Chapter Eighty-Seven Anesthetic

  "I went to the backyard and sat for a while." Zhen Shi Niang came over to the side of the bed, picked up the teapot and refilled his cup with water.

  Shen Zhong's bell rang out once, and then he didn't speak again, picking up his cup to slowly drink.

  After sitting for a while, Zhen Shiniang looked at the water clock and saw that it was almost time for dinner. She softly asked, "General, are you hungry? I'll go prepare dinner."

  "Go ahead......" Shen Zhongke raised his head and glanced at the leaky pot.

  When Zhen Shining arrived at the kitchen, Qiu Ju quietly told her, “...Rong Sheng said that he and the general investigated for an entire afternoon but still couldn't find out where Jian Dafu went. The general was extremely disappointed, which is why his mood wasn't good.”

  Zhen Shining's heart was racing wildly, but fortunately, she had anticipated this and had already cut off all connections with Jian Dafu. It took her a long time to calm down, and then she asked calmly, "… didn't you ask Rong Sheng what he wanted Jian Dafu for?"

  "Xiao Daren said that Jian Daifu will prepare the Ma Zhuo San, and the General wants to see if it's true or not. He wants to buy the secret formula at a high price?" Qiujie looked curiously at Zhen Shiniang, "What is Ma Zhuo San for? You...". She wanted to ask if you really know how to prepare it? Seeing Dongjue looking at them, Qiujie closed her mouth again.

  "I don't know either." Zhen Shiniang threw the chopped scallions into the boiling oil, and with a sizzling sound, a burst of green smoke rose up. She stirred the mixture vigorously with her hands, and her heart was churning like the boiling oil.

  What is he doing with the anesthetic formula?

  Is it for the troops?

  Is it worth her taking a risk at this ready-made opportunity?

  Thinking that Shen Zhongge must have eaten enough greasy food during the New Year, Zhen Shiniang didn't make any more big fish and meat dishes. Instead, she brought out six light and refreshing small dishes: sautéed scallions with butter, spicy stir-fried double peppers with fish, crunchy radish strips, crispy skin fragrant chives, cured meat stir-fried with ferns, and fresh salmon balls with mushrooms. Shen Zhongge's eyes lit up at the sight.

  A delicious dinner lifted Shen Zhongjie's mood, and after clearing the table, he patted the edge of the kang and invited Zhen Shiniang to come over and sit.

  Originally wanted to go to the kitchen to arrange tomorrow's breakfast. Seeing Shen Zhongge beckoning her, she knew there was something to say, so Zhen Shiniang sat down at the edge of the kang.

  Shen Zhongge took out a purse from his bosom and handed it over to her.

  "What?" Zhen Shi Niang took it with a puzzled expression, and only reacted afterwards.

  This is her lucky money!

  He politely opened it and suddenly found two 300-tael silver notes in front of him.

  The cost of opening a pharmacy has been covered!

  Just as I was dozing off, someone brought a pillow over. "Thanks, General," said Zhen Shiniang with a knowing smile.

  Unlike her usual faint smile, this smile reached the bottom of her eyes. Her beautiful pupils sparkled like the morning sun breaking through the mist, shining brightly and illuminating the entire room in an instant, making Shen Zhongjie's eyes widen in surprise. For a moment, he was stunned, "She really is beautiful when she smiles." Suddenly, it dawned on him that the smile she had been wearing on her face all along wasn't genuine.

  But for a few hundred taels of silver, he was also afraid that he wouldn't come often. The courtyard suddenly added so many people, and she encountered an emergency with no one to turn to, so he gave it to her in this way. Unexpectedly, she was actually delighted like this.

  She is really easy to satisfy.

  Shen Zhong's thoughts drifted away, wondering how she would react if he gave her a bag of golden beans next time.

  Suddenly, he wanted to give it a try.

  She has only two years left. He hopes to make her smile and be happy every day with all his might.

  "Have you seen Dr. Jian recently?" Shen Zhongge asked, taking advantage of her good mood.

