Jiao Niang’s Medical Record Chapter 502

Take care of Prince Qing?

Fan Jianglin stared in astonishment.

“I don’t want to send him back into the palace and have him locked up like a monster,” Duke Jin’an continued. “But leaving him outside the palace worries me too. He doesn’t know hunger or thirst, doesn’t feel heat or cold, pain or comfort, bears no grudges and knows no gratitude – he simply isn’t a normal person. And I don’t have anyone I can truly trust and rely on. After thinking it over, you’re the only friend I have, so I wanted to entrust him to you.”

Take care of a prince? Who would dare take on such a task!

Fan Jianglin looked at the duke, who was once again bowing to him, his expression a tangle of emotions.

And what did he mean by asking his sister to look after Prince Qing? For her to care for him – then what about him?

Or… did he actually mean to ask her to treat the prince’s illness?

“All right,” Cheng Jiao-niang said with a nod.

She agreed?

Just like that – so easily, so readily?

Fan Jianglin couldn’t help but glance at Cheng Jiao-niang again.

Duke Jin’an rose with a smile, without offering any further words of thanks or explanation. Instead, he pushed a small token across the table.

“This will allow you to enter and leave Prince Ping’s residence freely,” he said.

Cheng Jiao-niang nodded.

“Then I’ll take my leave,” Duke Jin’an said with a smile.

Everyone in the room stood to see him off, watching as he mounted his horse and rode away.

That whole exchange – one question, one answer, one agreement – really was astonishingly swift and straightforward…

“Sister,” Fan Jianglin said after a moment’s hesitation, “is something about to happen again?”

“In this world – well, the world is made of happenings,” Cheng Jiao-niang said with a smile. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious.”

Hearing her say that, Fan Jianglin felt reassured.

“Stay and have a meal before you go,” Lady Huang said.

“There’s no need to trouble yourself. I’ll eat over there,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied.

Ban Qin had already brought over her cloak and was helping her put it on.

Fan Jianglin and Lady Huang carried the child to the door, watching as Cheng Jiao-niang boarded the carriage and rode off into the distance.

“Da-lang,” Lady Huang said after a moment’s hesitation, lowering her voice, “that His Highness seems to be… very good to your sister.”

“Is my sister not good to him?” Fan Jianglin countered. “Anyone with a shred of decency or manners – she treats them well. And as for those who’ve ever lent her the slightest bit of help, she repays them tenfold, a hundredfold, a thousandfold…”

Lady Huang was startled by his tone, then couldn’t help laughing. She raised her hand and swatted him lightly.

“That’s not what I meant!” she said with a smile.

Fan Jianglin widened his eyes at her.

“Then what do you mean?” he asked.

Lady Huang glared back at him, then finally let out a short sigh.

“Nothing! I didn’t say anything!” she said, and carried the child back inside.

“What do you mean ‘nothing,’ when you were clearly saying something…” Fan Jianglin muttered, staring after her. “Women – all the same. Look at my sister – she always speaks so plainly and to the point.”

In the Cheng family’s newly built residence, perhaps because it was new, the festive New Year atmosphere felt noticeably thinner.

“Madam, someone’s here again asking for payment for the meat and vegetables!” a maid hurried into the main hall.

There were already three or four maids seated inside; hearing this, they all turned to look at her.

“Madam, the money for the incense and candles can’t be delayed any longer either… Now that we’ve invited the deity, the offerings can’t be stopped,” one of them said anxiously.

“Madam, about those hair ornaments and jewelry you ordered – do you still want them? The shop’s sent word that if you don’t, they’ll sell them to someone else,” another added in haste.

“Enough!”

Second Madam Cheng snapped, setting her teacup down sharply on the table.

The room fell silent.

“Mother, Mother!”

Cheng Qi-niang’s voice called from outside.

“Why weren’t my new hair ornaments sent along with my new clothes?”

Second Madam Cheng couldn’t help lifting a hand to her forehead.

“Father said he’d picked them out for me,” Cheng Qi-niang continued.

“Yes, I know – they’ll be sent over shortly,” Second Madam Cheng replied, waving her hand. “Now go on, I’m busy right now.”

Cheng Qi-niang gave a reluctant “oh,” and was just about to leave when a little maid came running in, beaming with excitement.

“Madam, the First Young Lady has returned!” she cried.

At those words, everyone in the room lit up with joy.

“Hurry, hurry,” said Second Madam Cheng, already lifting her skirts and striding toward the door.

The maids all bustled out after her in a lively rush.

