Chapter 1 001 I Have Feelings for Him
Jiangnan.
In the height of summer, Bianzhou City is bustling with people and horses, and the shouts of vendors from all kinds of shops rise and fall.
The moment the Baiyao Pavilion in the West Market opened, a large crowd gathered downstairs.
Baiyaoge is the most famous pharmacy in Bianzhou City. Many incurable diseases can be cured in the store. Many people come from far and wide hoping that the medicine can cure their diseases.
A short while later, amidst the surging crowd, a young woman struggled to emerge from the throng at the shop entrance, holding a small medicine packet high in her hand.
She wore a light pink ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with a plain satin ribbon tied around her waist. The ribbon was so slender that it could be encircled by one hand, highlighting her full and graceful figure. Her silky black hair was gently tied up and adorned with a peach blossom hairpin. Her eyes were like autumn water, and she was graceful and charming, exuding a captivating beauty.
She was incredibly eye-catching, but it was a pity that she wore a white veil.
The maid in the green dress, Tao Hong, who was anxiously waiting at the shop door, saw Lin Wan come out and quickly went to greet her: "Miss, did you buy anything?"
Lin Wan carefully examined the medicine packet: "The doctor only gave me one dose. After taking the medicine, check its effectiveness first, and then I'll decoct it as soon as I get back."
Tao Hong thoughtfully accepted the medicine packet with both hands and quickly followed Lin Wan away.
—
East Street, Yunlai Inn.
The shop assistant called out to customers on the first floor. Lin Wan walked in, paid extra money, and asked the assistant to take Tao Hong to the kitchen in the backyard to brew medicine. She also ordered a lot of snacks and food. She walked through the noisy first floor and went up to the second floor, straight to the closed door of the side room at the far east end.
Lin Wan stopped, glanced back at the snacks and food the waiter was holding, removed the white veil from her face to reveal a noticeable scar on her cheek, and asked in a low voice, "Has Young Master Lu ordered any food?"
"No, we haven't seen Young Master Lu leave his room today."
"Alright, these things aren't easy to buy, so I won't waste my time."
With a creak, the door to the side room opened from the inside, and a clear, gentle voice asked, "What is it that takes so much thought?"
The person speaking was standing by the door, supporting himself with both hands, and heading towards Lin Wan in response to the sound.
He wore a moon-white brocade robe with silver auspicious cloud patterns embroidered on the lapel, a jade pendant with orchid patterns hanging at his waist, and a lustrous jade hairpin in his hair. His face was handsome and ethereal, but his dark and deep eyes were covered with white mist, making them hazy and lifeless.
Lin Wan looked up at him, strode into the room, gently took his arm, and led him to turn around and sit down on the wooden stool next to the round table in the room.
"Nature is a good medicine that will benefit your eye condition."
After the waiter set the food on the table, he left, making sure to close the door behind him. The once quiet room was now filled with the enticing aroma of the food.
Lin Wan placed the white gauze in her hand on the table, picked up her chopsticks and helped to put the meat and vegetables into Lu Liangyu's bowl: "Didn't the shopkeeper mention that there's a very popular pharmacy in Yongpingfang with very effective medicine? I was thinking of going to check it out. You don't know how many people buy medicine there. Luckily, I went to queue up before dawn this morning, otherwise I almost couldn't get in line and wouldn't have been able to buy anything."
She picked up a fragrant piece of meat, smiled, and held it to Lu Liangyu's lips: "Young Master Lu, please have a taste."
Lu Liangyu frowned slightly and stepped back, saying, "I'll do it myself."
“Miss Lin, you don’t need to do this. My eye ailment is caused by blood stasis from a previous serious injury. It will dissipate on its own in a few days.”
"It's alright if we can't buy that medicine, there's no need to go to such lengths."
Lin Wan paused slightly at the tips of her chopsticks.
Just then, Tao Hong pushed open the door and walked in, carrying a steaming pot of medicine. The discouraging words, cold and clear, pierced Tao Hong's ears. Her movements slowed slightly, and she didn't know what to do with the medicine in her hand.
Lin Wan glanced at Tao Hong and waved her hand, signaling her to put down the medicine bowl. "Since I met you a month ago, your injuries have healed, but your eye condition hasn't improved. I thought that good medicine will eventually work, and maybe after drinking this medicine, your eyes will be able to see again immediately."
It was midday, and the warm sunlight streamed through the window, casting dappled shadows on Lu Liangyu. Outside, the branches and leaves swayed, and the shadows danced gently.
Lin Wan stared blankly at his handsome face, thinking expectantly, "But you haven't even seen me once yet."
A month ago, when she was traveling by boat down the Yangtze River to the south of the Yangtze, she encountered Lu Liangyu, who was floating on a broken plank. After sending someone to rescue him and bring him onto the boat, she turned the unconscious Lu Liangyu around.
As she flipped over, fresh, viscous blood seeped from her soaked clothes, staining Lin Wan's fair skin.
The tearing pain in the wound jolted Lu Liangyu awake from her dazed state. Her vision was blurry, and she instinctively reached out and stabbed out the dagger in her hand.
"ah!"
Lin Wan couldn't dodge in time, and the moment her cheek was slashed, she collided with those dark, abyss-like, ink-like eyes.
As if bewitched, her heart suddenly pounded like thunder.
So, in order to save him from his serious injuries and unconsciousness, she asked the boatman to bring the boat closer to shore and enter Bianzhou City on the banks of the Quchi River to find a doctor. It took him more than half a month to recover from his injuries. However, he was still unable to see.
