Chapter 117 Leaving the Capital (Part 1) No effort is ever wasted. ...

Logically, when Jiuli put on his cloak and went into the shop, he saw Du Zhong talking quietly with Xiuzhi in the inner room. He coughed at the door, and sure enough, Yu Qi followed closely behind to the green gauze cabinet. He bumped into Xiuzhi, who was carrying a tea tray out. She walked past him with her head down.

Yu Qi immediately stared sharply at Du Zhong as he stepped into the inner room. Du Zhong quickly stood up and smiled ingratiatingly, "Master, Aunt Guo just came back from shopping and heard some rumors about our family on the street."

Yu Qi sat down and glanced at him sideways. "What rumors?"

"They say a guy named Lu Xiaoshan bought some plasters from us because he had a leg ailment, but instead of healing it, they made his leg completely lame! Our sore ointment is incredibly effective; even if it didn't cure his leg injury, it shouldn't have made it worse! Is this guy trying to scam us?"

Fengqiao, who was outside, heard this and came in from a distance, saying, "I know this person. He came to see me about two days after I got back. I saw that his calves were frostbitten, and it wasn't something that happened overnight. It had been frostbitten for years, so even if it could be treated, it would be too late. I told him then that applying medicine wouldn't work, but now that it's getting cold, it can relieve some of the pain if the skin is frostbitten. The most important thing is to keep him warm to prevent complete necrosis."

Jiuli frowned and said, "Our family's frostbite ointment isn't cheap. Someone who can get frostbite on their legs must be a poor person. A poor person, knowing that this ointment won't cure their legs, is still willing to buy it. That's suspicious. I think he was probably hired by Xu Qing to deliberately ruin our family's reputation. Right now, that opera singer is probably spreading this story. Du Zhong, let's go! Let's go and take a look."

Yu Qi thought to himself that this made sense. Xu Qing was a petty person who had no other skills but was most adept at making up stories.

However, this man is a villain, and he is over forty years old. Even if the old Taoist Jiu Li and Du Zhong were combined, they would not be able to defeat him. I'm afraid that the two of them would suffer some hidden loss if they encountered him. Therefore, he solemnly instructed, "You can go and take a look, but if you run into Xu Qing, the two of you should not cause trouble or argue with him. If anything happens, come back and tell me first."

The two of them agreed repeatedly and strode out onto the street. Du Zhong still turned his head to look into the shop a few times, and whispered to Jiu Li, "Why do I feel like Master knows about Xiu Zhi and me?"

Jiuli rolled her eyelids upwards, thinking to herself, "You're only just realizing that now!"

"Hey, wasn't it you who said that?!"

"Do I need to say anything?" She sneered at him, "How many murder cases has your uncle investigated? What clue could escape his eyes? You think you've hidden it well?"

Du Zhong quickly pulled her aside and asked, "What was Master's attitude?"

"What other attitude can I have? Of course, I'm unhappy."

He nearly jumped three meters high, shouting, "Why?!"

Jiuli sighed, "What else could it be? You can figure it out yourself."

Du Zhong couldn't help but feel melancholy. "Although Xiuzhi is a widow with a son, I don't look down on her. Besides, I'm not some young master from a noble family. I'm just an orphan from a poor family. In terms of background, my life is pretty much the same as hers."

Jiuli glanced at him and pondered, "I don't think Uncle cares about that. Uncle isn't someone who cares about family background or social status. He may say he's concerned about money, but when have you ever seen him actually care?"

"So it's because of Xiuzhi's age? And because she has a son." Du Zhong pursed his lips and looked up, thinking, "That doesn't make sense either. I'm not his son, so he shouldn't care about that."

Jiuli pondered for a moment, then slowly shook her head. "It's probably because of his age, but in my opinion, there are some other concerns, though my uncle didn't tell me."

Du Zhong hurriedly tugged at her arm, "Then you should find out for me! If I know what's going on, I'll have a plan."

Jiuli impatiently flung her arm away. "I know! Don't be in such a hurry. What's the use of being anxious? You're not even twenty yet. It's not too late for a man to get married in his twenties!"

"I'm not late, but Xiuzhi is!"

"Hmph, I think your eyes and heart are only filled with 'Xiuzhi, Xiuzhi'. We're not even married yet. Who will you see after we're married?"

Du Zhong quickly tried to appease him, "Anyway, I can't miss you even if I can't see anyone else. Don't worry, you're like my own sister! My own mother!"

"Who wants to be your mother?!"

Du Zhong blurted out, "Then, Master's wife."

Jiuli suddenly turned to look at him. He regretted his slip of the tongue and quickly pretended that he hadn't said anything. Jiuli was suspicious for a moment, and her face turned slightly red.

