Zhu Yu's Story - Chapter 2

I didn’t give much thought to Wei Ci kicking the duke’s heir. Wei Ci gave it even less.

I was the only thing on his mind.

Back at the inn, we heard people discussing Grand Princess Zhenguo. An old illness had flared up, and she was seeking physicians throughout the city.

She’d spent her younger years fighting campaigns, and her body was riddled with ailments. The worst was her headache. When it struck, she couldn’t sleep all night, night after night. The imperial physicians couldn’t cure it, so she’d turned to doctors outside the palace.

When I arrived, she’d just sent two physicians packing with a scolding. Three girls as pretty as flowers were keeping her company.

She barely acknowledged them. They kept trying to win her over, only to meet with indifference. At the sight of me, all three suddenly united in hostility. Then, when they heard I was a physician, they all relaxed together.

Strange people.

I was young, so the Grand Princess didn’t hold out much hope. Still, she had nothing to lose by letting me try.

I rubbed a little of my special ointment over her temples twice. The irritation vanished from her face, and she let out a sigh of relief.

“The ointment only eases the pain for now,” I said. “For a full cure, you’ll need three doses of medicine and acupuncture.”

The Grand Princess grew excited. “You can cure it completely?”

“Of course.” I thumped my chest in assurance.

She kept me overnight. The next day, Wei Ci and I returned to the inn to find that the duke’s heir had booked the entire place. He and a young woman were sitting in my room, waiting for me.

The man had no sense of boundaries. How annoying.

The girl looked familiar. After a moment, I remembered: she’d been one of the three at the Grand Princess’s residence yesterday. Her name was Luo Yizhi.

“I hear you can treat the Grand Princess’s headaches,” the duke’s heir said, sipping tea from a cup he’d brought himself. “She thinks highly of you now. Put in a few good words for Miss Luo, and not only will I overlook your servant striking me, I’ll even let Jiang Zhaolin take you as a concubine.

“You may not realize this, but though I haven’t inherited the title yet, I’m the one who makes the decisions in our household. Without my consent, you’ll never set foot through our gates.”

Was there something wrong with him?

“Please leave,” I said.

As though he couldn’t understand a word I said, he went right on. “Grand Princess Zhenguo has never married and has no children. She wants to adopt a young woman as her daughter and keep her by her side.”

It would be a proper adoption. The girl would take her surname, be entered in the imperial genealogy, and inherit her fortune and covert guards.

The capital’s noble young ladies had all sprung into action.

Luo Yizhi was the candidate Duke Cheng’en’s household had put forward.

She was a distant cousin of the duke’s heir. Beautiful and poised, she could ride and shoot. Her chances were good.

She looked me up and down with contempt in her eyes, though she tried to keep her expression gentle and modest.

“You may have some ability, but your birth is simply too low. You’re not really good enough even to be Cousin Zhaolin’s concubine. Still, don’t worry. If you’re willing to help me, I won’t mind having another sister in the household.”

Did that mean she was going to marry Jiang Zhaolin?

The Jiang family really did have everything calculated.

None of it had anything to do with me, though.

I pointed at the door. “I’ll say it once more. Please leave.”

In the end, I had to call Wei Ci in from next door before they would get out.

The duke’s heir thought I was refusing to be a concubine. “I advise you to stop dreaming above your station,” he warned.

I packed my things, and Wei Ci and I moved into the Grand Princess’s residence.

She couldn’t have been happier.

After three doses of medicine, she felt much better and had stopped losing her temper at random. Smiling, she asked what reward I wanted.

I asked her to help me find Father.

She wasn’t pleased. “You cured an illness the entire Imperial Medical Academy couldn’t handle, and all you want is for me to find someone? Is that all you think I’m capable of?”

Her elderly attendant was exasperated with me too. “You clearly have no idea what Her Highness can do.”

Very soon, however, the Grand Princess had to eat her words.

Her people couldn’t find Father either.

She flew into a temper and called the head of her covert guards useless. I agreed and joined in the scolding, which made her laugh.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen Your Highness laugh so happily,” her attendant said.

The Grand Princess stopped berating him and waved him away.

Before leaving, the head of the guards gave me a grateful look.

I had nothing to say to that.

I’d meant every word, actually.

The Grand Princess studied me, her eyes bright with enthusiasm. “Miss Zhu, would you consider becoming my adopted daughter?”