This time, Lu Huan truly astonished everyone—especially the Old Madam.

She had sent out all her people to invite that divine physician, yet not one returned with success. They couldn’t even find the man’s whereabouts.

So how did Lu Huan actually manage to invite him over?!

She had always thought this young boy to be talented and capable, far more so than her two legitimate grandsons, but even so—this level of efficiency was simply astonishing!

It made her both shocked and overjoyed!

The divine physician had brought his own medicine. The Old Madam, thrilled, immediately ordered the household doctor to inspect it before having the decoction prepared. Once the medicine was ready, she drank it right away, and as the physician instructed, applied the remaining dregs to her knees.

As expected—it worked wonders!

That very night, the cold dampness in her body began to dissipate, like threads being gently pulled away one by one. A soothing warmth rose from her knees, flowing along her meridians and bones, spreading throughout her limbs—it felt unbelievably comforting!

The Old Madam had been tormented by pain for years; whenever it snowed or rained, her knees would ache to the marrow. This was the first time in so many years that she felt even a moment’s relief, it nearly brought her to tears of joy!

According to Lu Huan, finding that divine physician had been pure coincidence—perhaps he might not even locate him again next time.

Even so, the Old Madam now saw this boy in a new light—

How was it that he could “by coincidence” find the divine physician, while that legitimate grandson, Lu Yuan, had uselessly fallen off his horse instead?!

At her age, what the Old Madam feared most was illness and pain.

She had already favored Lu Huan somewhat after he saved her last time, but now she truly recognized his ability, and found him even more pleasing to the eye.

She immediately took out one hundred taels of silver from her own savings as a reward and told Lu Huan that if he needed anything else, he could tell her personal maid directly.

───♡───

At that moment, Su Xi had just finished school.

On the bus, she opened her phone and put on her earphones—only to hear the cheerful clinking sound of silver taels falling into a pouch.

Her in-game assets in the top-right corner increased by another hundred taels.

Lately, she had spent around twenty taels on lumber and hiring workers for the manor, but now, with this new income, her balance had surged again—up to two hundred fifty taels!

Su Xi’s eyes practically shone at the sight, her heart bursting with joy. She couldn’t wait for the Old Madam to reward her Zai Zai with even more.

However, after applying the medicine, the Old Madam felt a little weak and went to bed early. She told the Zai Zai to visit her another day.

Her expression toward him was visibly much gentler now, there was finally a hint of genuine grandmotherly affection in her gaze.

But the Zai Zai didn’t seem to care. He turned around and left without hesitation.

Su Xi: …Zai Zai, you’re so heartless.

While joy filled Mei’an Courtyard, chaos erupted in Lu Yuan’s residence.

The imperial physician had been summoned in the middle of the night to treat him. His right leg was broken—not crippled, but it would take months to heal. As a result, he was completely unable to attend the autumn hunting event at Qiuyan Mountain.

The Princess Consort of Prince Ning now had both her sons bedridden. Her rage was so fierce it nearly made her fingertips bleed.

Once the imperial physician departed, she turned around and slapped Nanny Jia across the face, her voice sharp and furious:

“How do you handle things?! I told you to tamper with the horse of that concubine’s son, so why is my son the one who fell?!”

Nanny Jia immediately knelt, weeping miserably.

“I—I don’t know either! I heard that the eldest young master suddenly decided to have his own guard ride Third Young Master’s horse, but then… how could that horse—”

The Princess Consort demanded, “Did Lu Huan go to the stables that day?”

“No—absolutely not!” Nanny Jia said quickly. “We had people watching.”

But if Lu Huan hadn’t gone to the stables, then how did Lu Yuan’s horse end up having a problem? How did the medicine mixed into his horse’s feed end up being eaten by Lu Yuan’s horse instead, leading to such a disaster?

Could it be… that within the Prince Ning Manor, there were people secretly helping that concubine’s son?!

The Princess Consort, fuming with rage, shouted at her servants: “Quick! Bring me everyone who went to the stables today—all of them! Beat them to death with the staff!”