As they talked, the two walked to the entrance of the restaurant where they had previously watched the opera performance. Inside, the same old man and young man were still singing, currently performing a story about the chaotic private affairs within the Qi family. The two men, like door gods, leaned against the entrance on either side, arms crossed, listening intently. After this part was finished, they moved on to other songs, but none of them mentioned Lu Xiaoshan.

Jiuli wondered if she was just being paranoid; perhaps Lu Xiaoshan and Xu Qing had nothing to do with each other. But then she heard a diner in the hall ask what happened to Lu Xiaoshan. The old man who had been singing chuckled, "It's just a made-up story. It's over, it's over. What sequel could there be?"

The guests, who were used to hearing his stories, all knew that they were metaphors for real people. When they heard him say it like this, they all found it boring and booed.

Jiuli sneered at Du Zhong, "I thought Xu Qing had changed his ways. Look, Lu Xiaoshan really was a shill he found."

Du Zhong found it strange, "Why isn't the old man talking about this anymore?"

She just shook her head, "I don't know, I'll ask later."

Just then, the old man and the young man finished singing and came out of the hall. Jiu Li rushed up to them and asked them what was going on. Du Zhong went into the hotel and asked the manager to cook a good meal for dinner and send it to the Yu family. Then he turned around and went out to look for Jiu Li, just in time to see the old man and the young man leave.

What did they say?

“I scared them a bit, and they admitted that Xu Qing paid them to make up stories and sing them randomly. They were paid fifty coins a day, but Xu Qing hasn’t sent any money these past few days, so they’ve stopped singing.”

"Has Xu Qing changed her personality?"

Jiuli didn't believe Xu Qing would change his ways, but why not spend fifty coins a day to ruin Yu Qi's reputation as a divine doctor?

She slowly shook her head. "Who knows? Let's go to Xu's Pharmacy. I want to see how good their business can be after ruining our family's reputation!"

The two hired a mule cart on the street and arrived at Xu's Pharmacy, only to find the shop tightly closed. This was unusual, especially since it wasn't a holiday or festival; even if the owner was busy, there should be a shop assistant or manager on duty. The two peeked through the crack in the door and saw that the inside was deserted. Some of the drawers on the medicine cabinet had been pulled out, and various medicinal herbs were scattered all over the floor.

The two looked at each other, and Jiuli murmured, "Could something have happened to the Xu family?"

No sooner had they finished speaking than a shop assistant from the neighboring shop came over and asked, "Are you here for a medical check-up and to get medicine? You should find another pharmacy. Something has happened to the Xu family, and they haven't been open for several days."

Du Zhong hurriedly asked, "What happened to their family?"

The shop assistant said, "Dr. Xu's son mortgaged this shop and the family's land deed at the casino to borrow money for gambling. Now he has lost all the money and the house is also lost. The casino owner has been urging them to move out these past few days."

Du Zhong clicked his tongue in amazement, "So this shop used to belong to their family."

The waiter shrugged and said, "Alright! They all belong to someone else now!"

The two men, wanting to see Xu Qing make a fool of himself at the Xu family's house, inquired about the location. It wasn't far; it was the third house down in a main alley ahead. The lanterns hanging in front of the doors had the family name written on them, making it very easy to find. The two men found the alley in no time, and by sheer coincidence, they saw the Guan family's carriage in the alley, with two servants leaning against it, chatting and laughing.

When the two men approached, one of them was Guan Youjun's usual driver. Upon asking, they learned that they had come with Guan Youjun to the Xu family to collect the house.

Du Zhong was shocked. "So, that casino is also a business your family owns?"

The two servants chuckled, "It's nothing. We have four or five casinos like this."

The two stared in disbelief as they entered the gate that ran along the wall of the Xu family's residence. In front of them was a spacious courtyard, surrounded by various flowers, stones, plants, and trees, which concealed the covered walkways and houses behind it. In the middle of the courtyard, there was a stone table, and kneeling beside it was a young man in his early twenties, whose face and body were covered with marks from being beaten. He was sobbing with his shoulders hunched.

Across from them was a hall with several doors open. Several servants of the Guan family stood in the corridor. From inside came a woman's leisurely voice, "Doctor Xu, it's your business if you beat your son. Even if you beat him to death, he's still your Xu family's son, and it has nothing to do with us. But this house and the shops on the street in front of you now belong to the Guan family. You can't just refuse to move. If you find it troublesome, we brought people here today to help you move them. We won't take any reward from you."

Xu Qing suddenly knelt down in front of Youjun, "Miss Guan, where do you want my family to move to? You are not someone who lacks a place to live. Please be kind and give us a few more days. I will definitely gather the seven hundred taels of silver and send it to your residence!"

