Shuse Jinjia

Xu Muyuan introduced several officials to Xie Zhaotang and Dong Jie one by one. Lord Ye was about the same age as Xu Muyuan and they were both Jinshi graduates from the same cohort.

Lord Gao and Lord Ding were a few years older than the two men, and were the top scholar and second-place scholar in the previous imperial examination, respectively.

The remaining one, Meng Da, was only eighteen years old, with delicate features, and was the youngest among them.

The group of people who came to help were very approachable; they simply nodded to Xie Zhaotang as a greeting.

Xie Zhaotang didn't stand on ceremony. He arranged for Lord Gao and Lord Ding to oversee the decoction, while he and three others sorted out the delivered medicinal herbs.

"Fourth Miss, do you recognize all these medicinal herbs?"

Xu Muyuan was still troubled after returning from Hexi Garden that day. He wanted to let go of Xie Zhaotang, but he couldn't bear to.

He instructed his servant to keep an eye on whether Xie Zhaotang and Huo Beiyu had made any further progress, and upon learning that there was no further development between them, he began to have hope again.

As long as Xie Zhaotang is not betrothed, he can arrange a marriage as soon as possible to bring Xie Zhaotang into his family.

"I met her yesterday through Sister Li!"

Xie Zhaotang saw through Xu Muyuan's character and didn't want to get too close to him. She said something indifferently and then lowered her head to do her work.

Xu Muyuan thought she was shy, so he sorted through the medicinal herbs while trying to find a topic of conversation.

Huo Beiyu and Pei Song walked back.

Seeing the two standing together, Huo Beiyu frowned slightly. That day at Hexi Garden, Xu Muyuan's choice was so obvious, did this little girl not notice?

Do she think she can compete with Sun Yin?

"Fourth Miss, Chief Luo said your idea makes a lot of sense and has allowed us to change to linen bandages. I don't know what would be suitable, so why don't you come with us to buy some!"

Pei Song had been planning to pair Xie Zhaotang and Zhu Feng up, so when he saw Xu Muyuan, he instinctively stood up for Zhu Feng and invited him.

"Okay, A-Jie, you give them some pointers, and I'll go shopping with Brother Pei and the others!"

Xie Zhaotang was trying to avoid Xu Muyuan, so he gave him a brief explanation and walked over.

After walking for a while, Pei Song said, "Fourth Miss, wait here for me. I'll go and give some instructions..."

Before Xie Zhaotang could speak, he ran away.

Xie Zhaotang had no choice but to stand aside and wait with Huo Beiyu.

She felt that she and Huo Beiyu had nothing to say to each other, so she just looked at the ladies and young women across from her who were distributing porridge.

Huo Beiyu was silent for a while, then said in a low voice, "Sun Yin's father is the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, a third-rank official. Her mother's brother is the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, also a third-rank official... Lord Sun has three concubines, but none of them have given birth to a son. Sun Yin currently only has three very young half-sisters."

Xie Zhaotang looked up at Huo Beiyu with a puzzled expression.

What does it mean that he inexplicably asked me what Sun Yin meant?

Seeing her confused look, Huo Beiyu assumed she hadn't understood and patiently added another sentence.

"Some matriarchs won't allow their legitimate sons and daughters to be overshadowed by illegitimate sons and daughters before they grow up. If Xu Muyuan gets engaged to Sun Yin, your life won't be easy if you choose him as your wife!"

"Zhu Feng's family doesn't have these dirty secrets. Compared to them, Zhu Feng is a better match for you!"

Xie Zhaotang then understood what Huo Beiyu meant, and also noticed that his words were very careful today, no longer carrying any sarcasm.

"Regarding the hemostatic and antidiarrheal medication prescriptions you mentioned before, please prepare two doses for me to try another day. If they really work as well as you said, we can talk again!"

Huo Beiyu looked up and saw Zhu Feng rushing over. He guessed what Pei Song meant and nodded slightly.

"I have other matters to attend to; you may go and make the purchases!"

He strode away.

Xie Zhaotang's feelings were complicated. Overnight, the young marquis had changed his attitude towards her and was willing to take her medicine. Was it because her idea was useful? Or was he doing her a favor for Zhu Feng's sake?

