Chapter 24 Recognizing a Father

The letter was about to be sent out, but Gu Congsi did not leave. He looked at Su Qing, who was engrossed in handling official documents, and said, "I would like to ask my parents to exchange name cards and birth dates with your family. After finishing my official business today, could you discuss this with Aunt Mei?"

Luo Hufang, Yunxi, and Liu Xiaomei exchanged a glance and then became happy.

Are these two finally going to get married?!

Even if it's not convenient to get married now, getting engaged is fine too.

Luo Hufang, having experienced much, understood that this was Gu Xiucai's consideration, wanting to put Su Zhushi at ease.

No matter who takes charge, Su Qing has a way out.

Another reason is that the autumn imperial examinations are just around the corner this year.

When Gu Xiucai became Gu Juren, the resistance from the Gu family became even greater.

After all, neither Mr. and Mrs. Gu wanted this situation.

If the situation changes in the future, I estimate that he will leave with Gu Congsi overnight.

Everyone working in the government office knows Gu Jia's little schemes.

Not to mention, Gu Xiucai had never made a clear statement before, at most he had some contact with Mei Niang.

If it weren't for his actions, many people would have almost forgotten that the two had a verbal engagement.

Everyone else knows this, so how could Su Qing not understand? She rubbed her temples.

Now she is focused on keeping her official position and drying and storing the harvested medicinal herbs for the army to take over.

I don't have time to worry about these things.

Besides, she hadn't seriously considered this so-called marriage.

Now is not a good time to think.

If she had to choose, she would prefer to cancel it.

After considering for a moment, Su Qing said, "There are many things to do right now. Let's talk about it after we're done with these matters."

And then?!

Gu Congsi glanced at Luo Hufang and the others, gesturing for them to leave.

How can you say that again?

The two had already been engaged, and this was simply a matter of moving forward.

Su Qing shook her head, not letting Luo Hufang leave. She was too busy dealing with the medicinal herbs. Where were you going?

Luo Hufang wanted to leave but couldn't, and wanted to stay but couldn't.

What business is it of mine if you two are arguing?

"The letter must be sent out as soon as possible," Su Qing reminded him. "We don't know when the imperial order will come down."

It shouldn't be too long.

It is now the sixth day of the fifth lunar month.

If the provincial examinations are to be held as scheduled, officials at all levels must take up their posts in July and depart in June.

Time waits for no one.

He didn't wait for her.

Gu Congsi had no choice but to put aside his business with Su Qing for the time being. He immediately sent a messenger with a proper message and gave the messenger extra money to ensure that the message was delivered as quickly as possible.

The outside world is currently unaware that Nanjiang County may become a logistics transit point, and that there may be a change in leadership.

Nowadays, every household is paying attention to medicinal herbs.

For those already planted, the harvesting and drying of pesticides will be done meticulously, without any carelessness.

For those that haven't been planted yet, it's necessary to agree on the medicinal herb seedlings and prepare suitable fields for planting.

Even families with limited land can still create a small vegetable garden area.

The government has said that we should use our spare resources to grow medicinal herbs and not damage farmland to grow cash crops.

The situation in Nanjiang County was even more orderly than Ye Shanming had imagined.

She even takes precautions against situations where grain fields and medicinal herb fields might crowd each other out.

"It's a pity that these things can't be seen in the capital."

Ye Shanming said it was a pity, but in reality he was smiling and said, "It's good. Such a talent can be used by me."

He was just waiting for Su Qing to be replaced so that he could immediately hire her as the head of the Ye family's various branches in Guang Le Prefecture with a thousand taels of gold and silver.

For Su Qing, the twenty or thirty branches of the small Guangyuefu should be a piece of cake.

Therefore, Ye Shanming frequently visited the government office under the pretext of dealing with medicinal herbs.

Hearing that Scholar Gu wanted the two to get engaged quickly, he smiled and said to Su Qing, "Oh, why bother? Even if you don't become an official, there are other paths you can take."

