The Prime Minister’s Darling - Chapter 7
When Xiao Liulang arrived in town, he was immediately dragged to the medical hall by his classmate.
There was a long queue outside the medical hall; everyone was here to see that great doctor.
The two of them stood at the end of the line.
His classmate stood on tiptoes and looked around. “It’s not too late. We should be able to see him.”
“I’ll pay you back for the fare later.” Xiao Liulang said.
His classmate patted his chest. “We’re from the same school and from the same hometown. Why are you being so polite? By the way, you hungry?”
They had left in a hurry—needless to say, they had not eaten anything.
He took out a clean bag from his wide sleeve and opened it to reveal three beautiful cornmeal buns.
“Where’d these steamed buns come from?” Xiao Liulang felt that these steamed buns looked a little familiar.
His classmate said, “It’s from your stove. It was just steamed when I went over!”
Xiao Liulang frowned. “How many did you leave behind?”
His classmate replied strangely, “Aren’t there only three in total? Don’t you remember how many steamed buns you made yourself?”
Xiao Liulang pursed his lips and remained silent.
After a while, he said, “Why didn’t you leave one for her?”
His classmate was shocked. “What, for that evil woman? Why leave any for her? Hasn’t she hurt you enough? Besides, she won’t eat what you cook!”
His classmate picked up a steamed bun and took a bite; his eyes instantly widened. “Brother Xiao, the steamed buns you made today are delicious!”
Xiao Liulang stepped out from the queue.
His classmate was stunned. “Brother Xiao, where are you going? It’s almost your turn!”
Xiao Liulang did not say anything and simply walked forward with his head lowered.
His classmate looked at the long queue that almost reached the alley behind them, and stomped his feet anxiously. He said to the woman behind him, “Auntie, we’re going to the restroom for a bit. We’ll be back soon!”
He caught up with Xiao Liulang. “What are you doing?”
“To buy osmanthus cakes,” Xiao Liulang said as he walked through the alleys and arrived at Li Ji’s shop.
Li Ji was an established brand, and there were no fewer people queuing here than at the medical hall.
His classmate was anxious. “Are you crazy? You’re really buying osmanthus cakes for that evil woman!? Doctor Zhang only attends to patients for half a day! By the time you’re done buying the osmanthus cakes, you’ll have missed your chance to see him!”
Xiao Liulang was a stubborn person. Once he made a decision, nothing could make him change his mind.
Two hours later, Xiao Liulang had bought some of Li Ji’s osmanthus cakes.
“I hope Doctor Zhang hasn’t left yet!” His classmate pulled Xiao Liulang towards the medical hall.
However, when they returned to the entrance of the medical hall, they realized that the long queue had disappeared. There were only some commoners watching the going-ons, as well as a group of solemn-looking soldiers.
His classmate looked at the middle-aged man beside him and asked, “Uncle, did something happen here? Why are the patients gone?”
The middle-aged man said, “Just now, a lunatic rushed into the medical hall, saying that his wife died from their malpractice. He started slashing with a knife, everyone inside was injured! You see that woman at the door? She was the last to enter. The moment she entered, that lunatic came! She was lucky and managed to run out, but she also fell and smashed her head!”
Isn’t that woman the one behind us at that time?
If we didn’t leave, Xiao Liulang would’ve been the last to enter.
With Xiao Liulang’s legs, it was impossible for him to escape, so he would very likely be among those who were injured.
On the way back, neither of them said a word.
It was getting dark, and the wheels of the carriage rattled as they made their way down the silent lane.
At this hour, the town’s carriages were no longer willing to go to the countryside. They spent twenty copper coins to rent a mule cart—there was no carriage, only a simple awning with nothing to block the chilly wind.
The two of them were frozen stiff.
Suddenly, a thin and weak little figure barged into Xiao Liulang’s line of sight.
Xiao Liulang’s gaze froze.
This was a fork in the road.
In front of him was the road back to the village, and to the west was the road to the market.