Cheng Qi-niang stood alone in the hall, fuming and anxious.

“What’s going on?” she shouted. “Where are they all going?”

“They’ve gone to greet the First Young Lady,” a young maid beside her replied earnestly, still a little dazed.

Cheng Qi-niang glared at her.

“Greet her? Why should they greet her?” she burst out. “Does she think she’s Father now? Every time she comes and goes, the whole household has to line up to welcome her?”

“What’s the matter? Qi-niang, what are you looking for me for?”

Second Master Cheng’s voice came from outside the door.

He had already begun his New Year’s leave and came in swaying slightly, dressed in casual home robes. When he saw his daughter, his expression softened with fatherly affection.

“Tomorrow I will take you and your younger brother out for a stroll–” he began.

“Father!” Cheng Qi-niang interrupted, stepping forward with a shout. “Every time she comes or goes, Mother has to lead everyone out to greet her!”

“She?” Second Master Cheng blinked in surprise.

“My sister,” Cheng Qi-niang said reluctantly.

Second Master Cheng’s face darkened at once.

“Shameless!” he snapped, flicking his sleeve. “No manners outside, bringing trouble upon yourself – and now no manners at home, no sense of propriety! What kind of behavior is this!”

By this time, Second Madam Cheng was already walking with a smile to meet Cheng Jiao-niang, accompanying her toward her courtyard.

“Are you cold?” she asked warmly.

“What would you like to eat tonight?”

She fussed over her with gentle concern, and Cheng Jiao-niang answered each question one by one.

Stepping into the main hall, she motioned for the servant women to withdraw.

“Jiao Jiao, you see, the New Year’s nearly here,” Second Madam Cheng said with a smile. “There’s quite a lot that needs to be bought and prepared for the household…”

“You’ve worked hard to see to it all,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied.

That single sentence made Second Madam Cheng beam with delight.

“We’re all one family – no need to speak as if we’re two,” she said, laughing.

Cheng Jiao-niang said nothing more and took the cup of hot tea Ban Qin brought over.

Second Madam Cheng took out a list again and went through it item by item, explaining in detail everything that had been purchased. She also asked whether the new clothes and jewelry that had been sent over were to her liking.

After talking for quite a while, although the young lady before her showed no sign of impatience, Second Madam Cheng herself was beginning to feel weary of her own speech.

“Jiao Jiao,” she paused for a moment before continuing, “you see, all this has cost quite a bit…”

Ban Qin furrowed her brows and glanced at her.

“You know our Cheng family doesn’t keep separate accounts – everything’s managed over there. The money we were given when we left home was all spent along the way, and once we arrived here, we had to give out even more…”

“This New Year, we might not be able to live extravagantly, but we can’t be too shabby either, can we…”

Second Madam Cheng was speaking in roundabout tones, half complaining, half pleading her case.

“What is it you want?” Cheng Jiao-niang interrupted her to ask.

“Money,” Second Madam Cheng blurted out.

Cheng Jiao-niang nodded.

“If the household needs money, just speak with Ban Qin,” she said. “All the money is with her.”

Ban Qin?

Second Madam Cheng looked up at the maid standing before her.

“Not me,” Ban Qin said, shaking her head.

As night fell, a carriage rolled straight through the gate and headed inside.

“Who’s that?” one of the Cheng family’s servants couldn’t help asking. “How come they didn’t even stop to ask who it was?”

He was watching the two attendants standing by the gate, chatting casually.

They had come together with that First Madam Cheng – they weren’t strangers. The servants had seen them back in Jiang-zhou; they were said to be men working under Master Zhou.

Although they were nominally the gatekeepers, they were really just for show or to do some sweeping – the real control of the gate lay in the hands of those men.

“It’s that girl Ban Qin,” another servant whispered.

“Oh, that Ban Qin,” the first one said, suddenly realizing. “The one who comes and goes early and late, draped in gold and silver, and never acts like a servant at all.”

“Miss Ban Qin, Miss Ban Qin!”

Two maids stood at the door, calling out – one loud, one soft.

The door was suddenly yanked open. The maid inside, her hair half undone and her clothes already changed, glared at them with arched, fierce brows.

“What is it?” she snapped.

The two maids were startled and took a step back.

“M–Madam… Madam asks that you come over for a moment,” one of them stammered.

Just as they thought the maid would slam the door in their faces, she instead drew a deep breath, her expression neither pleased nor angry.

“Very well,” she said calmly. “Allow me to change my clothes and do my hair first.”

