"Alright, Wang Mazi!"

After leaving the Li Mansion.

The steward, Li Gu, drove the carriage towards the Su Mansion, while Xu Yun and several servants had to walk back as usual.

Along the way, Yongzhu and the others changed their usual demeanor and started praising Xu Yun.

Although, as servants who couldn't recognize even a single large character, they didn't know what Xu Yun was exactly doing when verifying the list earlier, they were clear on one thing:

The young lady from the Li Mansion seemed to appreciate Xu Yun!

Although Lord Li Gefei is only a Fifth Grade official, who knows to what position he might rise in the future?

Even if he remains stuck at Fifth Grade, as long as he catches the young lady's eye, Xu Yun could at least officially become a junior official or a junior constable, right?

For servants like Yongzhu,

being able to work as a junior official in a government office would be something worth burning incense for a lifetime.

After all, becoming a steward like Mr. Xie or Yue Lian is rare; most servants spend their entire lives being just called and ordered around.

Not to mention that throughout history, the officialdom is full of dangers, and few can retreat successfully like Old Su, who has reached the pinnacle of being an official.

Some large mansions today are bustling, but tomorrow might face closure and dispersion with the downfall of a great family.

Unfortunate servants might even have to accompany their master to the execution ground, while the slightly lucky ones just have to find a new master to serve, and the risks involved are beyond description.

Therefore, in the eyes of Yongzhu and the others, Xu Yun suddenly turned from a male actor selling performances into a potential prospect.

It's not flattery, but at least everyone's attitude has improved somewhat.

The most direct expression of this change is that when passing the sour plum soup shop again, Yongzhu took the initiative to invite Xu Yun as a guest to drink two bowls.

After about another hour of walking.

Near the end of Si hour, around eleven in the morning, the four finally returned to the outside of the Old Su Mansion.

The noon of early summer was a bit hot, and quite a few fine beads of sweat had appeared on the faces of Xu Yun and the others.

However, the good news was that according to the rules of the Su Mansion, after carrying out such a large task in the morning, the chores in the afternoon would be much lighter, and they could finish work earlier.

Therefore, from far away at the mansion gate, Yongzhu and the others were already imagining the refreshing experience of washing their faces with cold water.

The entrance used by servants to enter and exit the mansion is the south gate, also commonly known as the side door.

Also, because of the direction of the road, servants returning to the mansion have to pass by the main entrance of the mansion before reaching the side door.

When Xu Yun and the others arrived at the main entrance, they found several horses tied to the hitching post at the entrance, and a carriage parked beside the stone lions.

Yongzhu led the group to avoid it from a distance, glanced at the carriage, and said softly:

"Huh? People from the Western Army? Is a military officer visiting the master?"

Xu Yun also looked at the carriage's exterior.

It was a brown-toned carriage, with a brand-new exterior, and the horses were quite large.

However, his expertise and history couldn't make connections; after a scan, he really couldn't discern any special markings on the carriage.

Perhaps, in the eyes of servants like Yongzhu who often frequented various mansions, the characteristics of this carriage are as obvious as military plates in later generations.

Friends who are familiar with history should know.

The Imperial Guard is the official army of the Great Song, mainly divided into three modules:

Hebei Imperial Guard, **Imperial Guard, and Northwest Imperial Guard.

Among them, the strongest combat force belonged to the Northwest Imperial Guard, which is the Western Army.

Although in the eyes of many, the Northern Song army is considered quite weak.

But in reality, the Western Army's combat power wasn't that weak, at least it wouldn't shatter upon contact.

Looking at the entire late Northern Song period, the Western Army actually only had two major historical blemishes:

One was when Tong Guan spent money to buy Yan Yun back.

The second was during the late period when going north to seize opportunities, yet being counterattacked by the Liao Kingdom, and this Liao Army was the one defeated by the Jin Army.

The former was Tong Guan's slick maneuver, where he used the court's money to purchase back the 16 prefectures of Yan Yun from the Jin Kingdom, claiming victory in recovery, for which he was titled Duke Xu Yu.

The latter is indeed an indelible stain, but the underlying reasons are quite complicated.

The most basic situation is that in the Song-Liao wars, you could defeat the enemy, but it's hard to annihilate the living force of the enemy army, because the Song Dynasty was short of horses.

For this issue, if you really want to argue, you might have to pin the blame on Emperor Wu of Han from hundreds of years earlier — because ever since that thousand-kilometer surprise attack in the Han Dynasty, horses sold by nomads have all been gelded, unable to reproduce.

At the beginning, the Western Army had actually won several times, but they were just defeating mixed forces; the core troops saw the unfavorable situation and fled quickly, with real losses on their own elite infantry.