Those who helped Lu Huan must all be among them!

───♡───

The series of incidents that unfolded in Prince Ning’s manor left the Princess Consort, along with Lu Yuan and Lu Wenxiu, utterly defeated and humiliated.

Both brothers lay in bed, writhing in pain, their dreams of joining the autumn hunt at Qiuyan Mountain completely shattered.

In the end, only Lu Huan remained fit to go.

And now, it had become far more difficult for the Princess Consort to make another move against him—because after everything that happened, the Old Madam had grown exceedingly fond of Lu Huan.

It was as if she had finally seen through the incompetence of Lu Yuan and Lu Wenxiu and begun turning her gaze toward that concubine-born grandson.

Although Lu Huan’s status was indeed that of a concubine’s son, in the State of Yan it wasn’t unheard of for a shuzi [concubine-born son] to inherit the family estate. If the legitimate heirs proved too useless, then rather than letting the family fortune fall to ruin in incapable hands, it would be far wiser to entrust it to someone truly competent—

Besides, even if the heir to Prince Ning’s manor couldn’t be decided yet, this illegitimate grandson was clearly an exceptional talent. Spending some effort to cultivate him—what harm could there be?

With such thoughts quietly forming in her mind, the Old Madam made her move the very morning of the Qiuyan Mountain hunt. She personally selected four guards of solid martial ability and four servants who had followed her for many years, then ordered her personal nursemaid to send them to Lu Huan’s courtyard.

The nursemaid’s attitude toward him was now noticeably softer. She said gently, “Third Young Master, from now on, these people will serve under you. You are their master. The Old Madam also said that if you wish to move to a cleaner and finer courtyard, once you return from the Qiuyan Mountain hunt, she will have someone arrange it for you.”

In addition, she brought several fine bows and arrows, as well as luxurious robes. After all, Lu Huan was to hunt alongside the other heirs today, representing the dignity of Prince Ning’s household—it wouldn’t do for him to appear shabby.

Naturally, the servants’ attitudes followed the Old Madam’s lead.

As they worked, they whispered among themselves, glancing furtively toward the Third Young Master’s courtyard. Seeing how the Old Madam was favoring him more and more, several of them shuddered inwardly—

What should they do now? Some of them had once shown the Third Young Master less than pleasant faces…

Meanwhile, those who had been relatively kind to him before secretly rejoiced—

Fortunately, they hadn’t been blind dogs who looked down on people.

One way or another, the sky above Prince Ning’s manor had indeed changed.

Su Xi was absolutely delighted with this development, especially when she heard the cheerful notification that the remaining half of Main Quest ①—Earn the Old Madam’s Favor—was finally complete.

Gold +25, Points +3!

Her heart pounded with excitement. Her total points had now soared to thirty, was a hundred really that far away?!

She immediately used her new points to unlock the next stage: Qiuyan Mountain.

Meanwhile, her Zai Zai’s inventory had also expanded greatly.

The four skilled guards and four servants now appeared in the Zai Zai’s 【Subordinates & Retainers】 panel—but unlike the earlier workers such as “Laborer Wu,” whose icons were fully lit, these eight had icons that were only half-lit.

Su Xi guessed it was because these people could obey her Zai Zai’s orders for now, but hadn’t yet truly become his people—they still belonged to Prince Ning’s household.

Still, it meant that her Zai Zai was now a young master with attendants and bodyguards behind him.

Excitement bubbling in her chest, Su Xi couldn’t resist playing a little longer that night. She carefully reviewed all of her Zai Zai’s assets one by one.

But her Zai Zai didn’t seem particularly interested.

He even disliked having his quiet courtyard disturbed, and thus ordered all eight subordinates to guard the gates and prevent anyone else from entering the premises—leaving them utterly confused.

Lu Huan thought to himself: …Not that the person comes in through the gates anyway.

Last night, Su Xi had sent him a red-and-black hunting outfit—its sleeves bound neatly, a tuft of snow wolf fur hanging as an ornament at the waist. She thought her Zai Zai would look dashing in it.