  "There's no...". Zhen Shi Niang was still in a state of excitement, her eyes fixed on the silver note in her hand, without even blinking. "It's just the prescription I used to take." As if she had just come back to her senses. She looked up at Shen Zhong Ge, "Why did General suddenly ask about her?" Paused for a moment, "If General wants to find her, you can go to Rui Xiang Medicine Shop and ask, in this Wu Tong Town, only Li Zhuang Guo couple knows Jian Da Fu."

  "He has long left Wutong Town." The quiet atmosphere made Shen Zhong Xiao put down all his guard, and his low voice carried a hint of melancholy, "Rui Xiang Medicine Shop has even stopped selling Jian Ji Agarwood."

  "How could this be?" Zhen Shi Niang's face was full of astonishment.

  In her heart, she secretly felt lucky that she had already learned from Autumn Chrysanthemum about his search for Doctor Jian, otherwise, being suddenly asked like this, she would have definitely exposed herself.

  Shen Zhong sighed, "The whole Wutong Town doesn't know where he went." It was as if he suddenly disappeared from this world, and he couldn't find any trace of him.

  Zhen Shiniang lowered her head and filled his cup with tea.

  Perhaps he was really worried about the hardships of the soldiers in the army, but after thinking for a whole afternoon, Zhen Shiniang couldn't find any way to help.

  Shen Zhong suddenly sat up straight, pushed the teacup to one side, "The night is still young, go get the Go board." The listless look vanished.

  Zhen Shi Nang was stunned for a while before she realized that Shen Zhong Jie wanted to play chess with her, and hurriedly turned around to ask Qiu Ju to bring the chessboard.

  Zhen Shiniang was afraid of the cold, so Qiu Ju simply set up a small footed brazier, laid out the chessboard and poured Zhen Shiniang another cup of warm water, standing by with her hands hanging down.

  Shen Zhong's gaze fell on Hei Zi, and he hesitated for a moment.

  Playing chess and leading troops to fight are the same principle. You can't underestimate your opponent just because they're small, know your own strength isn't enough, you absolutely can't pretend to be strong, must use every opportunity to seize advantageous terrain, catch the enemy off guard and take them down first.

  His chess skills are inferior to Zhen Shiniang's, and he can only win by playing with the black pieces and taking the initiative.

  But after all, she is a woman...

  Just hesitating, Zhen Shining has already taken the lead in picking up one

  A grain of black sesame fell on the left corner of the star.

  Without any choice, Shen Zhongge smiled wryly and shook his head, casually picking up a white chess piece and making his move.

  Seeing his hesitation, Zhen Shining made a decision for him without batting an eyelid. As she fell into thought, she wondered if men were afraid of losing face, especially since Shen Zhongjie was a big shot. She didn't want to make it obvious that she was letting him win, but as soon as the game started, Shen Zhongjie came at her with a series of swift and fierce moves, his expression completely serious and not giving her any quarter as if he didn't consider her a woman at all. He pushed her to the brink of danger, and for just one moment of distraction, a big dragon was almost eaten away.

  Yu Guang saw that the corner of his mouth actually floated up with a hint of a smile, and Zhen Shi Niang's heart suddenly surged with anger. The grievances she had suffered over the past few days all rose to her mind, and she gritted her teeth in anger.

  Why let him?

  Since he looks down on women, let him see the power of a woman. She wants to see what kind of expression he will have when he loses to a woman.

  Unexpectedly, she was killed by Zhen Shi Niang and lost miserably. Shen Zhongge didn't feel as embarrassed or angry as he had imagined, his face just turned a bit red, and he automatically set up the chessboard again, asking for a rematch.

  After losing several games, Zhen Shiniang finally realized that Jian Wu's chess skills were ruthless and he would not admit defeat. Shen Zhongge was not as bad, but his stubborn personality really gave her a headache. Seeing that it was almost midnight, Zhen Shiniang finally let him win one game.

  Zhen Shining put away the chessboard, and Shen Zhongjie suddenly fell silent.

  He's had a rest. He has done so much, she must have guessed his mind too.

  Picking up so slowly...... She wanted to stay but was too embarrassed, waiting for him to speak and invite her to stay?