It's like in that "Qi Transformation into a Horse" scenario, I'm from the Dou Sect, you're Emperor Dou, but you can't catch up with me because my horse runs faster than yours.

Among the later generals responsible for revival, only Yue Fei wasn't from the Western Army, which also reveals a lot.

So it's not about justifying the Western Army; indeed, some things cannot be generalized, but it can be said that the Western Army's combat capability wasn't as bad as it seemed.

Returning to the scene at hand.

Nowadays, those qualified to ride in a sedan chair are at least commanders; who knows what they are coming to do at the retired Old Su Mansion?

With such doubts in mind, Xu Yun and the others quickly walked past the stone lions and reached the side entrance.

As soon as they entered, they were met by the hurriedly passing Mr. Xie, the Old Chief Steward.

Yongzhu quickly stepped aside and greeted him:

"Old Chief Steward, what brings you...?"

Mr. Xie, the Old Chief Steward, was originally rushing, but stopped to see the faces of several people. He immediately showed a joyful expression and swiftly handed over a money pouch:

"Yongzhu, you're here just in time. Please make another effort and take Wang Lin and Tie Niu with you to quickly grab some herbal medicine at the West Gate Pharmacy across the street with this prescription. Don't say much, we'll talk more when you're back!"

Yongzhu instinctively took the money pouch, was stunned for two seconds, then quickly came to his senses and cupped his fists:

"Understood!"

Without further questioning, he called Xu Yun and the others and turned to walk across the street.

This area where the Su Mansion is located belongs to a wealthy district in Bianjing City, so all kinds of supporting facilities such as academies, medical halls, and brothels are quite comprehensive.

For example, after leaving the mansion and turning onto the main road for less than a hundred meters, there is a West Gate Pharmacy that specializes in selling raw herbal medicines.

The pharmacy is very close to the Su Mansion, and since they were walking quickly, they reached the shop in no time.

Just as they stepped over the threshold, Yongzhu shouted:

"Shopkeeper, grab some medicine; here's the prescription!"

The shopkeeper of the pharmacy was also a perceptive person. He glanced at Yongzhu and the others' clothes and recognized them as the style of the neighboring Su Mansion:

"Coming, coming. Please have a seat, Quanfu, come and fetch the medicine!"

Xu Yun glanced at the chair nearby and, after pondering for a moment, said to Yongzhu and the others:

"Brother Yongzhu, why don't you all rest for a while? I'll stay here and wait."

After rushing around without a break for most of the day, Yongzhu was indeed a bit weary. He glanced at the chair longingly, but still insisted:

"This... doesn't seem appropriate?"

"Oh, what's the harm?"

Xu Yun nonchalantly waved his hand and smiled:

"I'm the youngest and do the least work, so it's only right for me to help relieve you all of some tasks.

Besides, Mr. Xie, the Old Chief Steward, has said that in the coming days, I only need to fetch water and water the flowers. Tomorrow, you elder brothers will still have tasks to attend to, so don't decline."

Seeing Xu Yun's gesture of goodwill, Yongzhu and the others exchanged a glance and no longer refused.

They bowed slightly to Xu Yun and then stepped aside to rest.

After they left.

Xu Yun glanced at the apprentice fetching the medicine and deliberately said:

"Shopkeeper, this prescription is for our master's personal use, so don't casually find some inferior herbs as substitutes.

Otherwise, if something goes wrong, you won't be able to handle the consequences."

The pharmacy is located in a wealthy district, and the shopkeeper often deals with such household servants feigning authority, so he wasn't afraid. He calmly stroked his beard and replied politely:

"Young man, rest assured. My West Gate Pharmacy is a family business handed down for a hundred and fifty years.

Both our herbs and medical skills have earned a solid reputation. We would never substitute with inferior goods."

"Oh?"

Xu Yun feigned disbelief and said:

"In that case, shopkeeper, I may as well ask if you can tell what ailment this prescription is meant to treat?"

In ancient feudal society, illnesses among women in the household were usually addressed by the maids or a physician would be invited to make a house call. At the very least, detailed instructions would be given before leaving.

Thus, Xu Yun did not worry that his question would involve any overstepping boundaries. The only challenge was the medical expertise of this old shopkeeper in front of him.

Sure enough.

Faced with Xu Yun's provocation, the shopkeeper didn't overthink it. He took the prescription and looked it over:

"Pseudo-ginseng... Yang Mei bark... Safflower...."

After a moment.

He put down the prescription and said to Xu Yun:

"My medical skills are limited, and some combinations in the prescription are difficult to understand in terms of efficacy."

"But judging from a few of the main ingredients, the prescription should be for..."

"Treating injuries from knives and spears."

....

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