After more than half a month of continuous rain that had marked the early spring, the skies finally cleared today.
Ji Yu, munching on a meat bun she had bought from a street stall, walked toward Jishitang Pharmacy. Before she even stepped through the door, she heard the sound of objects being smashed and clattered from inside, followed closely by a woman’s heartbroken cries.
“Stop breaking things… These are all finely ground, top-grade medicinal powders… And this hundred-year-old ginseng is the treasure of our pharmacy—you cannot take it! Ah—!”
A sharp scream reached Ji Yu’s ears, and her heart tightened with alarm. She hurried forward, taking two steps at a time, and rushed inside.
“Lianqiao! Are you alright?!” Seeing Lianqiao fallen on the ground, Ji Yu hurried over and knelt beside her, carefully checking her body for injuries.
“Miss Yu… They… they smashed all our precious medicinal ingredients and are trying to take our hundred-year-old ginseng—it’s the most valuable thing we have!” Lianqiao clung to Ji Yu, crying with a mix of grief and anger. “I tried to stop them, but they pushed me and knocked me straight to the floor.”
After a quick examination confirmed that Lianqiao had not sustained any serious harm, Ji Yu wiped away her tears with the sleeve of her robe and spoke gently to soothe her. “Don’t worry, Lianqiao. I will never let them take what belongs to us.”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than mocking laughter rang out. Frowning, Ji Yu rose to her feet with a cold expression. Glancing at the medicinal herbs trampled across the floor and the broken furniture scattered around, she felt a surge of anger rise within her. She strode forward and, with lightning speed, slapped the leader of the group hard across the face.
The crisp sound of the slap echoed through the hall, leaving everyone present stunned. The man who had been hit stood frozen, mouth agape and eyes wide with disbelief, as if he could not fathom that he had just been struck by a young woman.
Only when the stinging heat spread across his cheek did he realize what had happened. Overcome with humiliation and rage, he pointed a shaking finger at Ji Yu and shouted, “You… you insolent girl! How dare you lay a hand on me?!”
“I dare, and I did. Who do you think you are? You are nothing but a guard dog raised by Du Tingsong—what gives you the right to act so high and mighty?” Ji Yu stepped back and positioned herself firmly in front of Lianqiao, staring straight at Housekeeper Huang of the Du family while keeping a wary eye on the three burly men standing behind him.
“What did you say? You called me a dog?!” Huang Quan gnashed his teeth in fury and lunged forward, raising his hand to return the blow. But Ji Yu simply shifted her body to the side and dodged him easily.
His hand struck nothing but air. Having put all his strength into the swing, he wrenched his shoulder out of joint, and the searing pain only fueled his rage further. “Fine! Very well! You’ve asked for this! You lot—smash everything! Break every last thing in this pharmacy to pieces! Destroy everything, whether it is valuable or not!”
At his command, the three men immediately set to work. Ji Yu tried to stop them, but she was too late, and many more precious ingredients were tossed carelessly onto the ground and trampled underfoot.
Heartbroken at the sight, Lianqiao struggled to stand up and intervene, only to be struck squarely on the head and shoulders by a box of herbs thrown in her direction. Tears streamed down her face from the pain.
“Lianqiao, are you hurt?!” Ji Yu brushed the scattered herbs from her hair and wiped her cheeks. “Stay back here where it’s safe. I will handle this.”
After moving Lianqiao to a relatively sheltered corner, Ji Yu turned around and fixed the intruders with a fierce, icy glare. The three men continued their destruction with great enthusiasm, while Housekeeper Huang stood by watching, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.
When Ji Yu saw a superbly shaped glossy ganoderma thrown down onto the floor, she moved quickly to retrieve it. Anticipating her intention, Huang Quan raised his foot and stepped heavily onto the plant right in front of her eyes, grinding it back and forth viciously until it was reduced to nothing but fine crumbs.
Seeing the look of malicious triumph on his face, Ji Yu laughed sharply in anger. The sound of her laughter stung Huang Quan, and he stamped his foot down on the remains even harder until nothing recognizable was left, before finally letting out a satisfied smirk.
