Nan Xun was heartbroken. “Oh, Young General, be careful! You haven’t finished drinking the medicine yet! This medicine is expensive! Twenty taels! A single bottle can sell for twenty taels outside!”
“The Commandery Princess used three bottles of that medicine on you last night—that’s sixty taels of gold! Young General, your backside really is made of gold now…”
Yan Du stared at him, his face as cold as carved jade. He enunciated every word heavily. “What? The medicine can be applied externally and taken internally?”
“Yes, the Commandery Princess gave me several bottles and told me to use them on you, General. Every one of these is worth gold!” Nan Xun sighed, then suddenly let out an “Oh,” took out a gold ingot, and held it out.
“This is the money from the medicine the Commandery Princess sold today. She told me to give it to you, General. She said it was… cough, rent.”
Yan Du pressed his lips together even more tightly.
He took the gold ingot, gripping it so hard that it nearly bent out of shape.
“Young General, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going down now.”
“Wait.” Yan Du spoke. “Go to the accounting office and reimburse her for the medicine at market price.”
“Ah?” Nan Xun looked troubled. “The Commandery Princess gave the medicine to you as a token of her feelings. If you give her money, won’t you be pushing her away a little…”
“I told you to go. Go.”
Yan Du knew that Sanqi wanted to “repay” him, but if anyone ought to repay the other, it should have been him repaying her.
He had also failed to consider things properly. The rewards Imperial Uncle had given her might look splendid, but they could only be put on display. She had left the Yu Family alone, so she must have been short of money. Otherwise, why would she have gone to sell medicine?
But since she had chosen to make her own way in the outside world and had not come to him with her difficulties, she clearly did not want to “trouble” him again.
He did not want her to feel as though she were living under someone else’s roof or owed him anything.
Since that was the case, he would buy the medicine from her. As she had said, they would conduct a clean transaction, with goods delivered and payment made.
That way… it shouldn’t count as him helping her, right? The medicine was so effective that even Baochun Hall wanted it desperately. If anything, he was the one getting the better deal.
“There’s something else.” The Young General lowered his lashes and said as if it were an offhand remark, “She has already severed ties with the Yu Family. That childhood betrothal is nothing more than empty talk. Don’t mention it again in the future.”
Nan Xun said, “That’s hard to say. What if the Heir of the Boyuan Marquis’s Residence wants to marry her? More importantly, this isn’t something you get to decide, General.”
Yan Du closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. “Get out. Run fifty laps around the residence!”
Nan Xun felt as if the sky had collapsed. Why?!
Nan Xun was not the only one who felt that way. The moment Yu Tang returned to the Yu Family, she wanted to run to Eldest Brother, Second Brother, and her mother to complain about her grievances. But the servants told her that Chu Yuebai had sent a manservant over, and he had been waiting for her the entire time.
Yu Tang wanted to faint on the spot. All she could do was fob him off by saying that the new medicine was already being prepared and would be ready in a few more days.
After returning to her own courtyard, Yu Tang kept only Moxiang behind and said urgently, “Moxiang, find someone unfamiliar to make a trip to Baochun Hall and inquire about that medicine.”
“Yu Sanqi must have gone to sell medicine. That’s the only thing she has going for her.”
Moxiang agreed, then added, “That sharp-tongued boy who followed Third Miss today looked like he was from Young General Yan’s residence. Fourth Miss, I truly feel it’s unfair to you. You’re clearly Young General Yan’s savior, so how can he be so blind to right and wrong and help Third Miss instead?”
Yu Tang was puzzled too. Who knew how Yu Sanqi had come to know Yan Du?
But she had no energy to worry about that now. She had to get the medicine first. Afterward, she would definitely make Yu Sanqi pay.
Yu Tang waited anxiously, and Moxiang soon returned with the results.
The good news was that Sanqi really had gone to sell the medicine.
The bad news was that she refused to sell it to the Yu Family or the Boyuan Marquis’s Residence.
Yu Tang ground her teeth in hatred. But she had no choice but to buy it, so she made Moxiang find someone else. They had to bring that medicine back.
Beset by worries, Yu Tang developed fever blisters around her mouth. She did not notice that over the past few days, whenever she opened her mouth to speak, the servants around her all wore strange expressions.
Only after she closed her mouth did the people nearby dare to breathe.
Another two days passed. Yu Tang did not receive the medicine Moxiang was supposed to buy, but she did receive a visit from Chu Yuebai.
The moment he saw her, Chu Yuebai said, “Sister Tang, do you know that Yu Sanqi is selling medicine at Baochun Hall? It’s the very medicine you gave the Old Madam.”
Yu Tang’s suspended heart finally died.
She lowered her head and began to cry. Sobbing, she said, “I originally didn’t want to tell Brother Yuebai, but Third Elder Sister… she… she stole my prescription… Sob…”
The moment Yu Tang said this, a sharp pain pierced her throat, as though she had swallowed a needle.
She held back her cry and began gasping for breath, tears rolling down her face in streams. This time, she was truly crying.
