After breakfast the next day, Ye Ningxin took the fleeceflower root she had dug up the day before to the market. After walking around for a bit, she found the largest-looking pharmacy and went inside.
The shop assistant was very diligent and immediately came over to greet her. “Miss, are you here to see a doctor or to get medicine?”
Ye Ningxin replied, “Neither.”
The assistant was taken aback. “Then what brings you here, Miss?”
Ye Ningxin said, “I dug up a fleeceflower root and would like the shopkeeper to take a look and tell me how much it’s worth.”
The assistant glanced into Ye Ningxin’s basket, made a mental note, and went to the back to fetch the owner.
Outside the pharmacy, several children were playing a chasing game. One of them was munching on a large pear as he ran. Watching them play carefree, Ye Ningxin couldn’t help but sigh at how free children in ancient times were, without so much homework to do.
Suddenly and without warning, the child who had been eating the pear knelt on the ground, clutching his throat, his face flushed and contorted in pain.
Just as the shopkeeper emerged from the back, he witnessed this scene. “Rong’er!” he cried out in alarm, rushing toward the child.
Ye Ningxin also stood up. The child must have choked on the pear.
People in ancient times knew nothing about the Heimlich maneuver, and this shopkeeper clearly had no effective first-aid measures. Watching him sweat profusely in panic, only patting the child’s back, Ye Ningxin couldn’t stand it any longer. She pushed the shopkeeper aside, picked up the child, made a fist with one hand, and quickly thrust it into his abdomen. Soon, the child coughed up the lodged piece of pear and sat on the ground, wailing loudly.
When he was first pushed aside, the shopkeeper had been about to lose his temper, but seeing the child saved, his attitude immediately changed. He instructed the assistant to take the child to the backyard to find his mother, then struck up a conversation with Ye Ningxin.
The shopkeeper said, “Thank you, Miss, for saving my son. May I ask which renowned physician you studied under? And how should I address you?”
Ye Ningxin replied, “No need for formalities, Shopkeeper. My surname is Ye. I learned a few techniques from a traveling physician who passed through here, but I never formally studied under any famous doctor.” She would have liked to mention her adoptive father’s name, but no one would recognize it anyway.
The shopkeeper said, “I’ve practiced medicine for many years, but I’ve never seen such a life-saving technique before. What is it called?” As he spoke, he mimicked Ye Ningxin’s earlier movements.
“Well…” Ye Ningxin thought for a moment. “It’s called the Heimlich method,” she decided to give the abbreviated name.
“Heimlich? Heimlich…” The name was truly novel, and the shopkeeper repeated it several times.
“Would you mind teaching me this life-saving method, Miss? I’m willing to pay you some silver as compensation.” The shopkeeper seemed quite passionate about medicine, eager to learn anything he didn’t already know.
“You’re too kind, Shopkeeper. It’s really nothing major,” Ye Ningxin said cheerfully.
So she patiently demonstrated the Heimlich maneuver step by step.
Having just witnessed the miraculous effects of this first-aid technique, the shopkeeper had no doubts and learned it meticulously, replicating every detail perfectly.
After learning it, he became enthusiastic and insisted on having his wife come out to thank Miss Ye.
As it turned out, women were more attuned to gossip. When the shopkeeper’s wife came out, she realized this wasn’t just any “Miss Ye”—it was clearly the Princess Consort of the deposed Prince!
Her figure and appearance were unmistakable.
“Thank you, Princess Consort, for saving my son!” Although she had never heard that this Princess Consort knew any medical skills, rumors from the streets were always a mix of truth and falsehood. Mrs. Qian preferred to believe what she had seen with her own eyes.
“Miss, did you come this time because someone in your family is ill?” Mrs. Qian asked with concern.
Hearing this, Shopkeeper Qian slapped his forehead. “I was so overjoyed I forgot. The assistant said Miss Ye came to sell medicinal herbs.”
“My husband is obsessed with medicine. When he encounters novel medical techniques, he can’t rest until he learns them. We’ve been neglectful of you, Princess Consort.”
“Not at all, Mrs. Qian, there’s no need to be so polite. Treating illnesses and saving lives is a doctor’s duty. If all medical practitioners were like Shopkeeper Qian, it would be a blessing for the people.” As a fellow practitioner, Ye Ningxin genuinely admired Shopkeeper Qian’s studious attitude.
“The medicinal herb you mentioned must be this one, right?” Mrs. Qian pointed to the fleeceflower root in the basket.
“Indeed. This is my first time digging for medicinal herbs, so I’d appreciate Shopkeeper Qian giving me a price.”
“How about 50 taels of silver?” Mrs. Qian offered readily.
With his wife speaking up, Shopkeeper Qian dared not say more and repeatedly agreed.
However, Ye Ningxin knew this price was too high—absurdly so. After shopping at the market these past few days, she had gained some understanding of local prices. For an ordinary well-off family, 20 taels of silver was enough for a year’s expenses, and 100 taels could buy a fertile plot of land.
Her fleeceflower root was not of particularly fine quality.
“In business, let’s speak plainly. There’s no need for the two of you to be overly polite to me. I know you both want to express your gratitude, but the herb should be priced at its true value. In the future, if I find more on the mountain, I’ll bring them here to sell. Would Shopkeeper Qian offer such a high price every time?”
Shopkeeper Qian: “Well…”
Seeing that he still hesitated to name a price, Ye Ningxin spoke again. “Then may I ask, Shopkeeper Qian, how much would such a fleeceflower root sell for in your pharmacy?”
This question was easier to answer. The shopkeeper examined it carefully and said, “For a fleeceflower root of similar size, after drying and processing in my pharmacy, it would typically sell for around 10 taels of silver.”
Ye Ningxin: “In that case, pay me 8 taels. In the future, if I have good medicinal herbs, I’ll sell them all to Shopkeeper Qian, and I hope you’ll give me a fair price.”
Shopkeeper Qian: “Certainly, certainly.”
Ye Ningxin knew that after this interaction, Shopkeeper Qian would not drive too hard a bargain for any herbs she dug up in the future.
Mrs. Qian had wanted to invite Ye Ningxin to stay for a meal, but Ye Ningxin was not accustomed to dining at others’ homes. Besides, having taken the Weight-Loss Pills in the morning, she still didn’t feel hungry, so she politely declined.
She bought two fish, some mustard greens and bamboo shoots at the market, then picked up a steamer of hot buns from the bun shop. Ye Ningxin then found Zhao Zhiping, who had given her a ride last time, and headed home.
“Princess Consort, you’re back at the market buying things so soon,” Zhao Zhiping greeted her warmly.
Ye Ningxin: “Yes, I came to get a few more things.”
In Zhao Zhiping’s eyes, aside from her figure matching the rumors, nothing else about this Princess Consort aligned with the tales.
Moreover, if the Prince’s household was truly as impoverished as the rumors claimed, how could the Princess Consort possibly visit the market so frequently?
Ye Ningxin’s gambler father shared the same sentiment. Ever since his humiliation at the market last time, he had been nursing a grudge.
In the past, the married Ye Ningxin was like a money tree in his household—whenever he needed cash, he could just shake it and something would fall out.
But now, not only had this money tree turned into an iron tree, but this iron tree had also learned to fight back. Ye Dacheng wished he could uproot it entirely.
Today at the market, Ye Dacheng saw Ye Ningxin buying groceries again. “That wretched girl, living the high life herself while leaving her old man to fend for himself. I’ll strip her of every last penny!”