Take Care of My Own Food
In regards to the matter of Hundred Herb Hall, Yao shi continued to remain resolutely opposed. Her explanation was: “Hundred Herb Hall is run by that person. My A-Heng does not know that sort of medicine, nor does she have those strange medical pills and tablets. Our Yao family’s medicine is not like that in the slightest. That person is a demon. Feng Jin Yuan, why must to force my daughter to become like that demon?” Yao shi was truly unable to understand: “If you like that sort of daughter, why did you still treat her that way when she returned to the manor? You clearly don’t like that sort of daughter. You feel that she is stealing away your glory and feel that you have no way of controlling her. That’s why you did all that you could to get rid of her. Now that our real daughter has come back, you are forcing her to become like that. Feng Jin Yuan, what sort of heart do you have?”
When it came to the matter of her daughter, Yao shi did not show any give. The relationship between her and Feng Jin Yuan was already awkward. The two were enemies while in the capital. Even after they came to the South, it was for the sake of maintaining an image of peace for Fu Ya. In truth, the two were completely incapable of facing each other for her. Even if they slept in the same bedchamber for the sake of not being discovered, there was still a board installed in the middle of the bed.
Yao shi had just heard that someone had come to ask about opening a Hundred Herb Hall, and her first reaction was fear that Fu Ya would become like Feng Yu Heng. The fear caused her to quickly make an appearance to stop it. No matter what the actual situation, she cursed out Feng Jin Yuan first.
Feng Jin Yuan had been cursed for no real reason, “When have I said that I want to open a Hundred Herb Hall? I’m all too keen to never have anyone mention those three words! Could it be that I don’t know that we don’t have the ability to open one? Woman, what if that person had not left yet? With you raising such a commotion, what would happen if it was heard by that person? You really are liable to ruin everything!”
Neither of the two relented when it came to this argument, and there was nothing that Fu Ya could do. She could only plead with Yao shi: “Mother, don’t be anxious. We don’t intend to open a Hundred Herb Hall. It was just that someone suddenly came to visit. Father and I were just worrying about it!”
“Worried? What is there to worry about? Just directly refuse it! A-Heng, we absolutely must not open Hundred Herb Hall. That is something that person does. You must not learn from her. Mother does not want that sort of daughter. My daughter is just a young girl and does not have that much ability. We will just live out our life. You must not think of standing out. After a few more months, and you have become of marriageable age, mother will go and speak with the prefect’s madam to have her help you find someone nice.”
“Shut your mouth!” Feng Jin Yuan had also become irritated, “What’s this about finding someone nice? Have you gone crazy? Why did we come over here? What is that prefect’s family getting close to us for? Do you really think that coming here is that idle? Yao Qian Rou! Put away your aloofness. If you really love your daughter, think about her. Do not bring up anything about finding someone nice. Our daughter will be engaged to His Highness the eighth prince!” Feng Jin Yuan was really on the verge of being driven insane by Yao shi. If Yao shi really went and spoke to Jiang shi about finding someone for Fu Ya, would it not be the end? Not to mention this reaching His Highness the eighth prince’s ears and what sorts of thoughts he would have, but even if it was heard by the citizens of Lan Zhou, that would also cause some problems!
Yao shi was given a start from being shouted at, and she immediately recalled what the person in black clothes that had found her had said. To escape from the capital and to be together with her daughter, she had to obey. She had to obey His Highness the eighth prince and Noble Lady Yuan’s instructions. She would pretend to be a couple with Feng Jin Yuan to give Fu Ya the appearance of being the real Feng Yu Heng. Most importantly, from this day forward, Feng Yu Heng was His Highness the eighth prince’s. She no longer had any relationship with the ninth prince.
Yao shi also knew that she had misspoken,. Even if she did not want Fu Ya to marry into the imperial family, with things as they were, there was no way of changing it. This was the bargaining chip used to leave the capital. It was also the foundation that allowed them to live peacefully in Lan Zhou.
She lowered her head and said with reluctance: “Most important of all, don’t open a Hundred Herb Hall!”
Fu Ya also said: “That’s right, you don’t want a Hundred Herb Hall to be opened? What medical knowledge do I have? Where would I get those medical pills and tablets? All over the world, nobody has ever heard of the things that she has. Where would we go and find some?”
While the group was causing a fuss, Feng Jin Yuan had also been thinking about a great deal, but the more he thought, the more he felt that not opening a Hundred Herb Hall was incorrect, as he analyzed the situation for the two: “Everyone knows that Imperial Daughter Ji An’s biggest business is her Hundred Herb Hall. Her accessory shop and antique shop are both small operations, but the Hundred Herb Hall has been constantly expanding. There is not just one in the capital, as each province has a hall. Oh, I heard that it’s now called… Hundred Herb Hospital? Now that we have come to Lan Zhou, if we are too uninterested in that matter, it would be an easy thing for people to latch onto.” As he spoke, he looked at Yao shi and continued: “You don’t want to think of that person when Hundred Herb Hall is brought up, but in truth, Hundred Herb Hall is a shop that was part of your dowry. It was originally something that belonged to you. It was your Yao family’s thing. It did not completely belong to that person. Even now that the business is under her name, the words Hundred Herb Hall is part of the Yao family’s glory. Could it be that you don’t want carry on the Yao family’s glory?”
Yao shi was a bit moved by what he had said, but in the end, she was not someone with a strong personality that liked to compete. To her, Hundred Herb Hall was something that did not need to be inherited. She had made up her mind that she would have nothing to do with medicine in this life, nor did she have any thoughts about whether or not Hundred Herb Hall would prosper or fail. But Feng Jin Yuan was right. They had come to Lan Zhou. If they did not show any interest at all in Hundred Herb Hall, it would be cause for suspicion.
