Zhao Qian was having his bones set at the clinic when Zhao Meili suddenly spotted Gu Nian running with a bamboo basket in hand, faster than a rabbit. She hurriedly grabbed Madam Zhao and pointed at Gu Nian.
“Mother, look! She’s running so fast. Does she look like someone who’s pregnant?”
“That little slut dares slander your brother? Sooner or later, I’ll tear her apart!”
Madam Zhao’s eyes were filled with fury.
Zhao Meili worriedly said, “Miss Zhou is angry. If she can’t become my brother’s concubine, what will happen to her medicine shop and residence?”
“It’s simple. Have your brother get her pregnant first. Then she’ll have no choice but to become a lowly kept woman. Once the residence and shop have been transferred into our names, if she still refuses to obey, we can leave her to fend for herself.”
Zhao Meili grew excited at her words. “Mother, you’re so clever! I want to wear that ruby jewelry set to my brother’s wedding.”
Madam Zhao fondly pinched her cheek. “All right, I’ll buy it for you. You have to dress up like a young lady from a wealthy family if you want to find a good husband.”
Zhao Meili’s face turned bashful. “That noble young master who came with Zhou Baozhu today would be perfect.”
Madam Zhao smiled. “Good. Have your brother pour Zhou Baozhu a bowl of sweet talk. She’ll certainly help you.”
Zhao Meili stamped her foot coyly. “Mother.”
Madam Zhao pressed her lips together in a smile, pulled Zhao Meili close, and whispered into her ear, “I’ll leave this matter to you…”
After listening, Zhao Meili glanced at her brother, who was sweating from the pain. “That still depends on whether Brother has the nerve.”
Her brother was softhearted by nature and could never bring himself to deal harshly with Gu Nian.
Madam Zhao lowered her voice. “Naturally, your brother won’t need to do it himself. His reputation cannot be ruined.”
Seeing her daughter staring wide-eyed with a foolish expression, Madam Zhao scolded her teasingly, “You silly girl. Four-legged frogs may be hard to find, but three-legged men are everywhere.”
Zhao Meili gave a sly smile. “I understand. I’ll find someone who knows how to cherish women and have him torment that little slut properly.”
Madam Zhao sneered.
That little slut had dared to humiliate her and Qian’er in public. She absolutely had to punish her severely!
She turned around and asked the physician, “Are you finished? We still have to hurry to Assistant Prefect Zhou’s residence.”
……
Inside the carriage.
Gongsun Yu frowned. “How could you take a liking to such a thing? Is there not a single outstanding young man in all of Lin’an Prefecture?”
Zhou Baozhu was crying so hard that her face was like a rain-spattered pear blossom. “Brother Yu, don’t speak of him that way. I have my dignity too.”
Gongsun Yu said angrily, “I didn’t hack off his pair of dog legs, so I was already giving you face.”
“You know better than anyone that he passed the juren examination through no effort of his own, and his official career will end there. Why are you so determined to cling to that crooked tree? If it won’t do, go to the capital. Let my mother choose someone for you. Whoever she picks will be better than him.”
Zhou Baozhu pouted and wiped away her tears. “In Lin’an Prefecture, I can walk sideways. If I went to the capital, I’d be nothing more than a wealthy young lady’s lackey. I’m not going.”
Gongsun Yu raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t realize you had such insight.”
“My aunt taught me.”
Zhou Baozhu’s aunt was none other than Young Master Gongsun’s mother—the Gongsun Clan’s matriarch and the second wife of the Marquis of Jing’an.
“I chose Zhao Qian because he’s obedient enough.”
Zhou Baozhu twisted her handkerchief. “In terms of talent and appearance, Zhao Qian can be considered one of the best in Lin’an Prefecture. But he has no foundation. Aside from his mother and younger sister, he has no other relatives. If I marry him, I can remain in Lin’an Prefecture and live an easy, carefree life. Besides, Zhao Qian’s family will be even less likely to bully me.”
Young Master Gongsun found her reasoning entirely convincing.
His Aunt Empress had died a tragic death, his mother had endured a lifetime of humiliation, and his Cousin-Aunt and her daughter had disappeared without a trace—all because they had married the wrong men. Their entire lives had been miserable.
Perhaps Zhou Baozhu had made the right choice.
Looking at Zhou Baozhu’s swollen eyes, he thought of his lost Cousin-Aunt’s daughter, A-Jia, and felt a dull ache in his heart.
Young Master Gongsun flicked Zhou Baozhu on the forehead. “All right. I’ll deal with that little girl for you. I guarantee she won’t affect your mood.”
Zhou Baozhu smiled happily. “Brother Yu has already achieved so many military exploits at such a young age. You’re Great Yong’s youngest young general. Dealing with a mere country girl will be effortless for you.”
Young Master Gongsun smiled faintly. “Young general? Those are matters of the past. There’s no need to bring them up again.”
