After Zhang Jiuwei signed the contract, she got up to leave when she heard Baili Ce cough weakly. He sat down next to Zhang Jiuwei, holding the child.
"I have been unable to eat or drink Doctor Meng lately. My heart races when I see my wife, and I feel uneasy when I don't see her."
At night, he either dreams of being separated from her by life and death, or he dreams of her being seduced by other fox spirits.
As he said this, he glanced at Jin Shanyao and, seeing her staring at him with curiosity, secretly rolled his eyes.
He then turned to Zhang Jiuwei and said tenderly, "Every time I wake up, my pillow is wet... Do you think I'm going to die?"
Jin Shanyao was completely bewildered by Bai Leng's sudden change in expression. What was wrong with her?
Meng Anzhi almost lost her smile; it was the first time she had ever seen such an affected man.
"Hands out."
Left hand or right hand?
"Two hands..."
Baili Ce placed his son in Zhang Jiuwei's arms, put his hands on the pulse pillow, and Meng Anzhi was about to take his pulse when Jin Shanyao stopped her.
She looked at Baili Ce seriously and said, "Were you just dazed with me?"
Baili Ce was taken aback for a moment when he realized Jin Shanyao had seen it, and even more surprised that she would ask the question directly.
He then lowered his gaze and smiled faintly, " Shopkeeper Jin must have misjudged."
Jin Shanyao's gaze swept over his face, then she suddenly smiled, "Young master, you are quite ill... Let me take your pulse."
Baili Ce looked at her with a half-smile, "I've heard that Shopkeeper Jin has superb medical skills; it's naturally good to have you take his pulse."
Jin Shanyao didn't speak, but placed her hand on his pulse.
Baili Ce was still stammering, " Weiwei... if anything happens to me, you should find another man."
Zhang Jiuwei gritted his teeth in anger, but before he could warn him, Baili Ce said again, "That man had better look eight parts like me, ah..." The stinging pain in his wrist made his voice change.
Baili Ce glanced coldly at Jin Shanyao, " Shopkeeper Jin... did my words offend you?"
Jin Shanyao her hand, saying calmly, "Young Master was poisoned at the age of thirteen, damaging his heart meridian..."
Baili Ce asked in surprise, "You were able to tell that I had been poisoned?"
Jin Shanyao said in a deep voice, "This poison almost killed you. Now that you seem to be cured, the toxins have actually seeped into your brain and eyes."
Since being detoxified, Baili Ce had not felt anything unusual, but Jin Shanyao's serious demeanor made him nervous.
Do you have a way to eradicate the toxin?
Jin Shanyao slightly raised her eyelids and glanced at him. "Of course, but young master's mind isn't easy to cure... we'll have to start with his eyes."
Eyes??? Baili Ce blinked twice, but didn't feel any problem with his vision or any discomfort anywhere.
" Shopkeeper Jin... I don't feel like there's anything wrong with my eyes?"
Jin Shanyao, picked up the brush, and began writing a prescription. "Your eyes always seem to squint when you look at people and things, which makes your mind wander too... I'll prescribe some medicine for you. Go home, boil it with vinegar, and drink it a few times, and you'll be fine."
Zhang Jiuwei, who was still concentrating on listening to the patient's heartbeat, blushed completely. She shoved the child into Baili Ce's arms and said, "Go outside and wait for me."
Baili Ce realized that Jin Shanyao was cursing him, and he was furious.
He had originally intended to come and see which woman was causing Zhang Jiuwei to lose her appetite and sleep; it turned out to be a cunning and wicked woman.
He was insulted indirectly; his heart was like a sieve, full of cunning and scheming.
Jin Shanyao smiled broadly at Baili Ce, then brandished her fist at him, "If you glare at me again, I'll hit you..."
Fearing that Baili Ce would ruin things, Zhang Jiuwei quickly said goodbye to Jin Shanyao and pushed him outside.
Jin Shanyao watched their retreating figures and snorted softly... "I can't even cure your squint."