  He shouldn't have let her leave, and by rights he should have asked her to stay in the house tonight. If it were before, he wouldn't have thought much of it. But now, with a layer of guilt and debt in his heart, if he took the initiative to ask her to stay, he would feel strange.

  No emotions... yet... still having to be gentle and considerate towards her... he had a stark feeling of selling himself into debt.

  Zhen Shining didn't know about Shen Zhongjie's inner struggle, she had always liked to slowly pick up the pieces, just like playing chess, as the number of pieces on the board decreased one by one. Different situations would emerge, and she especially enjoyed witnessing this magical feeling that changed in an instant. After picking up the last black piece, the room felt particularly quiet. She subconsciously lifted her head.

  Right in front of her, Shen Zhong's gaze came too suddenly to be withdrawn, not like the coldness she was familiar with, but... seemed very warm and gentle, mixed with an inexplicable emotion. Zhen Shiniang's heart felt a sudden flutter...

  "The general should rest." Quickly putting away the chessboard, "I'll call Dongju to attend to your washing and dressing."

  Watching her fleeing back, Shen Zhongge was somewhat stunned:

  She is his wife, doesn't she yearn to share a bed with him?

  The face slowly turned purple:

  She actually hid from him.

  ……

  Anqing Hou furrowed his brow and rubbed a pair of dark green jade balls, "......the Empress Dowager still hasn't found out who was behind it?"

  "Xiu Zhu conveyed the message... " said Guan Jia Ping Fu, nodding his head. "On that day, the eunuch in charge of Shen Fei's meals and the palace maid who cooked the crab roe soup had both taken their own lives out of fear of punishment. After the Empress Dowager was released from her confinement, she secretly investigated for several days, but all leads had been cut off."

  Xiuzhu is the imperial concubine's personal lady-in-waiting.

  "Have all the clues been cut off?" An Qing's expression changed slightly.

  Who in the harem has such great power and means, daring to simultaneously plot against the two most powerful figures in the harem - the Empress and Zheng Guifei? And yet, they managed to do so without leaving a single clue, not even the Empress herself could investigate.

  A flash of surprise flickered in his eyes.

  “…The case of Concubine Shen's miscarriage has become an unsolved mystery.” Ping Fu secretly glanced at the expression of Duke Anqing, “It is said that Your Excellency was forced to agree to the marriage between the Sixth Princess and the Emperor in order to save her, and the Empress fainted several times upon hearing the news.”

  "Your Lordship..." Madam Xue, who had been sitting silently all along, burst into tears upon hearing this. "Your Lordship must think of another way, no matter what, we absolutely cannot let the Sixth Princess marry into that cold and barren land in the north, it would be a humiliation to our entire Xue clan!"

  Anqing Marquis felt annoyed for a moment.

  Just as he was about to scold her, a young maid came in and replied, "...Zou Gong Lao has arrived."

  Marquis Anqing's eyes lit up, "......take him to the study."

  “……Last night, Shouhe Palace flooded, and Wanxiang just issued an edict removing Bao Cheng'an from his position as commander of the Imperial Guard. For now, Zhao Teng, Shen Zhongjie's deputy general, will take over temporarily.” Zou Cheng said, taking the tea and watching as Anqing Hou waved his hand to dismiss the little maid.

  Because he had been claiming illness, Anqing Hou only went to the palace on New Year's Day to pay his respects to Wan Shi, and afterwards he stayed in the mansion to recuperate. When he heard this, his face changed slightly, "Bao Cheng'an was dismissed from office?" He asked incredulously, "It's only the third day of the new year, and Wan Shi has already started killing?" For a moment, he stared at Zou Cheng, and vaguely, a boundless sense of horror rose up in his heart.

  He allied with Bao Cheng'an for only a few days, when Wansui suddenly removed him from his post on the third day of the new year. What does this mean?

  If things go on like this, after Sixth Princess gets married, will there still be a place for Xue Yi to settle down in the Great Zhou?

  P.S. I don't feel quite right, having revised it over and over again without being satisfied, so I just posted it up. Hehe, General Shen wants to take the initiative to repay kindness, but my tenth sister is not interested.