12. Succeed
◎No woman has ever been so close to him◎
Chapter 12
It is now the fifth year in Jingning. It is late autumn. The trees outside the house are gradually becoming bare, and the cold air always pierces people's nostrils with a sharp edge.
I don't know how many years ago, it was the same season, but it was even colder than it is now. Now at this time, it feels increasingly distant from the past.
Jiang Qiuye has been in a bad mood recently. Looking at Ji Ci's eyes that were as scrutinizing as a black panther at night, he seemed to be looking for the right opportunity to prey and bite off the prey's neck in one bite.
However, Jiang Qiuye was distracted for only a moment, lowered his head like a quail, and said tremblingly: "Buddha's hand."
Ji Ci was stunned, but he didn't expect it to be because of this.
Jiang Qiuye continued, "Men in Jin State mostly love sandalwood, while the royal family prefers ambergris. The scent of bergamot is too unique. I cook medicinal food, so I understand pharmacology quite well. Bergamot can relieve liver and stomach disharmony, spleen and stomach qi stagnation, and nausea."
Ji Ci said quietly, "But there are many kinds of incense used in Jin, dozens or even hundreds of them. This bergamot is not only owned by me."
Jiang Qiuye twisted her sleeves, seeming to be hesitant to look directly into Ji Ci's eyes, "And the pill that Tianqu took out before, if I'm not mistaken, it should be the Bi Yuan Pill."
"You are very smart." Ji Ci recalled that every time he questioned the young widow, she would answer them without hesitation, leaving no room for rebuttal.
Jiang Qiuye exhaled a breath of frustration, raised her eyes, and said sincerely, "Actually... my sister also suffered from anorexia."
"Sister?" In Ji Ci's impression, Qiu Ying had never had to worry about food and clothing since childhood. She grew up in the love of Duke Anguo. She was a wealthy family with everything provided for her. How could she have anorexia?
"Oh, not my second sister Qiu." Jiang Qiuye reacted and quickly waved her hand. "She's not my biological sister. She's a sister I met in Wuzhou. She's two years younger than me. It's said that her father is a gambler and her mother, who I don't know, abandoned them and ran away from home when she was very young."
Jiang Qiuye's face was calm, her fingers intertwined, and her tone was gentle: "She was sold to a human trafficker by her father, but somehow she escaped and ended up in Wuzhou. It was also late autumn that year. I can't remember exactly where I found her, but I remember it was extremely cold, even colder than Shengjing."
Ji Ci listened silently. Jiang Qiuye seemed to be standing in the environment at that time, wearing thin clothes and with fingers frozen and numb.
She shuddered slightly and continued, "I brought her home. She was so cute and pretty, I fell in love with her at first sight. But then I found out she had anorexia. I happened to be studying pharmacology at the time."
She raised her eyes and looked into Ji Ci's eyes, "My Lord, do you know why I studied pharmacology?"
"...Why?"
"I was abandoned in Wuzhou, with no one to look after me. Those so-called maids and servants never paid any attention to me, leaving me to fend for myself. I washed and cooked my own food. Once, in winter, I was washing clothes by the river and fell into the water. I caught a cold, but no one cared. I lay in bed for several days and only recovered after eating some herbs. I almost died from that illness. It was because of that incident that my constitution became a little fragile."
"That's why I studied pharmacology, so that next time I get sick I can treat myself instead of asking others for help. After all, in this world, the only one I can rely on is myself."
"When I adopted my sister, I started studying medicinal food, especially medicinal food for anorexia, and I actually cured her with it."
Ji Ci looked at Jiang Qiuye who smiled happily as she spoke. Her smile was sweet, like the little sun in autumn, not afraid of the cold, and bringing warmth to people.
This is an exceptionally strong girl. How old is she this year? She seems only seventeen.
For seventeen years, she had gone through the gates of hell, experienced the disaster of her family being wiped out, and despite the public's criticism, she still managed to gain a foothold in Shengjing City.
She runs Guihongtang very well.
Perhaps her experiences had forced her to break away from Qiu Ying's genuine innocence. These insignificant little schemes and clever tricks had led her from Wuzhou to Guihong Hall in Shengjing.
Ji Ci asked curiously, "What about your sister? Where is she now?"
Jiang Qiuye bit her lip, which turned pale. She shook her head and said, "I don't know. She left before I came to Shengjing. She and I are so different, and our ideas are so inconsistent that we parted ways in the end."
"difference?"
