Li Ping smiled apologetically at Fu Xia and said, "Aunt Liu just moved in. Although she's not very easy to get along with, she bought a lot of herbs from me. Please bear with her. And who is this?"
Shen Yunjiao felt that the woman was a bit strange, but she had no interest in investigating further.
She told Li Ping her purpose, but to her surprise, he looked embarrassed. "This Four Seasons Herb is extremely hard to find. To be honest, Miss Shen, it took me almost two months to find the one I had before. The time and effort I spent searching for the Four Seasons Herb could have allowed me to sell dozens of baskets of other herbs."
Fu Xia took out two gleaming silver coins from her bosom and stuffed them into Li Ping's arms, saying, "Brother Li, my daughter is also a doctor. She's using these herbs to save lives. Please help us."
Li Ping sighed and said, "It's not a matter of money. I also have many prescriptions that doctors from various clinics need. I can't delay other people's prescriptions either. Otherwise, you can look elsewhere."
“But your ability to identify and collect herbs is unmatched in the entire capital,” Fu Xia replied anxiously.
"Just agree to your sister's request! I'll go with you to gather herbs." A woman's voice came from inside the house, and then a woman wearing an apron and a cloth towel lifted the curtain and came out of the house.
Fu Xia was overjoyed and sweetly called out, "Sister-in-law."
When Sister Li came out and saw the beautiful woman standing in the courtyard, she was slightly amazed. She quickly wiped her hands and bowed to Shen Yunjiao.
Then she gestured with her chin toward her husband and said, "Fu Xia finally comes all this way, and you won't even help with this? You're really hurting our neighborly relationship."
Li Ping scratched the back of his head. "But what about the other orders I have?"
“Now that I’m fully recovered, instead of staying home working and waiting for you to come home, I might as well go with you to gather herbs again. You’ll have the energy to search for seasonal herbs then.”
After hesitating for a while, Li Ping nodded and said to Shen Yunjiao, "In that case, I will help you find it. You don't need to give me the money yet; you can give it to me when we find it."
Shen Yunjiao finally breathed a sigh of relief and thanked the Li couple with a smile.
Sister-in-law Li hadn't seen Fuxia for many days and warmly wanted her to stay and catch up, and have breakfast together.
Shen Yunjiao thought that since Fuxia had come all this way, she told Fuxia to stay at the Li family's house a little longer and not to come with her. She would have Uncle Lin come over in the evening to take Fuxia back to the Shen residence.
She also needed to return to the clinic. Today, she would teach the maids and servants how to make face powder and check on the day's patient reception.
After getting into the carriage, Uncle Lin smiled and turned back to say, "This morning my wife instructed me to make sure you have breakfast after you go to the herbalist's house. It's still early, so why don't you change your route and go to the Yongzi Street market first? Old Cai's silkworm cocoons there are the most famous."
"Mother and child cocoon? How come I've never heard of this name before?" Shen Yunjiao's puzzled voice came from inside the carriage.
"You'll know when you get there, young lady."
"Then let's go and come back as soon as possible."
When Shen Yunjiao arrived at the bustling city, she discovered that the people of Dayong Dynasty actually had a fairly substantial breakfast.
Even at this hour, the morning market was still bustling with people. There were stalls selling soup dumplings and hibiscus cakes, as well as stalls selling noodles, summer iced drinks, and preserved fruits. Basically, every stall had customers waiting in front of them. Shen Yunjiao asked Uncle Lin to buy some preserved fruits while she went to check out the noodle stalls.
The "cocoon-like" treat that Uncle Lin mentioned is actually a type of pastry—a large spring roll wrapped around a smaller one, made with raw dough and filled with mutton, rolled into a cocoon shape and deep-fried until golden brown. Shen Yunjiao found it very unusual and tried one at the stall. She thought it tasted quite good and immediately decided to buy a dozen more to share with the staff at the clinic.
But the moment she took out her purse, a dirty hand suddenly reached out from her side and snatched it away with lightning speed. Shen Yunjiao turned her head and saw a raggedly dressed man running away with the purse in his hand.
