Chapter 44: Without a Trace

Hearing the maid’s report, Chu Mingyu let out a very exaggerated sigh.

“You, Head Proprietor, are truly busy for a full twelve hours a day.”

Her mournful tone made even Chu Mingxi amused. The dishes were a splendid array. She picked up a lotus meatball for her sister with her chopsticks and watched her take a small bite before saying casually, “Let Shopkeeper Yu come in and speak.”

Shopkeeper Yu was in his forties. Having started as an assistant, he was a veteran of over twenty years at the Imperial Medicine Hall. The cold climate and harsh winds of the Northern Region made him look older than his actual years. But after many years as a shopkeeper, his face usually wore a smile.

Outside, the maid had already informed him that the Eldest Young Miss had just returned and was dining with the Second Young Miss. If it were a routine matter, he wouldn’t dare disturb them, but this matter was truly urgent. After much deliberation, he had asked the maid to relay his request.

Entering the room, Shopkeeper Yu first bowed with a beaming smile. “Greetings to the Head Proprietor and Second Young Miss. Forgive this old man for disturbing your meal.”

Chu Mingyu shot him a puffed-up glare.

Chu Mingxi slowly took two spoonfuls of hot soup, still holding the spoon, and teased, “You better have something incredibly important to say, or the Second Young Miss will give you trouble.”

Shopkeeper Yu bowed slightly, still smiling, but his tone grew considerably more serious. “It’s like this. Yesterday, after you left, someone came to the shop seeking a home visit. I happened to be checking on a new shipment of medicinal materials and didn’t hear the details. Doctor Tang went on the visit. Just now, Doctor Tang returned and described the patient’s condition.”

Chu Mingxi had a rough idea of what it was about. She put down her chopsticks and said gravely, “Is it similar to the illness you examined before?”

“I haven’t seen the patient myself; I wouldn’t dare make a rash judgment. But from the pulse description Doctor Tang gave, it is at least extremely similar.”

“Where is Doctor Tang now?”

“He just returned from Cloud Ridge Village. The road was difficult, causing a delay, so he’s having a meal out front now.”

“Mm. In a moment, bring him to the outer study.”

“Yes.”

Receiving his orders, Shopkeeper Yu bowed and withdrew.

Chu Mingyu ate the slightly cooled meal with her sister. “Sister, is that illness you’re talking about the one we discussed when we first came to Chen Prefecture?”

“Mm.”

As expected!

After meeting with Doctor Tang, her sister would definitely go to that Cloud Ridge Village. Wasn’t that precisely why they had come in the first place, for these two similar cases occurring one after another? Her sister had spent so long in Chen Prefecture without finding a clue. Now, with a third patient appearing, they might be able to unravel the mystery.

With this thought, Chu Mingyu’s eyes darted around. After a long moment, she looked up at her sister, only to see her sister staring at her nose and heart, completely unaffected.

“Sister… can I go to Cloud Ridge Village?”

Chu Mingxi didn’t refuse outright, but instead asked, “Shopkeeper Yu has diagnosed a similar pulse; he will need to go on this trip. The Imperial Medicine Hall can’t be left unattended. Can you stay and help your sister?”

Chu Mingyu said, “Actually, I don’t really want to go. Cloud Ridge Village—it sounds so far away just by the name.”

Chu Mingxi smiled faintly and continued eating.

Chu Mingyu nibbled her chopsticks and tentatively said, “Sister, tomorrow is the fifteenth.”

“So?”

“There’s a temple fair on the fifteenth! We’ve been here over a month, and I still haven’t been to the Peaceful Ease Prefecture temple fair!”

Chu Mingxi slowly ate a piece of Cloud Tofu before saying, “Yining told you?”

“Yes!” Chu Mingyu wasn’t afraid of her. She raised her head, blinking. “Can I go?”

“Go ahead. Take a couple more people with you.” Chu Mingxi looked at her sister dotingly. A girl of fourteen or fifteen was at the blossoming age of youth; who wouldn’t love to have fun? But temple fairs were crowded; fearing any mishap, she half-scared, half-serious, added, “I’ll leave Yining with you too. Be very careful. Don’t let any kidnappers make off with the both of you.”

