“Your Sister Jiang is very clever. She can deduce many things from small clues. Don’t try to play petty tricks in front of her, understand?” Lu Da said with a serious expression. “You don’t want to cause trouble for your Sister Jiang, do you?”
Lu Mingzhu shook her head. “I don’t. I’ll be more careful from now on.”
Lu Da nodded and told her to go rest.
Lu Mingzhu acknowledged and obediently went back to lie down.
After changing clothes, Jiang A Yao finally understood the meaning behind Lu Mingzhu’s words about “not regretting anything that keeps you warm” as she walked along the road.
The weather had actually turned quite cold these past two days. Without proper clothing, she could only endure wearing thin garments, feeling the biting chill of the cold wind whenever she went outside.
But now, she didn’t feel cold at all.
When the breeze blew, only her face felt slightly cool – her body remained completely warm. In just these few short days here, she had finally deeply understood what it meant to be well-fed and properly clothed, and truly experienced the feeling of “being alive.”
Returning to the courtyard, Lao Jin happened to run into Jiang A Yao. Without looking carefully, he immediately asked, “Where did this woman come from?” His tone was quite impatient, mistakenly thinking Jiang A Yao had been kidnapped by his subordinates.
A Long reminded him, “This is Miss Jiang.”
“Miss Jiang?”
By this time, Lao Jin had actually recognized her. He looked at Jiang A Yao with some surprise. “Miss Jiang, changing your clothes has made you look like a completely different person.” And quite pretty at that.
Jiang A Yao glanced at him, not wanting to discuss clothing with him, and retorted directly, “Do you still want me to treat your lord’s injury or not?”
Lao Jin paused, then quickly nodded. “Yes, of course we do.” After speaking, he immediately stepped aside to make way for her.
Jiang A Yao walked in without saying more to him.
Somewhat surprised, Lao Jin didn’t immediately follow her in. Instead, he patted A Long’s shoulder and asked curiously, “Hey, why is this girl’s temper getting fiercer? On the first day she was as frightened as a mouse seeing a cat, but now she’s almost like a tiger?”
A Long said, “Miss Jiang has skills. Since she can treat the lord’s injury, she naturally has reason to be proud.”
Lao Jin said dismissively, “There are plenty of people who can treat injuries.”
A Long smiled. “Jin Tou, in the years we’ve been following the lord, we’ve used many physicians big and small, but this is the first time we’ve encountered a female physician, right?”
Lao Jin nodded. “That’s true.” If there had been other options at the time, he definitely wouldn’t have chosen this Miss Jiang. But unexpectedly, her medical skills were actually quite good.
“Since Miss Jiang is so capable, what’s wrong with her having some temper?”
A Long continued, “My mother makes excellent pancakes that our whole family loves to eat. But since our family is all men, we eat too quickly. When my mother can’t keep up with making them, her temper becomes quite fierce too – anyone who talks to her gets scolded, and might even get hit with a rolling pin.”
“The same principle applies to Miss Jiang!”
Lao Jin thought about it carefully and it seemed to make sense, but soon realized something and grabbed A Long’s arm. “Are you making fun of me, kid? You’re your mother’s son, so it’s natural for your mother to hit you. But I’m not Miss Jiang’s descendant, what same principle are you talking about?”
“Jin Tou, let go, let go…”
A Long’s face was contorted in pain. “Head, I haven’t finished what I was saying earlier… Please let go quickly…”
Lao Jin glared at him with a stern face. “What? You still haven’t had enough of messing with me?”
A Long quickly shook his head. “No, I have an idea.”
“What idea?”
Lao Jin grabbed him and pulled him closer. “Speak quickly. If you don’t get to the point, I’ll beat you up.”
“Boss, I’ve been observing Miss Jiang these past couple of days. She’s a good person, knows how to cook, and has medical skills. Our lord’s injury is severe. Even if we go to town in two days to recuperate for a while, it won’t be for long. We’ll still have to continue traveling afterward.”
A Long whispered, “How about we take Miss Jiang with us?”
Hearing this, Lao Jin gave him a sharp knock on the head. “Miss Jiang has a home. Haven’t you seen how closely her husband watches over her? How dare you scheme against her?”
“We’re officials, not bandits. Our master won’t allow us to resort to kidnapping.”
A Long said aggrievedly, “I didn’t mean kidnapping. We can pay her. Once our lord safely reaches his destination, we can send Miss Jiang back. Isn’t that fine?”
Lao Jin snorted. “She might not agree. If it really doesn’t work, we can find a doctor in town to accompany us and pay them instead.”
A Long added, “But there aren’t many doctors who can cook. Miss Jiang’s cooking is so fragrant—even our lord is thinking about it.”
Hearing this, Lao Jin said with a sense of pride, “You’re not wrong. The chicken she stewed last time was delicious too.”
Seeing that there was a chance, A Long continued, “Then let’s discuss it with Miss Jiang. Since we need to handle household registration anyway, what difference does it make where she lives? Why stay in this poor ravine with no future?”
“You make it sound so simple.”
Although Lao Jin said this, he didn’t explicitly object anymore. “Alright, I’ll think about how to handle this.”
After saying that, he sent A Long off to do other tasks and entered the room himself.
At that moment, Jiang A Yao had finished checking the medicine pot, added more firewood, and went back to the kitchen to work.
As soon as Lao Jin stepped inside, he instantly felt that A Long’s idea made perfect sense.
If this could be arranged, their master would benefit greatly.
…
Jiang A Yao quickly finished preparing the meal. Today, she had added meat, making shredded pork noodles. As usual, she set aside a large portion for Lu Mingzhu.
The man finished his medicine before eating. The moment the bitter taste in his mouth was replaced by the savory noodles, his taste buds seemed to bloom anew.
He couldn’t help but praise her again, “Miss Jiang, your cooking skills are truly excellent.”
Jiang A Yao replied indifferently, “It’s just ordinary home-cooked food.”
It was only because the land here was too barren. Everyone was focused on filling their stomachs and had no leisure to explore delicious food, let alone access to abundant ingredients for seasoning.
The man thought she was being modest. If her ordinary home-cooked food was this delicious, her other dishes must be even better.
After completing her tasks, Jiang A Yao sat in a corner, avoiding unnecessary movement.
Although the men claimed to be officials and had been courteous so far, she never forgot that she was surrounded by men in their prime.
The evening proceeded as usual. But just as Jiang A Yao was preparing to rest in the corner, Lao Jin, seeing that his master had fallen asleep, approached her and whispered, “Miss Jiang, come out for a moment. I have something to discuss with you.”
Jiang A Yao didn’t understand why but stood up nonetheless. Before stepping out, she quietly slipped a sharp wooden hairpin into her hand.
Lu Mingzhu had styled her hair with two wooden hairpins for aesthetic appeal, so removing one wouldn’t affect it in the slightest.
By now, the sky outside had completely darkened.
There were only a few people left in the courtyard, likely having dispersed elsewhere.
She lifted her gaze to Lao Jin, a trace of puzzlement in her tone, “What did you want to tell me?”
Lao Jin looked at her and pleaded, “Miss Jiang, my request might be somewhat presumptuous, but could you agree to it?”
Hearing this, Jiang A Yao’s vigilance instantly heightened. Her hand, hidden behind her back, tightly gripped the hairpin, ready to strike at any moment.