Shen Yunjiao stared blankly at her empty palm.
"Girl! You've been robbed!" the noodle stall owner shouted immediately. "Quick, everyone come and catch the thief!"
Shen Yunjiao then realized what was happening. She frowned, put down the bag of pastries in her hand, and almost without thinking, immediately ran after the thief.
The market was bustling with people, and thieves darted about like nimble little fish, while Shen Yunjiao followed behind at her fastest speed, the two of them running wildly down the street.
Shen Yunjiao had only one thought in her mind—she had to get that money bag back!
For no other reason than that the money pouch contained the jade pendant given to him by Xiao Huaijin. The jade pendant was quite valuable; it belonged to the Crown Prince and was his waist token. If it fell into the hands of thieves, he would be doomed.
The petty thief assumed that Shen Yunjiao, a weak woman, shouldn't be able to catch him. So, after running out of the market and turning a few corners, he stopped in a sparsely populated alley, happily walking forward with his money bag dangling in his hand.
"Stop right there!" Shen Yunjiao caught up, panting. Seeing the thief stop, she immediately ran over and grabbed his collar, shouting, "Help! Someone's stealing my things!"
This thief, who had been stealing for so many years, was caught by a girl for the first time.
He said viciously, "You woman, aren't you afraid of death?"
After saying that, he pulled out a small knife from his waist, turned around and placed it against Shen Yunjiao's neck, "You still dare to threaten me? I'll cut your neck off."
Shen Yunjiao then realized that the alley was very deep and secluded, and the occasional passersby were all women, children and the elderly, who all ignored her cries for help.
She hadn't expected the thief to have a hidden knife on him.
Now that the knife was at her neck, Shen Yunjiao froze on the spot, feeling a chill run down her spine.
The thief then realized that the girl who had chased after him was extremely beautiful and had a great figure, especially her small face, which looked so delicate that it seemed like you could squeeze water out of it.
He was suddenly filled with lust, and almost drooling, he leered at Chen Yunjiao and said, "Now you know fear? Let me touch you, and I'll let you go."
With a knife to her neck, he gradually cornered Shen Yunjiao against the wall. After pressing his left hand against her chest, his thick, greasy lips, still wet from breakfast, came close to hers.
Shen Yunjiao felt nauseous. She reached for her waist, only to find that the handkerchief containing the poisoned needle was missing.
Shen Yunjiao was on the verge of tears, suppressing her urge to vomit, and frantically screamed for help.
The thief grinned lewdly, grabbing Shen Yunjiao's throat with his hand, "You little slut, you have quite a clear voice. Why are you so shy? Let your brother give you a kiss, and I'll let you go."
Shen Yunjiao twisted and turned wildly. Just as his foul-smelling mouth was about to touch her lips, she closed her eyes tightly in fright, but felt the thief's body tremble.
Shen Yunjiao opened her eyes and saw that the thief's eyes were bloodshot, and a silver curved knife was stuck in the shoulder of his tattered clothes.
With a whoosh, the curved blade was pulled out after being inserted two or three inches.
After realizing what had happened, the thief screamed in pain and could only roll around on the ground.
Shen Yunjiao quickly gathered her clothes, and when she looked up in a daze, she was surprised to see that the person who had saved her was Yelü Qi.
He wore a dark, narrow-sleeved, fitted tunic from the Northern Barbarian style. With long, slender arms, he was tall and imposing, exuding a chilling aura. His features were already sharp, but now, holding a silver curved blade dripping with blood, he appeared even more untamed and wild.
His eyes were fixed on the thief rolling on the ground, a disdainful sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.
The thief was sweating profusely from the pain, howling incessantly, yet he dared not raise his knife to fight back. He knew that this man was tall and highly skilled in martial arts, and if he were to fight him, he might not even be able to save his own life.
Yelü Qi stepped forward, placed a foot on his back, and said coldly, "Dare to touch her? You're asking for death!" His voice was deep and powerful, filled with unquestionable authority.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com