Jinyi Spring

Chapter 93 Shangguan Ruyu's Sorrow

The woman's face lit up with joy. "My child is handsome. I'll sell him for six taels of silver."

Feng Chuchen looked at the little girl. She was covered in patches and her hair was messy. Although her face was dark and yellow and her features were plain, her eyes were bright and lively.

At her age and with her looks, she wouldn't even fetch five taels of silver at a brokerage, but she could get six taels if sold to a brothel for menial work. If she were a pretty young girl, she could get ten taels of silver or even more at a brothel.

Seeing that someone wanted to buy her, the little girl immediately kowtowed to Feng Chuchen and said, "Miss, please buy me. I'm short, already ten years old, and I can do many things..."

Feng Chuchen asked the woman, "When is her birthday?"

The woman said, "My daughter is ten years old, very diligent, and can do all kinds of chores..."

She rambled on and on, unwilling to reveal her exact birth date, fearing that people would find it offensive.

The young girl interrupted, "Miss, I was born on the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the tenth year of Jianzhang, at the end of the hour of Chou (1-3 AM). My parents always say I was born when evil spirits roam, and that I'm a jinx. My home isn't far from the Yu'an Temple; I'll go there to ask the Star Lord to help me ward off evil."
"The abbot said I'm not only not a jinx, but a lucky star. Girl, I won't bring bad luck to anyone, please buy me."

As she spoke, the little girl kowtowed again.

Feng Chuchen liked this child very much; he was articulate, diligent, honest, and intelligent.

He said, "Who says being born on the fifteenth of July is necessarily a jinx? Six taels of silver, right? I'll buy it."

Upon hearing this, Banxia took out six taels of silver and gave it to the woman.

The woman beamed with joy and said to the little girl, "I'm a kind-hearted mother, I've found you a good home. Work hard from now on, save up some money to take home and support your parents."

The little girl lowered her head and remained silent.

Banxia retorted, "And you found her a good family? How dare you! It was my daughter who took pity on the little girl and bought her herself, okay? I've never seen such a heartless mother as you, actually selling your daughter to that hellhole."

She thought to herself that her parents were just as heartless as this woman, and that she wanted to drown her as soon as she was born.

Because she was going to sell people, the woman carried her household registration book with her.

Feng Chuchen asked Uncle Wu to drive home to retrieve her family's household registration, while she and a few others hired a car to go to the Wanping County Government Office.

The woman was pleased to see that this family had to hire a carriage for even a half-hour journey, and she gave the girl some pointers.

“This young lady is rich, she’ll never be short of money every month, but don’t spend it recklessly, take it home to support her parents.”

Banxia retorted, "You've already sold her out. From now on, she has no parents, only a master. Her filial piety will be directed towards her master."

The woman retorted defiantly, "Even a servant has parents. You jinx, don't you hear me?"

As he spoke, he pinched the little girl.

Banxia was unhappy. "If you keep doing this, get off the bus. My daughter won't dare to buy anything."

The woman then calmed down.

The little girl remained silent, her eyes filled with aloofness and defensiveness.

Feng Chuchen nodded. This young girl was opinionated and not blindly obedient to her parents.

They arrived at the county government office and waited for a while before Uncle Wu finally arrived.

The minor official changed the household registration.

The woman, who was illiterate, asked after leaving the government office, "Young lady, where do you live?"

None of Feng Chuchen and the others said anything. If it weren't for the coincidence, it wouldn't be easy to bump into each other in such a large city as Beijing.

There's no need to associate with parents like that.

When I got home, the sky was full of stars.

Feng Chuchen named the child Du Ruo. He arranged for her to spend half a day each day studying academic subjects with Mr. Feng Buji's wife, and the other half learning medicine from him, Banxia, ​​or Aunt Wang. She was also to practice meditation for 45 minutes each morning and evening, and practice Tai Chi and finger-flicking exercises for an hour each morning.

The schedule is packed full.

These are talents trained to the level of experts.

