After all, whether it was fetching water by the creek that time, or when the imperial examiners came to test riding and archery, the Third Young Master had far surpassed the other two young masters of the Prince of Ning’s household.
The Third Young Master was well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics, familiar with the Compendium of Materia Medica, and capable of composing prescriptions that could heal the sick—none of this seemed strange anymore.
And now, since the Third Young Master didn’t wish others to know that he was the young divine doctor, he had especially warned them not to speak of it. One was thick-headed, the other honest and upright, so naturally, neither would go around spreading it.
However, after this incident, the father and son were quite stirred.
After all, though Master Ding was skilled in farming, he had had no use for his talents within the household for years, suffering under the steward’s constant bullying. Guard C, meanwhile, had strength but no wit, and could only guard the Prince of Ning’s side gate, living on a meager wage.
But someone as clever as the Third Young Master—surely he would soar to great heights one day and become a true phoenix among men. If the father and son followed him, would they still need to worry about food and clothing?
With that thought, the two of them went to find Lu Huan the very next day.
───♡───
When Su Xi went online again and saw Guard C and Master Ding coming to find her “Zai Zai,” looking bashful and hesitant, she immediately knew—her side quest must have been completed.
Sure enough, a notification popped up on the screen:
【Congratulations on completing Side Quest 2! You have earned +30 gold coins and +2 points!】
Then two more messages appeared:
【Guard C and Master Ding have successfully joined the team.】
【Current subordinates: Laborer E, Master Ding, Guard C.】
Su Xi looked at the “Talent” panel in the upper-right corner.
Behind her Zai Zai stood three stick-figure avatars in a row. Laborer Wu, thin but diligent; Master Ding, seasoned and experienced; Guard Bing, drawn with six-pack abs — simple-minded, but strong.
It could be said that each of these three underlings had their own strengths, and together they now formed a small, budding team.
She felt a bit happy and, unable to help herself, began thinking about how to plan these three stick-figures’ career paths — when she saw her Zai Zai, cloaked for travel, heading out with Guard Bing and Master Ding toward that residence in the outer city.
After completing the side quest, Su Xi now had a total of 25 points, enough to unlock two more panels. So she instructed the system to unlock the outer-city residence under her Zai Zai’s name and that farmstead outside the capital as well.
She switched the screen to her Zai Zai’s outer-city house.
Yesterday Su Xi had been so sleepy she’d almost forgotten to explore the new estate properly. Now she dragged the view around, peeking into every corner, excited as if she herself had just bought a new house.
Although Zhong Ganping wasn’t any great figure in the capital, he was still a wealthy merchant of some renown, and of course he wouldn’t be stingy toward his benefactor.
Thus, even though the residence lay in the outer city, the entire courtyard was exquisitely refined — pavilions and terraces, winding corridors, pale walls encircling the grounds, ornamental rocks scattered throughout — in short, even more splendid and magnificent than the compound of Ning Prince Manor’s eldest legitimate son, Lu Yuan!
Su Xi was thrilled. She then went to look at the farmstead belonging to her Zai Zai outside the capital.
It was only five mu of land [one mu ≈ 667 m²], yet it looked vast — stretching across the hillside so far that the eye couldn’t see the end.
Snow blanketed the ground, a soft white layer. When spring came, it would surely prove an excellent piece of land.
After surveying the entire farm, she returned to the residence to continue wandering until her Zai Zai finally appeared.
Laborer Wu had been waiting eagerly for his young master. The moment he saw him, he rushed forward in delight.
Immediately, Su Xi saw notifications popping up one after another —
> “Laborer Wu diligently brewed a cup of tea for your protagonist.”
> “Guard Bing hurried off to move stools and purchase a plaque, inviting your protagonist to inscribe the name of the residence.”
> “Master Ding, being elderly and unable to do heavy labor, found a broom and began sweeping the courtyard.”
Before this, her Zai Zai had always been alone. Although he was the Third Young Master of Ning Prince Manor, because he was born of a concubine — and because the princess consort withheld his stipends — he had always done everything by himself, rarely commanding servants to help.
Now, not only did he have this residence and that farmstead, but even these three stick-figure avatars counted as his assets.
Who playing such a game wouldn’t hope to see their Zai Zai grow better and better? Seeing this, Su Xi sniffled contentedly, thinking that she’d truly helped her Zai Zai take his first step upward.
But evidently, her Zai Zai didn’t care much for these trifles. He didn’t let the three stick-figures keep busying themselves with meaningless chores; instead, he summoned them and assigned each more important duties.
