Chapter 27: The Double Seventh Festival (2)

  On the south side of the city, there is a place that specializes in selling fresh flowers, including roses, carnations, peonies, jasmine and hibiscus.

  It is said that tonight's best-selling ones are "Double Lotus" and "Born in Life".

  What is called "twin lotus" is not born, but merchants sell two half-open or fully open lotus flowers tied together with colored silk threads, called "twin lotus".

  The seeds are placed in a small ceramic container, about the size of a palm, and water is poured over them to make them sprout. After they have grown several inches, they are wrapped in red, blue, yellow, and other colored silk fabrics and arranged on trays for sale to the public. The buyer cannot see the growth inside and randomly selects one; whoever picks the seedling that grows lushly and evenly is considered to have good luck.

  Yao Cunhui looked out at the crowd and indeed saw many women holding all sorts of fresh flowers or plants, their delicate features matching the beauty of the flowers.

  Mao's gaze wandered over her sisters, his eyes lingering on Yao Cunhui's face with a questioning look.

  Her sisters were quite dependent on her, she had to take responsibility.

  "I don't have anywhere in particular I want to go, I just want to wander around." Yao Cunhui smiled and said.

  "That's good," Madam Mao nodded with a smile: "So let's split up, and gather here again after one hour to return to the mansion together. Take a good look, it's right under the colorful archway of 'Guangyaozhauhua'! If you can't find the place, ask the patrolling police officers, don't talk to strangers casually."

  Yao Cunhui and others all nodded in agreement, bid farewell to the Mao family, and each led their own people away.

  Yao Cunhui walked slowly with the four maidservants, following the crowd. The four maidservants were excitedly pointing and chattering, finding everything novel and interesting, their laughter and chatter never stopping for a moment. Hong Lian was also more lively than usual, while Hong Zhi had put aside her usual strong will and cunning, at this moment, they were all young girls full of hope and simple joy for the future.

  The Qixi Festival market is filled with all sorts of small commodities and trinkets that are overwhelming!

  There are dolls made of mud, about one or two inches in size, all decorated with carved wooden frames, or adorned with red silk and green lanterns, or decorated with golden balls and jade. Some exquisite ones cost as much as one or two taels of silver for a pair.

  There is another kind of plaything called "water float", made from melted and softened yellow wax, mostly in the shape of mandarin ducks, geese, swans, egrets, magpies, goldfish, and turtles. They are painted with fine brushes and placed on the water, looking so lifelike that they attract countless young girls to come and watch.

  There are small wooden boards with thin soil, sown with rice seeds and planted with new seedlings, placed in small thatched houses, various flowers and trees, forming the appearance of a village; also, there are small gourds carved into various flower shapes, called "flower gourds"; and there are fruit-shaped armor figures, called "fruit generals". And so on, including all kinds of things to eat, play with, use, wear, appreciate, and look at, all perfectly crafted.

  Merging into the joyful crowd, Yao Cunhui's face was also full of smiles. For such a long time, only at this moment was she truly relaxed.

  But she still hasn't forgotten, tonight, she has something else to do.

  "You all play by yourselves, remember not to get lost, I'll rest here for a while! If you get lost later, you can go back to the Caixiaoloufang area on your own!"

  Arriving at the large incense burner in the center of the square, Yao Cunhui smiled and instructed the four people. Each was given another 500 copper plates to let them play on their own. He sat alone on a long bench under a big tree, resting and playing with a new flower ball he had just bought. The refreshing fragrance of the flowers was intoxicating.

  All streets in Beijing have a strong sense of direction, with north-south and east-west directions being straight, making it easy to navigate without getting lost.

  Hong Lian was reluctant to leave and wanted to stay with Yao Cunhui, but she was forced to go with Hong Zhi.

  The four girls said goodbye to Yao Cunhui and soon split into two groups, each going their own way. Hong Lian and Hong Zhi went one way, while Lu He and Lu Ye went the other.

  As she watched their figures disappear into the crowd, Yao Cunhui got up lightly, slightly raised her head, glanced at the green smoke rising from the furnace, tidied up the scattered hair blown by the cool wind, and soon merged into the crowd again.

  After leaving Qiqiao City, Yao Cunhui stopped a horse-drawn carriage and arrived at a medical clinic in an instant. He knocked on the door.

  "Is this lady here for a prescription or an examination?" The young man who opened the door looked up and down at Yao Cunhui, asking politely.

  Yao Cunhui's mouth slightly curved upwards as he smiled and asked, "Is the doctor in?"

  The fellow saw that she was dressed in a way that was not common, yet she was alone and single, and for a moment he couldn't quite grasp what her status was. He hesitated and said: "Miss..."

  "If the doctor is available, I'd like to see him and ask about some important matters. Would you please inform him for me?" Yao Cunhui smiled warmly, with a calm and composed demeanor.

  The fellow finally shifted his body to one side, raised his hand with a smile and invited her in.

  This doctor's surname is Zhu, and his clinic is called "Changchun Hall". He is a conscientious and meticulous physician. In my past life memories, the imperial physician of the Xieyang Marquis' manor was also hired from this person.

  Zhu Daifu was in the back hall preparing medicine when he heard someone asking to see him, so he washed his hands and came out. Seeing that it was a beautifully dressed woman, he couldn't help but stare. Under the lamp light, he took another look at her complexion and spirit, which didn't seem like those of an ill person. Her demeanor was also leisurely, not like someone asking for a medical consultation. His expression immediately turned somewhat unpleasant as he coldly said: "Miss, are you here to see a doctor or get medicine?"

