Chapter 8 is too intriguing

  As the sound of the ring grew louder, Chen Yi saw the woman who had knocked on the door earlier walking towards him with another woman dressed in luxurious clothes. The woman wore a wide-brimmed hat with a long veil hanging down from the brim, covering her neck and above, making it impossible to see her face clearly in the dim light. As this woman approached, all the others who were standing outside the house bowed their heads and paid their respects, showing great deference!

  The woman who had knocked on the door and reported earlier came forward and lightly knocked on Sun Simiao's door a few more times, reported in a loud voice, got permission, pushed open the door, supported the noble lady-like woman into the house, and immediately closed the door.

  Chen Yixi's doubts rose to a very high level, and he immediately racked his brains, guessing who would come to visit Sun Simiao.

  Judging from her demeanor, the woman who came to visit must not be an ordinary person. Chen Yi couldn't think of what kind of status she had. Thinking about it, she shouldn't be too high-ranking, otherwise Sun Simiao wouldn't have put on such a big show and would have come out to greet her instead of letting someone else let her in!

  Ning Qing stood on one side and didn't come over to grab that peephole, Chen Yi kept looking out, hoping to figure out what was going on!

  Just as he was curiously watching, Sun Simiao's door suddenly opened, and the tall woman who had come in to knock on the door and report stepped out, standing outside the door with her head bowed like everyone else, waiting for orders.

  Chen Yi focused his attention on the woman and tried to get a clear look at what kind of woman she was. He immediately reached out and enlarged the small hole so that he could see a wider view.

  Her eyes must have had energy, and although they were separated by a window, Chen Yi's special gaze made the woman feel strange, suddenly raising her head to sneak a peek in Chen Yi's direction, their eyes met.

  After seeing the woman's appearance clearly, Chen Yi had a stunning feeling again, even more so than when he saw Ning Qing's face.

  This is a stunning woman, with facial features that are extremely delicate and pretty, even more so than Ning Qing. She's also taller than Ning Qing by a head, and very young, definitely not over 20 years old. Her chest is high and perky, and based on Chen Yi's experience, if she wasn't wearing any padding, it would be at least a C-cup or above. However, this woman's expression was somewhat unfriendly, and when she saw someone sneaking a peek, she immediately walked over and gestured to the others.

  Chen Yi quickly moved his eyes away from the window, and soon someone stood at the small hole he had made, blocking it with their back.

  Ning Qing, who had just regained his composure, also felt something was off and looked at Chen Yi in surprise, with an inquiring expression.

  Chen Yi looked at the small window that was blocked and then at the door that was locked from the inside, feeling a bit at a loss.

  However, he quickly reacted and without any hesitation pulled Ning Qing's hand to the window facing the street. From the half-opened window, they saw a row of horse-drawn carriages parked outside the inn, all decorated with great luxury and grandeur, with many burly men holding broadswords standing guard beside them, as well as some men and women whose faces and clothing were indistinguishable due to the darkening sky.

  Suddenly caught off guard, Chen Yi grabbed her hand and Ning Qing trembled a few times, but couldn't break free. She let him pull her along, and after moving away from the window, she also curiously looked outside. This glance made her very surprised. Under tension, she tightly grasped Chen Yi's hand and leaned her body closer to him.

  Chen Yi tightly grasped Ning Qing's soft and delicate hand, but his attention was focused outside, the scene on the street made him increasingly surprised.

  What kind of people are these? Why is it that the originally bustling streets only have these people, and there are no passersby? His original inference that the visiting woman's status wouldn't be very high was immediately overturned; this must be a woman with an extraordinary status!

  A swordsman standing beside the carriage discovered Chen Yi peeking, and with his hand on the hilt of his sword, he pointed to this window. Immediately, several of his companions glared at Chen Yi angrily, and someone drew a bow aiming here, which really startled Chen Yi, who quickly pulled back his head, closed the window, grabbed Ning Qing's hand and walked back to the middle of the house, with his heart racing violently, feeling a surge of mortal fear!

  Ning Qing also saw the actions of those people on the street just now, and was scared stiff, tightly holding Chen Yi's hand, with a face full of fear!

  "Qing'er, don't be afraid, they're just here to visit your master, no malice intended!" Chen Yi gently comforted, holding Ning Qing's hand, his voice very calm. Having just been startled, he was able to calm down so quickly, which even surprised Chen Yi himself!

  But his curiosity was all on the noble lady who had just entered Sun Simiao's house. Suddenly, a woman with such a special identity came to visit Sun Simiao, and it was when they had just arrived in Chang'an, this is too unusual!

  Who is this visiting woman?

  But Chen Yi didn't dare to sneak a peek again, and Ning Qing was even more afraid, trembling with fear. The two of them stayed quietly in the house.

  At first, the two were still holding hands, but after the fright had passed, they both came to their senses. Ning Qing struggled free from Chen Yi's hand and hid away with a red face. Seeing Ning Qing's shy appearance, Chen Yi felt an unusual emotion in his heart, but his attention was still focused outside.

  It was also unknown how long it took, but finally the sound of opening the door was heard, as well as Sun Simiao's voice and a pleasant woman's voice, but they couldn't make out what they were saying. Then the footsteps slowly faded away, and all the people outside the door left.

