Chapter 54

Ryeon observed their reactions and agreed to change the subject.

"Then can I buy some herbs today?"

"Of course. Since it's your first visit to our herb shop, I'll give them to you as a gift. If you tell me, I'll send them to your residence..."

"No, I came by carriage, so I'll take them all with me."

Dr. Jong nodded with a smile. He thought Ryeon was just eager to show off her knowledge of herb names.

But a moment later.

Dr. Jong had an intuition that there was something special about this girl.

Ryeon carefully selected the herbs and medicinal materials from the shelves, and when they were all gathered, it turned out that they were all top-quality items among the shop's stock. It was as if these high-quality items had been cleverly hidden.

When they were all gathered in one basket, they looked like a pile of gold to him.

'How did she pick only these? Was it by chance?'

It didn't seem like Danmok Hyun-woo had helped her. In fact, Danmok Hyun-woo didn't seem to know much about the quality of the herbs Ryeon had chosen.

"Thank you, Dr. Jong."

"Ah... No, no. Since you have a wide range of interests, why don't you look around a bit more...?"

"It's fine."

When she said she was going to leave, Danmok Seong, who had been bored, suddenly brightened up.

Dr. Jong, unable to stand still, packed the herbs while circling around Ryeon.

Since he had already said he would give them for free, he couldn't ask her to choose something else now.

After the Danmok family left, Dr. Jong immediately turned the herb shop upside down, but there were no items left as good as the ones he had packed himself.

* * *

After leaving the Hosun Clinic, Ryeon visited all the well-known herb shops in Hangzhou.

But she only confirmed that Dr. Jong's claim that the Hosun Clinic's herb shop was the best in Hangzhou was not a lie.

'Is my standard for the Heart's Eye too high?'

Ryeon thought to herself, fanning herself with a white jade fan.

When she scanned the herb shelves, activating her Heart's Eye, only a few were marked as high-quality, and most were medium to low quality.

'More importantly, I thought I might run into Yeoching if I wandered around the herb shops.'

Yeocheong was an herbalist Ryeon had met in her previous life.

He knew the mountains as well as the back of his hand and could dig up herbs that others could only dream of seeing.

Yeocheong was a living legend among herbalists in Hangzhou.

The reason Yeocheong and Ryeon had a connection was, of course, due to Ryeon's condition.

Many people had tried to help Ryeon, who was growing weaker day by day despite having no apparent illness.

The Sichuan Tangmen, who had broken off their engagement long ago, had sent doctors several times, and even the arrogant Tang Youbi had visited personally.

It was Yeocheong who had obtained the herbs needed for the various remedies prescribed by Tang Youbi at that time. At first, it was a professional relationship...

"What are you going to do with so many bellflowers?"

Danmok Hyun-woo bought three Bingtanghao pastries from a teahouse, gave two to his nephews, and took one for himself while asking Ryeon.

Danmok Seong was savoring the sweet and sour taste of the Bingtanghao, closing his eyes in enjoyment. Ryeon nodded, recalling the basket full of bellflowers.

"I'm going to make bellflower syrup."

"Bellflower syrup?"

"It seems I have a talent for making and selling medicine."

"Chunryeonsu wasn't made by our pharmacy..."

Danmok Hyun-woo, who had been about to comment on the syrup Ryeon had made alone, swallowed his words along with the Bingtanghao.

'Is Ryeon really a fairy who was returned after being taken away?'

Although Danmok Hyun-woo didn't believe in or rely on fairies, Buddhas, or the Great Supreme Lord, he felt his heart waver when he looked at Ryeon.

Perhaps he wanted to believe in such things, to believe that his nephew's childhood wasn't wasted.

"I'm thinking of sending the bellflower syrup to Grandfather and the Huashan in Shaanxi."

There is an uncle in Huashan who helped with her bloodletting. He is her mother's sworn brother.

As she said this, Ryeon estimated how many people she could give the bellflowers to based on the amount she had bought today.

The biggest problem was that the quality of the bellflowers wasn't particularly satisfactory.

