Chapter 34 What medicine did the suspicious wife give me? ...

The air in Shouzhen Hall was thick with tension. The staff cautiously glanced at Sailinfu's sinister face, not daring to breathe. His eyes were like poisoned daggers; anyone who met his gaze would fall dead.

The shop assistant, Da Cheng, whispered, "Boss, how about... how about we go out and chase them away?"

Sailin slammed his hand on the table, the impact sending a shiver of pain through his palm. He resisted the urge to rub it in front of everyone and gritted his teeth, saying, "We'll come out and kick them out? Do you think that's not enough proof?"

Another young waiter suggested, "How about we have Master Shi Chun find a secluded spot later and teach them a lesson?"

Shi Chun was the leader of the three men who were sent to teach Qing Duo and Lu Nong a lesson last time. Upon hearing this, he glared at the waiter and said, "Do you know who that guy outside wielding the stick is? He County Magistrate's brother-in-law! Usually, everyone avoids him out of respect for County Magistrate He, let alone provoking him. And you want me to go and provoke him? You go if you want! I'm not going!"

"Shut up! Useless trash!" Serin shouted. The men all lowered their heads, not daring to utter another word.

Sailinfu paced back and forth in the shop, his old face ashen with anger. His spiky cheeks, resembling stale shrimp, made him look like someone who had eaten them the previous day – the kind that would cause diarrhea. After circling the shop for what seemed like forty-nine times, he stopped, as if contemplating a clever, albeit harmful, scheme. He stroked his spiky cheeks and gave a sinister laugh. The line of shop assistants, though not looking up, felt a chill run down their spines, as if they had eaten spoiled shrimp and were now vomiting and having diarrhea. They felt a faint call from the King of Hell and couldn't help but shiver.

"Trying to mess with me? You little brat!" Serin straightened his back, turned around slowly and ordered, "Go! Go put the board on! We're not doing business today."

Da Cheng exclaimed in surprise, "Shopkeeper! Doesn't this just do what they wanted?"

"Just do what I tell you to do! Stop arguing! I know what I'm doing!" Serinfu sneered a few times and said, "Don't they like to make trouble? Let them make a good fuss then, hehe! They're just like 'cicadas in the summer heat—they won't sing for more than a few days'! The happier they are now, the more miserable they'll be later!"

His face had barely regained its composure when one of the janitors, influenced by what was happening outside, casually hummed, "Sailingfu, Sai Goupi..." He was slapped around the shoulder by those around him, and only then did he snap out of it, begging for forgiveness, "I was wrong, I was wrong, boss! Please be magnanimous, just consider it as me talking nonsense... no, no, no, not nonsense... even worse than nonsense..." He suddenly remembered that line from the song; wasn't this just making things worse? His legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.

Serinfu's face was ashen, as if he were wearing a bronze mask. He said coldly, "Chun, take her away. Discipline her properly! Let everyone know that those who betray me will never have a good end!"

*

“Sai Linfu, Sai Gou Pi…” Qing Duo hummed happily all the way home. Having just won a battle, “General” Qing Duo couldn’t wait to share her victory with Zeng Zhengqing.

"Qingqing!" She burst through the beaded curtain at the door, as if adorning herself with jewels. Before she could even remove it, she excitedly exclaimed, "I have something important to tell you! Today—whoosh!" Before she could finish speaking, she took a closer look at the person inside the room, gasped in surprise, and hurriedly retreated.

The beads bounced up and down, swaying and colliding, making a clear sound. Before the sound could subside, the person inside rushed out, shouting, "Ah Zhao, come back here! Let's see how long you can hide!"

"Hmph! You haven't come to painting class for days? Why don't you switch to learning a musical instrument? I see you're quite good at backing out!"

It was Tang Li who spoke. Qingduo slowly turned back, called out "Dad," and complained, "Why do you always say discouraging things? Can't you encourage me?"

"Didn't I just praise you for your good comeback?" Tang Li said sarcastically. "Which young lady said that two mere portraits are nothing special? I wonder when I'll ever see 'nothing special'?"

Knowing she was in the wrong, Qingduo smiled apologetically and said, "Quickly, very quickly, I'll go paint right now and serve you the freshest, hottest dish." She patted her chest and promised, "I won't even eat dinner until I finish painting!"

She spoke with unwavering resolve, and as soon as she stepped into the house, she saw Zeng Zhengqing sitting there, smiling at her after hearing her words. She glanced back at Tang Li still standing outside, then rushed to Zeng Zhengqing, her face contorted with grief, and whispered, "Qingqing, I'm starving! You must secretly bring me some food!"

You have no idea how hard I shouted today!

Before she could say these words to him, the sound of the beaded curtain swaying came from behind. Qingduo shuddered and stood up straight, quickly turned into the room, swung her arms, and walked towards the desk, saying, "Look, I'm going to draw now."

Tang Li put his hands behind his back and snorted, "What? Do I have to praise you for how you walk?"

Zeng Zhengqing smiled and helped her smooth things over: "Last time, Madam took a few days off and often felt remorseful. She told me about this matter and deeply regretted it..."

Before he could finish speaking, Qingduo's voice came from inside: "Yes, yes, yes, I deeply agree, I deeply agree! I'm not a casual person! I have a scale in my heart!"

Zeng Zhengqing chuckled, while Tang Li sternly reprimanded, "Miss 'Scale,' concentrate! Painting is all about contemplation. How can you achieve exquisite detail if you're not focused?"

There was a sudden silence inside. Zeng Zhengqing and Tang Li chatted for a while, then, not wanting to disturb Qingduo, they went elsewhere to have a drink.

