"To the yamen."
A Jiu sat up, her body swaying slightly.
"I need to see my grandmother."
"Oh, my dear madam, please don't go out."
Tong Zi stamped his feet anxiously.
A Jiu looked at the empty medical hall and said with a smile, "Don't you want the medical hall's business to pick up?"
"Of course, the owner wants that." Tong Zi naturally hoped so.
"Then take me to the yamen. You saw my acupuncture skills yesterday. I might be able to revitalize the medical hall."
A Jiu's expression was exceptionally serious when she said this.
Tong Zi had indeed witnessed it yesterday. "Alright... Miss A Jiu, please wait a moment."
Before long, Tong Zi pulled a carriage and stopped outside the medical hall.
He got out of the carriage first, locked several doors, and hung the keys at his waist.
With the clatter of hooves, they stopped directly outside the prefectural yamen.
A Jiu eagerly jumped off the carriage.
Yun Jie and Yun Hao, the guards at the entrance, stared wide-eyed, dumbfounded.
"You—Why are you back again?"
Yun Hao reprimanded her in a low, anxious voice. This girl was truly persistent, refusing to give up until faced with the inevitable.
"I haven't seen my grandmother yet."
As soon as A Jiu said this, the two brothers, one tall and one short, froze.
"I'll go in through the back door myself." A Jiu glanced at the sun; it was noon, and she needed to bring water for her grandmother.
She turned and headed towards the back door.
"Hey, hey, hey, girl, why aren't you listening to advice? Slow down, slow down, I'll take you in, alright?"
Yun Hao stomped his foot, looking helpless, and turned to instruct Yun Jie, "Yun Jie, don't go anywhere today. Call me if anything happens."
Before entering the prison, Yun Hao whispered a few words to A Jiu, just as he had last time. Then, he turned and chatted with the jailers with a smile.
"Why are you only coming now?" Madam Wang said as soon as she saw A Jiu. "You've worried me to death. I heard them say your foolish mother, thinking she knew something about diet therapy, made Lord Wang suffer from diarrhea for three days. He almost died."
"Ah, Grandmother, you heard about it too?" A Jiu knew her mother was simple-minded and might have been venting her resentment.
"They talk about all sorts of nonsense all day, and I happened to overhear them." Madam Wang spoke while tilting her head back and drinking from the spiritual spring water. Two more skin bags went down, seemingly calming her anger.
Madam Wang smacked her lips.
"It's not entirely your mother's fault. If it were me, I would also be angry at that corrupt official for abusing his power to oppress the common people."
A Jiu felt a little better. If it weren't for Steward Li's bribery first, her parents wouldn't have been sentenced to life imprisonment in the dungeon to await death.
"Grandmother, how many more days do you need? I heard that Mother is scheduled to be executed soon."
A Jiu had to remain calm; all hope rested on her grandmother.
"It will take at least four or five days at the earliest." Madam Wang was also anxious. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "Girl, is this all the spiritual spring water you have?"
"Yes, at most three skin bags, and one of them contains mainly little earth dragons." A Jiu bit her lip, sensing that her grandmother found it insufficient. If there were more, her progress might be faster.
"How can we get more spiritual spring water?"
Indeed, this was Madam Wang's intention.
"We need to accumulate merit points for the spring to expand," A Jiu and her grandmother naturally shared everything. She was the first to know about the spiritual energy she possessed.
"Is this what you call a 'level'? Tell me about it." Madam Wang sat down cross-legged.
A Jiu glanced sideways. Yun Hao was bragging to them. It seemed they had some time.
A Jiu recounted the story completely.
"This clearly means you're being forced to be a good person. In this world, good people die quickly. What kind of rubbish is this?" After venting her frustration, Madam Wang returned to the topic.
"Enough, enough. Think of a way to help more people."
A Jiu had already thought about this. When she helped Yun Hao's mother with the ear acupuncture, she had made a decision.