Zhang Shen rambled incoherently about Zhu Qingyu being partial, and said he wanted to scold Gu Zhao, going back and forth, yet not a single real insult ever left his mouth.
Zhu Qingyu took out a handkerchief and handed it to him:
“Jingyan, if you want to scold, then scold. You can scold me, you can scold him too.”
Zhang Shen refused the handkerchief, instead reaching out for a hug.
Zhu Qingyu stood, Zhang Shen sat, and hugging her like this, he wrapped his arms around her waist, buried his face in her robes, and the sobbing in his voice grew even more intense:
“Scold you? I can't bear to. Scold him? You're already so partial to him—if I scold him, you'll surely come to hate me. But if I don't scold him, I'm just so miserable. Have him come here—I want to scold him to his face. Where is he? When will he come?”
It had already been more than three months since Gu Zhao departed from the northern frontier.
As for this return to the capital, how long it would take Gu Zhao to persuade his elders at home, or even whether he could persuade them at all, was anyone's guess.
Thinking of the Grand Empress Dowager's temperament, Zhu Qingyu was not optimistic about it.
Three months was possible, three years was possible too, or in the end he might not even make it.
Zhu Qingyu patted Zhang Shen on the back:
“I'm not sure. His family—you know how they are. With my background, they might not think highly of me, might not agree.”
Hearing this, Zhang Shen shot upright, and this time his eyes held not tears but fury:
“They don't think highly of you? What right do they have to look down on you! You are a third-rank imperial official, a divine physician who quelled the plague in the northern frontier. Look across the whole world—there is only one of you. You're this wonderful, and they still won't agree? If they won't agree, then I won't agree either! What is Gu Shouming anyway? He just relies on his good birth—other than that, he's vile in character, bullying people with his power, utterly worthless, a pampered good-for-nothing who can't even decide his own marriage, and he's not even half worthy of you. I don't agree!”
Zhu Qingyu heard that he had finally gotten it off his chest, and sighed:
“Are you feeling a bit better now that you've said it?”
Zhang Shen refused to let it go and stressed his point:
“I don't agree!”
Zhu Qingyu let out an “mm”:
“Alright, I understand.”
Seeing her so calm, Zhang Shen's anger faded and sorrow swept in again, his face full of helplessness:
“You favor him so much, so even if I don't agree, it won't make much difference.”
Zhu Qingyu took the handkerchief and wiped the tears from the corner of Zhang Shen's eyes, saying:
“How could it make no difference? Jingyan, he has to persuade his family, and I have to do the same. You are my dearest kin—your opinion matters a great deal to me.”
Hearing this, hope was rekindled in Zhang Shen's heart. He stood up abruptly and grabbed her hand:
“Qingyu, then... can we still be husband and wife?”
Zhu Qingyu stepped back, pulled her hand free, and shook her head:
“Jingyan, my heart already belongs to someone else. I can no longer be your wife, not even a wife in name who hides the truth. If you agree, we'll go to the authorities and file for divorce. After that, we can be family. In my heart, you will always be my most beloved kin in this world. If you don't agree to sign the divorce papers, or if you want to sever ties and have nothing more to do with me, I will accept that too.”
When Zhang Shen heard her speak of severing ties, the grief choked him until he could barely breathe:
“I don't want to sever ties with you. Qingyu, don't say such heart-breaking things. I don't want to hold you back, but he hasn't even made it to your side—I can't agree to this. You treat me as your dearest kin, so this place is your home. Don't go stay in the guest room. I'm too upset today, and my heart is a mess—I'll go to the guest room. Let's both take some more time to think about this. Don't decide today, alright?”
In matters of this world, once a choice is made and the heart is followed, whether it can truly come to pass sometimes rests beyond human effort.
An official divorce decree was just a formality of mundane marriage—she didn't necessarily have to force Zhang Shen to make that earthly break in an instant. She could give him time, until he was willing.
Zhang Shen wanted time to think, but for Zhu Qingyu, having made her decision, she had no wish to drag things out or leave matters vague.
The next day, Zhu Qingyu moved out as planned and relocated to the Jiangning Hui Medical Hall.
The Hui Medical Hall in Jiangning had been converted from an existing residence.
Lord Zhuang was the Governor of Jiangsu, overseeing all civil affairs. On his first visit to the medical hall, he was the one who led Zhu Qingyu there, and he told her its history:
“This was the residence of the salt merchant Zhou family. Just a while ago, it was seized by the authorities after their house was confiscated. I thought it would be just right for a medical hall. Take a look and see if anything else is needed—I'll have it arranged and filled in. According to regulations, the expenses for medical halls across the regions come from the salt tax allocations. Once you get things settled, we'll look together at how much should be set aside this year.”
The salt merchant Zhou family—Zhu Qingyu had known them when she was in Yangzhou. She remembered that when she left Yangzhou last year, the Zhou family was still doing well. How had their house been confiscated?
Zhu Qingyu was truly curious, so she asked Lord Zhuang:
“What did the Zhou family do wrong? How did they get their house seized?”
The two entered the medical hall, and Lord Zhuang, stroking its front gate, replied:
“Last year, Lord Dai, the Salt Commissioner of Yangzhou, launched a salt tax reform, requiring all merchants to pay their salt taxes in advance. The Zhou family borrowed a year's worth of official salt tax money last year, and early this year, even knowing the imperial court was about to reform the salt laws, they went ahead and borrowed another three years' worth. Now the salt transport offices have been disbanded, the salt law has been reformed, the certificate system has replaced the old quota system, and official salt prices have plummeted. The Zhou family couldn't pay back the money, so the only option was to confiscate their property to cover the debt.”
Lord Zhuang had been dispatched to Jiangning by the Emperor precisely to carry out the salt tax reform.
The salt merchants who had built their fortunes on the salt tax—most of them, it seemed, would be ruined in this wave.
They were families she had once known, and hearing this, Zhu Qingyu couldn't help but sigh.
The salt law reform was a disaster for the old vested interests, but for Zhu Qingyu, it was good news.
The medical halls across the regions were launched with the silver the Zhang family had donated to the Ministry of Revenue, but to keep the halls running in the long term—paying the physicians' salaries, subsidizing cheap medicines for the people—money was needed, a steady source of income. With the salt tax reform bringing in revenue, the medical halls could be sustained.
Since Lord Zhuang had asked Zhu Qingyu to draft the medical hall's budget for this year as soon as possible so that funds could be set aside from the salt tax, and with money being the top priority, she treated this task as her first order of business over the following days.
One day, after completing the first draft, Zhu Qingyu wrote up the document and took it to the government office to show Lord Zhuang. As soon as she entered, she ran straight into Miss Zhuang.
Miss Zhuang's face was full of panic. The moment she saw Zhu Qingyu, it was like a drowning woman spotting a lifeline. She grabbed her and ran inside, saying as she ran:
“Master Zhu, Master Zhu! My father has been poisoned—please help me!”
