Mistakenly Treated The Princess As A Concubine - Chapter 8

“Detoxifying fragrance poison and finding the formula is difficult. Even if you find the formula, those fragrance materials are not cheap. You’ll have to figure it out yourself. The materials I’ve stored won’t be sold cheaply to you, don’t think you can get a bargain from me,” Zheng Qianqin lectured Wen Zhuojin.

She was about to say something else but paused when she saw Wen Zhuojin seriously reading the prescription. Wen Zhuojin was taller than her by almost half a head, her youthful innocence had faded considerably, and her eyes were clear and focused.

The timid little sapling from before had already grown, full of life and courage, not like a typical young lady from a noble family.

But, after all, she was still a woman. She was also from a marquis family, and in the future, she would have to marry, bound by customs and rules, unable to act as freely as she did in her youth.

Whether or not to save the person was something she didn’t need to say more about. When the time came and there was no money, there would be no way to save anyone.

“Alright, I’ve brought you some commonly used herbs to leave behind. The rest can wait until morning. You can go to the pharmacy then. I’m leaving now, I’m too old to stay up any longer,” Zheng Qianqin said, leaving some herbs for Wen Zhuojin and not charging her for the consultation.

Wen Zhuojin quickly set down the prescription and hurried over to help Zheng Qianqin pack up her things.

“Aunt Zheng, you promised me double the consultation fee. It’s so late now, I appreciate your trouble,” Wen Zhuojin said, handing Zheng Qianqin the pouch with the fee and supporting her as she headed for the door.

“The calming fragrance you made before was very effective. When you have time, make me some more. You can consider it as part of the consultation fee,” Zheng Qianqin said, pushing away the pouch Wen Zhuojin offered.

“Aunt Zheng, you really know how to plan. That fragrance I sell in the official shop costs dozens of taels of silver per piece,” Wen Zhuojin laughed, knowing that Zheng Qianqin was sharp-tongued but soft-hearted, so she didn’t insist.

When Zheng Qianqin arrived, she was carried in a sedan chair by servants sent by Jin Rui. When she left, the same sedan chair carried her, ensuring that the elderly woman was not exposed to the cold.

Watching Zheng Qianqin leave, Wen Zhuojin returned to prepare the medicine according to the treatment for wind-cold, instructing Jin Rui to start brewing the medicine. She then returned to the room where Yan Qinglan was.

Wen Zhuojin first lit a gentler calming incense, then continued to clean and treat Yan Qinglan’s wounds.

Knowing that the person before her was suffering from internal exhaustion and had been poisoned, Wen Zhuojin felt increasingly unsettled.

In the candlelight, with her eyes closed, the woman appeared soft and harmless, showing no signs of aggression.

Anyone could easily harm her.

But what kind of cold-hearted and cruel person could bear to hurt her?

Wen Zhuojin even thought, if she had helped redeem her the first time they met, would her suffering have been lessened?

But such a hypothetical didn’t exist and seemed somewhat absurd.

After all, at that time, Wen Zhuojin didn’t have that much money.

After cleaning and bandaging the wounds on her arms and ankles, Wen Zhuojin hesitated about whether to continue cleaning.

Thinking of how cautious the woman had been before, Wen Zhuojin decided it was best to wait until she woke up and get her consent first.

After all, she wasn’t truly a cat.

She left the undergarment on her, removing the rest of her clothes.

The ground dragon was still warm, and she covered Yan Qinglan with a slightly thin blanket. Even so, when the blanket was placed over her, Yan Qinglan, still deeply asleep under the influence of the calming incense, let out a low groan as her wounds were touched, causing her pain.

Wen Zhuojin gently patted Yan Qinglan, but her furrowed brow didn’t relax, and a faint, cold fragrance still lingered around her.

An indescribable feeling spread in Wen Zhuojin’s heart.

Who would have thought that the price of a single incense pill would lead to a person, and to keep them would probably require hundreds of incense pills.

Not to mention that her uncle still hadn’t been freed.

