As they were chatting in the front hall, the doorman came to report that Lord Gu had arrived for a visit.
Seeing the Second Shopkeeper acting stubborn again, the Head Manager took this opportunity to ease the atmosphere. He immediately stood up and pulled the Second Shopkeeper to smooth things over:
The Second Shopkeeper is just worried that our business will be snatched away by others, so it is understandable that he did not think things through for a moment. Madam has a distinguished guest, so we will not disturb you any longer. We will go back and calculate the silver first. Once it is all clear, we will come back another day to ask Madam to make a decision.
Zhu Qingyu also stood up:
I am young and speak without knowing proper limits, please do not take it to heart, you two shopkeepers. Leave the account book here for me to look at first. After I finish reading it, I will have someone send it back to you.
As Zhu Qingyu was seeing the two shopkeepers out, the Zhang family's servants did not dare to let such a high-ranking official like Gu Zhao wait at the gatehouse. They welcomed Gu Zhao toward the front hall. At the screen wall, the two groups happened to run into each other.
The Second Shopkeeper, having lost face to Zhu Qingyu today, felt extremely stifled and resentful. Holding it in all the way to the door, he finally could not bear it anymore and said indignantly:
How can you do business without taking risks? Afraid of this and afraid of that, there is no way to do this business!
Gu Zhao heard this clearly and stopped in his tracks:
What business cannot be done? It seems Doctor Zhu has guests. It looks like I came at a bad time and delayed Doctor Zhu's business.
Speaking so recklessly in front of a distinguished guest! The Head Manager glared fiercely at the Second Shopkeeper, bowed to Gu Zhao, and dragged the Second Shopkeeper out.
The Second Shopkeeper's condition today was obviously not right. Having failed to achieve his goal, he was simply being unreasonable and exasperated.
However, there was no need to say these things to Gu Zhao, let alone cause a scene here.
Zhu Qingyu looked at the departing duo and replied:
Not at all. Whenever Lord Gu comes, it is always the right time. Please come in.
The two shopkeepers were their own people, so Zhu Qingyu had received them in the study.
But Lord Gu was a distinguished guest, and a somewhat private place like the study was not quite appropriate. Thus, Zhu Qingyu welcomed Gu Zhao to the front hall and invited him to take the seat of honor.
Zhu Qingyu herself sat in a lower seat on the other side. Separated by the huge front hall, one on the left and one on the right, it was as if there was a vast chasm between them.
After the servant served the tea and retreated, Gu Zhao sipped his tea and asked casually:
Who were those people just now? Were they here to make trouble for Doctor Zhu?
Zhu Qingyu did not know Gu Zhao's intentions. She drank her tea with him and said:
They are our own shopkeepers. In business, there are always different opinions. We just argued a few sentences, it is nothing. You must be here to see Jingyan, right? Unfortunately, he has not returned yet. When he comes back, I will definitely have him visit you as soon as possible.
She really was a cold and ruthless little lady who burned her bridges. Just the other day she was talking about being grateful for his kindness and thanking him for his great favor, but after not seeing him for a few days, she turned completely heartless. Today, he had barely sat down before she was trying to drive him away.
The subtly ousted Gu Zhao pretended not to notice and looked at Zhu Qingyu with concern:
Doctor Zhu, I came specifically to find you. You have not been to the clinic these past few days. Did you encounter any trouble? Has Lord Liu made things difficult for you again?
How did Lord Gu know that she had not been to the clinic for a few days? His question made it seem like he was paying attention to her every move at all times.
He could not possibly have sent someone to follow her, right?
It was terrifying to think about. Was he still suspicious of her?
Startled by his words, Zhu Qingyu choked on a mouthful of tea and coughed repeatedly, unable to speak.
Gu Zhao looked at the hidden suspicion and shock in her eyes. Calm and composed, without the slightest hint of panic, he added:
I went to the clinic today, and Uncle Qi said you had not been there for several days. I was a bit worried, so I came to take a look.
Oh, so that was it. That made sense.
Zhu Qingyu finally stopped coughing, caught her breath, and replied:
Thank you for your concern, Lord Gu. Everything is fine. I have not been to the clinic these past few days firstly because I had some family matters to deal with at home and was not free. Secondly, I thought that even if I could not help you, I should not cause you any trouble. If I went out, I was afraid I would get entangled with Lord Liu again and ruin your important business for no reason.
Gu Zhao still smiled gently and politely:
I see. I thought Doctor Zhu had some misunderstanding about me, either suspecting that Lord Liu and I were accomplices, or suspecting that I had some ulterior motives. Otherwise, why would you try to show me the door right after I sat down?
Zhu Qingyu completely did not expect Lord Gu to speak so bluntly. Today really was something, being questioned to her face one sentence after another. The scene was truly a bit awkward.
And was it that obvious? She clearly felt that she had hidden it quite well.
As for her suspicions about Lord Gu, to say she suspected him of being a bad person, she was not that incapable of distinguishing right from wrong.
Similarly, since she was a married woman and older than Gu Zhao, she would not be so presumptuous as to think that a young master like Gu Zhao, who lacked nothing, would have any romantic feelings for her.
But it was true that she avoided Gu Zhao at every turn and did not want to get involved with him.
If she had to specify the reason, it was generally because, even though she had lived here for three years, deep down she was still an ordinary citizen from modern society who felt a lot of alienation from this world.
She was not accustomed to the luxurious life of wearing the equivalent of a house's worth of clothes, nor did she possess the skills to bow and scrape to the powerful and climb the social ladder. She neither had the ambition to vigorously build a career to become a high official just because she time-traveled, nor the desire to drift among young masters of prominent families to have a dozen unforgettable romances.
She was just an ordinary citizen. Her only wish was to have a skill to support herself, ensuring she had enough to eat and wear. Ideally, she would take in three to five medical apprentices, teach them, and live a peaceful and stable life.
But Gu Zhao had a high status and position, and he came to Yangzhou to handle a major case involving the ban on smuggled salt. He was destined to stir up a storm in Yangzhou. At first glance, he was a huge source of trouble.
Facing such a person, she naturally wanted to run as far away as possible and had no desire to form any ties.
But no matter how much she did not want to form ties, she could not afford to offend him even more. Since Lord Gu asked so directly, Zhu Qingyu immediately showed her loyalty and replied:
You must be joking, My Lord. I am overjoyed that you could come, and my whole family feels honored. You went to the clinic to find me, do you have any orders for me?
Gu Zhao really did have serious business today. He put down his teacup, looked at Zhu Qingyu across the vast divide, and asked:
Lord Liu presented an account book to me. It is evidence of the salt smuggler Lei Dawu colluding with the Zhang family to traffic smuggled salt. I came today precisely to ask Doctor Zhu, has the Zhang family been involved in smuggling?
Lord Gu's soft-spoken words were like a sudden clap of thunder. Zhu Qingyu had wanted to stay away from trouble, but she did not expect trouble to emerge endlessly, rolling in and intensifying.
Smuggling salt was a capital offense that could lead to the confiscation of property and the extermination of the entire family.
It turned out that this Lord Liu was neither trying to use her to curry favor with Gu Zhao, nor trying to use her to harm Gu Zhao, but rather to put the Zhang family to death.
At this point, merely hiding was no longer of any use.
Zhu Qingyu stood up, crossed the divide she had personally drawn, walked right up to Gu Zhao, and with a serious expression, bowed solemnly and said:
I swear to you, there is absolutely no truth to this. I beg Your Excellency to investigate the matter thoroughly and grant our Zhang family a chance to prove our innocence. We would be eternally grateful for your boundless grace.
