After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 94 Making a Friend

If Cheng Susu said those words to tease Bai Wanqing before, she is now genuinely considering Bai Wanqing's situation.

Bai Wanqing frowned. "I've already said I'm not a miracle doctor."

Seeing that Bai Wanqing was somewhat annoyed, Cheng Susu immediately said, "Okay, okay, you're not a miracle doctor! You're not a miracle doctor."

"Neither Mr. Lin nor I are unworthy of the other, Miss Cheng, so why do you have to try to sow discord between us?" Bai Wanqing made her point clear.

"You knew it was me?" Cheng Susu was startled for a second, then blushed.

Bai Wanqing and Liu'er were both speechless. It would be normal if they didn't know it was her before, but today she confronted Bai Wanqing in front of so many people, how could Bai Wanqing not know it was her?

"I won't do it again! You saved my life, so you're my friend now. Even if Lin Yunche bullies you, you can come to me to complain, no matter who in Huai'an County it is." Cheng Susu said, patting her chest with a hearty expression.

Bai Wanqing, however, did not feel happy.
"You don't believe me?" Cheng Susu continued, "Even if Lin Yunche has a good family background, he is still an official in the court. If he bullies you, I can have my father impeach him. He will eventually restrain himself."

After saying that, Cheng Susu proudly raised her little face, while Bai Wanqing was stunned.
"You said Young Master Lin has a good family background?" Bai Wanqing frowned. When Lin Yunche confessed to her before, he only mentioned that he was the top scholar in the imperial examination. As for his family background, she had met Lin's parents, and they all lived in Lin Family Village. So how could they talk about his family background?

Seeing Bai Wanqing's expression, Cheng Susu knew that Bai Wanqing indeed didn't know Lin Yunche's background.

Since Lin Yunche didn't say anything, she naturally couldn't reveal too much either. After all, this concerned matters at the border, which could be big or small, and she didn't want to cause trouble for her father.

"It's good not to know! It's good not to know! He has his reasons for not telling you." Cheng Susu said it in a very convincing way.

Bai Wanqing wanted to ask a few more questions, but when she thought about her relationship with Lin Yunche, it seemed that they weren't that close. Even if Lin Yunche didn't tell her, she couldn't find anything wrong with it.

Afterwards, Cheng Susu recuperated at the Du family's house for two days. Bai Wanqing stayed with her at the Du family's house on the first day, but she returned to the Bai family's house on the second day.

Whether it was because her words at the banquet had an effect, or because Cheng Susu genuinely wanted to befriend them, the slander against the Lin family and the story of the female Hua Tuo were all suppressed.

However, the story of her saving the daughter of Imperial Censor Cheng at the Du family banquet quietly spread, so much so that when she arrived at the century-old medical clinic, even Physician Luo came to inquire about what had happened.

"Who taught you this method, Qing girl?" Master Luo asked after confirming the situation that day.

Bai Wanqing looked bewildered. "Grandmaster, wasn't this the method you taught my mother?"

Master Luo was stumped by Bai Wanqing's question. He thought carefully for a long time before saying, "Did I teach your mother this method?"

Bai Wanqing nodded, and Master Luo reacted for a moment and said, "You mean, this method was recorded in your mother's notes?"

Seeing Master Luo's expression, Bai Wanqing ran to the backyard, retrieved her mother's letter, and handed it to Master Luo.

Master Luo flipped through a few pages, his eyes growing brighter and brighter. "Unbelievable! Unbelievable! Zi Rou actually researched so many methods of healing on her own. Why didn't you say so before?"

Bai Wanqing felt a little wronged, "I didn't know that my mother had done the research!"

Master Luo thought about it and agreed. He turned to look at Bai Wanqing and his eyes lit up again. "Who said you're not a female Hua Tuo? You're very intelligent. If you inherit your mother's wisdom, you might be the next female Hua Tuo."

Master Luo spoke happily, his voice a little louder, which attracted the attention of Manager Zhou and some patients in the front yard. Bai Wanqing was so frightened that she immediately smiled and explained, "There is no Hua Tuo. Master is just happy and talking nonsense."

She didn't want the things she had worked so hard to clarify to be misunderstood again.

So when people mention Miss Bai again, they say that she has the appearance of Hua Tuo (a legendary Chinese physician), yet she is extremely humble. It would be better to call her Doctor Bai.

However, the fact that the young ladies of the Bai and Cheng families were on good terms was something that everyone could see.

Sure enough, early in the morning, Cheng Susu brought Liu'er into the Bai family's gate.

"Wanqing, Wanqing, the weather is so nice, let's go for a walk by the river!" Cheng Susu looked at Bai Wanqing with a bright smile. Strangely enough, Bai Wanqing herself didn't know why Cheng Susu had liked to stick to her ever since that day.

Bai Wanqing thought for a moment and then politely declined, saying she wanted to go to a medical clinic to study medicine.

Cheng Susu, however, was not giving up. "Come on, come on! I heard the river has recently thawed and there are lots of fish in it. How about we catch some and grill them?"

"I won't arrest him," Bai Wanqing said calmly.

"You can't, but I can!" Cheng Susu ignored Bai Wanqing's wishes and pulled her to leave.

Seeing that her young mistress was being forced, Ruixin wanted to stop her, but Bai Wanqing shook her head, so she didn't actually try to stop her. Unfortunately, the two of them saw Bai Qinglian walking from the side courtyard as soon as they left the courtyard.

