The doctor wore a pained expression. "General, it's not that we don't want to dispense the medicine for you, but the medicinal ingredients are scarce. Several herbs you've listed are unavailable."
"Scarce? The medicines I've prescribed are quite ordinary. Are they truly that rare?" This was merely a pretense for saving people. What could truly save lives was the spiritual mist spring water from her spatial dimension. Now that the spring water had been added, but the medicine was missing, if someone recovered inexplicably, wouldn't that be bizarre?
"Then what can be done? This is the current situation. The medicine sent by reinforcements is mostly for刀伤 (dāo shāng - sword wounds). We are severely lacking in herbs for dispelling wind and releasing the exterior, and expelling wind-evil."
Li Man'er paid no mind to what the doctor was saying and began searching the medical camp herself. After searching for a long time, she indeed couldn't find the herbs on her prescription; several were missing. *How careless! In the frigid desert, they actually failed to prepare medicine for treating colds.*
Perhaps Qi Yihan would have some. Li Man'er turned and left, going to find the silver-faced general to inquire if they had any medicine. After waiting for a long time without seeing him, she encountered Ding Yan instead.
"Miss Li, the General is occupied and I'm afraid cannot see you."
Li Man'er didn't care if he was human or ghost; she only wanted the herbs. "Fine, whether I see him or not is irrelevant. I would need to trouble this..." Li Man'er frowned, "May I know your name, sir?"
Ding Yan didn't get angry and even introduced himself with a smile, "I am Ding Yan, the General's bodyguard." *Bodyguard? I know his bodyguards are named A Wu and A Qi. I've never heard of Ding Yan. He's likely someone sent by the Xiao family to monitor him.*
"Oh, Guard Ding, a few soldiers in our camp have fallen ill and are missing some medicinal herbs. So I came to see if you have any here. If you can authorize dispensing some for me, I don't mind not seeing the General."
Ding Yan hadn't expected Li Man'er's request to be so simple and found it somewhat unbelievable. "Medicinal herbs?" he asked with suspicion, as if he thought Li Man'er was using it as a polite excuse for herself.
"Of course." Li Man'er extended her hand, and A Si immediately handed over the previously written prescription. Li Man'er casually passed it to Ding Yan. "You can have the military doctor examine it first."
"Very well! Miss Li, please wait a moment. I'll be right back." Ding Yan agreed readily. It was just some common herbs for treating colds; they didn't cost much. If he refused, it would be impolite. It wasn't time to fall out yet. If the prescription was in order, he wouldn't mind putting on a show of goodwill.
"I'm in your debt." Li Man'er cupped her hands, and she and A Si waited to the side.
The wind was strong, and the sky was growing darker. A Si looked up at the sky and couldn't help but whisper, "Miss, it looks like it's going to snow."
"Mmm!" Li Man'er replied, "Before the snow falls, the barbarians might launch an attack." Once the heavy snow came, the barbarians' survival would be tested. Of course, for those defending the city, this wasn't good news either.
"Miss, I imagine they would have made preparations, right?"
Li Man'er said, "Naturally. Do you think the Xiao family has been guarding the desert for so many years for fun?" After speaking, she closed her mouth tightly, saying not another word.
A Si likely understood her meaning and didn't speak further.
Ding Yan took the prescription and studied it for a while. He couldn't make out anything from it, so he handed it to the military doctors in the camp for them to examine for any anomalies. The doctors examined it carefully and replied, "This is just ordinary medicine for dispelling wind and relieving cold, used to treat colds."
"Do we have it in our camp?"
"We have plenty."
"Then prepare the herbs according to the prescription for them. You don't need to wrap them; let them see clearly, so they won't harbor suspicions about us." The doctors nodded repeatedly and quickly prepared the medicine.
Ding Yan called two soldiers to help carry the medicine over. Li Man'er didn't disdain it; instead, she smiled and said, "Thank you very much. This medicine has come at a crucial time." She felt that the soldiers delivering the medicine seemed a bit shifty. She glanced up, and saw that the soldier immediately lowered his head, as if afraid she would see his face.
Li Man'er paid it no mind and thanked Ding Yan again, taking the herbs and A Si back to the Iron Blood Camp. "Quickly deliver this medicine to them. Let them drink it first."
A Si hesitated to speak, then decided to return to discuss it later. He immediately took the medicine and left. Li Man'er then smiled. *Did that fellow think I wouldn't recognize him by ducking his head? That soldier delivering the medicine was clearly the spy who sneaked into my room that day, was injured by me, and then fainted from the drug. I threw him and the third young master of the Geng family into the alley behind the brothel and let them endure a night of mosquito bites.* Although a long time had passed since that incident, Li Man'er couldn't forget his face! It was because she had a good memory. This was truly interesting.
Soon, A Si returned, wanting to speak to Li Manyi, but hesitating. Li Man'er didn't expose her and only asked, "Do you have thorns growing on you? Why are you so restless?"
"No..." A Si started, "Miss, do you think..."
"Speak quickly if you have something to say." A Si cowered. "Never mind." He lowered his head to leave, but Li Man'er called him back. "Wait a moment. I'll ask you, the soldier who delivered the medicine, he's one of yours, isn't he?"
A Si's eyes widened. "Miss, you, you recognized him?"
"Of course!" Li Man'er smiled. "Your young lady has a photographic memory. That boy tried to take my life before, how could I not recognize him?"
A Si asked, "Then you didn't expose him?"
"What's there to expose? It's all a misunderstanding." Li Man'er feared eavesdroppers and didn't want to say more, but she had made her meaning clear. She didn't want to pursue it out of consideration for Qi Yihan. She shouldn't easily lay hands on his men. Moreover, she had already punished that person back then. She imagined his shame had spread, and he would be unable to hold his head up among his peers. Even A Si, who was far away in the desert, knew, let alone others.
However... "What's his name?" With no one outside the tent, Li Man'er asked.
"A Jiu." *So, the men are all odd numbers, and the women are all even numbers. I wonder if A Si has any sisters: A Er, A Liu, A Ba? Those don't sound good either! A Si is barely passable. Next time I see Qi Yihan, I must tell him, ignorance is terrifying, what names he's given them!*
While she was thinking, Zhang Jingfeng returned. "General, the Marquis requests your presence."
Li Man'er raised an eyebrow. "The Marquis is awake? Since when?"
Zhang Jingfeng looked a bit embarrassed. "Just now. That... "
"The surname Ji person didn't go find him, did he?"
Zhang Jingfeng chuckled awkwardly. "Yes, it was quite a coincidence. The Marquis woke up, and Lord Ji found out. After... after they finished, they discussed it with the Marquis."
Discuss? Li Man'er's almond eyes narrowed. She suspected it was a complaint.