Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 513 The Smell of Medicine (2)

"Ground beetle?" Donggua immediately shook his head like a rattle drum.

“I grew up in Haijin Town, and I often saw these little insects at the base of the walls of the old house. Although the smell in Renming Hall that day was fishy, ​​it was definitely not the smell of earth. In fact, the fishy smell was even stronger than the smell of ordinary medicine, as if... as if the medicine was trying to cover up the smell of blood. I am certain that it was definitely not the smell of the earthworm that Physician Jian mentioned after it was dried.”

If it were the medicinal herb "earth beetle," Donggua had only heard of it by name, but when it came to "ground beetle," it was something she had seen since childhood, and there was absolutely no possibility of mistaking its smell. Fearing that Jian Zhi would not believe her, she emphasized in her tone: "The smell of earth and the smell of blood are easy to distinguish, and my nose could never be wrong."

Seeing her insistence, Jian Zhi hesitated and turned to Meng Shu for instructions: "Your Majesty, I am not sure for the time being. Why don't I ask my master for advice after my shift? Some unorthodox medicinal herbs may not be used to cure diseases. Perhaps... they are harmful."

Meng Shu remained silent, as Dong Gua's words had just enlightened her.

She searched through medical books but found nothing. If, as Donggua said, the fishy smell was masked by the taste of the medicine, then verifying it would be relatively simple.

Thinking of this, she raised her eyes and instructed, "I trouble you, Physician Jian. This matter must be handled with care, and we must not let the news leak out."

Jian Zhi quickly bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I know what I'm doing."

After Green Willow led Physician Jian away, Meng Shu left the winter melon alone in the flower hall.

Seeing that she was still unconsciously looking towards the door, Meng Shu's eyes lit up with a smile, and she teased, "Have you been practicing martial arts with Mingyue lately?"

"Ah...I...I'm still practicing." Donggua came back to his senses, his face slightly flushed, but his voice became a little brighter. "Now I don't have to practice horse stance every day anymore. Mingyue taught me a set of boxing techniques. Shushu, you don't know, my strength has increased a lot recently. In the past, my arms would ache after flipping a large ladle for a long time, but now I can flip it continuously for an hour without any problem."

Listening to her earnestly boasting about her strength, and seeing her round cheeks and energetic appearance, Meng Shu was both amused and exasperated, and could only shake her head helplessly.

After Donggua finished speaking, Meng Shu softened her tone and looked at her gently: "You are best as you are now. You don't need to always think about losing weight to please anyone. If you like to exercise, then exercise. Don't be too hard on yourself. Our Donggua is already charming and lovely enough as she is."

Upon hearing this, Donggua's eyes brightened, and her embarrassment dissipated considerably. She raised her hand to touch her cheek and said shyly, "Shushu, don't you think I'm too fat? I heard Ruizhu say the other day that slender girls look good in any clothes, which makes them look more elegant."

Meng Shu smiled and reached out to pull her to sit down on the embroidered stool beside her: "Silly girl, there's no fixed standard for beauty. The concubines in the imperial court and harem considered plumpness to be beautiful. You look great, round and full of life, with bright and sparkling eyes. When you smile, your face curves like a crescent moon. You're much more pleasing than Ruizhu, who looks so thin that she could be blown away by the wind."

Donggua didn't refuse and sat down next to Meng Shu without hesitation, replying with a grin, "Then I'll listen to Shushu. Back home, I only had two bowls of thin porridge and wild vegetables to fill my stomach each day, but I was still chubby. My mother suspected I was stealing food while cooking, and she beat me for it several times..."

Unlike Green Willow, Donggua was not cautious, nor was she as reserved as Mengzhu or Ruizhu. From the moment she was chosen by Granny Zhou and boarded the carriage to Haijin Town, she regarded Mengshu as her only friend and support.

Of all the women who sold themselves into slavery back then, she was truly the luckiest. Not only did she enter the Tang household, but she also gained the favor of Steward An, who treated her like a granddaughter. Because of this, she retained more of her true nature than Green Willow and the others. Even after she entered the palace with the household, whenever she was alone with Meng Shu, she never referred to herself as a "slave."

It was precisely this unwavering sincerity that made her Meng Shu's favorite.

The two sisters spoke intimately, just as they had in the Tang family before.

Meng Shu did not expose her budding romance.

Donggua is the same age as her. If she hadn't entered the palace with him, she would have been of marriageable age long ago, and Steward An might have already found her a husband. If Jianzhi is also interested, she would never confine Donggua within these palace walls and waste her best years.

......

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, Yuzhou was mired in misery, a stark contrast to the tranquility of the inner palace.

The official road from Kaifeng to Daming had long been deserted and desolate due to famine. In a remote mountain valley at the border of the two prefectures, a silent struggle was unfolding.

A woman dressed as a young woman was crawling laboriously on the mountain path. Her hair was disheveled, and dusty strands clung to her sweaty forehead. Her lips were cracked and bleeding. With each inch she moved forward, her elbows and knees ached from the gravel.

The young woman was none other than Qin Baolian, the third young lady of the Qin family, who had been missing for over a month without any news.

Having escaped from the Jiang residence, Qin Baolian resolved to head to Jinnan. Her elder brother not only shared a classmate relationship with the young master Tang from the Marquis of Lin'an's mansion, but also held a position in Jinnan. Seeking refuge with her brother and then making further plans was the only way out she could think of at the moment.

However, while passing through the Taihang Mountains, they encountered bandits. The Qin family guards fought valiantly but were all killed. The accompanying nanny and two maids also perished while protecting her. In the chaos, Qin Baolian fled alone into this desolate mountain valley. Her food and water had long since run out, and she was left to struggle alone in this desperate situation.

The scorching sun beat down on the rocks, making her vision blur and even breathing felt painful.

"Cough...cough cough..." She coughed violently a few times, aggravating her old chest wound, causing her to curl up in pain. She dared not relax for a moment; if she fell into the hands of the bandits, she could at least die. But if she were captured, not only would her life be in danger, but the things hidden in her clothes would also fall into enemy hands.

She gritted her teeth and used all her strength to prop herself up and look ahead. Not far away, on the hillside below, there seemed to be a faint patch of green, like a thicket of shrubs, and perhaps a water source.

"Just a little longer...we'll be there soon..." she murmured to herself, her fingertips gripping the hem of her clothes tightly, the rough pages digging into her palms, yet becoming the only source of strength that sustained her at that moment.

Just as she was trying to move forward again, she suddenly heard the faint sound of horses' hooves in the distance, mixed with shouts of voices: "Search carefully! The two carriages that Old Beard hijacked, and the four guards were all servants of the Qin family. That poisonous woman can't have gone far! Find her, and the Marquis will reward you handsomely!"

Qin Baolian froze, her heart leaping into her throat.

Ignoring the pain, she quickly rolled into the nearby bushes, grabbing dry branches and leaves to cover herself completely, barely daring to breathe—

How could they catch up so quickly?

The sound of horses' hooves grew closer; she could clearly hear the hooves pounding on the stones and the soldiers parting the grass. She could even hear them talking: "This godforsaken place doesn't even have a road. How far could that woman have gone? She must be hiding around here!"

Cold sweat streamed down her face. She bit her lower lip tightly, trying not to make a sound.