"Fourth Miss, Pei Song has something to attend to. He asked me to accompany you to buy linen. Let's go!"

Zhu Feng laughed heartily.

Xie Zhaotang nodded and followed Zhu Feng.

Zhu Feng didn't mention wanting to marry her, and naturally talked to Xie Zhaotang about the fire and things in the military camp.

The two chatted as they visited several cloth shops. Xie Zhaotang selected linen suitable for making bandages, and Zhu Feng bought fifty bolts together, which were then delivered to the temporary medical station.

On the way back, Zhu Feng went to buy a few steamed buns and handed two to Xie Zhaotang.

"The buns here have thin skins and generous fillings, and they taste great. Fourth Sister, you should try them."

Xie Zhaotang accepted it with a smile.

On the way out, Aunt Xia had already told Xie Zhaotang what Xie Shou had found out.

When Zhu Feng returned to Beijing this time, his whole family moved here and built a house in Baohua Village.

His parents used Zhu Feng's reward to buy thirty acres of land, and the whole family made a living by farming.

Zhu Feng's father died and the family did not separate; the whole family lived together and treated the neighbors very politely, not seeming like a mean person.

From this perspective, Zhu Feng is currently the most suitable person for her.

With more than two months until her coming-of-age ceremony, Xie Zhaotang had already laid out several paths to survival and was no longer in a hurry as before.

Let's observe Zhu Feng's character first. If we have the opportunity to go to Baohua Village, let's see the character of Zhu Feng and his family with our own eyes before making a decision!

When Xie Zhaotang returned to the south city, he saw that Xie Linzhu had returned. However, he noticed that Madam Xie had not come to distribute porridge. Instead, Xie Shou and Xie Zhong arrived in two carriages and brought some more grain.

Xie Zhaotang smiled. Madam Xie was a smart woman; she didn't try to squeeze in, but she still made sure to maintain her proper demeanor.

The grain in these two carriages was far more generous than that distributed by the ladies who gave out porridge.

Xie Linzhu sat next to Xu Muyuan, talking to him animatedly, while Xu Muyuan listened with a smile.

Xie Zhaotang looked around and, not seeing Sun Yin, wondered if Xu Muyuan was also considering who to choose.

"Fourth Sister, should we steam these linens?"

Zhu Feng unloaded the linen from the carriage, and Xie Zhaotang quickly called Dong Jie over. The two of them found scissors and cut it into bandages, then had Zhu Feng take it to be steamed and sterilized.

Everyone was busy, and it wasn't until lunchtime that they delivered the bandages needed by the wounded.

After Xie Zhaotang and the others finished cooking, they went to collect steamed buns for lunch.

Li Qin had also finished changing and came over, looking exhausted. When she saw Zhu Feng there, her eyes moved between the two of them for a moment, but she didn't say anything. She took a steamed bun and sat down next to Xie Zhaotang to eat.

After they had almost finished eating, Physician Li and several other physicians, including Chief Physician Luo, came to dine together.

When Xie Zhaotang saw Chief Luo, she instinctively lowered her head, but it was too late. Chief Luo had already seen her and called out urgently.

"Little girl, so you were hiding here! I've been looking for you for ages..."

"Come over here and talk. You don't know, the prescriptions you gave me yesterday worked really well. The wounded soldiers who cleaned their wounds using the methods you suggested haven't developed fevers today. Little girl, tell me if you have any other amazing prescriptions, and I'll recommend you for credit!"

When Chief Luo found the little girl, he was so excited that his voice was loud, immediately attracting the attention of everyone who was dining around them.

Xie Linzhu held the coarse grain steamed bun, unable to swallow it, but in order to leave a good impression on Xu Muyuan, she could only swallow it little by little.

Startled by Dean Luo's voice, she paused for a moment before quickly standing up and smiling.

"Director Luo, the prescription my fourth sister gave you is from a medical book my father gave her. Is it really useful for you?"

"That's wonderful! I'll definitely tell my father when I get back and ask him to buy more medical books for my fourth sister... Hehe, my fourth sister doesn't like music, chess, calligraphy, or painting; she just loves reading these miscellaneous books. Luckily, my father is open-minded and allows her to read them..."

Xie Zhaotang was speechless. Xie Linzhu really didn't miss any opportunity to praise Xie Jianghuai...