The Third Young Mistress's face froze for a moment, then she argued unreasonably, "How would I know that that fancy floral water couldn't be stored for long?"
Qi Jiao didn't want to reason with such a person who was clearly looking for trouble. She simply said, "Regardless of the reason, the most important thing is to treat the young lady's face first. Let's wait until the doctor has taken a look."
Everyone turned around. Pei Li had already fetched the doctor.
This doctor was no ordinary one. He was Doctor Zou from Huichun Hall.
Qi Jiao smiled slightly. Since Pei Xia went to Huichun Hall to get medicine every month, Doctor Zou was an old acquaintance.
Doctor Zou nodded to Qi Jiao, then got straight to the point. "Is there an inner room for the consultation?"
Pei Jin quickly replied, "Yes, yes. Doctor, this way please."
Qi Jiao personally helped Miss Zhou inside.
Pan, the Third Young Mistress, curled her lips and reluctantly followed them in.
Miss Zhou obediently took off her veil hat. Doctor Zou examined her through observation, auscultation, interrogation, and palpation. After a while, he reached a conclusion. "Miss, this is due to an allergic reaction. You have hives on your face. May I ask if you've eaten any food that could trigger an allergic reaction recently?"
Miss Zhou was about to nod when, unexpectedly, the old maid behind her pinched her.
Miss Zhou instantly burst into tears from the pain. "No... I haven't eaten any."
Doctor Zou was puzzled. "That's strange. Your pulse clearly indicates that you've eaten something that could trigger an allergic reaction. If it were just an ordinary pollen allergy, it wouldn't be this severe..."
Before Qi Jiao could say anything, she heard Pan interrupt Doctor Zou. "You quack doctor! What kind of diagnosis is this? Doesn't she know whether she's eaten such food or not?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Doctor Zou was so angry that he flung his sleeves. "In that case, I'll take my leave. Mistress Qi, you'd better find another doctor."
Qi Jiao really wanted to slap Pan across the face. She took a deep breath, tried hard to control herself, then forced a smile and stopped Doctor Zou. "Doctor, don't be in such a hurry. Please write a prescription for Miss Zhou first. Adults' matters shouldn't be taken out on a child."
Her last sentence clearly implied that Pan was deliberately causing trouble.
Qi Jiao comforted Doctor Zou a bit and asked him to go outside to write the prescription.
She glanced at the crowd outside who were watching the show and raised her voice. "Third Young Mistress, one should have a conscience. Just because Miss Zhou isn't your biological daughter, you shouldn't treat her like this. Even I, an outsider, can't bear to watch. Doctor Zou is one of the best doctors in Lingle County. Even the county magistrate praises his excellent medical skills and kind heart. Yet you call him a quack doctor. You have quite a nerve, madam."
Funny enough, during these days of socializing in the big mansions, Qi Jiao had already figured out the relationships among the major families in Lingle County.
Fang Yunxin would also casually mention a thing or two to her when she was bored.
Qi Jiao understood the situation as soon as she saw Pan's behavior.
Pan also had her own biological daughter, but she had deliberately brought out the daughter of her husband's concubine. Wasn't that just cruel?
She had even used the wrong trick.
Hearing this, Pan was so angry that the veins on her forehead were throbbing. "What are you talking nonsense about?"
Qi Jiao curled her lips, her smile full of sarcasm. "How dare I talk nonsense in front of you, Young Mistress? It's obvious to anyone with eyes that if you want to ruin my shop's reputation, you don't need to use such underhanded tricks. You could just inform your father - in - law, Magistrate Zhou, and give me a hard time. I'd surely be unable to survive in Lingle County. You really don't need to damage your own step - daughter's face just to make things difficult for me. I'm not falling for your tricks."
Mentioning her father - in - law, Magistrate Zhou's reputation, Pan suddenly stammered and nervously clutched her handkerchief.
Pei Jin was quick - eyed and quick - handed. She grabbed Miss Zhou's arm and rolled up the sleeve. Sure enough, there was a pinch mark on it.