Only she remained in the room, a small figure. With a brush tip dipped in ink, she sketched the woman's clear eyes with a few strokes, then blended the ink. Her stomach rumbled, and she patted it to comfort herself while lazily drawing her eyebrows. It wasn't until Zeng Zhengqing sent Fangqing to bring food that she wolfed down her food, filling her stomach. Only then did she regain her energy and immediately picked up her brush, creating a painting of a lady playing the zither.

She looked left and right, quite satisfied with her work. Seeing that Zeng Zhengqing and Tang Li hadn't returned yet, Qingduo decided to rest for a bit and first prepare Zeng Zhengqing's medicine. Learning to paint, "confronting" Sailinfu, and preparing medicine—she could shoulder three heavy responsibilities simultaneously, and not only that, she completed each one excellently.

She proudly raised her chin; only she could do that.

*

When Zeng Zhengqing returned to his room, he found that Qingduo was not there. He asked Fangqing and learned that Qingduo had gone to brew medicine.

Fang Qing said, "The young mistress is very attentive to the young master. She never lets anyone else do the medicine brewing; she does it all herself."

She originally wanted Zeng Zhengqing to know Qingduo's feelings for him, but Zeng Zhengqing's heart stirred upon hearing this, and he asked, "Do you know what kind of medicine Madam is brewing?"

Fang Qing shook her head and said, "This servant did not know. The washing, soaking, decocting, and the subsequent treatment of the dregs were all done by the young mistress herself. She did not allow us to be present when she was decocting the medicine."

Zeng Zhengqing fell into deep thought. He recalled the first time he drank this medicine. At the time, he thought it was part of Qingduo's act of being a virtuous wife and didn't think much of it. But recently, she hadn't acted like a virtuous wife for a long time, clearly having forgotten about it, yet she had continued to brew the medicine until now. Could there be no connection between the two?

Then, a sudden realization struck him: the strange feeling in his body, the growing restlessness, seemed to have started after he began drinking the "tonic medicine." He frowned, deeply alarmed. Qingduo entered carrying a bowl of medicine and, seeing him, asked in surprise, "Why are you alone? Where's my father?"

“My father-in-law had too much to drink, so I arranged for him to stay at a hotel.”

Qingduo pouted unhappily and said, "Did he come here to drink or to urge me to paint? He even said I gave up halfway. Humph, the pot calling the kettle black."

She then remembered something and regretted, "Oh dear! He shouldn't have been drinking! His hand tremors haven't gotten better yet, and the doctor specifically told him not to touch alcohol!"

Zeng Zhengqing was taken aback, thought for a moment, and said, "Does your hand tremble, Father-in-law?"

“Why isn’t it shaking!” Qingduo put down the medicine bowl, stretched her hand in front of Zeng Zhengqing, and imitated Tang Li’s trembling. “Look, like this, like a peacock shaking its tail to attract a mate.”

Zeng Zhengqing couldn't help but laugh out loud. He thought about it carefully and said, "Maybe I didn't notice." As he spoke, he turned slightly towards Qingduo. The bitter smell of medicine on the table hit his nostrils, arousing his suspicion. He pointed to the medicine bowl and asked, "Madam, what kind of medicine is in here?"

"Well..." Qingduo stammered, her eyes fixed on Fangqing. Fangqing tactfully withdrew. Zeng Zhengqing thought she was going to explain, but she only vaguely said, "It's medicine that's good for your health."

Zeng Zhengqing realized almost instantly: there's something wrong with this medicine, there's definitely something wrong with it! He said slowly, "If Madam doesn't explain clearly, I won't drink it anymore."

Upon hearing this, Qingduo immediately became anxious. She hurriedly said, "No, no, you have to drink it, Qingqing, don't you trust me? I would never harm you!"

Zeng Zhengqing sighed inwardly: You would never intentionally harm me, yet you will harm me in ways that are invisible. I absolutely dare not trust you!

He said, "Of course I trust you, Madam, but since you won't tell me the truth, you don't trust me."

"I believe you, I believe you!" Qingduo quickly replied. "Don't feel guilty, this is just a prescription for replenishing the spirit. It's nothing special!"

Zeng Zhengqing stared at her with a half-smile: "Since it's just a common tonic... Ah, Madam has been working so hard to prepare medicine for me, she should drink this cup first."

Qingduo was speechless. Why should she drink? She didn't need anything! So she honestly shook her head and said, "I won't drink."

“Then I won’t drink it either.” Zeng Zhengqing pushed the medicine bowl forward.

"You have to drink it!" Qingduo pushed it back forcefully, causing the medicine to shake violently and splash onto the table.

Why should I drink it?

“Because you don’t…” Qingduo stopped in time and changed the subject, saying, “You can’t not drink it.”

Zeng Zhengqing stood up abruptly, making a move to leave, and said, "I'll go back to my study first."

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Qingduo grabbed his arm and hugged him tightly, her nails almost digging into his flesh. She cried out, "I'll drink! I'll drink! Don't go! Don't go!"

"It really is just a regular tonic..." Qingduo picked up the medicine bowl, tears welling up in her eyes. Heavens! If she drank this medicine meant for men, would she grow male genitalia? Just this once, surely it won't, right?

Alas! It's all because Qingqing is impotent! She looked at Zeng Zhengqing with pity, her heart filled with tenderness. Hmm! A chivalrous woman of the martial world values ​​loyalty above all else. Qingqing has been working on it for so long; she absolutely cannot let it collapse again just when she's about to succeed!

The helplessness in her heart turned into a heroic spirit. Qingduo felt relieved and drank the medicine soup in the bowl in one gulp, with a sense of "laughing and talking about drinking the blood of the Huns".

Zeng Zhengqing frowned and thought to himself, "If you're going to take the medicine, then take the medicine. What was with that pitying look on my face just now?"

-----------------------

Author's Note: I can't imagine the scene where Zeng Zhengqing finds out that Qingduo thought he was impotent.