Chapter 125: Newly Opened Zhang Yanzhuo glanced sideways,...
Although Prince Jin and his son were temporarily detained that day for treason, the Qi family's crimes over the years were far from limited to this one. Even Prime Minister Su's case was partly their fault. His Majesty also intended to use this opportunity to reorganize the court and bring down all the corrupt officials who had colluded with the evildoers.
In the past few days, Yan Zhuo has ordered people to dig out all the files from previous years and review them one by one, hoping to find clues.
The workload was extraordinary, and even Yan Zhuo couldn't sort it out in a short time. He worked almost the entire night last night, but he still decided to send her back to Qingshan Village early this morning.
Yan Zhuo glanced sideways, and the girl's peaceful sleeping face came into view. Her palm-sized face was buried in the thin blanket, and the exposed part was a healthy pink. A few strands of hair fell on the side of her ears, bringing a hint of itch. The sleeping girl rubbed it subconsciously like a kitten.
The girl's soft skin rubbed against the back of his hand. The delicate touch made Yan Zhuo's breathing disordered for a moment. It seemed as if an unknown fire was rising in his abdomen, burning fiercely and roaring.
The scroll in his hand fell onto his knees at some point, and when Yan Zhuo came to his senses, his right hand was only a finger's distance away from the girl's face.
The hand that normally wouldn't tremble even after swinging the sword a thousand times was now trembling slightly.
After taking a few deep breaths, Yan Zhuo sighed softly, his right hand gently brushing away the disturbing strands of hair from the girl's ear. After doing this, he picked up the fallen file again and focused on the words within.
There is ample time.
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The carriage reached Qingkang Town.
He hadn't been back for a long time and didn't know how the pharmacy was doing, so Zhao Mingsheng stopped the carriage.
"Stop here for a minute. I need to go to the pharmacy. I have some things to take care of."
Yan Zhuo naturally agreed, and the carriage stopped in front of the drugstore.
Just as Zhao Mingsheng was hesitating whether to invite Yan Zhuo to go to the pharmacy together, the man put down the scroll in his hand and took the initiative to say, "You take care of the things at hand first. I'll go back to the yard to get some things and come back to see you later."
Zhao Mingsheng remembered that he still had a yard in Qingkang Town, so he nodded.
The pharmacy was still crowded. In the past, most people came to buy pills, but after Xing'antang went bankrupt, more people came to see a doctor. Zhao Mingsheng saw that there were many unfamiliar faces among the doctors sitting there.
Shopkeeper Yu was prescribing medicine for a patient. Just after weighing two taels of Atractylodes macrocephala, he looked up and saw Zhao Mingsheng.
"Hey, the little girl from the Zhao family is back!"
He handed the medicine bag to the patient in front of him and told him how to take it before he had time to greet Zhao Mingsheng.
"Long time no see, Shopkeeper Yu." Zhao Mingsheng raised his hand and greeted him.
"You've been away for quite a while," Shopkeeper Yu said. "Did you hear anything interesting?"
“I can’t say I saw anything interesting, but I did get to see a lot of different scenery.”
As Zhao Mingsheng spoke, he followed Manager Yu to the back hall.
After personally brewing a pot of fine tea, Shopkeeper Yu took out the shop's account book and handed it to her: "This is the income and expenditure of the shop during the time you were away. We agreed that the profit from the pills would be split in half. Please keep these banknotes."
Even without seeing him, Zhao Mingsheng trusted Manager Yu, but under his repeated insistence, he still took the account book and took a quick look. Every account in the account book was recorded very clearly, and the income and expenditure of pills and daily medical consultations were recorded separately, which was clear at a glance.
Zhao Mingsheng, who had just spent a large sum of money to buy a courtyard in Beijing, happened to need the money, so he accepted it frankly and mentioned to Manager Yu his idea of moving to Beijing.
"You are really capable, girl. The capital is great." Shopkeeper Yu twirled his beard, feeling quite emotional.
"Manager Yu, wouldn't you consider opening this pharmacy in the capital? We can continue our cooperation then."