“As if!” Chu Mingyu was overjoyed. She took a big mouthful of rice and responded indistinctly.

After the meal, Chu Mingyu stayed in the room to practice calligraphy. Chu Mingxi and Shopkeeper Yu went to the outer study, took the pulse case records Doctor Tang had written, and asked many detailed questions.

From the pulse readings, it was indeed very similar to the first two cases. The difference was that the two patients who had already passed away were men, while today’s patient was an old woman. Among the three cases, one was seventeen or eighteen, one was right at thirty, and this latest one had frosted temples.

This showed the illness did not discriminate by age or gender.

The Chen Prefecture case remained unresolved, and once this illness manifested, patients easily became critically ill and died. There was no time to lose. Thinking this, Chu Mingxi ordered preparations for a carriage immediately.

Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Yu hurriedly dissuaded her. Cloud Ridge Village was in a remote corner. The patient’s family had asked a relative in the city to call for a doctor. By now, the sun was already setting west; they definitely wouldn’t reach the village before dark. The route had no suitable places to rest, and carriages and horses would have difficulty traveling. He begged the Head Proprietor to prioritize her own safety.

What Shopkeeper Yu didn’t say aloud was that the Head Proprietor was now the wife of the Heir Apparent of the Jingyuan Marquis Mansion. If anything happened, it wasn’t something the Imperial Medicine Hall could bear on its own.

The outer study was spacious and bright. Beside a standing cabinet against the wall was an hourglass carved with sun, moon, and hours. The fine golden sand had accumulated, indicating it was indeed the end of the Shen hour, about to enter the You hour.

Though anxious, Chu Mingxi wasn’t one to act on impulse. Listening to the advice, she instead ordered the carriage and horses prepared and told Shopkeeper Yu and Doctor Tang to go back and rest first.

She went to bed very early that night. Cloud Ridge Village was not a short journey, and she didn’t know what the next day would bring; she needed to conserve her energy. Besides, after riding in the carriage for half the day, she was indeed tired.

Spring brought much rain. It rained again in the middle of the night, the water tapping rhythmically on the eaves. The woman in the bed curtains furrowed her brows and turned over. The rain, riding a wisp of cool breeze, slipped into her dreams.

On an unfamiliar country road, the sound of horse hooves came from afar, like a rainstorm drawing near. Chu Mingxi pushed open the carriage door and watched the youth galloping towards her on horseback. The youth quickly reached her side, standing beneath the carriage shaft, looking up at her and smiling. Chu Mingxi thought she must have been smiling too, because her heart was filled with such joy.

The landscape behind them blurred into a misty rain fog. There was no one else in the world. So when Wei Qingchen reached out to carry her down, she didn’t push her away.

“Why are you here?” Wei Qingchen, after lifting her down from the carriage, was unwilling to let go.

Held protectively in her arms, Chu Mingxi could only tilt her head up to look at her, smiling but silent.

Wei Qingchen clearly didn’t need her to answer. Just meeting was enough to fill one with delight.

Seeing each other daily in the Capital City, they hadn’t found it remarkable. But now, after a separation of over a month, this chance encounter in a foreign land made every smile, frown, gesture, and step seem extraordinarily brilliant.

Wei Qingchen stood tall and graceful beside her. The two looked at each other wordlessly, yet it felt as though a thousand words had been spoken. From the distance, it seemed someone was calling her. She turned her head to look, and for a moment, Chu Mingxi could only see her fair, handsome, sharply defined profile.

She had truly grown taller. It had just been imperceptible when they were together daily. Now, separated and reunited, it was immediately apparent.

Or was it because she was wearing plain riding boots?

“Have you grown taller?” Chu Mingxi thought it, and so she asked it.

Wei Qingchen laughed upon hearing this, holding her hand and leaning down to whisper in her ear.

She remembered this feeling—her warm breath landing on her ear, like a warm breeze gently brushing past, reddening the tip of her ear.

Whatever Wei Qingchen said, she didn’t hear clearly. It was just that Wei Qingchen, standing so close again, straightened up and looked at her with deep, focused eyes.

This time, she understood.

Wei Qingchen wanted to kiss her.

