“You dare ask me for money? I’ve been bleeding and sweating to guard this godforsaken city, all for wretched scum like you and your whole family back home—who knows how they’re faring now. You want treatment and expect me to pay? You’re asking for death!” The bearded man spat, his saliva landing on the young man’s body. His rage flared: “I don’t care if you’re a doctor or from some medicine shop—I’ll hack you traveling quacks who cheat people out of their money to death!”
The young man covered his face with his hand, head bowed, saying nothing.
The bearded man kicked him twice more, cursing for quite a while before heading toward the door.
Wei Jia was furious. He had never seen anyone bully people like this and couldn’t help but step forward, blocking the bearded man’s path.
But Mo Zi forcefully pulled him back. At a time like this, playing the hero and teaching someone a lesson would lead to extremely tragic consequences. Yuling’s capital city was full of Daqiu soldiers—if they got riled up, it would be no joke.
The bearded man had been about to glare, thinking someone wanted to pick a fight, but when he saw Mo Zi, his eyes gleamed with a wolf-like light.
“My cousin was anxious to buy medicine and accidentally blocked the good man’s way—he didn’t mean to.” Mo Zi saw the lecherous look in the bearded man’s eyes, and her expression grew slightly cold.
“It’s nothing serious. If this young fellow hadn’t blocked me, I wouldn’t have had the chance to see such a beautiful young lady. What seems to be troubling you, miss? How about I examine you?”
As he spoke, he actually reached out to pinch Mo Zi’s face.
Just as everyone was about to intervene, Mo Zi said a few words.
They were in the Daqiu language.
The bearded man’s expression immediately changed, though his gaze held doubt.
Mo Zi pulled out a brocade pouch from her bosom, untied the knot, and showed him what was inside.
The bearded man immediately dropped to one knee, repeatedly saying several phrases without daring to raise his head, then fled out the door at a run.
“What did you say to make him run like he was fleeing for his life?” Ding Gou asked.
“I told him I was a young lady from the Duan Ge family, traveling here with my brother. For showing me such disrespect, I demanded he give me his name so my brother could take his head and wash away my shame.” Mo Zi tucked the brocade pouch away. “He didn’t believe me, so I showed him the phoenix stone. Purple phoenix stones—the larger they are, the more precious. Those the size of a pigeon egg or larger can only be worn by royalty. Even if other nobles receive them as imperial gifts, they can only treasure them carefully. It’s rare to use one like this to prove one’s exalted status.”
“I have two questions,” Wei Jia eagerly asked. “First, you clearly look Han—how could you impersonate a young lady from the Duan Ge family? Second, where did you get a purple phoenix stone as large as a pigeon egg?”
This fellow was talking about her impersonation right in front of the young man. Mo Zi sighed. Although Great Zhou had no shortage of up-and-coming military officers, their actual combat experience was zero—these days they didn’t even conduct military exercises.
“Duan Ge is the only Daqiu noble family that intermarries with Han women. Because of this, though they’re nobles, their bloodline is mixed and they’re not particularly well-regarded. However, their clan members have performed excellently in the military and chose the right side, supporting the current Daqiu king to this day. The Daqiu king doesn’t reject intermarriage with Han people—much like myself—so the Duan Ge clan’s status has steadily risen, second only to the Ke Na. Many young ladies in the Duan Ge family’s main and branch lines have Han features like mine. It was perfect to borrow that identity.
As for this phoenix stone—I stole it.” She couldn’t very well say in front of this young man that she’d obtained it from the emperor as a precaution.
Wei Jia followed her gaze, suddenly understanding. He knocked himself on the head to indicate his stupidity and closed his mouth.
The young man had already raised his head, watching them with wary eyes. Whether it was impersonation or something else, their identities were definitely suspicious.
Mo Zi knew this but didn’t approach. “May I ask if the physician here is still surnamed Ji?”
The young man probably felt there was no hiding it, so he nodded.
Mo Zi saw hope and smiled. “Is Lady Ji, née Miao, here?”
“What do you want with her?” The young man didn’t relax for a moment, his cheeks flushed red, his eyes fierce.
“Please inform her on our behalf that the person who once saved her life has come to seek a favor.” Mo Zi’s smile was sincere.
The young man was momentarily dazed, his resistance completely gone, and he turned to go inside.
Before long, hurried footsteps could be heard. The curtain was suddenly swept aside, and a middle-aged couple emerged. The man leaned on a wooden crutch, wearing an old blue robe. The woman wore plain cloth skirt and blouse—the skirt was short by a segment, extended with hemp cloth. The fabric of the skirt and the patches on the young man’s clothing were of the same material and color.
After the couple clearly saw Mo Zi, they immediately fell to their knees and kowtowed three times to her.
Seeing this, the young man quickly knelt and kowtowed as well.
“Miss Song, we thought we’d never see you again in this lifetime.” This middle-aged man was Doctor Ji.
“My wife has been saying that if she couldn’t hold on and died without seeing you, she couldn’t rest in peace.”
Lady Miao wept uncontrollably.
Seeing these old acquaintances from years past, Mo Zi’s eyes also grew misty, but she wasn’t one to cry easily. She quickly helped Lady Miao to her feet, then had Zan Jin and Ding Gou help up Doctor Ji and the young man.
Doctor Ji had the young man close the shop and invited Mo Zi to sit in the inner hall.
The inner hall, originally used for treating patients, was in complete disarray—pots, bowls, ladles, basins, bedding and quilts, household items piled in every corner.
Doctor Ji said awkwardly, “To let the young lady see such poverty and wretchedness, it’s truly—” He sighed. “I’m incompetent. The money the young lady gave us back then to open the shop and buy the estate hasn’t been repaid, yet our home was seized by others.”
