When Qiang Ning followed Lin Dongruan to the medical clinic, a wave of panic inevitably rose in her heart. It wasn’t that she lacked courage, but she was always more cautious when facing Lin Dongruan.
Song Luo was standing at the entrance of the clinic. As Qiang Ning stepped inside, she slightly shifted her gaze and gave him a look—
The Princess’s signals were something Song Luo could always capture quickly. He immediately nodded with humility and moved away silently.
“Sister, I was peeling them under the grape trellis in the back room at the time. I left the pits there too; I’m not sure if they’ve been thrown away,” Qiang Ning lied casually, knowing that Song Luo would help smooth over the story later anyway.
Lin Dongruan suddenly stopped walking when she reached the main hall, looking toward Song Luo as he headed upstairs. “Why is the shopkeeper going upstairs?”
By her appearance, it seemed she had business with Song Luo and intended to follow him up.
Upstairs, there were numerous unprocessed litchi pits and shells.
The smile on Qiang Ning’s face froze. She asked, “Sister, aren’t we supposed to go get the pits?”
“Wait a moment.” Lin Dongruan didn’t seem to put all her focus on that matter. She said, “I have some things to ask the shopkeeper. A-Ning, wait downstairs with Ruoruo for me.”
An inexplicable trace of displeasure grew in Qiang Ning’s heart. She had always accompanied Lin Dongruan everywhere, inseparable—since when did the other woman start intentionally avoiding her?
What was there that she couldn’t listen to?
As she watched Lin Dongruan go upstairs, a hint of darkness flickered in Qiang Ning’s eyes. Her fingers gripped her palms tightly; things seemed to be spiraling out of control. She suspected Lin Dongruan knew something; otherwise, why didn’t she follow what she had said and go upstairs instead?
“Shopkeeper Song, please wait.” Lin Dongruan called out to Song Luo midway and followed him upstairs.
Song Luo rested his left arm slightly in front of him, a string of beads hanging loosely from his wrist, maintaining a naturally relaxed and leisurely posture. “Physician Lin, please speak.”
Lin Dongruan asked, “Who sent the litchis today?”
“Oh, you mean that. The litchis were a gift of gratitude from Ji Song. That day he came for medicine, and he recovered fully within three days of returning. It just so happened that a friend recently sent a lot of litchis to his home, so he brought some for you to taste while they were fresh.” Song Luo clapped his hands and sighed, “No wonder Ji Song can be the head of the gentry in our Wusang Town; his conduct is simply beyond reproach!”
Having received an answer consistent with Qiang Ning’s, the worry on Lin Dongruan’s brow still did not fade. She asked again, “Has my A-Ning been busy with something lately? I feel like she often stays at the clinic for a very long time.”
“So, Physician Lin is worried about her A-Ning.” Song Luo showed an expression of sudden realization. “A few days ago, Physician Lin was worried about something and occasionally didn’t come to the clinic. Miss Ning was also worried for you, so she offered to stay and help at the clinic out of the goodness of her heart to ease your burdens. Thus, over these past few days, when recovered patients came to the clinic, it was Miss Ning who conversed with them and gave them instructions.”
Lin Dongruan’s expression softened slightly, and she paused hesitantly.
“By the way, Physician Lin.” Song Luo happened to reach a room on the second floor. He pushed open the door and made a “please enter” gesture to Lin Dongruan, smiling. “Those litchi pits Miss Ning mentioned to you—I’ve collected them. At the time, I thought such things were rare; though I didn’t know if they could specifically be used for medicine, I kept them just in case. I came upstairs just now specifically to get them for you.”
A-Ning told her they were under the grape trellis, and now the shopkeeper had already helped tidy them up; this was within the realm of common sense, yet there was a sense of dissonance in the whole affair. Lin Dongruan couldn’t pinpoint the strangeness in her heart, but she couldn’t refute it either.
Song Luo picked up the wrapped pits from the table and handed them to her. “These are all of them, Physician Lin.”
