Chapter Forty-Four Lord Gu

  It's him after all!

  Who is he again?

  That day she said there would be no plague, why did he still cling to this matter and even bring the imperial physician to investigate? Shaking her head, Zhen Shi Niang shook off the gloom in her heart and ordered Qiu Ju to lock the door again, taking Jian Wen and Jian Wu to play in the backyard.

  In the late afternoon, Autumn Chrysanthemum returned with news, “...the government posted a large red notice to reassure the people, clarifying the rumors of the plague and asking everyone to take their medicine according to your prescription to prevent it.”

  Since the government has posted a notice, even if a plague really occurs later, it will have nothing to do with her. Zhen Shiniang raised her head and looked at the snowflakes fluttering in the sky, smiled slightly and said, "It's snowing, we'll kill geese to eat today."

  "Oh, we have goose meat to eat! We have goose meat to eat!" Jian Wu and Jian Wen excitedly jumped up around Zhen Shi Niang, "......I want to use the goose down to make a feathered arrow!"

  The next morning, Li Qizhen's wife came over as agreed to make sauerkraut.

  "...Wen Taoye is a gentle and refined scholar, with a good temper. He had previously acknowledged his relationship with the girl's family, but they broke it off. Then he had to observe mourning for his grandfather, which delayed things further. Now he's almost thirty years old. I heard that at home, there's only one small concubine..." She said this while sitting in front of a temporary stove, stir-frying some cabbage.

  Although Zhen Shining is a beautiful woman, she is still a widow with two children, and it's not suitable for her to marry Li Qiwu, the deputy chief of the Imperial Hospital. Normally, Li Qi's wife wouldn't even dare think about it, but after seeing how much respect Wen Taimei had for Zhen Shining when Feng Xi mentioned her past medical cases, she started thinking about arranging a marriage between them.

  Anyway, Zhen Shiniang's appearance and talent are already there.

  Although Wen Taiyi is a bit older, if she can marry him, Zhen Shiniang will also be considered to have climbed up the social ladder, which is much better than her current miserable and lonely life.

  Li Qizhen's wife had a hidden meaning in her words, and the magpie washing clothes on one side looked at Zhen Shiniang with unease.

  As she carelessly stacked the chilled napa cabbage into the vat, Zhen Shi Niang smiled and said, "I heard that man also went yesterday, didn't Li ask him who he was?"

  Just as she was getting into it, Zhen didn't expect the topic to be changed by Shi Niang. Li Qie's wife was stunned for a long time, "Which man?"

  "The man who told about Liu Ergou's getting the plague."

  "He, ah..." Li Qizhen's wife suddenly realized, "He didn't say what kind of person he was, but everyone calls him Master Gu." After thinking for a moment, "It seems his status is not low, even Doctor Wen treats him with courtesy and respect."

  Grandfather?

  Zhen Shining furrowed her brow, she had never heard of such a person.

  She asked again, and when she mentioned Mrs. Wen's medical skills, she hurriedly called out to Qiuju to bring salt, saying with a smile, "This salt must be used in large grains, spread one layer and sprinkle one layer."

  It was pointless to see her, so Li Qizhen's wife sighed and stood up to watch Zhen Shiniang sprinkle salt grains into the jar.

  The town was calm for the next few days and no one came to the hospital again. Gradually, Zhen Shiniang also put aside the matter of investigating Gu Ye's identity.

  On this day, Zhen Shiniang was leading Jian Wu and Jian Wen in the opposite house to draw red, Li Qiu's wife slipped in with a smooth face, "......A big business has come."

  "Ah, Aunt Li is here!" After drawing for almost an hour, Jian Wu and Jian Wen couldn't sit still any longer. Seeing her come in, they immediately put down their brushes and rushed over.

  "Brother Wen and Brother Wu are so obedient..." Li Qi's wife smiled and pulled out a handful of colorful candies, "Come on, have some candy."

  At the sight of sugar, Jian Wu's eyes lit up instantly. Jian Wu stretched out his hand to take it, but was stopped by Jian Wen. He swallowed hard and looked up at Zhen Shi Niang.

  "Mother..." Jian Wu called out.

