“Heart-Loss Madness? How could this happen?”
Manager Jiang glanced around, seeing no one paying attention, and lowered his voice to a whisper: “Earlier, the master punished Fifth Miss Jiang by making her kneel in the ancestral hall. She knelt for two full days, couldn’t endure it, and fainted.” As he spoke, Manager Jiang seemed to think of something and hesitated, “Doctor Gu, that medicine of yours…”
“Manager Jiang, rest assured,” Gu Ning knew what he was worried about, “that medicine only makes a person appear to have caught a cold; it won’t cause any other harm. If you’re not at ease, Manager Jiang, you can take it back and have it examined.”
“I naturally trust Doctor Gu’s character,” Manager Jiang said, taking out a small porcelain bottle less than half the size of a palm and pressing it into her hand, lowering his voice further, “But now, with the eldest young master away on a long journey and Fifth Miss Jiang sent by the master to a nearby estate to ‘recuperate,’ the entire Jiang family, including this shop, is currently under Second Young Master Jiang’s management. Doctor Gu, you’d better take this medicine back.”
Otherwise, Second Young Master Jiang would surely find some excuse to cause trouble for Ningchun Hall.
These past few days, Second Young Master Jiang seemed to have lost his mind, harboring a fierce hatred for Doctor Gu.
Manager Jiang shook his head and sighed, stroking the abacus on the counter that had accompanied him for over a decade, deeply worried about the future.
Gu Ning lowered her eyes slightly. The porcelain bottle in her hand was smooth and cool, with a faint medicinal fragrance lingering on her fingertips. She suddenly remembered what had happened that day at Zhenxiu Pavilion.
A desperate situation giving rise to survival…
If that were truly the case, then Jiang Yingyue was even more resolute than she had imagined.
“Manager Jiang,” Gu Ning suddenly looked up, “You mentioned earlier where the estate is where Fifth Miss Jiang is ‘recuperating’? I’d like to pay her a visit.”
“Oh, it’s at…”
“Well, well, what a rare guest!” abruptly, a familiar voice cut in, “What brings Doctor Gu to our Jiang family’s shop? Shouldn’t you be seizing every moment to cling to the Shen family’s coattails right now?”
Gu Ning turned around to see Jiang Shijin dressed in a lilac-colored brocade robe with hidden cloud patterns, waving a folding fan in his hand inscribed with eight large characters: “Orchid Causes and Willow Fruits, Drunk and Lying Among Flowers.”
“Such noble households, it’s only natural that Doctor Gu would look down on our humble Jiang family,” Jiang Shijin deliberately sighed loudly, “But for Doctor Gu to get involved with her own patient, wouldn’t that be a breach of medical ethics and a troubled conscience?”
“Huh? Doctor Gu is actually involved with a patient? Is that true?”
“I knew there was a reason Ningchun Hall suddenly closed down, turns out it’s…”
Jiang Shijin’s loud shout drew quite a crowd of onlookers.
“Second Young Master Jiang, according to the laws of Great Yue, slanderers are punished with twenty strokes of the cane,” Gu Ning’s expression turned cold, “Second Young Master Jiang should speak with evidence.”
“Your own disgraceful actions are the evidence!” Jiang Shijin snapped his fan shut and sneered, “Both unmarried, treating a mere hysteria, why must Doctor Gu move into the Shen residence? Even if moving there was absolutely necessary, why not let that senior brother of yours go alone?”
“Oh, I almost forgot about that senior brother of yours,” Jiang Shijin shouted loudly, “One woman serving two men, playing both sides, Doctor Gu truly has remarkable skills!”
The crowd of onlookers erupted completely.
“He speaks with such detail, it couldn’t possibly be true, could it?”
“I think it’s most likely true. I heard that in the past, this Second Young Master Jiang pursued Doctor Gu relentlessly but couldn’t win her favor, visiting her door day after day with longing in his heart. For him to say such things now, he must have witnessed something truly shocking.”
Gu Ning remained silent, focused solely on rummaging through her sleeves for poison.