Lin Dongruan took them and found nothing amiss. After a moment of thought, she spoke again: “Has Gentry Ji’s illness completely recovered? By my count, he should still come for one more visit. This time the prescription needs to be changed to a gentler method of nourishment.”
Song Luo smiled easily. “He should be completely recovered.”
“Should?” Lin Dongruan subconsciously repeated his words, asking, “Shopkeeper Song, speaking of which, you don’t understand pharmacology at all—how did you take over this medical clinic?”
Song Luo’s smile vanished.
When Lin Dongruan was about to go to the home of the gentry Ji Song, Qiang Ning insisted on coming along. Lin Dongruan couldn’t win the argument and could only agree.
Qiang Ning asked, “Sister, why not wait for him to come to the clinic himself? Why do you have to go in person?”
“His illness hasn’t been uprooted. Although he feels better now, it’s just a temporary peace.” Lin Dongruan shouldered her medicine box and explained, “Some patients are disobedient; once they feel the pain is gone, they ignore the follow-up medication.”
Qiang Ning snatched the medicine box, insisting on carrying it for her. “Sister, you didn’t say that to other patients before. You used to say: ‘As a doctor, one shouldn’t interfere too much; even a good doctor can’t persuade everyone in the world. Life and death are fated, and being appropriately cold-hearted is no big deal.’ Those were your original words.”
So, what exception could the minor gentry Ji Song possibly be?
The reason Lin Dongruan was personally going to the gentry’s home with her medicine box was solely to confirm whether those litchis truly came from the gentry’s hands.
Qiang Ning’s words were light, and her steps were brisk. She followed Lin Dongruan with the medicine box, chatting happily while the haze in her heart grew increasingly wild.
She thought: Lin Dongruan, oh Lin Dongruan, just how much do you distrust me that you would labor yourself to come here personally?
Once the seed of suspicion is planted, it will inevitably grow in the heart. She really didn’t know how to keep masking it so that Lin Dongruan’s trust in her would remain as it once was.
“…Sister, you mean Shopkeeper Song? I’ve heard the story he told you today too, hahaha. It really is quite absurd—a man who knows nothing of pharmacology taking over a medical clinic.”
Qiang Ning laughed and teased.
Lin Dongruan’s expression suddenly became stern and cold. “A-Ning, you lied again. The reason Shopkeeper Song told me was not the one in this story. For such a small matter, why would you follow the lead to deceive me?”
Qiang Ning’s expression froze, her lips parting slightly with a delayed reaction. “What? Sister, what are you talking about? It was that reason, wasn’t it? Did you misremember it? There’s no way I could have remembered it wrong.”
The two stood facing each other. For a long time afterward, neither spoke.
Seeing that Qiang Ning still wore that innocent and curious expression, Lin Dongruan gradually dropped her stern, scrutinizing look.
She said, “I apologize. It was Sister who remembered incorrectly.”
Qiang Ning laughed loudly. “See, I knew I didn’t remember it wrong. I didn’t lie.”
Lin Dongruan couldn’t bring herself to smile. She just silently took the medicine box back from her shoulder and walked forward a few steps alone.
Qiang Ning followed her, staring at the shadow on the ground. A curve tilted at the corner of her mouth, her eyes filled not just with indifference, but with mockery—she realized Lin Dongruan had been baiting her. The reason was definitely that reason; Song Luo had coordinated the story with her beforehand, and she knew it as soon as she heard it. It seemed Lin Dongruan wasn’t just suspicious of her this time, but even of Song Luo as well. It was just a failed probe; she hadn’t managed to test out anything useful.
“Lin Dongruan.”
Qiang Ning mouthed the name silently, reaching out to grasp Lin Dongruan’s shadow on the ground.
Lin Dongruan, you’d better be a little more obedient and stop probing.
Otherwise, I can’t guarantee what I might do when the time comes.
“Knock, knock-knock-knock.”
Four dull knocks sounded at the gentry’s door.
“Coming—”
The person inside responded quickly, hurrying to open the door with a limping gait.