Winter has arrived, and the weather has turned cold.
Shen Yuan only spent half a day at the pharmacy each day, and the other half she would go to Doctor Jiang's house to attend classes. Sometimes she would bring Xiao Ling with her. She would learn medical skills from Doctor Jiang inside the house, while he would sit under the eaves playing chess and fishing with Old Master Murong.
Occasionally, Doctor Jiang would invite the two of them to stay for dinner. After dinner, the group would sit together and read ancient books, with Old Master Murong speaking eloquently about these books.
Shen Yuan was most interested in the Records of the Grand Historian. Whenever she heard Mr. Murong talk about the bitter history of a country, Shen Yuan was very interested in the great figures who promoted the change of dynasties and kept pestering Mr. Murong with questions.
This made Doctor Jiang jealous, and she asked Shen Yuan whether she wanted to learn medicine from her or study how to govern the country with Old Master Murong.
Shen Yuan's answer was: "I have two heads, a left brain and a right brain. One is for medical skills, and the other is for academic knowledge. I can hold everything that my two teachers taught me!"
This made Doctor Jiang chuckle, covering her mouth, "You! Aren't you afraid that one of your heads will be bigger than two in the future!"
Shen Yuan has been having a really tough time these past few days because Chu Yuning and Chu Qiuyue keep coming to her pharmacy.
As evening fell, Shen Yuan returned from Doctor Jiang's house. The helpers went home to rest, Liu Mama was invited to the manor by Madam Liu, Xiao Ling was in the backyard supervising the craftsmen to finish their work, and she sat alone at the counter watching the shop.
Although Shen Yuan did not personally oversee the pharmacy during this period, she managed it very well and the helpers were specially trained, so no major problems arose.
The sales and purchase records were meticulously kept. By reviewing these ledgers, Shen Yuan could clearly understand the daily operations of the pharmacy.
She was holding an abacus, looking down at the account book. When she heard someone come in, she habitually raised her smiling face to look at the person.
Upon recognizing Chu Yuning and Chu Qiuyue, Shen Yuan's smile vanished instantly.
"I want one pound of astragalus, one pound of codonopsis, and one pound of wolfberry."
Chu Yuning placed the money on the counter and asked Shen Yuan to get the medicine for him.
Upon seeing the silver on the counter, Shen Yuan raised an eyebrow.
Chu Yuning seems to have a lot of money lately. Where did he get the money?
It shouldn't have been given by Aunt Zhao. If Aunt Zhao were really willing to give Chu Yuning money, she would have let him stay at an inn or rent a house in the first place, instead of forcing him to stay in a guest room at Zuichunlou.
Come to think of it, Chu Yuning seems to have become rich after going to Zuichunlou. She either frequently comes to her to buy medicine or often buys wine on the street.
Could it be that the money in his hand was given to him by the girls at Zuichunlou?
There's no reason not to accept money offered to you. Shen Yuan took the money, packed up the medicine Chu Yuning wanted, and threw it on the counter. "It's packed, take it!"
Chu Yuning didn't go to get the medicine bag, but silently stared at Shen Yuan.
Seeing that he wasn't leaving, Shen Yuan rolled her eyes. "Chu Yuning, this is the third time you've come to me this month to get medicine. How weak are you? Three catties of ginseng, astragalus, and wolfberry haven't helped you?"
"You..." Chu Yuning opened her mouth, wanting to refute, but couldn't find the words.
Shen Yuan leaned against the counter and continued to speak sarcastically: "Or is it that you still can't forget me, and are willing to be misunderstood just to find a way to see me?"
"I want to see you? Ha, you're being far too presumptuous!"
Chu Yuning stood with her hands behind her back, looking disdainful.
"Since that's not the case, please leave! My pharmacy doesn't welcome you!" Shen Yuan pointed to the door, issuing an order to leave.
Chu Qiuyue suddenly stepped forward and tugged at Chu Yuning's sleeve, signaling him to be quiet. Then, she leaned against the counter and said softly to Shen Yuan, "Sister Yuan! Can you please not be angry with me and my brother? We didn't come here to make you angry!"
“After thinking about it carefully during this time, I realized that my brother and I were wrong. I shouldn’t have blamed my sister for my mother’s death, and my brother shouldn’t have betrayed my sister’s feelings.”
"The reason my brother and I have been coming to the pharmacy so often lately is because we want to apologize to you, sister! Even if we can't go back to how things were, we've known each other for so many years, we shouldn't hold grudges against each other, right, sister?"
After Chu Qiuyue finished speaking, she looked at Shen Yuan obediently, her expression so sincere that it was easy to soften one's heart.
But Shen Yuan has no heart, nor will she soften.
A cold smile played on her lips. "You two, one with a sallow complexion, swollen eyelids, and dark lips, clearly suffers from kidney deficiency, impotence, and liver qi stagnation; the other with a haggard face, lifeless eyes, and sores on his forehead, likely has excessive heart fire, overthinking, leading to spleen and stomach imbalances and insufficient essence. Instead of wasting your time here, you'd better see a doctor soon, lest you die of illness at the end of the year—how unlucky!"
"Shen Yuan, my sister has already spoken to you politely, and you're still pushing your luck by cursing us. Don't go too far!" Chu Yuning's face flushed with anger.
Chu Qiuyue's eyes also reddened, and she looked like she was about to cry.
She could understand that Shen Yuan was mocking her for being cunning and scheming.
She had already been so humble and obsequious to her, so why did she still speak so rudely?
"What's your hurry? I haven't said anything worse yet." Shen Yuan's lips curled into a smile as she toyed with the silver coins Chu Yuning had given her. "This money must have been given to you by those courtesans, right?"
Upon being guessed correctly, Chu Yuning's expression suddenly became extremely stiff.
The sarcasm in Shen Yuan's eyes intensified.
Chu Yuning couldn't accept Shen Yuan looking at her like that, and emphasized, "This is the money I earned by writing poems and lyrics for those girls, the money I earned through my own talent, it's clean!"
"If you truly believe in cleanliness, why emphasize the word 'clean'?"
"I didn't emphasize that! Liu Gong did the same thing back then. He pitied the plight of those women and wrote lyrics and composed music for them. What's wrong with me following his example? Maybe I'll be the next Liu Gong, and my lyrics will be remembered for all time!"
"A selfish and hypocritical person like you, you actually pity others? You can only fool yourself!" Shen Yuan sneered. "Rather than saying you pity those women, it's more accurate to say you want to take advantage of the situation and swindle money!"
“You used to look down on Aunt Liu for willingly becoming a concubine and refused to let your mother accept the relief grain she gave you, but later you also took her care of you for granted?”
"Now you're taking the hard-earned money from those brothels without even feeling the heat of it. You're really pushing your boundaries further and further. I'm afraid that one day you'll be selling yourself to please women!"
These words mercilessly tore away the veil of pretense covering Chu Yuning, who roared in exasperation, "You're talking nonsense!"
Is she talking nonsense?
Shen Yuan sneered. In her previous life, Chu Yuning went to great lengths to marry into the princess's family. Wasn't it all just to climb the social ladder and sell herself to please women?
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