Mo Zi gently patted Lady Miao’s back, saying, “It doesn’t matter. In such chaotic times of war, I’m already greatly comforted that you’ve preserved your lives. It’s not that you’ve lost your family, but that you’ve lost your house. Losing a house is easy—in the future we can just buy a better one.”
Hearing these words, Wei Jia once again admired her thoughtful heart.
“Who is this young man?” Mo Zi pointed at the young man.
“Two years ago when the Daqiu people invaded, this child was lying by our back door barely alive. We happened to have three household registrations for Ji Xin Hall. I couldn’t bear to let those Daqiu people torture him, so I saved him and adopted him as my godson, hoping he could continue the Ji family line.” Lady Miao finally stopped crying. “Qiu’er, kowtow to the young lady.
Without her saving my life and finding your godfather to be my lifelong companion, you wouldn’t have your life either.”
Ji Qiu immediately knelt again, kowtowing loudly.
Mo Zi told him to rise, but he looked to his godmother. Clearly, he was a very filial child.
“Let him up.” She couldn’t waste time and went straight to the point. “My journey here was hasty, so I’ll be brief. My ship needs to go to Daqiu and requires someone to accompany it. In Yuling, the business that still thrives and is also popular in Daqiu is none other than Zuo Gu’s. I know you hate him to the bone and probably never thought you’d have any connection with this person again in this lifetime. But I truly need your help.”
Lady Miao was the maternal aunt that Zuo Gu had sold. After becoming a concubine in a wealthy household, the principal wife wouldn’t tolerate her and she suffered constant torment. Fortunately, her husband treated her well, and she lived in trepidation for many years. After her husband died, the principal wife drove her from the home with nothing. She wanted to die but was saved by Mo Zi, who happened to pass by while staying at a separate estate. Later, Mo Zi even introduced her to Doctor Ji.
Lady Miao tightly grasped Mo Zi’s hand. “Young lady, what are you saying? If not for you, I would have long left this world and never imagined I could enjoy several years of such good life. Though days are hard now, with him and this child, I’m very content. When one grows old, there’s no more hatred or resentment. Didn’t the young lady advise me to remember the good things to keep my heart joyful, so my time in this world wouldn’t be wasted? I tried it and found it truly correct. Whatever the young lady wants me to do, just say it. Even if it costs me this life, I have no complaints.”
Mo Zi laughed. “Aunt Miao, these words won’t scare me to death, but they’ll scare Doctor Ji and Qiu’er. It’s not that extreme—I only need you to see one person, not Zuo Gu.”
“Who?” The couple spoke in unison.
“Zuo Gu’s mother, who is your former eldest aunt.” Mo Zi could have Su Lan make the introduction, but she had learned from Su Lan that Mother Zuo’s decision to become a nun was partly due to guilt toward Lady Miao, so she had come to find Lady Miao with the mindset of giving it a try. Honestly, she had thought the Ji couple would have fled as refugees.
“Isn’t she already dead?” Toward this eldest aunt who hadn’t treated her badly but was soft-eared and extremely doting toward her son, Lady Miao felt more resignation than anything.
“She only became a nun. The reason for becoming a nun is somewhat related to you. Zuo Gu is a filial son—fearing someone might use his mother to threaten him, he told the outside world she was dead. You only need to see her once and ask her to help me with a word, so Zuo Gu will take me into Daqiu.” Mo Zi looked around. “If you’re willing, you can come with me. Though I can’t guarantee wealth and honor, at least I can find you a somewhat more stable place to live.”
“We didn’t leave precisely because we were waiting for you, young lady. When your family suffered such great calamity and you disappeared without a trace, my wife and I discussed it and decided to stay, because we didn’t know when you might return and need a place to take shelter.” Doctor Ji explained their reason for staying. “If the young lady is going to such a perilous place as Daqiu, our family of three is willing to follow. The world is already in chaos. From now on, wherever the young lady is, we’ll be there too. Whether stable or unstable, even if it means going through fire and water, we won’t hesitate.”
Mo Zi hadn’t known that this couple had stayed behind for her sake. This time she truly couldn’t hold back her tears.
Seeing her cry, Lady Miao turned to comforting her instead.
Thus, everyone helped the family of three pack simple luggage—though they brought all the medicinal materials—locked up the shop, and returned to the ship.
Zhong An remarked that he’d seen people hire physicians with medicine apprentices, but never seen anyone hire a physician with their whole family and belongings.
After hearing Mo Zi’s simple explanation, Xiao Wei had no position to agree or disagree. The emperor had said she was in charge on the ship. He only reminded her that the contents of the secret edict couldn’t be leaked. Everything else was up to her.
On this ship, there were only five people who truly knew the purpose of this journey.
Mo Zi worked extremely quickly. That very day, she took Su Lan and Lady Miao to see Old Lady Zuo.
Indeed, having prepared an extra move proved useful. When Su Lan requested an audience, Old Lady Zuo said her worldly connections were severed and refused. Finally, Mo Zi and Lady Miao borrowed Zan Jin and Ding Gou’s qinggong to fly over the nunnery walls.
When old acquaintances met, how moved and emotional they were need not be described in detail.
Old Lady Zuo had been tricked by her son into allowing Lady Miao to marry as a concubine, and her conscience had been uneasy ever since. Now that she could finally resolve this karmic debt, she agreed to help. She personally wrote a letter and presented a gold hairpin that Zuo Gu had once given her as a filial gift, handing them to Mo Zi.
That evening, Mo Zi learned that the Zuo residence was hosting a spring pear banquet. She thought to herself—perfect timing!