Zhao Mingsheng's suggestion made Yu the shopkeeper stunned for a moment. He smiled and said, "Let me think about it again. I'm old and can't fight like you young people."
The two of them returned to the front hall. Zhao Mingsheng looked around. The shop had changed a lot since she last visited. She stared at the unfamiliar yet familiar faces and asked, "Shopkeeper Yu, what's going on with those doctors?"
"Some of them used to be doctors at Xing'an Hall. After the hall collapsed, they had nowhere to go, so I recruited them," Shopkeeper Yu explained. "But we've investigated their backgrounds, and they all have clean hands. Some of them were previously suppressed by Xing'an Hall, and now they've come to us."
After what happened with Wang Zhuo, Manager Yu became more cautious when recruiting people.
Zhao Mingsheng nodded. With so many patients, the pharmacy's current staff was indeed insufficient. It would be great if these people could come and help. It seemed that even during her absence, the pharmacy was running smoothly under the management of Shopkeeper Yu.
"Thank you for your hard work, Shopkeeper Yu."
Zhao Mingsheng finished his tea but still couldn't find Shi Shao. Liu Yingying was nowhere to be seen either. So he asked, "Where are the Shi family kid and Liu Yingying?"
The mention of Shi Shao made Shopkeeper Yu angry. "Don't mention that treacherous kid to me!"
Zhao Mingsheng was stunned. What happened between the master and the disciple?
The new apprentice nearby, however, saw Shopkeeper Yu's beard rising in anger and chuckled. "Sister Yingying opened a cosmetics shop on East Street, and Shi Shao goes there every day at this time to help out."
Zhao Mingsheng laughed. His most proud disciple was kidnapped. No wonder Manager Yu was angry.
Liu Yingying had mentioned to Zhao Mingsheng before that she wanted to open a cosmetics shop. They also studied together how to make the powder more effective by adding natural medicinal herbs, so as to achieve the effect of beauty. They didn't expect that they would put it into practice so soon.
"Sister Yingying's shop is doing pretty well. It's not far from the pharmacy. You can stop by later."
After hearing what the apprentice said, Zhao Mingsheng became even more curious. After saying goodbye to Manager Yu, he prepared to go and take a look at Liu Yingying's newly opened shop.
Before leaving, Shopkeeper Yu called Zhao Mingsheng over and cleared his throat, "Ahem, if you see that kid, remember to tell him that his mistress made his favorite braised pork tonight and asked her to come back early for dinner."
It seems that he is not really angry.
Zhao Mingsheng was amused by Manager Yu's inconsistency. She responded with a smile and walked out.
After hearing from the apprentice that Liu Yingying's new shop was not far from the medicine shop, Zhao Mingsheng walked there. When he got there, he found that this was the shop of Xing'antang in the past!
Looking at the line that stretched outside the store, Zhao Mingsheng took a deep breath. It seemed that the apprentice had kept his words to himself.
Business is not just good, it's packed!
Zhao Mingsheng walked towards the house, but was stopped halfway.
"Hey! How dare you cut in line!"
The woman's voice was a little sharp. One hand pinched her slender waist, and the other arm stretched out to stop Zhao Mingsheng. In this autumn weather, she was only wearing a crimson brocade skirt, draped with a translucent gold gauze, which was indeed a bit cool.
Zhao Mingsheng had to stop and explain to her.
"I'm not here to buy anything, I'm just here to see the boss."
The woman raised her eyebrows and asked, "Looking for Liu Yingying?"
Zhao Mingsheng nodded.
"Who are you to her?" The woman opened her almond-shaped eyes and looked up and down at the girl in front of her.
"friend."
Unexpectedly, the woman laughed and covered her lips after hearing this: "You lied without thinking. I've known her for so many years, but I've never heard that she has a friend like you."
"If you're her friend, I'm her sister. I think you're just trying to cut in line!"
The woman spoke with a resounding voice, which attracted many people's attention. The people queuing around her also started talking.
"Hey, this is Miss Hongyu from Yanliu Pavilion, right? What's wrong? Why are you so angry?"
"It seems like someone is trying to cut in line."
