Jiang Jiaran knew how she had come to this place.
The medicine she could produce also came from the system. That was something that could never be explained.
No matter how rigorous the logic was, there would always be loopholes.
Instead of struggling to rationalize it, it was better to simply talk nonsense.
Besides, given her friction with First Madam, being too logical would only make others suspicious. Leaving things half-said would make people fill in the blanks themselves.
In any case, it was just “a gift from the immortals.” Take it or leave it.
First Madam naturally did not believe it. She was not the one whose mind was fevered and muddled. But seeing Jiang Jiaran so confident, and recalling what had happened in the Jiang household, she was already ninety percent convinced that Jiang Jiaran might truly be able to save Jiang Qin’s life.
As for where the medicine came from, it was likely something else entirely. She simply refused to explain it.
But that no longer mattered. She had no time to waste decoding riddles about immortals.
Her son was critically ill, and several bowls of medicine had failed to reduce the fever. She had no energy for verbal games.
First Madam asked seriously, “Tell me honestly, can you save him?”
Jiang Jiaran already understood from her words that Jiang Qin was burning with a high fever. That was the most urgent issue.
She did have a high-efficiency fever-reducing medicine she had accumulated from system conversions. It was just enough for this situation.
She did not know medicine in any formal sense. Everything she knew was superficial, picked up from listening to Mike ramble beside her in the past. Moreover, the system even provided built-in instructions.
In the apocalypse, new substances had been discovered, and the medical system had been restructured. The resulting medicines were far more effective than those of earlier eras. It was only a fever reduction anyway.
She exchanged for the medicine and pretended to retrieve it from her sleeve. The system automatically balanced it out, producing a small porcelain bottle containing a single pill.
“Whether he can be saved still depends on the doctor. Take this to stabilize him first,” she said.
First Madam stared intently at the bottle in her hand and said bluntly, “Tell me, what do you want?”
Jiang Jiaran lightly shook the porcelain bottle, a faint curve forming at the corner of her lips. This was getting easier to deal with.
“First, from now on, neither I nor my people shall be stopped whenever we go to see Old Madam Jiang.”
“Second, I left a personal accessory in the Jiang residence since childhood. It may have been taken away by someone you instructed to clean things up. I will send a drawing of it. Please help me find it.”
First Madam did not recall any such accessory, but it was nothing important. She nodded. “Anything else?”
Jiang Jiaran thought for a moment.
There really was nothing else. She was already a married woman and did not intend to have further entanglements with the Jiang family.
That day, she had only casually frightened Jiang Qin for fun.
But usually, one was supposed to make three requests.
Just then, a face flashed through her mind, looking at her with an adoring expression.
She rubbed her temples. “Send me Chun Zhi, along with her indenture contract.”
First Madam agreed after hearing that the requests were not difficult, took the medicine, and left in haste.
After she left, Yu’er asked anxiously, “Is Young Madam alright?”
Jiang Jiaran had already expected First Madam to come sooner or later, so she had not taken it to heart. Her mind had already drifted to the evening plans.
“Has the clothes I asked for been prepared?”
Yu’er quickly nodded.
That day, there would be a city lantern festival.
Before Emperor Xuchang’s ascension, the capital had long been under a heavy, oppressive atmosphere, and there had been very few festivities. This time, the emperor had permitted the great lantern festival in the city, so it would surely be extremely lively.
A few days earlier, she had already promised Ying Li that she would accompany him tonight to see the lanterns. Considering it would be inconvenient for a married woman to go out, she had asked Yu’er to prepare men’s clothing for her.
After exchanging the medicine, a large portion of the system value had decreased. She planned to see if she could gain more while out tonight.
Even if Jiang Qin did not die from the festering illness, the complications from infection would still be fatal. Simply reducing the fever would not be enough to save him. He did not have a deep grudge against her, aside from being somewhat unpleasant, so she considered it a way of accumulating good karma.
As dusk approached, the entire capital gradually lit up with scattered points of light. Lantern shops and merchants placed their lanterns outside, turning streets and alleys into a flowing river of stars.
Ying Xueshuang was also going out to view the lanterns that day. She boarded her carriage and lifted the curtain to look ahead. Hanging before her carriage was a beautifully crafted floral lantern, enough to draw envy and admiration along the way.
Xu Yuanzheng had spent great effort on this, spending money and pulling strings to obtain the largest lantern from the city’s most famous shop, hoping to win his cousin’s favor so he could accompany her.
“Cousin,” Xu Yuanzheng said, riding up beside the carriage, dressed neatly for once.
“Let’s go, cousin,” Ying Xueshuang replied, then dropped the curtain.
Inside the carriage, she curled her lips slightly. Now that the eldest sister of the household had married out, she was unwilling to play with the remaining concubine-born sisters. Since Xu Yuanzheng had given her this lantern, she reluctantly allowed him to accompany her.
In the side courtyard, Yu’er helped Jiang Jiaran change into men’s clothing.
After dressing, her features carried a subtle sharpness, and she looked unexpectedly like a graceful young gentleman.
She flicked open a folding fan, full of effortless elegance.
Ying Li was also dressed neatly, the little boy looking adorable beyond words. When he saw her, he praised her endlessly and eagerly pulled her outside.
Before leaving, Jiang Jiaran glanced toward Ying Zhaolou’s courtyard.
Was he not going out either? She knew he was neither ill nor disabled, yet he always stayed in his room. Did he not feel bored?
Ying Li noticed and smiled with narrowed eyes. “Sister-in-law is thinking about Brother?”
It was true, the two were already married yet had not even properly met.
Sigh, why was his brother, a grown man, so awkward?
“My brother is shy because this is his first marriage,” Ying Li said, shaking her hand. “You are so nice. He will definitely like you as much as I do.”
Jiang Jiaran’s mouth twitched. Ying Zhaolou, shy? Forget it.
She tapped his forehead. “Stop talking nonsense, you little kid.”
They left through the main gate this time.
Since it was Ying Li going out, and the young madam had been instructed not to be disturbed, no one dared to stop them. A carriage was even prepared for them.
As she stepped into the carriage, Jiang Jiaran thought that this was finally some treatment befitting a transmigrator.
Once they left, the courtyard fell quiet. The adjacent courtyard was just as still.
Shi Feng knocked and waited briefly. Hearing no response, he pushed the door open.
Inside, the wheelchair was parked slanted by the window. The person who had been sitting there was nowhere to be seen, and the room was empty.
Shi Feng said nothing, simply tidied up the room, pushed the wheelchair into the corner, and left.
The streets were as bright as daylight.
Jiang Jiaran kept the carriage curtain lifted the entire way, watching everything with curiosity. It was her first time attending a lantern festival in this ancient world, and everything felt novel.
As they reached a crowded area, the carriage could no longer move, so the three of them got down and walked.
A handsome young gentleman with a delicate little boy beside him drew frequent glances from passersby.
Yu’er returned with three lanterns, one for each of them. Jiang Jiaran held a fan in one hand and a lantern in the other, feeling quite the carefree, elegant young master.
The streets were packed. Whether street vendors or teahouses, everyone was shouting loudly, and one had to lean close to hear anything.
Ying Li tiptoed and told her that this was not the most fun place.
The most lively spot of the night was the city’s great lantern tower.