TMBIABHL: Chapter 8

 Character & Term Glossary 

· Ye Chutang (叶初棠): The female protagonist, a reborn heir to an ancient medical family. The "Black-Hearted Lotus." Observant and sharp.

· Little Five / Xiao Wu (小五): Ye Chutang's youngest sister. Has a surprising affinity for numbers and money.

· Shen Yanchuan (沈延川): The male lead. A nobleman recuperating at the clinic. Evidently wealthy and of high status.

· Auntie Yang (杨婶子): A neighbor who is friendly with the Ye family.

· Zhou Shi (周氏): Auntie Yang's niece. Her husband Liu Si works for the Cao family. Her behavior remains highly suspicious.

· River Shrimp (河虾): The established allergen that caused Cao Chengwu's death.

---

Chapter 8: For His Face, Or His Money?

Zhou Shi was terrified. "I—I didn't know!"

Ye Chutang looked at her, her dark, gentle eyes seeming to see right through everything.

Zhou Shi guiltily tightened her grip on the bottle of Golden Sore Medicine, opened her mouth, and said hurriedly, "Th-Then I'll go back and check—"

With that, she kept her head down and rushed out.

Ye Chutang kindly reminded her, "He's probably been taken to the magistrate's office by now. You won't see him even if you go back."

Zhou Shi's steps faltered, her expression conflicted.

Auntie Yang had been thinking about this matter all along. She had wanted to ask when she saw Ye Chutang but hadn't found the right moment. Hearing this now, she couldn't resist her curiosity. "Physician Ye, so you're saying the Cao family's Second Young Master's death wasn't an accident?"

Auntie Yang certainly believed Cao Chengwu couldn't possibly have been killed by the Ye family's Fourth Lad. These children were raised by Physician Ye, and every single one of them was sensible.

Although the Ye family's Fourth Lad liked to get into trouble, he absolutely did not have the viciousness to deal such a deadly hand to anyone.

During the day, she had gathered bits and pieces from the crowd and assumed Cao Chengwu had died from an allergic reaction after eating something he couldn't have. She never imagined there was more to the story!

Ye Chutang nodded gently. "The current suspicion is that someone intentionally fed him river shrimp the night before."

Auntie Yang's eyes widened. "Intentionally!? Who would be so bold!? That was the Cao family's Second Young Master!"

Everyone in Jiangling knew the Cao family was notoriously difficult to provoke, and this Second Young Master was especially precious and deeply doted on.

And now someone had the gall to kill him!

Ye Chutang sighed softly. "Yes. I heard Madam Cao had a very difficult time conceiving him and has always cherished him immensely. She raised him for over ten years, and who would have thought something like this would happen... Madam Cao has cried herself unconscious several times. Who knows how heartbroken Master Cao will be when he returns."

Auntie Yang clicked her tongue. "Exactly! Master Cao doted on that younger son even more than the elder one! Otherwise, he wouldn't have been spoiled to that extent! If he finds out who did it, I bet he'd want to skin them alive!"

Clatter!

Zhou Shi, who was just about to leave, stumbled and nearly fell.

Ye Chutang looked over, asking with concern, "Are you alright?"

Zhou Shi shook her head, her lips pale.

Auntie Yang scolded her, "How can someone your age still be so clumsy!"

Zhou Shi steadied herself, bid farewell to the two again, and turned to leave in a hurry.

Auntie Yang watched the figure disappear outside the gate and couldn't help but mutter, "I don't know what's wrong with her today, so distracted and absent-minded."

Ye Chutang smiled faintly. "Perhaps she's scared after hearing Cao Chengwu was intentionally killed."

Auntie Yang pursed her lips dismissively. "How could that be! She's not usually timid at all! When the Cao family came to block your gate and cause trouble this morning, she was pushing her way to the front to watch the excitement!"

Ye Chutang's interest was piqued. "Oh?"

Hearing her question, Auntie Yang thought she had brought up the daytime events and made her feel bad again, so she lowered her voice slightly.