On the path from the market, Gu Jiao was walking while carrying a heavy basket on her back, all out of breath.
The afterglow of the setting sun had already dissipated. Her thin, bony figure was enveloped in the last trace of twilight.
She raised her hand to wipe her sweat, revealing the gauze on her wrist. There were traces of blood on the gauze.
“Stop the cart,” Liulang Xiao said.
The coachman stopped the cart.
“Why did you stop the cart?” his classmate asked in confusion. Then, he saw Gu Jiao walking over.
Gu Jiao did not notice them and thought it was an ordinary mule cart. She did not look up and turned around without looking sideways, walking past the carriage.
“Come up,” Xiao Liulang said.
Only then did Gu Jiao turn her head and look at Xiao Liulang in shock. Beside Xiao Liulang was his classmate from earlier.
His classmate still wore that expression of disgust, but he did not say anything about not allowing Xiao Liulang to speak to her.
“Come up,” Xiao Liulang said again, his voice cool.
He was clearly a youth of only 16 or 17 years old, but he had a calmness and presence unfitting for his age.
Gu Jiao hesitated for a moment before climbing up.
She sat opposite Xiao Liulang, took the basket off her back, and placed it on the ground.
Xiao Liulang looked at the basket and asked, “You went to the market?”
Gu Jiao nodded. “Yes, I went to sell a couple of pheasants, and bought some rice and white flour.” And, also some other things.
Xiao Liulang gazed at her, as if seeing through her and realizing something, but he did not say a word.
On the other hand, his classmate looked at Gu Jiao strangely. This stupid, evil woman knows how to do business?
However, Gu Jiao did not seem to notice his gaze. She asked Xiao Liulang, “What about you? Did you see the doctor in town today?”
“You still dare to ask! It’s all your fault! If you hadn’t shouted that you wanted to eat osmanthus cake, we wouldn’t have missed Doctor Zhang’s consultation!” There was no way his classmate would mention that Xiao Liulang had avoided a calamity because he went to buy osmanthus cake for her.
“Then… that’s a pity.” Gu Jiao lowered her eyes and muttered.
Although she uttered words of regret, it somehow gave the feeling that she did not mean it at all. Could it be that she already heard about what happened at the medical hall?
Impossible. With her personality, how can she be so calm after knowing that she had saved Brother Xiao by some freak chance? The last time she saved Brother Xiao, she forced him to marry her. If she knew that she saved him again this time, she’d be all over herself by now!
His classmate sneered. “I’ve already eaten the osmanthus cake! I’m not letting you have any!”
Gu Jiao was unfazed. “Oh.”
His classmate’s words failed to achieve his intended effect.
After that, no one said anything else.
A very elegant carriage approached them.
His classmate’s heart skipped a beat. He perked up and said, “Look! That’s the dean’s carriage!”
“What dean?” Gu Jiao asked.
His classmate said, “The dean of Divine Academy! Where Brother Xiao is going to take the exam in three days! He’s from the capital, and used to be the head of the capital’s Four Greats. He’s truly knowledgeable; his results in the imperial examination from twenty years ago have never been surpassed by anyone until now! A single piece of advice from him is better than studying ten years of the classics! How good it would be if I could be his disciple! However, I heard that the dean hasn’t taken any disciples for many years. I’ve been in the academy for half a year, but I haven’t even seen his face before…”
His classmate lost himself in his rambling, so excited that he forgot he was talking to the person he hated most.
In the carriage.
Dressed in a white uniform, the dean sat respectfully to the side. In the main seat was an old man in a cloth garment.
The old man’s left arm was bandaged, and he was holding a small broken umbrella in his arms. A large footprint could vaguely be seen on his face.
Looking at his appearance, the dean was at a loss for words. He did not know what happened, and did not dare to ask.
He bowed respectfully. “Why did you suddenly leave for the mountains? Why didn’t you tell the students so that I could send someone to pick you up?”