Hearing that the maid had arrived, Second Madam Cheng – who had grown impatient waiting inside – hurried forward a few steps. Second Master Cheng gave a loud, pointed cough.

Was it not enough that she went out personally to receive that girl? Now she was going to greet a servant girl herself as well?

Did she have no sense of dignity left?

Seeing her husband’s brows knit and his eyes blazing with anger, Second Madam Cheng gave him a quick, appeasing smile, then hastily stepped out of the inner chamber into the main hall.

“I pay my respects, Madam,” Ban Qin said.

At least she had the sense to observe proper rank – otherwise, a single blow on the spot would have ended the matter!

Second Master Cheng snorted coldly and went on pretending to read his book. His eyes stayed fixed on the page, but his ears were sharply tuned to the conversation outside.

“…the household’s busy preparing for the New Year, and all the expenses…”

“…I was just about to mention that to Madam. Since we’re short on hands, I selected a few more maids, and boys for errands today – the broker will bring them over tomorrow…”

“That’s wonderful… though there’s no need for too many. We already have some people who came with us – just leave a few for cleaning and rough work. What matters most right now is the purchasing and stocking of supplies…”

“…Yes, Madam may arrange everything as she sees fit. When it’s time to settle accounts, have them all come to me together.”

Second Master Cheng frowned slightly.

The girl’s manner of speaking was polite and proper, her voice pleasant and respectful -nothing that could give offense.

Yet somehow, he still felt vaguely uncomfortable listening to her.

“…Ban Qin, do you think there’s anything else we should add?”

“…I need not look – whatever you decide will be best.”

From outside came Second Madam Cheng’s laughter, followed by the sound of footsteps as people withdrew. She stepped back into the room, her smile still lingering.

“Master, we don’t yet know how many visits and exchanges there’ll be this year. What do you think – should we prepare a hundred gifts to start with?” she asked, kneeling down before him.

A hundred?

Even in previous years, hosting relatives and friends, they had never sent out so many.

“Oh, having extra never hurts,” Second Madam Cheng said cheerfully. “If we don’t use them all, we can keep what’s left. It’s not as if she minds spending a little money.”

Since she didn’t mind, then they might as well spend freely.

Second Master Cheng clapped his hands together – that was exactly the problem!

“What problem?” Second Madam Cheng was still basking in her own cheerful satisfaction. She had already taken out the account book – food, drink, new clothes, and ornaments were all settled. The question now was, with only two days left before the New Year, what else could she add?

Of course, gold and silver hairpieces were most important – those would go toward Qi–niang’s dowry in the future…

No, wait – Qi–niang’s dowry wasn’t urgent. When her sister married, they certainly couldn’t let her look shabby either.

Better to prepare some daily-use items first. With all the New Year’s social calls in the capital, they couldn’t afford to lose face…

A sharp smack interrupted her daydreaming. Startled, Second Madam Cheng looked up at Second Master Cheng.

“Utterly spineless! To be dismissed like that, and you’re still so pleased?” he barked, his brows drawn tight.

Second Madam Cheng blinked, confused.

“Of course I’m pleased,” she said, nodding. “It’s still better than your brother and sister-in-law, who had their money taken right out of their hands!”

As she said it, her smile returned.

“And just look at Jiao Jiao – so generous! It shows there’s still real affection between father and daughter…”

She thought of that Steward Cao’s sour face back in Jiang-zhou and couldn’t help thinking it must have been the eldest branch of the family who’d brought on that bad luck.

“Affection? What affection!” Second Master Cheng snapped irritably. “Is that how a daughter should behave toward her parents? Look at you – just look at yourself! In front of that girl, who’s the mistress and who’s the servant? She tosses you a bit of money and you’re already overjoyed?”

“Yes, of course,” Second Madam Cheng replied with a small, sly smile. “She treats me kindly, listens to what I say – why wouldn’t I be pleased? You’re her real father, but I’m only her stepmother. Surely you don’t expect her to respect and revere me? I’m already quite content.”

Content? She hadn’t respected him either!

That thought only stoked Second Master Cheng’s anger further.

“What kind of order is this? Who’s the superior and who’s the subordinate in this household?” he barked.

“You are, of course you are,” Second Madam Cheng said soothingly, trying to placate him while turning back to her accounts in haste. “But still, we can’t let this New Year be a shabby one – it concerns our family’s reputation here in the capital. This isn’t Jiang-zhou.”

Reputation? What reputation?

Dragged through the streets in disgrace, hauled before the Censorate – his reputation had been lost long ago!

Second Master Cheng threw down the book in his hand and got up to go to bed.