A Willing Mistake, My Lady – Chapter 40
by Little PandaThe Divine Doctor Has Arrived
Him in the Dream
Business on the ship was even more booming than expected. Jiang Chenyu and Chuntao couldn’t pull themselves away at all. They had already lived on the ship for four or five days. It looked like there was still at least another month of profit to be made from this business, and tallying the accounts after the peak period would also take a few days.
But things at Shen Hetang’s yamen could not be delayed any longer. Jiang Chenyu figured that if it came down to it, she would just let him head back first.
“You want to stay here and help?” Shen Hetang held her hand and asked.
“Yes, there are too many goods and too many customers. Jiang Ning is already completely swamped just managing the sales; it really wouldn’t be right for us to stand by and watch,” Jiang Chenyu said, looking troubled.
“I’m a little worried about your safety!” Actually, having lived here for a few days, she could also see that more than half of the people on the ship were very familiar with Chuntao, and they would properly greet Jiang Chenyu. They had probably known them longer than she had.
“Don’t worry, with so many of my brothers under my command, do you think we can’t protect two young ladies? Brother Shen, you can head back with peace of mind. Once this busy period is over, I will definitely bring them back to you without a single hair missing,” Jiang Ning said casually.
Shen Hetang smiled but didn’t say anything. She was still not entirely reassured.
“Rest assured, I’ll be fine. Tomorrow I’ll even give myself a matchmaker’s mole1 and draw on thick eyebrows. I guarantee that even you won’t recognize me,” Jiang Chenyu leaned in close and whispered.
“It’s impossible for me not to recognize you!” Shen Hetang was noncommittal about her claim.
“But if you really want to stay, that’s fine too. I believe Boss Jiang also has the ability to look after the two of you.”
Since she wanted to stay, she could only entrust her to Jiang Ning’s care. As long as her safety could be guaranteed, Shen Hetang didn’t want to lock her up in a courtyard either. A person always shone when doing what they loved.
“We also have a bodyguard!” Chuntao chimed in happily from the side.
“Oh? Who is it? How come I don’t know?”
“Uncle Jiang and Xiao San. The older one is hale and hearty, and the younger one is young and strong.”
“I’ll head back as soon as I’m done here. You must eat well and sleep well by yourself while waiting for my return.” Jiang Chenyu tugged at Shen Hetang’s sleeve, slightly reluctant to part, but it couldn’t be helped. She already felt quite embarrassed taking the lion’s share of the profit from this ship’s cargo; if she didn’t even put in this bit of effort, she wouldn’t have the face to reach out and take the silver when the time came.
A faint trace of worry still lingered in Shen Hetang’s dark, lacquer-like eyesβnot just because Jiang Chenyu was staying behind, but also because of what awaited her when she returned.
“Mhm. Don’t worry about me. Put your mind at ease and stay here; I’ll head back first.” Heir Wei and the Heir’s Wife had already returned to the capital the day before yesterday. Their trip here was just going through the motions on behalf of the imperial court. The subsequent tax collection would be jointly supervised and submitted by the Commandery Governor and officials dispatched by the Ministry of Revenue.
After that day, Shen Hetang had met with the Heir’s Wife once more. Because of that natural feeling of familiarity, she chose to believe her words. As for the information she had heard, she needed to go home and digest it alone.
The Heir’s Wife was quite concerned about her amnesia. A few days ago, she had already sent a message to a friend, inviting them over to Qingyuan County to help. The timing would be just right by the time she returned to Qingyuan County.
The black horse that had eaten free food on the way here finally came in handy. Shen Hetang left the carriage for Jiang Chenyu and rode away on Big Long Face.
The rolling mountain peaks had donned green garments, and the rivers, swollen with spring water, formed eddies as they flowed with a murmuring sound. In the meadow filled with fresh, vibrant green, occasional yellow and white wildflowers poked their heads out, teasing the eyes of passersby.
Among rows of weeping willows, a lush peach tree was hidden here and there. Riding on a completely sleek black steed was a man dressed in red, with a face like beautiful jade and an elegant, fluttering posture. Holding the reins single-handedly, the person and horse burst through the heavy obstacles laid down by the branches.
Even though the official road was very wide, the mischievous steed insisted on galloping beneath the willow branches, letting every slender thread brush past the man’s jade-like face.
After dodging back and forth twice, Shen Hetang lost her temper. She yanked the reins, turned the horse’s head, and gave it a flick with her whip. Following that, the black horse shot forward as if it had been struck by lightning, leaving behind only a few leaves dancing in the air, reluctant to fall.
