Chapter 5 Sachet
At the Ji residence, as dusk settled and the light of day began to fade.
Outside the study, a clump of Xiangfei bamboo swayed gently in the evening breeze, its verdant leaves whispering in the crimson afterglow, their shadows shifting and dancing on the window screen like ink paintings.
The lamp was not yet lit on the desk, and a young man in a blue robe was seen writing furiously at the desk.
The fading light of the setting sun filtered through the window screen, casting dappled, swaying bamboo shadows on the Xuan paper he had spread out.
The hand holding the pen paused for a moment, and a small patch of ink bleeds onto the paper.
“Young master,” a handsome servant standing to the side said softly, bringing a cup of freshly brewed hot tea to the table, “you have been working hard at the orphanage all day. Have a cup of tea and rest for a while, lest you aggravate your shoulder and back pain.”
Ji Yun put down his pen, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.
The tea leaves rose in wisps, the white steam swirling around his clear, bright eyes, like a piece of jade submerged in a cold mountain pool, pure and noble.
"Qingshu, these past few days have been chilly, and the children in the orphanage aren't feeling well. Go to the medical academy tomorrow and get some medicine according to this prescription to send to them, so they don't catch a cold."
Qing Shu stepped forward to collect the prescription on the table, bowed in acknowledgment, but then saw her young master suddenly raise his eyes: "Ji Ming is back?"
"Reporting to Young Master, the young master has already returned. He seems a little tired and is resting in his room."
"Tired?" Ji Yun raised an eyebrow, clearly not quite believing it.
Ji Ming was lively and energetic before leaving home, but he's tired in no time. He must have gotten into some trouble again and is too guilty to come see him.
Ji Yun slowly got up, picked up the medicine box on the table, and walked out. "Come on, let's go take a look."
The two walked to Ji Ming's bedroom and vaguely heard whispers coming from inside.
"Brother Yunzhou, please don't tell my brother about what happened today. If he finds out, he'll punish me again."
"Young master, please don't make things difficult for me. You have such keen eyes, how could you possibly hide it from him? You might as well confess sooner rather than later, and perhaps the punishment will be lighter."
Qing Shu coughed heavily and raised his hand to knock on the door. "Young Master, the young master has come to see you."
The two voices inside the room stopped abruptly. After a few moments, Yunzhou hurriedly came forward to open the door and invited them inside.
Ji Ming lay on the bed with his back to the others, most of his body covered by a brocade quilt. He said in a low voice, "Brother, I'm a little tired. Let's talk about it tomorrow."
Ji Yun walked slowly to the bedside and saw that Ji Ming had not taken off his outer clothes, his shoes were scattered on the floor, and his body, huddled under the covers, was unusually tense.
His brows furrowed slightly as his gaze fell on a corner of a yellow paper medicine packet peeking out from under the brocade quilt.
"Take it out." The voice was cold and emotionless.
The three words made Yunzhou's knees go weak. Yunzhou raised his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and had no choice but to step forward and pull out the medicine bag that Ji Ming had hidden under the quilt, and hand it to Ji Yun along with the prescription written by Meng Yutong.
"Please forgive me, young master! My son ate some food from outside today and suffered a stomachache. Fortunately, Miss Meng Yutong came to his rescue..."
After hearing the whole story, Ji Yun weighed the medicine packet in his hand. He opened a corner and glanced at it; the medicine had a sweet fragrance, quite different from ordinary bitter medicine.
Upon unfolding the prescription, one sees that it is written in delicate, elegant calligraphy. The prescription uses common medicinal herbs, but the proportions are ingenious, making the bitter medicine taste sweet and palatable.
He stroked the prescription in his hand. The Meng family girl was a merchant's daughter, yet her medical skills were unlike those of ordinary young ladies. In particular, her method of combining perilla with honey was unique.
Although the medicine is not as effective as ordinary prescriptions, it retains the medicinal properties while also having a good taste, making it an excellent prescription for a child like Ji Ming who hates taking medicine.
Suddenly, Ji Yun recalled the scene from yesterday when the rain suddenly started and he had a chance encounter with Meng Yutong under the eaves of the teahouse.
The rain pattered noisily, yet she leaned quietly against the corner of the wall, her smoky blue gauze dress seemingly blending into the damp mist. Like the pale hue of the rain, she was a color easily overlooked.
Yet, she was also born with a pair of bright and clear eyes, like the finishing touch in a traditional Chinese ink painting; the color came alive in the blink of her eyes.
Does she have medical skills?
Ji Yun's brow twitched slightly. He handed the medicine packet and prescription to Yun Zhou and looked at Ji Ming, who was slowly sitting up on the bed. "You don't need to go out for the next few days. Drink all this medicine."
"Instruct the kitchen not to make him any snacks for a month."
Yunzhou quickly agreed.
Ji Ming pouted, his face falling. "Brother, a month is too long. How about half a month?"
Ji Yun stared at him coldly, unmoved, and uttered a few icy words: "Then two months."
"January? I think January is perfect!" Ji Ming grabbed his hand and hurriedly agreed. Afraid that he might disagree, he took out a sachet from his pocket and stuffed it into Ji Yun's hand, "Brother, look, I've retrieved your sachet."
Ji Yun looked into his hand and saw that, in addition to the blue sachet he had left at the teahouse yesterday, there was also a pink one.
The noodles are plain and the needlework is not very refined, but the taste is light and pleasant, and the aroma is comforting.
“Oh, could this sachet be Sister Meng’s? It must have been so noisy today that she accidentally brought her sachet out and gave it to me,” Ji Ming sat up straight and leaned forward to take the pink sachet back. “Brother, give it to me, I’ll return it to Sister Meng another day.”