If more silver was needed from Wu Yuanheng tomorrow, how could there be any left for her to buy medicine?

“Miss, the medicine is ready.” Jin Rui’s voice came from outside, snapping Wen Zhuojin out of her thoughts.

“Miss, let me feed her. You can rest. The hot water is ready, and you can bathe at any time.” Jin Rui entered with the medicine and spoke to Wen Zhuojin.

“…Alright.” Wen Zhuojin paused for a moment before nodding.

It didn’t matter who fed her, and Jin Rui was more experienced. However, Wen Zhuojin felt a sense of discomfort when she saw Jin Rui touching Yan Qinglan.

It felt strange.

Although Yan Qinglan was in a sleeping state, she still had the ability to swallow. Jin Rui helped her sit up, bringing the spoonful of medicine to her lips. Yan Qinglan instinctively swallowed it.

She might have been thirsty.

Her lips were dry.

The medicine went down, but she quickly spit it out again.

Accompanied by a low groan.

Soon, Wen Zhuojin noticed tears welling up at the corners of Yan Qinglan’s eyes.

Was she afraid of the bitterness?

So bitter that it brought tears to her eyes!

Wen Zhuojin told Jin Rui to wait and turned to have someone bring some brown sugar.

While Jin Rui fed her the medicine, Wen Zhuojin fed her sugar. It took quite a while to finish a bowl of medicine.

“Miss, this woman is so beautiful. Which family does she belong to, and how should we address her?” While tidying up, Jin Rui noticed Wen Zhuojin carefully wiping Yan Qinglan’s face with a handkerchief and cautiously asked.

Jin Rui had never seen Yan Qinglan and was a little curious.

As Jin Rui asked her question, Wen Zhuojin paused in her actions.

She didn’t know either.

It was becoming more and more absurd.

She had spent all this time thinking so much just by looking at the other person’s face.

She didn’t even know the person’s name.

She hadn’t carefully looked at the deed of sale yet.

“Bring some hot water and wash her hair.” Wen Zhuojin couldn’t think of a way to fabricate an identity, so she changed the topic.

Seeing this, Jin Rui didn’t ask any further questions.

When washing her hair, Jin Rui didn’t let Wen Zhuojin help.

Wen Zhuojin had something on her mind. She reached for the deed that Luan Niang had given her, thinking of looking at it, but then hesitated.

Wen Zhuojin exhaled, turned around to the outer room, and calmly took out the deed.

It was a deed of a lowly status, Liu Suniang, 25 years old, the former wife of Chu Haoting, a scholar at the Hanlin Academy, who had been implicated in the rebellion case of King Wenxuan…

Upon seeing the information, Wen Zhuojin nearly crumpled the deed in her hand.

The woman was indeed, as Luan Niang had said, a lowly-status person who had been demoted during this turmoil.

But she wasn’t alone—she had a family.

She had thought so much already, trying to figure out how to get money, how to treat her.

But even if she got the money and healed her, then what?

If she wanted to find her husband, if she wanted to leave, could Wen Zhuojin really force her to stay?

She wasn’t a real cat; she had her own will.

A hidden part of Wen Zhuojin’s heart was forced open.

She had fantasies about her.

She liked the way she looked.

She was so beautiful.

Otherwise, how many pitiful people were there out there? Why would she have chosen only to redeem her?

She had never been that purely kind of person.

But the deeper she thought, the more she didn’t dare to think.

Now, there was another huge obstacle standing in front of her.

Wen Zhuojin let out a long breath.

All her thoughts were crushed.

She would ask when the person woke up.

She didn’t even know where her family was, or whether they could protect themselves. She needed to figure all of this out.

Once she was better, she would find a way to help her get rid of her status and send her back to her family.

Wen Zhuojin thought to herself, and her mood immediately sank.

The night watchman passed outside, and it was already the third watch.

Wen Zhuojin glanced at the room. Jin Rui had already washed the woman’s hair and was now drying it with a towel.

Yan Qinglan’s hair was of very good quality. Even after being mistreated for so many days, it was still as black as coal and as smooth as silk.

