Qi Heng suffers from kidney deficiency

"He was killed by a big cat. The wound doesn't look human-caused." Chu Xiao deliberately trembled his voice and tried to scare her. Seeing that she didn't react, he said disappointedly, "Why aren't you afraid? What if it's a monster?"

"Cat demon?"

The original forms of the cat demons she had seen were all extremely cute, and the human forms transformed by female cat demons mostly had cute or charming looks, with no scary features at all. She really couldn't be afraid.

Apart from humans, what furry thing is not lovable?

"The world is so vast, and there are so many strange things. It's not impossible." Chu Xiao followed her words thoughtfully. "Sister-in-law, you are busy. I have urgent matters at hand, so I'll take my leave first."

Chu Xiao bowed and said goodbye, then disappeared over the wall in the blink of an eye. He was agile and his movements were extremely skillful.

Just as he suggested, Yuanli walked into the room lightly and tiptoed, and came to his desk to grind ink for him.

Qi Heng stopped writing, looked at her helplessly and said, "It's late at night, you don't have to stay up with me."

"I'm not doing this entirely for you. I want you to finish the case sooner so you can come home with me."

Qi Heng smiled and pointed the tip of the pen in his hand at the desk in the middle of the room. He said, "Move a stool over and sit on it. There are cushions in the first cabinet on the right hand side of the door. Pick out one that you like."

After saying that, Qi Heng turned his attention back to the pile of case files.

Yuanli brought a round stool and opened the cabinet that Qi Heng mentioned. What caught her eye were cushions of various patterns and colors.

Wen Yici used to be able to sew cushions, but his skills were still amateurish and not as good as the ones bought outside. But she just liked the one he sewed with a lot of clumsiness when he first learned it.

The styles and patterns of the cushions in this cabinet are all unique, and Yuanli was as surprised as Qi Heng was at his collection of women's clothing.

Yuanli jokingly asked, "Sir, do you also have a hobby of collecting floral cushions?"

"If you like it, I'll give it to you."

"A gentleman does not take away what others like. Where did you buy it?"

"I made it myself."

Yuanli stood there as if dried by the wind, unable to react for a long time, "Who did you learn this from?"

"Born with talent, self-taught."

Qi Heng was concentrating on his desk, smiling foolishly, his explanation no different from Wen Yici's when he learned to cook porridge without any instruction.

It seemed as if all the strength in her body was inexplicably drained, and she felt weak and uneasy. The cushion was clearly meant for her, but she always felt that it came from Li Wan.

Only at moments like this does Yuanli always feel that she is just a substitute for Liwan.

Yuanli casually picked up a cushion and held it in her arms. The faint fragrance of peach blossoms filled her nostrils, pleasant but not strong.

His stitch formations are much better now than before. They are strange yet familiar. When he found the familiar mark, Yuanli looked at him with dull eyes.

Wen Yici had a habit of hiding a peach blossom in his embroidery when he did needlework.

I checked several cushions and found the mark on them all.

After standing in front of the bookcase for a long time, Qi Heng asked in surprise: "What's wrong?"

Yuanli hid the strangeness in her eyes, put on her previous smile, picked up a cushion and sat beside him, but her mind had already flown away.

When there are too many coincidences, they are often no longer coincidences.

Yuanli couldn't help but wonder whether this was because he had Wen Yici's memories, or was it a microcosm of Hengjin's love for Li Wan that was ingrained in her bones.

The more she thought about it, the harder it was for her to notice the passage of time. She had no idea how she had gotten out of Qi Heng's room.

Yuanli went to bed late and got up late. When she woke up, it was already noon and Qi Heng had already gone to the Dali Temple to handle a case.

It’s better not to be here, so as not to upset her.

The weather today is much more comfortable than the chilly weather of yesterday. Yuanli took Chunyue and Qiuyue to stay at home with nothing to do. As soon as she suggested going out for a walk, Chunyue looked embarrassed.

"The capital has been a bit unsettled lately. There are few people on the streets. Many vendors close their stalls after just two or three hours. There's nothing much to see on the streets, so it's safer to stay in the mansion."

"Yes, yes, Chunyue is right. How about we wait until the streets are calmer before going?" Qiuyue tried her best to persuade.

"Why is the imperial capital not peaceful?"

"You haven't heard anything about it lately, but there are rumors of something very strange happening outside. It's said that there's a cat demon causing trouble."

"It's the cat demon again. Chu Xiao is also talking about the cat demon. What rumors have you heard? Tell me."

Qiuyue's fear turned pale at the mention of tigers. She bent her elbow and gently nudged Chunyue, looking uneasy and saying, "You tell me, I'm afraid."

Chunyue is a carefree woman. Yuanli has never seen her afraid of anything since she met her.

"It's said that on that dark, windy night when murders took place, all the people on the other end of the long street were awakened by the extremely miserable and shrill cry of a cat, followed by screams of fear. A homeless boy, terrified, ran through the alley, shouting, 'Murder! Murder!' The next morning, guess what happened?"

Chunyue's story was vivid and she even imitated the storyteller's way of keeping the story in suspense. Yuanli was amused by her and asked, "What's going on?"

"The next morning, the government received a report from the public. When they arrived, they found corpses piled halfway up the dead-end alley. The walls were covered in blood splatter, and the ground was covered in a vast pool of dried blood. Those who were watching the excitement saw that the bodies had clearly been ripped open by sharp claws and bled to death."