After his grandmother, the Grand Princess, passed away, the Gongsun Clan also lost its military authority. Now, his greatest supporter, his aunt the Empress, was dead as well, and the Crown Prince had disappeared. The Gongsun Clan was gradually declining.
He had to find a way to locate the missing Crown Prince and help him restore the Gongsun Clan to its former strength.
His informants in Jiangnan had discovered faint traces of the Crown Prince’s whereabouts.
In addition, after ten years, his subordinates had finally learned that, back then, his Cousin-Aunt had fled with his seven-year-old cousin. The two had accidentally fallen into the water and disappeared, but they might have been rescued by an herb gatherer.
That herb gatherer had an accent from the Lin’an Prefecture area.
His people had investigated the medicine shops, clinics, and related personnel in the towns under Lin’an Prefecture. In the end, they discovered that ten years ago, an herb gatherer from Fuyang County had brought back a mother and daughter from out of town.
When Gongsun Yu arrived in Lin’an Prefecture, Zhou Baozhu had happened to drag him along to lend her support.
Young Master Gongsun lifted the carriage curtain and happened to see a closed medicine shop. Three characters were written on its signboard: Su Xi Hall.
His subordinate had discovered that the herb gatherer had opened a medicine shop called Su Xi Hall.
“Stop the carriage!”
Young Master Gongsun leaped directly from the carriage.
“Baozhu, go back first. I have something to take care of.”
He tossed ten coins to a person selling goods beside the medicine shop. “Why is this medicine shop closed in broad daylight?”
The stallkeeper happily picked up the money. “The Gu couple fell off a cliff and died. Of course the medicine shop is closed.”
“Which Gu the Second?”
“The Gu the Second who lives in Yongchun Alley at the western end of town.”
Could this be the Gu Family that Zhao Qian’s former fiancée belonged to?
Young Master Gongsun’s expression darkened. “Do you know the name of Gu the Second’s wife?”
“Gu the Second’s wife was surnamed Rong. As for her given name… Oh, dear, she was always busy coming and going around the medicine shop, and I never heard Gu the Second call her by name…”
The stallkeeper shook his head.
Ordinary outsiders would not know the personal names of women in another household.
Then he suddenly remembered something. He turned around and pointed at the signboard.
“I heard the name on the signboard came from the names of the husband and wife. The shopkeeper was called Gu Sumu, and his wife was surnamed Rong, with the given name Xi, wasn’t it?”
Rong Xi?
His Cousin-Aunt’s real name was Murong Xi. If she had wanted to hide herself among ordinary people, she would certainly have changed her name and surname.
But his Cousin-Aunt had been a famous beauty throughout the world, as well as the Princess of Great Yan in the Northwest. How could she have endured such a life?
His younger cousin had been as delicate and lovely as a carved doll, with almond-shaped eyes that curved when she smiled. She had spoken in a soft, coquettish voice and was always clinging to him and acting spoiled. She could not possibly be that sharp-tongued, shameless girl.
Young Master Gongsun circled the medicine shop, looking for a way inside.
He discovered a window on the side facing the alley. Drawing his dagger, he slipped it into the gap and skillfully knocked open the latch.
He gently pushed the window open. Inside was pitch-black, and there was no sound of anyone.
With an agile leap, he climbed inside and landed without a sound.
He stood for a while in the dark front hall, confirming that no one was there. Then he took out a fire starter and blew on it. With a hiss, a cluster of flames sprang up.
……
Su Xi Hall had been closed for two months. Gu Nian had never come back, afraid that seeing the place would only make her miss her parents more.
Gu Nian entered through the back door, placed the bamboo basket on the counter, and casually patted the lively black-footed chicken inside.
“Stay put, all right? I promise I’ll give you a quick death with one stroke tonight.”
She bent down and rummaged through the cabinet, pulling out a large cloth sack. Then she went into the dispensary and selected medicinal herbs to treat the injured courtesan.
Soon, the sack was filled to the brim. She tossed it into the bamboo basket and turned to head straight for the inner room.
She pushed aside a medicine cabinet and pulled a brick from the concealed corner of the wall behind it. A hidden compartment appeared.
She reached inside and took out a black ebony box, wrapped it carefully in cloth, and held it against her chest.
Inside were several extremely precious medicinal herbs worth several hundred taels. Her father had normally been reluctant even to take them out, and would not sell them no matter how much money someone offered.
With so many people coveting the medicine shop, it was safer to keep the valuable herbs right under their noses.
Gu Nian hugged the bamboo basket with one arm and held the square cloth bundle with the other, preparing to leave through the back door again.
Holding up the fire starter, Young Master Gongsun looked around. The medicine shop was not large. Three walls were lined with tall medicine cabinets that reached the ceiling. The furnishings were simple and orderly, yet he could not see anything out of place.
Suddenly, he heard a sound from the inner courtyard.
He immediately snuffed out the fire starter and walked quietly toward it…