Du Ruo was both surprised and delighted that her master was actually spending money to teach her to read and write, and even to teach her medicine. She knelt down and kowtowed three times.

When Aunt Wang heard about Du Ruo's birthday, and then thought about the real birthdays of her eldest sister and the young lady, she understood the meaning of the so-called opportunity and the young lady.

He said, "Mu Jin and the other three will share a room, Shao Yao and Ban Xia will share a room, and Du Ruo will share a room with me."

Feng Chuchen privately told Aunt Wang, "Aunt Wang, take good care of Du Ruo. If she does well, I will teach her the Yin Shen Needle technique."

Aunt Wang brought out a bolt of fine cloth and worked with Du Ruo until the wee hours of the morning making clothes.

The next day, Du Ruo got up before dawn to work in the kitchen.

Seeing that Aunt Wu was cooking and Peony was tending the fire, and since there was nothing for her to do, she went to help Mulan sweep the yard and wipe the household items.

Aunt Wu smiled and said, "She's a diligent girl."

After getting up, Feng Chuchen led Feng Buji, Banxia, ​​Du Ruo and others to practice boxing.

After that, he found a copper thimble and put it on Du Ruo, saying, "Practice diligently, and don't stop until you've worn five smooth ones down."

If you only practice the Yin Shen Needle, grinding down five of them will be enough.

The original owner was able to apply the Yin God Needle after smoothing out five of them.

The aunt made the original owner practice the Nine Levels, perhaps wanting the original owner to continue practicing the Taiyin Divine Needle.

Little did she know that the opportunity to obtain the Taiyin Divine Needle was "double yin," something that ordinary people did not possess.

Du Ruo touched the hard thimble and said, "It's so hard, it'll take decades to grind it down."

Feng Chuchen said, "I started practicing when I was three years old, and by the time I was twelve, I had worn down five of them. You are already ten years old, and you are strong. If you work hard, you can wear them down in four years."

"This servant will definitely practice diligently."

Feng Chuchen could tell that Banxia was somewhat saddened by Du Ruo's behavior, who had just arrived.

He told her privately, "I looked at Du Ruo's face; she has some kind of connection with Cishengxiang..."

Banxia understood. Although she regretted not having it, the knot in her heart was untied.

"Not everyone gets this kind of luck; Du Ruo is luckier than me."

Feng Chuchen put it more clearly: "You and Aunt Wang have suffered with us, so I will treat you differently."

"I saved it."

A few days later, in the afternoon, not long after Feng Chuchen returned home from the Ming Mansion, Shangguan Ruyu arrived.

His eyes were filled with a deep, melancholy look, indicating a depressed mood.

The day before yesterday, Xue Xinyang and Jiang Jichang dragged me to see a play and drink. Yesterday, they dragged me to listen to a song and had me put my hands on their waists.

After two days of indulgence, he still couldn't vent his pent-up emotions, so he had no choice but to come to Feng Chuchen. Feng Chuchen personally poured him tea and pushed the pastries on the table, saying, "This is Aunt Wu's steamed rice cake, it tastes better than the ones sold in the shop."

Shangguan Ruyu didn't touch the snacks, but took a sip of tea and said, "Am I being too heartless? Knowing that I don't have to marry Miss Wen, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders, and I feel much more relaxed."

"But when I saw how thin she was that day, I felt that if I had married her sooner, she wouldn't have had to suffer like this."

This is a kind-hearted child who is dissatisfied with feudal marriages, does not want to marry the fiancée arranged by his family, and cannot bear to see the girl suffer.

Feng Chuchen poured tea for him, the amber-colored water flowing into the cup, creating a fine white steam. She remained silent, listening to his soft murmurs.

First, he said that Wen Shu was pitiful and that his future days would not be easy. Then he talked about his childhood memories... The fragmented old memories came out of his mouth, making Feng Chuchen feel sorry for him.

