Chapter 73: Heading to Qiyang County

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Heading to Qiyang County

She had treated Ms. Wu and the others similarly in the past. If she hadn’t, she might have given them some of the silver banknotes, gold, and jewels from her Space.

Her concern was always about fostering dependency or greed.

Moreover, Li Huan’er had now appeared, and she shared blood ties with Ms. Wu, Dashuang, and Xiaoshuang. Gu Qingli did not.

Blood ties were a peculiar thing; it was hard to say how things would turn out in the future. It was always better to hold something back for oneself.

After the two large animal carcasses were processed, true to her principles, nothing was shared with the villagers who had gathered to watch the spectacle. In the end, the villagers left in disappointment, and inevitably, some made sour remarks. The Xiao Family simply heard them and paid no mind, letting the comments go in one ear and out the other.

However, Mr. Xiao had Eldest Brother Xiao and Xiao Yunjing each deliver about ten jin of bear and tiger meat to the Village Chief and Gu Dalin’s household.

They only began their meal after the two returned. For lunch, a large pot of bear meat had been stewed.

Enhanced with Spiritual Spring Water and special seasonings, the stewed bear meat was incredibly delicious, both fresh and fragrant. Everyone ate to their heart’s content. Even the little fellow, Da Bai, polished off a whole bowl of meat.

After lunch, Xiao Yunjing sent the bear paws to the Auspicious House Restaurant. He also bought wine, jars for medicinal wine, and other medicinal materials for Gu Qingli.

The medicinal materials were, of course, just a cover.

Gu Qingli had initially wanted to go with him to check on Wuqing and the others, but she decided it would be better to wait a few more days. She needed to give them enough time and trust to handle matters. Constantly checking up on them would be a sign of distrust.

Although theirs was a master-servant relationship, in her heart, Gu Qingli considered them her subordinates. That status was merely a safeguard against betrayal. Not betraying her and doing their jobs well were two entirely different things.

The indenture contract for servants was extremely binding in this era. A master could sell their servants at will, and even if a servant was beaten to death, the authorities wouldn’t intervene. The status of indentured servants was truly lower than dust.

Gu Qingli took Da Bai (the little white tiger’s name) for a walk around the house, allowing it to familiarize itself with the scents of the family members. The little cub was incredibly endearing. It would snuggle up to everyone playfully. Even Ms. Jiang was won over, not to mention Ms. Yang and Ms. Wang, who doted on it. In just one afternoon, Da Bai had completely charmed the entire family.

Gu Qingli surmised that since the family had been regularly consuming Spiritual Spring Water, they carried its aura, which made Da Bai instinctively regard them as kin.

That night, Gu Qingli began to steep the tiger bone wine.

「In a blink of an eye, it was February 14th.」

Tomorrow was the Daqian Kingdom’s annual Qualification Examination. A total of ten students from the village were to participate. Gu Chang’an came to the Xiao Family early to borrow their carriage to take them to the County Town.

Xiao Han was also taking the Qualification Examination this year, so he had registered as well. He didn’t go with the Village Chief; instead, he went to the County Town with Eldest Brother Xiao and his wife in an ox cart. They didn’t need to stay at an inn, as they owned a house in the County Town.

Xiao Yunjing and Gu Qingli went to the County Town the next day. They had errands to run and also wanted to see how Xiao Han fared in his examination.

They arrived in the County Town close to noon and went straight to their residence there.

Only Wuqing was at the house.

“Miss, if you hadn’t arrived soon, I was about to go looking for you,” Wuqing said.

“What happened?” Gu Qingli pinched Wuqing’s perpetually stoic face, tempted to playfully order, “Smile for your lord!”

Wuqing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

The Young Lady is becoming increasingly roguish!

She said, “Miss, we have opened eleven Medical Clinics in total: one in each of the ten counties of Qiyang Prefecture, plus one in Qiyang Prefecture-City itself. Wuyou personally screened and selected all the physicians, ensuring they were all highly skilled.”

“Yesterday, Wuyou sent word that a patient had arrived at the Qiyang Prefecture-City clinic—a case that she and the other physicians couldn’t handle. They said they needed you, Miss, to take a look.”