  Yao Cunhui smiled slightly and pulled out a prescription from her sleeve, handing it to Zhu Dafu: "I'd like to ask you to take a look at this prescription and see if there's any problem with it?"

  Zhu Dafu gave her a strange look, took the prescription in a careless manner, unfolded it and took a glance. His eyes suddenly jumped, and his expression turned serious in the next second. He stared at the prescription with increasing focus, muttering to himself.

  "This prescription, may I ask where did you get it from?" Dr. Zhu looked at Yao Cunhui with a few more deep thoughts in his eyes. As an old doctor who had been practicing for decades, he could naturally see through the clues when he got a prescription.

  "To be honest, this is a family heirloom prescription," Yao Cunhui said with a straight face, thinking of the words "family heirloom prescription" and couldn't help but feel a slight sense of embarrassment, suddenly feeling like a quack doctor who specialized in swindling people.

  "If it weren't for my mother's serious illness and lack of money to buy medicine, I wouldn't have resorted to this. I still have a few more prescriptions here, if Doctor Zhu is interested, I'd be willing to sell them to you together. If not, I'll have to look elsewhere." Yao Cunhui let out a soft sigh, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

  Zhu Dafu's eyes flickered, and he slightly sized her up, as if to distinguish how much truth and falsehood were in her words.

  "Heh heh," Zhu Dafu chuckled softly, savoring the words: "If I didn't buy this prescription, Miss would have let me see it anyway. Isn't Miss afraid of losing out?"

  Yao Cunhui smiled and shook her head: "You are a great doctor who is widely praised by everyone, with high medical ethics and good character. I believe you are not that kind of person."

  Zhu Dafu was taken aback, and laughed at himself: "You trust me so much? I don't even have that much confidence in myself! As a doctor, when you see a new prescription, it's something you can't forget even if you want to!"

  "So, Zhu Dafu can just buy it then!" Yao Cunhui said with a smile.

  Zhu Dafu couldn't help but burst out laughing, nodding his head and sighing: "Miss is really good at talking!" However, he didn't immediately agree to Yao Cunhui's words, instead pointing at the prescription and carefully asking Yao Cunhui.

  Zhu Dafu asked casually, and Yao Cunhui replied casually, their conversation flowing smoothly. Zhu Dafu seemed to be asking randomly, but he also asked her some questions about pharmacology and medical theory. Yao Cunhui secretly smiled to herself - after all, she was from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and had been studying it for nearly twenty years; how could she let Zhu Dafu stump her? Her theories and insights only made Zhu Dafu's eyes light up with understanding!

  However, Yao Cunhui did not show off his knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, but only appropriately mentioned one or two points that were more advanced than the medical theories of this era, with the purpose of making Zhu Dafu believe in him.

  How can a woman who doesn't even understand medical principles or pharmacology come up with some unknown prescription?

  After the most intense confrontation, Zhu Dafu secretly admired and secretly blushed, finally eliminating the last bit of doubt. He nodded satisfactorily: "Miss, how many more prescriptions do you have? I'll take them all."

  "Thank you, Mr. Zhu." Yao Cunhui was overjoyed and took out four more prescriptions from her sleeve, gazing at them reluctantly for a last time before sighing softly: "If it weren't for the fact that I had no other choice, I wouldn't have resorted to this. After selling these five prescriptions to Mr. Zhu, I won't use them again. These five prescriptions are worth three hundred taels?"

  Yao Cunhui was not very familiar with the prices at that time, and he didn't understand economic accounts, so he was completely blank on this aspect. Yao Cunhui had to make an educated guess and tentatively spoke up.

  Zhu Dafu couldn't help but feel surprised and suspicious, narrowing his eyes as he sized up Yao Cunhui. He thought to himself, "Indeed, she's just a naive little girl. Doesn't she know? The secret recipe is extremely important for a medical clinic, it's truly priceless!"

  "Miss," said Mr. Zhu with a smile, "I'll give you 500 taels first, I trust your character, but I still need to test whether these prescriptions are really effective and useful. Come back in half a year, if they're good, I'll pay you another 500 taels."

  Yao Cunhui was shocked by what she heard, she had no idea that a prescription could be so valuable.

  "Everything will be decided by Master Zhu," Yao Cunhui nodded and smiled jokingly: "Then, Master Zhu, you can prepare the remaining 500 taels. Half a year later, I will definitely come to your door to collect it!"

  Zhu Dafu burst out laughing, his eyes full of praise, and said with a smile: "Please wait for a moment, miss. I'll go get the silver."

  Yao Cunhui did not know at this time, several months later, the imperial court sent troops to attack the Western Regions. Zhu Dafu presented one of the bone-setting prescriptions she had given him, and in addition to receiving a reward of 1,000 taels of white silver from the imperial court, he also received an official plaque of merit. What she could not have imagined was that she and Zhu Dafu would have even more collaborations in the future.

  Yao Cunhui carefully tucked the silver ticket into her bosom and bid farewell with a smile.

  The moment she stepped out of the hospital, her heart was filled with a strong sense of relief and her mood was exceptionally pleasant.

  With this large sum of money, it was enough for her and Rong's mother to manage their relationships in the mansion.

  Perhaps she was too excited, Yao Cunhui walked dazedly and didn't notice the horse carriage rushing towards her until it was too late to dodge.

  The wind brought by the speeding carriage was already approaching, Yao Cunhui instinctively dodged to the side, still feeling a chill in her heart, and desperately closed her eyes.

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