Chapter 10
When it was time for Wenji to leave school, Wenshu, having promised him earlier, had the carriage waiting under the locust tree. Wenji was pondering what the teacher had said before dismissing school and didn't notice that the carriage had taken a longer route back home.
Outside the pharmacy, Wen Shu got off the carriage and deliberately avoided Wen Ji. Recalling the scarred hands of someone washing medicine during the day, she took out two small bottles of medicine from her sleeve and handed them to the servants of the pharmacy, saying, "Take these to the young master in the courtyard, but don't say that I gave them to him."
The servant took the medicine and cautiously inquired, "Won't the young lady go in and take a look?"
If someone is allowed to recuperate at the pharmacy and is visited daily, they must be some important person. It's not right to neglect them.
Wen Shu shook her head and lowered her voice, "No need, I'll come again in a couple of days. If there's anything urgent at the medicine shop, send someone to the Wen residence to tell me."
The servant nodded respectfully and watched the carriage depart. Looking at the round medicine bottle in his hand, he muttered, "What kind of mess is this?"
The daytime heat was intense, and as night fell, a breeze picked up, and dark clouds obscured the moon. A flash of lightning ripped through the long, dark night, followed by rumbling thunder.
Hanxiang closed the window, and the sound of water in the inner room gradually subsided. After a while, Wenshu came out, twisting her black hair. Hanxiang took the towel and went behind her to wipe her hair.
While wiping, she said, "Miss, I found out today that the old lady has a brother in her family, but he was born to her stepmother and they are not very close. After the old lady married far away to Anyang Prefecture, they almost lost contact with each other."
Wen Shu, who had just come out of the bathtub, was comfortably leaning against the round wooden armrest when she heard this and suddenly opened her eyes: "Go on."
Hanxiang continued, "I asked the old nanny in the old lady's courtyard, and she said that your maternal uncle has been dead for many years. His children have either separated from the family or married, and they have long since disappeared without a trace."
Wen Shu blinked, thinking to herself that it was more troublesome than she had imagined.
"So, you can't get any other information out of us?"
Hanxiang wrung out her hair for her and then smiled and said, "Don't rush, Miss, I haven't finished yet."
Wen Shu perked up and listened to her say, "Most of my uncle's sons have gone into business, but one branch of them is an official in Jinzhou in the north. Perhaps they haven't lost contact yet. If you want to know more details, why don't you ask the master?"
“Jinzhou?” Wen Shu murmured repeatedly.
When I touched that word, that long-forgotten memory was finally awakened.
"Wenxi and Wenshu, this is your cousin, come and meet him."
“Your Uncle Song used to be an official in Jinzhou. After he left, he left his widow and her children in Jinzhou for half a year until he passed away not long ago. Your cousin then went south to come and join us.”
Pei Lingjun's face appeared in front of her, and he even pretended not to know her and greeted her, "Cousin Wen Shu is indeed clever and intelligent."
Previously, he had been recuperating at the herbal medicine shop.
...
Clever and intelligent?
Wen Shu thought to herself that she must have been incredibly stupid to believe Pei Lingjun's story.
Song Mansion in Jinzhou.
Wen Shu gave a very soft "hmm," intending to ask Wen Tao about it tomorrow.
Thunder roared down, and every household on Anyang Prefecture Street kept their doors tightly shut. The pattering rain largely masked the sound of footsteps.
The servant from the pharmacy who had seen Wen Shu earlier that day was walking over from under the veranda, hands tucked in his sleeves. He was yawning and half-asleep, and was carrying a medicine bottle as he staggered over.
Just as he was cursing the awful weather for making the herbs he had just dried a few days ago damp, he opened his eyes in a half-asleep state and looked at the ground—
Several bloody footprints came into view.
A pale flash of lightning streaked across the sky, making the bloody footprints on the ground even clearer, and even slightly damp and fresh because of the rain.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
