23 - Search for a doctor

Chapter 23 – Search for a doctor

By this time, Di Jing had already got on the carriage.

Shangguan Yan immediately turned around and jumped up to discuss with Di Jing.

“Don’t you think it’s not good for me to pretend to be your wife? With my appearance, who will believe I’m your wife?” She often works as an undercover agent, and this is easy for others to see through. Di Jing is so handsome, he should at least get a beautiful female guard to be his wife.

“Why don’t I exchange with Yinshuang? She is beautiful and very suitable.”

Di Jing glanced at her and leaned back lazily against the carriage wall. “It’s because of your face that I need you to pretend to be my wife.”

“Why?” She was puzzled.

“You will know when the time comes.” He turned his head and ordered. “Depart!”

The carriage started to move again and the servants followed on their horses riding on both sides of the carriage while the female guards who were dressed as maids followed in the second carriage.

Di Jing may look calm on the surface but he was actually pretending. At this moment, he was feeling both nervous and happy and admitted that he created this opportunity to make her pretend to be his wife.

Since they were acting as husband and wife, he could boldly address her as his wife all along the way and he was selfishly enjoying this feeling of happiness.

At the same time, he was also nervous about whether she would be reluctant to cooperate with him.

In the evening, the carriage stopped in front of an inn. Acting as her husband, Di Jing got down from the carriage first and ordered someone to bring a stepping stool over. When the servant lifted the carriage curtains, Di Jing reached out his hand to her.

“ Furen* ……..” He called out to her softly in his deep calm voice which hid his nervousness.

(Furen is the respectful and formal way a husband addresses his wife during ancient times. The word ‘Furen’ is also a respectful title when referring to the mistress of a household. In modern times, this title is still being used in wealthy social circles when the high-society madams address each other.)

Then two soft hands stretched out from inside the carriage and were gently placed on his palm. The warmth from the hands seemed to touch the tip of his heart.

Shangguan Yan who wearing a hat with a veil covering her face slowly got off the carriage with the support from Di Jing’s hand.

“ Xianggong* , where is this place?” Her voice sounded soft and pleasing to the ears and her manners were as graceful as a lotus. Even if one could not see the face hidden behind the veil, it still made people think the person is a beautiful young woman, graceful and elegant.

(Xianggong is the respectful and formal way a wife addresses her husband during ancient times. This word specifically means husband and is no longer used in modern times.)

Her one word ‘ Xianggong’ made Di Jing’s always calm and steady heart trembled. Fortunately, he has always been restrained and made an effort to calm his mind as he answered with a smile.

“This is the only inn on the road leading to Fengyang City. It’s getting late, so we’ll stay here tonight.”

Shangguan Yan nodded lightly and replied softly. “Everything will follow Xianggong’ s arrangement.”

Acting like a loving couple, the two of them walked into the inn together and inquired about the rooms.

Initially, Di Jing had just wanted to put on an act in front of outsiders. Besides, both were not, in reality, husband and wife and therefore she would surely not be willing to stay in the same room with him. When the Xiao’er* led them upstairs and entered the room, he was about to tell her that he would be staying in the room next door with Yinshuang when she spoke first before he could say a word.

(Xiao’er usually refers to the person who helps the innkeeper to run an inn or restaurant. The word ‘Xiao’er’ means ‘Little Two’ which has the meaning of ‘second-in-command’ to the innkeeper. Waiters in the restaurants are still referred to as ‘Xiao’er’ in modern times.)

“Let’s stay in the same room tonight. Since we are acting like a couple, our actions should look a bit real and not let anyone have doubts.”

Di Jing was stunned. He saw her take off her hat and veil very naturally and she immediately checked every nook and corner in the room. This is her habit and she is always careful in everything while outside. It must be known that this kind of disreputable inns where murders and robberies often happen are aplenty.

Reality proved that his worries are unnecessary. She is even more serious than him. She is responsible and puts in her best effort without any sloppiness. When she is a shopkeeper, she acts like a shopkeeper……when she is a lady, she acts like a lady……when she is a maid, she acts like a maid…….and when she is a secret constable, she is a conscientious secret constable.

From the moment she knew that she was going to pretend to be his wife, Shangguan Yan was prepared. As she had disguised herself as a man for a long time, at certain times, she had to share a room with a man if necessary. She did not think too much and now that they are working on a case, therefore it is not the time for her to feel shy or embarrassed.

The embarrassment that she felt earlier inside the carriage had long been thrown far away. She possesses a good point and that is when she should be suave she acts accordingly and when on a case, she puts in her best effort.

Di Jing’s lips curved into a slight smile of appreciation. This is what he likes about her. He watched as she started to take care of everything, prepare the bed then put on her hat and veil to order the Xiao’er to serve food. It was just like the time when she was his maid in the Qin Mansion, she was the same as now taking care of everything, and involuntarily, a warm feeling rose in his heart.

After dinner, the Xiao’er brought in water for them. Both of them freshened up and wanted to retire for the night when Shangguan Yan said.

“My Lord, please rest, I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“Wait.” Di Jing walked up to her and ordered. “The floor is cold. You can sleep on the bed and I’ll sleep on the chair.”

He walked to the side intending to sleep in the chair for the night.

“How is this possible?” She said in a hurry.

“Why not? Go to sleep, this is an order.”

“But……”

“If you keep on nagging, we’ll sleep together.” He stared at her and his deep eyes were flashing with a powerful light.

Shangguan Yan thought for a while and nodded. “Alright. Anyway, we will be sleeping with our clothes on. The only thing is that the bed is a bit narrow and my Lord will have to suffer.”

