“Ah, Miss, you’ve finally returned…”
As soon as Gu Ning entered the room, Hong Yao hurriedly rushed forward to greet her, but noticing Jiang Yingyue following beside her, she swallowed her words mid-sentence.
“Fifth Miss Jiang,” she curtsied properly and smiled, “My mistress saw you once at the Jiang family’s medicine shop a few days ago and has long wanted to get to know you. I hope the dishes on the table suit your taste? Should I call the waiter back to order some more?”
“N-no need…” Jiang Yingyue quickly waved her hand, biting her lip, looking rather flustered.
The dishes on the table were dazzling and exquisite, the kind she had only seen during the Jiang family’s New Year’s Eve reunion dinner.
Jiang Yingyue lowered her head: “Doctor Gu, if there’s anything you need, you can just say it directly. There’s no need to go to such expense…”
Gu Ning gave Hong Yao a meaningful glance. Hong Yao nodded and stood guard outside the door.
For a moment, the private room fell into silence.
Gu Ning picked up a soup ladle and served Jiang Yingyue a bowl of soup, handing it to her with a smile: “The dishes are already ordered, Fifth Miss Jiang. Why not give it a try?”
The porcelain-white bowl was filled with golden chicken broth, dotted with emerald-green scallions. Orange-red goji berries, dark red dates, and pale yellow chicken pieces layered at the bottom of the bowl, the rich aroma wafting toward her.
In the Jiang household, she rarely had the chance to eat such things.
Jiang Yingyue couldn’t help but swallow, yet she looked up again: “But…”
“No buts. If it’s not enough, there’s more here. If you don’t like it, we can order something else,” Gu Ning said with a smile. “Fifth Miss Jiang, you are skilled in pharmacology. In the future, many people will invite you to dine at Zhenxiu Pavilion or even better places. Today, just let me take the lead this once.”
“What Doctor Gu says…” Jiang Yingyue lowered her head, revealing a faint, bitter smile, her voice soft, “How could I possibly…”
“Fifth Miss Jiang, you are skilled in pharmacology. In just half a month, you managed to reduce the Jiang family’s medicine shop’s deficit by thirty percent. Why belittle yourself?”
Before attending the Wang family’s flower-viewing banquet, Gu Ning had already investigated the Jiang family’s medicine shop. Manager Jiang had mentioned that the young apprentice had only arrived at the shop half a month ago.
But as far as she knew, the Jiang family’s medicine shop was not short-staffed and had always been directly managed by Old Master Jiang. It was a well-known herbal medicine shop in the entire Ling City. Old Master Jiang was conservative and had long ago divided most of the family assets between the Jiang family’s eldest son and Jiang Shijin. Why, then, would this shop allow Jiang Yingyue, a concubine-born daughter, to intervene?
Apart from poor management, Gu Ning could think of no other reason.
And the investigation results were exactly as she had expected—three years ago, Jiang Shijin took over the medicine shop. Ignoring the manager’s advice, he repeatedly spent large sums to purchase many rare medicinal herbs that ended up unsold, leading to the shop’s deficit.
“I won’t hide it from you, Fifth Miss Jiang,” Gu Ning smiled again. “Before going to the flower-viewing banquet, I first visited the Jiang family’s medicine shop and met your young apprentice. His technique for processing medicinal herbs was quite skillful. At the time, I thought, a master who could teach such craftsmanship would surely have a promising future.”
“Doctor Gu, you flatter me. This is really nothing, and… it’s what I should do.”
Jiang Yingyue lowered her head, picked up the spoon, and scooped a mouthful of chicken broth. As expected, it was fragrant and savory. Yet as it slid down her throat, the familiar bitterness and blandness welled up in her heart once again.
The golden chicken broth resembled a bronze mirror, reflecting her slender, willow-leaf eyebrows and the phoenix eyes beneath them. Her brows and eyes bore an eighty to ninety percent resemblance to her mother’s, and her temperament was similarly akin.
