As expected, when Aunt Cui met Old Madam Song, it was like a commoner meeting a refined lady. Although they came from different worlds, the two old women got along remarkably well, chatting and laughing constantly. Old Madam Song was born into an official's family, and her marriage to Old Master Song was naturally a perfect match. Aunt Cui was a peasant girl, and naturally married a peasant man; their life trajectories were completely different. But this didn't prevent them from talking about their children and their husbands.

Ushiha and Bechuk naturally let the maids lead them to play in Madam Song's vegetable garden, while Lanqin sat and talked with Madam Song.

"In a few days, the autumn imperial examinations will be over. Mother and Shucheng will be going back to our hometown," said Madam Song with a touch of sadness.

“It’s not impossible for you to let them stay a few more days. I won’t kick them out!” Lanqin said.

“That may be true, but we can’t let them stay here for so long. Besides, I’m starting to miss home,” said Madam Song.

"How did the clerk do this time? If he passes the imperial examination with flying colors, I can see if there are any suitable official positions for him in the capital," Lanqin said.

“I heard him say he was very confident, but I don’t know how it will go. I hope that this time the clerk will pass the imperial examination with flying colors,” said Madam Song.

“Don’t worry, I think he can do it,” Lanqin said.

Old Madam Song and Aunt Cui chatted about their past youth. Lanqin and Madam Song sat not far from them, listening to the two old ladies lament how quickly their youth had passed!

Lanqin and Madam Song thought that perhaps many years later, they would chat like Madam Song and Aunt Cui do now.

The autumn imperial examinations were finally over, and the students in the capital began their anxious wait. After the exams, it would take at least half a month to rank all the papers from so many candidates.

The Fourth Prince continued to live and eat in the palace. He was currently leading more than twenty examiners in a closed office within the palace, conducting the examinations in seclusion, and was completely out of sight. Through Lanqin's repeated hints, the Fourth Prince devised a special examination method: each exam paper was reviewed by three people, each of whom would write down their individual scores and comments. These comments were then combined by the Fourth Prince and the other three people to form a comprehensive evaluation of the exam paper.

On the very day the autumn imperial examinations ended, Cui Niang finally gave birth to a big, healthy boy. Lanqin was very happy for Cui Niang upon hearing the news, as having a son would certainly give her more face in front of Old Madam Li. Lanqin also sent someone to deliver a longevity lock and some children's toys. Cui Da Niang, along with Nianxue and Xicha, all went to see her, needless to say. Cui Da and Cui Er had gone to their hometown to catch birds for Lanqin and hadn't returned yet.

Seeing that the weather was getting colder, and considering the large size of the rooms in the Yuanmingyuan Garden, Lanqin worried that there might not be enough charcoal for the fire. She pondered how to find a way to keep warm. She herself was fine, but the servants were truly freezing. If they burned black coal, the rooms would be filled with black smoke, stinging their eyes.

But after trying several methods, Lanqin found that none of them would work. If she were to adopt the centralized heating system of the North, that would require pipes, and the Qing Dynasty could not possibly have such steel heating systems. If she were to adopt the method of burning coal in the kitchen of a farmhouse to heat the other rooms, those houses were all made of wood, so where could she build heating pipes? After thinking it over, the only solution seemed to be lighting braziers.

Lanqin specifically instructed that more charcoal be sent to Song Shi and Aunt Cui, as they were both elderly and could not be compared to the younger generation. Often, after a winter, many elderly people could not endure it and passed away.

Lanqin continued to check on Mu Qingyang every day as usual, only to find that his body remained unchanged, still unconscious. Now that Cui Da and Cui Er had not returned, Lanqin began to worry. Had she put them in danger?

Fortunately, her concerns were quickly dispelled when Cui Da and Cui Er finally returned, ten days after their punishment. They had actually found the "Phoenix" within those ten days, which made Lan Qin extremely happy.

When Cui Da and Cui Er brought the "phoenix" they had captured to Lan Qin, Lan Qin was captivated by the beautiful bird. To prevent it from dying, Cui Da and Cui Er specially bought it a bamboo cage. The bird could eat and drink in the bamboo cage and survive, otherwise it would easily die.

Lanqin looked at it and found that it was indeed almost identical to the bird in the painting that Doctor Yang had drawn for her. She then quickly sent someone to invite Doctor Yang to her residence.

"Cui Da, Cui Er, go and check on Aunt Cui." Lanqin was very satisfied that Cui Da and Cui Er had caught the "phoenix" bird so easily this time, which had really solved a big problem for her.

After Cui Da and Cui Er went to see their mother and wife, Lan Qin finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had finally found the two kinds of medicinal ingredients that Doctor Yang had asked for. She wondered if Mu Qingyang's Gu poison could be cured.

It just so happened that Doctor Yang was off duty that day and happened to be at the mansion when the concubine sent someone to invite him, saying that she had found the medicinal ingredient. So he immediately picked up his medicine box and followed. Doctors, in fact, are most happy to encounter all kinds of difficult and complicated diseases, and most want to use their own hands to personally save those who are on the verge of death.

When Doctor Yang saw the "dragon's tongue" and "phoenix blood" with his own eyes, he was truly astonished, because these two things were very hard to find, especially the phoenix blood. He looked excitedly at the bird in the cage and said to Lanqin in surprise, "Consort, just take a little blood from the bird's foot; there's no need to kill it."

Just when Lanqin was worried that she would have to kill such a beautiful bird to get its blood, Dr. Yang's words unintentionally gave her the best comfort.

After someone took a little blood from the bird, Doctor Yang used the lizard's tongue and the bird's blood to prepare the medicine.

“Consort, I need to concentrate on my work here. Could you please dismiss them? Consort may also need to leave,” Doctor Yang said.

Lanqin had wanted to see how this miraculous medicinal ingredient was made, but upon hearing this, she had no choice but to ask everyone to leave, and she herself did not stay.

"Is this Doctor Yang afraid that we won't be able to use his skills properly, so he won't let the master watch over us?" Si Hua said.

“No matter what, as long as he can cure Young Master Mu’s illness, that’s all that matters. This bird is so beautiful, let’s keep it as a pet, in the Yuanmingyuan,” Lanqin said. She suddenly remembered that the Fourth Prince had mentioned to her that Emperor Kangxi was coming for a vacation, which seemed to be after the autumn imperial examinations.