"Once you get married, you can only be a good wife and mother."

"By the way, Scholar Gu, what's that saying among you scholars? 'I regret teaching my husband to seek fame and fortune.' What does it mean?"

Gu Congsi was furious and gritted his teeth, saying, "Boss Ye, this matter seems to have nothing to do with you."

Ye Shanming shrugged: "I'm just a kind-hearted person."

Kind-hearted?

Su Qing looked up: "He really has a kind heart. He gave me such a big gift out of the blue."

What wonderful gift?

Ye Shanming suddenly realized, and his peach blossom eyes became even more handsome as he smiled.

Gu Congsi's handsome face revealed a hint of sharpness.

Just as Su Qing was about to speak, Luo Hufang walked over with a worried look on his face: "Master Su, the newly found storeroom is not enough again."

Luo Hufang saw that the eldest young master of the Ye family was there and only said this sentence.

After Ye Shanming left, Luo Hufang continued, "There are also the tenant farmers who were the first to deliver the medicinal herbs. They came with IOUs to ask for their money back."

It started on the sixth day of the fifth lunar month and continues to the sixteenth day of the fifth lunar month.

They have collected over 100,000 jin of dried medicinal herbs.

These medicinal herbs were transported from the homes of farmers and tenants to the dock warehouse.

The government office was short of funds at the moment, so it issued IOUs based on the quantity of medicinal herbs from each household. It would pay back the money, plus interest, once the military funds arrived.

Let me start with the first thing.

That means there aren't enough warehouses.

The dock warehouses are indeed in short supply, given the large number of ships coming and going. Most of the warehouses are rented by various merchants, and prices are rising steadily.

Su Qing said, "Make room for the granary closest to the dock and use it for now. We'll build a new granary at the dock when we have the money."

The second thing is even more troublesome.

Although the government issued an IOU, there was also interest.

But if it weren't for Su Qing, the head of the department, these farmers and tenants wouldn't have agreed to even have an IOU, let alone one stamped with the government seal.

In this situation, granting them a few days' grace is already a sign of the people's trust.

It's possible to buy medicinal herbs and exchange them for silver.

There is no news from the military yet.

“Counting the days, it should be about time,” Luo Hufang said. “Minister Yu left at the end of April, so it’s been almost twenty days now.”

Su Qing nodded.

But she always felt a little uneasy.

Even though there are many procedures in the military, of the three letters she sent ten days ago, only Commander Xue replied, saying that the letter to the General had been delivered and that she should just wait for news.

Even if things can't be done, at least you can send a reply.

Even if the General is very busy.

What about the eunuch Yu?

But it was precisely at times like these that she couldn't panic, and she asked, "How much silver is left in the yamen's accounts?"

"By the way, the 594 taels of silver that my third uncle handed over, he shouldn't have touched it, right?"

Luo Hufang answered the questions about the accounts and said that the money had not been touched afterward.

"Let's move the money from the back first, or encourage everyone to exchange the silver later," Su Qing said. "I'll have Constable Wu and Sergeant Gong go and urge them again."

Especially regarding Consort Yu, what exactly happened?

They get along quite well.

Su Qing was unusually irritable.

With so many things piling up, it's easy for anyone to have a headache.

However, her expression remained unchanged, which reassured everyone in the government office.

As the person in charge, she must not appear impatient.

Before Su Qing could even send out his letter, another familiar person arrived at the Nanjiang County dock.

"Eunuch Yu is here!" said Constable Wu. "His illness has worsened."

Gong Bingfang said, "The army doctor said there was no way to treat it. After looking at the prescriptions from Nanjiang County, he said that the doctors here were more effective at treating dysentery, so he sent them back."

So, not replying meant that I couldn't reply anymore.

Compared to his first visit to Nanjiang County, Yu Neiguan's face had turned ashen, and he was barely breathing.

