As spring deepened and the weather warmed, traveling merchants doing business in the capital began to increase, and Laiyi Inn was packed daily.

Lu Tong had stopped using the inn’s back kitchen to process medicinal herbs.

Firstly, with the increase in guests, all sorts of people were staying at the inn, and it was dangerous for a young lady to move about the inn late at night. Secondly, borrowing the kitchen daily would likely cause displeasure in even the most good-natured innkeeper’s heart, even if they didn’t say so.

Fortunately, the silver from selling the cattail pollen ash could sustain them for another half month, so they weren’t yet at the end of their rope.

Yin Zheng lay sprawled at the table, idly writing characters on it with tea-dipped fingers.

Her writing was beautiful, elegant, and graceful in the ornamental small script style. Even Lu Tong couldn’t help but look several times.

Catching Lu Tong’s gaze, Yin Zheng startled, hurriedly wiping away the watermarks with her sleeve: “Miss, I…”

“It’s very beautiful,” Lu Tong said softly.

Yin Zheng blushed: “Back at the pleasure house, we courtesans had to learn the four arts—zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. I wasn’t good at anything else, but my writing was passable, only…” She didn’t continue.

Lu Tong understood. Customers at pleasure houses might throw away thousands of gold for a pipa performance or offer hundreds of pearls to play chess with a refined courtesan, but they wouldn’t necessarily pay to watch a girl write characters.

A great scholar’s single character might be worth a thousand gold, but a courtesan’s writing wasn’t worth a copper. High and low, rich and poor, noble and base—people had long since drawn clear distinctions.

Yin Zheng loved writing, so when Lu Tong had her write on the white paper wrapping the medicinal tea, she always wrote with particular care. She asked Lu Tong: “But Miss, why have me write on the paper wrapping the medicinal tea?”

Lu Tong considered: “When we entered the capital, we saw tea houses and stalls everywhere along the streets. The people of Shenjing love drinking tea.”

Yin Zheng nodded.

“Even the smallest tea stall has fresh flowers displayed, their tea snacks are refined, and scholars gather to recite poetry and discuss literature—showing cultural sophistication.”

Yin Zheng seemed to understand: “So that’s why Miss made medicinal tea.”

Lu Tong smiled faintly.

She hadn’t made medicine pills or powder, but tea instead. Having Yin Zheng write poetry on the tea wrappings showed cultural refinement, and with better presentation, someone would surely be willing to try it.

As long as someone was willing to try, everything else would become much easier.

Yin Zheng vaguely understood some of this, but still worried, sighing: “I wonder when someone will come to buy our medicinal tea.”

Lu Tong looked out the window.

Across the way at the tavern, the wine banner fluttered in the wind, willow catkins drifted through doorways, and swallows flew low. Among the coming and going crowds, who would be the one to seek them out?

She withdrew her gaze, her lips curving into the faintest of smiles.

“Soon.”

…

While Yin Zheng worried about getting no response to their distributed medicinal tea, at Benevolent Heart Medical Hall, young master Du Changqing wasn’t having an easy time either.

At the long counter, the account book was just a thin volume, and this thin volume had only a few pages written since the New Year—their income was truly pitiful.

Du Changqing flipped through the account book back and forth, and as he looked, a heavy sigh escaped his throat: “We’re finished!”

Ah Cheng was used to this—every month the master would calculate how long until they went bankrupt. Counting from when the old master passed away until now, the countdown grew shorter and shorter. He estimated that in another month or so, there’d be no need to count anymore.

Du Changqing was quite troubled.

Benevolent Heart Medical Hall now had no physician, and to save expenses, he had dismissed even the medicine-preparing assistants, keeping only Ah Cheng and himself. However, relying on just a few old customers to maintain business wasn’t realistic. Moreover, as the old saying goes, “When people leave, tea grows cold”—after Old Master Du’s death, his good-for-nothing son had reverted to type, and as the family property dwindled, his former fair-weather friends no longer played along or sought his company.