Now that the Moon-silk Flower was secured, if she didn’t crush this annoying fly today, she wouldn’t bear the surname Gu!
“Bullshit to your ancestors for eighteen generations!”
“Whoosh—” A stone cut through the air, striking Jiang Shijin squarely on the inner side of his knee. “Thud!” He instantly knelt before Gu Ning.
Gu Ning paused her search for poison.
…Why was he here?
Jiang Shijin raised his head in humiliation, scanning his surroundings with gritted teeth.
“Who did this?!”
“Your grandpa did!”
A tall figure loomed before him. Black boots, a purple-gold crown, a robe embroidered with a hundred flowers, and a few stones casually tossed in his hand—he wore a mischievous grin, looking every bit the troublemaker.
“Shen… Young Master Shen,” Jiang Shijin stammered, swallowing hard. “What brings you here?”
Though Jiang Shijin resented Gu Ning moving into the Shen residence, he wouldn’t dare speak a word against the Shen family. His brother-in-law might be the local garrison commander, but compared to a general of the court, he was nothing but a small fry!
So… he could only pick on the easy target and vent his anger on Gu Ning.
“If I weren’t here, how would I know that my family’s honored guest is being bullied like this outside?”
Shen Jinyan walked over to Gu Ning’s side, lifted his chin, and kicked Jiang Shijin, who was still kneeling on the ground.
“Listen up! Doctor Gu and her senior brother were invited by my mother to treat my illness. They are not to be slandered by just any stray dog or cat. If I ever hear such filthy rumors again…”
Shen Jinyan leaned down slightly, looking down at him from above.
“This… whoever-you-are young master, I’ll come looking for you next time.”
The crowd erupted in murmurs.
“So that’s how it is!”
“Ugh! Spreading rumors just because you couldn’t win Doctor Gu’s favor? What a despicable character!”
His high ponytail swayed slightly, exuding an inexplicable air of pride. Gu Ning couldn’t help but let her gaze linger on him.
She didn’t deny that she had once felt a certain fondness for him.
When she first returned to the Gu family and was mistreated by Madam Gu, when she attended her first banquet and was mocked, when she was inexplicably harassed by a rogue… he had stood in front of her just like today.
Back then, she had just left her senior brother for the first time, separated by mountains and rivers, with no one to confide her countless sorrows and grievances. So, during that time, seeing him gave her an inexplicable sense of peace.
As if… someone was finally protecting her like her senior brother had.
“Young Master Shen, no, you’ve misunderstood…”
Feeling the pointing fingers of the onlookers and thinking of the shop he had only just managed to reclaim, Jiang Shijin steeled himself and bit down hard: “This Gu Ning has always been promiscuous and unclear in her dealings. Who knows how many men she’s ensnared with her fox-like charms! Young Master Shen, I’m only trying to protect you from being deceived!”
Shen Jinyan’s expression darkened, his obsidian-like pupils turning icy.
Even he found it strange—whenever he heard someone slandering Gu Ning, an inexplicable rage surged within him, making him wish he could crush and flatten every rumor-monger on the spot!
They weren’t even close, and they’d had a disagreement just a few days ago…
Shen Jinyan suddenly felt his vision sway, a sharp pain abruptly piercing his mind. It seemed he had forgotten something…
Before him, Jiang Shijin’s lips moved, but his voice blurred into an indistinct hum.
Never mind. He irritably pressed his temples. It must be because this guy was too noisy.
Still daring to spread rumors?
Shen Jinyan cracked his knuckles with a sharp snap.
He was going to beat him until even his own parents wouldn’t recognize him!
Just as Shen Jinyan was about to throw a punch, Gu Ning suddenly smiled. She leaned forward slightly, like a graceful lotus tilting in the wind.
“Since Second Young Master Jiang is so certain, why not swear a solemn oath?” Her voice was as gentle as the lotus. “Say, ‘If what I say is false, may my tongue fester, my skin ulcerate, my appearance be utterly ruined, and may I die a miserable death.’ Second Young Master Jiang, do you dare, or do you not?”