"Plus, they heard a cat meowing in the middle of the night, so everyone thought it was a cat demon? But in fact, no one saw a real cat demon?"

"No, no, I heard from the widowed wife of the old man Wang who delivers the food that her second aunt and fifth uncle's family had seen a large black shadow jumping around on the beams in the middle of the night. People passing by would often find cat hair on the clothes hung outside."

Although the imperial capital developed rapidly, as Xiao Yan'an opened the country's doors to allow the flow of goods from various countries, people's thinking was affected and they were no longer as pedantic as before.

But they still firmly believed in monsters and gods, all because of the day when Liangzhu was destroyed more than ten years ago.

Those who managed to escape the disaster drifted to the western border and reported what they had seen and heard to the imperial capital. With the testimony of others, people became even more convinced of the existence of ghosts.

However, in Yuanli's ears, monsters are easier to deal with. She is not good at understanding human hearts, but she has seen many monsters.

"Chunyue, you're well-informed. Have you heard that there were dead bodies in the river in the imperial capital these past two days? The kind without heads?"

"No, I've only heard that cat demons like to build walls of corpses, but I haven't heard of them biting people's heads. Can I ask around for you?"

"No, just pretend I never asked."

"Okay, try the flower cake made in the small kitchen." Chunyue handed over a piece of flower cake to ease the atmosphere. They chatted and laughed, and the afternoon passed quickly.

The sun slowly set in the sky, smoke and clouds rolled in, and the sky gradually darkened. Yuanli was about to get up and go to the kitchen to arrange Qi Heng's dinner for today when the door was hurriedly opened.

Under Chu Xiao's command, several Dali Temple followers carried the injured Qi Heng and hurriedly walked towards the bedroom. The white cloak covering him was stained with blood, and the color seemed to have not dried yet.

Qi Heng closed his eyes tightly, looking painful. Yuanli's legs went weak and her head was buzzing. Fortunately, Qiuyue was quick to step forward and support her.

Chu Xiao ordered the accompanying doctor to go into the house for treatment, and personally carried the weak Qi Heng to the bed.

After everything was settled, Chu Xiao put away his worry, walked towards her, clasped his fists and saluted, saying soothingly, "Brother Qi was slightly injured while investigating a case this morning. He's been treated by a doctor at the Dali Temple. His life is now out of danger, so don't worry."

Yuanli didn't have time to ask him in detail about how he got injured. He had several wounds on his body and didn't know how deep the wounds were... Yuanli would only feel at ease if she checked them with her own eyes.

Running quickly to her door, Yuanli paused and walked in lightly, for fear of waking him up.

The doctor was taking his pulse, but the more he took his pulse, the more solemn and complicated his facial expression became.

Yuanli was vaguely worried. The doctor wrote out two prescriptions and looked at Chunyue and Qiuyue behind her with a bit of embarrassment when he replied.

"Chunyue Qiuyue, go out and entertain Mr. Chu for me."

The two men understood and retreated, not forgetting to carefully close the door tightly.

Yuanli took the prescription and lowered her voice, saying, "There's no one else here, so feel free to tell me."

"Don't worry, Madam. The injuries Lord Qi sustained while handling the case this time are superficial. No internal organs have been harmed. As long as he applies medicine on time, the wounds will heal within a month. However, if the wounds are too deep, they may leave scars."

Yuanli's brows, which were furrowed and slightly painful, finally relaxed, and the huge stone in her heart that was suffocating her fell to the ground.

"Thank you, doctor. However, I noticed that you looked very serious when I took your pulse just now. Do you have any other injuries?"

"Yes, but it's not a big deal. That's why Madam dismissed her attendants. Sir Qi, have you recently experienced any weakness in your waist and knees, fatigue, night sweats, or frequent urination?"

Qi Heng has not been at home recently, so she really doesn't know whether he goes to the toilet frequently or not.

"The master of the house often rubs his waist to relieve himself while at home, and he also looks exhausted."

"That's right. I observe that your pulse is weak and slow, suggesting kidney yang deficiency. I happen to have a remedy passed down from my ancestors. Take it morning and night, and I guarantee you'll be back to full health before your wedding."

The doctor's words reminded her, and she remembered something she had forgotten: Chi Xun had cast a spell on him in the mountains that would cause kidney deficiency.

There is still no solution to the Canyang spell, which is the most unethical forbidden method in witchcraft, and it cannot be cured by medicinal herbs.

As he spoke, the doctor drew an ink circle on the ancestral prescription for treating kidney yang deficiency as a mark and handed it to her.

Looking at Qi Heng dying on the bed, Yuanli carefully put away the prescription, as a consolation for his lost dignity as a man.

After seeing Chu Xiao and the doctor off, Yuanli felt a headache looking at the pile of bottles and jars that the doctor had left on the table for treating injuries.

After hurriedly eating a few bites of dinner, Yuanli rushed to Qi Heng's room to take care of him. As soon as she arrived at the door, she saw the servants of the old house guarding outside.

As soon as I entered the room, I saw the old lady with my cousin Zhao Qingrui, whose eyes were red from crying.

"Yuanli has met the old lady."

"Heng'er was injured so badly, and you're not even sad at all, but you can't even stay by the master's side all the time. Look at Qingrui, her eyes are red from crying. From now on, you don't have to serve her anymore. Let Qingrui do it."