"Why is this person like this? It's freezing cold and we've been waiting in line for half an hour, why is she just cutting in line?"
Zhao Mingsheng had good hearing and she could hear most of the discussions in the crowd.
It turned out that the woman in front of her was Miss Hongyu from Yanliu Pavilion. She said that she had known Liu Yingying for several years but had not seen her. They were both girls from Yanliu Pavilion, so they could be said to be sisters.
Amidst the chaos, an impatient male voice echoed from behind him. "Hongyu, I've already finished my tea, and you haven't finished buying all the cosmetics yet? If you don't buy them soon, I'm leaving!"
"It's almost time, Cui Lang, wait a little longer." As soon as the man asked, Hongyu's face suddenly became nervous. She turned around and took the man's sleeve, whispering coquettishly: "Look, it's almost my turn, it's all because of this guy who cut in line!"
Zhao Mingsheng looked up and saw that he had met his enemies on a narrow road.
If not Cui Xin, then who is called Cui Lang?
"Who? How dare you attack the team? I'll take care of her for you!"
Cui Xin looked in the direction of Hongyu's fingertips and saw the young lady who had appeared in his dreams countless times and made him obsessed standing there. He was immediately dazzled.
"It's been a long time since we last met, young lady. Are you here to buy cosmetics from this store too?" Cui Xin wanted to approach her and start a conversation, but he was afraid that he would be kicked out like last time in the pharmacy. He looked around and confirmed that she was alone before he boldly approached her.
"I heard that cosmetics here are not cheap. I'll give you anything you want!"
Zhao Mingsheng had a blank expression on his face and did not respond to his words.
"Didn't Cui Lang agree to send me off alone?" Hongyu couldn't bear to watch her benefactor being seduced away by someone else. She pouted her lips and said dissatisfiedly, "How could you be so blinded by a young lady who cut in line?"
Cui Xin had gotten himself into trouble, his anger simmering inside him, and Hongyu's words gave him just the right excuse. "So you're the one cutting in line, Hongyu? Didn't you see everyone else lining up? Why are you the only one being singled out?"
Some of the onlookers recognized that this was the son of the county magistrate and followed suit.
"Yeah, everyone's queuing up."
"Even if you look good, you can't just cut in line!"
Zhao Mingsheng frowned slightly, "I'm not buying anything, why should I queue?"
"If you're not buying anything, why are you here?" Cui Xin persisted.
"I've already told you that I'm the boss lady's friend." Even the best-tempered people would become a little impatient when faced with people who don't understand what they're saying.
Hongyu still didn't believe it: "I'm the boss lady's sister! Am I still queuing here?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she saw the girl opposite her suddenly look up and stare at her intently. Her eyes seemed to be able to see through her soul, making her feel a little uncomfortable.
"Oh, you picked up the man she didn't want and treated him like a treasure. You really are her 'good sister'!"
Wasn't Liu Yingying once a favorite of Master Cui's? Yet, she was ruthlessly cast aside, her beautiful face disfigured by Cui Xin. This disgraceful past was known to everyone in Qingkang Town. The women in Yanliu Pavilion who had a good relationship with Liu Yingying avoided Cui Xin, partly out of disgust at his coldness and partly out of fear of becoming the next Liu Yingying.
But only Hongyu was eager to get closer.
Hongyu's face suddenly turned red. What she tried so hard to cover up was exposed by Zhao Mingsheng.
“What’s it to you?”
Hongyu was so angry that she pushed Zhao Mingsheng's shoulder hard.
Zhao Mingsheng was caught off guard and was pushed by Hongyu, causing her to stumble and fall backwards. She wanted to use external force to steady herself, but the impact was too sudden and there was nothing around her, so she could only fall backwards due to inertia.
Seeing the girl about to fall to the ground, the crowd screamed in surprise, and the timid ones quickly closed their eyes, unable to bear to witness the tragic scene.
The pain she'd imagined didn't come, and her back didn't bang against the hard stone pavement as Zhao Mingsheng had expected. A pair of strong arms held her arms firmly, and her back pressed against a scorching chest.
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