Chapter 216 What are you afraid of when a mouse sees a cat?
"Manager Mi and his staff have all gone to the warehouse outside the city to fetch the goods, so I'll stay here to look after the shop."
"The clinic has been almost fully set up these past few days, and we're just waiting for you, boss, to come and inspect it and see if there's anything that needs to be changed."
When Mo Lingling saw the man following behind Ji Qingwu, her cheerful smile froze completely on her face.
She stammered, "Miss Ji, the new medicinal herbs haven't been sorted yet. I, I'll go sort them out first."
As Ji Qingwu watched Mo Lingling flee like a mouse before a cat, she turned around and saw Duan Mingfeng's increasingly gloomy expression.
She concluded definitively, "Miss Mo is very afraid of Lord Duan."
Duan Mingfeng gave a low, resounding "hmm".
Mo Lingling has been afraid of him since she was a child, and it seems to have become second nature to her now.
Ji Qingwu said gently, "You should ask Miss Mo why she is so afraid of you. You can resolve this issue between you."
Duan Mingfeng crossed his arms and said nonchalantly, "Many people in this world are afraid of me, and I can't possibly bother with them all."
Ji Qingwu nodded: "That makes sense."
Duan Mingfeng is ruthless and has become a figure feared by countless people in Lin'an.
They were from the same hometown, and they would inevitably meet again in the future, but she could only say so much.
The clinic's decor is now quite impressive.
Ji Qingwu led Duan Mingfeng to the inner room on the first floor, which was the doctor's private room.
She gestured and said, "Lord Duan, please have a seat."
Sitting opposite Ji Qingwu, Duan Mingfeng suddenly felt as if he had fallen ill.
Moreover, she suffers from infertility.
The reason is simple: the murals in this room are not of Shennong, nor of medicinal herbs, but of chubby, adorable babies.
Ji Qingwu noticed that he was staring at the painting on the wall.
With a slight smile, she introduced, "Does Lord Duan also like these paintings? Miss Mo found them for him."
Duan Mingfeng withdrew his gaze and said with a stern face, "I do not like it. Miss Ji, what is it that you summoned me for?"
Ji Qingwu had something important to discuss with him. She said, "Lord Duan, I wanted to ask you if you have noticed anything strange lately?"
Without hesitation, Duan Mingfeng replied, "Why do you ask? Nothing unusual has happened in Lin'an City."
Ji Qingwu continued, "Lord Duan, have you seen any unusual people?"
A strange look flashed in Duan Mingfeng's eyes: "Miss Ji, did you run into something? Is something wrong?"
Ji Qingwu smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, sir. I ran into someone twice, but judging from his appearance, he is not from our Beili. He must have come from the west."
Having experienced fleeing from the northern border to the southern Chu, Ji Qingwu was even more wary of people who suddenly appeared in foreign lands.
Moreover, with the border conflict between Xijin and Beili currently escalating, she has to be extra vigilant.
Duan Mingfeng said, "Miss Ji is very observant. I have already secretly investigated these people. They are imperial merchants from Xijin who came to Beili to experience the local customs and culture and to buy some goods to take back."
"Coming all this way to buy things?" Ji Qingwu asked with a puzzled look.
"But be careful, I've already sent people to keep an eye on them." Duan Mingfeng also felt that this reason was untenable.
He continued, "But these past few days, according to reports from our informants, they've just been strolling around the streets, eating their way through all the food stalls in Lin'an, without doing anything particularly unusual."
The last time Ji Qingwu encountered that man with gray-blue eyes was in a restaurant.
Hopefully she's overthinking it...
Ji Qingwu said with concern, "Before they leave Lin'an, please ask Lord Duan to send more people to keep an eye on them."
Duan Mingfeng said, "The Imperial City Guard will do a good job of guarding, Miss Ji, you don't need to worry."
At that moment, Ji Qingwu, who was sitting facing the door, saw a figure swaying behind the curtain.
A clear, melodious female voice rang out: "Come in."
A slender hand lifted the curtain, and Mo Lingling walked in carrying tea and snacks. She placed the cups and saucers on the chicken wing wood tray in front of Ji Qingwu.
"Miss Ji, it's been dry lately, please drink more water to soothe your throat."
Ji Qingwu noticed the unusual color of the water, took a gentle sniff, and asked, "Is there monk fruit and mint in it?"
Mo Lingling said, "That's right. Miss Ji has such a keen sense of smell. Dandelion was added to it. This is a secret recipe that my sister, who used to sing in the pavilion, told me. It's the best for nourishing the voice."
Ji Qingwu nodded and said, "That's right, Miss Mo is very thoughtful."
This was in her clinic, and Duan Mingfeng was a guest, so Ji Qingwu pushed the cup of tea in front of her to him first.
"Please, Lord Duan."
Mo Lingling stared at the cup and quickly said, "Duan Shisi doesn't talk much, so he doesn't strain his voice. He doesn't need to drink this."
Duan Mingfeng hadn't planned to drink, but upon hearing her words, his eyes narrowed, and he took the white porcelain cup and drank it all in one gulp.
Ji Qingwu didn't even have time to say "Be careful, it's hot!"
Duan Mingfeng remained calm, not even blinking, but his other hand under the table was clenched into a fist.
Mo Lingling's eyes widened, and she said, "I remember that Duan Shisi doesn't like to eat things with mint in them."
He had hated mint since he was a child, while she had always loved it.
Duan Mingfeng glanced at her with a tense chin before looking away.
Mo Lingling also brought a lot of snacks, and the table in front of Ji Qingwu was full of them.
“Miss Ji, I made all of these myself, and I even added some nourishing and beautifying herbs. Please take a look and give me your opinion.”
The snacks in front of her looked delicious and smelled fragrant. Ji Qingwu took a small bite and was slightly surprised. She hadn't expected Mo Lingling to have this talent. She had really invited the right person.
After praising it a few times, Ji Qingwu said, "Put some in front of Lord Duan as well."
Mo Lingling's smile froze for a moment before she replied, "I remember, Lord Duan doesn't like these snacks either."
Before she could finish speaking, Duan Mingfeng reached out and grabbed the nearest radish cake, then put it in his mouth.
A look of confusion appeared in Mo Lingling's eyes; he was completely different from the man she remembered.
Duan Mingfeng was eating radish cake, but the way he chewed it made it seem like he wanted to chew the person in front of him up and swallow him whole.
The atmosphere was both strange and somewhat familiar to Ji Qingwu.
Ji Qingwu cleared his throat, stood up and said, "It's still early, I need to go home and sleep."
This statement seemed incoherent, so Mo Lingling asked curiously, "Miss Ji, are you going to bed so early?"
Ji Qingwu said, "What I mean is, go home and take a nap. You and Lord Duan can have this tea and snacks together."
"Miss Ji, please don't..."
Mo Lingling looked like she was about to cry, and desperately wanted to go with Ji Qingwu.
Duan Mingfeng slammed the small plate in his hand onto the table, and the porcelain plate shattered into dust.
What are you afraid of?
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