Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Old He had opened a medical clinic in Wuzhou, and I worked as his assistant under the alias Cui Hong.

Li Shenzhi had initially been indifferent toward me, but upon hearing that my surname was Cui and noticing my capital accent, his brow furrowed.

Old He shook his head.

“Who doesn’t know that the Cui Clan of the Capital is a web of corruption where officials and merchants protect one another? Not to mention that Fifth Lady Cui is currently in high favor.

“If you weren’t a Cui and didn’t come from the capital, he wouldn’t dislike you so much.”

Wuzhou was damp and rainy. People living in such humid conditions were prone to various ailments.

Headaches in the spring, itchy sores in the summer,

Malaria and chills in the autumn, and coughs and shortness of breath in the winter.

Most of those who came to Old He’s pharmacy were poor folk. They often bought medicine on credit, and their debts were eventually settled with grain or coarse cloth.

When the seasons changed, Li Shenzhi would use his own salary to balance the accounts. He never pursued the poor for payment, nor did he ask Old He to cover the losses.

Meanwhile, Old He and I had to go up the mountains ourselves to gather and dry herbs to save on expenses.

One day, a woman carrying a child came for a consultation while Old He was out.

I considered myself well-read in the imperial medical pharmacopeia and had learned some medicine from Old He. While treating this woman, who suffered from postpartum imbalances, I carefully weighed the prescription and added one more ingredient:

“And one dose of donkey-hide gelatin to nourish your body.”

Outside the door, a small black donkey let out a dissatisfied snort.

Having overheard this, Li Shenzhi lifted the curtain and entered, his brow furrowed in displeasure.

“Donkey-hide gelatin is expensive. How can an ordinary family afford it?”

I looked at the woman’s meager purse and her nervous expression. I froze, suddenly realizing that when I used medicine in the palace, everything was taken from the people. The upper class took whatever they wanted without regard for cost, seeking only the best.

Filled with shame, I quickly revised the prescription and apologized repeatedly.

As Li Shenzhi left, he gave me a cold glance, making no effort to hide the disgust and contempt in his eyes.

“Young Master Cui, your medical skills are indeed ‘impressive,’ but a small place like Wuzhou cannot accommodate a ‘Great Buddha’ like you.

“Most people who come here for treatment are poor. If you intend to seek profit for the Cui Clan here, you’d better give up now.”

I thought back to when Yan Lang had first ascended the throne and wanted to undergo massive renovations of the palaces and temples. Li Shenzhi, the Tanhua Scholar personally selected by him, had submitted a memorial so biting that it left Yan Lang feeling both ashamed and humiliated. Yan Lang had been so furious he wanted to kill him to vent his rage.

“That ignorant rustic! To think I showed him such favor during the palace examinations!

“The man I chose refuses to be my eyes and ears! To speak so bluntly in front of the old ministers-where does he leave my dignity?”

Back then, Yan Lang still listened to my advice. He listened when I told him the stories of Emperor Taizong of Tang and his honest official Wei Zheng, and only then did his anger turn to joy.

Now that I was the one being ridiculed by him, I actually wanted to curse just like Yan Lang:

“A stone in a latrine! Smelly and stubborn!”

Old He returned from gathering herbs just in time to see me standing there, flushed with shame and silence after Li Shenzhi’s lecture.

He was craving the Su Shan I made, so he peered at my face with a smile.

“Lass, can you make that sugar Su Shan this afternoon?”

I’m not making it. I’m already full from anger.

“Don’t be upset with that rustic. In truth, you two are the same kind of person.”

How are we the same?

I’m nothing like him-disliking someone at first sight and speaking without any regard for their feelings.

Old He sat down, poured a pot of coarse tea, and wiped his mouth.

“You can’t blame him. Do you remember the great plague in the south seven years ago? The Cui Clan conspired with several medicine merchants to drive up prices until a tael of bupleurum cost a tael of gold. Do you know how many people died?

“Now that you’ve come to Wuzhou for no apparent reason, he is naturally on guard against you.”

After saying this, Old He giggled and pulled a jar of fermented glutinous rice from his bag, saying mischievously:

“You don’t know this, but Master Li has a hidden side.

“I’ll teach you a way to handle him. I guarantee he’ll be avoiding you from now on…”

After dinner, I carried a food box containing fermented rice Su Shan to Li Shenzhi’s residence.

His home was simple. Various medicinal herbs were drying in the garden, and a trellis of roses grew nearby.

Most striking was a lychee tree in the courtyard laden with new fruit. I couldn’t help but touch one; it was as large as a hen’s egg and looked adorable in its abundance.

“Don’t steal them.”

Just as I was about to retort, Li Shenzhi sneered.

“Young Master Cui, ‘do not adjust your hat under a plum tree.'”

Fine. He thought so poorly of me that everything I did was wrong.

“Since they’re clearly ripe and you’re not picking them to eat, what are you keeping them for?”

“The weather will be good tomorrow. I’m making Lychee Preserve.”

