After staying there for a few days, Xiao Tian's evaluation of Yi Qing was this: a fake - medicine peddler, spicy - tongued and venomous. If he had to pick out some merits, it might be that she was rather efficient and never beat around the bush.
In the blink of an eye, it was the day for Baozi to go to class. Zisu took him there, leaving only Yi Qing and Xiao Tian at home.
It was a cloudless sunny day, and the sun was just right. Yi Qing was turning over and drying the medicinal herbs in the yard.
Since Xiao Tian had come, she hadn't gone into the mountains, so there were only a few medicinal herbs left at home.
Xiao Tian stood beside her, watching her unhurried movements. "You haven't gone into the mountains recently. Aren't you afraid of losing your livelihood?" he asked.
Yi Qing smiled at him.
At this smile, Xiao Tian immediately sensed something was wrong.
Sure enough, with a curl of her lips, looking quite pleased, she said, "As long as there are still people who need to tonify their kidneys, I'm not afraid."
Xiao Tian: "..."
Could she be more normal!
Yi Qing probably saw through what was on his mind and said, "Treat the ailment where it is. It's not okay for you, Guard Xiao, to be so reluctant to face your own illness."
Xiao Tian gritted his teeth and said, "I'm fine. My kidneys are not weak!"
"Are you married, Guard Xiao?"
"No." Cold air seemed to be rising from Xiao Tian's head.
"Then don't brag, Guard Xiao. You can only tell a mule from a horse when you take them out for a walk," Yi Qing said with a malicious smile.
Xiao Tian finally got angry. Flicking his sleeve, he said, "You should be more self - respecting. Since you claim to be the widow of General Xiao, then..."
"You're wrong," Yi Qing sneered. "My relationship with Xiao Jinghan was just a fleeting one. My son is his son, but I have nothing to do with him. And what do you mean by me not being self - respecting? The prescriptions left by our ancestors are for curing diseases and saving lives. I also sell Liuwei Dihuang Pills to women for treatment. Both I and the medicine are innocent. Those who use them for bad things are the ones who are not self - respecting."
"You..."
"Xiao Tian, you're so clumsy with words, yet you always provoke me," Yi Qing rolled her eyes. "Let me ask you, when can you give me an explanation?"
"What explanation?" A vein on Xiao Tian's forehead was throbbing.
"Xiao Jinghan's body has been in the capital for so long, but there's been no reward at all. I don't really care, but Baozi is his only son, and all those things should be his."
He always felt that something unexpected must have happened on the emperor's side. Otherwise, there should have been some movement by now.
Xiao Tian: "You..."
Yi Qing was deliberately trying to annoy him. Looking innocent, she said, "Has the emperor gone back on his word?"
Xiao Tian took a deep breath. "After getting along with you these days, I know you're not a completely evil person. Let's put an end to this farce of claiming kinship. I'll mediate for you. Even regarding the matter of the substitute marriage you're worried about, I'll help you solve it. Don't mention this matter of claiming kinship again."
"What's real can't be made fake, and what's fake can't be made real," Yi Qing said. "I've got nothing to be ashamed of."
"Being found out would mean the death penalty."
"Only being found out for forging something would mean the death penalty. I'm the real deal."
Xiao Tian looked at Yi Qing with a look of utter hopelessness.
Yi Qing blinked at him, which made him turn his head away in anger.
In the afternoon, something happened that further strengthened Xiao Tian's evaluation of Yi Qing as a pretentious, lying, fake - medicine peddling woman.
There was a knock on the door. Xiao Tian went to open it.
Standing outside the door was a young woman, looking only seventeen or eighteen years old. Her hair was neatly combed and tied into a bun at the back of her head. She had a graceful neck, willowy eyebrows, bright eyes and white teeth. She was a beauty rare to find.
The woman was carrying a basket. When she saw Xiao Tian, she was obviously stunned by his good looks. After a while, she lowered her head under his displeased gaze, blushing as she bowed and said, "I... I'm looking for Yi Qing."
Just as Xiao Tian was about to step aside to let her in, he heard Yi Qing's lazy voice from behind him. "If someone's looking for me, tell them I'm not here."
Xiao Tian: "..."
The woman's face instantly turned purple. Biting her lips, with tears in her beautiful eyes and a trembling voice, she said, "Yi Qing, are you still mad at me? I know it was wrong of me to take your medicine to save my master. But even if you went, he wouldn't have taken a fancy to you. You have a child! At most, he would have given you some silver... I can give it to you too!"
As she spoke, she lifted the unremarkable blue - flowered cotton cloth covering the basket. Inside were neatly arranged silver ingots, each weighing five taels. There should be sixty or seventy taels in total.
The woman pleaded with Xiao Tian, "Brother, please help me give these to Yi Qing."
"You really want to make me sick, don't you?" Yi Qing said coolly as she slowly walked out.
When the woman saw her, she became even more excited. Tears welled up in her eyes, looking extremely pitiful.
But Yi Qing was cold - hearted. "Brother? His surname is Xiao and yours is Sun. What kind of brother is he to you? Not every man will fall for your tricks. If you don't believe me, roll up his sleeve and see if he doesn't get goosebumps?"
What Xiao Tian was thinking: He really did.
He didn't like getting close to women just because they were always crying.
Tears streamed down the woman's face. "Yi Qing, you're still blaming me."
Yi Qing sneered, crossing her arms. "Sun Xiaohua, then tell me, what reason do I have to forgive you?"
Sun Xiaohua pushed the basket over. "This is for you. If I hadn't done that, you wouldn't have gone either, and we wouldn't have gotten any silver. You didn't go to answer the notice and treat my master because you weren't sure, right? I went. I took the risk, but I didn't forget to share the credit with you."