Chapter 39: A Letter

The Peaceful Ease Prefecture was located in the north. Most of the buildings there were grand and imposing in style, the local folk of simple and honest yet fierce disposition. Merchants traveled through from all directions, and the trade was quite bustling.

The branch store of the Imperial Medicine Hall was set up in a quiet alley off the main bustling street.

“Sister.” Chu Mingyu returned from the front shop, chafing her hands as she ducked into the warm parlor. She saw her sister still sitting in the same spot, the table and floor covered with medicinal ingredients, no fewer than a dozen different kinds.

Beside the medicines lay several medical books and a scroll of bamboo slips. She must have encountered something extremely difficult.

Chu Mingxi was holding a piece of pale brown withered vine, her brow deeply furrowed. After a moment, she put the ingredient into her mouth and bit it gently.

Chu Mingyu didn’t get a response. She cast a questioning glance at Qingdai, who was in attendance. Qingdai slowly shook her head. Chu Mingyu understood — her sister had been focused on nothing but these medicines all day. From the looks of it, she probably hadn’t even eaten lunch.

The door curtain was lifted and two maids entered carrying food boxes. The one walking in front was Chu Mingyu’s personal maid, called Song Jia.

The table was already piled high with herbs. Song Jia didn’t dare make a sound. She also looked to her Second Young Miss for guidance. The Second Young Miss looked around, then gestured with her chin toward a side table.

Song Jia put down the food box, and upon receiving the Second Young Miss’s silent instruction, came in quietly and left just as quietly.

Chu Mingyu walked over to Chu Mingxi’s side and said softly, “Sister, it’s time to eat.”

Chu Mingxi gave an “Mm,” her eyes still not leaving the medicines.

Chu Mingyu was unhappy now. She tugged at her sleeve and said, “Sister!”

Finally, Chu Mingxi graced her with a look. “Alright, I heard you.”

Chu Mingyu grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the side table. “Hurry, I’m starving.”

Yining followed them over, opened the food boxes for the two sisters, arranged the dishes plate by plate, and poured two bowls of hot soup from a tureen.

Chu Mingyu took the soup, sipping slowly, and muttered, “It’s already spring, how can it be this cold?”

Chu Mingxi picked up some food with her chopsticks and tasted it. She asked, “Is this… bamboo shoots?”

Yining, waiting on them nearby, nodded with a smile. “Yes. The kitchen just bought some today. It’s quite rare here in the Northern Border.”

Hearing this, Chu Mingyu also picked up a small piece, pursed her lips as she tasted it carefully. Tilting her head, she said, “This is actually bamboo shoot? Why does it taste different from back home? Is it the same kind of bamboo shoot?”

“One could say yes, and one could say no.” Yining explained to her cheerfully. “Southern bamboo shoots can’t grow in the Northern Border. Southern farmers harvest fresh bamboo shoots, dry them in the sun, and then merchants come to buy them and bring them here, traveling thousands of miles. These are dried bamboo shoots.”

“No wonder. The dishes we’ve been eating recently all seem to be dried, preserved vegetables?”

“Yes. The Northern Border is cold. You can’t grow vegetables at all once winter arrives, so people mostly eat pickled vegetables. Worried that the Young Misses wouldn’t be used to it, the kitchen bought more dried vegetables. The corn kernels in this soup were also dried for the winter and simmered for most of an hour.”

“We haven’t been here long, but you already know many things.” Chu Mingyu ate and chatted, joking around, but suddenly bit her tongue. “Ts…”

Chu Mingxi heard her sharp intake of breath, glanced at her, and then said idly, “People say, ‘When eating, don’t speak; when sleeping, don’t talk.’ Fidgeting around like that, careful you don’t choke on your own breath.”

Chu Mingyu put down her bowl and slumped in her chair, huffing, “Who was it that doesn’t let me eat well!”

Chu Mingxi pointed a finger at the table. “Those books.”

Chu Mingyu followed her finger to the desk, then burst out laughing.

After both sisters finished their meal, the maids cleared away the bowls and food boxes. Chu Mingyu leaned lazily against the chair, watching her sister head back to the piles of herbs and medicines. She sighed helplessly. “What’s so interesting about that pile of medicine? You’ve been looking at it for at least ten days now.”

Again, her sister didn’t answer her.

Chu Mingxi stood amongst the medicines, the ones on the left stacked on the floor, the ones on the right placed on the desk, as clearly separated as the Chu and Han territories, not intruding on each other.

Chu Mingyu watched for a long while, then stood in the middle of the medicines like her sister. She looked around, full of doubt. “Sister, why divide them into two piles? They look the same to me.”

“Are they the same?” Chu Mingxi asked very seriously.

Chu Mingyu rubbed her eyes. Could it be that she was too unlearned and saw wrongly? She looked the medicines over from beginning to end before saying with certainty, “They’re all the same. Everything on the floor is also on the table.”

This time, Chu Mingxi was silent for a long time.

Chu Mingyu blinked her eyes, leaning in to ask, “What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?”

Chu Mingxi shook her head. “You’re not wrong. I also feel they’re all the same.”

Chu Mingyu: “…”

Sister, I cannot understand you when you talk like that.

The two sisters stared at the medicine piles before them. Finally, Chu Mingyu couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“So, Sister, there definitely wasn’t an epidemic in the Peaceful Ease Prefecture, right? Then what exactly are you looking at?”

“At these medicines.”

Chu Mingyu: “…”

She suddenly became very curious — wouldn’t her brother-in-law really be infuriated to death by her sister one day?

Chu Mingyu sat down at the desk, resting her chin on one hand. “Since it’s the same medicine, what are you still hesitating about?”