Chu Mingxi’s heart gave a violent leap.

The dream suddenly shattered.

The fine rain had just stopped. The light filtering through the window was very, very thin, likely because the sky hadn’t fully brightened.

Chu Mingxi lay on her back in the soft blankets, gazing at the blurry, complex floral patterns on the canopy above, her eyes filled with the disorientation of waking from a dream. The happenings in the dream receded like a tide the instant she woke. Yet she still remembered Wei Qingchen’s look before they parted—clean, pure, bright, and joyful. Even the hint of eagerness within her thoughts was so clear and unmistakable.

So that day, Wei Qingchen wanted to kiss her.

Was that it?

Chu Mingxi pulled the brocade quilt higher, slowly covering her exquisitely beautiful face. At least no one could see. She thought, a little weakly.

But why had she had such a dream???

Had there also been a trace of anticipation in the dream?

This was far too unmaidenly…

The hot, stifling air under the quilt rose further, steaming Chu Mingxi’s pretty face until it was bright red. She had to poke her head out from the quilt and take a deep breath.

For the first time in twenty years of life, she felt this completely at a loss.

Outside the window came the soft footsteps of a young maid, occasionally interspersed with the low chatter of older serving women. Chu Mingxi rose from the bed and lifted the bed curtain.

Hearing movement in the room, the maid outside asked if she was ready to wash up. She answered.

Today, Qingdai would again accompany the Eldest Young Miss on her outing. Yining was leading a young maid carrying hot water when the Eldest Young Miss was already sitting on the edge of the bed, raising her hand to gather her long hair over her shoulder.

The toiletries were in the bathhouse. Yining fetched the mint and green salt from the shelf. As she handed it to the Eldest Young Miss, she noticed the rosy flush on her face. Puzzled, she asked, “Miss, your face is very red. Is the quilt too thick? The weather is getting hotter day by day; should we change to a thin quilt tonight?”

Chu Mingxi’s hand, receiving the mint and green salt, paused. She gave a noncommittal “Mm,” her expression blank.

When she lifted her head again, her expression had long since returned to normal.

After breakfast, they rested for the time it took to drink a cup of tea. Chu Mingxi then set out with Qingdai. Shopkeeper Yu and Doctor Tang, who had gone on the consultation yesterday, were both going, so they took two carriages. Lei Min also accompanied them, but this time didn’t ride a horse, instead acting as the driver, protecting the Eldest Young Miss and the maid Qingdai on the way to Cloud Ridge Village.

Cloud Ridge Village was almost in the opposite direction from Li County. The carriage skirted the bustling market areas, taking nearly two hours just to leave the city gate. Fortunately, the sun came out, evaporating the water from the road, making the journey relatively smooth.

Not far from the city gate was a tea stall. The group disembarked and casually ate some dry provisions and drank tea as a makeshift lunch, mainly to let the horses rest as well.

Doctor Tang said, “The day before yesterday, hearing it was in Cloud Ridge Village, I didn’t want to go at first. It’s too far, and it’s not good to delay matters at the Medicine Hall. But hearing the description—it seemed like the kind Shopkeeper Yu had specifically asked us to watch for—I took my apprentice and went.”

Chu Mingxi nodded. “Regardless of whether it’s this illness, for minor cases, they come to the Medicine Hall. For severe cases, if there’s time for a house call, we should try our best to go. You did well.”

As she spoke, she poured a cup of tea for both Shopkeeper Yu and Doctor Tang.

Doctor Tang hurriedly thanked her and accepted it with a chuckle along with Shopkeeper Yu.

Shopkeeper Yu was a native of Chen Prefecture and could talk about all sorts of local customs. While drinking tea, he told everyone about the unique feature of Cloud Ridge Village, which, unexpectedly, was winemaking. There was a corn wine unique to the village that no other town or village could make as well.

Chatting like this, they rested for half an hour before setting off again. The two carriages traveled for a long time. Lei Min sat on the driver’s seat, watching the cornfields by the road gradually spread out like green waves. It was only at the beginning of the You hour that they saw, at the end of the small road, a character for “Cloud” hanging high like a tavern banner. Cloud Ridge Village had finally been reached.