She turned to Meng Anzhi and said, "If you leave your father and keep your son, remember to do it cleanly."
Meng Anzhi nodded, "Don't worry, Auntie, I will never do anything like Shopkeeper Zhang, letting his mistress take advantage of me."
Jin Shanyao in satisfaction, took out a large character sheet, and using the ink from the brush, began to write, "Finding lost items, finding people, feng shui consultation... healing the sick and saving lives, examining ancestral graves."
After finishing the last character, she blew on the ink to dry it and called Zhou Xiaosi over, "Go and paste it outside... and while you're at it, hang up my gold-lettered signboard."
Zhou Xiaosi responded, picked up the Jin Shanyao and waved the cloth banner that could be carried wherever he went, and left the shop... Just as he finished pasting the paper, the Jin Shanyao came out carrying a copper gong.
She stood in front of the shop and looked around; there were hardly any people on the street... Damn, it was the dead of winter, and all her customers had been driven away by the cold. The icy wind seeped into her collar, making her shiver.
Tiny snowflakes drifted down gently. Jin Shan, holding the Jin Shanyao in her hand, thought for a moment and decided, "Never mind... I'm not so poor that I can't afford to eat yet, it's not worth suffering like this."
She shoved the gong into Zhou Xiaosi's arms, put her hands in her pockets, and looked up at the sky... wondering if Taishang Laojun could see her.
"Master..." Qing He stood timidly at the door.
Jin Shanyao asked suspiciously, "What's wrong? Want some hot pot?"
Qing He said discontentedly, "Master, I only need to ask you for food..."
As she spoke, she stepped aside and saw Monkey Treasure wearing a light blue short-sleeved shirt, a matching hat, and a small apron tied around his waist, looking at her timidly.
Jin Shanyao bewildered; her attire was exactly the same as Zhou Xiaosi's.
Zhou Xiaosi saw through it too, and he said angrily, " Qing He, how dare you tease me?"
Qing He laughed and said, "No, no... I saw it picking out medicinal herbs with me, so I made it some clothes. How does it look? Doesn't it resemble a shop assistant?"
Jin Shanyao couldn't help but chuckle, staring at Monkey Treasure and saying, "He does indeed resemble him somewhat."
Monkey Treasure was a little uneasy. He had been eating and drinking well lately, and Miss even applied medicine to him every day. It felt like a dream.
Jin Shanyao said gently to Monkey Treasure, "When spring comes, I'll take you to the mountains. You can stay on whichever mountain you like."
Upon hearing this, Monkey Treasure's eyes lit up instantly. He knelt down at the feet of Jin Shanyao with a thud, and was about to kowtow when Jin Shanyao and lifted him up.
"Alright, your head's been swollen ever since you met me..." he said to Qing He, "Take it to the backyard to play."
"Alright..." Qing He took Monkey Treasure's hand, "Come on, let's go pick out some medicinal herbs."
Meng Anzhi sat inside, watching as everyone else went inside, but she still couldn't see her aunt. Her gaze fell on the swaying curtain. "Auntie, Auntie?"
"Hey, what's wrong?" came the sound of Jin Shanyao waving from outside.
"Auntie, what are you doing standing outside?"
"I'm looking at the gods in the sky, wondering if they can see me..."
In the dead of winter, where could one find immortals? Meng Anzhi slammed the book down on the table, got up, and tried to Jin Shanyao into the room. As soon as she opened the curtain, she saw that it was already snowing outside.
Meng Anzhi exclaimed in surprise, "It's finally snowing?! It seems like we've only had three snowfalls this winter?"
Jin Shanyao her head. "I'll write to Tao Yunshan later and tell him to plant more drought-resistant medicinal herbs this year, and to make sure the estate has enough grain for the whole year."
Meng Anzhi turned her head to look at her, "Auntie, is something about to happen?"
The Jin Shanyao waved its hand, letting snowflakes fall into its palm. "No snow in winter, no water in spring, no grain in summer; next year will likely be a drought."
Meng Anzhi said in a deep voice, "I'll go write a letter right away."