A source of trouble that could affect her own son and grandson.

In the end, she and the rest of the He family were all just ordinary people with flesh and blood. They didn’t think of people as evil as they did, which was why they had ended up in this situation.

But then again, if one were truly cold-hearted in all dealings with others, what hope was there in living?

Old Madam He felt a pang of sadness, a faint sorrow creeping onto her face.

He Chengye knew his mother was also quite disappointed, and sighed inwardly, bowing to her, “Yes, son will arrange it now.”

“Son takes his leave.”

“Go.”

Old Madam He raised her hand, and after hearing the door open and close again, and hearing low voices outside, she reopened her tightly closed eyes.

She took a deep breath, allowing her expression to return to normal. Her back, previously tense with anger, leaned against the soft pillow behind her, regaining its usual dignified and kind demeanor.

Many things still needed to be dealt with on her own.

As for He Chengye, He Yanxiu, and He Yanzhou…

Some things one must inevitably experience on the journey of life.

—

When He Yanxiu arrived in Qinghe County, it was noon.

Su Yujin was currently in the courtyard making sān zhī mèn guō.

Fresh mid-joint chicken wings specially requested from the kitchen of Huibin Tower, enormous river prawns at their plumpest and most flavorful in the autumn season, paired with carrots, chunks of sweet potato, chunks of celtuce stem, lotus root pieces…

A large pot full of these ingredients was bubbling on the charcoal stove, emitting an irresistible aroma that made He Yanxiu sniffle. “What kind of delicious food is this? It smells so good!”

“Second Master?”

Su Yujin looked at He Yanxiu, who had only left Qinghe County the previous morning and was now back in the courtyard, and was immediately surprised. “Why is Second Master here at this time?”

He Yanxiu had returned to the capital from Hedong Prefecture and should have been reporting official business to his superiors.

Su Yujin had assumed that, according to the procedures and methods of this era, He Yanxiu would be too busy to come here for a while.

So when He Yanxiu left, she had specially brought him a sufficient amount of pills so that his recovery wouldn’t be delayed even if he didn’t come to Qinghe County for a long time.

“I got two baskets of fresh crabs, and since you’re such a good cook, I brought them over.” He Yanxiu spoke without looking at Su Yujin, touching his nose as he spoke.

Bringing her crabs?

Su Yujin glanced at the two bamboo baskets full of crabs that Xing An had just put down, then at He Yanxiu, whose expression was clearly flustered… She reached out and lifted He Yanxiu’s arm, pulling up his sleeve to reveal his red and swollen wrist.

After briefly checking his pulse, she could tell from his unsteady breathing that his rib injury had worsened considerably.

It was indeed true what they say:

Unsolicited kindness…

Su Yujin didn’t even bother with the sān zhī mèn guō stew on the charcoal fire, quickly inviting He Yanxiu into the house. She first administered acupuncture, then quickly made two plasters with various blood-activating and stasis-removing herbs, applying them to his wrists.

“This time the injury is even more serious than the last one.”

Su Yujin frowned. “Although I don’t know what forced Second Master to do this, you really can’t let this happen a third time.”

Otherwise, if the injury kept recurring and didn’t heal properly, it would leave a very serious chronic condition.

Not only would he never regain his usual strength, but as he got older, he would also experience unbearable stinging pain on cloudy or rainy days.

He Yanxiu had originally thought of many reasons to deal with Su Yujin’s inquiries about his injury, but he didn’t expect that Su Yujin wouldn’t ask the reason at all but would only give a word of advice.

He Yanxiu was stunned for a moment and then nodded. “I understand.”

“Second Master must not have had lunch yet if you’ve come over at this hour. The braised hotpot prepared outside, paired with niú shétou shāobǐng, tastes quite good as well.”

As Su Yujin spoke, she had already asked Ai Cao and Liu Mama to make a soup and two simple cold dishes.

After He Yanxiu sat down, he took the bowl and chopsticks and ate with Su Yujin.

The sān zhī mèn guō had tender and juicy chicken wings, fragrant river shrimp, and various side dishes that were incredibly flavorful and well-seasoned due to the rich sauce and long cooking time.

Even eating with a rice spoon, He Yanxiu ate heartily and with great relish.

Su Yujin, on the other hand, ate slowly and deliberately, barely uttering a word. After a meal, she only ate two chicken wings, three river shrimps, a few pieces of vegetables, and even half a shāobǐng.

He Yanxiu pursed his lips slightly. He knew Su Yujin was somewhat unhappy about his second injury.

After all, a doctor’s greatest sense of accomplishment comes from seeing their patients recover completely.

His condition had worsened twice, causing Su Yujin constant worry and headaches; he was probably the most displeasing patient in her eyes.

He Yanxiu felt he had made a slight mistake and pondered how to find a suitable excuse to give Su Yujin a reward later.

In the past, Su Yujin always seemed happy as long as there was money…

Just as He Yanxiu was troubled, Ai Cao came over, curtsied to Su Yujin, and whispered something in her ear.

Su Yujin first frowned, then her expression brightened, and after a moment, she was overjoyed.

She even slammed her hand on the table. “I knew it!”

“I knew that the oil tea delivered this morning must have been made by stir-frying rice with Sichuan peppercorns and adding sesame oil for seasoning. But Uncle Zheng insisted that it wasn’t, saying that only sesame oil was added for seasoning, and no Sichuan peppercorns were added when stir-frying the rice. He said it so confidently that I thought there was something wrong with my sense of taste, and I couldn’t even taste the difference.”

“After all that, it’s still the same thing. Uncle Zheng is really something. He was willing to renege on a bet for ten taels of silver, and now he couldn’t hold back and told the truth. There’s no way to talk to him. At his age, he’s actually lying through his teeth for ten taels of silver.”

“Go to Huibinlou right now and tell him I’ve lost my temper. If he doesn’t pay twenty taels of silver, this feud is over. I’ll never go to Huibinlou’s kitchen again, and not a single crab leg will get into his stomach today.”

This old man needed to be taught a lesson!

How old was he, acting like a spoiled brat with a young girl like her?

“Yes.” Ai Cao could tell Su Yujin was teasing Chef Zheng and couldn’t help but laugh at his cheating, so she hurriedly ran to Huibinlou to report.

Su Yujin, now free of her doubts, was in a great mood. She picked up her chopsticks and started scooping up river shrimp from the pot, happily eating her meal.

He Yanxiu, “…”

So Su Yujin’s earlier unhappiness wasn’t because of him?

(End of Chapter)

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