Hidden in the darkness behind a rock, Shao Yutong seemed to sense something. She poked her head out, revealing a swollen, piglike face. Her eyes were full of tender feeling, and her lips trembled faintly.
That indescribable flutter in Zhan Haoting’s heart surged once more.
He lowered his voice and said to Cheng Yao, “Sister-in-law, it was my cousin Yutong who warned me earlier that my third cousin-in-law had gone to report you and Eldest Sister-in-law. That’s how I was able to warn you in time…”
Cheng Yao stared steadily at him, her gaze clear and cool.
He actually didn’t dare meet her eyes. His gaze flickered away as he said, “There’s still some wild boar meat left from today. I wanted to give her a small piece as thanks.”
Cheng Yao smiled. “Didn’t you hear what your third cousin-in-law said? It was Yutong who urged her to report us.”
“Impossible. Yutong isn’t that vicious.”
Zhan Haochen hurriedly objected, his voice rising several notches.
Cheng Yao frowned slightly. Zhan Haoting gave him a smack on the forehead.
Zhan Haochen felt as if the top of his skull had been split open. He rubbed it, his voice carrying a hint of grievance. “Brother…”
Xiao Fu cut in from the side. “Second Young Master, this old man did indeed see Miss Shao speak with Madam Feng. Only afterward did Madam Feng go and tell the constables.”
Zhan Haochen’s face went pale. He tried to argue, opening and closing his mouth several times, but not a word came out.
Not long ago, he and his mother had fallen off a cliff. Shao Yutong had fled on her own and hadn’t even told the others the truth.
If it hadn’t been for his sister-in-law, he and his mother could only have waited to die!
Shao Yutong’s heart truly was not kind.
But why, then, did he always feel that she was a good person? Why did he always pity her, and why could he never stop himself from speaking up for her?
Zhan Haochen scratched his head, utterly bewildered.
…
The following day.
Constable Wang discovered that the injured had recovered considerably.
Those who had been bleeding profusely had stopped bleeding. Wounds that had been inflamed were no longer swollen, red, and festering; they were already showing signs of scabbing. The bruises and swelling on those with battered faces had nearly disappeared. Even those who had been unable to move—such as Old Madam Zhan and Second Madam Zhan—now had clear eyes and could move slightly.
That ginger soup was astonishingly effective!
Constable Wang began thinking that there was no need to take them to a doctor. It would cost money, and he didn’t even know whether this group would ever be able to repay the debt. It would be better to have Cheng Yao continue making ginger soup.
Cheng Yao: “…”
Everyone was relying on her alone. This was utterly outrageous!
She said to Constable Wang with complete sincerity, “Constable, I won’t hide it from you. I did add medicinal liquid to the ginger soup, but I’ve used it all up. I can’t even take care of my own husband—how could I possibly look after everyone else?”
She earnestly tried to persuade him. “Since we’ve already come all the way to this town, please take everyone to see a doctor. Once they recover, I can take them into the mountains to dig for medicinal herbs and sell them to repay you. If there’s any money left over, they can buy some grain as well. That way, they won’t starve to death on the road and can make it safely to Jiuyou Prefecture. It would look good on your record too, wouldn’t it?”
Constable Wang rubbed his chin and pondered. Li Liming then said, “Chief, Lady Cheng is right. We won’t lose out either way. Stop thinking about it and let’s do it.”
“All right.”
Constable Wang agreed. He then ordered his men to cut down some branches and fashion them into simple stretchers. They carried those who could not move and whose families were unable to carry them. Hurrying as quickly as they could, they finally reached the town before noon.
Jishi Hall was the largest apothecary in town. Its storefront was quite imposing, and the physician who sat the consultations there was also highly skilled.
The injured were carried in one by one until they filled the not-so-small main hall.
The old physician and his two apprentices were so busy that their feet barely touched the ground. They cleaned wounds, stitched them, applied medicine, and bandaged them. White cloth was rapidly used up, while the scent of medicinal ointment spread through the room.
Constable Wang’s anxious heart eased a little—until the fat proprietor, dressed in silk and wearing an enormous jade thumb ring, finished working his abacus and handed him a bill.
“Your total comes to eighty-seven taels of silver.” The proprietor’s voice was not loud, but the words struck Constable Wang’s heart like a shard of ice.
Constable Wang’s eyelid twitched violently. He gave a dry laugh. “Shopkeeper, there are only forty-some patients. That averages more than two taels per person. Are you sure you haven’t made a mistake?”
“You were in a hurry to travel, so I had my people use and decoct only the finest medicines.” The proprietor remained completely unruffled. “I have already taken your difficult circumstances into consideration and reduced the bill accordingly.”
