Chapter 61

Chapter Sixty-One: Did You Come to the Medicine Shop to Get Medicine for Me? If this were the past, the shopkeeper would never have dared to ask the mistress. But things were different now—since the mistress no longer wished to foot Pei Wuliang's bills, she had to be consulted first. If the mistress agreed, he would open an account for the Pei family. If she didn't, then Song Jiaojiao would have to pay in silver on the spot before she could leave. Jia Qingcheng lifted the carriage curtain and glanced behind her. And there, behind her, Song Jiaojiao was already looking at her with smug satisfaction... Jia Qingcheng curled her lips slightly, then calmly instructed, "Since it's Madam Pei's request, we naturally ought to satisfy it. However, Pei Wuliang must personally sign and affix his seal!" Personally sign and affix his seal? The shopkeeper instantly understood what she meant. "This old servant understands!" By the time Jia Qingcheng's carriage had departed, Song Jiaojiao had grown impatient from waiting. She hadn't come today merely to buy medicine—she'd come mostly to purchase nourishing supplements. Her infertility was due to an injury to her womb suffered in childhood, so she'd followed a folk remedy claiming that consuming large amounts of donkey-hide gelatin could improve her constitution. Thus, she had bought a considerable quantity of donkey-hide gelatin today, and naturally, the price was quite steep! "Shopkeeper, how is it? My sister couldn't possibly refuse, could she?" After all, in the future, that ugly thing would still have to bring her dowry and assets into the Pei family, so whether it was put on credit or not hardly mattered. But since the shop had this rule, she would follow it accordingly. "The eldest young lady said that as long as Young Master Pei comes to sign and affix his seal, she'll acknowledge the debt!" Song Jiaojiao had thought Jia Qingcheng might have some real ability, but in the end, didn't she still have to rely on Pei Wuliang? "Hmph, I thought my ugly sister might have some skill, but it turns out she's nothing special after all!" "Madam, when might the young master come to sign and affix his seal?" Song Jiaojiao paused for a moment. "I'll send a maidservant to the residence to fetch the young master first. As for these things, I'll have someone load them onto the carriage now. That's not too much to ask, is it?" The shopkeeper naturally wouldn't show her any favoritism. "Madam, I'm afraid that won't do. Until the young master arrives, none of these items can be moved!" "Shopkeeper, did my sister tell you to make things difficult for me on purpose?" Song Jiaojiao was about to get angry, but then she remembered that tomorrow was the third-day return visit, and she'd have a fine show to watch. Tomorrow, she'd see how she could trample that ugly thing underfoot. At the thought, her anger subsided. The shopkeeper hastily bowed and said, "How could that be? The eldest young lady said nothing at all. Everything is being done according to the shop's rules!" "Then what are you waiting for? Load all these things onto my carriage first!" "Madam, aren't you making things difficult for this humble one?" "Shopkeeper, my husband will be here shortly. What, do you think we'd renege on the debt?" With that ugly thing Jia Qingcheng as a safety net, these debts could be ignored entirely—when the time came, she could just settle the whole bill at once! It was merely a matter of going through the motions. After all, who in the capital didn't know that Jia Qingcheng was infatuated with her husband, willing to squander her entire fortune for his sake? If anything, she felt this amount was too little to spend. "That's not what this humble one means." "Madam, what's going on here?" Soon, Pei Wuliang's voice sounded from outside. Seeing her husband arrive, Song Jiaojiao hurried forward to greet him. "Husband, I've been waiting for you so long! These servants refuse to load my things, and they insist on you coming to sign and affix your seal before they'll hand anything over. Isn't this just looking down on people?" Pei Wuliang knew this shop belonged to Jia Qingcheng, and as her future husband, he naturally wouldn't allow these people to bully the woman he loved. "Shopkeeper, what's the meaning of this?" "Young Master Pei, we're merely following the shop's rules. Please don't be upset. Here is today's bill—please