A person must make the best use of what’s at hand.
Though the three were all of humble birth, that didn’t mean they lacked skills of their own.
Laborer Wu was timid by nature but meticulous.
In the past two days, Lu Huan had carefully dismantled the cold-proof shed built by that man in the firewood yard, analyzed its every structure, and sketched it out in detail with a brush. He handed one of these detailed blueprints to Laborer Wu, instructing him to follow the design and, starting today, attempt to build several new cold-proof sheds on the farm using timber.
Guard Bing was simple-minded but hardworking, good at running errands.
So Lu Huan assigned all the heavy and rough labor to him, and also gave him some silver to purchase reasonably priced wood and rope. In addition, the security of both the residence and the farmstead was placed under his care.
As for Master Ding, though old and lacking in strength, he possessed knowledge and experience in farming and other matters.
Thus, Lu Huan appointed him as steward of the residence, instructing him to go to the marketplace when free and record the price fluctuations of each crop over the years, then submit the data to him in writing.
With this division of tasks, everything became perfectly clear.
Su Xi watched as her Zai Zai’s commands to the three subordinates kept popping up on the interface, her mouth slightly agape, completely absorbed.
Laborer Wu didn’t quite understand the young benefactor’s thinking. If the goal was to earn silver, wouldn’t it be simpler just to ask that wealthy merchant Zhong Ganping directly? Why bother starting from scratch—running a residence and a farm to make a living?
But Su Xi understood. The so-called “way to wealth” could never be built upon exploiting a debt of gratitude, constantly demanding silver in return.
That kind of path would always have an end.
Only by earning one’s own fortune—rising step by step until one became the richest man in the capital, even in all of Yan Kingdom, with wealth enough to rival a nation—would it be truly satisfying!
Su Xi grew excited just imagining it, the sound of war drums beating triumphantly in her mind!
…Of course, this was just the beginning.
The three little stick figures soon scattered to their respective tasks.
Since Guard Bing still held a guard’s post in Ning Prince Manor, he followed behind Lu Huan as they returned to the manor one after another.
At that moment, chaos reigned in Lu Wenxiu’s courtyard—maids and servants were sobbing, while the Princess Consort of Ning smashed teacups and threw porcelain in rage.
The imperial physician came out carrying his medicine box, shaking his head all the way, his expression making it clear that… they were already preparing for a funeral.
As he sighed and brushed past Lu Huan, Su Xi watched the scene unfold and felt immensely pleased. Serves Lu Wenxiu right for all his wicked deeds—
Truly, “those who commit too much evil will bring ruin upon themselves.”
But then she thought again—letting Lu Wenxiu just die like this felt like such a waste! He hadn’t even been tormented properly yet, hadn’t even experienced what it was like to carry a hundred buckets of water!
As she was thinking that, the system suddenly popped up a message:
> “Lu Wenxiu cannot die yet.”
Su Xi asked, “Why not?”
System: “If Lu Wenxiu dies now, Ning Prince Manor will have to prepare for mourning—at least seven days. In that case, the protagonist will be unable to attend the Autumn Hunt at Qiuyan Mountain five days from now. Mission Three would therefore become impossible to complete.”
Right after that, a new quest appeared:
> Side Quest 3: ‘Save Lu Wenxiu under the name of the Divine Doctor.’
Su Xi understood at once. So in this part of the storyline, she had to save Lu Wenxiu, or it would affect the main mission’s progress.
She couldn’t help but make the face of that meme—“old man staring at phone on the subway.jpg.”
Still, for her Zai Zai, Lu Wenxiu was no longer any kind of threat. Treating him with a touch of compassion and saving him in passing wasn’t too much to ask.
Only… her Zai Zai didn’t seem inclined to save him at all—
His expression was icy, eyes indifferent as he cast a casual glance toward Lu Wenxiu’s courtyard. His soft, bun-like face carried an unmistakable coldness. Without even pausing his steps, he walked straight away.
Though her Zai Zai harbored lofty ideals of peace and order, when it came to enemies, he was ruthless to the extreme!
So then—how could she make him go save Lu Wenxiu?
Su Xi was stumped.
Last time, the note she’d left for Guard Bing and Master Ding had been written using a prescription card purchased from the in-game shop. She’d modified the card’s attributes so that the handwriting appeared as her Zai Zai’s.
—That was how she’d been able to leave a message.
But aside from exchanging such items, Su Xi currently had no other way to communicate with her Zai Zai through written notes.
