Chapter 4: Returning to the Capital

The carriage wound through the bustling market district and clip-clopped its way along the main road of bluestone slabs.

“Alright, alright! I never knew you were this much of a chatterbox.” Chu Mingxi rubbed her forehead, vexed. Yet she couldn’t very well explain that the “Young Master Wei” she kept going on about was also a young girl. She sat upright in her chair, composed her expression, and looked at her with a hint of sternness. “Don’t ever say such things again. In a physician’s eyes, there is only a distinction between the healthy and the ill. What does male or female matter?”

Qingdai opened her mouth, but Chu Mingxi continued, “You saw Father treat the wounded and sick before. If a woman sought diagnosis, would Father have refused to treat her?”

Qingdai was left speechless, dumbly staring for the rest of the ride. It was only when the carriage stopped before the manor gates that she remembered: if, back then, the Old Master had also personally fed water and medicine to a young lady seeking treatment, the Madam would have surely made a scene, wailing and threatening!

But by now, the carriage door was open. Qingdai had no choice but to resignedly step down. Outside, the coachman had already placed the stool. She stood by the door to help her Miss down. Lord Li stood a few paces away, still holding his horse’s reins. Her family’s Miss gave a shallow curtsy, then lifted her step and walked through the Chu family’s vermillion gate.

“The Eldest Young Miss has returned!”

The Chu family Steward stood inside the main gate, hands lowered, with several male servants following behind him, all heads bowed.

Servants greeted her all along the path as she walked in. Chu Mingxi asked them as she walked, “Is Mother well? And Yu’er?”

“The Madam came down with a wind-cold a while ago and lost some weight, but she’s fine now. The Second Young Miss…”

“Sister!”

Before the Steward could finish, a crisp voice rang out from the side. Before Chu Mingxi could even see her, a smile had already bloomed in her eyes. Following the sound, her younger sister Chu Mingyu, dressed in peach-colored robes, emerged from behind a cluster of flowering shrubs.

“When did Sister get back? No one told me!” The young girl, just past eleven, pouted her little mouth and tugged at her sister’s sleeve, her expression adorably naïve.

“Coming out without wearing proper outer clothing. We haven’t seen each other for nearly half a year—how are you still so careless?” Chu Mingxi gently chided her while glancing aside.

A quick-witted maid came forward and draped a short cloak over the Second Young Miss’s shoulders. The two sisters walked arm in arm onto the winding corridor. The Steward, Chu Zhong, followed closely behind. Chu Mingyu wanted several times to whisper something to her sister but, hindered by the Steward’s presence, couldn’t speak up. She kept winking frantically at her sister.

Chu Mingxi found it amusing. She instructed Chu Zhong to lead the servants and properly store the collected medicinal herbs. After thinking for a moment, she added, “Send word to Uncle Kang. Ask the managers of every shop to come by. Say it’s been a year of hard work, and I’d like to treat them all to a simple meal.”

“Yes, Miss.” Chu Zhong stood aside with his hands lowered. Only when the two sisters had walked far away did he turn and bustle off to his duties.

“He’s finally gone. Sister, you don’t know—Uncle Zhong has been getting more and more long-winded lately. Following Mother’s orders to manage me, always saying this isn’t right, that isn’t proper. Amitabha Buddha, I’m about to be nagged into an illness.”

Listening to her younger sister’s lively tone as she poured out her grievances, Chu Mingxi couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Chu Mingyu coquettishly glared at her, refusing to let it go. “You’re still laughing at me!”

“Alright, alright. Uncle Zhong has been sent away by you, too. What’s so secretive?” Chu Mingxi tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear as they rounded a corner of the corridor.

Chu Mingyu dared not say “Clearly you’re the one who dismissed him.” She hurried a couple of steps, then hesitated, thinking over her words before finally saying, “Just those same old things.”

Understanding dawned on Chu Mingxi, and she raised an eyebrow. “Second Uncle’s family has been here?”