Shen Hetang did not experience much emotional fluctuation upon returning to the Jiang Manor. Personally experiencing something and hearing about it were two entirely different feelings. Toward the prospect of recovering her memories, she felt more avoidance than anticipation. She was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to shoulder the original host’s responsibilities, let alone the safety of the entire Great Qian Dynasty. Taking over the original host’s job was a fantasy she didn’t even dare to imagine.
Her current little life as a bailiff was going quite well. Furthermore, who would want to do such a thankless task? One misstep could cost her head, and two could lead to outshining the sovereignβboth were nothing but trouble.
Before she could agonize over it for even two days, Yan Qingli, who was said to be the divine doctor, arrived at the Jiang family. She was a young woman in her twenties, dressed in a blue-grey Daoist robe and unsmiling.
She took up residence in the Jiang Manor under the identity of Shen Hetang’s biaojie. Every day, right after the Hour of the Horse, she would grab her complete set of silver needles and drag Shen Hetang into the study to suffer her punishment.
Looking at the intensely resistant Shen Hetang, Yan Qingli gave a rare smile. “Never in a million years did I expect the Little General to be someone so afraid of needles.”
“I also didn’t expect that one day I would have more quills on me than a hedgehog.” Looking at the large bundle of silver needlesβeach one nearly half the length of an armβand knowing they would be inserted one by one into her head, neck, and shoulders, she truly wanted to die. She also just wanted to hug her wife.
Invigorating incense burned in the study. Shen Hetang sat cross-legged on the daybed dressed only in her inner garments, some unknown herbal poultice applied to her wrists. Her hands rested open on her knees. Behind her, Yan Qingli held the long needles, slowly inserting each silver needle into her head.
Her technique was excellent. Aside from the initial stinging pain, it felt much better afterward. But ultimately, there were around a hundred silver needles; the waiting process was far more agonizing than the actual pricking on her head. At this moment, she was wondering why she had unconditionally trusted the Heir’s Wife. What if she were a fraud?
But it was too late to think about that now. If she was going to die, she would have died already. She might as well resign herself to fate.
After a quarter of an hour, the needle insertion points felt sore and numb, and some spots throbbed with a dull ache, as if her nerves were twitching with every movement.
Judging by this divine doctor’s appearance and temperament, she seemed like the Heir’s Wife’s heaven-chosen friend2. The auras of the two women were too similar. One was so cold and indifferent that it made people overlook her looks, while the other was so quiet and tranquil that if handed a whisk, she could instantly become a monastic. Truly, birds of a feather flocked together.
“After enduring this cruel torture, will I be able to recover my memories?” Shen Hetang sat stiffly, asking with a look of utter hopelessness.
“That will depend on the will of Heaven,” Yan Qingli answered, her voice entirely devoid of fluctuation.
“What???” Shen Hetang jerked in agitation and tugged at a silver needle. She grimaced in pain and swallowed her voice. Good heavens, who did I offend to deserve this?
“They won’t recover all at once, but there will certainly be traces to follow.”
“Alright, sorry for the trouble.”
The head-pricking ritual continued for seven days. Yan Qingli left, leaving behind pills to consolidate the treatment. Shen Hetang just felt liberated and didn’t take the efficacy of the treatment to heart. If a few needle pricks could actually restore one’s memories, then she truly would be a divine doctor.
In the middle of the night, a pattering light rain began to fall outside. On the enormous canopy bed, a slender figure hugged the quilt with both hands. Bead-sized drops of sweat slowly slid down her forehead, neck, and collarbone.
Pitch-black, heavy clouds had pressed down almost right overhead, clumping together as if flowing, moving from far to near.
Beneath the magnificent, towering city walls had been the presumptuous, mocking faces of the enemy forces. Their gong-beating, drum-banging provocations resembled man-eating wolves baring their sharp fangs. As long as the city gates cracked open even a sliver, they would be devoured by this pack of ferocious beasts until not even their bones remained.
“Come on, you yellow-mouthed child3, hurry up and open the city gates so you can get your father and brother back!” At the base of the city gates, a foreign man riding a tall steed stared at the youth on the city tower, his gaze full of aggression and provocation.
“I don’t believe you. If I open the city gates, you’ll kill me too. Why would you ever release my father and brother?” The youth’s face was pale, his words stuttering as if he was forcing himself to bite the bullet.
“I tried to talk and negotiate nicely, but you won’t listen. Then don’t blame me for being ruthless. Bring him up!” The viciously fierce brute was clearly impatient. Seeing that the person on the tower was just an immature brat still wet behind the ears, he wanted to scare him a little.