It was clear that she had once lived a life of comfort and had been well taken care of.

“Jin Rui, thank you for your hard work tonight. I’ll come back tomorrow. I’ll leave the rest to you.” Wen Zhuojin’s gaze moved away from Yan Qinglan’s hair and spoke to Jin Rui.

“Miss, there are night patrols because of the curfew. Otherwise, you should stay here. Zirong has already spoken to Nanny Jiang, and you don’t need to worry,” Jin Rui quickly said.

“…It’s fine. There are other matters to attend to in the morning.” Wen Zhuojin said, still deciding to return to the Marquis’s residence for now.

For the time being, Yan Qinglan would not wake up.

Wen Zhuojin didn’t want to face her for now and decided it was better to return to the Marquis’s residence to sleep.

Jin Rui couldn’t persuade her, so she quickly followed Wen Zhuojin outside, bringing her cloak and hand warmer.

This small courtyard wasn’t far from the Marquis’s residence. Although there were night patrols, they weren’t very frequent, and Wen Zhuojin could avoid them by taking a detour.

Walking alone in the dark night, avoiding the patrolling guards with knives, Wen Zhuojin had never done such a thing before. It was her first time, but she wasn’t afraid.

The noise from nearby filled her ears, and the smell of bl00d and iron weapons lingered in her nose.

Wen Zhuojin didn’t know how many patrols were out that night, but she sensed that something was unusual.

While waiting in the corner for the guards to leave, she heard some voices.

“They said they’re looking for someone, but they didn’t give a picture. Just said to find suspicious people—how are we supposed to do that? It’s been days, but we haven’t found anyone.” The muttering voices reached her ears.

Wen Zhuojin thought about the person they had been searching for at Heavenly Xuan Palace.

For several days, there had been a constant presence of officials and soldiers in the streets.

Since there had already been so much turmoil, Wen Zhuojin didn’t pay much attention.

From what these people were saying, it seemed that the soldiers had also been searching for someone during the day.

Already dissatisfied with the court and the Crown Princess, knowing that the person they were looking for hadn’t been found, Wen Zhuojin’s mood lifted a little.

After the soldiers left, Wen Zhuojin continued her way back to the Marquis’s residence.

Inside the Marquis’s residence, Nanny Jiang was still awake, worried about Wen Zhuojin. When she saw Wen Zhuojin return, she was both startled and scared.

Quickly, Nanny Jiang prepared a hot meal for Wen Zhuojin, and she ate it.

“Miss, why are you so bold? Didn’t you say you wouldn’t come back? How did you manage to come back? How did you get here alone…?”

With Nanny Jiang around, her constant chatter distracted Wen Zhuojin from her thoughts.

After finishing the hot meal Nanny Jiang had prepared, Wen Zhuojin went to the washroom to take a bath.

Once her hair was dry, she sat by the candlelight and began flipping through the poison notes that Zheng Qianqin had given her.

After reading the *Compendium of Materia Medica* and learning a lot about the functions and various properties of incense materials and medicinal herbs, Wen Zhuojin read the poison notes on incense very quickly.

Poisonous incense also belonged to the art of incense, and after just flipping through a few pages, Wen Zhuojin became interested, her attention focused and undivided.

By the time the Yin hour arrived, Wen Zhuojin had slept for a bit and woke up at the Chen hour.

She needed to check on her uncle’s situation and ask how much money was still needed. She planned to send the silver she earned from selling incense yesterday.

She also needed to check on that woman at the house, prepare to go to the pharmacy for more medicine, and inquire at the blacksmith shop about how to remove the iron ring on her foot.

Having just read the poison notes on incense yesterday, and recalling the scent she had encountered while offering incense at the temple, Wen Zhuojin was eager to visit an incense shop to see what materials were available. She wondered how much more incense she could buy with the remaining silver.

She also needed to continue making incense and find other sales channels…

By early morning, Wen Zhuojin had so many things on her mind that she was yawning as she climbed over the wall.

