TWWDS - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Chao Qingxiu said, "Please do not stand in the doorway. Come in and talk."

The constable waved a hand. "No need. I have to head back and patrol the street right away."

Chao Qingxiu said, "Even so, the county office is far from Qingbo Street. Come in for a cup of tea before you set out, would you?"

The constable grinned. "In that case, I shall not refuse."

When a new visitor arrived, Li Yi promptly brought over the teapot and poured him a cup of herbal tea.

As soon as the constable saw her, he seemed to guess why Li Yi was there, and he sighed. "You are a kind-hearted young lady."

Under ordinary circumstances, no one would hire a sick person to do such work.

Chao Qingxiu said frankly, "I live alone, so I have few such concerns."

Moreover, with Qingxin Formula equipped, she had no fear of catching the illness.

Because Chao Qingxiu had been so courteous, the constable chatted a little longer about ordinary matters. Before taking his leave, he raised his head, glanced at the sky, and said, "It has been raining constantly these past few days. If you want to find someone to repaper your house, ask around on Downhill Street. Many fine craftsmen are there." Only then did he stand and take his leave along with Young Master Xu.

When the two visitors had both left, Chao Qingxiu cleared away the tea cups, then placed the delivered cloth in a wooden chest.

As for the five strings of copper cash that had just been brought, she had meant to buy another quilt for the two Li sisters, but Li Yi had firmly refused.

Li Yi's expression held a touch of emotion and a touch of rueful wonder that her employer truly did not know how to make every penny count.

Ready-made clothes and bedding were expensive here, with labor costs accounting for a large share of the prices.

Li Yi showed Chao Qingxiu a trick for saving money. Using the hundred copper coins in wages she had already received, she went out to buy dry grass and a roll of straw matting. For another ten copper coins or so, she bought a large bundle of cloth scraps to use as stuffing. Once she returned home, she sewed a quilt cover herself. Not only did she soon finish a simple quilt, but she still had some of her wages left.

After all, it was for household use. The stitching did not have to meet a high standard; if it would just do, that was enough.

Chao Qingxiu came over to look and praised her. "Your sewing is very good."

Li Yi shook her head. "You are too kind, Miss. If I were truly skilled at sewing, I would have made needlework in my spare time to help support the household."

Of course, she also understood why Miss Chao had praised her. If Li Yi's work were merely "good enough for household use," it would make people seriously doubt that Chao Qingxiu had been born into a well-to-do family and belonged to the sort who always had attendants wherever they went. After all, anyone who had to mend a split seam in their own sleeve from time to time could not be this hopeless at sewing.

---

After temporarily solving the problems of money and daily living, Chao Qingxiu could finally begin the life she had always wanted, staying quietly at home.

Turn down overtime. Overtime makes people travel through time.

For most of the time she did not leave the house, Chao Qingxiu sat beneath the eaves reading, using the meridian diagrams in the Medical Arts to sense the path of her inner breath.

During this period, the only contact she had with anyone outside was hiring a craftsman once for three strings of cash. She had the most severely damaged parts of the house simply repaired, and the half-collapsed boundary wall in the rear courtyard put back in order.

From that point on, every trace of the box Chao Qingxiu had found, which contained the property deed, vanished without a trace.

The tenth day of staying at home.

After testing the matter repeatedly, Chao Qingxiu had finally confirmed one of her suspicions.

That morning, she unequipped Qingxin Formula from the Skill Slot. Normally, the vital energy in her body would disperse along with it, but today, from the time she rose until evening, Chao Qingxiu never lost the sense of the inner breath in her lower abdomen. At that moment, she sat cross-legged on the couch with her eyes closed, embracing the primal essence and guarding the One. Qi moved with her intent, and vital energy traveled through her meridians in one great circulation before returning to her lower abdomen.

Once she realized she could control her inner breath without the Skill Slot, Chao Qingxiu knew she had discovered how to cultivate inner strength. From this day forward, even if she stopped equipping Qingxin Formula, she would not become completely powerless. At worst, her combat strength would be diminished.

In numerical terms, her cultivation rating had been 5 when she first transmigrated. After equipping a manual for cultivating inner strength, it had risen to 32; with the Skill Slot now empty, it stood at 12. The parenthetical note had changed from "at least managed to keep running" to "has practiced rudimentary inner force."

Time spent training in martial arts always passed quickly. Chao Qingxiu slowly opened her eyes, and the light outside had already grown very dim.

This age had no clocks, and the native inhabitants usually judged the time by the sky.

Every day around 4 p.m., Li Yi would come to call for her.

"Would you like to come out for supper, Miss?"

Chao Qingxiu called back, "I will come right out."

She noticed that the person asking her was not Li Yi, but Li Yao.

Li Yao's voice no longer carried the dry hoarseness and weakness it had when she first arrived. Chao Qingxiu had obtained proper medicine for her once more and had used inner breath to open her lung meridians. Her condition improved by the day. Six days earlier, she had been able to walk about normally, and now she could do some simple work.

There were no departing footsteps outside. Chao Qingxiu opened the door and saw Li Yao still standing there, holding an outfit in her hands.

Li Yao said, "I had nothing to do these past two days, so I made you an outfit, Miss. The stitching is rough. Please do not dislike it."

Chao Qingxiu inclined her body. "Thank you for your trouble." She then advised, "You have not fully recovered. Do not tax yourself; there is no harm in resting for another two days."

A faint smile crossed Li Yao's face. "I have lain in bed too long and am terribly bored. I wanted to find something to do."

