Jiang Li boarded the carriage and headed for Immortal Valley, where Divine Doctor Bai lived.
She closed her eyes to rest, scenes from her past life flashing through her mind.
’It was my own foolishness, trusting the Yin Family so easily, that led to such a miserable death.’
BEEP. Host’s emotional fluctuations detected. To assist the host in completing the mission, the system is gifting one Miracle Pill!
After the voice sounded in her ear, Jiang Li also saw text appear before her eyes, detailing the effects of the Miracle Pill.
Anyone suffering from any illness would be instantly cured upon taking this pill, all ailments vanishing completely.
Jiang Li was skeptical. She had spent time with Divine Doctor Bai as a child and learned the basics of pharmacology. No such pill existed.
’But if it’s real—’
’It’s a shame there’s only one. If I could figure out how the pill is made, I might be able to help even more people.’
Suddenly, Jiang Li felt a weight in her sleeve. A small white porcelain bottle had appeared.
She uncorked it and took a sniff. Sure enough, it had the fragrance of medicinal herbs.
She placed the porcelain bottle back in her sleeve, her mind already made up.
Upon arriving at Divine Doctor Valley, Jiang Li alighted from her carriage and approached the attendant.
"I am the Eldest Young Madam of the Yin Family. This is a small token of our sincerity. We would like to invite the Divine Doctor to make a house call to treat the madam."
As Jiang Li spoke, Wangyou handed a wooden box containing ginseng to the attendant.
The attendant took the wooden box, opened it for a look, and his expression immediately soured.
The attendant had never heard of the Yin Family, but of all those who came seeking a house call from the Divine Doctor, which one didn’t bring precious medicinal herbs?
This was the first time someone had tried to invite the Divine Doctor for a house call with a mere five-year-old ginseng.
But the attendant didn’t say much. He just asked Jiang Li to wait while he took the wooden box inside to relay the message.
In the courtyard, an old man with a full head of white hair and a matching beard was air-drying medicinal herbs.
When he heard that the Yin Family had sent their Eldest Young Madam to request a house call to treat the madam, the old man was about to refuse, but then he realized something was off.
The old man looked at his apprentice beside him. "Shanglu, did the Jiang family’s girl marry into the Yin Family?"
The young man nodded and said with a smile, "Yes, Ali is the Eldest Young Madam of the Yin Family."
Divine Doctor Bai snorted coldly and gestured for the attendant to open the wooden box. He wanted to see what kind of treasure this girl would bring to ask him to treat her mother-in-law.
The wooden box opened, revealing the scrawny, withered ginseng inside. The air instantly fell silent.
After what seemed like a long time, the old man’s hearty laughter broke the silence.
"This girl isn’t so stupid after all. She didn’t just marry into the Yin Family and immediately start giving them her all."
Shanglu chimed in from the side, "Yes, Sister Ali has always been clever."
Divine Doctor Bai shot him a glance. "If she were truly clever, she wouldn’t have married into the Yin Family holding a spirit tablet. If Old Jiang knew his granddaughter married a spirit tablet, he’d be rolling in his grave."
"Sister Ali didn’t want to worry her family in the afterlife. It’s not easy for her to manage the Jiang family’s estate all by herself."
Divine Doctor Bai glanced at his worthless apprentice. "So now you realize it’s not easy for her? Where were you before?"
’He’d long since seen that his apprentice had feelings for that girl, Ali. Too bad he was such a block of wood, keeping all his feelings bottled up inside. You couldn’t get a word out of him.’
’Even if his apprentice was a block of wood, that’s still better than marrying a spirit tablet, isn’t it?’
The more Divine Doctor Bai thought about it, the angrier he got. He raised his hand and ordered the attendant, "Go throw this worthless ginseng out! If anyone from the Yin Family comes seeking an audience again, don’t even announce them. Just drive them away!"
’Hmph. In any case, he was driving away the Yin Family. If that girl was smart enough, she’d understand the meaning behind his words.’
’If she needed to see him, she just had to announce her identity as Miss Jiang.’
The attendant was still a bit bewildered. He clearly couldn’t figure out the Divine Doctor’s intentions.
