Translator: Storm in a Teacup
An Qingrong, serving long in the army, suddenly felt someone was gazing at himself. Though not malignant, this probe was really annoying. He frowned at An Rushuang"s hat, his eyes flickering with cold gleam.“Did she know me?” An Qingrong wondered to himself.
An Rushuang stuck her tongue out and moved her eyes away in a hurry before turning to the girl beside him. The girl bit her lower lip in helplessness, her hand holding the whip turning slightly white.
The girl muttered painfully after a while, “My elder sister... My elder sister is dying. Please, please help her!”
She suddenly knelt down before them, regardless of the gossiping crowd..
It turned out the girl was a bully, who only yielded to the force but rejected a soft approach.
However... who was her elder sister?
An Rushuang remembered Madam Meng, her brother"s wife, who looked similar to this girl clad in red. Upon hearing her mentioning her elder sister, An Rushuang couldn"t help but wonder if this girl had any relations.h.i.+p with Madam Meng.
Still staying calm, the handsome young man merely raised his eyelids before saying coldly, “No doctor here.”
Just as An Rushuang intended to say something, she noticed her brother"s frown. Did he meet his will-be wife just here? An Rushuang thought, and decided to keep silent.
Unsurprisingly, her elder brother did whisper something to the handsome young man before bypa.s.sing the stall and coming up to the girl kneeling on the ground. “I can help you if you have no money, but you must apologize to the beggar you hurt just then,” he said seriously, staring at the girl.
“I don"t need your money!”
With her face turning crimson with anger, she gritted her teeth and retorted, “I can apologize, but, but my elder sister must see the doctor first!”
The young man snorted before slamming the ladle into the pot. “You merely care about yourself! All the people here need treatment. Your elder sister is not the only one who catches disease.”
Upon hearing his words, every one, nodding in admiration, couldn"t help being a little hostile to the girl.
She wiped her pretty face smudged by dirt before explaining in a lower voice, without the previous condescension, “We have sent for the doctors of the Mercy Pharmacy, even those from the royal palace... but all in vain.”
She ground her teeth in slight tremble before raising her voice, “Only here! Only the doctor of the First Pharmacy can save her life! Since my mother pa.s.sed away from the same disease several years ago, I can"t bear to lose my elder sister any longer! Please help her, please!”
She kept kowtowing, her forehead gradually swelling.
Crossing his arms in front of his chest, the handsome young man stared at her indifferently, as if it wasn"t a pretty girl kneeling before him but a common tree or a flower instead, totally unworthy of his compa.s.sion.
An Qingrong, seeming to be sympathetic to her suffering, turned to the young man several times and whispered something. Too far to hear what he said, An Rushuang merely saw his lips moving.
The young man, after some period, caught a glimpse of An Qingrong and then the girl clad in red helplessly. Though relenting, he was still a little hesitant.
“Chuan Qiong, please lend a hand,” An Qingrong urged him.
Chuan Qiong murmured reluctantly, “It"s not up to me. I should have asked Kong Qing to have an eye on you as I gave out the medicine! Always cause trouble for me!”
Slightly curling up his lips, An Qingrong patted his lean shoulder before murmuring in a low voice, “This is the last time, Chuan Qiong, I promise.”
Chuan Qiong glared at him before retorting, “You always said that!”
This handsome young man was named Chuan Qiong.
An Rushuang thought, searching for this name in her memory. Nope...
Since he seemed to be her elder brother"s intimate friend, why had she never heard of his name before?
Though saying so, Chuan Qiong glanced at the girl in red before scoffing. “There is no use begging me, because I know nothing about medicine.”
Totally stunned, the girl, glaring at him, shouted in anger, “What do you mean?!”
Her tone was a mix of grievance and fury, seemingly quite complicated.
An Rushuang also caught a glimpse of Chuan Qiong. If he did know nothing about medicine, why would he...
Eh? It seemed that he had never said he was a doctor. What a weird man.
Just as she expected, Chuan Qiong said calmly, “I mean even you kneel here for the rest of your life, I still can"t save your elder sister. However...”
Slightly curling up his lips, he said with a glamorous smile, “I can help you for Brother Gu"s sake. There is someone inside the room who is able to save your elder sister"s life, as long as you can persuade her.”
With her eyes s.h.i.+mmering with pleasant light, the girl in red answered, “Of course I can. I will give her everything she wants...”
Her frustration disappeared without a trace.
While An Rushuang still pondered on the two words the young man just mentioned----Brother Gu.
She turned to the man beside Chuan Qiong and looked at him up and down.
An Rushuang frowned. Was he not her elder brother? It was impossible that two persons would look that same!
Since An Qingrong had arrived at the capital, why didn"t he return home but visited here and changed his name?
In doubt, An Rushuang suddenly met her elder brother"s eyes. She, out of panic, took half a step back subconsciously. No! She shouted in her heart with regret.
Unsurprisingly, the so-called Brother Gu stared at An Rushuang in bewilderment before asking, “Do you know me, Miss?”
Their relations.h.i.+p was far more than acquaintances, but An Rushuang didn"t want to tell the truth yet.
Using a fake name, he, of course, intended to hide his real ident.i.ty.
Having made up a decision, An Rushuang approached Zhao Xiaotao before whispering, “In order to hide our ident.i.ties, you can say...”
Though puzzled, Zhao Xiaotao still learned her lady"s intention.
“Miss?”
Zhao Xiaotao came up in a hurry before answering, “My lady has never been here before, how can she know you? Be careful with what you say, in case you ruin my lady"s reputation. We came here to meet the master.”
Meet the master?
Let alone An Qingrong, even Chuan Qiong was stunned by Xiaotao"s words. Chuan Qiong chuckled after a while. “What a boisterous day. one is asking for a doctor while the other meeting the master. There is neither doctor nor master here, only a young man selling medicine.”
Zhao Xiaotao presented the casket she got from An Rushuang to Chuan Qiong before saying in a low voice, “Have you heard about the legendary venerable doctor? This is the token we got from the descendant of the legendary doctor.”
Chuan Qiong turned to An Rushuang, his expression a little complicated. “We stop giving out medicine today. Please come here early tomorrow morning,” he drawled to the beggars while knocking the gong beside him.
Zhao Xiaotao whisper to An Rushuang, “The medicine distribution starts with the three knocks on the gong, and ends with one knock.”
An Rushuang nodded. Was he driving people away? She thought.
Just as she expected, all the beggars began to disperse at the gonging. They glared at the girl in red while complaining, but not daring to blame Chuan Qiong.
In about an hour, all the beggars asking for medicine were gone, except for Chuan Qiong, the mystic Mr. Gu, the girl in red, as well as An Rushuang and her maids.