“Do you know what this medicine is?”

Chu Mingyu followed her sister’s gaze and looked at the herbs on the desk and the floor. She shook her head. “I can’t tell them apart. But it’s the same prescription, right?”

“Right. The same prescription. This is the exact medicine that those two people who sought medical treatment took.” Chu Mingxi picked up a dry leaf.

“Seeking treatment…” Chu Mingyu was taken aback before remembering her sister was talking about the very reason they came to the Peaceful Ease Prefecture. “You mean those two people who took our Imperial Medicine Hall’s medicine…”

“Correct. Their symptoms were similar. The medicine we prescribed was the same, and even the dosage was equivalent. But…” Chu Mingxi paused, her voice becoming heavy. “Both of those people died.”

Chu Mingyu was utterly confused, yet she still used her own way to explain the perplexity. “Didn’t you say there wasn’t an epidemic in the Peaceful Ease Prefecture? Isn’t that… isn’t that the best outcome?”

Chu Mingxi turned to look at her and said calmly, “For the Peaceful Ease Prefecture, that is the best outcome. But for those two people, it is not.” Without waiting for Chu Mingyu to ask further, she pointed to the medicines on the table and said, “This was taken from the shop. I originally thought perhaps someone was lining their own pockets, buying inferior medicine at a low price, so the medication’s effect couldn’t reach the standard needed for treatment, causing such an accident. But I’ve carefully examined every single ingredient. Our Imperial Medicine Hall’s medicine is, without a doubt, all good medicine.”

“So then I thought, could it be poor storage in our medicine warehouse that damaged the medicinal properties — for instance, dampness, or insect infestation, or maybe old, stale stock? Medicine and poison share the same source; if the ingredients have gone bad, it can also cost lives.”

“So the ones on the floor are from the medicine warehouse?” Chu Mingyu was finally clever for once.

Her sister nodded. “Yes. The medicine taken from the warehouse, I also examined each one just as carefully, even tasted some.”

“Sister…”

“But I still can’t find the problem. The medicine in the warehouse is fine.”

This time, it was Chu Mingyu’s turn to ponder deeply.

The night watch sounded the second watch outside. Unknowingly, it was already the hour of the Pig. Qingdai saw that both Young Misses wore grave expressions and didn’t dare disturb them. She only trimmed the candle wicks gently, making the night lamp burn brighter.

“Could it be…” Chu Mingyu blinked and spoke very cautiously. “Could it be that Shopkeeper Yu misdiagnosed them?”

Chu Mingxi shook her head. Just as Chu Mingyu thought she was going to say ‘no,’ she instead lowered her gaze slightly and said, seriously, “I don’t know. Emotionally, Shopkeeper Yu has been at the Imperial Medicine Hall for many years, even before you and I were born. He was already a man of the Imperial Medicine Hall. But logically, for two patients in a row to die under medical care… it doesn’t add up.”

Silence fell over the room once more, broken only by the occasional popping sound from the candle flame on the lamp stand.

“Eldest Young Miss, someone has arrived from the Capital City. They say there is a letter for you.”

Early the next morning, the two sisters were in the warm parlor, sitting opposite each other eating breakfast, when they heard the young maid outside come to report.

Chu Mingxi had her come in to report in person.

Chu Mingyu asked with a giggle, “Is it a letter from our mother?”

The maid was very young, not someone who often served close by. Upon entering, she first paid her respects to the two Young Misses, then also smiled as she replied, “To answer the Second Young Miss, I cannot read and don’t know who sent it. Only Shopkeeper Yu said a young lad delivered it to the shop, expressly addressing it as a letter for the Eldest Young Miss. That person is still waiting outside for a reply.” As she spoke, she presented the letter respectfully with both hands.

Chu Mingyu made an “Oh” sound and glanced at it from her sister’s hand. The handwriting on the envelope was crisp and elegant — it didn’t look like their mother’s writing. Her sister held the letter, not opening it immediately. Her expression didn’t change much, but the corners of her eyes held a faint trace of a smile. Just as Chu Mingyu was about to look more closely, her sister turned her head and asked, as if casually, “The messenger is still outside?”

“Yes, in the front shop,” the young maid replied.

Chu Mingxi nodded and immediately headed towards the shop.

Chu Mingyu’s curiosity was greatly aroused. She quickly lifted the door curtain herself and followed. “Whose letter is it? You’re in such a rush.”

“Am I in a rush?” Chu Mingxi halted her steps.

Chu Mingyu nodded vigorously. “Very much so!”

“Who says so?” Chu Mingxi scoffed, then deliberately slowed her pace, her hand unconsciously touching her cheek.

Chu Mingyu’s head leaned in again. “Huh?”

“Watch the road!” Her sister pointed at the smoothly paved cobblestone path in the courtyard.

After walking a few more steps, the gears in Chu Mingyu’s head turned. “I know! It’s a letter from Brother-in-law!”

Her sister didn’t speak, just kept walking straight ahead. Chu Mingyu hopped and skipped up to her. “Right? Right? Let me see if you’re blushing?”

Chu Mingxi pushed her face away with one finger, emphasizing, “I said, watch the road!”

“Hehehe.”

Chu Mingyu wrapped both arms around her sister’s elbow, and the sisters walked out together. As they were about to pass through the flower-pierced gate, Chu Mingyu suddenly hooked her sister’s arm and said in a tiny voice, “Sister, this shouldn’t just be called a letter.”

“What should it be called?” Chu Mingxi responded idly, her hand already ready to push the door open.

“What Brother-in-law wrote to you,” Chu Mingyu’s voice was full of laughter, “should be called a love letter.”