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

"...Actually, having more onlookers was a good thing. With so many eyes watching, the Cao family couldn't just falsely accuse you!"

Thinking of this, Auntie Yang raised her thumb in admiration. "Physician Ye, you're truly amazing! If you hadn't reacted so quickly, your Fourth Lad really would have found it impossible to clear his name today, even if he jumped into the Yellow River!"

Ye Chutang smiled. "I still have to thank you, Auntie Yang, for getting the runners here so quickly. Otherwise, with the Cao family's numbers and influence, who knows what might have happened."

Auntie Yang quickly waved her hand. "Don't say such things, Physician Ye! You saved our Ping'er's life! This was the least I could do!"

Ye Chutang didn't stay much longer. After exchanging a few more words, she took her leave.

Auntie Yang, understanding she must be tired from running around all day, urged her to go back and rest.

"Physician Ye, set your mind at ease. Since the magistrate's office has started investigating, they'll surely find the real murderer soon!"

...

After returning, Ye Chutang personally decocted Shen Yanchuan's medicine.

Usually, this task fell to A-Yan or A-Feng. However, considering Shen Yanchuan had paid a hefty consultation fee, Ye Chutang decided to put in a bit more effort to make him feel the money was well spent.

On the other hand, she also hoped Shen Yanchuan's injuries would heal as quickly as possible, so he could leave sooner.

She had enough troubles of her own and didn't want to get implicated just from treating a patient.

After finishing all this, it was already late. Ye Chutang returned to her room.

As soon as she entered, she saw the little milk bun leaning over a small table, fiddling with an abacus, an account book open beside her.

Ye Chutang walked over and peeked at it. "Having fun with the calculations?"

The little one nodded vigorously at first, then hesitated and shook her head.

She stretched out her chubby little hand and started counting on her fingers.

—The clinic was closed today. No silver came in.

Ye Chutang ruffled her little head. "Tsk, even more of a little miser than your elder sister."

She had discovered long ago that Xiao Wu was very sensitive to numbers. Initially, just to amuse her, she had taught her mental arithmetic. Unexpectedly, through constant exposure, Xiao Wu had learned to read account books at a very young age.

While other children her age only thought about playing, Xiao Wu was different. Her greatest daily joy was playing with the abacus beads.

Over time, Ye Chutang had let her be.

"Don't worry, we have a big benefactor now. The consultation fee we collected is enough to cover what we'd make in several months of busy work."

Jiangling was, after all, a small place. No matter how good Ye Chutang's medical skills were, the money she could earn was limited.

Now that she had finally encountered someone she could overcharge, she naturally hadn't held back.

Xiao Wu's eyes lit up.

Ye Chutang hummed a laugh and pinched her nose.

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

"What, you like him just because he's good-looking?"

Xiao Wu was quiet and introverted, rarely warming up to anyone. Yet, she was different with Shen Yanchuan.

Ye Chutang estimated it was mostly because of his face.

Xiao Wu fumbled in her clothes for a moment and pulled something out.

Ye Chutang looked closely and suddenly froze.

It was a jade pendant.

Carved from mutton-fat white jade, it was of superior quality with exquisite craftsmanship, clearly very valuable.

Ye Chutang took it and examined it carefully, then asked Xiao Wu, "He gave this to you?"

Xiao Wu nodded emphatically.

—For Elder Sister! Pretty!

That man, though low-key, was clearly of noble birth. It seemed normal for him to casually give away a small trinket.

Ye Chutang fell silent for a moment, feeling her previous assumption had been too hasty.

Whether Xiao Wu liked his face or his generous spending was really hard to say.

Like elder sister, like younger sister... Wait, no!

Suddenly,Ye Chutang's gaze focused, and her brow furrowed.

—The tassel pendant attached to this jade pendant seemed...

Her heart skipped a beat.

"From the capital?"

...

At the same moment, Shen Yanchuan, who had just taken the terribly bitter medicinal soup, sneezed.

"Achoo!"

He gently rubbed his tall, straight nose and murmured.

"Who is it, thinking of me at this hour..."

(End of Chapter)

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