Songyan dared not even breathe loudly upon seeing his master's expression suddenly darken.
Gu Yujing took a sip of tea, then resumed reviewing official documents.
At the medical clinic.
After seeing the last patient, Chun Jingshu stretched her back and closed the front door.
"Mother, have some tea."
Yuchu poured her a cup of tea.
"Thank you, my good son. Just set it on the table; I'll drink it in a moment." Chun Jingshu switched out the mugwort used to repel mosquitoes.
"Mother, you haven't had a drink of water in a long while today." Yuchu followed behind Chun Jingshu.
There had been many patients at the clinic today, and his mother had worked very hard.
Meeting Yuchu's earnest, expectant gaze, Chun Jingshu's heart softened.
She smiled, took the cup, and drank the tea in one go. "Alright, Yuchu, Mother needs to tidy things up now. Go do your schoolwork over there."
Chun Jingshu wanted to inspect all the decorations in the clinic.
She moved a stool over, intending to replace the bell on the wind chime.
"Mother, have you forgotten? I finished my schoolwork at the academy already?"
Yuchu attended Baiyue Academy in the small town, and being clever, he never gave Chun Jingshu any worry over his studies.
Watching her busy figure, he suddenly asked, "Mother, is that uncle who asked about the red string coming for a consultation tomorrow?"
The boy's blunt question left Chun Jingshu standing on the stool, unsure whether to step up or down.
Indeed, she had set aside time today to tidy things up precisely to deal with Gu Yujing.
According to the treatment plan, tomorrow was the day he was due to come for treatment.
The day before yesterday, in the dim twilight, Gu Yujing had been able to discern something from a single red string, leaving her uneasy;
Today, she had decided to put away everything she had made, so as not to invite further trouble.
But she couldn't very well tell her son that directly.
"Yuchu, Mother thinks these items have been up for a while, so I've decided to replace them with new ones."
Chun Jingshu looked down and said gently, "Would Yuchu have time to help Mother clean up?"
"No problem."
Yuchu nodded.
He noticed the stool Chun Jingshu was standing on was a bit wobbly, so he rolled up his sleeves and held onto one of its legs.
The stool steadied considerably.
Her son's thoughtfulness and understanding brought a warmth to Chun Jingshu's eyes.
Though nine years had passed without the love of that man,
Having her son by her side was more than enough.
The next day, at the hour of Si (9–11 AM).
Gu Yujing arrived at the clinic, with Songyan following behind him.
"You're quite early, sir."
Chun Jingshu had only woken up not long ago, with faint dark circles under her eyes.
Yesterday, before she and Yuchu had finished tidying up, more people had come looking for her.
By the time she finished, it was already late in the night.
She had barely lain down when the thought of Gu Yujing coming to the clinic the next day made her too nervous to sleep.
She tossed and turned until nearly dawn before she managed to fall asleep.
She had still been drowsy, but the moment she saw Gu Yujing, she immediately tensed up, and her languid, idle air vanished without a trace.
"What kept Doctor Chun busy last night?"
Gu Yujing noticed the change in her but kept his expression still, asking in a seemingly casual tone, "Could it be that you were plotting something momentous?"
Last night, his hidden scout had reported that the man had come to the clinic again.
"You jest, sir. I was at the clinic all day yesterday; there was nothing momentous."
Chun Jingshu forced a faint smile.
To her, guarding against him and keeping her distance was indeed something momentous.
But those were things he would never know—and must never know.
"Since you've arrived, sir, please take a seat. I'll go prepare."
Chun Jingshu invited Gu Yujing to sit in the chair, then went to the medicine room to prepare the herbs and fetched a new set of silver needles.
Gu Yujing, however, felt that she was deliberately changing the subject.
By the look of it, she seemed somewhat like a thief with a guilty conscience.
And in the room—
It seemed that some things were missing compared to when he had come two days prior;
Some objects had also been replaced with new ones.
He stood up and swept his gaze around.
Indeed, it was different from a few days ago.
Just as he was about to walk toward the right side of the main hall, Chun Jingshu returned.
“Young master, I apologize for the wait.”
The right side was her and Yuchu's bedchamber.
Most of the things in there were made by her own hands.
Afraid that he might spot another flaw, she unconsciously raised her voice a notch.
Gu Yujing returned to the chair.
Chun Jingshu handed the herbs to Songyan.
Songyan took the herbs and went to the medicine room.
Only she and Gu Yujing remained in the room.
Neither spoke; their breathing was audible.
Gu Yujing rolled up his sleeve.
Chun Jingshu picked up a silver needle and aimed it at the acupoint on his wrist.
The acupuncture finished, Chun Jingshu opened the silver basin on the table, preparing to place the used needles inside.
A faint, refreshing fragrance drifted into her nose.
Gu Yujing stared at her without blinking. “Physician Chun, where did this silver basin come from?”
His sudden voice startled Chun Jingshu.
She stumbled against the corner of the table, and the silver needle nearly fell to the ground.
“Young master, is there something wrong with this silver basin? I was planning to put boiling water in it to cleanse the needles…”
Chun Jingshu felt a momentary panic.
“Cleanse them? Then what about the fragrance inside this basin?” Gu Yujing's brows knitted together.
Chun Jingshu's eyelids twitched.
She had changed the silver needles, but she hadn't expected Gu Yujing to fix his attention on the silver basin instead.
Gu Yujing had a keen nose.
This silver basin carried the scent of tangerine peel.
She was accustomed to boiling tangerine peel to remove grime from the silver basin.
“Young master, the fragrance inside is the scent of tangerine.”
Chun Jingshu tried to keep her tone relaxed. “Tangerine peel can remove some grime—this is common knowledge among physicians.”
“Is that so?”
Gu Yujing braced both hands on the table and leaned his upper body forward a step.
His face was less than an inch from hers.
She could see the fine pores on his skin;
He caught the unique scent of mint from the tips of her hair, which had been washed not long ago.
His pupils contracted, and his gaze deepened by several shades.
“Mint is commonly used by men when washing their hair, but I had a female acquaintance who liked to put a few mint leaves in her bath when washing her hair. You wouldn't happen to have a similar habit by coincidence, would you?”
A smile tugged at the corner of Gu Yujing's lips, yet his tone was icy as he asked close to her ear, “Should this young master call you Physician Chun, or—”