As he spoke, his wife and two beautiful young daughters knelt down as well. Youjun sat in her chair, sipping tea, her eyes fixed on the teacup, not on anyone, and smiled faintly. "The due date for repayment on the IOU was long ago, but I was understanding of your difficulties, Dr. Xu, so I delayed it for ten days. Now you want an extension? It's not that I'm heartless, Dr. Xu, please think about it for me. There are quite a few people who owe the Guan family money. If you want an extension today, someone else will want one tomorrow. How am I supposed to do business if I can't collect the debts? You know, businessmen like us all look glamorous on the surface, but actually all our money is tied up in accounts and goods. We don't have any cash on hand, and we're just waiting for your money. If I don't urge you, who else am I supposed to urge?"

She casually placed the teacup on the chair, her eyes lazily scanning his two daughters behind him. One was thirteen or fourteen, and the other was fifteen or sixteen, both in the prime of their youth, beautiful as flowers.

Niangzhuang, standing beside the chair, noticed her gaze and smiled. "You won't give up the house, and you can't afford the money. How about I dare to offer you a suggestion, Doctor Xu? Your two daughters are of marriageable age. Why don't we find two good families for you two? We don't need any matchmaker's fee, and you'll have wealthy sons-in-law to pay off the debts you owe us. What do you say?"

Xu Qing and his wife were horrified. What matchmaking? It was just about sending their two daughters to those powerful figures who had a significant business relationship with the Guan family! The couple shook their heads in panic.

Niangzhuang said again, "Goodness, even your daughter won't give in. Is she trying to renege on our debt? Ah Si, come in. Just like you helped Doctor Xu move his shop a few days ago, you should help him move it today."

As he spoke, he glanced outside the door and was startled to see the Nine-Carp Eucommia.

Xu Qing also saw the two of them and suddenly understood. He hurriedly kowtowed to Guan Youjun, "Miss Guan, I understand what you mean. Don't worry, from now on I will never dare to cause trouble for the Yu family again. Tomorrow I will bring gifts to apologize to Doctor Yu and kowtow! I was wrong about what happened before. I made a mistake and had the wrong idea." As he spoke, he slapped himself in the face, "I was wrong! I was wrong! I was wrong!—"

Youjun ignored him, only beckoning to the door, calling Jiuli and Duzhong in, "What are you two doing here?"

As Jiu Li laughed, she glanced at Xu Qing's fat body. "There was a guy named Lu Xiaoshan who said he used our medicine to cure his leg. Du Zhong and I secretly investigated and found out that his leg had been damaged for a long time. He was instructed by Doctor Xu to deliberately buy medicine from our family in an attempt to extort money from us."

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing quickly moved her knees in front of her, "Oh, Miss Jiu Li, I was blinded by greed, I will never do it again!"

Du Zhong spat, "So you realize you're wrong now? You think our business is bad so yours will be good? Now you can barely keep your house and shop. Humph, I think you deserve it!"

Xu Qing then called his wife and daughter to kowtow together, and said urgently, "Will it be settled if I post a notice to clarify the previous matter?"

Du Zhong's heart softened upon seeing his two daughters, so he quietly pleaded with Youjun. Youjun smiled and said, "Alright then, for Mr. Yu's sake, I won't take the house. I'll take the shop first, and use the market value to offset the four hundred taels of silver you owe me. You can pay back the remaining three hundred taels within three months." With that, she pulled Jiu Li and Du Zhong aside and turned to leave, saying, "Let's go."

Niangzhuang followed closely behind, smiling at Xu Qing, "Doctor Xu, it's not that our young lady is heartless, but who told you to offend Mr. Yu of all people? Mr. Yu helped our Guan family find the real culprit who killed Second Master, he is our young lady's benefactor. How could our young lady watch you ruin the Yu family's business? I advise you to take advantage of the money you still have and quickly rent a suitable shop to start your business again. You should be able to pay off the three hundred taels in three months."

Jiuli had already been led out by Youjun's hand, but she overheard a few words and couldn't help but turn around to look at her mother. Well, the Xu family's shop had fallen into the hands of the Guan family. The Guan family got the benefit, but they had also done the Yu family a favor. The Xu family would probably hold the Yu family accountable for this.

But if she tried to explain herself now, Xu Qing wouldn't listen. Guan Youjun's demeanor made it seem like she was really there to stand up for the Yu family; even she had almost thought so just now. She glanced at Youjun, who turned around with a smile and urged her to get into her carriage, saying she would take her and her brother home. Both she and Du Zhong were a little afraid of her, so they quickly smiled and declined.