Pei Jin put down Miss Zhou's sleeve and then said crisply, "When Doctor Zou was asking questions just now, I saw that old maid pinch Miss Zhou from behind."
Miss Zhou was like a frightened bird. She trembled as she looked at Pan and the old maid, her eyes filled with fear.
Everyone wasn't stupid. They understood at once. They never thought that the magistrate's granddaughter had such a miserable life.
Those who didn't know the whole story finally understood what had happened.
"So she's Miss Zhou's stepmother. No wonder she's so cruel."
"I wonder what feud Pan has with the owner of Zhuoxiang Pavilion?"
...
Qi Jiao took up the conversation. Although she was scolding Pan, she was also answering everyone's questions. "It's really a coincidence. She didn't have an allergy earlier or later, but just the day after I became the godmother of the county magistrate's daughter. And today you bring Miss Zhou here. Let me guess. Madam, aren't you resentful that I've blocked your way? If you have any issues with me, you can come to me privately. Using such tricks won't have much of an impact on me anyway. The products in my shop are all above - board and honest. You can't just spread rumors and smear them."
Everyone was in an uproar. So that was the case.
Pan's face was as gloomy as water. Her expression was beyond just being ugly.
Seeing that the discussions outside were about to drown her and the situation had gotten out of her control, the old maid behind her kept giving her signals. Pan forced herself to swallow her anger, grabbed Miss Zhou, and left the door.
Before leaving, she threatened viciously, "Qi Jiao, you just wait for me."
Miss Zhou turned back, gave Qi Jiao a complicated look, and then was dragged into the carriage by Pan.
The farce ended in a hurry. Qi Jiao sighed and asked Doctor Zou to write prescriptions for both external and internal medicine of the best quality.
Then she carried the medicine and personally went to the magistrate's mansion.
Magistrate Zhou was from a poor family. Later, he became successful, largely thanks to his wife.
Madam Zhou was the daughter of a small official. Her family was much wealthier than Magistrate Zhou's. Later, she married Magistrate Zhou, who had passed the scholar examination. She was very good at managing the household and handling social relations.
Magistrate Zhou's abilities were average, but he didn't make any major mistakes. So he had been the county magistrate in Lingle County for many years, neither making great achievements nor causing any disasters.
The couple had three sons and one daughter. Pan was their third daughter - in - law.
The eldest son of the Zhou family passed the imperial examination and was sent to the northern border as a local official.
The second son didn't like studying. He was fully focused on business and was now doing quite well. He was responsible for most of the family's income.
It was just the third son. At almost thirty years old, he had achieved nothing. He spent his days wandering around and having fun. Before marrying Pan, he already had a concubine - born daughter and a concubine - born son.
Pan's father was a subordinate of a subordinate of Magistrate Zhou.
It could be said that her father married Pan into the Zhou family in order to curry favor with his superior.
As for Magistrate Zhou and Madam Zhou, they knew what their youngest son was like, so they often subsidized Pan, their daughter - in - law.
But Pan was a narrow - minded person. Seeing that Madam Zhou still held the power of managing the household and had no intention of sharing it with her, and that the eldest and second houses were more favored than their third house, she became even more resentful.
Although her husband was useless, she wanted to gain recognition in front of her in - laws. That was why she later tried to curry favor with Fang Yunxin.
All the strategies she had come up with ended in failure.
Pan was so angry that she gritted her teeth. Seeing Miss Zhou made her feel annoyed. She ignored her and went back to the backyard.
Just then, Madam Zhou was feeding the fish in the yard. She saw Pan come back in a huff.
Pan walked right past her as if she didn't even see her and didn't even come over to pay her respects.
How disrespectful!
The corners of her mouth sank. Just then, the steward quickly came in to report. "Madam, the owner of Jiaoniang Restaurant is here to pay a visit."
Madam Zhou thought for a moment. "Is it that Mistress Qi who is collaborating with the county magistrate?"
The steward replied, "Yes. She also brought gifts and said she came to apologize."
Madam Zhou thought of Pan who had just come back. Her eyes flashed slightly. She waved her hand. "Please invite Mistress Qi to the flower hall and wait for a while. I'll be right there."