Mother said, as a member of the Jiang family, it was only right to uphold the family’s interests.
Mother said, as a Jiang family concubine-born daughter, aiming too high would only lead to a fate as fragile as paper.
Mother also said…
Suddenly, her vision blurred. A teardrop fell into the soup bowl, shattering both the bronze mirror and the reflection within.
“But you don’t want to do it at all, do you?”
Jiang Yingyue instinctively looked up. For a moment, she couldn’t tell whether those words had been spoken by Gu Ning or by herself.
“The bargaining chip I offered in my earlier proposal to Fifth Miss Jiang is…” Gu Ning paused, then smiled, “to help you escape the things you don’t wish to do.”
Jiang Yingyue was born and raised in the Jiang family. How could Master Jiang not know of her talents? Yet, her reputation for expertise in pharmacology had only spread half a month ago. Coupled with her unsuitable marriage arrangement and her awkwardness at the flower-viewing banquet… her recent circumstances spoke for themselves.
The Moon-silk Flower was rare, priceless and hard to come by. To be fair, if she possessed it, she would never sell it lightly. Moreover, it was almost certain that the Moon-silk Flower was in Master Jiang’s hands.
To obtain it, the means would likely be less than honorable.
Before coming, Gu Ning had considered many bargaining chips to persuade Jiang Yingyue to take the risk and help her. Yet, after much thought, given Jiang Yingyue’s current situation, even a fortune would be like a child holding a gold brick in a bustling marketplace. In that case, it would be better to help her resolve this pressing dilemma.
“Fifth Miss Jiang possesses great talent but is trapped by parental orders and matchmaker’s words, while Miss Wang makes things difficult at every turn. To make them give up…” Gu Ning dipped her finger in the cup, wrote a few characters on the table with water, and chuckled softly, “One must be pushed to the brink of death to be reborn.”
The wind rattled the window, creaking softly. The water stains on the table gradually faded, leaving no trace of what had once been written.
Jiang Yingyue stared blankly at the faint water marks, a strange feeling welling up in her heart.
It was as if a spring breeze had blown open a tightly shut window, embedding a colorful ink painting into the dim, narrow room. A sapphire sky unfolded before her eyes. The window grew wider and wider, and the sunlight grew clearer and brighter. She couldn’t help but lean her body out of the window.
Yet, a pane of transparent glass suddenly appeared before her, sealing her mother’s figure within.
“I…” Jiang Yingyue forcibly suppressed the waves surging in her heart, imprisoning herself in a stagnant pool, “I need to think about it a little more.”
Gu Ning looked into her eyes, faintly guessing something, and simply smiled gently, “No rush. Whenever Fifth Miss Jiang has made up her mind, you can tell me anytime.”
“Then… what about you, Doctor Gu?” Jiang Yingyue mustered her courage, “What do you hope I will do?”
“I hope you can help me find a medicinal herb,” Gu Ning took out a prepared note and drawing from her sleeve, “It is said to be in the Jiang family right now.”
Jiang Yingyue stared at the drawing of the Moon-silk Flower, frowning slightly. Such a strange flower, yet it seemed somewhat familiar…
“Rest assured, Doctor Gu,” Jiang Yingyue put away the note and drawing, offering a faint smile, “No matter what decision I ultimately make, I will do my best to help you find it.”
If only because Gu Ning had voiced the thought she had long dared not even consider.
Moreover… Jiang Yingyue always felt she must have seen this medicinal herb called “Moon-silk Flower” before.
“Then I’ll thank Fifth Miss Jiang in advance,” Gu Ning added a few more dishes to Jiang Yingyue’s plate with the serving chopsticks. “Try this quickly—it’s best while hot.”
“Mhm,” Jiang Yingyue nodded vigorously, took a bite, and smiled. “Delicious.”
Gu Ning smiled as well and was about to say something more when suddenly, Hong Yao’s somewhat panicked voice came from outside the door: “Miss, Fifth Miss Jiang—it’s bad! That Third Young Master Liu has come looking for you!”