Chapter 135: A Married Woman

The Leng family was one of the seven wealthiest families in Da Liang.

Old Master Leng started from humble beginnings, selling goods on the streets, and gradually expanded his business all the way to the frontier. He became a legendary figure in the eyes of the people.

Leng Qian Qiu and his wife were a loving couple, and they had only two daughters. Once both daughters reached the age of marriage, many prominent families in the capital eagerly sought to marry their sons into the Leng family.

However, Old Master Leng was very clear-headed about the matter.

In Da Liang, noble families married off their daughters, while lower families married women, and that was the long-term solution.

If a family were to pick an unreliable son-in-law, in the end, it would be their daughters who would suffer.

Old Master Leng had seen examples of this: Some seemingly honest and decent sons-in-law would reveal their true nature after marrying into a family, just a year after the wife’s parents passed away. They would bring in new wives, raise concubines, fight for family assets, and compete for offspring.

Starting from poverty and rising to wealth, from having nothing to having everything, could make a person insatiably greedy.

Thus, Old Master Leng resolutely opposed the idea of accepting a son-in-law into the family and instead allowed his daughters to choose their preferred partners.

In Da Liang, the position of merchants was not considered inferior to that of scholars.

In the end, Leng Qing Yu married into a noble family, and Leng Qing Xin married the newly-crowned top scholar.

The elder daughter was skilled in business, so Leng Qian Qiu gradually passed on some of the family’s business to her.

The younger daughter had poor health, and her husband was a proud scholar. Old Master Leng gave them a larger share of the family’s assets, so that they could live comfortably just from the rental income.

Both sons-in-law were decent men, and Old Master Leng was pleased.

He thought his children were living well and that he no longer needed to worry. However, little did he know that someone had set their sights on his hard-earned fortune, meant for his retirement.

Yun Tong County.

The students at Qing Shan Academy had been drinking the cooling beverage for the past few days.

At ten wen per cup, the drink had a sweet and sour taste, and after drinking it, they no longer felt drowsy in the afternoon. It even helped with bad breath.

“Is there really Chinese medicine in this cooling drink?”

While drinking it, one student asked his classmate.

“Definitely. I can taste the sour jujube seed and licorice.”

“That Shuang Xing tea from Shun Yi Tang has a similar taste, but it doesn’t have this after taste.” Another student said.

“Right, my mom always makes me drink Shuang Xing tea when I go home. After you mentioned it, I also think it tastes similar. Plus, the medicinal effects of Shuang Xing tea are probably similar to this drink, right?”

“Haven’t you heard? The shopkeeper said this is also a recipe for clearing heat, relieving summer heat, and refreshing. Actually, it has similar effects to Shuang Xing tea.”

“Then when I go home for the break, I’ll tell my mom to stop buying Shuang Xing tea and just buy this cooling drink. I like this taste better.”

“I don’t need to. I can drink it at the academy every day, so I won’t need it when I go home.”

“You know, this Yong Le Hall really knows how to make money. They use bamboo tubes to store the medicine, and it doesn’t even feel like medicine. It feels like a fine elixir.”

“Exactly!”

The students each carried a bamboo cup back, and Wei Jing Yi was holding two cups herself.

One was for herself, and the other was for Chang Qing.

Lu Chang Qing’s health had mostly recovered.

Considering his usual nature in the capital, he would have already gotten up to read by this time.

But recently, for some unknown reason, he had been lying in bed without getting up.

When Wei Jing Yi returned home, Lu Chang Qing was propped up against a pillow, reading.

“Here, this is your cooling drink.”

Wei Jing Yi handed him a bamboo cup.

“What did the academy talk about today? Tell me about it later.”

Lu Chang Qing didn’t lift his head and just reached out to take the cup.

“Can’t you just go to the academy yourself and listen to the teacher? When you don’t go, the teacher asks me questions, and I can’t answer them.”

Lu Chang Qing finally looked up.

“Do you want me to go listen to the teacher’s lecture, or do you want me to help you cheat?”

“If you don’t go to the academy again, then I won’t go either.”

Wei Jing Yi plopped down on the stool beside the bed.

“It’s fine,” Lu Chang Qing said indifferently, “Anyway, you wouldn’t understand it even if you went, and you won’t be able to explain anything when you come back.”

“How long do you plan on lying there?” Wei Jing Yi was genuinely frustrated.

Lu Chang Qing blinked, “Until my illness is fully cured.”

“Forget it, I’m not expecting you to get better anymore.” Wei Jing Yi shook her head, then added, “By the way, this is the last cup of cooling drink for today. The waiter at the medical clinic said that in the next few days, they will be going into the mountains to plant medicinal herbs, so they won’t be bringing the cooling drink for sale.”

“They even plant their own medicinal herbs?”

Lu Chang Qing casually asked.

Wei Jing Yi had been waiting for this question and immediately sat down by his bed, proudly saying, “I actually asked about this, and guess what I found out?”

“What?”

Lu Chang Qing didn’t like anyone getting too close to him.

Even Wei Jing Yi wasn’t an exception.

He asked the question while pushing her off the bed with his foot.

Wei Jing Yi had no choice but to sit back on the stool beside the bed.

“The doctor, Dr. Ye, who treated you, has close ties with Yong Le Hall. This cooling drink was actually Dr. Ye’s recipe.”

Lu Chang Qing glanced at the bamboo cup, a faint smile appearing on his lips. “No wonder it tastes so good.”

Seeing that Lu Chang Qing was interested, Wei Jing Yi continued to show off, “I’ve been chatting with the waiters at Yong Le Hall these past few days, and they all say that this Ye family girl is no ordinary person. Her medical skills are great, and her methods are impressive. Even the head of the medical clinic has to listen to her.

So, this time when the Ye girl said she wanted to plant medicinal herbs, the head of the clinic sent all the waiters to Yun Bian Village to plant the herbs.”

She’s not only a doctor, but also wants to grow her own herbs?

Lu Chang Qing thought to himself.

Life must be very tough for her, right?

He really wanted to go to the village to see what kind of life she was leading.

Once that thought entered his mind, it was impossible to suppress.

Lu Chang Qing looked at Wei Jing Yi and suddenly asked, “What did you just say?”

Wei Jing Yi was puzzled.

“I just said… that the female doctor is very impressive…”

“Not that!” Lu Chang Qing shook his head.

“You just said you didn’t want to go to the academy?”

“I did say that, but I only said it so you would go with me…”

Wei Jing Yi was unsure why he suddenly brought this up. Was he planning to report her?

She warily glanced at Lu Chang Qing, only to hear him say, “Then let’s not go. Let’s go together to Yun Bian Village instead.”

Huh?

Huh??

Wei Jing Yi reached out to feel Lu Chang Qing’s forehead.

“No fever, are you alright?”

You don’t want to go to the academy, but you want to go to Yun Bian Village? What exactly is he up to?

“Don’t want to go?” Lu Chang Qing looked at his expression. “Then I’ll have Shun Zi come with me.”

Shun Zi was Wei Jing Yi’s personal attendant.

This time when they came from the capital, only Wei Jing Yi brought an attendant.

“That idiot Shun Zi couldn’t even serve you well! If you really want to go, I’d have to personally accompany you.”

Wei Jing Yi had no way of refusing.

“But you have to tell me why you want to go.

Are you interested in Dr. Ye? But she’s a married woman!”