Dusk had quietly fallen through the window, making half of Shangguan Ruyu's face appear even redder. He suddenly raised his hand to cover his eyes, a muffled, bitter laugh escaping through his fingers.

"I know even if you don't say it, you look down on me, you think I'm a spoiled brat, a lecher, and good-for-nothing. I don't want to be like this... I remember when I was little, before I was seven or eight years old..."
"I admire my father very much and want to be a general like him when he was young, to protect our country. I asked my father to teach me martial arts, but he refused, saying that as a member of the imperial family, why should he risk his life on the battlefield..."

“Ming Shanyue and I have been good friends since we were little. Before we were seven, we spent three out of five days together. After we were seven, we could only see each other one out of ten days. I know that he studied the classics and history with a good teacher and practiced martial arts with a good master.”

"But I only had one teacher who taught me for only one hour each day, and he also taught me calligraphy and painting... I only realized when I grew up that my elders did not want me to be successful."

“Ming Shanyue went to the battlefield, but I went into the world of women, fighting and causing trouble with Xue Xinyang, Jiang Jichang and the others, cockfighting, horse racing, and sleeping... you know.”

His voice grew softer and softer, pausing for a full quarter of an hour, his eyes filled with even deeper sorrow.

"I know that almost everyone in the capital calls us bastards, spoiled brats, and good-for-nothings. Actually, I also want to be a peerless hero like my father. You have no idea how amazing my father was when he was young."
"At nineteen, I almost destroyed a country with a thousand men, but I became this kind of person... Later, you came along and pulled me out of this mess. Otherwise, I would not even respect myself."

“These past few days, I went out with Xue Xinyang, just drinking and listening to music, I didn’t touch anyone else…”

His face turned as red as rouge, feeling somewhat embarrassed to say these things to Feng Chuchen. "Alright, that's enough. You're a little girl, younger than me, what do you know?"

After saying that, he stared blankly at the golden window paper.

Feng Chuchen had already heard that the Shangguan Ancestor was the most powerful war god in the previous dynasty, but the previous dynasty's tyrannical ruler harmed the people and persecuted the loyal and good. His great-grandfather was forced to join the Great Yan Emperor in rebellion and made countless contributions.

After the establishment of the Great Yan Dynasty, his great-grandfather and grandfather went into hiding for two generations to avoid the limelight. They resigned from their military posts and did nothing but live at home in retirement, keeping their titles.

The third generation of Shangguan Yunqi rose to prominence, having made outstanding military achievements in suppressing rebellions in the south and central China when he was young, following the old Duke Ming.

After the rebellion was quelled, the army withdrew, but the nineteen-year-old Shangguan Yunqi requested to stay there as a military officer.

Relying on his family background, he disregarded even the general's orders, not only defeating all the chieftains in the mountains but also deterring two small southern barbarian kingdoms from harboring any further ambitions.

When he was twenty-three, he was urgently summoned back to the capital by the late emperor, and Shangguan Jia saved his life with a "Dan Shu Tie Quan" (a special certificate of merit). The late emperor then granted him a marriage to Princess Yanghe, but never gave him a real post again.

In this dynasty, if the emperor's son-in-law was highly trusted, he could still wield power.

The late emperor was suspicious and displeased with the son-in-law Shangguan, and he not only had to keep a low profile, but also ruined his son's future.

Everyone says that Shangguan Yunqi is steady, wise, and extremely resourceful. In those years, he was young, ambitious, and eager to make a name for himself...

Feng Chuchen, however, felt that being so eager for quick success and instant benefits was neither steady nor wise.

Feng Chuchen got up and refilled his teacup, saying softly, "You're doing very well now. I think that being successful doesn't necessarily mean becoming a general or a virtuous minister."

"When epidemics rage, a single dose of medicine can save countless lives. In remote and impoverished areas, a three-finger pulse diagnosis can ensure the well-being of all. Whether kings and generals or ordinary people, if lives are lost, what is the point of talking about the country and its people?"