The world’s warmth and coldness, people’s rising and falling fortunes—throughout history, east and west, it was always thus.

While he was sighing deeply, Ah Cheng, who was wiping tables, suddenly paused and looked toward the door in surprise: “Master Hu?”

Du Changqing froze, looked up, and indeed saw Master Hu’s carriage stopped outside, with Master Hu hurriedly getting down and walking toward the shop.

Master Hu had visited just five or six days ago—by timing, he shouldn’t be here now.

Though suspicious inside, he put on a warm smile and called out: “Uncle, what brings you here suddenly?”

Master Hu strode into the medicine shop in a few steps, his gaze sweeping the shop: “The medicinal tea…”

Du Changqing was bewildered: “What medicinal tea?”

“The… the… the medicinal tea in the spring gift package you gave me the other day!” Master Hu’s stutter emerged when he got anxious.

Hearing this, Du Changqing’s heart sank, immediately thinking something must have gone wrong with the tea. After all, the most taboo thing in a medicine shop was items of unknown origin. He’d only met that woman once, and three qian of silver for cattail pollen ash was unusually cheap—plus she’d given him two portions of tea as a bonus. She must have had ulterior motives.

He shouldn’t have been greedy and given the tea to Master Hu!

But… he and Ah Cheng had drunk the other package of tea for several days without any problems. Could only one package be poisoned? Bah, if he’d known, he and Ah Cheng should have drunk the poisoned package instead. If someone died, selling the medical hall wouldn’t be enough compensation!

Though thinking this, he said aloud: “Uncle, actually that medicinal tea was made by someone else. They left it and ran off, we were also…”

“…That medicinal tea is excellent!”

Du Changqing’s prepared words caught in his throat.

Master Hu took a sip of water that Ah Cheng had brought, speaking more fluently: “I’ve drunk it for five days, and my nasal congestion has improved greatly! I can even go to the river embankment now!” Master Hu was very excited, “Changqing, this medicinal tea of yours is excellent—it’s relieved an old ailment I’ve had for years!”

Du Changqing stood dumbfounded.

Master Hu grasped his hand, and for the first time, his gaze was filled with genuine affection: “I knew you were a filial child, but how could I take advantage of my junior? Here’s twenty taels of silver,” he pulled two silver ingots from his robe and pressed them into Du Changqing’s hand, “and I want to buy five more packages.”

Standing behind Du Changqing, Ah Cheng watched the scene with wide eyes.

Seeing Du Changqing’s silence, Master Hu continued: “Oh right, what were you saying just now about the person who delivered the tea running off—you can’t find them? Is there any more of this medicinal tea?”

Du Changqing snapped back to his senses: “Yes! There is!”

His mind raced, and he immediately broke into a bright smile: “Of course there is. The person selling the medicinal tea is eccentric and aloof and was planning to leave, but we got along very well. We’ve become good friends, and they’ve agreed to supply medicinal tea to Benevolent Heart Medical Hall from now on.” He said: “Uncle, you’ve come to the right place. In all of Shenjing, only our Benevolent Heart Medical Hall has this tea. Please sit and have some water—they don’t live nearby, so delivering the tea will take some time, please wait.”

As he spoke, Du Changqing tucked the silver ingots into his sleeve and pulled Ah Cheng into the back room.

Sweat beaded on his forehead and nose as he urgently asked: “Do you remember which inn those two said they were staying at?”

Ah Cheng looked blank.

Du Changqing was frantic.

He hadn’t paid much attention to those two at the time, and now when he needed to find them, he naturally couldn’t remember the address they’d given.

“Laiqi Inn?”

Ah Cheng shook his head.

“Caimi Inn?”

Ah Cheng waved his hands repeatedly.

Du Changqing anxiously ran his fingers through his hair, feeling regret for the first time in his life.

“Damn it,” he was both anxious and angry, “what was that in called?!”