Chapter 22

The Fire in the Pharmacy

The tall, thin guard asked, “What, haven’t they caught the assassin yet?”

The other guard shook his head. “It’s really strange. They managed to escape from the firewood room before, but today, we followed the young master’s orders and searched the governor’s mansion again, and still couldn’t find the assassin.”

Another guard chimed in, “I say, those two assassins must have already escaped. Otherwise, how could we not find them after all this time?”

The tall guard shook his head repeatedly. “No way. As soon as the assassins fled, the young master ordered the entire governor’s mansion to be sealed off. Not even a fly could get out. Unless they can perform magic, there’s no way they could have escaped.”

The other guard waved his hand dismissively. “Enough of that. Let’s just do our job. If we spot the assassins, we catch them immediately. The young master promised a reward of a hundred taels of silver to anyone who catches them!”

After the two guards left, the area fell silent once again. Shen Moping gritted his teeth in frustration. The poison he had bought at a great cost from the Western Regions, intended to kill Li Yuan, had failed to take his life. It was infuriating!

Chapter 22: The Fire in the Pharmacy

They waited until midnight, but Shen Moping still couldn’t find an opportunity to enter the back courtyard. Looking at the moon sinking in the east, he gritted his teeth and decided to take a risk. He picked up a stone from the ground and threw it hard into the distance. The stone made a loud “thud,” startling the guards stationed nearby. They shouted, “Who’s there?”

After a moment of silence, one of the guards whispered, “Could it be the assassin?”

“Let’s go check!” replied another. The two guards drew their swords and moved toward the source of the sound. Taking advantage of this distraction, Shen Moping quietly slipped out from behind the stone and crept toward the pharmacy. Using his memory, he grabbed several medicines for treating injuries and reducing fever. He also found a bottle of gold ointment and some other supplies. After hastily stuffing them into his clothes, he didn’t leave right away. Instead, he searched around and found a few fire starters and a stack of paper used for wrapping medicine. He placed the paper by the door and set it alight with one of the fire starters. The flames quickly spread, climbing up the doorframe and growing stronger.

Once he had done this, Shen Moping quickly left the pharmacy and hid in the shadows. He shouted loudly, “Fire! Fire! Someone help put out the flames!”

The servants who lived in the back courtyard were startled by the cry and rushed to put on their clothes. They saw the pharmacy engulfed in flames and immediately began shouting for water. The guards at the courtyard gates were also alerted and rushed inside. Upon seeing the fire, they quickly asked, “How did the fire start?”

An old woman replied, “We don’t know! We just heard someone shout ‘fire,’ and when we came outside, this is what we saw. Don’t stand around talking, hurry and fetch water, or the fire will get out of control!”

The guards quickly nodded and ran to fetch water from the nearby Moonlight Pool to try to put out the flames. Taking advantage of the chaos in the back courtyard, Shen Moping kept his head low and quietly made his way back to the ice cellar.

Once the iron door was closed behind him, he hurried to Yin Yi’s side. She was still unconscious, and he eagerly took out the medicine, muttering to himself, “It’s okay, it’s okay, I’ve got the medicine. You’ll be better soon, my lady.”

As he spoke, he carefully treated her wounds, applying the gold ointment and re-wrapping her injuries.

After finishing the treatment, he mixed the remaining herbs together in a mortar, adding a little melted ice water. He then began to grind the mixture. Normally, the herbs would be boiled, but given their current circumstances, they had no way to brew them, so he hoped that this method wouldn’t affect the potency.

Yin Yi woke up to the strong smell of the medicine. She opened her eyes and saw Shen Moping trying to force a bitter, pungent concoction into her mouth. After a few moments, she managed to swallow the unpleasant substance and shook her head, asking, “What is this?”

Shen Moping smiled with relief. “You’re awake! This is medicine. Once you take it, your fever will go down quickly. Come, drink the rest.”

Yin Yi didn’t take the next dose, instead, she forced herself to ask, “Where did you get this medicine?”

Shen Moping’s smile faltered, but he quickly replied, “I’ll explain later. Right now, it’s most important that you take the medicine so you can get better.”

Yin Yi was firm. “I won’t take it until you tell me exactly where you got it.”

Seeing he couldn’t avoid the question, Shen Moping told her everything, then quickly reassured her, “Don’t worry, my lady. I was very careful. No one followed me. They won’t know we’re hiding here.”

Yin Yi was silent for a moment before softly saying, “Have you thought about it? If they find out and you’re caught, it’ll be the end for you.”

Shen Moping lowered his head, biting his lip. “I know, but my lady, you’re burning up like this. If we don’t use the medicine, you won’t survive. I can’t just stand by and watch you get hurt.” He then eagerly raised the medicine jar, saying, “This medicine is based on the prescription the court physician gave. It should work, though we couldn’t brew it properly, so it may not taste good.”

Yin Yi, enduring the dizziness, said, “Don’t take such risks again in the future. If something happens to you, no one will be able to help me.”

Though Yin Yi’s tone was cold, Shen Moping, who had been by her side for many years, could tell she was concerned. He nodded vigorously and said, “I understand, I’ll listen to you from now on.” Looking at her expectantly, Yin Yi understood his meaning and took the bitter medicine, swallowing it.

After taking the medicine, Yin Yi slept again. When she woke up later, she felt less cold, and the fever had subsided somewhat. It seemed the medicine was working.

Seeing her condition improve, Shen Moping was overjoyed. “There’s still some medicine left. Once I grind it up again, you can take it, and then you’ll be completely better.”

Yin Yi absentmindedly nodded and then asked, “You said... Li Yuan didn’t die?”

Shen Moping paused his actions, then quietly replied, “That’s what I heard. Someone managed to neutralize the poison on our dagger and saved Li Yuan and his son.”

“Do you know who it was?” Yin Yi asked. Shen Moping shook his head. “I don’t know, but there’s someone around Li Yuan with exceptional medical skills, which is bad for us. And our identities have been exposed. It’ll be nearly impossible to find another opportunity to act.”

He then hesitated and suggested, “My lady, how about we return to Luoyang? Forget about Li Yuan.”

Yin Yi immediately rejected, “No. We’ve come this far, we can’t turn back now. Besides, this is my only chance. If I give up now, I might never get my father’s approval.”