Dizhou Cheng, Spring.
The lingering chill of early spring spread damply across the city.
In front of Jing’an Houfu, the rhythmic clatter of horse hooves snapped the exhausted gatekeeper back to attention.
“May I ask which esteemed family’s guest is visiting? Do you have a calling card?”
The gatekeeper stepped down the stairs and walked over quickly, eyeing the coachman.
“What calling card?” The coachman’s face was calm, but his tone carried a hint of disdain.
The gatekeeper felt a flicker of doubt. He looked the carriage over again but saw no family insignia on any prominent part of it.
Aside from the coachman, he had yet to see anyone else.
At that moment, a voice drifted out from inside the carriage.
“I am looking for Zhou Zhili.”
Soon after, the curtain was lifted, and a woman stepped down. She wore a veil and was followed by two maids.
Though young, she possessed an air of aloofness, as if she stood apart from the world.
“Could you be the Little Medical Immortal?”
The Old Madam had been unwell recently, and even the second young master, whose medical skills were already quite advanced, was at his wit’s end. The Marquis had exhausted every resource to seek out the Little Medical Immortal and heard she would arrive any day now.
However, even though the woman’s face was hidden, her eyes and physique suggested a girl in her teens. The Little Medical Immortal their Marquis had spent so much effort to find surely shouldn’t be of this age.
“Are you the one in charge of this Houfu?” Gu Ruanci asked softly.
The gatekeeper realized he had been overstepping. With such a haughty temperament, she might truly be a person of great skill.
Since she was a medical immortal, wasn’t it normal for her to take care of herself and maintain a youthful physique?
As he convinced himself, he apologized to the woman.
“Little Medical Immortal, please wait a moment. This humble servant shall inform the Marquis immediately…”
The gatekeeper rushed inside. Gu Ruanci did not return to the carriage but stood there, studying the high-hanging plaque of Jing’an Houfu.
“What a filthy place…”
Even today, Gu Ruanci remembered how it looked when Zhou Zhili brought his mother’s newly widowed Stepsister and her five-year-old daughter through these doors.
That year, she had only been six years old.
Her three brothers, who were old enough to know better, had stood against her and her mother.
They had driven them away.
A chilly breeze brushed past, and Gu Ruanci’s veil fluttered in the wind before falling to the ground.
“Miss, your veil fell—”
The Houfu’s second young master, Zhou Yuzhi, had just returned with his attendants. He picked up the veil, but as he went to hand it to Gu Ruanci, he was struck as if by lightning.
“Mo—”
He was about to cry out “Mother,” but realized the age of the woman before him clearly did not match.
Lowering his gaze, he saw the jade pendant tied at Gu Ruanci’s waist. It was identical to the one his little sister had when she left home.
“You’re Lit… Hmph, what are you doing back here?”
The word “Sister” was ultimately too bitter to speak. Instead, his words turned into an accusation.
Gu Ruanci remained unmoved, responding coldly, “You should go ask Zhou Zhili that.”
Zhou Yuzhi grew even angrier at her words. “Zhou Qingran! You truly haven’t learned any manners after all these years with her, even daring to call Father by his name!”
“When you left with her back then, didn’t you say you would never acknowledge this family again?”
“Now, with just a shabby carriage, two maids, and a driver, you return to Dizhou Cheng in such a destitute state. Why have you come running to our Jing’an Houfu to beg for shelter?”
“Where is she? When she left, she claimed she didn’t want her maternal family or her sons. Why does she lack the courage to show herself now? Is she too ashamed and hiding in the carriage waiting for us to invite her back, or does she simply lack the face to see us at all?”
Zhou Yuzhi fired off a string of questions.
Gu Ruanci only gave a faint response. “Zhou Qingran is long dead. And Mother—you won’t be seeing her either.”
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuzhi’s eyes clouded over.
“Shut up! If you kneel and greet me now, and later kowtow to apologize to Father and Grandmother, I might still be willing to guarantee your entry into the estate!”
“You can forget about being the eldest young lady of the Zhou family, but if you apologize sincerely, the Zhou family isn’t lacking a place for a common maid. Tossing you a bite to eat would be doing right by you. In the future, stop harboring thoughts you shouldn’t have. Since you made your decision back then, it’s useless to regret it now.”
“If you can behave yourself and show respect to Mother and Sister Qinzhu, we three brothers will naturally still look after you.”
“…”
Zhou Yuzhi finished his long lecture, his throat dry, only to find that the person opposite him hadn’t spared him a single glance the entire time.
“Tell Zhou Zhili that it was he who failed to come out and see me.”
With that, Gu Ruanci turned and boarded the carriage.
A maid snatched the veil from Zhou Yuzhi’s hand and followed her inside.
The coachman cracked his whip with satisfaction, turning the horse’s head right before Zhou Yuzhi’s astonished eyes.
“Pass a message to Zhou Zhili. Since I am leaving today, even if everyone in this Houfu kneels before me and begs in the future, I will not take a single step inside.”
Before Zhou Yuzhi could react, the coachman smugly drove the carriage away.
“Miss, why didn’t you emphasize that you are the Little Medical Immortal that man surnamed Zhou worked so hard to invite?”
“I only promised Master I would take a look at the Houfu. I never promised to save that old woman. After all, everyone in the Houfu deserves to die.”
“Where shall we go now?”
Gu Ruanci replied naturally, “The person I least wanted to see doesn’t need to be seen, and the person I don’t want to treat naturally won’t be treated. Then, as agreed, we shall go find Senior Brother. Helping him was the original reason for coming to Dizhou Cheng anyway.”
Back at the gates, Zhou Yuzhi was currently regretting not stopping the carriage to teach her a lesson when the Marquis of Jing’an, Zhou Zhili, came rushing out, followed by the panting gatekeeper.
“Yuzhi, where is she?”
Zhou Yuzhi looked toward the direction where the carriage had vanished. “I drove her away… She doesn’t deserve—”
Slap!
Before Zhou Yuzhi could finish boasting, Zhou Zhili’s palm had already connected with his face.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You actually drove her away?”
Zhou Yuzhi was utterly confused.
The attendants didn’t dare say a word, only bowing their heads and moving aside.
“Father, if someone like her doesn’t kneel at the gate of the Houfu and kowtow to you, how can she be allowed through the doors of our Jing’an Houfu? It’s lucky she ran fast, or I would have broken her legs!”
Zhou Yuzhi clutched his face, yet felt no regret for his actions.
Zhou Zhili grew even more furious. How could his usually sensible and filial second son say such idiotic things?
Zhou Yuzhi, still unaware of the gravity of the situation, continued, “The way she spoke so grandly, as if Father had sent someone to beg her to come—she didn’t even show me any respect. Simply outrageous!”
Zhou Zhili finally couldn’t help himself. He grabbed Zhou Yuzhi’s hand and delivered another slap.
“You fool! You were the one who said you had no way to treat your grandmother’s illness, and even the imperial physicians were at their wits’ end. I exhausted every resource and favor to beg for her help, and it took immense effort to convince her to come in her master’s stead. Not only were you insolent, but you’re also unrepentant! Do you want to watch your grandmother die?”
“The Little Medical Immortal didn’t come because I begged her? Would she have bothered with us otherwise?”
After receiving two slaps, Zhou Yuzhi finally understood the cause of his father’s rage.
“Father, you’re saying… Zhou Qingran is the Little Medical Immortal? How is that possible!”
Zhou Zhili froze for a moment. The name “Zhou Qingran” made him hesitate for quite a while.
“You said Zhou Qingran? The one you drove away was Zhou Qingran? Not the Little Medical Immortal?”