Zirong, who followed Wen Zhuojin, was afraid that she might accidentally fall asleep, and she kept her hand on her, supporting her the whole way.

“Azhuo, you don’t need to send money. They agreed that my father can use his official title and nobility to offset the punishment. He should be demoted and sent to Zhaozhou as a governor. We can bring him out tomorrow,” Wu Yuanheng excitedly told Wen Zhuojin when they met at the shop they had arranged.

Upon hearing this, Wen Zhuojin sighed in relief.

However, Zhaozhou was a cold, harsh place. Being sent there was almost the same as being exiled, except that he wasn’t reduced to the status of a commoner. It was still a form of suffering.

“Will Uncle go alone, or will Aunt and her cousins go with him?” Wen Zhuojin asked.

“My mother will go with my father. The two younger brothers are still small, so they’ll stay with me in Yunjing City to study. I will be taking the imperial examination this year,” Wu Yuanheng replied.

“We need to prepare winter clothes, a carriage, food, and other things… By the way, let me know when you’re picking up Uncle. I want to visit him and Aunt, and also…” Wen Zhuojin spoke, feeling the burden that had weighed on her heart for the past few days lighten a little.

The two of them exchanged a few more words and then stopped talking. Wu Yuanheng had other matters to attend to, and Wen Zhuojin needed to go to the pharmacy and the blacksmith’s shop.

“By the way, do you know a person named Chu Haoting from the Hanlin Academy?” Wen Zhuojin asked just before leaving.

“He was originally a Scholar in the Hanlin Academy, a fourth-rank official. He was exiled to the southern Fujian region due to his involvement in the rebellion case against Prince Wenxuan, and his female family members were sent to the Bureau of Music. Why do you ask about him?” Wu Yuanheng replied.

“I heard his name in the market. There have been a lot of people suffering recently. Is Chu Haoting a good person like my uncle?” Wen Zhuojin cleared her throat to hide her unease and asked again.

“Lord Chu was a student of the Prime Minister. He was a well-known scholar, and in his time, he even placed as the third in the imperial examinations. I’ve met him a few times, and he is indeed a gentleman of proper character. This whole case was fabricated out of nothing,” Wu Yuanheng said, his expression showing some frustration.

“Ah, I see. You said his female family members were sent to the Bureau of Music—were they his wives and concubines? How pitiful,” Wen Zhuojin asked again.

“Lord Chu’s mother has already passed away. The only women in his household, aside from servants, are his wife. I’ve heard he has a deep affection for her, and although they’ve been married for many years without children, he never took any concubines,” Wu Yuanheng explained.

“Does his wife have family? Were they also implicated in the exile?” Wen Zhuojin asked.

“Ah, his wife only has one older brother, and after the incident, they severed ties to avoid being implicated. There are many such cases now,” Wu Yuanheng said.

Wen Zhuojin didn’t ask any more questions, feeling a bit unsettled.

Anyone who could become a top scholar in the imperial examinations must have exceptional talent, and their appearance would certainly be handsome.

Moreover, Wu Yuanheng had praised him as a gentleman of good character, which meant his moral integrity was surely trustworthy.

Not to mention, if he had children, it was common for some men to take concubines.

This Chu Haoting certainly seemed like a good person.

“Don’t be afraid, we’ll be fine,” Wu Yuanheng said, seeing Wen Zhuojin lower her head. He assumed she was asking these questions out of fear and offered her reassurance.

“Mm,” Wen Zhuojin responded softly.

When Wen Zhuojin left, her mind was still in a state of disarray.

However, she had completed everything that needed to be done.

She went to the pharmacy and bought enough medicine for three days, spending over 300 taels of silver. This included ginseng to help strengthen the body, which was quite expensive.

She also bought several types of incense materials, planning to experiment with blending them to see if they could suppress or alleviate the toxicity. This cost another 200+ taels.

She visited the blacksmith’s shop and found a tool called a “tiger clamp,” which seemed capable of removing the iron ring. However, it required some strength.

Wen Zhuojin spent the silver to buy a tiger clamp and then returned to the house with Zirong.