"When I left on April 25th, I was already mostly recovered."

The eunuchs, Wang and Li, wiped away their tears: "They had already recovered, but they suddenly fell ill again in early May."

This time, even the government office didn't have time to deliver it; it was sent directly to the Bai family's medical clinic.

Su Qing took a deep breath.

When you think things are bad enough, they can get even worse.

Upon entering the Bai family medical clinic, Su Qing immediately began taking pulses.

Fortunately, her maternal grandmother was willing to teach her, and she was also willing to learn when she was little; otherwise, I really wouldn't know how to deal with it.

It would have been fine if I hadn't taken the pulse, but taking the pulse revealed that the pulse was even weaker and more superficial compared to the last time.

Su Qing's eyes were filled with fear as she went to examine the other side.

The eunuch did not react at all throughout the entire process.

The doctors standing nearby, as well as the doctors who had rushed over, Hao and Nie, all saw the same thought in each other's eyes.

Yu, the palace maid, is dying.

He was very ill, and his condition relapsed several times.

The disease has already reached its terminal stage.

They won't last until tomorrow at the latest.

But what made everyone even more unsure how to broach the subject was...

Yu Neiguan was an important middleman in the trade of medicinal herbs in Nanjiang County.

If he were gone.

He died in Nanjiang County.

What about their dealings with the military?!

The investment of those seven pharmacies.

And the hard work of the local people.

It seems like everything is going to fall through.

Offending an official is not a big deal.

What's frightening is that many of these eunuchs formed sworn brotherhoods and factions.

The official position of Su Zhushi.

Even people like them will be implicated.

Just a few days ago, everyone was in a good mood.

They were celebrating the harvest just a short time ago.

Su Qing closed her eyes, her mind a jumbled mess.

She can't afford to make a fuss.

She needs to save herself.

Before Gu Congsi and Ye Shanming could even stand still, Su Qing, standing in the middle of the crowd, said, "Go find my mother and get the ginseng that my family has treasured."

"Call Yunxi and Little Sister over as well."

“They have been taking care of Consort Yu all along, so they must be the most suitable.”

"What are you all doing standing here? The patient needs to rest. No one is allowed to enter except for Eunuch Wang, Eunuch Li, doctors, and medicine boys."

Su Qing gave a series of instructions, which were immediately met with a response from everyone.

Gu Congsi glanced into the room one last time and saw Su Qing pick up the Bai family's ancestral silver needles and insert them into several acupoints on the eunuch Yu.

She moved swiftly and without the slightest hesitation.

Upon hearing this, Mei Niang hurriedly sent over ginseng treasured by her family.

Dr. Bai personally prepared the medicine and delivered it to the ward.

Not only did Su Qing stay by his side at all times, but Yun Xi and Liu Xiaomei were also not allowed to leave, and the two of them had to personally feed him the medicine.

Yu, the eunuch, first treated him with acupuncture, then gave him ginseng, and finally managed to open his eyes with difficulty.

Yu, the eunuch destined to have no children, opened his eyes and saw an eleven-year-old girl holding a bowl of medicine, and a thirteen-year-old boy feeding him the medicine with a handkerchief in one hand and a spoon in the other.

"Good, good." Yu, the eunuch, had tears in her eyes. "Yes, very good."

Others might not know his situation, so why are they still saying it's good?

However, the two eunuchs, Wang and Li, understood.

They will never have children. It is said that the more people lack something, the more they want it.

People like us who have no roots dream of having children around us, taking good care of us with their medicine.

Yu, the palace maid, is truly lucky.

At that moment, Su Qing slowly spoke up: "Eunuch Yu, if you don't mind, how about taking these two children as your godson and goddaughter?"

"These two children are really pitiful; they dream of having a real father."

A note from the author:

A 10,000-word update will be released tomorrow morning (VIP chapter). Thank you all for your support! Love you all! A red envelope will be given out in the next chapter!