Bai Qinglian hadn't met Cheng Susu, but seeing how close she was to Bai Wanqing, she had already guessed her identity.
As Bai Wanqing and the others passed by her, Bai Qinglian couldn't help but mutter: "I really don't understand these young ladies from the capital. Why do they choose to befriend a divorced woman instead of daughters from good families? Aren't they afraid that this will affect their own marriage prospects if word gets out?"

Bai Wanqing didn't hear these words, but Cheng Susu, who had practiced martial arts, did.

"Who are you saying is influencing whom?" Cheng Susu stopped in her tracks, pulling Bai Wanqing along, and then turned her gaze to Bai Qinglian.

Seeing that there was no one else around except the three of them, Bai Qinglian said, "Miss Cheng, you must have misunderstood. I didn't say anything."

Cheng Susu narrowed her eyes and turned to Bai Wanqing, asking, "Who is this? Is she one of your servants?"

Bai Qinglian was surprised by Cheng Susu's rudeness, and her face darkened immediately. "Who are you calling a servant? I am a young lady of the Bai family, the third young lady of the Bai family." After saying that, Bai Qinglian naturally raised her chin.

Cheng Susu looked at Bai Wanqing with a questioning expression until Bai Wanqing nodded, at which point Cheng Susu nodded in agreement, much to Bai Qinglian's anger, who almost screamed.

"Don't think that just because you're the daughter of an imperial censor, you can bully people at will." Bai Qinglian wasn't stupid, so she immediately labeled Cheng Susu. After all, what difference would it make if Lord Cheng himself came over with such a trivial matter?
As long as she insists that Miss Cheng bullied others first, no one can do anything to her.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Susu didn't buy it at all. "So you think that just because you're a concubine in the Huang family, you can label people however you want! When have I ever bullied you?"

"Does asking who you are really considered bullying you?"

Cheng Susu was still smiling as she spoke, which made Bai Qinglian's face turn pale with anger. She turned to glare at Bai Wanqing and said, "You're still my older sister, how can you just stand by and watch others bully you without saying a word?"

Bai Wanqing glanced at Cheng Susu, who looked a little guilty and muttered, "She was the one who brought up 'us' first, so I..."
Bai Wanqing didn't stand on ceremony and said directly to Bai Qinglian, "Third sister, you were the one who mentioned my friend first. She was just rightly refuting you. How can you say she's bullying you?"

"If you truly consider me your elder sister, then you should immediately return to the courtyard and reflect on your actions. Otherwise, don't use your title of elder sister to ask me to help you!"

Bai Qinglian wanted to say something, but looking at the two people in front of her, she held back for a long time without saying a word, and angrily returned to her courtyard.

Cheng Susu didn't notice Bai Qinglian's reaction at all. The word "friend" that Bai Wanqing had just said was still echoing in her mind, and she was beaming with joy.

It was only after Bai Wanqing gently nudged her that she came back to her senses.

"You just said I'm your friend?" Cheng Susu asked again, uncertainly.

Bai Wanqing nodded blankly, "Right!"

"What?! You're my friend, and I'm your friend! Hahaha! We're friends." Cheng Susu suddenly became happy, completely forgetting the unpleasant things Bai Qinglian had said about her, and pulled Bai Wanqing towards the riverbank on the outskirts of Huai'an County.

Fortunately, although Cheng Susu was so happy that she forgot herself, she still took good care of Bai Wanqing. She was afraid that Bai Wanqing was a little tired, so she specially asked Liu'er to bring a carriage, and the two of them sat inside.

After traveling for some time in the carriage, Bai Wanqing noticed that Cheng Susu's face was somewhat pale.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Bai Wanqing asked, about to take Cheng Susu's pulse, but Cheng Susu dodged her.

"I'm fine! Are we almost at the river?" Cheng Susu asked Liu'er and the coachman sitting outside, lifting the curtain.

Liu'er glanced at her young mistress, about to say something, but was glared at by Cheng Susu and forced to shut up. It was the coachman who answered her, "Miss, we'll be there soon."

Hearing that they were almost there, Cheng Susu breathed a sigh of relief. If they hadn't arrived soon, she was afraid she would have thrown up in the car.

Bai Wanqing finally understood what was going on, and she said gently, "Since you're uncomfortable in the carriage, we could have ridden horses here earlier."

"You can ride a horse?" Cheng Susu almost died of her own stupidity. She originally wanted to take care of Bai Wanqing, but was afraid that Bai Wanqing couldn't ride a horse. If she rode it herself, she didn't feel right. It turned out that she had been overthinking things.

Bai Wanqing hummed in agreement, and Cheng Susu's face immediately twitched. She couldn't help but let out two wailing cries, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Bai Wanqing: You didn't even ask me!
However, Bai Wanqing was still very considerate. For the last part of the journey, she let Cheng Susu sit on the outside while she and Liu'er sat inside. Before long, they arrived at the riverbank.

Because it was early spring, the riverbank was crowded with nearby villagers. Although the water was a bit cold, there were plenty of fish.

As soon as Bai Wanqing and the others got off the carriage, they saw a familiar figure!

"Hey! Wanqing, isn't that Young Master Lin?" Cheng Susu asked, looking at the man catching fish by the river.

(End of this chapter)