Since her transmigration, meals in Chao Qingxiu's home had always been simple. In the evening, the table held only a dish of boiled greens, a bowl of steamed eggs with minced meat, a plate of steamed buns, and three bowls of porridge. For an ordinary person, the provisions she provided were hardly poor. After all, there were at least some flecks of meat to see every day.

Before they ate, Li Yi brought over a visiting card and said, "This afternoon, someone from the Xu family left a card saying that Young Master Xu would call tomorrow."

To avoid being disturbed while cultivating inner strength, Chao Qingxiu would generally take a nap as an excuse and remain alone in her bedroom.

Someone from the Xu family had called earlier that day but had failed to see the mistress of the house.

Chao Qingxiu took the card and glanced at it, one brow slightly raised. Though she had helped the other young man look for his sister, only now did she learn that Young Master Xu's full name was Xu Zhongzhi.

The next day, not long after breakfast, Xu Zhongzhi arrived in person, just as he had said he would the day before.

Xu Zhongzhi still brought some gifts when he entered, but unlike the previous visit, a sorrow he could not dispel clouded his features.

Chao Qingxiu caught the faint scent of medicine on him.

Xu Zhongzhi said bitterly, "It was hardly right for me to intrude like this without warning. But when I called the other day, I saw you reading a medical book. Might I ask you to go to my humble home and examine a patient?"

He had no real idea how far Chao Qingxiu's medical knowledge extended. He had only heard that Li Yao, who had been at death's door half a month before, had recovered and was now working in the house. With a glimmer of hope, he had come to ask for her help.

Chao Qingxiu remembered what had happened before and guessed, "Is your elder sister's headache still not improved?"

Xu Zhongzhi said, "It has grown worse. Previously, even when my sister's headaches began, as long as she rested quietly for three or five days, she would always get a little better. This time, however..."

He could not finish, but Chao Qingxiu already understood what he meant.

After considering for a moment, Chao Qingxiu spoke frankly. "I have only read a few pages of medical texts. I cannot claim to understand medicine. Moreover, Sister Li's condition is not one of the more puzzling ailments. Given her normally strong constitution, a little care has already brought her more than halfway back." Seeing the disappointment on his face, she smiled. "But if you do not mind, I can go and take a look."

The mule carriage Xu Zhongzhi had come in was very spacious. Chao Qingxiu stepped lightly into it and told Li Yao to keep watch over the house.

"If I do not come back tonight, eat without waiting for me."

Li Yao said, "Do be careful in everything, Miss."

Chao Qingxiu left with empty hands, wholly unlike those physicians who called on patients carrying medicine chests. She really did look like someone who was merely going to take a look.

The carriage moved slowly, its wheels rolling over the stone paving with a clattering rumble.

After resting with her eyes closed for a moment, Chao Qingxiu suddenly opened her mouth. "What symptoms is your sister experiencing, and what did the previous physicians say?"

Xu Zhongzhi said, "It is a headache, so severe that at times she cannot even get out of bed." He added, "She has been prone to it since she was ten. Whenever the seasons change or she overexerts herself, it easily flares up, especially in spring. Usually it does not hinder her, and even when she can barely carry on, resting quietly for three or five days will ease it. But since the New Year this year, she has never really improved, and she has gone to the academy much less often." He continued, "We consulted Dr. Gu from Jishitang before. She prescribed some dispersing formulas, and the other physicians said much the same as she did."

Chao Qingxiu caught the emphasis on "before" and asked, "Where has that Dr. Gu gone? Is she no longer in Gaofang Prefecture?"

On hearing this, Xu Zhongzhi explained, "Dr. Gu is already very old. Before the New Year, she returned with her husband to her hometown of Shouzhou to spend their later years in retirement."

Chao Qingxiu asked, "How has your sister's sleep and appetite been recently?"

Xu Zhongzhi sighed. "My sister's head always hurts, so she does not sleep well, and her appetite has been poor as well." His expression grew darker. "Given my sister's grades, if she had not been weighed down by her illness, she should already be studying at the Chongming Academy in the Secondary Capital."

In modern times, failing to gain admission to a key institution for reasons unrelated to one's grades was a matter of deep regret. In an ancient era that placed such weight on the imperial examinations, it was all the more so. Chao Qingxiu nodded slightly, showing that she understood Xu Zhongzhi's feelings.

If Chao Qingxiu had not equipped Medical Arts, she could only have advised him to seek a physician. But with Medical Arts equipped, three or four possibilities had already begun to take shape in her mind, among them damage to the meridians of the head and stagnation of the liver's vital energy. She still had to examine his sister's pulse before reaching a judgment.

As they talked, the mule carriage stopped outside the Xu residence.

The Xu family compound had three courtyards, one behind another. It stood on Crescent Moon Street, in a neighborhood on the edge of central Gaofang Prefecture. The official academy was close by, making it very convenient for the three siblings to go out and study.

An elderly family servant was keeping watch by the gate. When he saw Chao Qingxiu, he looked surprised. Because the eldest Miss Xu had been ill, he had come to know many of the city's physicians by sight, but he had never seen this young woman before. She looked refined and scholarly, with a spare, carefree air, like an idle cloud or a wandering crane. For a moment, he could not tell whether his young master had simply had a spectacular run of luck and truly encountered an expert of unusual abilities, or whether swindlers of the martial world had begun taking on the guise of youth.

A woman of about thirty called out to Xu Zhongzhi, then asked, "Are you going to see the eldest young lady?"

Xu Zhongzhi nodded and asked, "Nanny Wang, has my elder sister's medicine finished simmering?"

Nanny Wang replied, "It is still simmering in the kitchen. I will go and check."

Chao Qingxiu said gently, "If it is convenient, might I take a look as well?"

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