Ji Yun withdrew his hand expressionlessly and took a step back imperceptibly. "I forgot to mention earlier that you are not allowed to go anywhere except the school for the next two months."
"How come it's been two months again? Brother, I promise I'll never eat random things again, please forgive me this time." Ji Ming pleaded with a mournful face.
"Three months." Ji Yun interrupted calmly, his gaze sweeping over Ji Ming, who immediately fell silent and shrunk back under the covers dejectedly.
Yunzhou quietly tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "Young Master, you should just agree. Otherwise, if Madam finds out, I'm afraid the punishment will be even more severe."
Upon hearing this, Ji Ming's expression changed several times. He simply tilted his head back and lay back on the bed, pulling the quilt over himself and refusing to speak any more.
Yunzhou followed Ji Yun to the door, picked up an oil-paper umbrella from the corner of the wall and handed it over, "Young master, this is the umbrella that Miss Meng was going to leave at the teahouse to return to you today. She asked you to bring it back with you."
Should we leave the umbrella at the teahouse and return it to him?
They were quite careful to avoid suspicion.
He lowered his eyes slightly. Seeing this, Qing Shu took the umbrella and looked at the sachet in Ji Yun's hand. He observed Ji Yun's expression and said softly, "Young master, should I take this sachet back to the Meng family? I can also give Miss Meng a thank-you gift. I just don't know what Miss Meng likes."
“No need.” Ji Yun opened the medicine box he had brought with him and placed the sachet in the box’s compartment. “My mother’s birthday banquet is approaching, and she will come on her own.”
Moreover, this Miss Meng seems to be someone who values her reputation highly, so it would be inappropriate for her to come and express her gratitude so abruptly.
Ji Yun turned to Yunzhou and instructed, "There's no need to tell Father and Mother about today's events. Mother seems to be in a much better mood lately, so let's save her from worrying too much."
Yunzhou quickly agreed, and the group left Ji Ming's room. As they walked out, Yunzhou subconsciously asked, "Since that incident, Madam hasn't held a birthday celebration for eight years. Why this time..."
Qing Shu remained silent and glared at him.
Yunzhou stopped talking and noticed Ji Yun's suddenly cold expression. Realizing that what he had said was inappropriate, he quickly lowered his head and bowed, saying, "I misspoke, please punish me, young master!"
Ji Yun's pale fingertips lightly rested on the medical kit, his gaze sweeping indifferently over Yun Zhou: "Since you know you've misspoke, then go and receive twenty strokes of the cane. Remember, some things are better left unsaid."
"I'll go right away." Yun Zhou's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and he hurriedly left to receive his punishment.
What happened eight years ago is a taboo subject for the entire Ji family, especially for the young master.
For the past eight years, no one in the household dared to mention it. Perhaps it's because so much time has passed, but recently even the Madam has begun to change.
This gave Yunzhou the illusion that the matter had been gradually forgotten over time.
But Qing Shu understood that the matter would never be forgotten in the young master's heart.
The young master appears cold and unapproachable, but he is not the kind of person who likes to nitpick or be critical. However, there are some things that are taboo and cannot be easily touched.
Qing Shu sighed inwardly. Yun Zhou's recklessness and outspokenness might not be a bad thing for him; at least it would teach him a lesson.
*
As night deepened, a few wisps of clouds drifted across the black sky, obscuring the crescent moon.
Under the moonlight, the Ji residence was completely quiet, even the wind was gentle, lest it disturb the sweet dreams of the sleeping people.
On the bed in the Wutong Courtyard, Ji Yun lay with his eyes closed, his brows furrowed. A cool night breeze blew in through the cracks in the window that was not fully closed, stirring the bed curtains.
"No……"
In the darkness, the person on the bed suddenly woke up and sat up, cold sweat beading on their forehead, their fingers gripping the blankets tightly.
My sweat-soaked pajamas clung to my back, and the night breeze sent shivers down my spine.
Ji Yun closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, his eyes were clear. His movements as he got up to light the lamp were still calm and composed, as if his earlier outburst had never happened.
He propped up the straight-edged window in the room, and outside the window, the bamboo shadows swayed, and the wind blew in, making him feel a little more awake.
He always had trouble sleeping, and his nights were filled with nightmares. He would often wake up in the middle of the night in fear and dread, and then look at the bamboo shadows by the window, which would bring him a sense of peace.
When I woke up, I felt a strange emptiness in my chest.
"Absurd." He scoffed lightly, his fingers tightening on the window frame until his knuckles turned white.
This strange feeling of being out of control made him uneasy. He stopped thinking about the scene in the dream, slowly turned around and walked to the bedside, only to see that the calming incense in the incense burner had burned out.
He opened the medicine box on the side, intending to take out the incense sent by Jinglan Pavilion in the palace, but found the box empty.
He used more and more, until the incense was completely used up.
He pressed his forehead, looking weary. He couldn't sleep well, and his memory was getting worse.
Just as I was about to close the medicine box, I caught a glimpse of the pink brocade sachet lying quietly inside, emitting a faint peach blossom fragrance.
The sachet may not look impressive, but its fragrance is gentle and pleasant, a faint scent of peach blossoms mixed with the aroma of pine, and a hint of bittersweetness that seems to have a calming and soothing effect.
It's only been half a day, but the medicine cabinet still smells like this.
Ji Yun's slender fingers paused for a moment before finally taking out the sachet and placing it on the medicine box. The medicine box was placed on the small table by the bedside, and even while lying on the couch, one could smell the faint fragrance.
In the latter half of the night, I slept soundly without any dreams until dawn.
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