“Housekeeper Huang,” Ji Yu said calmly, “are you not afraid that I will report this to the authorities?”
“You owe our master three hundred taels of silver—even destroying this entire pharmacy would not be enough to repay your debt. Report us to the officials? Do you really think that will do you any good?” Huang Quan replied with a smug grin.
“Is that so?” Ji Yu let out a cold laugh. “This pharmacy stands in South Market, the busiest district in Qingzhou, right at its very heart—it is a prime location indeed.”
“Master Du has long had his eye on this shop. He once offered to let me use it to settle the entire three hundred taels, though I refused at the time. If I were to agree to that arrangement now, what do you suppose he would think when he sees that you have turned such a fine establishment into complete ruin?”
“Hmph, so what if it’s ruined? It is nothing more than furniture and herbs—they can easily be replaced. Our master possesses great wealth; refitting an entire shop is no difficulty for him at all,” Huang Quan said dismissively.
Ji Yu’s eyes shifted, landing on Huang Quan’s feet, and she spoke in a slow, deliberate tone. “But what you just crushed under your foot was a thousand-year-old glossy ganoderma—the very treasure that Master Du has been trying to obtain from me for ages, without success.”
“What?!” Huang Quan jumped back in shock, staring down at the pile of crumbs. To anyone who did not know its true value, there was no way to tell that this had once been such a rare and precious herb.
His face turned pale and grim as he looked at Ji Yu, pointing at the mess on the floor. “Is this really a thousand-year-old specimen?”
Ji Yu nodded, folding her arms across her chest. She walked over to where he stood, glanced down at the remains, and clicked her tongue in mock regret. “Indeed it was. I had actually planned to give it to Master Du as a gift, in the hope that he might extend the deadline for my repayment. Who would have thought you would destroy it? I shall be paying a visit to the Du residence shortly to tell him exactly how this thousand-year-old treasure was turned to dust.”
With that, she turned and began walking toward the door.
Huang Quan shot a sharp glance at the three men, who immediately stopped what they were doing and rushed toward Ji Yu.
“Miss Yu! Watch out behind you!” Lianqiao cried out and tried to stand up again, only to cry out in pain as she realized she had twisted her ankle.
Hearing Lianqiao’s warning, Ji Yu stopped and turned around, looking coldly at the three men closing in on her. “Housekeeper Huang,” she said, her voice steady and unshaken, “are you really going to kidnap me here in broad daylight?”
Huang Quan stepped forward, the arrogant swagger gone from his posture and replaced by an awkward smile. “Miss Yu, you jest. We are law-abiding citizens—we would never commit such a crime. I simply wish to discuss a matter with you, that is all.”
“What could we possibly have left to discuss? I am on my way to inform Master Du how you destroyed a thousand-year-old glossy ganoderma.” Ji Yu placed special emphasis on the words “thousand-year-old.”
Huang Quan’s expression darkened further as he forced another smile. “There is still much we can talk about. I came here today at our master’s command to collect the debt. I assume you have not yet managed to gather the full three hundred taels?”
Ji Yu glanced at him sideways but said nothing, simply staring at him as if waiting for him to continue.
Seeing that there might still be room for negotiation, Huang Quan relaxed slightly and adopted a more earnest tone. “Since you originally intended to present this herb to our master to ask for more time to pay back what you owe, and now… well, now it has unfortunately been destroyed, it does not mean there is no way to make things right.”
Ji Yu raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And what solution do you have in mind?”
She looked at the pile of crumbs again and feigned surprise. “Surely you are not saying you have the power to restore a thousand-year-old herb to its original condition?”
Once again hearing the words “thousand-year-old,” Huang Quan’s face twisted with unease. He wiped the beads of sweat forming on his forehead and spoke nervously. “Of course not—once it is broken like this, there is no bringing it back. What I mean is this: I can persuade our master to give you another half month to gather the money.”