Several enemy guards immediately dragged out that bastard son who was incapable of achieving anything but skilled at ruining everything. “I’ll count to three. If you don’t open the gates, I’ll chop off one of his hands. If you still don’t open them, I’ll chop off one of his legs. How high do you think I can count?”
“Big Beard, you definitely didn’t do your homework, did you?” the youth laughed out of sheer anger.
“What homework?” the brute asked, both confused and furious.
“This person is my enemy. If he dies, I’ll even set off firecrackers to celebrate. How about I count for you instead?” The youth spoke with absolute seriousness, his expression both timid and eager to give it a try.
“However, his mother has a lot of silver. If you finish him off this quickly, you might not be able to earn that ransom from her. I won’t spend a single copper coin on him, let alone open the city gates for him,” the youth quickly added, acting hesitant.
“Don’t waste your breath spouting nonsense at me. You might be willing to abandon your brother, but don’t tell me you can just watch your old father die a tragic death,” the brute said in awkward Han language, putting on a sinister and cunning face.
The youth’s eyes were dark and deep, sizing up the situation below as if hiding a sharp blade. The densely packed mass of enemy forces numbered at least eighteen thousand, if not twenty thousand. He watched as the enemy actually brought the Old General forward bound, directly throwing him to the ground and forcefully kicking him several times. The veins bulged on the youth’s hand holding the bow and arrow behind his back, bending the specially made iron arrow into a curve.
“If you want to hit someone, hit me! Don’t hit my dad.” Seeing his father tied up and beaten, the bastard son at least knew to shuffle closer to him. Unfortunately, he was also just fish on someone else’s chopping block. He couldn’t be of the slightest use and instead only added to the joke.
Whether it was one wrong move or desperation to save his son, the Old General had actually fallen into the miserable state of being captured alive. His no-longer-young eyes gazed firmly at his legitimate son on the city tower, shaking his head to signal him not to open the gates.
Looking at his father, who had been kicked until his face was bruised and swollen, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, the suppressed anger in the youth’s heart threatened to burst out of his chest. His father seemed to harbor thoughts of suicide. A commanding officer who had guarded the border pass for many years absolutely could not die such a humiliating death. He would not allow it.
Even though his relationship with his father was not deep, when he saw that plain-looking concubine, he felt that perhaps his father also had no other choice. He just needed a companion. His mother was a famous beauty in the capital, and that concubine’s looks couldn’t even compare to his mother’s servant girls. But so what? His mother still couldn’t come here to eat wind and sand with him.
The three of themβmother and childrenβwere hostages held against his father. If it weren’t for his reputation as a good-for-nothing, how could he have come to the border?
His father could end up wrapped in a horse hide4, or die by the decree that if the ruler demands the minister’s death (he must die)5, but to be humiliated by the enemy and driven to suicideβhe would not accept it. Without him noticing, a salty, metallic taste filled his mouth.
“Hu Gudan, listen to me! Bring the two of them beneath the city gates tomorrow, and I will agree to your demands. But if they are missing so much as a single finger, then you can expect mutual destruction.”
“Who would believe your bullshit?! What’s the difference between today and tomorrow? You’re playing tricks!” Big Beard said angrily.
“Give me one day for the commoners to evacuate. That way, we won’t put up a desperate fight to the death, and you will win without a battle. Tell me, is there a difference?”
“And what if you run away when the time comes?” Big Beard didn’t know what kind of medicine this youth was selling in his gourd.
“Hmph, if I wanted to run, I could run right now. Even if I run, you can still take Xixing Pass without costing a single soldier. Either way, you win. But if you insist on forcing me today, then my father won’t be the only one who dies.” Before the youth even finished speaking, a bow and arrow appeared in his hands as if by magic. He fired straight at Hu Gudan’s face. Carried by a fierce wind, the gleaming arrowhead viciously pierced through Hu Gudan’s braid, skewering him and the vice-general behind him like a tanghulu6. Their two braids were pinned together.
The two men’s legs immediately went soft, causing them to slump down a notch, their eyes nearly splitting at the seams.
Footnotes
- A distinct facial mole traditionally associated with matchmakers in Chinese culture, often applied cosmetically for disguise or comedic effect.
- A modern slang variation of 'heaven-chosen one' (tiΔnxuΗn zhΔ« zΗ), jokingly referring to two people who are a perfect match as friends.
- A classical derogatory term comparing an inexperienced youth to a baby bird with a yellow beak.
- A classical idiom expressing a soldier's heroic resolve to fight to the death on the battlefield and not return home.
- Derived from a classic phrase detailing absolute authority: 'If the sovereign commands the minister to die, the minister must die.'
- A traditional Chinese snack of candied fruit skewered on a bamboo stick. Used here to describe the arrow pinning two enemies together.
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