’Didn’t he seem quite pleased just a moment ago? Why drive them away now?’
The attendant glanced quickly at Shanglu, thinking, ’As expected, only Brother Shang can grasp the Divine Doctor’s thoughts.’
A short while later, the attendant trotted out with the wooden box.
"Everyone, please leave."
The attendant was quite practiced at turning people away, as it was a frequent task.
Given Divine Doctor Bai’s reputation, the attendant didn’t even need to offer an explanation when refusing someone. He just had to return whatever medicinal herbs they had brought.
Jiang Li didn’t move.
’Divine Doctor Bai’s reaction was just as she had expected.’
’In her past life, she had paid out of her own pocket to present the Divine Doctor with two top-quality ginseng roots, but she hadn’t been granted a meeting then, either.’
’She knew that Divine Doctor Bai, who had practically watched her grow up, was displeased with her for marrying a spirit tablet.’
’To say he was displeased wasn’t quite right; it was more that his heart ached for her.’
Jiang Li’s heart softened as she remembered how, in her past life, Divine Doctor Bai had tried time and again to pull her out of that wolf’s den, the Yin Family.
But she had been the obstinate one, believing only what she wanted to believe, which angered Divine Doctor Bai so much that he took his apprentice and began to roam the world.
’She couldn’t bear to imagine how heartbroken Divine Doctor Bai must have been when he learned of her death from illness.’
Jiang Li called out to the attendant and handed him the white porcelain bottle from her sleeve.
"Please trouble yourself to deliver this bottle to the Divine Doctor. Just say it’s from Ali of the Jiang family, as a token of her respect for him."
The attendant was confused. ’Didn’t she just say she was the Eldest Young Madam of the Yin Family? How did she suddenly become Ali of the Jiang family?’
’But the name Jiang Li sounded so familiar.’
Even as dense as the attendant was, he realized what was going on.
He remembered Brother Shang mentioning the name Jiang Li before. She was said to be a girl with a great talent for pharmacology.
But later, she had to manage her family’s affairs and oversee their shop businesses, so she had no choice but to give up studying medicine.
Even the Divine Doctor had mentioned it several times, always expressing his regret that Jiang Li was unable to study medicine.
The attendant finally understood why the Divine Doctor and Brother Shang had reacted the way they did earlier.
Not daring to delay, the attendant quickly took the porcelain bottle from Jiang Li and went inside.
Outside the courtyard, Jiang Li didn’t linger. She boarded her carriage and left.
’She was too ashamed to face Grandpa Bai. In her past life, she had been unable to see people’s true hearts and had viewed the Yin Family as her final refuge.’
’Her miserable end was the fault of that house full of ungrateful wolves in the Yin Family, but it was also her own fault for being a poor judge of character.’
’You don’t always get a second chance when you make a mistake. Jiang Li cherished this opportunity of rebirth immensely.’
’She was avoiding Grandpa Bai for now, partly to prevent word of today’s events from spreading.’
’She couldn’t let the Yin Family know about her relationship with Grandpa Bai. Otherwise, she would never be able to leave them.’
In the courtyard, the attendant delivered the porcelain bottle, explaining that it was from Jiang Li.
A smile appeared on Divine Doctor Bai’s wrinkled face. "My worrying about this child wasn’t in vain after all."
Divine Doctor Bai uncorked the bottle. The scent of herbs that wafted out instantly energized him.
He had worked with medicinal herbs for decades; most of the time, a single sniff was enough to identify all the ingredients.
’But this time, he couldn’t identify a single herb in the bottle?’
’It seems the Jiang family’s girl wants him to study it?’
Divine Doctor Bai called Shanglu over, and they began to study the pill’s composition.
On the way back, Jiang Li went to the dye workshop to meet with Ren Dong and her nanny.
’To get the Yin Family to agree to a divorce, she needed to hide all her capabilities. All of the Jiang family’s shops and workshops had to be shut down.’
"Ren Dong, in a few days, give the staff some time off. Tell the public that we’re closing for a few days to rest. Then, secretly have someone spread a rumor that the Jiang family’s businesses are poorly managed and might not be able to stay open."