When Cao Canjun first arrived at Zhenbei Army and saw Jin Jinzhi, he thought he had seen the wrong person. He had imagined that the commander of Zhenbei Army would be a dark-skinned, strong, and rough man with a face full of scars, but he did not expect him to be so extraordinary in appearance.

"Your Highness isn't old at all. How did the storybooks describe your face...?"

"That's what they call, 'Spring breeze sweeps across the northern desert, bright moon rises from the sea, long-awaited rain after a drought, hoeing the fields under the midday sun, every grain is the result of hard work...'"

As he spoke, Cao Canjun realized that something was amiss.

"Your Highness, I'm just a rough man. In short, Your Highness is the most handsome. If I had Your Highness's face, I would definitely have beauties on both sides of my arms!"

Cao Canjun chuckled foolishly, fantasizing about kissing a beautiful woman.

"Fat Hong, am I old?"

Hong Qiu'er shook his head violently, and as he did so, the flesh on his face trembled uncontrollably.

“Your Highness, how could Your Highness be old? Your Highness is like the very heart of a cabbage, so tender that you could squeeze water out of it!” Hong Qiu’er raised her hand, gesturing as if she were pinching the heart of a cabbage.

Upon hearing this description, Military Advisor Cao shuddered and felt his stomach churn.

Jin Jinzhi frowned in thought. He was almost ten years older than Yun Duoduo. When a young man appeared by her side, he worried that she might find him too old.

"Alright, let's go back to the manor!"

Jin Jin waved her hand and threw the scroll in her hand onto the table.

"Your Highness, about the grain supplies..."

Hong Qiu'er blinked her big, watery eyes at Jin Jinzhi with some embarrassment.

"Let's talk about it tomorrow, it's too late today!"

"Ah? But..." Hong Qiu'er hesitated, the grain supply needed to be finalized tonight and transported over overnight.

"This is a trivial matter, Fatty Hong, you can make the decision yourself!"

"Yes, Your Highness."

Where is Yan Ying?

"Your Highness, I am here."

"Yanying, where can I buy those pearl powder, red jade ointment, and white silkworm and galangal powder that you mentioned last time?"

"Can it beautify and nourish the skin?"

"Go quickly and find it for me."

"Ah? Yes, Your Highness, I will go and buy it for you tomorrow."

"Why wait until tomorrow? Do you have anything useful? Let me try it out first."

Yan Ying looked at Jin Jinzhi in surprise. Why was the prince so concerned about her age and appearance today?

"Let's go back to the manor!"

As they talked, they left the military camp and rode their horses towards the Prince's Palace.

Upon arriving at the Prince's residence, Jin Jinzhi went straight to her bedroom.

"Your Highness, the meat soup is ready and is placed on the table in the study."

When Uncle Fu saw Jin Jinzhi return, he ate the food by turning the cup as he always did.

Normally, no matter how late it was, Jin Jinzhi would read for a while after returning from the military camp before going to sleep.

Therefore, Uncle Fu would always have the kitchen prepare food and keep it warm at all times.

"Ah, Uncle Fu, there's no need to prepare meat soup." Jin Jinzhi walked very quickly, and Uncle Fu followed closely beside him.

"I need to go to bed early. Duoduo said that I need to get more beauty sleep so that I won't age so quickly."

"Qingdai! Prepare hot water for me!"

Qingdai responded and then led several maids to pour hot water into the bathtub.

Jin Jinzhi entered the room, waved for the maids to leave, took a bath, used the jade cream that Yan Ying had brought, and then changed into his nightgown early and lay down on the bed in the bedroom.

Qingdai and some of the newly arrived maids found Jin Jinzhi's behavior very unusual, as she had gone to bed so early.

But this is good, because this way they can go to rest earlier.

The candles in the bedroom were all blown out. Jin Jinzhi lay on the bed, but she was wide awake, her mind filled with images of Yun Duoduo and Yi Qingchen together.

[Duoduo and Yi Qingchen spent even more time together during this trip to Yuze.]

They might very well be staying in the same courtyard, or even the same inn.

Once back in the capital, the two were working at the Imperial Pharmacy, constantly running into each other, which was really annoying...

Suddenly, he remembered something and called Cao Canjun in.

Cao Canjun entered Jin Jinzhi's bedroom in the dark and lit a candle.

He sat at the head of Jin Jinzhi's bedside, listening to his instructions.

"Old Cao, how's the investigation into the female physicians in the capital going?" Jin Jin asked him, half-lying on the bed.

Looking at Jin Jinzhi in the dim, flickering candlelight, Cao Canjun felt a strange sensation rising within him.

"Yi Qingchen is the chief pharmacist of the Imperial Pharmacy. Yun Duoduo works at the Imperial Pharmacy, so it's inevitable that they'll run into each other every day."

To prevent Yi Qingchen from having other thoughts, we need to arrange a marriage for him as soon as possible.

"So, has everything been investigated?"

"Your Highness, there are at least a hundred or so female physicians from wealthy families in the capital..."

Military Advisor Cao scratched his head, increasingly feeling that his job was difficult to handle.

"Since there are so many people, let's focus on the key ones."

"Go and find out which street the Yi residence is on, and then see which female physician's residence is closest to the Yi residence."

Cao, the military advisor, suddenly realized something and clapped his hands. "Your Highness, are you trying to create a chance encounter for the two of them?"

"Understood, Your subordinate will go and investigate Yi Qingchen's whereabouts immediately."

Jin Zhuangzhuang's quail perched outside the window, overhearing Jin Jinzhi and Cao Canjun's conversation clearly.

After listening to the corner of the wall for a while, the quail flapped its wings, chirped, and flew away.

...

On Chang'an Street in Nanyang, the capital city, street vendors set up their stalls as the sky began to brighten.

Inside the princess's residence, a quail flew to Yun Duoduo's bedroom window as if seeking praise, quacking loudly.

"You stinky quail, what are you yelling about so early in the morning?!"

Yun Duoduo was fast asleep in bed. She was thinking that she would be leaving for Yuze soon, so she wanted to get a good night's sleep. Once she got to Yuze, she was afraid she wouldn't have time to sleep because she would be busy.

She pulled the blanket over her head, trying to block out the sounds from outside.

"Cackling chirp, clackling chirp..."

The quail kept quacking.

"Stop yelling, you silly bird!"

Yun Duoduo grabbed an embroidered shoe from the ground and smashed it towards the window.

"If you yell again, I'll turn you into roasted quail!"

"Sprinkle some cumin and chili powder on it, and it smells amazing!"

"Even the neighbor's kid is drooling with envy!"

With a muffled thud, the quail flapped its wings twice and flew away as if fleeing for its life, heartbroken and terrified.

It thought that it would be rewarded with a spicy snack and a crispy sausage for coming to tip off the enemy, but instead it was scolded mercilessly.

[Hmph, I'm never coming again.]

A fickle woman.

You won't be able to find out about me again tomorrow!

After the quail flew away, the house became very quiet, and Yun Duoduo found herself unable to fall asleep.

Her mind was still replaying what the quail had just said.

To others, a quail just chirps and twitters, but she can understand it.