Upon hearing those words, Di Jing was surprised by her directness. His heart missed a beat but he saw that she did not seem to be joking.

“Sleep together? You don’t mind?”

“We will be lying on the bed without doing anything, so why should I mind? What’s more, while we’re outside, why follow so many rules? If we have to abide by the rules, it might ruin matters.”

“You……are you not afraid that your future husband will mind?”

Can it be that she doesn’t care for that Young Master of the Pan Family?

When Shangguan Yan heard, she suddenly understood and laughed.

“My future husband is very considerate. He won’t find fault with me, so don’t worry.” When she was saying those words, her smile was very sweet, revealing her trust in Pan Gongzi which made Di Jing very jealous.

He lowered his face. “Even if you don’t mind……I mind.” As he spoke, he turned around and ignored her.

His sudden anger without rhyme and reason made Shangguan Yan stupefied. She did not understand why he felt angry since she had good intentions. It was him who suggested they sleep together and he was the one who said he minded……..this is indeed baffling!

She shrugged. Anyway, he is her superior and the Imperial Commissioner had given the order. As she is his subordinate, she has to obey his order.

When he saw her pull down the bedcovers and lay down to sleep, Di Jing blew out the lamp on the table and sat on the chair. However, he did not feel sleepy at all.

It was so quiet in the room that even the sound of a pin-drop could be heard. Not long after, the sounds of her steady breathing could be heard.

The time for drinking a cup of tea is not up yet and she had fallen asleep?

Di Jing was really annoyed. He was feeling aggrieved here but she had fallen asleep heartlessly.

He secretly swore to himself……….there will be a day she will sleep on his bed together with him and only have him in her heart.

***☆☆☆***

The next day, they set off again after breakfast.

From the time when they entered the inn, Di Jing had given orders to spread the news saying that they had come to seek medical treatment.

He is a businessman with the surname Gu and loves his wife very much. His wife had contracted an unknown illness and even after seeing many doctors, she was still not healed. Therefore, he had brought his wife to the south temporarily and at the same time, search for a skilled doctor. If anyone can cure his wife’s illness, he is willing to give a huge reward as gratitude.

Along the way, every time they passed through a town, the doctors would approach them, hoping to show off their skills. However, they were unable to find the cause of Madam Gu’s illness, thus they had to return empty-handed.

In this way, as they traveled along the way, the news kept on spreading. Before they reached Anshi City, the news about the businessman surnamed Gu searching for a doctor to heal his wife’s face had already reached someone’s ears in Anshi City.

“Oh? Did you say that the businessman Gu’s wife had contracted a strange illness?”

“Yes, the person who went to inquire came back and reported. It’s said that the wife had contracted a strange illness and as a result, she had turned very ugly like a monster.”

“So, it’s like this.” Jiao Siniang was lying lazily on the scented couch at this time. She was lying sideways with a hand supporting her cheek while the other hand was picking up grapes on the jade plate. The jade plate was held up by a male servant kneeling at the side and every grape was peeled and seeded. Beside her, there was another male servant who was gently massaging her leg.

Jiao Siniang is a doctor but her reputation is not good. Although she is as beautiful as a flower, she lusts after men and the servants around her are all handsome men. She is good in medicine but specially sells poison to the people of Jianghu to make huge profits.

The man kneeling in front reporting the news to her is Chou Dalang, a human trafficker of young men. He would especially look for good-looking young boys to let Jiao Siniang choose and occasionally, he would also sell some news to her.

“Why don’t Jiao Siniang give it a try? If you can cure that Madam Gu, you might receive a huge reward.” Chou Dalang suggested with a smile.

After listening to him, Jiao Siniang looked disinterested. Although she is skilled in medicine, she has no interest in practicing medicine to help others.

“I thought you were going to inform me about a good deal but unexpectedly, it’s about healing a woman’s appearance. I’m not interested. If the other party is a man, perhaps I might still consider it.”

“That’s the reason why I came to inform you. That Gu Gongzi is a handsome man.” Chou Dalang said.

“Oh?” Jiao Siniang’s beautiful eyes lit up and the hand pinching a grape paused. “Really? How handsome?”

Chou Dalang swept a glance over the male servants around him and replied. “It’s not that I’m boasting but all the men in your residence can’t compare to that Gu Gongzi .”

Jiao Siniang instantly became interested and sat up. “Where are they?”

“They have rented a house in Longyue Hutong in the west of the city and planned to stay in this city for a month. If they can’t find a skilled doctor in the surrounding area, they intend to continue traveling south to Jiangnan.”

“Alright, take me to meet that man with the surname Gu. If he is really a beautiful man as you have said, you will be rewarded. But if you had exaggerated, be careful that I’ll poison you!”

Chou Dalang hurriedly waved his hands. “How will I dare to lie to you? Knowing that you have high expectations and not interested in the ordinary ones, how will I dare to praise him if he is not good? You will know when you go and see him for yourself. If you fancy him, don’t forget to give this small one some benefits after this.”

“I understand…….. Servant, reward him with an ingot of silver!”

Upon hearing the word ‘ingot’, Chou Dalang smiled in surprise and hurriedly thanked Jiao Siniang repeatedly. Then he followed the servant to receive the reward.

After listening to Chou Dalang boasting about the appearance of that man, Gu Gongzi , Jiao Siniang could not wait any longer. She got dressed immediately and prettied up herself then ordered a male servant to carry the medicine box before setting off for Longyue Hutong.