Jiang Qiuye retracted her somewhat sad expression, looked back at Ji Ci, and after a moment of silence, she said, "My sister pursued freedom and didn't want to come with me, so she was trapped in the general's mansion." She chuckled, "But now it seems that not coming to the general's mansion was the right choice. I'm afraid... I can't protect her at all."
Ji Ci couldn't help but laugh and said, "With your current ability and intelligence, can't you protect her?"
Jiang Qiuye looked at Ji Ci's rare smile. Well, this was definitely not a compliment to her.
Instead, it is a satire on her, a scheming woman who has been practicing acting for thousands of years.
She raised her eyebrows, her peach blossom eyes flashing with passion. She stood up from across the table, leaned forward, and whispered softly, like a warm breeze, touching her earlobe: "Prince, you see, I have experience in successfully treating anorexia. Would you consider letting me go to the palace to be your..."
"A private herbalist?"
Ji Ci's whole body suddenly stiffened, and his blood stopped flowing. Never, never had a woman been so close to him!
He could smell a faint fragrance wafting into his nose, replacing the bergamot. He didn't know what it was, a bit like jasmine? Or maybe hibiscus?
No, it's more refreshing. What kind of flower smells like this?
He felt an itch beside his ear, and he lowered his eyes slightly, and saw the mist-shrouded mountain. There was a small vermilion mole faintly visible, hidden by the thick fog, and the willow waist was slender enough to be held in one hand.
The young widow's skin seemed to be broken by the snap of a finger, and I wonder what it felt like.
wrong!
Ji Ci came back to his senses a little.
This young widow is so bold that she seduces so openly!
However, she grew up in Wuzhou after all, and had never learned etiquette, nor had anyone taught her.
That's right, she calls everyone brother and has no regard for the difference between men and women.
He was well-versed in the books of sages and regarded them as his guiding principles.
The Daodejing and the Zhouli quickly flashed through Ji Ci's mind. From childhood to adulthood, there had never been a moment like this when he could read these two books silently at such a speed.
But after a while, Ji Ci's eyes, which had been frozen by the break, quickly calmed down. He tilted his head slightly and said, "Miss Qiu, there are differences between men and women. Sit back."
"What?" Jiang Qiuye pouted unhappily and sat back. Her cheeks were plump and translucent, with two faint dimples that made people want to poke them with their fingers.
Ji Ci's mind froze again for a moment, but fortunately he had been deeply influenced by the teachings of great scholars and writers, so he could remain calm and composed without being happy or sad over things.
"you......"
"What's wrong, Your Highness?" Jiang Qiuye's eyes were so innocent that they seemed a little stupid.
"Why do you want to enter the palace? Don't you run Guihong Hall?"
"Oh, because working in the palace gives you both face and money."
"Face, face?"
Jiang Qiuye pointed at Tianqu, who was shivering in the cold wind at the door, and said, "Look at Brother Tianqu. He's so arrogant all day long. Isn't it because he's the prince's attendant?"
Ji Ci glanced at the door. Is that so?
Are you always acting arrogant and nagging every day?
Jiang Qiuye continued, "Besides, I'm now at Guihongtang and have gradually let go of everything. The chef has my recipes, the accountant is in charge, and I have enough waiters. I'm just a leisurely boss."
Ji Ci nodded, "But the palace is not as simple as you think. You can't just enter it casually. Let's not talk about this matter again."
Jiang Qiuye's eyes darkened. As expected, entering the palace was not easy.
Ji Ci pondered for a moment and couldn't help but ask the question that had puzzled him for three or four days: "You delivered medicinal food to the palace every day, why did you suddenly stop?"
Jiang Qiuye couldn't help but smile. "Isn't it because I angered the prince at that time, and I want to apologize. That day in Jinpin Pavilion, the prince asked Brother Tianqu to come out to rescue me, so I knew that the prince's anger must have subsided."
Ji Ci couldn't help but feel annoyed when he saw this. If he had known earlier, he shouldn't have asked Tian to intervene. Perhaps he could have eaten this medicinal food every day for the next four days.
Jiang Qiuye glared and pressed, "Besides, Your Majesty, has your palace paid for the medicinal food I sent you these days?"
“......No?” Ji Ci was stunned.
"Not only did they not pay me, they didn't even return my soup bowl and food box. My small business can't afford such a huge expense. If this gets out, people will say that the dignified Prince Qi is a gigolo. That would be terrible!"
Ji Ci: "..."
"I had no idea this had happened... Tomorrow I will have my butler return the money you have spent on this."
"And soup bowls and food boxes."