  "You're used to them." Zhen Shiniang smiled and walked forward, pulling Jian Wujianwen, "When doing things, you must have a beginning and an end. First finish reading the last five words before eating."

  Reluctantly, he took a glance at the sugar in Li Qizhen's wife's hand, and Jian Wu returned to the table with a serious expression.

  "The child is still young, you're being too strict." Li Qi's wife put the sugar in a plate on the table and bent down to look at Jianwen and Jianwu drawing red, "Wow, they're really good-looking, haven't even started school yet, but they draw better than our Spring Brother..." Thinking of Spring Brother's terrible handwriting, Li Qi's wife sighed repeatedly.

  Hurry up and eat sugar, Jian Wu Jian Wen was originally distracted, but after hearing this, they immediately straightened their chest and looked at each other seriously.

  Zhen Shi Niang then pulled Li Qi's wife over to the east house, "What's going on?"

  The magpie was mending clothes for Jian Wu and Jian Wen on the kang, when they came in, she immediately got down to pour water, but was stopped by Zhen Shi Niang, "Don't bother, just sit on the kang."

  Li Qizhen's wife sat down next to Xiku, "That Mr. Gu came again today..." Seeing that Xiku had embroidered the torn hole on her clothes into a flower, she couldn't help but purse her lips in admiration, "Even mending is done so meticulously, your craftsmanship is indeed the best in this town." She continued, "He said his family's old lady has contracted some strange illness, it's been almost a year now, and many famous doctors have been consulted to no avail. He wants to invite you to take a look, regardless of whether you can cure her or not, your consultation fee will definitely be worth it."

  Zheng Dao Shui, Zhen Shi Niang stopped there and said, "Going to visit the patient, who is he and where does he live?"

  "He lives in Beijing and is said to be the general manager of a purchasing office for a wealthy family..."

  Zhen Shi Niang was somewhat surprised, "He's actually a slave?" She handed the water to Li Qi's wife and sat down across from her.

  "No, not even my husband believed it at first." Li Qizhen's wife sighed, "......A few days ago, I saw how Doctor Wen and Magistrate Ma treated him with such an attitude, I thought he was the young master of some noble family. Who would have thought that he is actually a slave?" She smacked her lips again, "A slave has such demeanor, his master must be a high-ranking official!" Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Zhen Shiniang, "For a family like this, not to mention the medical fee, if you can cure their illness, just the reward in silver will be enough for us to eat for half a year. This is an opportunity that comes once in a lifetime."

  Zhen Shining furrowed her brow, “... Didn't he say who his master was?”

  It is often said that in front of the prime minister's gate, a seventh-rank official can make a humble attitude towards Wen Taoyi, the deputy fifth-rank official and County Magistrate Ma, just because his master is a powerful and influential high-ranking official.

  It is possible for high-ranking officials to have dealings with Shen Zhongjie.

  "She didn't say anything." Li Qizhen's wife explained with a smile, "For someone of such high status, even when they're ill, they summon the imperial physician. How could their servants sneak out to find a folk doctor and report back to the family?" She comforted him, "Don't worry, this time it will definitely not be mistaken."

  Zhen Shining smiled, "Aunt Li is right. Such a wealthy family wouldn't care about money, but...". She changed the subject, "It takes a whole day to get to the capital by horse-drawn carriage, and it's freezing cold. With my body, I'd be exhausted when we arrive, not to mention visiting the doctor. Who knows, I might even collapse at their doorstep..." She sighed, "Besides, with Wen Ge and Wu Ge around, how could I possibly slip away?"

  It's true, Zhen Shiniang's body really can't take that bumpy ride. Li Qiu's wife held onto her knee and tried to get up, remembering the shiny silver ingot that Gu Mai gave her before she left, and she persuaded him again, "Wen Ge's martial arts are good, with Ji Kuai Autumn Chrysanthemum here, I can come over and help take care of you for a few days." She looked at Zhen Shiniang, "...As for your weak body, I'll talk to him again, if your body isn't up to it, let him hire a comfortable carriage, and take good care of you on the road."

  The day before yesterday had overtime and irregular shifts, just got home by bus, and will have another shift tomorrow.