Chapter 26, Chapter 26, begins

Several days passed, and Cui Shu witnessed the change in the atmosphere of Jingzhou. He couldn't help but marvel at how interesting the idea of ​​"putting on a show in front of the people" proposed by Miss Shang was.

This was far more effective than their initial plan to impersonate ordinary people and exaggerate the princess's virtues.

He had long thought that this young lady was a remarkable person, and seeing her in person today only confirmed his belief.

Cui Shu waved his sandalwood fan, methodically surveying the layout of Jingzhou while silently outlining a plan for improvement and reconstruction in his mind.

Another day passed, and Jingzhou, which had been shrouded in darkness for so long, finally welcomed the sunlight. The thick clouds gradually dispersed, and the sunlight spilled out.

At this moment, another unexpected guest arrived – the Wanshangmeng merchant caravan.

When Shang Yuji heard the news, she was surprised for a moment, but then she thought that the Wanshang Alliance was a righteous alliance, so this move was not surprising.

However, it seems that Governor Li must be overjoyed and confused again.

For several days in a row, Yan Qing would go to Shang Yuji's residence whenever he had free time, but he would often be lost in thought, and even Jiang Xi noticed his strange behavior.

Right now, Dr. Yan was staring blankly at Jiang Xi's face again. Shang Yuji asked helplessly, "Dr. Yan, is there something wrong with him?"

Yan Qing snapped out of her reverie, glanced at her, and murmured, "I just feel that this young man looks somewhat familiar. Strange, where have I seen him before?"

As one of the two sages of medicine, Yan Qing's memory is undoubtedly exceptional. Anyone who looks familiar to him must be someone he has seen before.

The Gu poison of southern Xinjiang, surnamed Jiang, plus this face...

And twenty years ago...

Twenty years ago!

A flash of inspiration struck Yan Qing, who immediately grasped the idea, as if finding the source of a tangled mess of threads.

Those clear yet youthful eyes fell upon Jiang Xiqu, and Yan Qing suddenly laughed, "I remember now, I remember now!"

This behavior even piqued Shang Yuji's curiosity, prompting her to ask, "Would the old doctor be willing to tell us?"

Yan Qing nodded, coughed twice, and sat down to tell the story in detail: "This matter dates back to twenty years ago."

"Twenty years ago, I made quite a name for myself in the martial arts world. Many people asked me to treat their illnesses. Among them was a woman who asked me to save her husband."

"The woman was extremely beautiful. Based on my years of experience in judging people, I knew she was definitely not from Da'an. Seeing her sincere desire to save her husband, I decided to take a closer look."

At this point, Yan Qing paused, looked at the two people listening attentively, and asked, "Her husband's surname is Jiang. Can you guess which region's Jiang family he is from?"

Shang Yuji realized that what Elder Yan was talking about seemed to be Jiang Xiqu's mother's past. If it was about saving people, it would naturally be Jiang Xiqu's father, Master Jiang of the Jiang family in the west of the capital.

If it were that simple, why would Elder Yan have asked them about it separately? Or is there some other private matter involved?

Master Jiang also has the surname Jiang, so that person might have some connection with Master Jiang. Otherwise, Jiang Xi wouldn't have grown up in the Jiang family mansion.

She had overheard an old man in the mansion mention that Master Jiang had moved to the capital and was not a native of the capital. At the time, she was busy making money to improve the life at Hongyun Garden and did not pay much attention.

Moreover, those maids would rather avoid her than serve the mentally challenged third young master, let alone tell her the whole story.

After thinking for a long time, she suddenly remembered that Jiang Xi had once offended the young master and was punished by him to kneel in the ancestral hall.

She tried to save Jiang Xi, but found no way to do so, so she secretly brought him food while he was being punished by kneeling.

At that time, she was afraid that Jiang Xi would be scared, so she stayed with him for a while. It was very boring to stay in the ancestral hall, so she looked around and happened to see the name on the memorial tablet.

However, she didn't know many characters at the time, but she vaguely recognized a few simple characters. Now that she thinks about it, it was written as "Hebei Road".

As for the punishment of kneeling, it was Madam Jiang who intervened and made Jiang Xi, who was originally punished for three days, kneel for one day and then go back.

It seems the young master wanted to object, but was suppressed by Madam Jiang.

Master Jiang, your ancestral home is Hebei Province. Is the person that woman wants to save also from this place?

Thinking deeper, if the woman didn't save Master Jiang, then the husband she mentioned might be Jiang Xi's real father. Who is he?

Did Master Jiang know that Jiang Xi was not his child?

No, if he wasn't his child, why would the shrewd Mr. Jiang raise him?

Wait a minute, given Master Jiang's attitude of abandoning Jiang Xi in Hongyun Garden and not caring about her at all, it can't be considered that he's raising Jiang Xi.

More importantly, Madam Jiang, Mr. Jiang's second wife, was not mentioned much when Shang Yuji was still in the Jiang family. It was as if she had been erased from the Jiang family. So why did she step in and save Jiang Xi at that time?

Some things are better left unsaid; once you start thinking about them, you discover just how many inconsistencies there are, as if a deeply hidden secret is gradually surfacing.

Thinking of this, Shang Yuji couldn't help but have doubts—

Does the original text contain that many details about the background settings?

