Chapter Ninety-One: Truth and Falsehood Severed

"Mother, which family have you chosen for my younger brother?"

The eldest brother, already fifteen and not yet betrothed himself, naturally knew more than the others.

"Ha, in time you will know. That child has only just been born and is still so small, so there is no need to hurry. When she grows a little older, I shall tell you."

What? He had been promised to a child who had only just been born? The little fellow, only eight himself and still very much a child, flew into a rage, flung the jade pendant into his mother’s lap, and threw a fit. "I don’t want her. I don’t want her at all. I don’t want a little child."

As he ran off, he still heard his mother calling after him, "You ungrateful child. If your elder brother were not so much older, I would not have arranged it for you."

His thoughts drifted and swayed. The past still stood vivid before him, yet all things had changed, and people were no longer the same.

As for Liu Qin, once she returned to the old matriarch’s side, the rest of the banquet, the bride and groom, none of it could stir her interest. Her mind was wholly occupied with the matter of the antidote pill.

If she said she did not believe it, then Hua the old doctor and the elder brother had both seemed like good people and unlikely to deceive her. But if she said she did believe it, then it was truly too astonishing: an unkempt old man, casually taking out a small bottle and telling her it contained a miraculous medicine that could neutralize all poisons. Would anyone believe that?

Precisely this unresolved, almost mysterious matter stirred Liu Qin’s curiosity to the utmost. She only wished time would hurry, and hurry still more, so she could return home at once.

Yet things always went against one’s wishes. The more you wanted time to pass quickly, the more slowly it crawled; and when you wanted it to slow, it flew by.

Trapped in that sluggish seam of time, Liu Qin truly felt as though each day were a year. The girl who had once most loved joining the crowd now wanted no part of it; even the bride looked ugly in her eyes, the delicious dishes had lost their flavor, and she paid no mind to her peers. In short, nothing was any good.

Seeing her so listless, the old matriarch thought her daughter must be sleepy and, unable to endure the evening any longer because of her age, finally rose and left early.

The moment she climbed into the carriage, Liu Qin came instantly back to life, bright and eager. The old matriarch did not know whether to laugh or cry. Just how much did the girl dislike the Fifth Branch? Ha—truth be told, she herself disliked it too.

When they returned to the residence, both old and young felt their spirits lighten. Home was still the best place; the air at home was so much fresher.

Since the day had been truly tiring, the old matriarch told Liu Qin and Madame Cai to go back and rest. After bidding farewell to her mother and elder sister-in-law, Liu Qin did not return to Plum Courtyard. Instead, she headed straight for the training ground in the front courtyard.

She wanted to ask her master whether the pill was truly an antidote.

By then night had fallen completely, and it was a moonless evening. They crossed that somewhat eerie path through the pear grove, and though Cuiyu led the way with a lantern, both of them still felt chilled to the bone and could not help being frightened.

Cuiyu muttered in dissatisfaction, "Miss, why must we come here in the middle of the night? Couldn’t this wait until tomorrow? Oh, if only I’d gone back to tidy the room and let my sister accompany you instead."

Middle of the night? It was only after seven. In her previous life, this would have been the hour when the streets were bright with lights and full of revelry. Ahem, in this life too, really—only over by Misty Rain Lake.

Besides, wasn’t it you, Cuiyu, who insisted on coming instead of going back to work? So why complain now? Liu Qin very much wanted to roll her eyes, but unfortunately it was too dark to see them, so she simply spared herself the effort.

When Mu Qing saw Liu Qin in red standing at the doorway, he was also taken aback. The girl rarely came to the front courtyard this late, and from the way she was dressed, he could tell she had come straight back from outside without even changing her clothes. Had something serious happened?

Mu Qing, already unshaken by most things, still invited Liu Qin in without hurry despite his confusion. Seeing that Chang Kang was not there, Cuiyu quickly poured two cups of tea, then, at Liu Qin’s hint, slipped out to look for Chang Kang and play.