Wow, that was quick! Such efficiency. There’s probably Xiao Yunjing’s hand in this. Besides, she had only given them ten thousand taels of silver, hardly enough to open eleven Medical Clinics.

Gu Qingli asked, “Did Wuyou mention the patient’s symptoms?”

“Yes,” Wuqing replied, handing her a slip of paper.

Gu Qingli took it and read it.

The symptoms resembled what’s known in modern times as brain cancer. It’s perfectly normal that Wuyou couldn’t treat it. It seems I’ll have to make the trip. This is also a good chance to build the Medical Clinics’ reputation.

“Fetch the Young Master.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

While Wuqing went to fetch Xiao Yunjing, Gu Qingli lifted Da Bai from the carriage. The little cub clung to her, following her everywhere.

“Li’er, were you looking for me?”

“Mm, are you busy? We need to go to Qiyang Prefecture.”

“Not busy. When do we leave?”

Even if he had something on, it would have to become nothing. His wife wanted to go; how could he dare refuse?

“We can set off immediately.”

“Alright. Li’er, give me half an hour.”

Gu Qingli nodded. She also needed to ask Wuqing for the address of the main Medical Clinic in Qiyang Prefecture-City and its official name.

「Half an hour later」

A member of the Secret Sect drove the carriage. Gu Qingli and Xiao Yunjing boarded, along with Da Bai, and they set off towards Qiyang Prefecture.

“Li’er, what’s the main reason for our trip to Qiyang Prefecture?” Xiao Yunjing only now asked.

“Wuyou sent word that there’s a challenging patient there. She wants me to take a look.” Gu Qingli didn’t intend to hide her medical skills from Xiao Yunjing indefinitely; there were some things he could know.

“Oh.” Xiao Yunjing nodded and asked no more.

He knew Li’er had her secrets and trusted that one day she would willingly share them with him. People only revealed their deepest secrets when they had absolute trust in each other.

It wasn’t that he didn’t dare to tell his secret; rather, it was so incredible that what if Li’er didn’t believe him and thought he was some kind of ghost or monster? That’s why the words had reached his lips several times, only for him to swallow them back down.

“Yunjing, how long will it take to reach Qiyang Prefecture?”

“By carriage, it will take about three hours.”

“Then I’ll take a nap. Wake me when we arrive.”

“Alright, you sleep.” Xiao Yunjing shifted to the edge of the long couch, allowing her to rest her head on his lap.

After Gu Qingli lay down, she yawned, her eyes fluttered a few times, and she quickly fell asleep. Lately, she hadn’t been very busy. However, Xiao Yunjing’s nightly activities kept her up for long hours, leaving her drowsy during the day and restless at night.

Once Gu Qingli was asleep, Da Bai also quietly curled up beside her and closed its eyes.

Only Xiao Yunjing remained awake, his dark, ink-like eyes repeatedly scanning Gu Qingli’s abdomen.

Li’er is so lethargic during the day, he thought. Could she be pregnant? His mother kept asking him about it, reminding him to pay close attention to Li’er, and had even told him the symptoms of pregnancy. Li’er was definitely showing signs of lethargy. Could she really be pregnant?

Xiao Yunjing’s gaze grew increasingly tender.

(Gu Qingli’s internal thought)

You’re seriously overthinking this! I’m on birth control, okay? Birth control!

The carriage swayed along, eventually reaching the place where Xiao Yunjing had previously killed the Second Shopkeeper of the Blue Clouds Gang. The journey had been quite bumpy; despite instructing the coachman to drive carefully, it remained very shaky. He had the coachman stop for a rest.

“Master, this is bad! There’s killing intent!” Yun No. 2 exclaimed.

They had just halted for a brief rest when both men sensed a palpable killing intent.

“Yun No. 2, protect Madam!” Xiao Yunjing gently laid Gu Qingli down, then instantly flew out of the carriage, directing Yun No. 2, the driver, to the front to guard it.

“Yes, Master!” Yun No. 2 produced a pliant sword seemingly from nowhere and stood guard vigilantly by the carriage.

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