But when she tried to recall the contents of the book further, she was horrified to find that the words in her mind were as if veiled, and she could no longer see them clearly.

When did this happen?

When did she forget the contents of the book?

Calm down, calm down first. If she remembers correctly, she wrote down the key details when she regained her memories. She can find them and take a look later. The most important thing now is to answer Doctor Yan's questions.

Shang Yuji calmed her racing heart and replied, "Is it the Jiang family from Hebei Province?"

Yan Qing was somewhat surprised, thinking that she must have her own connections and knew some inside information. He nodded: "Yes, a down-on-his-luck gentry man from Hebei Province. He is quite talented and kind-hearted, but unfortunately, he is born weak and is destined to die young."

"I prescribed a few remedies, which will at most prolong his life for a while. I originally wanted the woman to take it easy, but unexpectedly she..."

After a moment of silence, Yan Qing sighed and said, "She said, 'If medicine can't save them, there's still Gu that can.'"

"At that time, I did not understand what it meant, but now that I have met the young master, I understand."

“The young master looks more like his father, but the man’s face is thin and not as ruddy as the young master’s, so I didn’t recognize him at first glance.”

Doctor Yan's words confirmed her suspicions. Shang Yuji pondered for a moment, then asked, "Does the doctor know their names?"

Since Jiang Xi must be their child, Yan Qing didn't hide anything: "The boy's name is Jiang Moliu, and the girl's name, from what I overheard their conversation, is Yue Mingzhu, which is a nice name."

After a few days, Yan Qing also noticed Jiang Xi's slow and unresponsive nature. This was not due to innate dullness, but rather to the aloofness that had developed from a long period of not communicating with others.

He had seen another case like this before: Old Man Huo's second apprentice, the wolf boy who grew up with wolves, Lin Mingshan.

These two people were both unfortunate and fortunate, as they both encountered kind people who accepted and embraced them.

"Alright, the story is over. Now let me tell you about this Gu." Yan Qing visibly relaxed and smiled. "I was wrong at first. I thought Gu was mostly harmful, but if it was that woman, this Gu should be used to save her life."

"As for whose life we're saving, that's hard to say."

He continued, "If it is a mother's deep love for her child, then this Gu will naturally save the child's life."

Shang Yuji realized what was happening and replied, "But if it's to save the man's Gu, then you're saving someone else's life."

"You're very perceptive, young lady," Yan Qing praised.

But Shang Yuji couldn't laugh. Hesitantly, she asked, "Did she successfully save him using this Gu?"

Doctor Yan pointed to Jiangxi: "The answer has always been right in front of the young lady."

If it had succeeded, Jiang Xi wouldn't have grown up alone in the Jiang family mansion.

"Actually, on the bright side, everything has a price. A secret Gu that can save a person on the verge of death must be very difficult to cultivate. Perhaps she never succeeded in cultivating it in the end?"

Shang Yuji gave a bitter smile: "I hope so..."

She looked back and forth at Jiangxi, unsure of what to say.

"Alright, you little rascal! I haven't even made a decision yet, why do you look like you're hopeless!"

Dr. Yan's sudden shout startled Shang Yuji, but she had to admit that his words made her feel much better.

Yes, it's not even certain whether it's good or bad yet, so why scare yourself away?

And if she's scared, what will happen to Jiang Xi, who has always relied on her?

They have already gone through so many hardships, and they haven't even reached the end together yet. How can they stop halfway because of fear?

After calming herself down, Shang Yuji thanked Doctor Yan, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Doctor Yan. I was just being too concerned."

After seeing Elder Yan off, Shang Yuji felt completely drained and slumped softly against Jiang Xiqu, quietly holding him in her arms.

Jiang Xi reached out and hugged her back, pulling her into his arms and nuzzling the top of her head with his chin.

"You've messed up my hair." Shang Yuji leaned against him, her voice a little muffled.

He immediately stopped what he was doing, glanced at her hair, and finding it wasn't messy, carefully pressed it back against her hair. This time, he didn't continue rubbing against it, and said gently, "If it gets messy, I'll tie it up for you again, Ah Ji. Don't be angry, Ah Ji."

"I'm not angry."

"Then Ah Ji, don't be sad."

"I'm not sad."

"Yes, we're not sad."

Jiang Xi didn't say anything, but the hands around her waist tightened their embrace. They simply held each other quietly in the sunlight and breeze.

Shang Yuji turned his head on his chest, and Jiang Xi felt a little itchy, so he couldn't help but hum.

Are you scared?

She asked about the Gu poison, and Jiang Xi replied, "With Aji here, I'm not afraid."

What he feared most was that Aji would abandon him; as long as Aji was around, he was not afraid of anything else.

Shang Yuji chuckled: "It makes you seem much braver."

Jiang Xi pressed the argument: "Would Aji be willing to stay with me, the one who has become braver?"

She hugged him tighter and whispered, "...I'm willing."

"Ah Ji, I think I'm getting sicker."

"What?"

"My heart is beating so fast, listen to it!"

Shang Yuji, disguised as Doctor Shang, laughed heartily and gave him a diagnosis: "You're not sick, you're just infatuated."

Jiang Xiqu's eyes were clear as she met her smiling gaze, then smiled back, "Yes, yes, it's because of Aji that I'm smitten!"