The implication was clear: no bargaining.
In addition, several heavily muscled shop assistants were stationed at the front and back doors, effectively surrounding them.
The muscles along Constable Wang’s jaw tightened. He pulled a worn cloth pouch from inside his robe and poured all the silver and copper coins inside onto the counter. They clattered noisily.
“There are fifty-two taels and three hundred copper coins in total.” He counted them with agonizing slowness, his voice hoarse. “Please allow us half a day to pay the rest. I’ll find a way to make up the difference.”
The fat proprietor’s smile vanished at once. His eyelids drooped as he tapped the counter with his jade thumb ring.
“Constable, this is a small business. We don’t extend credit. This amount isn’t even enough to cover the cost of the medicines. If you do this, how are we supposed to keep the shop running?”
The two burly assistants behind him stepped half a pace forward, glaring hostilely at Constable Wang and the group of exiles behind him.
The atmosphere suddenly grew taut.
The constables’ hands moved to the swords at their waists. Even the injured seemed to groan more quietly.
Sweat beaded on Constable Wang’s temples. Damn it. His life had been hard enough before. Could these few taels of silver really drive him into a desperate corner now?
He regretted listening to Cheng Yao.
Just then, a crisp voice rang out. It was not loud, yet it broke the stalemate with strange ease.
“The shopkeeper wants money, but we don’t have any. How about we pay with medicinal herbs instead?”
It was Cheng Yao.
She had deliberately smeared mud over her face to conceal her delicate beauty. Her complexion looked sallow and dirty, but her eyes were astonishingly bright, without a trace of the timidity or evasiveness shown by the other female exiles.
The fat proprietor snorted, his voice dripping with contempt. “If you had medicinal herbs, why would you have come to my apothecary?”
Cheng Yao remained calm. “We don’t have any now, but we can go into the mountains and dig for them.”
The fat proprietor scoffed. “You people? How many herbs do you even recognize? You think you can use whatever weeds you dig up to pay for my finest medicines?”
Cheng Yao ignored his mockery and continued, “Twenty li south of here, there’s an old-growth forest. Deeper inside, there’s plenty of aged poria. To the west, beneath the stones on the shaded side of the mountain stream, you can find excellent dendrobium. And if you go farther toward the cliffs…”
“Nonsense!” the proprietor interrupted sharply, the flesh on his face trembling. “That old forest is filled with towering trees, their crowns so dense that no sunlight can penetrate. How could good medicinal herbs grow there year-round without sunlight? And the cliffs are Eagle’s Beak Cliff—steep and slippery. Even experienced herb gatherers wouldn’t dare climb there lightly, let alone find any herbs! What would a convicted woman like you know?”
Cheng Yao’s gaze settled steadily on his face, and the corner of her mouth seemed to lift ever so slightly, carrying an inscrutable hint of meaning.
“There are no ordinary medicinal herbs at Eagle’s Beak Cliff. But beside the deep pool below the cliff, on the rotting wood that never sees sunlight, purple lingzhi mushrooms may grow. Their caps are shaped like clouds and nearly dark purple in color. Fine, silvery-white rings cover the undersides of their caps, and at night, they give off a faint glow.”
She spoke neither quickly nor slowly, yet every word was perfectly clear.
When she finished, the corners of her lips curved upward.
In the original novel, the exiled party was demoralized, with neither food nor water, so they traveled at a slower pace. Before they reached the deserted village, it had already been raining heavily for several days. After the rain stopped, they continued on their way without entering the village—and they never encountered a herd of wild boars.
Still, the members of the party were either sick or injured, and none of them had it easy.
Shao Yutong happened to meet a physician and asked him for some medicine, which she boiled and gave to everyone.
She also coaxed information about the distribution of the medicinal herbs out of the physician, then persuaded Constable Wang to bring the injured to this small town to see a doctor.
There weren’t that many injured people, so the medical expenses came to only twenty-five taels. Constable Wang was willing to pay just ten taels of silver. Shao Yutong had money of her own, so she contributed another ten taels, while the remaining five were paid for with the information about the medicinal herbs.
When she had read this part of the story, she had been utterly astonished. She had desperately wanted to collect those few rare and precious treasures at once.
She had never imagined that after transmigrating into the novel, her dream would actually come true.
There was no rush. She would act later…
The moment the words “purple lingzhi” were spoken, the fat shopkeeper’s expression changed completely. His sneer and arrogance froze in an instant, replaced by profound disbelief and shock. His pupils contracted sharply.
