The county town was small, and they arrived in just a moment on horseback.
Zhu Changle patted Little Tail's rump and let it go off on its own. Seeing Little One trotting after it, she laughed heartily.
Qiuli couldn't even be bothered to give that little beast a glance as he strode inside.
Zhu Changle caught up with him. "Qiuli, Tang Ming is connected to the Heart Ease Medical Hall in Gu'an, isn't he? That's why you deliberately mentioned going to another medical hall. Hehe, I played along well, didn't I?"
"I do know someone there."
"Really? That's great!" Zhu Changle was delighted. "I have a ton of questions that need answering."
Qiuli didn't actually have that many questions. He only needed to confirm one thing: who were the vested interests behind Yunbei's current predicament? Once that was clear, Yunbei's situation could be defined. Other issues would then resolve themselves.
"I originally planned to send Little Goldie. It could find Zinzin and bring the medicine back. But now, of course, I have to let Dr. Tang have his way."
She whistled, and soon Little Goldie, who had been roaming who-knows-where, came swooping down onto her shoulder, affectionately nuzzling her cheek.
"You've gotten heavier again, Little Goldie. You should eat less, or you'll be too fat to fly soon." Zhu Changle rubbed its head as she carried it inside.
"Coo coo."
"Still making excuses? Old Goldie won't even recognize you when he sees you like this."
"Coo coo coo."
"Still won't admit it." Zhu Changle flicked its head and turned to Qiuli, "I'm going to have a word with my big brother. We'll leave in a bit."
Qiuli nodded, watching the girl and her pet walk away chattering happily, then changed direction towards the guest house.
"Big brother, your most invincible and adorable Changle is here!"
Zhu Changwang looked at the little head peeking through the doorway with smiling eyes. "You seem so happy. Something good happened?"
"Absolutely right." Zhu Changle bounced in, waving off Zuo Qing's greeting, and sat down at the table. "First, give me some ink, brush, and silk to write two characters."
These were the least scarce items in the room. Zuo Qing immediately brought them over and laid them out in front of the Fourth Miss, holding back a smile as he watched her wild calligraphy.
"Don't think I can't tell you're laughing just because you're not making a sound."
"I wouldn't dare, Miss."
"I didn't say it was you." Zhu Changle snorted, waving the silk to dry the ink before folding it and tying it to Little Goldie's leg. She carried it out the door. "Go find Zinzin. He's close by, so it shouldn't be hard for you."
Squinting as she watched Little Goldie flap its wings and fly away, Zhu Changle clapped her hands and turned back into the room.
"Big brother, let me tell you, Yunbei definitely has a hidden expert."
"Luo Ding?"
Zhu Changle's eyes widened!
The half-reclining man smiled genially. Despite looking thin, pale, and haggard, he showed no sign of weakness.
"Big brother, you already know?"
"What I know might be a bit different from what you know." Zhu Changwang didn't elaborate on the difference, instead asking, "Didn't Ziming just leave this morning? Why are you sending Little Goldie to find him already?"
"To tell him where to meet up with me."
Zhu Changwang sat up a bit straighter. "You're going to Gu'an?"
"Yes." Getting to the point, Zhu Changle became serious. "It's quite a coincidence. Oh right, earlier when people from Yunbei and Gu'an were fighting outside the city gate, if I hadn't gone there, Yunbei definitely would have lost. Those Gu'an people are so tall and strong, no one from Yunbei could match them."
This news had naturally reached Zhu Changwang earlier. He teased with a smile, "I heard our family's female hero even took on disciples."
This was something to be proud of, so Zhu Changle spoke loudly, "I took on a whole bunch! But they don't really count as disciples, at most they're just affiliated. Master Zhong says I can't take on disciples carelessly. Our reputation is too great, we can't let it be ruined by others."
"It's Master Zhong's reputation that's too great, it doesn't have much to do with you."
"Big brother! Do you still want to know what I'm going to do?"
"Of course, among the younger generation of martial artists, Lady Zhu is second to none."
"That's more like it." Zhu Changle wrinkled her little nose, afraid her brother would say something embarrassing again, so she quickly continued, "Later... oh, the middle part isn't important. Anyway, the result was that Dr. Tang wrote a prescription to save someone. But the prescription was missing some herbs that had to be bought in Gu'an. I said I'd go, and he told us to buy them from the Heart Ease Medical Hall in Gu'an, saying their herbs were of good quality. I didn't think much of it at first, but Qiuli is sharp. He spotted the issue right away and said he had an acquaintance in Gu'an who could get the medicine. I know Qiuli so well, he usually keeps quiet if he can, and he's better at shaking his head than nodding. Why would he suddenly say something like that in front of Tang Ming for no reason?"
Zhu Changwang watched his animated little sister without reminding her that she had gone off topic again. He went along with it, "Then Tang Ming stopped you?"
"Big brother, you're so smart!" Zhu Changle gave a thumbs up. "He then said to buy some Huafeng Ointment as well, saying the Heart Ease Medical Hall's was the best, and that people in Yunbei really needed that medicine. Basically, he insisted that I go to the Heart Ease Medical Hall. Since he made it so obvious, of course I have to satisfy him, right?"
Zhu Changwang poked her forehead. "You clearly just want to have fun, yet you make it sound so noble."
"It's both, it's both." Zhu Changle didn't deny it at all and continued, "I also remembered that this isn't the first time Tang Ming has hinted at this. Last time when you were sick, big brother, he implied that two herbs couldn't be found in all of Yunbei. If we hadn't brought all the herbs needed for the prescription, he probably would have asked us to go to the Heart Ease Medical Hall then."
Zhu Changwang had been unconscious at the time and didn't know about this. Looking at this statement alone, there was nothing wrong with it, but when put together with today's events, it was worth pondering.
However, compared to this, there was something that made Zhu Changwang even happier - Changle was finally willing to use her brain. Maybe she just wanted to do more to help father worry less, to let him control Yunbei sooner without constraints, and to let himself rest more and work less. The fact was that she had unknowingly transformed from an implementer to a decision-maker.
With these thoughts that made him both happy and emotional, Zhu Changwang said, "They're both medical halls, and their backgrounds are both doctors. You can think more along these lines."
"I thought so too. It would be great if the doctor at the Heart Ease Medical Hall was also surnamed Tang."
Zhu Changwang laughed. "Do you think Tang Ming is that stupid?"
"I'm just saying!" Zhu Changle stood up. "I have to go now. Do you have anything else to tell me, big brother?"
"Is Qiuli going with you?"
Zhu Changle looked puzzled. "Of course, what else would he do if he stayed here?"
"..." Zhu Changwang didn't even want to remind his little sister that Qiuli was a guest, and a life-saving benefactor at that. Since when did she start ordering guests around so matter-of-factly?
"I still need to ask mother for some money. Big brother, I'm off! I'll report back when I return."
Zhu Changwang nodded with a smile. Seeing Zuo Qing wanting to say something, he gave him a look, and Zuo Qing immediately shut his mouth tight.