I startled, suddenly remembering the Lychee Preserve I often ate when taking medicine in the past. It had also been a tribute from Lingnan.

But it couldn’t be such a coincidence.

“What are you here for?”

“Old He asked me to bring some food to you. Eat it quickly before it melts.”

Li Shenzhi set down his book and, in a rare display of generosity, shared half of the Su Shan with me.

As I ate the Su Shan, I carefully observed Li Shenzhi’s expression.

Old He had told me that Li Shenzhi was a lightweight who would collapse after a single drop of alcohol. The Su Shan had been mixed with enough fermented glutinous rice and Pear Blossom White wine to keep him dazed for half a day. Old He said that if I saw him in a drunken state, it would be enough of a leverage to hold over him for quite a while.

No wonder Li Shenzhi used to claim illness to decline every palace banquet or invitation from his colleagues.

I had always thought it was because of his aloof and upright nature, his refusal to socialize with others.

I never expected it was because he got drunk the moment he touched alcohol.

A rain shower had passed at dusk, and the late summer evening breeze carried the fragrance of a trellis of roses. Li Shenzhi ate the Su Shan, completely unaware of anything unusual.

Resting my chin on my hand, I watched his face under the lamp light flush with a faint crimson, like roses washed by the twilight rain.

I couldn’t help but sigh that Yan Lang’s choice of him as the Tanhua was truly well-deserved.

I had imagined that a drunken Li Shenzhi would act like a madman, wailing loudly and making a fool of himself.

But none of that happened.

He simply sat there in a daze, devoid of the sharp-tongued sarcasm he usually directed at me.

“Li Shenzhi? Have you had too much to drink?”

“…Mm.”

A drunken Li Shenzhi was actually quite quiet and well-behaved, like an obedient child who answered every question.

“What happened today was my fault first, but you shouldn’t have spoken to me like that.”

“…I’m sorry.”

He apologized so easily that I felt a bit embarrassed myself.

“Then let’s forget about today. Also, I didn’t actually want to steal your lychees, so don’t be so mean.”

“…I’m sorry.”

I brushed off my clothes, preparing to leave.

Li Shenzhi, who was kneeling on the floor, suddenly lunged forward and hurriedly grabbed my sleeve.

“Those lychees… if you want to eat them, just pick them.

“…She’s gone anyway.”

Curiosity piqued, I deliberately teased him, “Who is gone?”

Li Shenzhi looked at me blankly. He thought for a long time, and even the hand gripping my sleeve began to slide down.

He suddenly lowered his head and whispered sorrowfully, “…Her Highness.

“…Her Highness is gone.”

That mention of “Her Highness” struck my heart like a bolt of lightning.

I suddenly remembered the mourning band tied around Li Shenzhi’s arm when we first met.

I remembered what Tong’er said about the bundle of family letters Li Shenzhi carried when he left the capital.

I stood up quickly and hurriedly searched through his bookshelf, accidentally knocking a pile of letters to the floor.

They were all the letters I had written on behalf of the palace servants back then.

At the time, I had asked the young maids and eunuchs how their families would reply if they couldn’t read.

They told me there was a scholar outside the palace who was as kind-hearted as the Prince’s Consort; he helped their families write letters and didn’t charge them any money.

I finally remembered why the stationery on that Lychee Preserve looked so familiar.

Before I could dwell on these past events, I felt a sudden chill on my neck.

Li Shenzhi’s sword was pressed against my throat. He spoke one word at a time:

“Who sent you? Was it the Cui Clan? Or was it Cui Mingshu?”

I hadn’t expected Li Shenzhi to sober up so quickly.

Just as I was thinking of a way out, I heard Old He’s laughter from outside the door.

“Cui Hong is my student and doesn’t have a bad heart. Shenzhi, don’t treat him like that, or I fear you’ll regret it later.”

The sword was withdrawn from my neck, and I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Old He stepped in with a smile to smooth things over. “Shenzhi, I also hold Cui Hong’s secrets in my hand. You needn’t fear him.”

Recalling what Old He had said earlier about the golden carp, a chill ran down my spine. I stammered, “I have no contact with the Cui Clan. I only came to Lingnan to find a doctor for my illness, and I won’t be leaving Lingnan in the future.”

Hearing what Old He and I said, Li Shenzhi indifferently sheathed his sword.

“If you dare to tarnish her reputation, I will make you pay with your life.”

On the way back, Old He carried a lantern. With his snow-white hair and beard, he looked like an ancient ginseng spirit that had seen through all illusions.

“Back when I was practicing medicine in Lingnan, this student of mine wanted me to enter the palace to treat someone.

“I cast a divination for that girl. Her illness could be cured, but her fate could not. So, I sent a pill of feigned death along with the Lychee Preserve.

“I didn’t have any other intentions; I just couldn’t bear to see this student of mine brewing bitter wine in his heart and getting himself drunk.

“Little girl, once you’ve heard it, let it go. There’s no need to take it to heart. Those are all things of the past.”