Qin E’s face turned pale, her chest rising and falling uncontrollably.
She looked at the girl in front of her—who appeared obedient and harmless—and only felt she was deliberately provoking her.
After forcing herself to calm down, she asked in a low voice, “Did you tell your Uncle Fu about what happened this afternoon?”
“Nope,” Su Wan Yin replied lightly. “Aunt Qin, why would you think that?”
Her fox-like eyes were full of innocent confusion as she looked at her, the corners of her lips lifting just right—enough that Qin E couldn’t tell whether she was telling the truth.
And that uncertainty only made Qin E even more irritated.
“Tell me the truth.”
Su Wan Yin looked at her flushed, almost livid face and replied honestly, “I am telling the truth.”
“You—”
Before Qin E could continue, footsteps in military boots came from upstairs. She had no choice but to stop, watching as Su Wan Yin walked into the kitchen.
……
Meanwhile.
Huo Wei returned to the shop carrying bags of medicine.
He scanned the room but only saw his superior and the old doctor. Confused, he asked, “Huh? Where’s Comrade Su?”
Fu Shi Mo was sitting on the bamboo chair where Su Wan Yin had just lain. He lazily lifted his eyelids and looked at him.
“She went back to the Fu residence. What is it?”
Huo Wei stiffened and quickly shook his head. “No—nothing, nothing at all.”
Fu Shi Mo frowned slightly at his guilty expression, remembering the abnormal flush on his face earlier. He asked calmly, “What did you talk about just now?”
At that moment, Huo Wei visibly tensed again. His usually steady face actually flushed red in an odd way.
After a pause, he looked away awkwardly. “Nothing much…”
“Speak.” Fu Shi Mo’s voice turned colder.
Seeing that his superior insisted, Huo Wei nervously rubbed his hands against his pants and stammered, “It… it’s just that Comrade Su asked me if I have… someone I like…”
The moment he finished speaking, Fu Shi Mo’s brows instantly locked into a deep frown. His dark eyes turned icy.
“Why would she ask you that?”
“I don’t know,” Huo Wei replied honestly, still unaware of the shift in atmosphere. His face even showed a hint of embarrassment as he muttered, “Could it be… that Comrade Su likes me?”
In an instant, the temperature in the room dropped sharply.
Huo Wei finally looked up—and met Fu Shi Mo’s dark, oppressive gaze.
A chill shot up his spine.
He hurriedly corrected himself, “Or… or maybe I’m overthinking it. Comrade Su was just being polite…”
“Just being polite?” Fu Shi Mo repeated coldly, the corners of his lips curling into a faint, emotionless smile.
“Go back and copy How the Steel Was Tempered three times.”
What?
Huo Wei’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Commander, can you not make me copy books? I’d rather run laps or do pull-ups!”
“No.” Fu Shi Mo replied flatly.
Without another glance at him, he turned and left.
Leaving Huo Wei completely stunned in place.
……
That night, after dinner, Su Wan Yin finished washing up and entered her space.
This time, she had only sold a small portion of the herbs she picked earlier on the mountain and those bought from the black-market old man.
As for the unfamiliar herbs planted in the black soil, she had asked Old Doctor Chen about them earlier, but he couldn’t identify them, so she temporarily didn’t take them out to sell.
After organizing the matured herbs, her gaze accidentally fell on the locked room.
It felt… looser than before.
She walked over and tried turning it, but it still wouldn’t open. Instead, she noticed a book lying on the ground.
She picked it up and saw the cover:
The Secret Classic of the Lingshu
Just from the title, she knew it was a medical text.
She opened it—and her eyes lit up.
Without realizing it, she read until midnight.
The next morning, she woke up holding the book.
Carefully, she placed it back into the space and went downstairs after washing up.
Fu Aiguo had already gone to the military district. Only Qin E and her daughter were at the dining table.
As soon as Su Wan Yin sat down, she clearly noticed Qin E’s gloomy expression.
She glanced at Fu Ya, who looked aggrieved and sulky, and immediately understood—she must have been scolded by her father last night.
Su Wan Yin ate quickly, planning to head to the pharmacy for her apprenticeship.
Just as she put down her chopsticks, Qin E suddenly spoke.
“Wan Yin, since you just arrived, Auntie should take you out to relax.”
“There’s a dance party tomorrow. You’ll come with us.”
Su Wan Yin immediately thought of the dance Feng Wan had mentioned yesterday and nodded without much hesitation.
A dance party was good—it would help her quickly enter high society circles.
Seeing how readily she agreed, Qin E and Fu Ya both looked down on her.
As expected of a country girl with no experience—she really dared to go.
“Dress appropriately that day. Don’t let others think we mistreat you,” Qin E said meaningfully.
“Okay.” Su Wan Yin nodded casually.
She had attended countless high-end dances in her previous life; this would be easy.
The only problem was putting together a decent outfit with very little money.
After leaving a brief explanation, she went out.
As soon as her figure disappeared, Fu Ya angrily slammed her chopsticks down.
“Mom, why are you really bringing her? Isn’t that embarrassing for our family?”
“Fu Ya, mind your manners,” Qin E said lightly.
Fu Ya stiffened and reluctantly picked up her chopsticks again, still fuming.
“Wild chickens should go where they belong. Once she realizes she doesn’t fit in here, she’ll leave herself.”
Qin E looked toward the door, her phoenix eyes flashing with calculation.
Last night, when she tried to probe her husband, she was scolded harshly instead.
Every word criticized her manners, character, and conduct, even telling her to write a self-criticism.
She had been furious.
Fu Aiguo hadn’t scolded her like that in years.
This time, she would make sure he saw just how embarrassing and unworthy this girl really was.
……
Su Wan Yin took the bus to the pharmacy and arrived much faster than before.
As soon as she reached the entrance, she noticed the shop was livelier than yesterday.
Old Doctor Chen was already seeing patients, with four or five people lining up.
“How much longer?” someone at the back complained, sweating heavily from the heat.