Youjun pouted and scolded her, "What time is it? Dinner will be ready in a little while. You don't want me to take you home, do you want to go somewhere else to play? You're so old, but you're still like a child. You want to play instead of eating dinner? Come on, don't delay, I'll take you home in my car."

Unable to refuse, Jiu Li and Du Zhong had no choice but to board the carriage with a smile. After traveling for a short while, the young ruler asked, "I wonder how Lord Qi is doing lately?"

Jiuli shook her head and said, "The last time we saw him was in October when we went to his house to pay our respects. We haven't seen him since. I heard that his family has been busy these past few days burying his elder brother in the countryside."

"Lord Qi is really in a difficult position. There's so much gossip going on outside, even I can't bear to hear it." As she spoke, she looked at Jiu Li and smiled. "Is his mother really having an affair with his elder brother? I find it hard to believe."

At this point, Jiu Li felt guilty and embarrassed, so she nodded casually and changed the subject, "So your aunt's family also ran a casino?"

“I just run it casually for fun. I don’t like this kind of business. It’s noisy and chaotic, so I don’t usually manage it. I leave it to a few people who know about these things. I just look at the accounts.”

Du Zhong interjected, "I heard that casinos have thugs, is that true?"

Youjun turned her gaze to him and smiled. After a while, she patted his head and said, "Don't be curious about places like this. Gambling is not a good thing. They say a little gambling is harmless, but once you see money, who can resist greed?"

“I’m not curious about that. I just didn’t expect that Xu Qing’s son was a gambler. I never heard anyone mention it when we were at Liyuan.”

Youjun smiled silently. Xu Qing's son didn't gamble before, but if the casino owner wanted to lure people into gambling, there were plenty of tricks. Besides, the young master of the Xu family was young and impetuous, and there were plenty of ways to make him go bankrupt.

Jiuli was horrified by the smile on her face. She pulled her cloak over herself and wished she could get home immediately.

As soon as the carriage turned onto Liuli Street, she couldn't wait to lift the curtain to look, but she saw Xiuzhi carrying a food box coming from the other side of the house. She quickly dropped the curtain and told Du Zhong, who then lifted the curtain again and called out to Xiuzhi.

Xiuzhi walked to the carriage, handed over the food box, and said, "The food from the restaurant has been delivered home. Master told me to pick a few dishes to pack, and he also gave me two days off to take home and eat. You should go back and eat soon, Master is waiting for you."

Hearing that she wanted to go back, Du Zhong quickly jumped out of the carriage and told Youjun and Jiuli to go ahead first, pulling her aside to the side of the street. Youjun, however, told the driver to wait for him, and peeked through the curtain to see the two of them whispering to each other. Although she couldn't hear what they were saying, Du Zhong, being just a young man, had his love written all over his face. She stared at Xiuzhi for a long time, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Jiuli felt that she had noticed something, so she said, "Auntie, when you see my uncle later, don't tell him that we ran into Sister Guo on the street."

She lowered the curtain and smiled in agreement. After a while, Du Zhong returned, the carriage started, and soon arrived at the door. At this moment, there was no one at the counter, presumably they had gone to eat in the back. The counter was not set up, and the lights were not turned on, making the shop dim. Only a charcoal brazier in the inner room emitted a dim orange-red light. Yu Qi sat in a chair, clearly waiting for Jiu Li and Du Zhong.

Jiuli hurried into the inner room, chattering as she said, "Uncle, don't worry, Xu Qing has promised to post a notice tomorrow to clarify those rumors. Our family business will gradually return to normal!"

Yu Qi slowly got up and took two steps to greet him, saying, "Why are you back so late? It's almost dark."

He was wearing an indigo cloak over a deep blue round-necked robe with narrow sleeves and a band of white fox fur around the cuffs. A hand with slender bones emerged from the robe, shook Jiu Li's hand briefly, and then let go. "While there's still a fire here, warm your hands so you can go inside for dinner later."

Youjun watched from outside, and suddenly thought of her father who had passed away many years ago. She went inside and said, "Mr. Yu doesn't ask about Xu Qing's affairs. It seems you don't care much about whether the business is doing well or not."

When Yu Qifang saw her, he smiled with his hands behind his back, "What are you saying? We're not a wealthy family, so of course we care. But didn't Yu'er just say that Xu Qing was willing to clarify things when he came in? Why are you asking him?"

He didn't press further, as it wouldn't be appropriate to do someone a favor too directly. Youjun could only smile wryly. It was alright; after she left, Jiuli Duzhong would naturally tell him that every bit of her effort was never wasted.

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Author's note: Thank you for reading.

My next book is called "Don't Love Her," but it's short, probably less than 300,000 words. Feel free to add it to your favorites!