"A person can go through life without ever using 'The Art of War' or reading the Four Books and Five Classics, but they cannot live without medicine and health preservation... If you are skilled enough to promote surgery, in the future you will be able to do more than just open up the abdomen to remove necrotic tissue..."

"It can also open the abdomen to cure other diseases, even open the brain, fix blood vessels, and then write a great medical book to be passed down to future generations, like Bian Que, Zhang Zhongjing, and Hua Tuo, who will be remembered for generations."

"I'm not saying this to imply that doctors are necessarily better than civil officials and generals. I'm just telling you that you have a talent for medicine. As long as you do it well, only generals who have achieved great feats can rival you..."

Shangguan Ruyu unconsciously curled the corners of her lips and glanced at Feng Chuchen, "You're so good with words."

As dusk fell, Feng left school without delay, and Shangguan Ruyu rose to take her leave.

Before leaving, he said, "It's strange, just sitting and chatting at your house has cleared up the knot in my chest. Your words have enlightened me and stopped me from sinking any further. I know you are genuinely kind to me."

Feng Chuchen smiled. "Young Master Shangguan is as gentle and refined as jade, and his beauty is unparalleled, yet he compares himself to mud. How modest! Won't you stay for dinner? Today we have braised pork chops and golden corn, which you and Buji both enjoy."

"No, I have no appetite."

Feng Buji tried to persuade her to stay, saying, "My sister said she wants to make the Golden Sand Corn herself."

Shangguan Ruyu hadn't yet tasted the dishes personally prepared by Feng Chuchen, so she sat back down.

Feng Chuchen's cooking skills were not good. Many of the dishes from her previous life were made by Aunt Wu, and Aunt Wu had to experiment several times before they tasted good.

Today's corn looked and tasted so-so, with a few burnt kernels standing out.

Feng Buji ate a small half bowl of the food with great enthusiasm, saying, "Sister's cooking is really good."

Shangguan Ruyu also thought it was just so-so, but still went against her conscience and praised her a couple of times, "Miss Feng is very skillful. Not only is she good at medicine, but she is also good at needlework and cooking..."

Feng Chuchen laughed, "My cooking is so-so, and my needlework is even worse..."

"You're too modest. The embroidered shoes you gave to my mother are extremely unique and beautiful. My mother had the sewing room make four pairs to give to my maternal grandmother and grandmother."

Feng Chuchen told the truth, "I drew it, and Sister Song and the others made it. Things I make by hand are rough, so I'm embarrassed to give them away."

The carriage rolled forward in the moonlight, the night sky clear and bright.

Shangguan Ruyu lifted the carriage curtain and suddenly saw a vermilion mole emerge from the depths of the starry sky. Feng Chuchen's features suddenly became clear in the flowing light, startling him so much that he blinked, and a certain emotion in his heart intensified...

On the night of the 19th, Aunt Wang delivered a baby for a woman in labor, but the infant suffocated at birth.

Feng Chuchen is also here, but that child has no chance with this fragrant life.

Aunt Wang performed CPR and actually saved the child's life.

The family was extremely grateful, repeatedly saying, "Thank you, Dr. Wang! Thank you, Dr. Wang! Dr. Wang is not only good at delivering babies, but also has excellent medical skills."

He also gave her two taels of silver.

Those who stay at the hotel are generally from middle-class families, so this reward is already quite generous.

Aunt Wang was overjoyed. Not because of the money, but because of the title "doctor."

She finally got to be respectfully called "the old woman doctor," just like her eldest sister!
Seeing Aunt Wang's face flushed with joy, Banxia smiled and said, "I've heard people call Aunt Wang 'the doctor' before."

Peony said, "Aunt Wang can perform surgery and treat illnesses, so of course she's a doctor."

Sister Zhao laughed and said, "Nowadays, not only is the young lady a celebrity in the capital, but so is Doctor Wang."

"Old Doctor Wang".

"Old Doctor Wang".

……

Those present joined in the fun, shouting loudly.