take a look, and if there are no issues, just sign and affix your seal!" "For such a trivial matter, you still need me to come in person? Shopkeeper, couldn't you just send someone to deliver it?" Pei Wuliang naturally had no intention of paying these debts. He also knew this was Jia Qingcheng's shop, but rules had to be followed—he understood that! "Alright, no more problems now?" The shopkeeper had obtained Pei Wuliang's personal signature and seal, and was naturally quite pleased. "No more problems! Load all these things onto the madam's carriage!" Suddenly, Pei Wuliang thought of something else. "Jiaojiao, why are you buying so many medicinal herbs?" As a physician, he naturally knew that taking too much medicine was bad for one's health. Jiaojiao bore the important responsibility of bearing children for the Pei family—taking so much medicine would be very harmful to her body. Song Jiaojiao had no choice but to lie. "It's like this—tomorrow is the third-day return visit. Though I no longer have my parents, my uncle and aunt have treated me with great kindness. I can't very well return empty-handed, can I?" Hearing this, Pei Wuliang let out a hearty laugh. "I thought you weren't feeling well. Don't worry—I've already prepared the gifts for the return visit in advance." Already prepared? Learning that Pei Wuliang had already prepared the return visit gifts, Song Jiaojiao was naturally delighted. "Husband, you're so thoughtful and considerate. Tomorrow is the return visit, but sister, she..." At the mention of Jia Qingcheng, the smile on Pei Wuliang's lips gradually faded. "Prince Chu is on the verge of death and certainly won't come. If she returns to the residence, she'll only be made a laughingstock." "Then does husband wish to help sister out?" Help her? Pei Wuliang recalled his past life. In that life, he had accompanied Jia Qingcheng on her return visit to her family, but he had not prepared a return-visit gift for her. In this life, Jia Qingcheng was going back alone, and she would surely become the laughingstock among her relatives. In the end, she would still have to beg him, her future husband, to step in and help her. "If she admits her mistake, I will consider it. Alright, Jiaojiao, go back for now!" The two were just about to walk out of the shop when they ran straight into Jia Qingcheng, who had turned back. Jia Qingcheng had realized she was missing one ingredient and had hurried back to fetch it, but she hadn't expected to run into Pei Wuliang and Song Jiaojiao the moment she came down. "Sister, why have you come back?" "Qingcheng, why are you here?" Seeing that she had actually come to the medicine shop, Pei Wuliang wondered—was she here to fetch medicine for him? These past few days, his heart condition had been acting up. In his past life, Jia Qingcheng had always been the one to fetch and brew his medicine. She must have come to fetch medicine for him. Jia Qingcheng didn't want to acknowledge Pei Wuliang. Instead, she looked at the shopkeeper. "Shopkeeper, I'm missing one ingredient—notoginseng. I need the cooked kind. Prepare it immediately!" "Oh dear, that was careless of me. Young Miss, please wait a moment. I'll take care of it right away!" With that, the shopkeeper went off to prepare the medicine. Pei Wuliang, seeing that she remained silent, strode over to her side. Noticing she still wore her veil, he didn't need to guess to know what an ugly face lay beneath it—he had looked at it for an entire lifetime in his past life. He had long grown tired of it, sick of it to the point of nausea. "How did you know my heart condition was acting up?" Notoginseng had the effect of promoting blood circulation and removing stasis, and his medicine required notoginseng as a supplementary treatment. He knew that Jia Qingcheng had always loved him deeply, and now it seemed that was indeed the case. Jia Qingcheng: "..." Was he flattering himself? She was fetching medicine for Prince Chu, Xiao Zhiheng, not for Pei Wuliang's heart condition. In her past life, she admitted that she had taken care of Pei Wuliang's heart condition—it had never been curable, and she had always helped him manage it. But in this life, she wouldn't be so foolish. "Qingcheng, I knew you loved me. Alright, stop throwing a little tantrum. I just signed the bill—since we're family buying things, there's no need to be so precise about it, is there?"