Or… she could do it like last time, when she saved Master Ding—by leaving behind a packet of medicine?
Yet, the thought of that made Su Xi feel unwilling. She definitely didn’t want to save Lu Wenxiu for free.
After thinking for a while, she came up with a plan.
That night, Su Xi left a paper packet in Lu Wenxiu’s room.
But this time, there was no medicine inside.
In addition, she redeemed three more things from the system: a portrait of the Princess Consort of Ning, an image depicting “three kneels and nine kowtows”, and a picture of a forest outside the city.
She placed them all together in Lu Wenxiu’s room.
The next morning, the entire Ning Prince Manor exploded in chaos!
There were guards stationed outside Second Young Master Lu Wenxiu’s room and courtyard—so strict that not even a fly could get in. How could anyone have managed to enter and leave something behind?!
And not only that—the Princess Consort herself had been watching over the Second Young Master all through the night, only dozing off for a brief moment. How, then, could two mysterious drawings and a paper medicine packet have appeared out of thin air?
Could it be… that divine doctor?
Rumors about the young divine doctor had spread all throughout the capital, to the point of myth. Naturally, the Princess Consort thought of him at once.
Her heart leapt with joy—perhaps Lu Wenxiu could be saved after all!
But why was the medicine packet empty, and what did these two pictures mean—?
The two pictures…
The scholars she summoned from within the manor glanced at each other, and one of them tentatively said, “This… these three images together seem to mean that Your Ladyship should perform three kneels and nine kowtows, and then go to the forest to receive the medicine.”
After saying so, he dared not utter another word and immediately shut his mouth.
The Princess Consort’s face turned livid. “What nonsense are you spouting?! I, the dignified Princess Consort of Ning, am to kneel and kowtow three times and nine times—to a wandering quack?!”
Yet, on the bed, Lu Wenxiu was still coughing up blood.
The imperial physician from yesterday had said that he could last at most one more day—perhaps not even that—and had even hinted that she should begin preparing for the funeral.
At the thought, the Princess Consort’s complexion shifted from blue to white. Her fingers clenched into her palm until her nails dug deep into the flesh.
───♡───
Meanwhile, at Lu Huan’s side, he too heard the news early that morning.
Was that person… trying to vent his anger for him?
To make the dignified Princess Consort of Ning kneel and kowtow three times and nine times—that would indeed utterly humiliate her, turning her into a laughingstock across the entire capital.
Lu Huan knew that one day he would leave this Prince Manor, and that someday, those who had once scorned and humiliated him would be trampled beneath his feet.
But for now, all his thoughts were fixed on establishing his footing in the capital—on becoming stronger, ever stronger. As for settling old scores, that could wait. He had no intention of concerning himself with the Prince Manor’s affairs at this moment.
Yet that person… seemed even angrier than he was, even more disgusted with these people.
For some reason, Lu Huan felt as though something had lightly, yet firmly, struck his heart.
…All these years, no one had ever stood up for him.
He’d long since grown used to gritting his teeth and bearing it alone, accustomed to solitude and coldness.
He had never imagined that one day, someone would use their own means to exact revenge on the Princess Consort for him—
Never imagined that someone would so firmly, so unmistakably, stand on his side.
Though such a method of revenge was rather childish, even a little like a mischievous child’s prank—still…
Yet, despite himself, a faint warmth flowed through his heart — a warmth that softened the icy edges of his brows, melting, if only slightly, the chill that always clung to him like snow on a distant mountain peak.
Lu Huan walked to the table and suddenly thought of another way to communicate with that person.
He pressed his lips together lightly, a good mood glimmering faintly in his eyes, and picked up his brush to write.
Su Xi waited, expecting a message to appear.
Then she saw what her Zai Zai had written today:
> “You wish for me to save Lu Wenxiu, do you not?
> If your answer is yes, place the brush to the left of the inkstone.
> If your answer is no, place it to the right.”
Su Xi stared, dumbfounded.
What the— crafty little thing! Why hadn’t she thought of such a method herself?!
So even if she couldn’t write notes, she could still reply like this!
But wait— wasn’t her Zai Zai only fourteen years old in the game?
Why was he this clever already?!
She looked up at him again.
There he stood — small, soft, and impossibly adorable — dressed in his plain inner robe, hands clasped behind his back before the desk. His dark brows arched slightly, and at the corner of his lips hovered the faintest, teasing curve.
Above his head, a white speech bubble appeared with a word inside: “Childish.”
Su Xi: ………………? ? ? ?
Wait a minute— you little brat, who exactly are you calling childish?!