“Been here more than just once! With you away from home, Second Aunt keeps bringing people over every few days to stir up trouble. How do you think Mother caught that wind-cold? It wasn’t just because they went too far that day, saying things like ‘What use is saving others if you can’t save your own? If you’re so capable, how could Dad have passed away?’ and that it’s disgraceful for a young lady like you to be out in public all the time. Mother was grieving Father and worrying about you, and with all that, her health just grew weaker.”

As Chu Mingxi listened, the light in her eyes gradually frosted over. After a long moment, she sneered, “And here I am, still acting as family head, and they dare be this blatant. If I were to truly marry out, wouldn’t they turn the heavens upside down!”

Chu Mingyu rarely saw her sister look so stern and was startled. Seeing the ice in her sister’s eyes, she hesitantly shuffled closer and took her sister’s hand. “It’s… it’s not necessarily that bad. Mother quietly mentioned to me that although Lord Li is still only a fifth-rank official, he is young and promising, with most of his family elders holding court positions. If Sister marries him, at least she’ll have someone to rely on…”

In the courtyard, large swaths of Purple Smoke Vine bloomed in a gorgeous haze under the sunset’s glow. Beside them grew several tall evergreen trees, their canopies like elegant pavilions, their shadows forming a dense grove. Chu Mingxi stood beneath the covered walkway. Before her eyes was a splendor of brilliant purples and reds, yet deep within her gaze, a trace of self-mocking bitterness surfaced.

“So must a woman inevitably depend on someone else to live?”

Her voice was too soft; Chu Mingyu didn’t catch it. She took a step closer, asking in confusion, “What did Sister say?”

Chu Mingxi turned her head back, all emotion in her eyes now tucked away. She patted the cloak on her sister’s shoulder and smiled brightly. “Nothing. Let’s go and give our greetings to Mother first.”

Outside the main hall of the Chu Family Manor, several young maids were gathered around a white-feathered, green-beaked parrot, chatting. The parrot had been trained exceptionally well. Standing on its wooden perch, it flapped its wings with a flutter and called out, enunciating perfectly, “The Eldest Young Miss is back! The Eldest Young Miss is back!” This prompted Qi Xiaolong inside the house to crane her neck for a look. But after only one glance, she realized and scolded with a laugh, “This silly bird, tricking me again!”

“Ah! The Eldest Young Miss truly has returned! Madam, Madam, it’s the Eldest Young Miss and the Second Young Miss.” The maids, all laughing, welcomed the two sisters inside.

Qi Xiaolong had just stood up when she saw her two daughters, each beautiful as fine jade, enter arm in arm. “Xi’er. It really is my Xi’er.” She took a few steps forward and grasped her eldest daughter’s hands. In an instant, her eyes reddened. “You… you’re finally back.”

“Mother. I’ve returned. Greetings, Mother.” Chu Mingxi felt a slight pang in her heart. She stepped back and performed a deep bow. When she raised her head again, her expression was one of relaxed cheerfulness. “I was merely taking a trip to the Northern Border. I accompanied Father on the same journey in previous years—Mother needn’t worry. The herbs collected this year are excellent, making my thousand-mile journey worthwhile.”

Qi Xiaolong had married into the Chu family at sixteen, had her eldest daughter at nineteen, and her younger daughter a few years later. Except for occasional visits to her maiden home, she had scarcely left the inner courtyard for all these years. What Chu Mingxi said, she simply listened to and then let it pass, not dwelling on it too much.

Maids came to help their masters change clothes. Qi Xiaolong hastily ordered hot water prepared, dinner arranged. Chu Mingxi washed her hands in the copper basin and smiled. “Yu’er, accompany Mother for dinner. I still need to go to the front hall. Uncle Kang brought the managers from each shop over.”

Before the year’s end, inviting the managers of all branches to the manor for a meeting, followed by closing the books and distributing dividends, was an old tradition of many years. Every past year, the Old Master had personally presided over it.

Seeing the unconcealed weariness on her daughter’s face, Qi Xiaolong sighed softly. “You’ve only just returned. Wouldn’t it be just as well to invite them over tomorrow?”

“I also felt it was a bit late in the day, but it’s already the twenty-third of the twelfth month. The whole shop is waiting for the accounts to be closed and the dividends to be distributed. In past years, Father would usually have finalized these matters by now.” Chu Mingxi took her mother’s hand and comforted her. “Mother, don’t worry. Your daughter can handle it.”

