The physician soon left and Yu Lin smiled as she picked up her book. She flipped to the first page again when she suddenly heard a knock on the door. She looked back up and saw Tang Tang standing there, holding a basket, staring back at her.

“May I come in my lady?” Tang Tang asked.

“O-of course. Please, sit down.” Yu Lin motioned towards the chair as she set her book down on the table. Tang Tang took her seat across from Yu Lin and set her basket on the table. She folded the cloth of the basket up and pulled out a ceramic teapot along with a teacup.

“How are you feeling my lady?” Tang Tang asked as she set the teapot and cups on the table and poured the tea into the cups. A sweet and calming fragrance spread throughout the room and Yu Lin took in a whiff of air.

“I am fine Tang Tang, but, what is this?” Yu Lin asked as Tang Tang pushed the teacup towards her.

“It’s Achlea tea. We found them in the mountains when we were gathering herbs. I heard that it is rare and helps with recoveries so I decided to brew it for you. Sorry if my actions seem rude to you my lady.”

“N-no! Thank you, but are you sure it’s alright for me to drink this? Isn’t it rather valuable?”

“Don’t worry my lady, I spoke to master and the physician about this and he said that it was absolutely fine to give the tea to you.” Tang Tang said. Yu Lin cocked her head for a moment before letting out a sigh.

“I understand. Thank you.” She smiled as she picked up the teacup and started taking sips. Tang Tang’s lips quivered upwards however went back to its usual straightness as Yu Lin put the teacup back down. Yu Lin let out a satisfied breath as she felt her body relax, and her stiff shoulders fell down.

“How do you feel?” Tang Tang asked.

“I feel fine.” Yu lin gave her a relaxed smile as her body sunk into the chair. She didn’t sink very far as something went through her mind and she sat back up. “Do you know where my bag is?” Yu Lin asked. Tang Tang stiffened for a moment before clearing her throat.

“I apologize my lady, but I do not know. That night was quite chaotic because you went missing for a while, and He Lan suddenly recovered so I do not know what happened to your bundle.” Tang Tang answered. Yu Lin furrowed her brows before letting out a sigh.

“Is that so?” Yu Lin muttered as she thought about how much work she had to put down on paper again.

“Was there something important in your bag?”

“Huh? No. Nothing like that.” Yu Lin shook her hands in front of her face.

“Are you sure? It seems important though.”

“No! Don’t worry about it!” Yu Lin smiled however the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“I see… then I will take my leave now. Sorry for disturbing you.” Tang Tang stood up and bowed. Yu Lin also stood up and bowed back.

“No, you were not disturbing me! Thank you for the tea lady Tang Tang.” Yu Lin said before looking back up. She saw Tang Tang glance at her book before looking up and staring into her eyes with an eyebrows slightly raised. A few seconds passed before Tang Tang gave her another bow and then left her room. Yu Lin cocked her head confused for a moment at Tang Tang’s strange reaction before shrugging her shoulders and getting back to her book.

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Tang Tang returned to her room in the servant’s dorm section. She closed the doors behind her and locked it before setting the basket on the table. She went down on her knees and pulled a chest out from underneath her bed. The chest had a lock on it. Tang Tang pulled out the necklace hanging around her neck from beneath her robes revealing a bronze key. She insert the key in and turned it watching the lock unlatch itself. She pulled the lock off and opened the chest revealing various medical books, and a bag.

With one hand she pulled the books up on one side and with the other she reached beneath them to pull out a stack of paper tied together with a string. She set the stack of paper on the table, and grabbed the bag before sitting down. She opened the bag and reached inside to pull out some paper. She untied the stack and placed a sheet on one side, and on the other side she placed the paper she got from the bag. Her brows furrowed as she stared at the unknown characters in front of her. She bit on the nail of her thumb as she recalled the night she took the bag.

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Tang Tang stood there frozen as she stared down at He Lan. ‘How… no… who?’ She thought. She clearly remembered that moments before He Lan had a huge wound on his stomach but now that wound had seemed to disappeared, as if it had never happened. If it weren’t for the blood residue on his robe than she would have believed he had never been hurt.

“Oh, I see that you brew Soga roots.” Tang Tang turned around to see the physician looking at the bowl of medicine. Tang Tang’s eyes shifted before they landed on the ground and bowed.

“Yes.” Tang Tang said.

“Heh. Interesting… most servants don’t know about medical herbs and roots.” The physician said as he turned and walked past Tang Tang to get to He Lan. Tang Tang swallowed hard, however maintained her composure.

“Does sir want anything to drink?” Tang Tang asked.

“No, it’s alright.” The physician replied as he placed his fingers on He Lan’s stomach. Tang Tang nodded her head as she stood behind him. She glanced at the ground and noticed all the paper that was scattered around, and at the edge of the bed she saw a bag. ‘It must be young lady Yu Lin’s items.’ She thought as she walked over to them. She grabbed the bag and picked up the papers to stuff into the bag. When her eyes landed on the squiggles on the paper though, she froze. ‘This...this…’ she picked the paper and examined them. Her eyes grew as her hands shook.

“Is something wrong?” the physician asked from behind her.

“N-no. Nothing is wrong.” Tang Tang said as she quickly gathered the paper and sticked them inside of the bag. She then stood up abruptly, bowed, and left the room.

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Tang Tang stared down at the characters with a conflicted look on her face.

“They look exactly the same. The strokes… everything… just… what is this?” she mumbled to herself as she remembered a task she had to do.

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“Ji Tang.” a deep voice said, muffled behind a festival mask.

“Yes, master.” A younger Tang Tang bowed down on her knees. The person in the the mask set a stack of stringed paper down in front of Tang Tang.

“You are our best decoder. Figure this out, and I promise you, that you will be free, you and your brother.” The man ordered. Tang Tang’s stiffened for a moment, shocked, before nodding her head.

“Yes, master!” She answered and picked up the stack of paper before her.

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Tang Tang let out a sigh as she looked away. ‘Is it a coincidence… or… but that’s not possible… but it’s too similar.’ she thought. ‘Just… who is she?’