As his injuries healed and the two had more and more frequent contact, Lin Wan gradually realized that he was like an ice block in winter, cold and distant.
Just like now.
Lu Liangyu looked up at the person opposite her. Although she couldn't see them, she could feel their intense gaze. She hesitated and asked, "Miss Lin?"
The light and shadow flickered, and his long, raven-feather-like eyelashes blinked, but his eyes were hazy and unfocused.
Taking advantage of his inability to see, Lin Wan stared at him for quite a while. Now that he had noticed, her face flushed slightly, and she said shyly, "The scenery is so beautiful in the summer. I was thinking how wonderful it would be if Young Master Lu could see me again after his eye disease was cured."
Of course, it would be even better if you could see me right away.
—
The sun sets, and the night is sparsely lit by stars.
After Lin Wan returned to her room, Tao Hong quickly came to greet her, handing her two letters: "Miss, these are letters that were just delivered by carrier pigeon."
She took the letter and read it by the candlelight in the room. After a few breaths of silence, her fingers tightened slightly as she held the letter.
"What happened?"
"Li's caravan is urging me to wait at the latest for three more days. If I don't go to pick up the goods as previously agreed, the raw materials he brought back from the border will be sold to others. After all, I'm not the only one doing business with him."
Lin Wan's father was a merchant who ran a restaurant. She had been by his side for many years and knew a thing or two about the business. When her friend invited her to partner with him, they opened a rouge and face powder shop together. This trip to Jiangnan was to find raw materials for making a new rouge product. She specially sought out a caravan that had left the border to bring back rare ingredients. However, because she rescued Lu Liangyu, who was seriously injured and had an eye disease, she stayed in Bianzhou City for a month to treat him. As a result, she had repeatedly delayed their meeting.
Tao Hong: "Miss, why don't we go and get the goods first? It seems that Young Master Lu's injury won't heal anytime soon."
Lin Wan didn't respond. What if Lu Liangyu's eye condition worsened after she left?
By candlelight, she placed the white veil covering her face on the table and saw a slightly reddish scar about two inches long on her beautiful face in the bronze mirror.
Tao Hong had a clear understanding of Lin Wan's thoughts over the past month and guessed why she was staying here. She tentatively asked, "Is the caravan going to reply?"
"Report back to me and say that you will wait two more days so that I can see if Young Master Lu's eye condition has improved after using the new medicine."
“But…Miss, you have always been a person who keeps your promises. Why would you linger again and again for Young Master Lu, whom you have only met by chance?” Tao Hong looked at the scar on her face. “For the past month, you have taken good care of Young Master Lu, and you have hardly paid attention to the scar on your face. But he is still so indifferent. Tao Hong feels sorry for you.”
Tao Hong's words, though blunt and hurtful, were not wrong.
Thinking of Young Master Lu, Lin Wan looked down at the other letter that was almost crumpled, her brows furrowed: "Aunt Chen has mentioned to Father again that she needs help finding a husband for me."
Tao Hong was shocked: "Didn't Master refuse and decline on your behalf before, Miss?"
Nothing is ever absolute.
Lin Wan sighed softly.
"With my mother gone, my father has become increasingly biased towards her. This time, she secretly found a matchmaker to come to our house to arrange a marriage. My father urged me in a letter to finish the matter and return home as soon as possible."
She hesitated for a moment, her slender white fingertips stroking her face in the bronze mirror. The scar didn't hurt as much now, but it was still slightly red and frightening. "That's right. If I don't get married, it will be difficult to find a husband for my two younger sisters. Originally, I didn't have any thoughts about marriage, but when I met him that day, I thought, since we're going to look for a husband, why not find someone I like? It just so happens that I ran into him this time."
I'm interested in him.
-
Lu Liangyu stood at the door for a while, until the footsteps disappeared at the end of the corridor and he heard Lin Wan enter the room.
He turned to face the window and suddenly said, "Come out."
A shadow flickered, and a nimble young man leaped through the window and landed smoothly in front of him.
"Tsk..." Shen Rongshi leaned forward and examined his eyes closely. "Are you really blind?"
Upon hearing this, he raised an eyebrow and scoffed, "It's just temporarily invisible; the accumulated blood clots will dissipate on their own."
"I thought you, the ever-unmoved Liu Xiahui, had finally come to your senses and couldn't bear to leave the beauty by your side, so you used your eye ailment as an excuse to stay."
He didn't respond to that.
Shen Rongshi wasn't too surprised. As the dream husband of noble ladies in the capital, he was never one to easily care about women. Suddenly, he thought of the person who had plotted a surprise attack a month ago, and his tone was somewhat gloating: "There's a lot of shady stuff going on with the disaster relief grain. It involves people in the palace. No wonder you were so fearless and dared to strike first. Luckily, you left some clues that day, which allowed me to find out the secret account that embezzled the disaster relief grain."
Who was in charge of transporting the disaster relief grain this time?
"Ministry of Revenue".
He remained silent, a chilling smile playing on his lips: "It seems the one in the palace is truly short of money. Go back and keep a close eye on the transport team, make sure there are no more omissions. The fish have taken the bait, it's time to haul in the net."
"When did you leave? Did you see a doctor to cure your eye disease? How about I have Hua Yisheng come over? He used to have a clinic here anyway."
"Need not."
When Shen Rongshi heard his words, she was stunned for a moment, and couldn't believe it: "That woman does look like a beauty, but her face is covered by a white veil so you can't see her face clearly. She should be quite pretty. Could it be that you were saved by that woman and you're staying to repay her with your body?"
A note from the author:
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