Qi Xiaolong stroked her daughter’s hand twice and said nothing more.

Chu Mingxi kept her mother company for a while, chatting and having some tea and snacks. Chu Mingyu, at that curious age, propped her chin on her hand and asked about this and that. Chu Mingxi picked out a few details about the local customs beyond the Wall to tell. Qi Xiaolong instructed her during wartime to avoid going there if possible, that the Chu family didn’t lack those few taels of silver, and that living well was more important than anything.

Chu Mingxi agreed with a smile, not bothering to explain that herbs procured from the North could relieve the ailments of countless people in the South and potentially save countless lives.

These complicated matters—Mother didn’t need to understand, nor did her younger sister, raised sheltered in the inner chambers. She, however, needed to understand. That was enough.

By the time Uncle Kang and Uncle Zhong saw the various managers off, the moon was already beginning to fade.

Inevitably, some wine had been drunk that night. When Chu Mingxi rose, her head felt heavy. Qingdai rushed to support her, but she waved her off, steadied herself, and calmly straightened her back. Servants all held their breath and lowered their hands. She walked past them, step by step, steadily returning to her own courtyard. Only when Qingdai closed the bedchamber door did she finally lean against the table’s edge, swaying slightly. Qingdai caught her, anxious. “Miss…”

She shook her head. “I’m fine.” Pausing, she continued, “Prepare some water. I want to bathe.”

“Hot water has been ready all along,” said Yining, Chu Mingxi’s other close maid who had stayed behind at the Chu manor, emerging from the side room. She held an oval porcelain tray, from which she took a hot cloth and handed it to her Miss.

Chu Mingxi took it in her hand. The warm comfort relaxed her, and she couldn’t help but press the cloth to her eyes.

Yining took back the cloth and placed it in the tray, then raised her hands to massage her Miss’s temples. As she massaged, she scolded, “I knew tonight wouldn’t be peaceful. You’ve only just returned, and you’ve drunk so much wine. How can you not have a headache tomorrow?”

A young maid brought a Hangover Cure Soup to the door. Qingdai didn’t let her in. She brought the bowl in herself and set it on the table, huffily saying, “Exactly. Last time you were about to travel far, those shop managers came and babbled just like this. Which one had a good expression? They were all waiting to take advantage of us.”

Chu Mingxi lifted her foot towards the side room, her two maids quickly following. Chu Mingxi waved them off. “Don’t nag me anymore today. Let my ears have some peace.”

Qingdai and Yining exchanged a look and dared not trouble her further. They helped her drink the Hangover Cure Soup, bathed, changed her clothes, and escorted her to her bedchamber.

Chu Mingxi sank heavily into the warm, soft quilt. As the warm blanket settled over her, a hazy thought surfaced. She touched her forehead. “Among the personal luggage I brought back, there’s a copy of ‘Classified Materia Medica’. Go fetch it for me.”

“Miss!” Qingdai stood by the bed, stomping her foot in frustration. “Just rest peacefully for a while! You can look at it tomorrow!”

“It’s a rare edition from the previous dynasty. Something you only encounter with great fortune. Don’t let the young maids damage it.” Chu Mingxi rarely offered an explanation. She dismissed her, “Go on, quickly.”

Left with no choice, Qingdai left to obey. She rummaged through the accompanying personal belongings and finally found that ancient book, hurrying to deliver it to the bedchamber. Yining put a finger to her lips, signaling silence. Qingdai craned her neck to look—possibly from the wine, her Miss had already fallen asleep, utterly exhausted.

She tiptoed over and placed the ancient book by the pillow. The bed curtains were lowered. Yining pointed towards the door. Qingdai nodded. The two of them silently withdrew.

Only a small corner lamp the size of a bean was left burning. Dim lamplight fell on the bed’s edge. Chu Mingxi rolled onto her side, a fair, white wrist coming to rest on the book, revealing a sheet of Bright Classic Paper tucked within.

On the paper, the handwriting was sharp and elegant, the ink as vivid as new.