Hearing Feng Yiyi’s voice, Wang Shi pushed open the door and came out smiling.
“Yiyi, you’re back! Where did this carriage come from? Whose is it?”
Yiyi puffed up proudly. “Grandma, from today on, we’re carriage owners too! This is our private carriage—well, a horse carriage! It’ll be much more convenient going to town from now on!”
“The horse is so big, and the carriage too… That must’ve cost a lot of silver.”
Grandma was delighted, yet her heart ached for the money spent.
“Not much,” Yiyi said lightly. “But we’ll need to find someone to keep the horse and act as driver. I’ll pay one tael of silver per month.”
Grandma nodded, unable to stop smiling.
“In the whole Zhao Village, only two families had carts before—the village chief and Liu Er who hauls goods. And those are ox carts. Our Yiyi actually bought a horse carriage!”
Then Yiyi added, “Grandma, I bought a few maids.”
“What? Maids?” Wang Shi’s eyes widened.
“Yes. I’ll often be away and can’t leave you alone. Two of them will stay to accompany and protect you.”
“I’m still strong enough to cook for you. Why do I need maids?”
Yiyi gently replied, “If Uncle and Aunt come again, what would you do?”
Grandma lowered her head silently.
After a pause, Yiyi said, “Grandma, I’ve recovered my memory. I remember everything now.
I know medicine. I’m going to open a clinic. I rented a large house in town and will start working there tomorrow.”
She deliberately said “rented,” not “bought,” fearing Grandma would be overwhelmed.
“Yiyi, you remember everything?”
“Yes. I used to live in the capital. I was an unloved concubine-born daughter in a high official’s family. My elder legitimate sister harmed me, and I fell off a cliff…”
She briefly recounted her fabricated past—beatings, neglect, secret training from a mysterious master.
Grandma hugged her tightly, tears streaming down.
“My poor Yiyi… But you still have Grandma.”
The maids exchanged glances and bowed. “Greetings, Old Madam.”
Grandma waved awkwardly. “No need for such formalities.”
Yiyi introduced Chun Tao and Qiu Ju, who would serve and protect Grandma.
That night, Yiyi cooked a lavish meal herself.
“Chun Tao, Qiu Ju, Hua Ying, Yue Ying—choose your rooms. If anyone comes causing trouble, throw them out.”
“Yes, Master!”
The next morning, Yiyi packed two thousand-year-old ginseng roots, five-hundred- and thousand-year-old He Shou Wu, and a seven-to-eight-hundred-year-old Fire Ganoderma into boxes.
She and Hua Ying traveled two hours by carriage to Beiliang County and entered the largest pharmacy in the city—善生堂.
The elderly shopkeeper examined the herbs and was stunned.
“Two thousand-year ginseng roots… five-hundred- and thousand-year He Shou Wu… and this Fire Ganoderma is seven or eight hundred years old!”
After negotiation, he offered 95,000 taels in total—far higher than what a town shopkeeper once paid her.
“Deal,” Yiyi said calmly.
Before leaving, she added, “I’m opening a clinic in Wangchuan Town, called Xinglin Medical Hall. If you ever need supplies, you can come to me.”
On the road back, they encountered a fallen elderly man surrounded by attendants.
“I’m a doctor from Xinglin Medical Hall. Let me examine him.”
She diagnosed a heart condition, administered quick-acting heart pills, and performed acupuncture.
Moments later, the elder regained consciousness.
Grateful, he offered her 100 taels of silver.
She left him a bottle of heart pills and told him where to find her clinic.
They parted with mutual respect.
Back at Xinglin Medical Hall, Qin Momo had already begun renovations.
“Master,” Qin Momo reported, “I purchased a capable shop manager—he once served as a steward in our former household.”
Yiyi asked quietly, “How many capable people from your former household remain in the slave market?”
Qin Momo lowered her head. “Over two hundred male shadow guards and stewards.”
Yiyi smiled faintly.
“It almost feels like your former master raised them just for me.”
“How are their skills?”
“They are highly skilled. Our former household was extremely wealthy but was framed by local officials.”
Yiyi made her decision.
“Buy all the loyal shadow guards. Also purchase two cooking women.
I will establish an assassin and intelligence organization… the Earth Fiend Pavilion.”
Qin Momo’s eyes reddened with emotion.
“Master, your kindness will never be forgotten.”
“Buy a three-courtyard residence for them to live in. My surname is Feng. We’ll number them starting from Feng One.
Here are six banknotes. Is it enough?”
“It’s more than enough. I’ll go immediately before someone else buys them.”
Yiyi turned to Hua Ying. “Assist Qin Momo. If there are any problems, report back to me.”
Thus, quietly and without fanfare, Feng Yiyi began laying the foundation of a hidden force beneath the surface of Western Chu.
The Earth Fiend Pavilion had been born.