  Chen Yi and Ning Qing stared at each other again inside the house, unsure whether they should go out and ask about the situation.

  There were voices outside again, it was Sun Simiao's order to Wang Chong and Liu Hai, but they couldn't hear what they were saying. Seeing that Sun Simiao didn't call himself and Ning Qing, Chen Yi made up his mind not to go out for the time being.

  After a while, Wang Chong's voice came from outside the house: "Ning Qing, Zi Ying, dinner is ready!"

  The two of them responded in unison, opened the door which was no longer locked, and walked out.

  Everything outside is as usual, just like when they first came in!

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  Chen Yi and Sun Simiao were having dinner together when they heard the sound of drums coming from outside. Sun Simiao told Chen Yi that it was the closing drum in Chang'an City, which beat 600 times to signal that the day had ended. After the closing drum sounded, the curfew began, and all city gates and alley gates were closed. No unrelated personnel could go out on the streets, and if they did, they would be caught by the patrolling Jinwu guards and punished.

  As for the curfew system in Chang'an City at night during the Tang Dynasty, Chen Yi still knew a thing or two about it. He knew that only on the Lantern Festival, also known as the Yuanxiao Festival, or on some very special days, would Chang'an City lift its curfew and allow citizens to go out and have fun at night, commonly referred to as "releasing the night". On other days, citizens were not allowed to go out at night. However, Chen Yi also had some doubts. He knew that Pingkangfang in Chang'an City was a place of music and dance, where brothels were concentrated. Since Chang'an City implemented curfews and citizens could not go out at night, did these places still have business?

  Chen Yixin had doubts and curiosity in her heart, but Sun Simiao didn't say anything about the visit of that noble lady. These doubts and curiosities couldn't be asked out loud, so she just lowered her head to eat.

  During the meal, except for Sun Simiao saying a few words, Ning Qing and the other three disciples of Sun Simiao did not make a sound, they just ate hard, after finishing eating, they cleaned up their things, handed them over to the little second who was waiting outside, and immediately retreated, returning to their own room to rest.

  Chen Yi, who wanted to retire to his room, was stopped by Sun Simiao.

  Sun Simiao nodded to Chen Yi, who sat down on one side, and said: "Zi Xiang, tomorrow I and the two young apprentices will go out to take care of some business, and we may not return in the evening. You and Ning Qing just stay at the inn and wait for us... If there's anything urgent, I'll send someone to inform you..."

  "Yes, Master Sun!" Chen Yi replied, and then subconsciously asked another question, "Is Master Sun going out of the city again?"

  Sun Simiao shook his head, the smile on his face fading away. "No... an old friend has fallen ill, I need to go and take a look, it'll take some time, maybe three to five days... You seem to be new to Chang'an, unfamiliar with the city's situation. Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, let Ning Qing take you out for a stroll around the streets, see if there's anything that needs attention... Also, these clothes of yours are old ones from other people in the temple, they don't fit well and don't suit your status. You should go to the Western Market and buy some new clothes! These next few days, think carefully about what you plan to do next, where you'll go..."

  Chen Yi really wanted to know what Sun Simiao was going to do, but hearing him say that, he also knew that the old Daoist didn't want him to know what he was going to do. So he didn't ask again and immediately responded to Sun Simiao's previous words: "Daozhang, I haven't thought about what to do next either. If... after these days have passed and I'm still like this, can I follow you back to Zongsheng Palace? I haven't even discussed medical principles with Daozhang yet..."

  "That's natural!" Sun Simiao nodded, "I'll be staying in Chang'an City for a few more days, and I might even open up my clinic to see patients for a few days. It may take me a month or even longer to return to the Zong Sheng Palace, so you can tell me your decision then..."

  "Thank you, Master!" Chen Yi stood up and bowed respectfully.

  Sun Simiao waved his hand, indicating that Chen Yi didn't need to be so polite, and continued: "If you need to buy something, you can tell Ning Qing, I'll give her some money..."

  Chen Yi was somewhat moved by Sun Simiao's meticulousness and his unusual care, and he hastily expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Master Dao, for your concern. I am deeply grateful!"

  "No need to be polite, wealth is just external things, what's worth mentioning? You go first, today has been a hard journey, get some rest early..." Sun Simiao didn't ask Chen Yi anything else.

  Chen Yi stood up, hesitated for a moment, wanting to ask Sun Simiao about the matter of that noblewoman, but in the end didn't ask.

  Sun Simiao smiled as if he knew Chen Yi's thoughts and said: "You go rest first, some things may be told to you by me later."

  "Yes, Daozhang. I'll take my leave first..." Hearing Sun Simiao say this, Chen Yi couldn't ask anything else and bowed before exiting Sun Simiao's room.

  Returning to her room, Chen Yi was still puzzled. What would Sun Simiao do tomorrow? If he really went to see a doctor, who would be treated? It must not be an ordinary person who needs to be examined for several days. Could it be related to the noble lady who came to visit today?

  Is that unknown noble lady here to invite Sun Simiao to go and diagnose someone's illness?