Liu Qin did not bother to drink. She took a small bottle from her bosom and handed it to Mu Qing. "Master, please take a look. Is this an antidote pill?"

At the words antidote pill, Mu Qing’s expression cracked for an instant. It was hard to remain calm. He took the bottle at once, opened it, and poured the contents into his palm.

There, quietly lying in his hand, were six round, pitch-black little pills, each about the size of an adult’s thumb tip. At first glance they seemed unremarkable, but when he bent down to smell them, a strong medicinal aroma rose at once, bitter and astringent yet carrying a faint sweetness.

He put the pills back into the bottle and sealed it again before smiling. "Qin’er truly is blessed. This is indeed a genuine antidote pill. The scent cannot be mistaken. You must keep it well. You should know that such a thing is priceless and hard to obtain. In ordinary hands, let alone six, even one would be treasured as if it were a jewel."

Priceless? Good heavens. Such a little bottle was actually worth six thousand taels? Gold, or silver?

Liu Qin was somewhat dazed, stunned by this sudden windfall. She had never possessed such a fortune before. Who would have thought, who would have imagined, that Hua the old doctor, who always ate his fill at others’ expense, was actually a great man of wealth, so generous with a casual gesture? Ah, so this was what it felt like to be friends with a rich man.

It was not that Liu Qin was short-sighted. In her previous life, she had been an ordinary office worker. In this life, though born into a wealthy family, in her heart what her parents owned was still her parents’—not her own. But this bottle was genuinely hers.

"If it is convenient, your master would like to ask how Qin’er came by this item."

Mu Qing asked cautiously, for this was after all a private matter, and he was not sure whether it was proper to ask.

Still dazed, Liu Qin told her master everything about what had happened in the back garden of her Fifth Uncle’s house without reservation, and ended with one simple conclusion: "Uncle Hua is truly wonderful. He was so kind to me."

Mu Qing’s face twitched. He was indeed very kind—often kind enough to leave others with broken hands and feet and wailing in misery.

"Uncle Hua? Godfather, does she mean Doctor Hua?"

Somehow, Xiao Wu and Jiang Li, who had finished their practice outside, had come in. They had probably been there for a while; Liu Qin, busy recounting her wondrous encounter with shining eyes, had not noticed them at all.

Mu Qing nodded. "Indeed."

Then he turned to Liu Qin with a smile. "That divine Doctor Hua is famous throughout the martial world. Countless people seek him out for treatment or medicine, yet it is a miracle if he agrees to help even one out of ten. To say nothing of his giving medicine on his own initiative. I never expected Qin’er to have such luck. It means you caught his eye and won his liking. You must know that such favor is something many people can pray for all their lives and never obtain."

Liu Qin chuckled and lifted her chin, looking for all the world as if to say: Who am I? Of course nobody could dislike me.

After being proudly pleased with herself for a while, she ran over to Jiang Li and Xiao Wu and took them both by the hands. "Brother Li, Brother Xiao Wu, I’ll give each of you one."

Xiao Wu, however, poured cold water on her enthusiasm. He pulled his hand away and coldly said, "I don’t want it," then went to stand behind Mu Qing and ignored her.

Liu Qin felt a little awkward. That brat—would it kill him to say something nice? He was icy as a block of frost all day long; wasn’t he afraid he’d freeze himself to death first?

Fortunately, she still had her tender and gentle Brother Li.

Jiang Li touched her round little bun hairstyle, and his soft smile dazzled her eyes. "Little sister should keep it for herself."

Seeing that Liu Qin was unwilling, he smiled again. "I don’t have any use for it anyway. If there ever comes a time when I truly need it, little sister can give it to me then."

Pah, pah, pah. Liu Qin spat several times onto the ground, deeply displeased by the sound of such an ominous remark.

But on second thought, it made sense. She and Jiang Li were together every day, and in the future they would be husband and wife, facing each other day after day. What was hers was his, and what was his was hers, so there was no need to pass things back and forth.