Yao shi felt her head swell and regret that she had come here. She waved her hand to Feng Jin Yuan, “Just do as you see fit.” She then turned around and left, no longer wanting to remain inside the hall.
Fu Ya accompanied her for a few steps, and she was a bit hurried after returning. Feng Jin Yuan said to her: “Drag it out for a few more days. We need to think about it carefully. I will be going to the prefect’s office. Aside from finding a doctor to teach you the basics of medicine, I will also tell Lord Ji about this matter. As for Fang Ru Jiang, since he is one of Lan Zhou’s medicine merchants, he should have a bit of an understanding.”
In the South, Feng Jin Yuan’s family had not been enjoying a quiet life; however, inside the Winter Moon Palace of the imperial palace in the capital, laughter filled the air. It was because Feng Yu Heng had asked Xuan Tian Hua to send the little white tiger to Imperial Concubine Yun right before she had left. Xuan Tian Ming would also be heading to the South very shortly. Fearing that Imperial Concubine Yun would be extremely bored, the little white tiger was deliberately sent to be her companion.
Imperial Concubine Yun loved this little thing. Although it was a tiger, although Xiao Bai ate a great deal, who knew why the little guy just grew slowly. It had been many months, but it had only grown a small amount since it had been brought over. It looked like a large cat. Imperial Concubine Yun frequently carried it around Winter Moon Palace on idle strolls. From time to time, she would scare the palace maids and grannies. This had scared the servants quite a great deal.
The little white tiger had keen eyes. It knew who the master was and knew who it could get tasty food from, as it spent its days being intimate with Imperial Concubine Yun. When it saw Imperial Concubine Yun, it would hug her leg. As soon as Imperial Concubine Yun sat down, it would immediately run over and warm up her feet. When Imperial Concubine Yun played the zither, it would sit to the side with a look of happiness. This caused Imperial Concubine Yun to always give it a good amount of delicious food, and the person and tiger would frequently sit across from each other. In just a short period of time, they could finish three large plates of pork shoulders.
Gradually, the palace servants also became accustomed to it and knew that the little white tiger did not bite people. It was also very smart. It was as though it had a mind and could communicate on a basic level with people. It could understand some basic words. The palace servants were very surprised. Occasionally, Imperial Concubine Yun would sleep at noon, and they would bring the little white tiger to play in the yard. Gradually, they began to like this little white tiger.
At this time, Feng Yu Heng’s caravan had already reached Mei Province. After another half a month, they would reach Shu Zhou’s border. This journey had been fatiguing. Even the modified wheels could not compare to the shock absorption of modern car tires. Even Xiang Rong had gone from being excited to withered.
The group sat in the carriage, and there would be long stretches of time without anyone speaking. There were times when they slept and times when they ate snacks. Feng Yu Heng would send her consciousness into her space to tidy up the things inside the space.
Wang Chuan was rather alert, as she constantly remained vigilant about the movements outside. Mei Province’s climate was a bit warmer than the capital, but it was not too much warmer. Feng Yu Heng figured that it was only three to five degrees warmer, but the wind was weaker. That was why it felt quite comfortable.
“Young Miss, there is a tea shop ahead. How about we get out to rest for a bit and fill our bellies?” Wang Chuan lowered the curtain and turned around to say to Feng Yu Heng: “I figure that we will only be able to reach Shu Zhou in the evening, and we will definitely be missing out on lunch.”
Feng Yu Heng opened her eyes and looked outside, nodding: “Alright, let’s stop at the tea stall.” She said to Huang Quan: “In a moment, take a look at what sort of food that tea shop has for sale. If there isn’t anything good, just have everyone eat what has been prepared in their carriages. We can just wait until Shu Zhou to fill up.”
As she spoke, the group stopped, and everyone got out of the carriages. Two of the hidden guards riding horses had gone into the forest to the side, saying that they would take a look and see if there were any pheasants or hares. The remainder of the group headed toward the tea stall. Those that could be seated would sit, and those that could not just found a place to squat down. This stall was run by an old couple and a daughter that was not even ten years of age. The young girl was very sharp. Upon seeing so many people coming over, she quickly went to boil water. The old woman looked around and saw that Feng Yu Heng was the one that made the decisions. She then quickly came over and asked: “Young Miss, our place is lacking and does not have much good food. It just has some tea and coarse noodles. With all of you coming, will you be eating a bit or will you just be having some tea?” The tea stall at the side of the road had poor conditions. The old woman saw that these people wore decent clothing, and she felt a bit embarrassed to bring out the coarse noodles.
The people had been on the road for such a long time, and they had eaten at this sort of tea stall more than just once or twice. They all knew that these noodles would not be delicious. Feng Yu Heng just said: “Just boil some hot water for us.” While saying this, she pulled out some tea leaves: “Use our leaves to brew tea. Also, we will borrow your pots to make some food. We have brought all of those things. Don’t worry, there will be no shortage of money.” She gestured to Huang Quan, and Huang Quan pulled out five taels of silver to hand to the old woman: “It’s enough, right?”
The granny had never seen any silver. They had opened up this stall on the side of the road, and a cup of tea only cost a single copper coin. Of course, it was called tea, but it was made using the tea leaf powder. Food only cost three copper coins. From morning until night, they could only earn tens of copper coins. There were times when there were fewer people passing by, and they would not earn anything for an entire day. Now, an entire piece of silver was being handed over. They really had never seen it before. Even the old man and young girl came over. The little girl was young and did not know how to be afraid. At that time, she immediately said: “How… how much money is that? Is this a full tael?”