“Only half a month?” Ji Yu remained unmoved. “This was a thousand-year-old treasure—do you think it is worth no more than an extra two weeks?”
“Then… one month?” Huang Quan asked tentatively.
“In that case, I am grateful for your help, Housekeeper Huang.” Seeing that she had achieved exactly what she wanted, Ji Yu dropped her cold demeanor instantly, beaming brightly and bowing respectfully to him.
Huang Quan and his men left the pharmacy looking confused and suspicious, still unable to understand why Ji Yu had suddenly become so agreeable.
As soon as they were gone, Ji Yu hurried over to Lianqiao and helped her lie down comfortably on a soft couch.
“Ah… it hurts so much,” Lianqiao groaned through the pain.
Ji Yu removed her shoe and sock to examine the injury carefully. Seeing that the ankle was swollen and red, she determined that while it was not serious, the joint had been dislocated. She felt gently around the area and, with a quick, precise movement, pushed the bone back into place.
“Fortunately, it is nothing too severe. You should rest here and avoid walking for the next few days—you do not need to come to the pharmacy for now,” Ji Yu said as she put her footwear back on.
“I cannot do that. I would never leave you here all alone. What if they come back and cause more trouble?” Lianqiao said anxiously.
“Trust me—they will not be returning anytime soon,” Ji Yu reassured her with a confident look.
“Very well then,” Lianqiao replied obediently.
Ever since the passing of their master, all the servants who worked at the pharmacy had left, leaving only Ji Yu and herself behind.
In the past, their master—who was also Ji Yu’s father—had been the heart and backbone of Jishitang. Now that responsibility had fallen to Ji Yu, and Lianqiao felt certain that as long as she was there, everything would eventually turn out well.
Ji Yu turned to the medicine cabinet to look for herbal ointment to reduce the swelling and promote healing. However, the cabinet had been completely ransacked; most of the ingredients had been emptied out, and many jars and bottles of prepared medicine lay shattered across the floor. It took her quite some time to find a single unbroken bottle of ordinary ointment tucked away in a corner.
Looking around at the destruction, Ji Yu felt a sharp pang of distress. These herbs and remedies represented a great deal of money, and more importantly, they were the means by which she earned her living. In their current state, she doubted she could even put together a complete prescription for a customer who came seeking treatment.
“Miss Yu,” Lianqiao suddenly asked, recalling what had just happened, “was that glossy ganoderma really a thousand years old?”
Ji Yu smiled with triumph. “Of course not. I made it all up to fool that fool. If it really had been that valuable, would I still be worrying about how to pay back a mere three hundred taels?”
She winked playfully, and Lianqiao responded by giving her a thumbs-up and laughing. “Miss Yu, you are truly the cleverest person I know!”
But as she laughed, the memory of their heavy debt returned to her mind. Although they had secured another month of grace, finding three hundred taels within that short time seemed an impossible task. Her smile faded, and her face clouded with worry. “But even so… how are we ever going to gather that much money in thirty days? And if we cannot pay it back when the time comes, Master Du has threatened to force you to marry his simple-minded son—what will we do then?”
“A month is still plenty of time. Nothing is impossible, and besides, I have already come up with a brilliant plan,” Ji Yu said with a mysterious smile.
“What plan?” Lianqiao asked eagerly.
“It is a secret for now,” Ji Yu replied with a grin.
Before long, the second male lead of the story—the Third Prince, Qi Yu—would be attacked by assassins. Severely wounded, he would fall into a deep pool and drift all the way from the imperial capital to Qingzhou, where a village girl would find him lying by the riverbank.
The girl would nurse him back to health, and out of gratitude for saving his life, he would reward her with one hundred taels of gold and a large, grand residence.
If she could find and rescue Qi Yu before that village girl did, then that gold and that house would belong to her instead.
Not only would she be able to pay off her debt completely, but the remaining money would also be enough to ensure that she, Lianqiao, and her mother could live comfortably and securely for the rest of their lives.
Having made up her mind, Ji Yu decided that she would go to the river outside the city the very next day and wait there for him to arrive.