At that moment.

Jeong Young, who had been guarding them from a distance, approached.

"Master of the pharmacy, Young Master. I heard there's a place that sells high-quality herbs, though they are a bit expensive."

"Who said that?"

"It's... well..."

Jeong Young hesitated for a moment before speaking cautiously.

"It seems the Mansong Trading Company recognized Young Master. They asked if you were looking for herbs because you were dissatisfied with the essential oils supplied by the trading company, but I told them you were looking for other herbs, and they told me about this place."

At that moment, the face of the trading company person looked as if they had just escaped from hell, relieved.

"Let's go see it!"

Ryeon's eyes lit up at Jeong Young's words. If it was a herb shop recognized by the Mansong Trading Company, there might be a chance to find Yeocheong.

"Shall we?"

Jeong Young, who seemed to know the way well, led them without hesitation.

Sure enough, as they went deeper, a decent herb shop appeared. A quick look revealed that it had been recently expanded.

There were quite a few customers inside, including a doctor, someone looking for herbs for an urgent prescription, and a pharmacy servant...

"Oh, aren't you the young masters of the Danmok family!"

As Ryeon was examining a piece of dried herb, a middle-aged man came out from the back, welcoming them with a low but loud voice.

Danmok Hyun-woo turned his nephews to face the back and glanced at the man.

"Do you know us?"

"Oh, of course. How could I not recognize that imposing presence? But what brings you here..."

"We came to look at some herbs."

Danmok Hyun-woo seemed a bit pleased that the herb shop recognized them, but he didn't expose his nephews to the overenthusiastic merchant.

Ryeon, standing behind Danmok Hyun-woo, glanced at the merchant.

'Did the news spread in just half a day?'

Danmok Hyun-woo is the head of the family's pharmacy, and the rumor might have spread that the Danmok family was trying to regain its momentum and expand the pharmacy. The Mansong Trading Company person recognized them, after all.

"I'd like to see some bellflowers."

"Bell... flowers?"

Since bellflowers weren't that expensive, the merchant hesitated for a moment but soon brought a basket.

"These bellflowers are of particularly high quality, as are all the herbs in our shop."

Ryeon tilted her head as she examined the bellflowers. They were indeed good. The herbalist who dug them up must have been surprised to find such quality when they were freshly dug.

'They seem similar to the top-quality herbs in the Hosun Clinic's herb shop.'

Among the herb shops she had visited so far, these were the best in quality. They were a bit wilted due to poor management.

However, only a few of the high-quality herbs were on top, and when she peeked underneath, there were just ordinary herbs that looked similar on the surface.

The merchant, excited, tried to recommend various items, but Ryeon shook her head and selected only a few of the high-quality ones.

"Is it not yet time for Yeoching to work...?"

Danmok Seong, who didn't seem interested in the herb shop, quickly went outside. While Danmok Hyun-woo had a servant pay for the herbs and pack them, a young boy from the herb shop quietly approached Ryeon.

Ryeon, who had been scanning the shop alone, tilted her head. The young servant who approached her seemed very nervous.

"Um... Are you looking for Yeoching, the herbalist...?"

His voice was so low that it was hard to hear without paying attention. Ryeon opened her eyes wide and looked at the boy.

"Do you know Yeoching?"

"Last year, after his grandfather passed away... he sells herbs here."

Ryeon recalled the herbs in the shop that stood out in quality.

But do I need to talk about this so secretly?

The boy, as if he wasn't talking to Ryeon, turned his body slightly and pretended to be organizing something.

"It's a house with a broken fence on the inner street of the western district..."

Ryeon repeated the address in her mind.

"All the most expensive herbs here are dug up by Yeoching, but the old man... "

However, the boy's words were cut off.

"Dan-a! Go get the silk with embroidered patterns. It's in the bottom drawer."

"Yes, sir!"

Even though Danmok Hyun-woo declined, the merchant bowed and smiled, bringing out the silk. The boy servant, bowing deeply, wrapped the herbs in the silk.