When Chu Yuebai saw her tears, he wanted to step forward and comfort her. But the moment he drew near, whew—a wave of foul stench rushed into his face, and he hurriedly retreated three steps.
Yu Tang’s crying stopped because of his reaction. Confused, she asked, “Brother Yuebai, what’s wrong?”
Another foul stench came out when she opened her mouth.
Chu Yuebai’s stomach churned. He forcibly held back his nausea, but his face had already stiffened.
“N-Nothing. It’s just that… all of a sudden, my nose feels a little uncomfortable.” Chu Yuebai clenched his teeth.
He did not hear a single word Yu Tang said afterward. He had held his breath for too long and was about to faint.
“S-Sister Tang, I’ll be leaving first. As for the medicine, please hurry.”
Chu Yuebai could not spare a moment to say anything more. He turned around and quickly took a breath, then continued walking. After putting some distance between them, he turned back and asked with a strange expression, “Sister Tang, you really should have a physician examine you.”
Yu Tang was baffled. She was not ill, so why should she see a physician?
Yu Tang naturally did not know the reason. Every time she lied, she incurred the karmic consequences of false speech. In addition to suffering the pain of swallowing needles, the more lies she told, the fouler her mouth became.
That stench came from her soul. At first, it only appeared when she opened her mouth to speak. Then even her breathing began to stink. If she remained stubborn and refused to repent, the stench would follow her everywhere. Wherever she went, the stink went too.
As soon as Chu Yuebai left, Liu Shi summoned Yu Tang over, but she had something else to discuss.
“The Seventh Princess actually sent me an invitation and invited me to a banquet with her?” Yu Tang was overjoyed.
Liu Shi nodded, and for once, she seemed spirited as well. “If you can win the Seventh Princess’s favor, our family may yet see a turn for the better. We cannot let this opportunity slip away.”
Yu Tang hurriedly nodded. “Don’t worry, Mother. Your daughter will prepare carefully.”
Liu Shi was about to agree when she suddenly frowned. At first, she could hardly believe it. Then she sniffed again and quickly covered her mouth and nose, asking in astonishment, “Tang’er? What did you eat?”
Yu Tang was stunned. “I—I didn’t eat anything…”
“Then how could you possibly…” Liu Shi could not bring herself to say the words “foul mouth.” She could only hint that Yu Tang should not eat anything with a strong flavor and instructed the kitchen to prepare her some sweet soup to dispel internal heat.
Yu Tang’s face burned. She knew there was something wrong with the smell in her mouth.
But she truly could not smell it herself, and she had not eaten anything unusual…
Remembering Chu Yuebai’s “reminder” when he left, Yu Tang wished she were dead. She hid in her room and cried bitterly, too ashamed to face anyone.
The more miserably she cried, the more delighted Sanqi became.
On the other side, Sanqi also received an invitation. The shopkeeper of Baochun Hall personally delivered it to her.
The invitation had been sent by the proprietor behind Baochun Hall: the Northern Pacification Marquis’s Residence.
The Old Madam of the Northern Pacification Marquis’s Residence was holding a plum-blossom appreciation banquet and had invited many young talents from meritorious families, as well as the women of various households.
Sanqi accepted the invitation and walked along in thought. When she raised her eyes, she saw Yan Du, who had just finished practicing martial arts.
The Young General was exceptionally tall. After practicing, he was sweating, and his thin undershirt clung tightly to him, revealing the outline of his well-proportioned, powerful muscles. With his broad back and narrow waist, the heat of his breath transformed into white mist. When the mist dispersed, it revealed his cold-jade-like, noble, handsome face.
He looked like an immortal from Mount Gushe who had descended into the mortal world—exceedingly beautiful.
“Are you going to the banquet?” Yan Du walked toward her.
She stood on the corridor, while he stood below it. His arrival brought warmth with him.
A gentle warmth.
Sanqi blinked. She seemed to understand why the Northern Pacification Marquis’s Residence had sent her an invitation.
“Is the Young General going to the banquet too?” she asked softly.
Yan Du gave a quiet acknowledgment. “We’ll go together.”
As he spoke, he paused, then turned his head to look elsewhere as if to disguise his intentions. “It’s on the way, that’s all.”
Sanqi smiled and thanked him. Before leaving, she said, “The gold Young General had Nan Xun send over was too much. The actual cost of the Chang’an Pills isn’t very high.”
The herbs used were all quite ordinary. It was only the method of refinement that was special, along with the need for her blood as a medicinal catalyst.
Ten bottles of medicine only cost her a single drop of blood.
Yet Yan Du had sent her a hundred taels of gold through Nan Xun. Even at market price, he had paid too much.
“Her Majesty the Empress is prone to coughing in winter. I want to order more and send them to the palace.”
Sanqi did not expose him. She accepted his kindness, but inwardly she thought that giving Yan Du only lightning-struck blackwood as a return gift would probably not be enough. What else could she give him?
Yan Du suddenly called out to her.
“Sanqi.”
She turned around.
The Young General stood beneath the corridor, gazing at her intently. “Don’t call me Young General anymore.”
“Call me Yan Du.”