"Yes, and there are soup bowls and food boxes."
Ji Ci touched his nose somewhat unnaturally. He didn't expect that he had really been a gigolo in recent times.
How embarrassing.
Jiang Qiuye sent Ji Ci and Tian Qu back to Hongtang. The sweet smile on her face disappeared, replaced by a hint of success.
She knew that she now had a different position in Ji Ci's heart, because she knew Ji Ci's secret, which was a secret between them. It was a special bridge that no other woman had.
…
Although he failed to enter the palace and become Ji Ci's personal herbalist.
However, Ji Ci started to come to Guihong Hall for dinner every day.
All the medicinal dishes in Guihongtang are prepared by the chef, except for Ji Ci's medicinal dishes, which are prepared by Jiang Qiuye himself.
Well, this doesn't seem much different from having a personal herbalist. At least now there are plenty of opportunities to get closer to Ji Ci.
"Miss Qiu."
Jiang Qiuye heard someone looking for her, stood up, and found that it was the head of Jinpin Pavilion, Wang, standing at the door with a small box in his hand.
She immediately stood up to greet her: "Sister Wang, are you here for dinner today?"
Manager Wang raised his thick lips and smiled, "I've eaten the medicinal food Miss Qiu used to treat my headache many times, and it's been very effective. I've come here today to express my gratitude to Miss Qiu."
Jiang Qiuye was flattered and said, "You don't have to be so polite. The set of noodles that Manager Wang gave me was extremely valuable. I'm afraid I can't even afford a fraction of a few bowls of medicinal food."
Manager Wang said lazily, "Never mind, I won't embarrass you. But you must accept this."
As he spoke, he handed the small box in his hand to Jiang Qiuye, "What is this?"
"A group of merchants recently came from Pinghui to buy tea from my hometown. I bought quite a bit. It's not expensive, but it's delicious and rare."
Jiang Qiuye took it and opened it. It was indeed a box of simple tea leaves with a light fragrance. "Pinghuai is a good place for tea production." She closed the lid, looked up and smiled sweetly, "Thank you, Sister Wang, the manager."
"I came here today to deliver this little thing. I'm busy with things at the Jinpin Pavilion, so I'll take my leave now."
"Well, take care, sister."
As soon as the two stepped out of the door, Manager Wang was stunned, not knowing who he saw.
Jiang Qiuye noticed her expression and followed her gaze. He saw a middle-aged man with a square face. His arm was still wrapped in a bandage, one of his eyes was bruised and swollen, and his eyelid was drooping.
You can tell at a glance who beat him.
"What's wrong, Sister Manager? Do you know that person?"
"Hmm." Manager Wang looked around. "That's Doctor Xue. He usually treated your late husband, General Zhang. I don't know what happened to him, but he ended up like this."
Jiang Qiuye raised an eyebrow, looked at the middle-aged man walking away, and murmured, "Doctor Xue...Does the head sister have any doubts?"
Manager Wang retracted his gaze and said, "Jinpin Pavilion has many guests, and noble ladies often discuss some of the secrets of high-ranking families when they gather. I've heard some of it and know that Doctor Xue and Zhang Liang are not on good terms, and there's even some grudge against each other."
"What grudge?" Jiang Qiuye became interested.
"Doctor Xue's wife had been childhood sweethearts with him, and they were deeply in love. But then, for unknown reasons, she became involved with General Zhang and became pregnant. A few months ago, Doctor Xue caught them in bed, but General Zhang was too powerful to handle, so he had no choice but to keep quiet."
"But Madam Xue seemed to have endured it for a long time. She returned home and divorced Doctor Xue. After the divorce, she was immediately taken in as a concubine by General Zhang. After all, the child she was carrying was General Zhang's. But unfortunately, in this case of the Zhang family being exterminated, Madam Xue was also among the dead. She was pregnant when she was killed."
"Oh, I've been chatting with you for so long. I obviously have something important to do, so I'll leave first." Manager Wang reacted and immediately said goodbye to Jiang Qiuye and left.
Jiang Qiuye stood on the porch thinking, there was actually such a big thing, she wondered if Ji Ci knew about it.
She raised her eyes and watched the departing figure of Manager Wang.
Doctor Xue......
Quite interesting.
The author has something to say:
Jiang Qiuye: I heard that a certain gigolo loves reading, it's cute to see the fire avoidance picture
Ji Ci: This king will cultivate his character and start reading Buddhist scriptures tomorrow.
Jiang Qiuye: Oh
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